26

Scarlett woke up five hours later feeling sore all over, her body ached, especially her head and neck. Her gums were itching badly and the restlessness increased. She found David in the sitting room talking to Kieran. She didn't care to know what they were talking about, all she needed right now was something to stop this unbearable itching she was feeling.

"Ms. Quinn, it's good to see you're well," Kieran greeted.

"Um…thanks Kieran…what happened last night?"

"A minor…um seizure, you'll be fine,"

"Seizure…dempires have that?"

"He's messing with you…you had flashbacks of your past which caused you immense pain," David explained. Scarlett nodded at him "The last time you fed was two weeks ago right?"

"Um…I, I guess, why?"

"How much did you drink?"

"A glass full…"

"You really need to feed, your eyes are almost completely red…you can't hunt right now and I've run out of blood bags, when we get to Devaria, you'll hunt but for now, please keep your hunger in check," Scarlett took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were back to its grey color.

"What about now?"

"Better…do you need anything before we leave for Devaria?" David asked.

"No," Scarlett replied and followed David outside where a black four wheel drive was parked. They pulled the doors open and sat in the car. Scarlett got out her phone and ear phones and plugged them in. Her thoughts drifted to everything that had happened to her since she woke up in that yard six months ago. The world was filled with lots of mysteries and somehow she was one of those mysteries. Then there was that book…shit! She lost it in that crater; she couldn't leave without finding it…that was if she would even find it. She was just about to tell David when David took out his phone and put it on speaker.

"Don't bring her now David, it's not safe…there are shades and rogues patrolling the border," Gallus' voice echoed over the line.

"Can't we just teleport there?" David asked.

"The people in Ensco know Scarlett's there so if she just teleports, people will become suspicious as to how she got to her home country,"

"But if we let everyone know she's returning to Devaria, it'll be a danger to the Devarians,"

"They can protect themselves,"

"What about the humans?"

"They'll be fine, just wait until twilight,"

"Isn't that the time when the patrol will be intense brother?"

"And the night creatures will be out by that time as well, less humans more night creatures," Gallus said and before David could retort, the line disconnected. David sighed to himself.

"Get out of the car," he said.

"Why did he say that?"

"My brother thinks the shades and rogues won't attack if there are a lot of night creatures there…who will obviously fight for their true princess," he explained

"But aren't dempires strong? Why are we waiting them out?"

"Because we don't want to fight…at least not yet," David said with a smirk as he pulled open the passenger door for Scarlett. "…you really did lose your memories…"

"You doubted it before?" Scarlett questioned amused.

"…they may not be as strong as dempires but they have numbers, numbers we don't have at the moment,"

"Time limit's twilight right?" she asked and he nodded in affirmation. "I'll be back an hour before then," she said. Dark wisps of smoke enveloped her body and then she was gone. He sighed to himself; he didn't have anything else to do in Ensco everything that needed his attention was in Devaria. Since he couldn't take Scarlett to Devaria, he could go there on his own; it'd been a while since he'd been with a woman.

He materialized in the parking lot of one of the five star brothels in Devaria. This was where he first saw Michael and Chris. He didn't think they would be well acquainted with girls like Scarlett Quinn and Nicole O'Connor. He wondered though, since Michael and Nicole were now supposedly lovers, would he still find Michael here or would he supposedly be a faithful boyfriend? Would it just be Chris he'd see this time? Michael did have a way with women and the young lycan always took what was thrown at him.

Surprisingly or…rather not surprisingly, he saw Nicole in a black car parked at the edge of the parking lot. Michael even brought her here, he had a feeling she didn't have the slightest what this place was. Devaria had its way of making its brothels look less conspicuous. He strolled to the car and when she noticed him; her dull face bore a small bright smile.

"Hi David, it's been a while," she said. He noticed that her usual cheery face was somewhat dull even with her smile.

"I'm good, are you here with Michael?" he asked even though he knew she obviously was. Nicole nodded with a smile.

"I actually came to get an outfit for the party; I'm waiting for the person's who's meant to bring it here, Michael said I should wait out in the car…how's Scarlett?"

"She's fine, you'll see her tomorrow," he said. He still couldn't believe the close relationship between her and Scarlett.

"What about her memories?"

"She's getting somewhere…see you later,"

"Thank you for looking out for her David and your brother, you both have done me a huge favor,"

"Anytime," he said with a small smile and walked away. Nicole sat in the car waiting for Michael; it had been an hour before she spoke to David. She decided to take a nap, when she woke up, she spotted the woman who was meant to bring her dress. After taking it and still not hearing from Michael, she turned to the building that was in front of the parking lot. She wasn't sure what it was since she's never really been anywhere in Devaria. He told her not to go inside no matter what but he'd been inside for too long and she was getting anxious and having a bad feeling about the place.

