Unedited.

It's Mecca.

The she-wolf is standing right in the doorway. Well, I'll be darned! She looks flawless, with not a single bruise or scratch in sight. She is wearing almost nothing—wrapped slightly in a wool blanket, the same blanket I loaned her a couple of days ago. Her long bronze legs are on full display, along with her kitten in the middle. Now, that most certainly needs to be shaved. In other words, Mecca is almost bare, hairy but bare. Her hair is shinier than I remember. Well, maybe that's because it's covered in blood.

Wait a minute, why is her hair covered in blood? Better yet . . . Why is she here? As a matter of fact, how is she even here in the first place? She looks like an avenging angel, basking in her hairy, bloody glory. She's a bloody, beast woman for sure. My gut is telling me that Mecca has been a naughty, naughty little she-wolf.

"You need to wash your hair," I tell her. "And, shave." I just have to add that.

She closes the door and sniffs the air.

"And you need to take a bath. I can smell the Cold-hearted King all over you." She tilts her head to the side." Where is your leech king anyway?" asks Mecca.

Typical beast woman. She can't help but be strange and creepy ole Mecca. Oh, how I missed her.

I rush to her side and give her a nice big bear hug, completely disregarding the fact that she doesn't have anything on. Weird, I know, but don't judge me.

Her eyes widen, surprised obviously. Shockingly, she hugs me back.

"I missed you, Mecca," I confess.

Yuck. Some icky blood drips from her hair onto my skin.

Weird ole Mecca decides to sniff my hair. Her body goes stiff, more alert.

"His scent is fresh. Where is he?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" I ask her.

"The Cold-hearted King." She pulls away.

The Cold-hearted King? I believe she is referring to Xander. I keep forgetting that's what people call him.

"I can smell him all over you. Where is he? How long has he been gone," she interrogates. "You smell like you took a bath with him." Her face is crumpled with disgust. This time she starts to sniff my entire body, bending over and placing her nose dangerously close to my crotch.

Oh my . . .

"Bad doggy," I tell her, pushing her back slightly.

Mecca's eyes flash bright yellow.

Oops! Wrong choice of words.

She looks at me like she wants to kill me.

Gosh, it's not my fault that she is so goddamn strange.

"I'll let that slide this one time, human," she growls.

I cross my arms. Here she goes with that human word. In her defense, I did just call her a dog. Oh well, I have no filter.

"I'll let that slide this one time, dog," I retort.

She growls again, but this time she sounds just like the wolf she is—deadly!

I lift my head and continue to stare directly into her bright, highlighted yellow eyes. I will not show any type of fear, beast woman or not. Mecca should know by now that I'm not a coward. She doesn't scare me.

Apparently, my actions are amusing to her because she holds back her head, laughing like the madwoman she is.

There goes crazy ole Mecca again. I'm starting to believe she is bipolar.

"I apologize for offending you, brave little human. My sense of smell is not at its best right now," she admits, taking a deep, sharp breath.

Right, so that's a good excuse for attempting to smell my kitty.

Yup! She's a madwoman.

Her eye color returns to its natural amber shade. The city's beaming, glistening lights that illuminate the room shine down and highlight her mocha-cream skin. I swear if I hadn't met Mecca in the dungeon, I would never believe that she has been down there for over 100 years. Thinking of which . . .

"How did you get free?" I ask.

Her lips curl into a lazy smile, and I can see the amusement flickering in her eyes as she turns to face me.

"I believe I have to thank you for that," she replies.

"Me?"

"Yes! You," she says. "You helped me regain my strength. Those leeches as you called them have been starving me since day one. They knew perfectly well that they couldn't keep me caged any other way. Everything changed the moment you spared me some of your rations. I'm forever grateful."

"Wait! Are you referring to the bread and water I shared with you?" I ask.

She couldn't possibly be referring to that. It was nothing but a piece of bread here and there. I'm sure even a werewolf, I mean she-wolf, needs more than that to regain their strength, especially one who has been starved and tortured for so many years.

Her smile deepens. "That's exactly what I'm referring to. And now I'm here to free you."

