"Mrs. Adams, I hope I'm not interrupting, but I was wondering if I could get the mail from where I was..."

Nixon pauses, his eyes catching a glimpse at me as those navy eyes scan over my body. Taking me in as it has been too long. "Lily," he states, his voice soft as I allow a smile to grace my lips.

"Hello, Nixon," I state, walking to the door as Mrs. Adams is still tense, faking a smile as I stand beside my mate. "How was the trip?"

"Long. How have you been?" He asks, his eyes stuck upon my gaze as Mrs. Adams rushes to get his mail. "I've missed you."

"As have I," I reply, my voice a whisper as he wraps an arm around my waist and kisses my temple. "You aren't leaving again, are you?"

Nixon shakes his head. "I don't plan on it," he responds, thanking Mrs. Adams as he hands him a bag containing stacks of mail. "Are you free right now?"

Looking to Mrs. Adams, I thank her for her company, leaving with Nixon as he holds me close, telling me about how a war is beginning and business had to be done up at the capitol. As he opens the front door of his mansion and pulls me inside, he places the mail on the floor, wrapping his arms around me as a kiss is placed gently upon my lips.

"I've missed you so much," he whispers, going back for another gentle kiss as I know we both hate vanilla. Vanilla is boring, and soon enough, Nixon agrees, placing a rather passionate kiss upon my lips as I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him close to my body as I run my hands through his thick hair.

"I've missed this," I whisper, knowing where we are going as no time can be waisted.

The cold counter is beneath me, my fingers grasping onto the silk material of his shirt as I rip it open, his hands working fast to undress me as well.

After a fulfilling session and finally breathing with a normal pace, I pull on my bra and panties, running my hands through his hair as I cock my head to the side. "What were you doing at the palace?" I ask, trying to strike up conversation as Nixon grabs his attire thrown across the kitchen floor, watching me with every move.

"King Zion is preparing war. We need more men so his fiancé has been helping. Somehow she ran away and now he's on a chase to find her."

"He loves her?" I ask, watching as Nixon's jaw tenses.

"He does." Nixon does not like the subject of Sybil, the woman and yet girl. Sybil is just a girl, a young woman like myself thrown into a world. I was thrown into a work of werewolves and her into one of royalty. Both of us the strangers in our worlds, we have our roses and thorns. I like her, the fiancee of the Alpha King and a sweet individual. I wish her well, a long and prosperous life as that is all I know could await her. She deserves greatness and a life filled with joy, not stress. "How have you been?" Nixon asks, tearing me away from my thoughts as I take in the kitchen around us. Peering around the corner, the white piano lies in the light of the sunset, the instrument polished as Mrs. Adams comes to mind. A body laid across the top, naked and bloody. Lillian Rice died upon a piano. She died upon a white piano and the one within the walls of Nixon's house is a white piano. Hell, it cannot be the same one. It cannot be for that would be sick, for me to have plaid upon that work of art, for Nixon to have pushed me up against it and buried himself inside of me would be messed up in so many ways. He would of replaced that piano.

"How about we go out tonight, just the two of us, some solitude, and catch up?" Nixon asks, lips pressed against my ear as my stomach begins to form knots. "Lily?" My chin is lightly held by his fingers, eyes meeting mine as I simply nod my head.

"That sounds good," I reply, leaving his hold as I head up the familiar staircase. Nixon follows in pursuit, the two of us to get ready as he is still in work clothes and I in sweatpants. As the door opens to reveal the familiar room, something feels off this time. It's that I now know that another woman has been in here. Another woman has slept in this room and loved this man. Another woman has married this man and these two could not begin a family. Another woman had already won his heart and I was never told until weeks ago.

In ten minutes I am drying my hair from a shower, my hair damp as I am dressed in a more conservative dress, one that hits just above the knees and a modest front, simple wedges on my feet, and looking at the girl before me. Am o ready for this? Am I ready to really be with Nixon after hearing things that have slight evidence? He marked me, signaling possession as I am now his. I am his now and I know that comes with commitment, but what if he killed Lillian?