As she walked into the building's main hall, the stench of liquor hit her sensitive nose. Different women-dempires, vampires, humans, she-wolves, name them, they were all there, almost naked. Some were literally naked. Waitresses held shot glasses filled with different liquor and decanters filled with vodka. Realization dawned on her that she was in a brothel. What the hell was Michael doing here!? Dread filled her heart at the thought of what he could be doing.

"Excuse me miss, the males are over there," one of the waitresses said calling her attention to her surroundings.

"Sorry I'm not here for them…" she paused. Nicole knew Michael and Chris, they were her friends since childhood and knowing them they would be very popular in this world. "I'm sorry is Michael Chen here?"

"Yes ma'am, he's our most respectable customer, he's busy at the moment,"

"Where is he?" Nicole asked. The words were hard to say, she didn't want to believe that her Michael was here.

"In the VIP, should I give him your name?" the waitress asked. Nicole ignored her and made her way to the room that had VIP indicated on the door. She pushed the doors open and her eyes fell on his red hair. There he was, her Michael with a blonde straddling him, kissing him as hard as she could and he was responding, kissing and touching the blonde back the way he did her. He looked satisfied with the blonde; her heart ached seeing him like that. The blonde bent to give him a hickey and his dazed gaze met with hers.

Her heart skipped a beat when those beautiful smoldering dark blue eyes stared at her. She hated that she could still react that way when he looked at her even at a time like this. He pushed the blonde off him and attempted to grab her but Nicole's reflexes were oddly fast and she was out of the building before she even realized it.

"Shit! Nicole!" she heard him call out. Nicole kept running as fast as her human legs could carry her. Tears flowed like a river down her cheeks. She wanted to be mad at him, to not want to see him again but she also wanted to know why? Why would he do this to her? She also just wanted to ignore it and run back into his arms like nothing happened. The thought blinded her mind from reality; she didn't even realize she was in a forest. She tripped and Michael finally caught up to her, he tried to help her up but she harshly brushed him off.

"Don't you fucking touch me, you asshole!" Nicole screamed.

"Let me explain Nicole, I'm so sorry,"

"What the fuck do want to tell me Michael? What bullshit are you going to tell me now that'll justify what I just saw!?"

"It's not what you think Nicole…please,"

"Not what I think! Not what I think Michael. You're right; it's not what I think it's what I saw. I just watched a blonde straddle and kiss you,"

"It's you I want Nicole, it has always been you, ever since I knew I could finally have you, you're the only reasonable thing that goes through my mind…"

"You have me Michael…I'm your bloody mate…"

"The only person on your mind is Scarlett Nicole, how do you want me to have you when the only person you ever think about is Scarlett? How do you want me to freaking have you then? She's the only one you ever think about!"

"That's not true Michael!" Nicole choked.

"Tell me how it isn't Nicole, every time I try to touch or even kiss you, I can hear your thoughts Nicole, you always think about Scarlett,"

"That's not true Michael! Don't try to turn this on me. I dream of everything I could have with you, I dream of everywhere I could go with you, I dream of the things I'd do to you that you'd love so much, I dream of what you would do to me that your name would be the only word I can scream or even think about…" she paused feeling the lump in her throat become tighter. "I guess…I guess I learnt from my parents before they died that…that some relationships start from friendship, fights then apology dates and…I've always dreamt of that with you," her voice came out as a hushed whisper as she lay her head on his chest.

"I'm so sorry Nicole, I lo..."

"Don't! Just...don't," she said pulling away from him. She wiped her tears and flashed a small smile at him. Michael's heart ached when he saw that smile. He already knew what she was going to say. He shook his head in plea not to say those words but she ignored him. "You shouldn't leave that blonde hanging Michael, finish what you started," she said and walked away.

When she got to the car, she took the dress; put it in a brown bag she took from the back seat and hung it lazily over her shoulder. She turned toward the direction of the forest she'd left Michael and sighed wiping the stray tears then walked away to the opposite direction. She hid herself between some shrubs and took off her clothes then put it in the bag. Sounds of bone breaking and groans of pain sounded as her figure enlarged and fur covered her body. She grabbed the bag in between her teeth and ran off.

