Zoran helped teach her how to ride a horse, correcting her form and technique and trying to shape her into a perfect rider. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need to use this knowledge often, but it’s useful to know just in case.He took her back inside for breakfast, telling her he had some work today for a couple of hours so she could wait in the library. She agreed, excited to explore a new room and be around new books.After they ate all their eggs, bacon, and pancakes, Zoran had one of his right-hand men lead her to the library while he took off to his office.June was amazed as she walked through the door. She was welcomed by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, packed with more books than she’s ever seen. It had multiple floors, each just like the last, with a large oak desk in the middle of the first floor with a computer and was accompanied by a small woman. The nameplate said, Marge. The entire room was just magnificent.The man led her inside and dropped her off, closing the door behind him
Alexis and Daisy pace outside the house. Rufus and Montana had not come back and the moon was now high overhead. They debated going and looking for them now but they knew the chances of finding them in the dark were slim. They were going to have to wait until morning.“What do you think happened to them?” Daisy was trying to hide her worry but it was starting to slip out.“I don’t know.. I hope they’re okay though.” Alexis was trying to comfort her friend, but she couldn’t help but worry herself.They stayed awake the rest of the night, waiting. Hoping. Praying. But the two never returned.The next day, as soon as the sun started to kiss the trees good morning, they decided to go and try to find them. They started out in the same direction Rufus and Montana had gone, afraid of what they might find.They searched and searched but couldn’t find any sign of their friends.They reached the edge of the forest line and saw the field with hills rolling behind it. They couldn’t see anything o
“I’d like to apologize.” Zoran started, making direct eye contact with June. She just looked at him, unsure how to respond. Was she supposed to just forgive him now?“Why don’t you take a walk with me? It rained last night and the flowers are even prettier than last time.”“Okay..” June got up, preparing herself for the day. She still felt awful about yesterday and really wanted to just curl up in a ball and sleep. But somehow she knew Zoran wasn’t going to allow that to happen.He helped her get ready and then led her down the stairs and outside, walking her through the garden. He was right, it had rained last night and everything looked a lot brighter. There was a rainbow peaking through the clouds and the air was rich with petrichor.They continued to walk through the flowers and trees until he stopped in front of a large walnut tree.“This tree has been around since the mansion was built, which was way back when I was a child.” June could tell the tree brought back good memories.
“Wh-what?” Was all June could get out.“My name is Hunter. Not Zoran.”“Why did you lie about your name? No one gives a shit about what your name is.” June wasn’t mad, just hurt that he waited this long to bring it up.“A lot of talk was going around about me being a bad guy-”“I don’t care! Why’d you wait til now to tell me? I’ve been here for like a week. I’ve slept in your BED. I agreed to be your damned girlfriend! And you never considered that maybe you should mention that you’ve lied about who you are??” She threw open her bedroom doors and grabbed one of the books off her bookshelf.“You can sleep here if you’d-”“No.” She stormed out of her room and headed to Hunter's room, leaving him back in hers.She sat on the bed and laid down, letting her feet hang off the end of the bed. Sighing, she closed her eyes, praying for sleep to just overtake her.Before that could happen, however, Hunter walked through the doors and sat on the bed next to her.“Junebug, can we please talk abou
Hunter woke up just as the sun was peeking in through the windows, the only source of heat coming from the lit fireplace. He rolled over and looked at June, who was still sleeping.He inched over to her, pressing his bare chest against her back, sharing his body heat with her. He snuggled his face into her neck, feeling her stir as she slowly woke up.“Good morning, my queen.” He whispered in her ear, his voice still groggy from sleeping.“Good morning.” She said as she reached for his hand that was on his waist and pulled it closer to her chin. “How’d you sleep?”“I always sleep well when I’m next to you.”“Oh, shut up. Stop buttering me up like a biscuit.”“Now why would I be doing that?” he asked with a smirk and a small chuckle.“You know why, you pervert.” she shot him a playful glance.They continued to snuggle for a few moments before June rolled over to face him, looking into his dark eyes that somehow radiated content and love.June took a deep breath. Finally, her heart felt
*two weeks later*June looked out over the garden, waiting for Hunter to return from work. She decided not to join him today, but he’s been gone for even longer these past few days, which, if she was being honest, frustrated her.She walked away from the large window and started pacing the floors. Normally he’d be back an hour ago, but she hadn’t heard or seen any sign of him returning any time soon.She took a deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart and panicked thoughts. She just wanted to be close to him. To hear his voice. To feel the warmth of his body heat as they lay close together. To smell the smell that he always carried.Her heart ached for his presence.And he felt the same way about her.Hunter couldn’t wait to get off of work and return to June. He hated being away from her, but he made sure only his best people were to serve her. It made the days tolerable, knowing she was at least taken good care of.He sighed as he looked over the mountain of paperwork that had
Hunter enters the room and sees June sitting on the bed surrounded by books. She looked up at him and sat up."It's a good thing you're back. I have some questions."He began unbuttoning his coat and looked at her with a raised eyebrow."Go ahead. Ask away.""I want to know about werewolves. You stopped me from picking out that book in the library, and I want to know why."Hunter froze and tilted his head back a bit, looking down his nose at the floor. He slid off his coat and hung it up, its royal blue almost distracting June from keeping eye contact.He let out a sigh and sat on the bed."We don't get along with werewolves, so there's nothing you need to know.""We as in who?" She shut the book she was reading and sat it aside, crossing her legs and sitting more upright."We as in vampires, June. It's a lot to explain now, and one day, I hope it will all make sense to you. But there was a battle, a war, years ago between vampires and werewolves. No one really won, but a truce was wr
The next morning, June was the first one awake. The sunlight just barely peaked through the windows, allowing her to see Hunter asleep next to her.She didn't know what it was, but she felt like he was hiding something from her yesterday. He made her feel calm and safe, but she couldn't help but wonder. Was she really in danger now? Was she putting him in danger? She couldn't bear the thought of putting anyone up against werewolves just so they could be together, even if they were magical vampires.She couldn't deny it any longer: she was in love with Hunter. She wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life with him. She fought the feelings down but they prevailed. Just sitting there, watching him sleep so peacefully. The feelings bloomed into an explosion full of love and joy and peace. Desire.Need.Something else tugged at her mind, though. She couldn't help but notice that he seemed more restless than normal last night. And she noted that he seemed more loving and obsess