Nixon enters the bathroom, hair dried as he places a navy tie around his neck, watching me as I finish drying my hair. "Ready?" I nod, his hand held out as I take it, Nixon holding me close as we head back down the stairs and into the garage. Hopping into a car, we head out for the night, me not expecting what will happen as I simply let the silence flood the car and my questions rise in my head about Lillian. What if he killed her? What if the man I sit next to actually murderer his wife? He's never spoken a word of her existence nor has anyone else until I met Sybil. Sybil seems like someone who would not be trying to uncover what happened to Lillian unless she knew something truly happened. She came to me and we dug into background that makes me wish I had not walked over to Nixon's when he saw me today with Mrs. Adams.

Both of my friends have warned me about Nixon, have told me he is bad news and I best not entangle myself within his world or games. But this male had marked me and sees a future with me. I have allowed this male to mark me and claim me as his for all to see. I've gone behind my parents backs over and over again to be with him. I've done so much, I have sacrificed so much, yet now, could I be seeing a different male. Could Nixon truly be what I do not want to believe. I do not want to believe he killed his wife, but what if he did?

"Ready?" He asks, breaking my train of thought as I look outside, the car stopped as the city surrounds us. I feel like an ant to this city, the buildings swallowing my vision as they cloud the sky. A valet comes to the car, Nixon opening my door as he hands the young male the keys. Taking Nixon's hand, I'm pulled from the car, the warm breeze meeting my face as the moon is out tonight. "What do you feel like?" He asks, linking his arm with mine as we walk down the sidewalk, many couples out tonight as they are dressed to the nines, a few young like me, but mostly couples of Nixon's age or older. Nixon's age... He is older than me and I have taken that into account, but as the people stare at us now, questioning our morals and values, my throat runs dry. I knew when I agreed to be with him it would be weird with our age gap, but it never really bothered me until now, as we are out in public.

"No preference really," I reply, our pace a bit faster than the vast majority as a familiar skyscraper approaches and a few people stand outside, furs worn as they hold their heads high. It's Nixon's penthouse, the top floor of this skyscraper where the massive home is for him. I've been there a handful of times, mostly to escape the town and ignore the world.

Nixon decides it's the place to go, shifting our direction as we head for the entrance of the building, the doorman bowing his head in respect as we enter into the lobby. Nixon's arm is now secure around my waist, holding me close to his side as we head for the elevator. Inside, we are silence, the atmosphere tense as all the thoughts that have built up inside of me are dying to be let free in a form of one question. Just one question. A question that may not be sane at the moment.

The doors slide open and we walk through, Nixon unlocking the next door as his penthouse is soon open to us. The place spacious and ostentatious as I remember, Nixon lets go of my waist as he heads for the kitchen, grabbing two beers as I remember them, both expensive and actually a pleasant taste. Handing me one, I take up the offer, the cap already discarded as I take a swing of the drink and head towards the view. The city lights are everywhere, a beautiful view as they distract from the sky, the cars below lighting the streets as they create beautiful patters up above. A hand is laid upon my shoulder, pulling me back against him as I think of the beautiful blond. Mrs. Adams said she was one hell of a woman, and I believe it, I do believe that this Lillian was one hell o a woman. I wish I knew her story.

"You seem quiet," Nixon comments, fingers running through my hair.

"Finals are stressful," I reply, knowing it's a full on lie as my heartbeat races. "I am about to graduate. Will you attend the ceremony?" It's a touchy subject for us. Why? Because he does not want me to head off to university away from him or the pack. The pack, a group I have barely come to know. I do not know why I hardly know the pack that I am Luna of. Maybe it has something to do with Lillian or my age, maybe even because I am simply human.

"I'll be there," Nixon responds, taking a swing of the drink as I cross my arms and look to the moon. "Any plans for the summer then?"

I shake my head. "None, probably just staying in town. University will soon arrive." He tenses, I can feel it, my heart skipping a beat as I feel the distance between the two of us grow.

"You know I'd rather have you stay here. It's different now, Lily, because now you are the Luna to a pack and mine as well. You cannot be states away while your duties are here."

I take in a deep breath, knowing I have to say something. "Nixon, I don't do anything as a Luna nor interact with any pack members outside of a school. You are asking me to stay here for duties that I do not have," I inform, turning around to meet his eyes, the eyes that capture so much of a darkness that I have fallen for. "Nixon, I have no reason to stay here that outweighs a degree and future."

