The fire still crackled in the hearth, creating pleasant warmth to dispel the chill that was always present in this realm. Clarissa was still fast asleep next him, her limbs entwined in the sheets. He turned on his back to stare at the intricately carved ceiling. Mel’s thoughts whirled as the events of the past week rushed through his mind. Last night was a mistake. He realized he could not afford to attach himself to anyone, let alone a young wolf emotionally scarred almost more than he was. With a deep sigh, he ran a hand over his face. They both had an enormous responsibility that they carried on their shoulders. The stone was too valuable to fall into the hands of the Xon or any demon. The world was fucked up enough as it is without having some demon with an inferiority complex taking over and fucking it up even more. There were things that humans could never know about, should not know about as it would alter their very existence. She was the key to defeat Xon and Mel vowed to protect her.
