Rivers of blood and sand

My hand hovered over the doorknob as I stood at the front door of my house. A house I used to share with Koa. I glanced over my shoulder to where Ander stood several feet behind me with his hands resting on the porch railing as he leaned back against it. Even though I’d been inside his house multiple times, I felt weird letting him into my space. It almost felt too intimate. I kind of wanted to tell him to wait out here, not that he would.

Heaving out a sigh, I grabbed the doorknob, which warmed under my touch as it scanned my energy—a security measure that kept others from entering without my permission. A moment later the heat vanished as the door unlocked with a click and I pushed it open.

My house was a lot smaller than his. Hell, it was smaller than the downstairs area of his house. I passed through the living room that was half the size of his, with pops of green accents throughout the room and decor. There were three bedrooms in the one-story house, and mine was the last one at the end of the hallway. I held back my groan when Ander followed me into my room.

Did he think I would jump out of the window in an attempt to get away from him?

Him being in my bedroom—hell, any bedroom with me—was a bad idea, with what happened the last time we were near a bed. Ignoring the tightness in my stomach, I entered my walk-in closet as he gave my bedroom a slow perusal. After taking a deep and steadying breath, trying to tamp down his effect on me, I grabbed a change of clothes.

Ander was staring at my wall that I painted black so I could write out my random thoughts. Most of it was about the necromancers, the rifts, and that whole mess. Koa said it was weird that I wrote on my bedroom wall, but it wasn’t like I had morbid shit, like pictures of dead bodies or weird shit like that. Sometimes late at night, I came up with a theory and wrote it out on the wall. It was the best way to shut off my brain. More often than not I’d wake up the next morning, confused as hell and not able to understand a single word I wrote.

Ander’s scent still clung to me and mixed into mine seamlessly. I didn’t allow myself to dwell on that ridiculous thought and instead focused on how I needed to get rid of it. No doubt it would confuse everyone that knew us.

I was the one that had sex with him and even I was still confused.

Showering with him in the room next to me felt strange. It shouldn’t have been, there was a whole wall and door between us, but the barrier felt like it wasn’t there at all. My body heated up at the thought, moisture pooling between my thighs that had nothing to do with the water from the shower. The deep-seated throb had me pressing my legs together to ease the ache. It was almost worse than before, now that I knew what it was like to be fucked by him and how he felt inside of me.

Trying to remain as quiet as possible, even though there was a sound barrier between my bedroom and bathroom, I tried to take the edge off. No matter how I worked my clit or curled my fingers inside my pussy, hitting my g-spot, nothing did the trick. I think it made the ache even worse than before.

I dropped my forehead against the cool tile of my shower, having just turned the water to freezing. My wristband beeped and flashed, and I shut off the water. The fact that Seth was calling at this early hour was a little worrying and had me answering right away.

He didn’t bother with greetings or pleasantries, and from the expression on his face, I knew he wasn’t in the best of moods. When he was in these types of moods, the last thing you wanted to do was try and joke with him or argue. “Rumor has it Alpha Raine might know something about what you found in the Wilds.”

I didn’t ask how he knew that, since he knew things that others didn’t and it was just something I always accepted without question. “Has anyone gone and talked to him?” I asked, grabbing a towel from the rack next to the shower.

“Why do you think I’m telling you?” Yep, I was right, he was in a shitty mood.

It didn’t take me long to figure out what he was hinting at. “You want me to ask Aidan if we can get a meeting with Raine.” I didn’t know Jade’s brother too well. I’d only seen him a couple of times, but based on what I witnessed, he was a nice and easygoing guy. Hopefully, he’d be willing to help. It would be easier and more discreet than going through the proper channels to talk with the Alpha of the Cougar summoners. This was probably one of those moments where it would’ve been easier if Jade or Ari were with me.

“I would go, but I have some other leads to follow up on. Stay discreet. We don’t know if this is an isolated incident and it’s best we don’t stir up trouble or cause any hysteria.” Seth's gaze shifted to something offscreen, a crease formed between his eyebrows as he spoke quietly to someone I couldn’t see. He was nearly always busy helping out others and doing research.

