11. Bunnies and Bourbon

"You smell fresh, little girl. Let me get a taste of you," Christian said with a smirk, his voice ghostly grave. He bared his canines at her, before leaning himself down as Immery gave out a loud scream. She closed her eyes shut, hyperventilating, scared of what was about to happen when she heard a loud scream from him.

"Bunnies !"

Immery saw him leaving her on the ground, and rushing behind her, she tilted her head to get a clear view of him.

"Ah, I am sorry for scaring you. I was hungry," Christian turned to her, wiping the blood off his mouth while Immery stared with wide eyes. Did he just kill and eat a bunny? Yikes.

Christian did feel embarrassed to do this in front of Immery. He did want her to get comfortable around the idea of him hunting, the natural cravings he got before getting to see such an episode without warning. He did not know where he found that last second control as he quickly sniffed the smell of a bunny near around. But it did help him out.

"Did you just eat...a bunny ?" Immery asked, the thought itself made her want to puke but at least that's what kept her alive. Christian nodded as he slid his hands into the pant's pocketpocket, looking embarrassed.

Immery did not know what to answer so she just got up from the ground and looked behind Christian to find any remains of his act.

"I kinda gobbled it up," Christian clarified, making her stop trying to do what she was doing.

"Still want to go down to the city ?" Christian asked unsure if he had missed his chance to take her there, spend a little more time and get to know her better.

"I haven't eaten a bunny," Immery answered her voice low but it made Christian laugh out loud. That was the first sarcastic remark he earned from Immery.

"Well let me carry you? We can reach faster if we go around the forest," Christian extended his hand to Immery, unsure if the little bunny incident would make her feel less secure around him.

Immery gave her hand in his as they went back to their previous position again, Christian pulling her up in his arm while she circled her hand around his neck.

"Hold on," Christian warned Immery before using his enhanced speed, becoming a blur while Immery grabbed his neck harder, feeling her head spin with the speed.

"There you go," Christian said as he put her down, Immery looking around to see the beautifully decorated city square with a fair amount of crowd around. She hadn't seen so many people in her life, nor how beautiful a city looked at night.

"So where do you wanna go ?" Christian asked Immery while pointing towards the various restaurants, clubs and bars which were located around the city. Immery looked visibly confused, not really knowing what those places were.

"What are these ?" She asked him.

"Do you like dancing ?" Christian counter-questioned her. He surely did feel like dancing, especially if it was going to be with Immery. Immery nodded, not entirely knowing which kind of dance he was referring to.

"Well, so club it is," Christian answered, keeping his voice low to not let the werewolves around recognise him.

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"It's a lovely night, why are you sitting here all alone ?" Riley questioned as she entered Nicholas's room with a knock who was staring at nothing in particular while sipping a glass of bourbon.

Nicholas looked in Riley's direction as he saw her walking inside and taking a seat beside him on the couch, near the fireplace.

"Well I received this letter from my dear father, he's increasing my duties and...," Nicholas halted, not completing his words and picked the letter that he had kept beside him and passed it over to Riley before gulping down the remains of the glass.

Riley eyed the letter before taking it from his hand and going through it.

"He's expecting you to take over the position of the lord after the blood moon !" Riley read that loud, her excitement growing as she finished the letter. She turned with open arms to hug Nicholas and congratulate him but set them down when she noticed his pissed off face, as he gave her a curt look.

"You are not happy ?" She asked unsurely while Nicholas sighed heavily before picking up the bottle of bourbon and pouring another glass.

"I am not. Did you not read the entire thing? He expects me to have a wife! A royal vampire cannot become a Lord or Lady without getting married Riley," Nicholas answered, with a frown as a deep crease of worry formed on his forehead.

"You are a prince Nick, his expectation is not wrong," Riley answered snatching the glass of bourbon from him to take a sip as he watched her before taking that letter off her hand and throwing it into the blazing fire.

"Bullshit."

"This shit tastes good, pour me a glass while we discuss your "bullshit"," Riley purred out, the bourbon feeling a blend of smooth and richness on her tongue as she quoted the last words in the air. Nicholas nodded before taking another glass and pouring out a glass for her and passing it.

"Should I just take Immery to dad? That will clear his fogged mind," Nicholas suggested while Riley immediately nodded her head sideways, rejecting that idea. She knew what could happen if Nicholas did that. That was her worst nightmare.

"Do you want her dead ?" Riley asked, her voice serious yet sarcastic while Nicholas sighed heavily.

"So what am I supposed to do? Blood Moon is just a few days away, and if it's not enough exhausting in itself I have to deal with another shit? Man, I need a break," Nicholas replied frustrated, pushing himself down onto the couch, pressing his temples. He felt overwhelmed with whatever was happening recently. His entire life he spent not caring much about anything, but now he wanted to care. He wanted to care for Immery, the taste of her name on his tongue felt like a start of a bitter-sweet story to him.

