Dark Hunger

Reluctant, Auril was extremely sure that they were his mother's spies. Not only had he jeopardized his safety, he had put others in danger too. He had absolutely no idea that the cave where they had sought refuge against the pelting rain would reveal this world. He didn't move from his place as he stabbed his fingers through his hair.

The pixies fluttered around him. Some sat on his shoulders while some on his upper arms. They pointed towards something. When he followed the direction at which they were pointing, he bit back a gasp. Not fifty feet away, there was a boat waiting for them. He chuckled. The pixies were actually helping him to escape. How could this be possible? How come they weren't reporting to his mother? Baffled as hell, he looked at his group and with his chin pointed them to come to the boat. Some pixies flapped their wings near his ear as if trying to communicate something.

Silently, the pixies fluttered in the air towards the boat through the rocks and above the surface of water and near them. Caleb released Elize, who was blushing a crimson and kept a pace behind her. Arawn and Auril were at the front, Laurel walking at a distance behind them.

Elize didn't utter a word, mesmerized by it all. When Caleb stopped her and buttoned the cloak he had given her and pulled her hood up, she didn't say anything. She just let him do it and then walked towards the boat.

The vessel was large enough for the five of them to sit inside comfortably. There were two oars inside. "This is incredible!" Auril breathed out. "And they want us to use this boat," he said to the others. "They are saying that the boat is going to lead us straight outside the forest."

"Are you sure they are not your mother's spies?" Caleb shot back.

"I have no idea, but they want me to trust them," said Auril as his gaze went to Elize. He stepped in the boat followed by Arawn, who held the oars in his hands, ready to row.

Sensing Auril's gaze of her, Caleb snarled at him and then held Elize's hand to help her get in the boat. 'She is mine' – his actions seemed to convey.

Laurel who was right behind them was burning with jealousy. Not only had her plan gone down the drains, Caleb was going all wolfy on his mate. She clenched her fists and reminded herself that this was just the beginning. She had a lot of time.

When all of them settled, Arawn started rowing the boat and soon they were on their way out. The pixies didn't leave them, and instead of being with Auril, they fluttered their little sparkling wings to go to Elize.

"Do you know why they have helped us?" asked Arawn to Auril, his voice a whisper.

Auril looked at Elize and Caleb. His lips curved in a smile. He said, "Because they are mates, and these pixies sensed it. Mates are so rare in the Lore that pixies value them above anything. They would defy my mother's law to cherish something as beautiful as the mate connection."

The little fairies had started plucking small bright blue and yellow glowing flowers that grew on the walls amidst the white vines, which grew sparsely amidst the rocks and crevices. They made wreaths out of it and placed them on Elize's head, and then weaved those flowers in her hair.

As for Elize, she was so surprised and at the same time so afraid of hurting them even if she took a mere breath near them, that she stuck to Caleb. She was almost sitting in between his thighs, but not touching him. His warm breath fanned her cheeks when the pixies removed her hood and started decorating her. It was a way of showing their love and gratitude to the mates who had visited their world. They hardly cared whether she was a vampire or not.

So close to Caleb… her senses were being dulled. She wanted to revel in his honeysuckle scent, in the warmth his body was exuding and the softness that this muscular man was radiating. She swallowed her saliva down. It's a trance… it's a trance… a voice inside hissed. But it was immediately suppressed when the little fairies started showing their affection. She giggled when their wings fluttered against her skin. The whole experience was surreal. And when she giggled, she failed to notice that Caleb had stilled in his place. His throat bobbed. His hand brushed her waist and her heartbeat accelerated. "You should laugh more," he said, leaning down next to her ear. She bit her lip, blushing like a thousand suns when his lips very lightly brushed against the top of her ear.

In confusion, some pixies who were weaving flowers in her hair dropped the petals over Caleb too and a deep throaty laughter emanated from him filling the tight space of the cave.

"I think we better hurry up. Dawn is about to break and then…" Arawn's voice trailed off with a tinge of gloom.

Feigning innocence, Laurel asked, "Why? What is going to happen at dawn?" She very well knew what would happen but she had to remind Elize as to what she was. When no one answered, she exclaimed, "Ohhh! I am so sorry. I— I forgot about the queen."

Elize heard her words and suppressed a shudder of misery. Yes, this was what she was—a vampire. This was her normal. She lowered her eyes once again as memories of turning into a vampire flashed across her mind. Her mood dipped. However, not for long. The pixies had made a garland. They picked her hand up, placed it over Caleb's and tied their wrists together with the garland. His large hand immediately curled around hers and his chest vibrated with a rumble. "Gods!" he breathed out, his cock stiffening at the want of his mate. And Elize—she could feel the heat on her back like a brand. Her breath became ragged. And she turned to—