Knowing better than to ask any more questions when he was this stressed, I nodded even though he wasn’t looking my way. “I’ll go and get a meeting with Raine, and I’ll let you know what I find.” It was a little awkward trying to dry myself off only using one hand while having a conversation on my wristband, but I made it work.

“Good.” That was his only response before he hung up and the screen went black.

* * * * * * * *

It took some asking around, but we finally found Aidan’s cabin in the cougar territory. It was significantly bigger than the one in the Wilds but smaller than my own house. His cabin gave off rich scents of multiple trees. The different types of trees that made up the structure were different shades of brown, creating a pattern in the log cabin that wasn’t jarring and somehow worked. I could easily see Aidan living here.

Ander stood behind me as I paused in front of the door. He was always behind me, watching and sending tingles racing through my body. Especially now with how close he stood behind me, so close I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. I had a feeling he knew how he affected me and was doing this to screw with me. Almost like he wanted to confirm this thought, his chest brushed my back, inciting shivers as he raised his hand to knock on the front door. His low chuckle told me I failed to hide my reaction.

Aidan answered the door a minute later, looking disheveled and surprised to have someone knocking on his door this early in the morning. His brunette hair—a sharp contrast to his sisters’ blonde hair—was in disarray. With the feminine scent clinging to his body and how he was pulling on his shirt over his head, there was little doubt as to what he’d been doing. I pressed my lips together to hide my smile, more aware of Ander standing behind me than I was before, if that was even possible.

A puzzled frown pulled at his face as he observed Ander and me, surprised to see just the two of us. “Is everything alright?” No doubt his thoughts immediately jumped to his sisters, worried something happened to them.

“Your sisters are okay, nothing is wrong with them,” I quickly said and the tension holding his body eased, his grip on the door loosening. “But we could use your help with something. That is if you’re not too busy.”

Huffing out a short laugh, he stepped aside and let us in. A half wall separated the cozy living room from the kitchen. A short hallway was in front of us, with two doors, I assumed one was his bedroom and the other was a bathroom.

The feminine scent of amber and cinnamon lingered in the air and it was fairly fresh. No more than an hour old. I focused my hearing but was unable to hear anything. It was most likely due to the soundproofing that tended to be on most bedrooms in our realm. There were some weirdos out there that didn’t, and I, unfortunately, found that out the hard way.

“I wish I would’ve known you had company, we would’ve waited before interrupting.” I gave Aidan an apologetic smile. He waved off the apology heading into the kitchen and pulling a glass bottle of water out of the fridge.

“Your timing couldn’t be more perfect. I have matters that need attending to anyways,” a smoky voice said from the end of the hall as the bedroom door softly clicked shut. I hadn’t even heard it open in the first place.

I shot a glance over my shoulder, curious as to what she looked like. I was secure enough in my own looks to not be intimidated by how gorgeous she was, even as rumpled as she was. Straight black hair, so dark it nearly absorbed all light, ended at her shoulders. If not for her tanned skin, she would’ve appeared washed out. Dark gray silver eyes curiously flicked over Ander and me, holding no animosity at being interrupted. Her lips were still a little swollen as were Aidan’s.

“What is a blood mage doing in cougar territory?” Ander kept his voice light, but I knew better. He leaned his shoulder against the front wall as he carefully observed her as she approached us.

“I could ask you the same question,” she pointed out, a smirk lifting her lips. Her clothing was at odds with the cabin and the style of clothing Aidan seemed to favor. She dressed the way one would expect from a blood mage. All she wore on top was a lacy gray bralette with delicate looping chains wrapped around her midsection. High-waisted black shorts and ankle boots completed her bad-bitch look. Her only other accessory was a long chain that dipped into the front of her bralette.

