Everwinus

So far, my damn former friends have only watched the pack.

Just like some of the wolves watched them.

Meusewin and his followers were heavily armed.

Stolen weapons, I thought to myself.

The wolves had smelled smoke bombs, and one of them saw how they made poison bombs from herbs and hay and soaked them with a liquid unknown to the wolves. Liquid bog blood was the name of the liquid. A narcotic that Zarko had taken with him when we left the pharmacy. Highly dosed and mixed with the right herbs, it first paralyzed and then brought death. And obviously he carried some with him when they left me with Ansgar. I thought I had destroyed EVERYTHING.

On its own, bog blood could be used well to calm patients or temporarily deprive them of consciousness in order to be able to operate on the person. The dried leaves were prepared into a tea, which was not allowed to steep for more than three minutes so that no toxins were formed.

For the potent poison, the dried leaves had to be boiled until they turned grey. Then more herbs were added, and everything was simmered together until only a bit remained.

Once the bombs were completely dry and could be lit, the poison would spread very quickly. Meusewin was ready to kill the entire pack. He was probably just waiting for the right moment. I had to be faster.

My friends were ready to bring a lot of disaster upon this pack. Thanks to my presence. Because I had to save this stupid wolf who was clinging to me as if I were his favorite stuffed animal.

"Ansgar!" I growled and tried to push him away from me.

"What if you get hurt?" he asked, almost crushing me with his arms.

He had dragged me into his room while his sister gathered a few wolves ready to help capture Meusewin, Zarko, and Agnes.

There was slight chaos in his room. One part seemed tidy; on the other half, things were lying on the floor, clothes were piled up in a corner of the room... "Nothing happens to me. Please let go. You're annoying." I licked my lips. I could hear the blood in his veins. It called for me.

Ansgar smelled tempting.

I tried not to push him away violently.

It wasn't that he clung to me that annoyed me.

No.

I was annoyed that I liked it! Ansgar's body pressed perfectly against mine. It smelled good. Very good. And my throat felt dry. "Please let go. The plan is good. Nothing will happen to me."

"Sure?"

"A good distance from the pack is a gorge, right?"

"Yes. We have several here in the area." Ansgar buried his face in my hair. My cheeks glowed, but I let him.

"I heard it's one of several," I murmured.

"Yes. Yes. The largest gorge lies between two packs that were once enemies. Now it's just one pack. Everwinus? I saw dragons as the quarrel between these packs escalated. I was nearby when..." He shook his head. "Dragons are scary."

"The dragons of... Princess Julia, is her name, right?"

Ansgar nodded. The movement tickled. "If she wins, all the wolves are free. You could stay here. You'd be safe here."

"I'm not welcome here," I replied, succumbing to the urge to wrap my arms around the werewolf's body. His muscles felt firm and strong, but his skin was soft. "Ansgar? I kidnapped you. You should be glad to be rid of me soon. To press yourself at me like this... Are you sure you want that?"

"Kidnapped... As if! Your stupid friends are the kidnappers! The murderers!"

"I'm still a thief. And kidnapping you was my idea."

"Otherwise I would have been dead long ago!" He let me go. Immediately, I missed the warmth of his body. "Dead! You didn't kidnap me, you saved me." He looked at me, looked deep into my eyes, then frowned. "Are you thirsty?"

"What?"

"Bloodthirsty?"

"How do you come up with that now?" Of course I was bloodthirsty. The thirst was not yet overwhelming, but already there. Gnawing. A slight pull inside me. Ansgar smelled better with every second he was near me. Delicious.

Ansgar shrugged his shoulders not very helpfully, then he stepped closer to me again and tilted his head. Was he offering me his neck?

"Ansgar?"

"Do you want to?"

"What?"

"The thought of you helping yourself to my neck is kind of hot..." he murmured. “Damn HOT!"

"Ansgar!"

"It wasn't hot with your friends, but with you? How will you face them when you are thirsty?" He turned away from me for a moment, looked at the window, then he almost jumped and turned back to me. “Shall I help you?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Do you want to?" He grabbed my hands and pulled me to his unmade bed. "Come! I'm just making myself comfortable first. And you too, okay? And then I'll come along! To grab your ex-friends!"

"Ansgar..."

But he was already pushing me onto his bed. Ansgar pulled his tunic over his head. Dark skin shimmered in the light that fell through his window. I saw his fine muscles tense with every movement. His tattoos made him look like a warrior. The pale purple hair made his deep green-blue, almost turquoise eyes shine and took the harshness out of his appearance. His face, round, pretty, and innocent, didn’t match his muscles.

Then he was already sitting next to me and held out his neck to me again. "Enjoy your meal!"

"Ansgar!" Laughing, I shook my head. But my thirst became increasingly unbearable when he offered himself like this.

"You have my full approval. Dig in! Well... With your teeth. Not with your fists. You are welcome to try that, but that wouldn't do you any good." He winked at me. "Yay for the food. Enjoy your meal?"

I sighed. "Thank you. Is it really okay if I?"

