The Hearts that Bleed Black

Chapter 16

Princess Reagan

"So princess, do you have anywhere to spend the night?" The man tilted his head at me with a soft smile dancing on his lips, "If you'd like, you can come back to my place, and we can talk more. It's been a wonder getting to know someone as amazing as you."

I gazed up at him dreamily, making no attempt to hide my admiration. He was very handsome, with mid-length white hair and icy blue eyes. He acted like such a gentleman, radiating with maturity and intelligence. I could tell he was quite a few years older than me, as I was only nineteen. I'd learnt his name was Kalaraja, which I thought was a strange but beautiful name.

"I'd love to" I placed my hand on his, squeezing it tightly, "I'm enjoying your company, and I haven't thanked you for buying me a drink." Normally I wouldn't be so trusting of someone I'd just met, but he seemed nice enough. For a wolf hybrid, he was very calm and laid back. Kalaraja was also tall and muscular, no doubt he'd be amazing in bed. I could already feel heat on my face and excitement at the prospect of that.

"Come with me then princess, I don't live far" he stood up from his seat, helping me down from the tall bar stool. My heart shivered with burning warmth at the nickname. Hand in hand, we made our way out of the pub. As we walked, we made small talk, laughing and joking with each other. Heat seared my face every time he leaned in to tell me something. He was just so... dreamy.

"Here we are," Kalaraja said cheerfully. I looked ahead to see a mid-sized stone brick house. From the look of it, he wasn't poor, but he wasn't exactly rich. It had a nice-looking tiled roof and chimney poking out the top.

"Cute" I smiled, "Do you live alone?"

"Yep," he nodded as he ushered me towards the door, "I moved out of my family's house when I was nineteen. Haven't had anyone to share a house with since then, it gets a bit lonely after a while."

"Aww," I patted his shoulder, "Even though I've just met you, I'm sure we can become good friends." God that soft smirk flitted across his lips just made me weak at the knees. His features were sharp and rugged, giving him a beauty unlike most others. The desire to kiss him was just about melting my muscles.

"Here, I'll show you my room" Kalaraja gestured towards a door near the other side of the room. I followed close behind him, admiring how neat his room was. I was too distracted praising his clean room to notice that he'd locked the door behind us.

Butterflies jumped and squirmed down my spine all the way to my stomach as he pulled me so close our lips almost touched. I leaned in, desperate for contact. But before we did, he pulled away. He gestured to his bed, which I happily followed him over to.

"So" I sat down on his bed with a soft thump, "What do you do for work?"

"I run a small bakery, but I mostly just sell pies" he grinned, sitting down next to me, "Makes decent money I suppose, enough to pay the bills and give me a bit of spending money." His snowy-white ears flicked as he spoke, swivelling around. They were strange yet beautiful, he clearly took a lot of care to make sure they stayed pristine white.

"That's cool" I leant against his arm, melting into his body warmth, "Do you hunt for the meat or buy it?"

"Hunt, sort of," Kalaraja said vaguely, "I could show you if you like, princess."

"What, now?" I blinked in surprise, confusion etched into my face, "Isn't it a bit late to go outside?" It was pitch black outside and the clock had just ticked past midnight, much too late for any major adventures.

"Who said anything about going outside?" His eyes slid across to me, staring me down, "Why would I when my prey is right here?" Before I could move away, he'd already pinned me down with a hunting knife to my throat. Kalaraja was much larger than I was and held me down with ease. My heart thumped abnormally, and my stomach sank to the floor.