Maybe not the correct choice of words.

My back meets the wall, Nixon holding me tight against it as his eyes are black, my skin pale, and afraid of what he is going to do. Would he kill me? Oh God, these things are getting to my head. "What is tying you down here is me, Lily. I am who ties you down to this town, the one who outweighs a degree because your future is with me. We are mates and mates do not just leave for four years and expect things to be perfect when they return, especially mates of Alphas," he growls, the floor shaking as I want to leave. I want to be home. "I am an Alpha, Lily, I am who takes charge over a pack and I need my Luna beside me. Be lucky you are even graduating because when Alphas find their mates, their mate cuts off education and work to aid their Alpha."

He lives in a different world and expects me to hold those values. He expects too much for me once I graduate. I once found Nixon fun to be around, at the beginning always excited to see him, but now, I find him to be a dreaded task.

"I can go to university if I want, Nixon. I am not tied down to you. You have simply marked me, that's a claim, a claim does not tie someone down," I snap, pushing at his force, only for my body to be moved, now pinned against the kitchen counter as he lets go, heading for the table. Grabbing his phone, I wonder what he is up to, watching his fingers move faster than I've ever seen, the screen barely illuminating his face until he puts it down and looks to me.

"Tell me what you have said one more time," Nixon states, his voice calm as his eyes express a different emotion. Tilting my head up, the fear grows within me as he is daring for me to tell him no. He's using intimidation now as he taunts me, letting me know that my answer before was not going to help my cause. He doesn't think I'll do it again.

"No."

<><>

"No? You're telling me no?" Nixon asks, voice hard as I struggle to hold my head high. "Are you serious?" He's dating me to take back my words, to back away from where I stand and let him get his way as he always has before. If he wants me, he better be used to no getting his way even if I start today. He cannot just try and dictate my every choice in life and expect me to move along with a rebellion.

"Did I stutter?" I ask, giving him attitude as I know I am not helping myself, but making whatever this will result in only worse. My eyes meet his, those orbs darkening as I know he wants to unleash the beast he keeps locked away. I remember the first time I saw his wolf, how he attacked a rogue and let it drop limb with no hesitation. Gavin is trying to make me uncover and know the truth of Nixon. Can I trust Gavin, this male who met me at jail and tells me to be quick with my investigation. He says that when summer comes, if I have no fled Nixon, darkness will only surround me. Is Nixon truly that dangerous? Did he kill Lillian? "I can make my own decision," I inform with a sharp tone, my chin tilted up as I know I need to stand my ground here and show the Alpha I cannot be thrown around like a pack member. He marked me and I am the Luna of his pack, meaning I can argue with him unlike a pack member. I can make decisions against his.

Nixon steps away from me, eyebrows furrowed together as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "I know things, Lily, I know what happens when I am not around." I raise an eyebrow, fear settling within my stomach as I wonder if he knows about my snooping around. "I know you've been used to no boundaries, I have cameras in many places for reasons of security. I manage a pack that people learn to fear from birth. I manage a pack where those in it learn to respect me or their stories end badly, so be lucky we are mates."

"Are we even mates?" I ask, snapping as Nixon simply takes a seat, the fire in the fireplace illuminating his features as my throat runs dry. "You may have marked me, but are we even mates?"

"Yes, we are," Nixon informs, his tone neutral as he leans back, running a hand through his hair as I stay put in the kitchen. "But mates do not go against one another and snoop around." Does he know? "Lily, I've been gone aiding the Alpha King because his fiancée decided to go and uncover some story. I know Sybil Black came here searching for those answers and you let her in without a second thought."

"Nixon-

"My pack members are loyal to me, their Alpha, more than their Luna. They reported her, they reported you as well. You went to my office, you broke into my personal office as well. You ask too many questions and my pack members report." Did Mrs. Adams report me? There's no way that she ever would of. "I know what goes on in that head of yours, how that brain of yours thinks. You are an open book to me."

"It makes no difference for making my own decisions," I inform, trying to at least shift the subject a tad.

