Stefan’s POV
I brace my palms against the edge of the counter as I stare back at myself in the bathroom mirror. My glowing eyes stare back at me as if mocking me. It feels like it’s someone else looking back at me.
“Get the fuck out of my head,” I growl.
‘I’m in more than your head.’
I freeze as the reply comes. I wasn’t exactly expecting one. But the fucker has already made it clear that he has a voice of his own, hasn’t he?
“What do you want?” I grit out.
‘Her.’
I scoff and let go of the counter. That’s just fabulous, isn’t it? “I thought you were here for some grand scheme of revenge against humans.”
‘Yeah, that’s what I told your mother.’
I look back at the mirror, narrowing my eyes at…well, myself. What’s that supposed to mean? Did he lie as to why he wanted to hijack someone’s body?
“Why are you really here, then?”
‘For her.’
He’s going to keep up with that, isn’t he?
“Look, you already do whatever you please with my wolf. How about—”
‘My wolf, you mean.’
I pause.
‘That’s my wolf. You wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t chosen you as a host. You wouldn’t be alive, let alone have a wolf. I’m the one who lets you use my wolf, not the other way around. And that’s why I can take him back whenever I please. Now, all I’m asking is that you share your human body too. It’s only fair, don’t you think?’
My hands fist at my sides. He can’t be serious.
A soft knock comes from the door. “Stefan? Are you okay?”
‘Go back to her.’
I shut my eyes and take deep breaths. He said it. His wolf, my human body. That means that in the same way he kicks me out of his head when he seizes the wolf, I too can kick him out of my head when he shows up uninvited.
Another knock comes, interrupting my attempt to gain calmness.
“I’m okay,” I call back. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Okay,” her reply comes back.
I shut my eyes once again and breathe deeply. I’m no longer turned on, so it doesn’t take long to bring myself to a state of mind where I’m in total control of everything.
When I open my eyes again and look in the mirror, they are back to normal, with no ring in sight. And no snarky ancient werewolf prince in my head, either. Was he even a prince?
I head back towards the door and open it. When I walk back into the bedroom, I catch sight of Gwen sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting. She has put her dress back on.
I feel her eyes on me as I move to the closet and pull out a shirt. “I’m sorry, something came up,” I tell her, my back to her.
Because how the hell do I even explain what just happened? One minute, I was between her legs getting drunk on her scent. The next, I was running off into the bathroom.
“What happened?” she asks.
I turn around, doing up the buttons on my shirt. I get a glimpse of her eyes. There’s a lot of confusion swirling in them. I don’t even want to begin imagining what’s going on in her head right now.
But I want to make sure she knows it’s not her fault.
Done with the buttons, I go to her and brush some hair from her face. “I can’t be with you tonight. There’s something I need to take care of first.”
“What?” A frown mars her brow. “Is it because of that light in your eyes?”
I nod.
“Why is it an issue? Everything was fine the last time we were together.”
“My wolf is restless. I can’t be with you when I’m like that.”
“But you won’t hurt me.”
She isn’t asking whether I would hurt her, she’s stating that I won’t. Like she’s so sure…
But she’s right, isn’t she? The one behind all this isn’t looking to hurt her. If anything, he’s obsessed with her.
“I need to make sure of that,” I tell her, caressing the side of her face gently. “Why don’t you go to bed?”
She reaches up to touch my hand that’s on her face. “Will you lie with me?”
I suck in a breath. Can I sleep next to her without getting worked up?
“Yes,” I tell her. “Stay in bed, I’ll be back soon.”
She nods and I step back, slip on a pair of slippers, and leave the room.
I go down the hallway, past the staircase, and into the other wing of the house. I stop outside Levi’s room and knock once. When several seconds pass without a response, I knock again and call his name.
A few seconds later, he appears, his hair all messy, his chest bare. “Something wrong?” he asks, his brow furrowed. Right. I’ve never come looking for him in his room in the middle of the night before, have I?
“I need to talk to you,” I tell him, making a move towards his door.
But he pulls the door closed so he’s occupying the only gap remaining. “Can we talk downstairs?”
