Pandora's Curse

13 - Roles in Court

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Pandora's POV

Sneaking out of my bedroom in the middle of the night was about as exciting as it sounded. Ducking and weaving through the patrols lined around the building, I slipped out the window, only to be greeted by a three story drop. The impact would have killed any regular human and wounded a wolf, but I was so electrified by it all that I continued unscathed. 

My heart was pounding at our secret rendezvous, and I pushed on eagerly. Dressed in the colours of the night, I disappeared into the shadows, melting into the treeline. A close encounter towards the front of the gardens had me gasping for air as a figure blurred past my eye line. I was stuck, crouched behind some rose bushes when I felt him arrive.

"Osoru, take this one off, my friend. I'll guard the roses." Walking with purpose, he commanded the space he inhabited, and ordered the rest of the patrols away as well. They obliged without question, happy to see their friend out and about, despite the questionable hour. 

I inched closer and watched as the hair on the back of his neck raised. He looked positively edible in his loose fitting shorts and oversized hoodie. The clothes gave him a nostalgia that I associated with the old world, while making him seem younger in the same vein. 

Clearly shaped to perfection, his muscles flexed in response to my staring.

Once they had fled the scene, I felt my senses dial up to a thousand: my sensitivity activated by the predatorial rumble that escaped my mates chest. 

"You shouldn't run." He stated, narrowly keeping his darker side in check. 

Spying on him from a seemingly safe place, I looked to find him, only to realise he wasn't where I'd left him. A twig snapped. My gaze jerked towards the source of the sound only to find it uninhabited as well. 

"Why?" I uttered to the darkness, moving to a new location as I did so. 

His eyes filled with a seductive challenge, twinkling in the darkness, that made Andromeda rumble with desire. Cocking my head at him, I stepped away stealthily as I held his gaze - one that seemed to be stripping me naked for his eyes to see.

Whipping around, I found myself distracted by a lowly little critter in the grass; my heightened senses picking up everything in a nine mile radius, I felt it as if it was right beside me. With a gasp, I realised that Leviathan was no longer in sight. Heart racing, I turned to the rustle that sounded from the bushes to my left.

"Because you'll make me want to chase you."

I pursed my lips, trying to stifle the breath that was now coming out in pants. He moved again, agile as a cat, with arms and legs working smoothly like a well oiled machine. I only barely glimpsed his form before I realised what game we were playing.

"And what will happen if you catch me?" I questioned, hopping to my feet and hiding behind the thick trunk of a tree.

Clamping down on my scent, I rushed through the shrubbery and into a different part of the garden. A chuckle resounded from behind me, and I knew I wasn't stealthy enough. 

"When I catch you, you'll be mine."

His body materialised again in the shadows; he looked ready to pounce and I found myself struck with the need to run. Eyes lingering on my reaction, he sharpened his senses in tune with my own, as he salivated at the thought of the chase.