[𝟷] 𝘾𝙍𝙊𝙒𝙉 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙍𝙉𝙎, 𝘕.𝘔. [EDITING]

𝕏𝕀𝕀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀His eyes flickered to hers, golden hues shining through like beams of light. "I am calm," he lied, pulling her closer to him.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Is that why I can't breathe?" Wren smirked, rubbing circles into his arm. Her ribs burned as his ivory fingers dug into her side. She tucked herself as close as she would go to him, trying to coax him into calming his wolf.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Soft hands traced the back of his neck after he released her other hand from its captivity. Blue clashed with green as the song changed ━ a darker tone taking hold over the dance floor.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Focus on me," she murmured softly as his eyes flickered between gold and blue, "you're right here with me."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I'm a thousand years old, darling," he purred through a smirk, "I don't think I need lessons in control from a girl who's barely reached twenty-one."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Wren rolled her eyes in annoyance, moving to step away from him. "Tell that to your wolf," she snapped. "I'm not completely clueless, you know? I've spent more time around your kind than you have."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Enlighten me then, love, on what you know that I don't."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I know that you're a pompous as━"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Klaus' hands wandered down her back, tracing her spine as they went. "Easy, darling. Wouldn't want Marcel thinking that there's trouble in paradise." He traced the shell of her ear with his nose as he rocked her to the slow beat.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Wren's mind was going crazy. Her heartbeat thudded against her ribcage ━ trying to break free. Anywhere she looked, he was her focal point. "Klaus," she breathed. Looking up at him, she struggled to make sense of her emotions.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I know," he answered before she'd even had time to finish her thought. His supernaturally-warm hands burned through her dress. "I feel it, too."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Do you?" Wren pulled back, looking him in the eye. His gaze snapped to hers. "Because from my perspective it looks like you've been doing nothing but avoiding this bond at every turn."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Klaus swayed her to the beat slowly, dipping her down before tugging her close to his chest again. "And how would you have me act, darling? Every bit of affection I show you gives my enemies more incentive to take you from me."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"What enemies, Niklaus?" Wren lay her head on his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat. "The people you think of as enemies are only your adversaries because you made them that way."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Klaus tightened his jaw. "Is that what you think?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yes," she responded confidently.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Your coven have presented themselves as my enemies by selling you out to Marcel ━ the very man I am trying to overthrow. Marcel is my enemy because he took everything my family built and made it his. Need I continue?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"And me?" Wren looked up at him. "Why am I your enemy?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀He looked at her in confusion.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Why is the concept of a soul mate so difficult for you? Am I not enough for you ━ is that it? Would you rather that I become obsolete?" Wren tugged her hands free, trying to step away from him. "Would that make it easier for you?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"We are not discussing this now," Klaus growled out as he yanked her closer to him. "The night is only just beginning." He took one of his arms away from her waist, reaching into his pocket to pull out a fold of paper. A quick offer of it to a passing boy was all it took to set the events into motion.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Wren watched the boy walk away, recognizing him from the house. She smiled wryly to herself, twisting herself out of her mate's grip. "Glad to see where your priorities lie."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Eyes like an ocean tracked her as she pushed through the crowd. Just as she reached a tunnel leading out into the street, she gave in and turned to look one time. He stood straight, like a shadow in the middle of the dancers.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀His eyes watched her unblinkingly, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. He was fighting every instinct he had that was screaming at him to follow her and make sure she was safe.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The plan, first.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Wren averted her gaze from his, heading down the sidewalk after leaving The Abbatoir. It was infinitely more peaceful outside.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The warm summer air brushed her hair away from her face as she sat on a bench to remove her heels from her sore feet.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Niklaus was so infuriating. She had been around a lot of werewolves in her lifetime ━ specifically a pack in the Appalachians. They were a hot-tempered people with unwavering loyalty to one another.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀There was one girl in particular that she had connected with ━ a she-wolf named Nina Morgan.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀After she had moved, Wren lost contact with the werewolf. They had been close friends during Wren's stay in the mountains.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Klaus was nothing like the wolves she had seen before. She suspected it had something to do with the fact that he was a thousand years old. His temper was beyond anything she had seen ━ and he seemed to possess none of the loyalty she saw in the others.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀He was more vampire than he was wolf.