"When you bite my neck, hot and sexy? Yes, please!" His cheeks glowed redder than my eyes. "Um... Unless you don't want hot and sexy? Between us? Oh my God! I just hugged you like that! Actually, I wanted to kiss you, but... I haven't crossed a line, have I? So... I'm up for hot and sexy if you... ?"

"Thank you." Did my cheeks glow too? "Um... If you don't mind..."

"Hot and sexy?" He blinked. Pure innocence with glowing cheeks.

"Your blood." I licked my pointed teeth.

"Oh, that's right!" He nodded eagerly. "The buffet is open."

…

This felt different than usual. Not because I didn't bite him in one of his wrists. no. This was... intimate. I put a hand on his right, soft cheek, then I pulled him towards me, and leaned a little over him. Ansgar willingly let himself sink into his pillows and pulled me over him.

"Is it really?"

He rolled his eyes. "Bite me, already. I would offer you more, but... You have an appointment right away."

"You're an idiot. Silly!" I grinned, then I bent over to his neck, licked his skin once, and Ansgar shuddered. Then I bit as gently as possible and drank.

Ansgar clung to me while I drank more than I had dared before. When his grip on me began to slacken, I stopped. "Thank you."

"Hm." Ansgar smiled. "It wasn't as hot as I had hoped. It hurt a hell of a lot, actually! I'm not crying, am I? Do I have tears in my eyes? Heavens!"

"Fool!" I wanted to sit up, but Ansgar pulled me right on top of him and then clung to me. Whether he had tears in his eyes or not, I couldn't see.

Ansgar's hands conquered me. One lay heavily on my back, the other found its way into my hair. "Should I come with you?"

"No. It's okay. I just stole your blood." I was trapped. And it felt damn right.

"My body quickly replaces that." Ansgar held his nose in my hair. "I'm a good fighter. I'm a bit annoyed that Juta didn't ask me first! Or you."

"Juta didn't ask you, because otherwise mom will tear her head off." Ansgar's sister suddenly looked down at us. When had she come in? And why hadn't we both heard them? Smelled?

"AAAH!" Ansgar actually screamed and pushed me away.

I fell rudely to the ground, right in front of Juta's feet. "Ouch!"

The wolf only raised her eyebrows, climbed over me, and sat down on Ansgar's bed. "Are you two a couple now?"

"What?" Ansgar's voice sounded several octaves higher than usual. "No! No, no, no... Well... We didn't make out." He sat up. "I would have liked to... Uh... I want to come with you." Then he looked over the edge of the bed at me. "Are you still alive?"

"Yes," I growled, still on the ground. For a second, I wanted to smash Juta's head against a wall, but Ansgar's clumsy reaction made my anger disappear. "You could help me up after you banished me from your bed in such an unfriendly way. Your lovely sister could have done the same!" I got up myself and stepped away from the two to lean against one of the walls.

"Lovely sister didn't want to." Juta ruffled her brother's hair. "Ansgar? Mom and Dad want you to stay here. They've only just got you back."

"But!" He jumped off his bed. "I can fight!"

"I know." But Juta shook her head. "I'll bring back your kissable vampire in one piece to you. While I go and play pack heroes, you can convince mom and dad to keep your vampire."

Ansgar pouted and looked at me.

I crossed my arms.

"Do you want to stay with me... and..."

"Smooch," Juta interrupted him.

Ansgar stuck his tongue out at her, then he came over to me. It was only about three steps that had separated us. "Stay with me. Will you?"

"To make out?" I teased him. Something tingled in my stomach. I had lost my home. Could I really get a new one so quickly? Did this wolf really offer me his? Was I allowed to ... keep him? Would the pack accept me?

You don't know me.

We only met recently.

"If you want?" He winked at me.

"I... Your blood tastes quite good."

"You get it for the price of several kisses. Every day!"

"Oh, God!" Juta threw her hands over her head. "Everwinus? You can flirt with my goofy brother as much as you want later. He'll make sure you can stay. Especially when he asks Dad first and tells him about 'the greatest love'. Dad has a weakness for such stories. You know the plan?"

"The plan for great love?" I teased her. I wanted to give her a black eye, so I buried the anger as best I could. Did she think I was as forgetful as her brother?

Ansgar, on the other hand, nodded. "Hot and sexy?"

Juta looked at us, unimpressed, and crossed her arms.

"I lure my friends to this gorge, behind the trees. I can't miss it, right? I tell them I buried the loot there. Any questions?" Of course, I knew the plan!

"Will I get a goodbye kiss?"  Ansgar tugged at my sleeve.

"Ansgar..." I shook my head. My cheeks felt too hot. Everything felt too hot.

"Okay. Then when you're back? You really know where exactly the gorge is?"

"Ansgar." I stroked one of his soft ears. His earring felt warm under my fingers. "I came by there with Meusewin. When we... You know. I will find the gorge effortlessly."

"All right." Was he pouting a bit?

How... sweet.

Shit. That's it for me.

He would get his kiss.

"Very good! Everwinus? Follow me. Please." Juta was already on her way to the door. "Six wolves have agreed to help. Let's not waste time."

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