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Chapter 6

Kaizen

Well fuck I broke her.

She sat there going in circles in her mind, while I passively snooped. Mortals were never meant to know so much, because when they did, they weren’t happy being prey. They hunted us out of spite and revenge. What most of us did was out of necessity. Had I lived during the old times, my body count would be much higher, since I can’t even process human foods. Breads and grains were especially a no.

Maybe it was the grease?

I don’t know…. But I Did know I wouldn’t buy man’s meat for her sake when I got there. Most Meat Markets have alternative meat at times, like supernatural cattle. An example would be blood bull, the same leather my seats were made of. They’re named that because of their coat color… and that they Actually charge people wearing red.

I also knew I enjoyed the slightly insulting name of the thing she got me… to be honest it was kind of funny. That she thought of me in Any way made me feel the intense pull to get her to mark me, and complete the process…

I needed to be patient.

She Literally broke her leg by falling over…. What the Fuck would I do if I lost control again, if I was the one who hurt her?

I nearly outwardly winced…..

How Would This Even Work. I knew of a wolf on the Council, I think the Fifth Seat, had a mate like this…. And all I ever remember was him stressing the Fuck Out when he didn’t know where she was….

Also... unlike other Normal wolves… I don’t have a human side, so understanding her will be hard... It’s like a coin. They have a human side to think human ways, to see things like they could, and to walk on two legs… Normal werewolves are even Born human, so if the mother needs to birth around people, there’s no suspicion.….

Because of that, the wolf in them is usually not dominant. That inner wolf doesn’t come out as much, as Most live their lives in a human form being the prevailing part of their double-faceted soul… They talk to them and everything. The wolf is the more carnal, instinctual side of our people... the issue is that I’m ONLY that aspect.

Me and my siblings were born only the wolf… it’s why I worry… It’s why I hesitated to touch her…

My father’s mother is the Moon Goddess, yet I never once asked about this kind of thing. To be fair, speaking with her didn’t really happen... and now to be fairer still, I broke her law.

It was the ONE law she punished wolves for breaking, since it disrupts the pairs she painstakingly makes.

Killing on the Harvest Moon gave you a curse…. a 200-year sentence of not finding one’s mate… to Wait for them to be born and find you… yet for some reason, I wasn’t worried. She Did give me my bond after all…so at least someone had pardoned me of my great crime….

I feel her presence always, because I am a wolf, but as her grandchild, we are distant. She did that so we wouldn’t rely on her, or become spoiled. She did visit, but she never gave us what we wanted Just because we were her grandchildren. For that I was thankful. It allowed my other two siblings to figure something out….

“…. So this is where they package us up…..” She mumbled. This place terrified her, as it Should, but she was upset that I brought her here. She Knew from my words, that human hospitals were out, but she also didn’t like knowing her true station….

In this world, men were meat, yet, they were kept ignorant to prevent more war.

The industrial factories were on either side of the street, though only one was the right one. GPS stopped working once I got close. I’d have to manually find it the rest of the way.

“It is.” I mumbled. I hated that she’d have to see this, but taking her to a hospital would alert the Secret Police…. And I really don’t want any encounters with them.

/Dying on my birthday…. Fun./ she thought sarcastically. She really was freaking out, and I felt like being firm about this would make her listen. I can’t save her if she’s just out of reach…

She made me worry that she’d try something.

“Hey I’m serious.” I warned. “I know I’m not the best at being gentle, but I warn you because I don’t want you to be killed… Vampires more or less run most markets… They’re a pretty heartless race.”

/Not as heartless as You./ she thought. I sighed.

“….. Don’t be that way.” I said hesitating, but touching her hair… mortals are so fucking soft. It felt like one of my sister’s old plushies... her skin was pillow soft too, but I pulled my hand away… my hand was too close to her neck to continue.

…fuck…

“Sorry… I didn’t Mean that.” She lied. She did, but she was honestly trying to apologize.

“I’ll take it; any one else would have my wrath, but with you it’s not a thing….” She shyly looked down. She was shy by how my words made her blush; marking was warming her up to me.

I found the meat market by the scent. I could smell vampire, blood, meat, and metal. There was also the scent of cleaner too, since these places were highly regulated.

Unicorns were only there to ensure there weren’t any mistreatment or smuggling laws being broken. Humans were processed like beef cows, though the culling part involved vampire beguiling and draining them so fast they don’t have the chance to feel pain. After that, they were butchered. Orcs, trolls and drakes typically did that. Drakes also guarded the place. I could see one as I pulled up.

The outside guards said nothing, nor did they bow. We were off the beaten path a bit, but even still, appearances were always maintained just in case. I pulled over, and she hesitantly got out. I carried her to get there faster, but I let her stand on her own inside.

…. She was so close…. I could feel her rabbit-like heartbeat… I found myself holding her under my armpit as I walked with her. She hugged my waist… it made me swell with pride that she saw me as her protector.

She had a right to be fearful… for her, this was probably The most dangerous situation she could be in.

The lobby was so clean I couldn’t smell anything once I got to the counter. This was the human side of the place. They even… ironically had a human receptionist. The other side, a wooden door in the white walled, tiled room, was the supernatural side. When the door closed, I could relax.

“Ah,” I said releasing my horns, and relaxing my eyes to black.

I also allowed myself to tower over them all being 7’5. Most shifters were 6 feet and up, most Alphas were 6’5…. 7 was reserved for Royal Bloods, and taller still were Old Ones and such. Many who were beyond mortal height however, hid it as best as they could, oftentimes with magic… but even still… most didn’t venture into the human world.

“Does hiding your ….stature hurt?” She asked sweetly. She was a little shit, but at least when it came to me, she was trying to be considerate.

“It doesn’t hurt, but it feels like… Like taking your shoes off after a long day.” I said with a smile. She was so fucking small like maybe 5 feet? … the goddess has a sense of humor.

The drake guard on the other side took one look at me and kneeled on bended knee.

“Your highness… I didn’t know one of the Horned would grace our little eatery.” He smiled. “Did you bring this one for process or repair?” He asked as if we were speaking about a car. Humans were animals to them, but this one was special. It offended me… but I didn’t show it.

I could tell she was about to say something, but I interrupted.

“Willow is my mate. Treat her as you would another Horned.” I said and he bowed.

“Then I’ll get Dr. Bartholomew. He’s gentler on the mortals, your highness.” He said leaving.

“Wow, so you really are a prince.” She smiled.

“You think That’s something; sometimes I can make a tiny flame flicker between these bad boys.” I patted my horns. I was pretty proud of how big they were now. They weren’t as huge as father’s or my uncles’, but they did spiral somewhat. “Father says that it means I can probably do magic like my little sister… but I don’t think I’ll ever try that.” I smiled.

“Why not? Magic is Real? I Always wanted to fly on a broom!” She giggled.

“Nah, that stuff’s for witches. I summon Hell’s fire and red lightning…. But possibly one day I could Maybe arrange that.” I smiled. I could also, unlike my siblings, turn into a flash of lightning and zip across the sky short distances…. But I didn’t mention that…

To use that much energy though would make me… hungrier than I already was.

Her eyes lit up.

Better I pop her bubble now than some asshole lore her in with promises of ghost ship rides….

“I guess I forgot to mention magic, curses, hexes, possession, and soul stealing as well as Soul Devouring is also possible in our world…. And demons. Those guys hate anything that isn’t stamped by their masters, and You Are Human. Stay Away from Magic.” I chastised.

/He’s no fun./ she huffed in her head pouting… which I had to admit was cute….

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