"I am not some fucking dumbass, Lily, I know the questions you were asking," Nixon snaps, rising to his feet as he stares at me, the room feeling smaller by the second as it seems to cave in. His eyes are locked upon mine, his dark orbs taking in my figure as his presence becomes darkness, the very definition of fear. He is a predator as he has always been and I am merely his prey that cannot defend myself. My voice is all I have to defend myself with and I must be careful for my next choice of words. "You want to know if I killed Lillian Rice."

The way he says her name. He says it as if there is no tomorrow, as if he repeats it every day just to remember her. He loved her...or did he. Did he love her in the end? Does he even say my name like that, as if helpless and wanting more. "She was enticing, so much that both Zion and I wanted her. We fought over her, we battled the other for her. It was her choice and she picked me. She married me and we had a good run until she started to sleep around." My skin pales. "She never thought I would notice that she would leave the house when I was gone for business, letting that bastard fuck her brains out. She was one hell of a woman and didn't think I would ever notice."

"You killed her, didn't you?" I ask, my voice weak as Nixon approaches.

"We tried to have children, over and over only for miscarriages to destroy our hopes. When the fifth one hit she replaced my presence for Zion's, but she knew who she belonged to." I await his next words. "I did not kill my wife, Lily," Nixon explains, meeting my gaze as he stands a yard from me, his shadow looming over me. "Out of depression she slit her throat."

But if she did the police would of marked her death as a suicide and not an unsolved murder. If she killed herself a weapon would of been at the scene of the crime and her death would of been easily solved.

"I love you, Lily," he whispers, stepping closer as my body tenses. "I'd do anything for you, for us just to be together." My fingers shake as I struggle to make eye contact, afraid of the male who has marked me and I have sacrificed a relationship with my family for. "Do you trust me?"

I look away, towards the city outside this prison as I struggle to form my answer. I cannot say a word, my lips unable to part as his presence only draws closer and my eyes begin to water. What do I say? If I said no, will he kill me, will he push me aside and make my life a living hell? If I say yes, I can only wonder about what I will have changed within my life. To think this year I told myself to have no distractions. What irony.

My chin is grabbed, my eyes unable to meet his as I no longer hold my head high. "Look at me, Lily," Nixon growls, close to losing his temper as I have yet to answer him. "Lily."

I find the courage to meet those black eyes, my prayers starting right away as he backs me up against the wall. My heels pinch my toes as I try hard to keep my shaky legs holding me up, Nixon holding me against the wall with his hands as force is applied. "Do you trust me?" Do I lie? Do I even know what I believe right now?

I say the wrong thing. "Did Lillian trust you?"

What have I done?

A hand is absorbed into a hole freshly made in the wall, his arm extended as my eyes are wide, the hole just inches from my head. Nixon is angry and I am the cause. I said the wrong thing without thinking. My legs shake like no tomorrow as he takes his force off of me, my legs unable to hold me up as my knees buckle and I drop to the floor in fear. I've done something Emily once warned me about, telling me that being the cause of his anger is one of the worst mistakes possible to ever imagine. His Luna and mate making him angry means I cannot calm him down like all the other times before when pack members would do this. No, this time I have to rely on patience and mercy that he does not take it out on me.

Nixon moves away, heading back for the kitchen as he grabs a knife, my skin paling as I have no idea what he is about to do. He throws the item, the knife spinning as I fear where it will land. And land it does, right into a picture frame, causing the glass to shatter and fall onto the floor by the couch. He's got a good arm, somehow having learned to throw these utensils and make them into weapons. I fear for the worst as I pick myself up, leaning into the fireplace to aid my balance. I struggle to be present in the way of his anger.

"Stop it!" I call out, my voice shaky as Nixon simply looks over his shoulder to me, the dark kitchen shading his face as his eyes seem to glow. The darkness is where he belongs, where he seems at home and like it was built just for his existence. A world with Nixon is a world without darkness for me, for I have watched his world swallow me whole and into a tomb I cannot claw myself out of without a miracle. "Just stop it, Nixon," I shout, my heels hard to walk in as I head for the kitchen. I see though it is not my heels that make it hard for me to walk to him, but the fear present in almost every fiber of my being.