By sniffing me to death? Aww, how will I ever return the favor? I almost laugh out loud. Man, oh, man. I crack myself up.

"A favor for a favor," announces Mecca.

This time I can't contain my laughter.

Hahaha . . . very funny.

She looks at me suspiciously.

"What's funny, human?"

Here she goes with that human word again.

I'm still laughing, as she continues standing there looking at me strangely. Hold up. She must be serious. Mecca is crazier than I thought. We're both are as good as dead if we even try to escape. This is no problem honestly besides the fact that Nicklaus will drag me back by my hair and drain every slave before he finally decides to drain me.

"You must have a death wish," I tell her in between my fits of laughter.

"Do you doubt my strength, human?" Mecca smirks.

Doubt? No. Think you're crazy, yes!

"Or, is it that you're content with your chains?"

Now, she starts laughing. "I thought you were different, human. I was wrong. You're just like the rest of the humans brainwashed and too afraid of their captors."

"Oh please! I'm far from brainwashed, and I'm most certainly not afraid of anyone."

She raises her eyebrow.

"Oh, is that right?" she taunts. "Prove it! Come with me. I'm giving you the chance to get far away from your leeches. I'm offering you freedom." She leans in closer. "Come on, what's the worst thing that can happen? They capture us and decide to kill us? That shouldn't be a problem for you, right?" She taps her finger on her head. "If my memory is correct, which I'm sure it is, I recall you stating that you'd rather die than continue to live the remainder of your life as the vampire leech's slave. So you have nothing to fear."

She's right. I'd rather die.

"I just don't want others to die because of me," I admit. "Nicklaus has a bad habit of using others to try to break me."

Creepy Ole Mecca laughs.

"Nicklaus? Hmm. Aren't you just full of surprises?" she says. "You don't have to worry about the other humans. The leech king, or should I say, Nicklaus, is occupied. Besides, my pack is on the way to free the other slaves as we speak. That's where we're going, to my old pack. You will be safe there."

Pack? Like a werewolf pack? Oh no, no, no. I'm not leaving these demons just to walk into the hands of a pack of beasts. Wait, she just said they are on their way to free the other slaves. 

King Marcellus said something about a pack of dogs freeing slaves, and Mecca's pack does the same thing. How strange? Maybe it's just a coincidence. Nope, I doubt it is. That means her pack is already under the king's radar, so I'm not sure it's that safe.

"It's really a win-win situation," says Mecca, smiling again. "Besides, they won't catch us anyway. My pack will make sure of that."

An alarm goes off at the exact same moment. That doesn't sound too good.

"Times up, human. You must decide now," she tells me.

Oh crap. I don't know what to do. Should I stay, or should I go?

I can hear a war happening outside the room door. Mecca's eyes flash yellow.

"Human, decide!" she roars.

The sidekick groans from the other side of the room.

Mecca and I both turn to face her.

Mecca's eyes glow brighter, as she takes a step forward.

Fuck, she is going to kill her. Now, I don't like the sidekick, but she doesn't deserve death.

"Wait," I say, grabbing her arm. "Let's go! I'm in."

Mecca snaps her head in my direction.

"Don't tell me the famous, brave, leech-hating Claire has a soft spot for this particular leech?"

"I do not," I tell her, sighing. "We just don't have time for that. We need to come up with a plan. It's not like we can walk out the front door."

The noise from outside grows by the second.

Mecca shatters the window with her bare hand.

"Hurry," she hisses.

OMFG! I know she is not indicating that we are jumping out of that window. This building is around 1,300 ft. or so. Hell no. This woman is insane.

"Are you crazy?" I ask.

Before I can further object, she rushes to my side, picks me up, and jumps.

* * *

Nicklaus

That dog bitch got away, attacking my brother in the process. I'm going to end her. She has taken me away from my beloved, stopped me from draining the boy, and touched Xander.

She will die. I should have ended her when I had the chance. No worries. I'm in the mood to put a dog down. I just want to get back to my beloved. I miss her. I need to see her. I know she probably hates me right now. She doesn't understand. I'll have to make it up to her.

