Falling for the Enemy Who Tried to Take Someone's Mate

Episode 2

Eve huffed, blowing a stray lock of blonde hair out of her face. She assessed the big male before her and cringed, this was going to be rough. The man reeked of booze and was covered in grime. He could have been handsome, but it was hard to tell what lay beneath the blood and dirt.

Under several weeks of beard growth she could just make out a strange tinge of blue to his lips and along his neck. She frowned, recognizing the signs of poison immediately. His left arm was heavily bandaged, the wound seeping blood and infected. Such a wound should have healed easily for an immortal. Leaning down she sniffed the side of his neck, under the smell of blood and liquor she could just make out the scent of something bitter.

Shadowlock!

Legion. The male was Legion, he had to be.

The realization had her stumbling backward with a gasp. Her back hit the wall, her breath catching in her chest as her glasses nearly fell off her face. For a moment her vision wavered.

There was a member of the Legion in her home.

Why? Why had Levina brought him here? Why hadn't her aunt warned her?

Eve already knew the truth - because if she'd known the male was with the Legion she never would have allowed him to stay in her home.

Now what? He was too heavy for her to move and she couldn't teleport him from within the boundary of the wards. She should just leave. Just pack up and run. But if she left the male would most certainly parish...

A part of her, a deep dark part, told her just to let him die.

Forcing herself to calm down Eve took a deep breath. She had to think rationally. If this male were a threat to her Levina would not have brought him here. The mystic would never place her in danger. Never.

Was her fear irrational? Perhaps this one was different. Biting her lip she stared at the massive male on her bed, her body frozen in place. It was so hard to fight her fear. She wasn't called Evelyn the Meek for nothing.

He shifted slightly, his face flickering with pain. Something deep in her heart pinged. I can't just let him die. S*ck it up, Eve. Even if you help him, he'll be weak. If he's a threat you can still run. She had to see this through. You can do this!

Eve approached him once more with caution. Shadowlock was one of the worst poisons. It weakened an immortal, stopping their ability to heal as it slowly and painfully killed its victim. The only way to survive once poisoned was to continue to take it in doses or obtain the antidote. It was the go to poison of Gabriel, the Mad One, to enslave his followers.

D*mn! I'm going to kill my aunt. The last thing she needed was to become involved with one of the Legion. She'd never met a member that wasn't evil to the core. She still couldn't understand why Levina would bring him here. The mystic despised the Legion. She was a founding member of the Ascended, an alliance formed for the sole purpose of destroying Gabriel and his army.

Eve knew it wasn't her place to question Levina. The mystic always had a plan and obviously the male was important to her aunt in some fashion.

She wasn't even sure what species he was. His black hair was long and straight, hanging just below his shoulders. Combined with his overall rugged appearance it gave him an air of danger. Biting her lip she approached him cautiously, gently lifting his hand and inspecting the rough palm. His claws were black and short. She could see the tips of his fangs over his bottom lip, larger than a vampire or demons.

Werewolf.

Pinching the bridge of her nose she sighed. Just great. She didn't know much about werewolves, other than that they were beasts at the best of times.

With a tinge of regret she dragged a stool over to a high bookshelf and pulled down a bright pink vial. Her handwriting was scribbled across a tag attached to the bottle with twine. Her cursive was atrocious; even she struggled to read the loopy letters, "Elixir of Life".

The healing potion had taken her nearly a decade to brew, collecting rare ingredients from multiple realms. She'd hoped to sell it for a sizable amount, but unfortunately she would have no other choice but to use it on the injured male. It was the only potion strong enough to cure him of the shadowlock.

Boiling water in a kettle over the wood stove she poured it into a deep bowl and gathered up as many clean rags she could find. Setting her items on the bureau beside the bed she started to remove the man's clothing. She managed to yank his heavy boots and socks off before working on the buttons of his shirt. Half way through she realized there was no way she was going to be able to lift the heavy male up high enough to fully remove his shirt. Grabbing a small blade she cut the tattered garment from his body and threw it away.

She couldn't stop the blush from spreading across her cheeks as she inspected his naked torso. The wolf was massive and muscular, with well-defined abs. He was lightly tanned, although pale from sickness, traces of blue from the poison running along his ribs. A dusting of dark black hair covered his strong chest. She followed it as it tapered down his hard abs, over his navel and underneath the top of his trousers. God, but the man was built!