Nixon turns to me, blood staining the collar of his dress shirt, his shoulders tense, and hands forming into fists. "I need you to stop," I plead, the shadow of the kitchen swallowing me just as it has down to him. Maybe it's a symbol, one of how I have entered his world once more and push past any chance of an escape. I keep going back to Nixon. Even when my parents found out, I went back to him. I always return to him because I need him. I want him. A part of my thirsts for him so much that it overweights the common sense for me to run from his as fast as possible. He once told me that I would always come back for him because I have had a taste of him. No matter what he has done, I will always come back because he has given me a taste of his world, the world he has crafted for isolation and chosen to share with me, the world that is danger and I don't care if it will be the death of me.

I come back because no matter how fucked up with become, we feel an unhealthy balance where the two of us get what we want. We have a thirst for the other, one of a toxic taste. He may have killed his wife, yet here I stand, feet from him as the darkness is all around us.

"Do you trust me, Lily?" Nixon asks once more, voice deep and dark as I know his wolf is fighting so hard to surface and tear this building apart.

Holding my head high, I find myself no longer shaking, my brain telling me to leave before I can say another word. "I trust that you will not harm me," I reply, taking a step closer as Nixon looks me over. "I trust that you will respect my choice when I decide to move out to attend university."

He scoffs. "I will not let that happen," Nixon snaps, grabbing my arm as he pulls me close to him. He walks, pulling me along side as I know not where we are headed. I've only see the main socializing rooms of this penthouse, the two of us never venturing further as we come across events back in town to rush to. We pass by doors, one at the end of the hall informing me what is about to happen.

"Nixon," I warm, stopping in my place as he jerks, trying to take me with him. "We are fighting, not wanting to-

"We are indeed fighting, Lily," he snaps. "We are fighting because you do not understand that the second you graduate I will give you an ultimatum, one that will take your life by the neck and make you chose."

What ultimatum. "What are my choices?" I ask, Nixon walking down the hall without me as he opens the door. He stands at the entrance of the room, letting me know that if I want to hear the choices, I need to follow him into the dark room.

I take my first steps forward, heading for the door as I know where tonight will end. I know how the night will end. As I enter the room, the door is shut and locked, the moonlight flooding the modern room as the massive King bed lays at the center, a black duvet upon the mattress as two modern glass night sands are on either side. It's simple and expensive, perfection as not a stain nor spec of dust can be seen. Looking over my shoulder to Nixon, I watch as he crosses his arms, awaiting for me to do something for my options to be listed.

I make my first moves, knowing this night will act as a deal, how I need to make the first move before my options are listed for me to process. Getting closer to the Alpha, I grab him by the tie, leading him over to the bed as I no longer feel scared. Nixon cares for me when it comes to this. As he takes a seat, I find the zipper of my dress, taking in a soft breath, the zipper undone as the dress drops to my feet strapped into the heels. He looks me over, every inch that he has grown familiar with inspected once again, and his hands find themselves upon my hips. "The choices are limited," he whispers, pulling me down to straddle him as I only think of Lillian. Both Mrs. Adams and Nixon have called her one hell of a woman. I can only wonder what her story was.

"What are they?" I ask, meeting those navy eyes as he cocks his head to the side.

"When you graduate, you will either walk to your parents or me. I will be awaiting you just beside them that day, and who you walk to, that is who you chose." I raise an eyebrow. "You pick them, I will never talk to you again, I will let you go to Colorado for college and never interfere with your life again."

What's the catch?

"You go to me, we will be together forever and become legendary together. With new, you will become Luna and I will pay for your college nearby." I would never see my family again if I chose Nixon, for they would disown me without a second thought. Mother would forever hate me and Taylor...Taylor would never forgive me. If I chose my family, Nixon will be gone, a part of me will be gone as he has marked me and I have come to learn that I will always return for Nixon. But what happens when I return to find him gone? Could I risk any of the options. "How does that sound?" He asks, lips against my ear as his fingers dance across my bare skin, removing the barriers between us as the mattress soon meets my back and I look back to his eyes. "What do you say?"

It's not sane. It's not fair. It places me at a fork in the road that I can never return from.

"I trust you."