#aj-writesss

The first thing Katerina had ever done right in the eyes of The Order was investing in an actual pack versus a solitary werewolf as a guard. One werewolf was easy to pick off, but an entire pack took work and two packs meant she was well-protected. Working with said packs meant lots of face time with both the Black alpha and the Stone alpha, the latter of whom someone she had decidedly tried to not spend too much time alone. After all, she won the favor of The Order by making a smart decision. The last thing she needed to do was expose that she had broken the oldest of laws, one that would end in one of their demises.

A vampire could never love a werewolf and she did. Katerina had somehow along the way fallen in love with Alaric. She’d consider herself crazy to entertain the idea that it was mutual, but the subtle glances her way and the way the air seemed to thicken every time she was near him meant something.

Instead of being alone with him, she kept another wolf with them or cut their solo meetings down to the barest of necessities. Even now, she had shirked their previous meeting. Her only reprieve from it all came from her daily walks around the territory, through the woods and into the little garden she had made for herself. Mauve Angel Face roses, smoky purple Ebb Tide roses, the delicate daisies, fragrant lavender, all of them seemingly took away her worries.

Katerina took her seat on the worn chair she’d had fashioned specifically for this place, shuffling the long blue skirt of her dress aside. The sound of twigs snapping in the distance caught her attention and she looked up to see Alaric standing in the mouth of the entrance.

“Zdraveĭte, Gospodin Stone,” she greeted. “What brings you here?”

And God, if her heart wasn’t in her throat when she saw him.

Claire had just gotten home from another long business trip. There was interest from a German entrepeneur to throw some money towards one of her company’s many projects and while she was glad for the trip, she hadn’t expected it to take as long as it did and she sorely missed her wife. She was sure, too, that Riley missed her. As she walked through the door, she called out, “Riley, I’m home,” as she hung her jacket on the coat rack.

Mila: I just found your underwear under my bed.

Mila: Are you going to want it back or shall I just throw it?

---

There were only a small handful of words in the English language that could make Eloi’s heart stop the way that those five words did. He could only stare at Jasmine, not sure of what he was supposed to do or say. Was he supposed to wrap his arms around her and console her? Congratulate her? Standing there silently wasn’t an option, that he knew and the longer he was silent, the worse the scenarios that were running through his head were starting to get. There was nothing wrong with her having taken a pregnancy test, nothing at all, nor was there anything about her being pregnant (although he’d swear up and down it shouldn’t be possible but what did he know?)

“And?”

"Do you really have to go right now?" Fiona asked, rolling over in the bed to watch Santiago, a small pout on her face. It was the first time in forever that their daughter wasn't with them. Fiona's mother had wanted to have some time with her granddaughter and after a little reluctance, she finally said yes. They haven't had a day, let alone a whole weekend alone together since her birth. "Call them and tell them that you'll be late. I'm sure they'll understand your wife being needy because the child is away."

She could feel that he was there before he even made it known. It must have been the sire/child bond that aided to that. Pulling her sunglasses down to rest on the tip of her nose, a warm smile came to her face seeing Derrick in the distance. While she may still loathe what she was at times, she had to admit that Derrick was the one good thing to come from this "gift" as others called it.

Swiftly, she moved across the large lobby of the hotel room only to stop in front of him. "It's been a long time, sweetie. You look alive as ever." He was probably feeding on a regular basis, unlike her which showed in her pale skin that was rather cold to the touch. "What brings you about?"