BITE {Discontinued}
Date.

They had been driving for almost an hour now, not that Guadalupe minded. The silence and cool air was refreshing, and it made her wish that she had enough money to buy herself a car just so she could take long drives like this.

Nox’s presence was surprisingly comforting, and somewhere deep in her heart, she wondered where he had been all her life.

Nox turned onto an unmarked trail that got steeper and colder the deeper they went. Guadalupe shivered, regretting not bringing a jacket with her. Nox noticed, and with one hand, reached into the back seat for his jacket and handed it to her.

She accepted gratefully, and slipped the warm article on, inconspicuously inhaling the scent attached to it. The sleeves fell way past her arms, and she neatly rolled them up while regarding her surroundings.

“Is this where you rape and murder me, then bury my body and blame it on the wolves?” Guadalupe asked, and Nox nearly swerved off the trail.

“Fuck! Who do you take me for?” Nox said as he righted the car, trying not to yell. Guadalupe shrugged nonchalantly.

“Listen, bella, I know about that Mateo character, and let me just say that he doesn’t deserve anything good for the rest of his life.” He stopped the car briefly, tilting Guadalupe’s chin so she could face him.

“I. Am. Not. Him.” He enunciated, and Guadalupe pressed her tongue against her cheek, remaining silent. Nox shifted the car back into gear, and continued along the trail. “And I’ll do everything to prove that to you.”

Guadalupe remained silent, scared that her heart will jump out of her throat if she opened her mouth. It wasn’t her fault that she had that train of thought; it had nearly happened to her once and in a much less secluded place than this.

She whacked the unpleasant memories that wanted to surface with a sledgehammer, and focused on the trees that seemed to grow taller the further they went.

Finally, they arrived at a clearing, more beautiful than anything Guadalupe had ever laid eyes on. It looked like something out of an anime; those beautiful fields filled with flowers and sunlight and pretty little birds. She couldn’t stop the gasp of astonishment that escaped her as she stumbled out of the car, nor the tears that prickled her eyes.

“Nox,” she whispered shakily as her eyes greedily took in the view before her, “how did you find this place?” she faced him, and his gaze softened as he saw the streams trickling down her plump cheeks.

Nox closed the distance between them and cupped her face, gently brushing his thumbs across her cheeks.

“I, um,” he gulped, swallowing the rising uncertainty, “actually live around here, and I come here a lot when I want to be alone and just think.” He saw the light in her eyes brighten as she registered his words.

“You’re so lucky, to be living around here, with something so beautiful nearby.” Guadalupe looked away from him, her eyes continuing its feast on the flower field.

“Want to come live with me?” Nox asked, and Guadalupe nodded with a chuckle. “Please?” she joked, not knowing that Nox was dead serious.

“We’ll go back for your stuff then.” He beamed, and Guadalupe returned the smile. “We’d have to sneak in the middle of the night.” She joked again, still not knowing how serious Nox was.

He regretfully peeled himself away from her, and reminded Zev that it was only to get the things he had stored in the trunk. He glanced back with each step he took, afraid that if he looked away for too long, she would disappear. Quickly gathering the blanket and picnic basket, Nox slammed the trunk shut and made sure that the vehicle was locked.

He wouldn’t put it past one of the rebellious pups to steal his car while he was gone trying to woo his mate.

Placing the items in one hand, Nox laid the other gently on her lower back. He felt her muscles jump under his touch, and repressed the irritated growl. “Our destination isn’t here, bella.”

“It-it’s not?” Guadalupe looked around, feeling a little disappointed. She really wanted to stay here in this serene environment.

“Nope.” Nox chirped with a shake of his head, and Guadalupe’s shoulders slumped. “Okay.” She murmured sadly, and Nox gave her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder.

“Where we are going is a bit better than here.” He said comfortingly, and Guadalupe scoffed softly. “I don’t think anything could get better than this.”

.

.

Guadalupe stared before her in disbelief.

“I was wrong. I was so, so wrong.”

Nox chuckled as he set up the blanket conveniently, where they wouldn’t get wet. It hadn’t rained in a few weeks, but with the water falling from twenty-five feet above, the pair would still get sprayed as it crashed against the smooth boulders.