I lift an eyebrow and try to look past his shoulder. “Got a guest in there?”
He works his jaw, looking every bit guilty. “I’ll be down in a minute,” he says instead.
“Do I know her?”
He shifts on his feet, and then moves back, shutting the door as he goes. “A minute, boss.”
I nod, chuckling, then turn to go downstairs.
Levi appears at the bar more than a minute later, looking more put together than he was a few minutes ago. Now that I’m actually alert, I don’t miss the smell of sex on him.
He goes straight for a tumbler and pours a finger of whiskey. It isn’t until he downs it all that he asks, “So, what necessitated this midnight rendezvous?”
“I’m sorry for interrupting your–”
“It’s nothing,” he tells me.
Right.
I rest an elbow on the counter and shove my hand in my hair. “So, you mentioned that your old pack had some great healers.”
His brow drops, probably wondering why I’m bringing up the pack he left more than ten years ago. “That’s right. That’s what they are known for.”
“I know it’s been a long time, but I’m wondering if you could know someone who could have something to suppress a wolf.”
His frown deepens. “Suppress?”
I nod.
He takes a seat on the stool next to mine. “Has your beast been giving you too much trouble lately?”
“You could say that.”
“But you know that if you suppressed him, you wouldn’t be able to use him. Even in battle. He would go… Quiet.”
And that’s exactly what I want. Though I know by 'quiet', he doesn’t mean what I have in mind.
I nod. “I know.”
Levi sighs. “Are you sure about this, Stefan? I mean, I’m not even sure I can find someone who can help you with that, but if I do…should you be doing that? You’re Alpha. You can’t just go tucking your wolf away whenever. Who knows who’s planning a revenge attack?”
“What I’m looking for is a little more complicated than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“First, there’s something you need to know. Something that cannot leave this room.”
“You got it.”
“You know when I was suggesting that my wolf was his own beast and you thought that was crazy?”
He nods.
“Well, it wasn’t so crazy after all. Apparently, my wolf is some five-hundred-year-old prince who wanted to come back and needed a host to do that.”
Levi’s face screws up in confusion. “What?”
“Yeah. He talks to me nowadays, by the way “
He gives me a look as if I’ve gone out of my mind, then reaches for the whiskey and pours another one. “What the fuck are you saying, Stefan?”
“I’m saying that I have an intruder in my own body, and I want to silence him.”
“How did that even…”
“My mother. She had a couple of miscarriages and sought the help of the world beyond to ensure I lived. She got herself a deal. And I got myself an asshole in my head.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“You think? As if taking over my wolf is not enough, he has been trying to get all in my business while I’m in this form too.”
“What does he want, to hijack you or something?”
That’s exactly what he wants to do, isn’t it?
“I’ve realised that… If I’m in less control of my body, that’s when he is able to surface. Just like how it happens with the wolf. Like the other day, when I got a bit drunk? He had a fucking party. I want to turn things around. I want something that will make it impossible for him to be in control. Not necessarily suppress my beast, but tame him so he doesn’t pull any surprises on me anymore. This is my body, and I want to be calling all the shots.”
Levi reaches forward and grasps my shoulder firmly. “I got you. I’ll ask around, see what I can find.”
“Thanks, bro.”
Levi pulls back, then frowns. “Wait. So, right now, is he like listening in?”
I shake my head. “When my eyes glow? That’s when he shows up.”
“Yeah, that was always weird. But the explanation is weirder. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you’ve got someone inside you. Like… Damn. Know his name yet?”
I growl. “Nah, I’m not interested in making friends.”
“Gotcha.”
“So you’re really not going to tell me who’s warming your bed?”
“Gentlemen don’t kiss and tell.”
“Oh, you’re a gentleman now?”
He downs his whiskey and gets off his stool. “Through and through. Can I get back to my lady love now, please?”
“Lady love?” I chuckle. “Since you asked so nicely, sure.”
He clasps me on the shoulder again and winks. “Be careful with yours, boss. Or your little uninvited guest is going to snatch her.”
He has no idea how right he is.