ARCHER

-HIM- “I am not going there.” I groan, annoyed by Ace who has been bugging me since afternoon to accompany him to the human town. I don’t like humans and crowd. I love to be alone and Ace knows that. He tries to push my buttons and right now he’s doing just that. “Ace, leave me alone,” I growl and he sighs before leaving my room. I decide to work on the papers that the council has sent us regarding the current matter which required us to visit this werewolf pack and handle the situation ourselves. Usually, we don’t interact much with werewolf and humans except some special cases like this. I look at the towering stack of papers and then outside the window. Outside seems more promising than the stack of papers crammed up with inked words. I sigh before getting out of the room and calling for Ace to wait for me. We inform the Alpha that we’re going to visit the human town before exiting the pack. We walk into the dense woods behind the pack before striping. I tie my clothes on my leg and turn into my Lycan and race through the forest with Ace. Ace seems restless because he wants to see his mate who is currently in the human town we’re going to. Lucky him. He found his mate so easily. The day we came here, she was there standing in front of him. It didn’t take him long to trap her into his charms. Now all they have to do is mate and mark when her Lycan matures. To be honest, I am quite jealous of him. For us Lycans, mates are very important. Our mates complete us and add meaning to our existence. Lycans are only males, which boosts the importance of mates amongst us even more because of reproduction. No mate means no heir. When Lycans find their mates, who could be anything ranging from a human to a werewolf, they form an invisible bond with them by imprinting them. If the female accepts the bond, she starts to develop into a Lycan. When her Lycan matures, the male Lycan marks and mates with her. Since Lycans are strong and powerful, no one other than a Lycan can mate with them. It could be dangerous for anyone to mate with a Lycan until and unless they’re a Lycan themselves. In Ace’s case, he tried to imprint her several times but she continued to reject his bond unconsciously. It’s making him frustrated and fussy. I hope they work out soon, or Ace will drive me crazy with his emotional swings. As we run through the woods, passing several trees per second, I could feel an air of uneasiness surround him. He’s concerned about her and wants to be with her as soon as possible. The considerable amount of increase in his speed tells me otherwise. Finally, the trees start to thin out and we sense humans around us. We slow down and phase back into our human forms after finding a place to hide. I put on my clothes and by the time I am done with the buttons of my shirt and putting my Jacket on, Ace is already gone. I sigh and walk out of the trees and head to the town. Many people stare at me and give me lingering looks but I ignore them. I know that I am a source of curiosity to them since I am new to this town and also because I am a Lycan. The humans don’t know what I am but unconsciously they feel my power and are attracted to it like a moth to fire. Unconsciously they know that I am dangerous to them but subconsciously they’re attracted to my charms and beauty. As it is the rule of nature that the most beautiful things are poisonous, it applies to us too. Being a Lycan, we’re blessed with charming looks and persona but under this shine and glamour lay a monster that is capable of wiping off the whole population of this town in just some mere minutes. I continue to walk on the pathway, crossing several buildings and shops. The sun has started to disappear under the horizon and the birds are flying back to their nests. Cool evening breeze plays with my hair, bringing a sea of human scents with it which invades my nose. I walk deeper into the town. I come across a library that looks older than this town. Maybe, I could spend my time here till Ace is done with her. I start to climb the front stairs of the Library but stop. My Lycan tells me that I shouldn’t be going there. He doesn’t like places crammed up with humans and neither do I. I listen to my Lycan because he’s always right. His intuition is sharper than mine. I see some young girls throw flirtatious looks at me but I ignore them. If I get involved then none of them will be alive. Humans are funny. They’re most attracted to their cause of demise. I ignore most of the people as I wander casually through the town. I have no rush. I have nowhere else to go and no one to see. This is what happens when you’re alive for centuries. It’s like being frozen in time. It’s like seeing the sunset and sunrise yet not feel like a day has passed. Living for so long has become boring. What I used to find entertaining is now lame for me. I have developed and killed a lot of hobbies and interest in all these years that now, nothing seems interesting. All sources of happiness and satisfaction are transient. Nothing lasts forever. I am just waiting for the end so that I could begin again and reach the end so as to begin again. It’s how things work. Just like a phoenix, it reduces to its ashes but chooses to rise from the same ashes into which it was once reduced. It’s a continuous cycle, going on and on and on. Is there even an end? There is nothing that I could look forward to and nothing left of me to look back to. I sigh as I wonder mindlessly, entering one alley and exiting from others. People look at me curiously but it’s not their fault. People are curious. They like new and dangerous things. Finally, after exploring all the alleys that this town has, I decided to head towards the town hub. The sun has set and now houses are illuminated by candles and lamps. People flood the streets, overcrowding small shops and stalls to purchase goods for dinner or just to lighten up their pockets. My nose is picking up several human scents mixed with scents of beverages and street foods that are adding a considerable amount of flavour to the evening air. Amongst this sea of scent, the scent which stands out the most seems to be coming from a bakery. Its scent is delicious than anything that is put on display which is to be devoured by eyes only. Surprisingly it manages to bring a surge of saliva in my mouth and I feel an invisible thread pulling me towards it. As I follow the scent, my legs move without my whim. I stop at the corner of an alley. It is deserted compared to the other packed up alleys. Most of the shops in this alley are deserted and darkened except for the bakery shop. The shop is lit and deserted as well. It seems quite an odd place for a bakery. As I enter the alley, a customer exits the bakery, bringing a gush of the beautiful aroma of the bakery with him. As he passes me and I get the whiff of all the scents of the bakery latched on him, I stop on my tracks. My Lycan stirs. To him, the bakery seems to be the most auspicious place in the world. I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with the sweet aroma of the bakery that now coats the air of this alley. It manages to shake my insides. That scent. It manages to awaken a part of me that has been in slumber all this time. The sweetest of all scents tingles my nose and it is what makes my Lycan excited after so many years. We’ve found our mate. _ This book was uploaded on Dreame by Benita Ritz. All the copyrights are owned by Benita Ritz! If you find this book with this note on any other website than Dreame then contact Benita Ritz on ** at authorritz  This book can be read along with ACE. Next book in series: JAVIER. ___