I couldn’t stop myself from watching Ander’s reaction to her, analyzing every microexpression. It was stupid, but I kept wondering if he was attracted to this beautiful woman. My stomach pitched at the thought, forcing my hands to clench into fists, which I hid by crossing my arms over my chest. It’s just lust between us. I kept repeating those words myself. The possibility of him being attracted to another woman shouldn’t have made me feel like I was being stabbed by a shard of ice.

“We’re just here to visit an old friend.” Ander’s vague answer was accompanied by a shrug.

She gave a saccharine smile that all but said she didn’t believe him. “Sure you are.”

I bit my bottom lip to avoid laughing as Ander’s eyes flared for a moment before he locked down his annoyance.

She gave us a once over, her expression filled with open curiosity, as if she could figure out why we were here with a single look. “It was nice to meet you all. Have fun catching up with each other,” she called out over her shoulder as she exited the cabin.

“She’s pretty,” I offered to Aidan as I turned away from the front door.

He shook his head, laughing under his breath before taking a long pull of his water. “She’s something.”

Gnawing on my bottom lip, I tried to figure out a natural way to ask for a favor without coming across as rude. I’d never been one for small talk, finding it a waste of time. But I doubted showing up out of the blue and demanding help was a good way to get him to help us.

Ander had remained silent since the woman left, and I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking based on his blank expression. “Have you heard anything about animal mutilations or dead, bleeding grass?” Clearly, he didn’t share my worry about jumping right into the conversation.

A frown pulled Aidan’s eyebrows together as he gulped down more water. “I haven’t heard of either of those, but I’ve noticed some strange behavior coming from the animals. I reported it to the Alpha.”

This caught my attention, both because that was a rumor we’d heard, but also because animals—especially the ones from our realm—were sensitive to many energies and could feel shifts in the magical structure. It was said the animals started acting erratic around the time the necromancers planned their coup, and it alerted the other races. “What kind of strange behavior?”

“The animals at the top of the food chain have become timid and skittish, while the typical prey have been aggressive. So much so, that one tried attacking a summoner. I’ve also noticed fewer deer in our area than before, and not like a few have gone missing. It’s a significant amount, by at least half. Everyone I’ve talked to in the past couple of days has said the same thing.”

It couldn’t be a coincidence that there were animals acting strangely in different areas of our realm, along with missing animals around the same time we found a bunch of dead animals in the Wilds. It had to somehow be connected.

After offering us a drink, Aidan guided us to his living room. He sat in a tan armchair, leaving Ander and me to sit on the slightly darker sofa. It wasn’t big, leaving us only inches apart. My body was keenly aware of him next to me and every small movement he made. My body buzzed with what felt like excitement mixed with anticipation as butterflies took flight in my stomach.

“Tell me about these mutilations and dead grass,” Aidan said once we settled in, pinning us with his intense stare, and I was once again stunned at how his blue-green eyes were the exact shade as Jade’s. Those two had so much in common, with both their mannerisms and certain facial features, that I still felt dumb for how long it took me to realize they were related.

Ander sat back and let me give the rundown of what we found and the events that followed. Like before, I was light on the details of the incident involving that fucking blood and gave all the credit to Seth.

A small part of me knew why I had yet to say anything about my part in keeping Ander alive. But it was so stupid and pathetic that I refused to acknowledge it. I’d think about it later when I had the time and mental capacity, when I wasn’t in the middle of another mystery.

Aidan tapped his chin as he stared up at the ceiling, deep in contemplation. “I don’t know if Raine knows anything about this, he very well might. At the very least, it won't hurt to set up a meeting and ask, since I’m guessing that’s why you came all this way.”

He activated his wristband and looked down at it for a moment. “I’ll go see if I can set up a meeting and give him the details of what you’ve found. I shouldn’t be gone too long. Make yourselves comfortable.” He gestured at the room with his free hand as he stared at his wristband for another moment.

Before he left, we activated our wristbands and tapped the crystal to each other’s. If we were in the human realm, it would be the same as exchanging phone numbers. Something I had yet to do with Ander, and should we get separated, could be a big fucking problem.