He had few scars, which meant he'd either seen little battle before he reached immortality, or he was a skilled fighter. If she wagered a guess it was the latter. He was dangerous, that much was obvious. And she was about to strip him naked on her bed.

The wolf had an amulet around his neck, the dark red ruby glowing in the candle light. A Teleportation Amulet if she were to guess. Carefully she lifted his head and slipped it off, placing it on the bureau.

Swallowing nervously she undid the buttons of his trousers, pulling and tugging the black fabric over his hips and down his thighs. Eve let out a gasp, clasping her hands over her mouth. He was completely naked under his trousers! Her eyes widened behind her glasses as she stared at his manhood. She couldn't seem to look away. He was big. Really big. His thick shaft lay nestled against a thatch of black hair. More hair dusted over his muscular thighs.

Her breathing ragged she blinked several times before laying a strip of cloth over his s*x. She nodded to herself in approval. Now that he was covered she could finish removing his trousers and bath him.

Eve was surprised her cheeks hadn't burst into flames with how hotly she blushed after she finished cleaning him. Tucking a clean blanket around his legs and up over his torso she carefully sliced away the bandages over his arm.

"Oh God!" She felt bile rise at first seeing the deep gashes along his bicep. Quickly she set to cleaning the wound, wincing as he grunted but remained unconscious. "Sorry," she mumbled, although she knew he couldn't hear her.

Once the wound was cleaned and she could fully see the damage panic struck her. She had known it would be bad, the wolf would be better off if she just cut it off. It would stop the infection from spreading and eventually he would regenerate the arm.

Sitting on the side of the bed she worried her lip. Looking at his unconscious face she felt a stab of pity for the wolf. She guessed he was normally strong, unmovable even. Now he was at her mercy. Reaching over she brushed a lock of hair from his face. He groaned before his face twitched. Yelping she jumped as he reached out with amazing speed and grabbed at her dress.

His eyes opened, glazed with sickness. They were such a dark blue they appeared almost black. He opened his mouth but didn't speak.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" she asked, fighting to keep the fear from her voice. He shook his head, his eyes drifting shut again. "Wait! I need you to drink this." She snatched up the pink vial and held it to his lips. He didn't respond as she pressed it against his mouth. "Please, it will help."

His eyes cracked open again and he just barely opened his mouth. She quickly poured the liquid between his lips, wincing as he choked slightly. "Listen, I may...your arm is in bad shape-" she broke off, not able to continue.

He shook his head as if he had read her mind. "Don't," he managed to rasp. Her blush deepened further if that were possible, his voice was deep and gravely.

"I have no choice," she pleaded. "The infection will spread and hinder your healing. It will grow back with time."

"Don't...cut it...off." He clutched at her dress again. "Please..."

Patting his chest consolingly she nodded. "I'll do my best..." She bit her lip as he looked right at her, those blue eyes piercing into her own.

Reaching up he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Angelas," he murmured.

Her face burned, her lips parting slightly. "I'm...not an angel," she whispered.

Frowning he rasped, "No, no angels where I'm going."

"Don't say that!" she balked. "You're going to be just fine."

"Hurts," he gasped, his body going tense. He began to thrash violently, crying out in pain. She tried to hold him down as he struggled, but he was too strong and big for her small frame. He threw her off roughly, sending her crashing to the floor from the force.

Pain radiated up her side but she ignored it. Struggling to her feet she went back to him, gently stroking his hair. "It's alright," she murmured softly. Tears welled in her eyes as she watched the pain flicker over his face.

He called out for his mother, blood spilling between his lips.

Her heart felt as if it would break. Oh god, oh god. Don't die! She cupped his cheek, pleading silently. He stilled, turning his face into her touch. Eve blushed, a deep ache filling her heart.

She watched him for several moments as his chest rose and fell with ragged breaths. Relief flooded her as his breathing deepened and he relaxed further. Once she was sure he was no longer on the verge of death she inspected his wound again.

Grabbing her blade she cut away at the dead flesh, just managing not to pass out as his blood dripped to the floor. She cleaned as much as she could, then stitched the wound, thanking all those years of sewing her own clothes. Pressing thick coats of salve over the inflamed skin she wrapped it in clean bandages.

Exhaustion threatened to overtake her. Dragging a chair by the bed she sat down. Crossing her arms she laid her head down, telling herself she'd only rest her eyes for a moment.

Just as she was about to fall asleep she could have sworn she felt a big warm hand caress her hair, cupping the back of her head gently.