The meadow stretched on conveniently, changing slightly as they neared the waterfall, a 15-minute walk from where Nox had parked. The floral scent mingled with that of the dirt and grass, and it eased the tension in Guadalupe’s body.

If Nox were lying and he really was going to kill her, she was glad that it was here.

"Bella,” Nox called out, and she turned to the sound of his voice, seeing him lean back on his hands as if he were at some photo-shoot. “Come sit.” He beckoned, and she walked with quivering knees towards the unearthly gorgeous man.

They sat close, their shoulders pressed against each other.

“Guadalupe,” Nox whispered, and her entire body began to quiver as his fingers gently tilted her chin so that she faced him. “I want to know you... everything about you. Can you give me that?”

Guadalupe gulped. She didn't know why she wanted to give into his command. She didn't know why she trusted him. But her heart wanted to give him anything and everything he wanted, and it scared her more than anything. “As long as you reciprocate, and keep your promise.”

Though it wasn’t said outright, Nox knew exactly what it was: Don’t be like him; don’t hurt me.

“Of course.” He replied with a slowly growing smile that made her heart flutter.

It was late.

It was damn late.

How did Guadalupe know?

Well, apart from the lightning bugs that danced around her and Nox, she could hear distant howling.

Her surroundings had faded away once she dared herself to look into his silver eyes, and keep that contact.

It wasn’t that hard either; they were so enrapturing, she didn’t notice when the sun had set. It would have been so beautiful to see the sky change colors in an environment like this.

But all she saw was silver until she could barely see at all. She had looked around in shock, surprised that she could barely make out a few feet in front of her.

Nox chuckled as he shifted beside her, then she felt his warm fingers under her chin. “Your hand, bella?”

Her fingers wrapped around his and she was off her feet, her face pressed against his chest. She almost thought that it rumbled under her.

“Let’s get you home.” Guadalupe hummed in agreement, her fingers still wrapped around his.

“I can’t really see, I’m sorry.” She whispered into the darkness, and she heard his chuckle, the one that brought along those unholy thoughts she’s unfamiliar with. “It’s alright bella. I can manage just fine.”

The first howl. It sounded dangerously close, and full of malice.

The pair stiffened; one in fear, and one in brewing anger.

’Just once, just fucking ONCE, I’d like to believe that they could leave me the fuck alone. But nope. They just have to try breaching my territory at every chance they get. Fucking pieces of shit.′ Nox was seething, but his gorgeous girl didn’t need to know that.

He just has to get her out of here as quickly as possible.

With that thought in mind, his grip on her hand tightened and they began to walk briskly. “We need to get out of here quickly, bella.”

He had wanted their walk back to the car to be slow and peaceful, romantic even. But that howl was too close for comfort and he was not putting her in danger. Not when he just got her.

Guadalupe was choked up with fear. All she could to was whimper in agreement and try to match his long strides.

A second. A third.

Closer and closer. Guadalupe was just about ready to break into a sprint.

A fourth. It was just behind them.

Guadalupe squeaked, and picked up her pace, almost now dragging Nox along behind her. She gulped, needing to let out her last words as she was more than certain that they were going to die here tonight.

“Nox, if we die-”

“We are not going to die, bella.”

"If we die Nox, I just want you to know that I’m glad that you bumped into me that day, and that you continued to follow me even though I tried to get rid of you. Thank you for bringing me here and... and... I hope that we meet in another lifeti-oh!” Her heartfelt final words were interrupted when a snarling beast blocked their path.

"Ay, Jesús, María y José, salven nuestras almas.” The prayer tumbled out of her lips as the beast began to slowly advance, crouched and ready to pounce.

She leapt a foot in the air when another menacing growl came from behind them, and as she turned, they were surrounded on all sides by snarling beasts, all snapping and inching closer to them,

“¡Ay, Señor Jesucristo, vamos a morir!" Guadalupe cried softly, as the tears breached and began to pour down her cheeks.

“Me alegraré de morir a tu lado, Nox." She whispered, oblivious to the fact that the man next to her was contributing to the deadly growls that filled the once peaceful night.

The standoff induced more fear as the seconds ticked on.

With a snarl, one of the wolves lunged for Guadalupe, and two screams filled the air: one of fear, and one of boiling rage.

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