I'm still going to kill that slave. She already believes he is dead, so what's the harm in getting rid of him altogether? She can't resist me, just like I can't resist her. Claire will forgive me. Before I can get back to her, I need to get rid of these beasts, starting with Mecca. I'll be damned if they continue to get away with their little stunts.

When Xander burst into the penthouse, drenched in blood, and informed us that bitch attacked him, we were infuriated. A direct attack on a king, especially my brother, will never go unpunished. That crazy dog has lost her mind. She knows she is no match for me. I'm going to kill her slowly, torturing every inch of her body. I will break every single one of her bones, heal her completely just to break her bones all over again. She will beg for mercy.

I just need to find the mutt first. That's exactly what we're doing now, searching for the animal. So far, we've had no luck. The stupid b*tch is smarter than we thought. I figured she will head back to her pack since we are close to their territory.

The bitch's pack are the ones who have been stirring up all this trouble. I planned to use her as leverage to flush out their alpha. She is their Luna after all. They would die for her, and that's exactly what will happen. They shall all die.

I have been outside this city gates for hours, searching for a single trail. She couldn't have gotten that far. I don't even know how she'd managed to regain her strength.

"Nicklaus, " calls Xander, as he gets out of the SUV.

I left him back to the penthouse hours ago to clean himself up and most importantly go check on Claire.

"Sorry for the wait. I needed to feed and regenerate. The dog was inches away from my heart."

His words only piss me off more. I nod in understanding.

We enter the woods together. I search the trees for a waft of the dog's scent, while Xander checks the ground for footprints.

"Where are Cyrus and the others?" Xander asks.

"Cyrus is closer to the Northern Pack border. I sent him to search some of the pack's villages, just in case she goes there first. The others are closer to the penthouse."

"Claire is fine," he informs me. "Mad but fine. You've really fucked things up. I feel like she isn't going to forgive you so easily this time, Nicklaus."

"We should see," I tell him, winking.

I know my beloved is mad. My little firecracker has a soft spot for her humans, and it bothers me sometimes. That emotional attachment can make her vulnerable. Claire has a big heart. I get that, but in this day and time, her caring nature can be her downfall.

"Claire's attachment to her species is a weakness, Xander. I don't know how to break it."

"I don't think you should. Claire's kind and genuine nature are refreshing to me. It's like a breath of fresh air. In all my years of living, I have never met any other women from any species that host such great qualities," Xander tells me. "She is brave, smart, and kind. Claire stands up for what she believes in. She doesn't back down, and she cares more for others than they do for themselves."

Xander is right. She truly is one of a kind.

"I fear for her," I admit.

"I don't want her to get hurt physically or mentally. She is too fragile. It bothers me that she will risk her life for another person. The lessons at the boarding school were designed to break humans like her. I don't understand how they didn't."

"How don't you?" he asks, raising his eyebrows. "One look was all it took for me to realize that she will bend the rules and never break. Claire is a human who will really bring forth the Awakening." Xander bends down to search the ground for footprints. "There's one more thing I notice," he says, moving some dirt aside with his hands, "I know that you're going through blood lust—"

"Your Highness."

Astrid's voice appears inside my mind. She is breathing heavily. I can feel her panic through our coven link. Something is wrong.

"They're here. We are under attack," she tells me, without waiting for an acknowledgment from me.

I open my mind up completely.

"Get Claire out there now," I order.

A strong emotion of fear hits me hard and strong. My body leans forward, and my chest tightens, burning scorching hot with fury. I can feel the shift of my irises, matching my chest in color. My monster is taking full control. I've never felt this much rage. I know what she is about to say. I can feel it. There is only one reason why Astrid's fear seeps through my pores.

"Nicklaus, what is wrong?" Xander queries. His voice sounds distant.

"Where is Claire?" I ask Astrid.

Astrid's fear pours.

Xander's body goes still. He is now mind-linking. I can feel his monster pushing through its own border, rising and making its presence known.

"Where is Claire?" I ask her again, this time using my power of command.

"She took her," Astrid answers in a whisper.

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Awake Friday sorry about the late update 😩 If you like me please don't forget to follow, vote, or comment.Thanks, Love-bugs♥️