He did not know if it was just the mate bond that was attracting him to her, but he wanted it to real. He wanted to take time, to figure things out, to be there out with Immery.

"Well, I have a plan. Not the best but will probably buy you time," Riley suggested. She knew what she was about to do will come back to bite her. It will hurt her but she wanted him to give her a chance, to see if Immery is really the one for him or is she just the destined mate.

"And what's that ?"

"We fake to be a couple in front of everyone."

__________________________

Immery woke up, her head pounding as she found herself on the bed. She quickly looked over at the couch. Christian was very much there, sleeping with an open mouth.

Immery got off the bed, drinking the water from the nightstand before she walked over to the window. She couldn't believe her luck as she stared at the moon, through the window, drunk and wasted yet her mind a mess. She did remember drinking a strange thing a few hours back with Christian and finding it weirdly good. Just two nights back she was running away from her house, of getting forcefully married. But in reality, she was running towards love, two people who she was destined to fall for. Fate was like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for but sometimes that becomes your favourite dish, forever.

She turned her head back, looking at Christian's sleeping form, half of him hanging off the couch. She did feel an urge to ask him to lay with her on the bed, mostly her bold drunk side did but she chickened out last moment, just like she did in the morning. She did choose a blue dress to wear, wore it as well with a blush appearing on her face but dropped the idea just before going out. Anxious and scared to see his reaction to the dress.

"Not sleepy, huh ?" Immery was startled as she heard a voice, cutting through the midnight silence.

"Not when it looks like you are going to fall any second," Immery answered turning towards Christian, the darkness giving her enough confidence to actually speak.

"Well, I don't have any option. First, cause I need to be near you to be able to protect you and second, I don't wanna let my perversion show if I am on the top of the bed...with you," Christian answered before giving her a wide sarcastic smile, while Immery's heart fluttered. His words were doing strange things to her, making her go red and feel tingles throughout her body.

"Just let me take the couch, maybe ?" Immery answered.

"Oh I could but you know, I like suffering a little," Christian replied with a yawn as he stretched his arms. He got up from the couch, he walked towards the window.

"You look sober now," Christian commented while Immery blushed, embarrassed. It was her first time drinking something alcoholic and in way too much quantity.

"I am. Did I do something funny ?" Immery asked, she did have a memory of certain things, but very vague and unclear.

"Well ya..but I prefer drunk Immery over sober Immery," Christian answered brushing his hand against Immery's arm, making her feel ticklish.

"Why ?"

"Drunk Immery is definitely more fun and outgoing. Speaks like a non-stop radio and dances like a regular seventeen-year-old," Christian replied, while Immery laughed. The booze did make her feel lighter and let her be more of herself.

"But what I really want to know is how the real Immery is, the one that got suppressed due to years of abuse, the one who's my mate," Christian spoke as he leaned forward, pushing Immery's back against the windowpane while closing the gap between them to few inches. Immery's lips tremble as she looks into his eyes, the darkness making it impossible to focus on anything but each other. They graze deeply into each other's eyes before a tear trickles down Immery's eyes, in response to Christian's sincere words.

"Immery I don't expect you to forget what all has happened to you for the seventeen years of life. I cannot go back and change that but I can promise you that your life from now will be devoid of all of it. And I mean it. I would rather die saving you than anything else," Christian spoke, his eyes expressing the emotions that he was feeling as he wiped the lone tear off Immery's face.

It wasn't easy for Immery to let go of the past, the past that shaped her into an insecure and overly scared girl but she was willing to work on it. Two days into living with Christian, she could feel his protectiveness, she could feel herself blooming again. Wanting to express herself again.

She nodded at him, sniffing a little in order to hold back the tears while Christian took a step back from her. Admiring how beautiful she looked under the illumination of the moonlight, which was the only source of light.

"So..do you remember anything about the evening that we spend together ?" Christian asked, kind of eager to know that answer. More than him Alec wanted to know if Immery remembered him.

Immery looked upwards and sideways trying to make herself remember the details. She started dictating the little things that she could remember them doing.

"From the evening? Everything is just too vague and cloudy but...I remember us going to that dancing place-"

"You mean club," Christian cut her in to correct her while she rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeahh club and I was drinking? I remember we danced..and oh my god, I remember about a dog, a very large one. Red eyes, fur...I remember it walking closer to me-"

"I would like to stop you right there. It wasn't a fucking dog..but a wolf...an Alpha wolf. Well, it was my wolf, Alec," Christian cut in a panicking Immery, whose eyes widened at his words. She covered her mouth with her palm as she instinctively took a step back, those known endearing blue eyes turning red.