Her aura was two colors and I’d never once in my life seen such a thing. One part of the aura was her beautiful golden glow. It could be seen for miles. She was a beacon in the forest.
That part was amazing to see. It looked healthy and vibrant again. It made me feel calm and happy, almost sedated if I stared for too long—Ava had that quality about her. It wasn’t just her aura that had attracted me though, it was also her smell. It wasn’t a scent others could truly detect but I picked it up with my antennae. It was a hormone of some kind like no other human I’d met had.
It was intoxicating and addicting.
There was also the matter of how the curse was gone, or at least I couldn’t see its murky color anymore. That was a good thing. Her not being hurt was a good thing.
It was the new color attached to Ava’s aura that was concerning. It was like two beings in one, battling together. I’d never seen a black aura before. Never. It twisted around the gold like a snake hugging her tightly. Little tendrils came off, waving around strangely. The color, its shape, and the way it existed with Ava’s original aura was something completely new.
Please be okay, my beautiful flame. You’re so precious to me. So much more than I could have hoped for. She looked at me without fear. She touched me willingly, clung to me, asked me my name. I’d had nothing and then she arrived in my forest, giving me everything I could have wanted. The only thing I wanted. Companionship.
I reached out and pet her hair as my concern grew. She smiled and her big expressive brown eyes took me in. They dragged over my body in a more thorough way than she had before. I felt my body react to the pointed attention.
My curious little Ava. She wanted to know more about me, see more of me. She’d said she liked me, wanted me. That made me feel warm inside, full of glowing heat. It made me want to snatch her up fast and fly back to my cabin. From here it would take Caspian a while to catch up. Plenty of time for a lot of fun with Ava.
I dragged my fingers over her cheek. Caspian walked on the other side of her, watching as I touched her.
The scent of smoke was thick in the air, the burnt forest a crispy blackened visual looming in front of us. My eyes drifted to Ava. She had a blank, bored expression as she scanned the blackened trees.
I hadn’t known her long but stalking a person constantly for several days, only stopping for piss breaks and an occasional nap, meant I knew her personality a little at least. She was acting off. I eyed the thick swirling mass of her aura.
Itwasn’tright. No normal aura should look that way. This was twisted, tainted, and downright peculiar.
Her eyes slid to me, sensing my attention. When our gaze met, hers narrowed slightly, suspicion creasing in the corners of her eyes. It made me narrow my eyes back, mostly in confusion. What the hell was going on? Her eyes began to go black, a smile stretching up one side of her face.
What the fuck?
“Can’t do anything fucking right. Where is he?” A man’s voice hissed. Ava’s attention snapped away, her eyes clearing. We all looked at each other but moved forward, towards a figure through the trees. There was a man with a phone pressed to his ear. He was filthy; soot had stained him entirely—his face, arms, clothes. He thrust his hand in his hair and tugged the phone from his ear, cursing about the person not picking up.
He noticed us approaching and spun around, his pale eyes round in surprise. I stopped and then stepped backwards, then took another step back. I couldn’t be seen. I had to get out of here. Who knows what humans would do with me now? Likely strap me up to some gurney and electrocute my taint and balls. I was not looking to be probed by modern, local life. I had a feeling they didn’t use safe words and wouldn’t make me pancakes in the morning.
A hand reached out, gripping my arm in a startingly, rough hold. I looked down at it, then up at Caspian. I tried to tug out of his grip and his human mouth spread in a smile.Creepy fake face bastard.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” he said, pulling me forward. Fuck. The unknown man was warily eyeing us through the trees, squinting to try and make us out. I thrust my finger at him, pointing out my issue. Caspian just gave another cruel smile.
“There’s no escaping this now. You want Ava, then you’re sticking with us. Stop being such a coward,” Caspian said. My eyes slid to Ava who was looking at me with big eyes. I groaned and finally peeled Caspian’s hand off me. Then I reached out, snatched the hat off Ava, and slammed it on my head, tugging it down until I could barely see. Next, I hunched behind Caspian since he was the second tallest of the bunch. Luckily, human minds were generally repelled by me. They naturally skirted over my presence if at all possible, dismissing me as just some guy they didn’t want to look at too long. It was in no way full proof, especially if theywantedto see me.
If I was probed, I was blaming him.
“Ava?” The man’s voice rang out in surprise. He came rushing through the trees. Ava’s mouth popped open when the guy came closer.
“Ben?” She asked in shock to the middle-aged man. “What are you doing here?”
“Thank god, you’re alright,” he said. He looked at her in disbelief and joy before his gaze slowly slid to me. Our eyes met. I stood still, like prey captured in the predator’s gaze.
* * *
“What happened?”Ben asked, scanning each of us. I was exhausted and dirty. We had no clothes, no cars, no phones. Caspian was half-dressed and Pollux was currently hunched behind him, trying to hide himself from the view of the new person… my boss from Sasquatch Inc.
Ben’s eyes lingered for the briefest moment on Pollux momentarily lighting up before sliding back to me.
“Are you okay?” He invaded my space, putting his hands on my shoulders, and squeezing. I knew he was trying to help but I didn’t like him suddenly that close. His pale eyes held mine, they begged for an answer. I was exhausted, tired, potentially traumatized and he wasn’t really someone I knew. Nor did I understand why he was here. His sudden closeness and demand for answers made me uncomfortable.
Brandon stepped closer to me, forcing Ben to take a step back. I relaxed, relieved to not have Ben in my face. Did Brandon just help me out?
“Who are you?” Brandon asked blankly, crossing his arms over his black tee shirt.
“I’m Ben,” my boss responded, eyeing Brandon up and down in confusion. “And you are?”