Michael stood transfixed in the spot where Nicole left him. He couldn't believe what just happened. He couldn't believe he let himself go back there. A pained howl echoed as the sun rose. He knew it was Nicole, he'd hurt her. Scarlett's words echoed at the back of his head. 'Don't let her break Michael, if she does, I'll break you' and he knew Scarlett meant every word of that statement.

Nicole was already dressed by the time she got back to Michael's mansion. Her face was stained with dried tears. She lazily pushed the doors open and ignoring every maid even the butler, she walked towards the stairs.

"Nicole?" a very familiar voice called her. Oh how she'd missed this person so much.

"Loretta," Nicole said and looked up. Loretta stood at the bottom of the stairs and in the next second, she embraced Nicole in a warm hug. "I really needed a hug right now, thank you,"

"What is it sweetheart? Why are you crying?"

"It's nothing important…how's Scarlett?"

"Are you sure?" Loretta asked and Nicole nodded with a smile. "She won't be here until tonight…but don't worry too much about her, she's fine,"

"I have my outfit planned Loretta, I'm pretty sure that's why you're here," Nicole said with a knowing smile. Loretta had made it a habit to make sure she and Scarlett always had gorgeous outfits for every event even though Scarlett never attended most of them.

"Don't think like that Nicole, I came to see you, what's wrong?"

"I…I just miss my parents…"

"I still don't believe you but…since you won't tell, I won't push it, say hi to Michael and Chris for me," Loretta said. "You'll be fine…I should go prepare everything for Scarlett's arrival, hopefully, she'll regain her memories soon," Loretta said and hugged Nicole again.

"See you at the party Loretta…and thank you for that hug, I really…really needed it," Nicole said as she escorted Loretta outside. David was standing outside waiting for Loretta, when he saw Loretta, his dark magic swirled toward her. He turned to Nicole and when he noticed her tear stained face he already knew what had happened.

Nicole went to her room and took off her clothes; she brought out one of Michael's shirt she'd taken from his closet and put it on. She really missed him, her head was really aching from all that crying and she was really exhausted. She lay on her bed after taking a cold shower and slept off while thinking about Michael and that blonde from the brothel.

***

Nicole subconsciously adjusted on the bed, that familiar scent and warmth she always felt in his arms. She knew she wasn't dreaming; he was actually holding her. She pulled herself away from Michael's embrace and smiled faintly at him. She loved him…too much to be mad at him, she wanted to slap herself; she was meant to be mad that he let another woman touch him. She wasn't mad at him, she never was in fact, she was just…she was pained.

She pulled a pair of boxer shorts over her legs. As she approached the kitchen, she heard the sound of kitchen utensils clanging against each other. She wasn't expecting any of the maids to be in the mansion as early as this but it wasn't any of the maids, it was Chris. It looked like he was looking for something. He slammed the refrigerator closed and cursed out loud causing Nicole to giggle.

"Hey Nikki, what are you…were you crying? What happened?" He asked noticing her still swollen and reddened eyes.

"It's…Michael, I found him in the brothel…with a blonde," Chris' face hardened.

"That fucker," Chris hissed. "What happened?"

"I got mad and well…" Nicole trembled as she explained everything

"Come here," he trapped her in a hug. He raised her off her feet and put her on the counter."Michael loves you Nicole, I'm sorry about what you've seen and nothing I say now will stop you from being mad at him…"

"I'm not actually mad at him…I'm just pained," Nicole whispered. Chris wasn't surprised at her words.

"I know, you love him too much to be mad at him…Michael said not to tell you and Quinn because he thinks both of you will make fun of him but…when we left Ensco nine years ago Michael never stopped saying he's going to make you his Luna when we grow older, everything we did or talked about, he always found a way to bring up a topic concerning you and when I tried to butt in about Quinn, he always brushed me off and continued daydreaming about you and now we've grown older, I can see the mark, some habits are hard to break but I'm very sure he will never step foot in a brothel not less think about one,"

"I want to believe you Chris…"

"You should and I know you do, tell you what…" he paused, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Michael has an amazing surprise for you but…you'll have to wait before you get it,"

"Michael hates surprises,"

"Not if they're yours," she hugged him silently.

"You should thank Michael not me," he said. "I love you Nikki and I promise if Michael does anything to hurt you, tell me I'll help Quinn beat the shit out of him," Chris chuckled. Nicole's hands circled his neck as she embraced him in a tight hug.

"I love you too Chris,"

"Fuck!!!" Chris and Nicole turned to the source of the abrupt curse, before they could make out who it was, Chris fell back hard hitting his head on the marbled floor.