Masquerade Madness

Cassidy’s POV

Alex and I had planned to go to a festival in the next town. The first night of the festival was a masquerade party and I didn't want to miss it. The town was about half a day’s ride away so we had to leave in the morning. Our lodgings had been taken care of by a good friend of father's, Lord Jacob. We would stay at his manor while we were there.

We left early, at dawn, not without grumbling from Alex though. He's so cute when he tries to hide under the covers. One of the things I learnt from him was that werewolves ran hot and were, therefore, more sensitive to the cold.

The ride was fairly peaceful and we chatted amicably. Soon, it was noon and we had a couple of hours more on the road before we arrived at our destination, but we decided to stop for a bit at a pub for lunch.

A busty waitress came to collect our orders as we sat in the booth at the corner.

"Hi! What can I get you?" She asked, looking straight at Alex.

"Can I get a Pub’s recommendation and some water please?" I asked.

"How about a slice of shepherd pie and a treat for you, honey?" She said, ignoring me and winking at Alex.

I gasped mentally. This woman!

"No, thank you. I'll just have a steak, medium-rare and water please." Alex's voice brought me back to earth.

"Sure thing, handsome." She said, smiling flirtatiously at Alex. The audacity!

I glared at her as she walked away. The amount of hip-swaying was absolutely uncalled for.

"Cass, why do you look like you want to murder someone?"

"What? I do not!"

"Yeah you do," he said, nodding. Then his eyes widened. "Were you jealous?"

"You wish!" I cried.

He just smirked. I opened my mouth to retort but the waitress came back. She deliberately bent over when she placed our plates down, pushing her breasts into Alex's face. Alex looked a little strained. Hah! Wait till she realises that he doesn't like girls like that, I think. She slid a piece of paper into his hands and strutted away. I glared holes in the back of her head.

Meet me at the back it said, with a little heart drawn at the end.

"Are you going?" I asked, trying for casual and probably failing.

Alex looked at me as if I'd gone mad. "Of course not! Don't be ridiculous, we are literally on a date right now. Why would you even say that?" Then he smiled brightly, "Besides, I have you. I'm happy as long as you are."

I melted a little at those words. He is the sweetest.

Two and a half hours later, we were finally at the gates of Edenis. Lord Jacob was waiting at the gates for us.

"Welcome to Edenis, gentlemen. I trust you had a safe journey?"

"Of course, thank you Lord Jacob." I answered, smiling.

"Oh, just Jacob is fine."

I thanked him for accommodating us and Alex handed him a bottle of wine from the royal brewery.

Jacob was a handsome man in his thirties and quite recently married, we’d found out.

"I heard you've recently just married?" I heard Alex ask.

"Indeed I have. My wife and I are expecting a baby soon," he told us, love and happiness shining in his eyes. "Now if you gentlemen don't mind, I'd like to get back home to my wife. She's just about ready to pop any time. I don’t want to accidentally miss it, you know?"

"Of course Jacob. Let's hurry." Alex smoothly agreed.

~

Alexander's POV

Jacob's wife was a lovely young woman he affectionately called Sandy. She adored Cassidy and I, claiming we made such a perfect couple. I agree wholeheartedly. Cass is perfect for me I thought, fingering the small band in my pocket. He already smelled like mine to other supernatural creatures and all that was left to do was to make it official in six more months.

Our outfits for the masquerade were chosen, courtesy of Sandy. Mine was a dark grey suit and a black mask with swirls on the sides. Cassidy's was a forest green suit with a darker green mask. Anyone would automatically assume we were a couple, not that we weren't. Just that our suits made it obvious.

The party had begun by the time we got there. The dance floor was already full of people. Many were not human. I sniffed out a few elfin and seraphs and a couple of incubi. People at parties tended to be the perfect prey for incubi, but considering I had yet to properly claim Cassidy as my mate, it would be safer to keep them apart. I grimaced inwardly, incubi were dangerous, I'd have to keep a lookout for them.

I pulled Cassidy onto the dance floor and twirled him around to the beat. He kept treading on my toes but it's okay, he was really adorable when apologized breathlessly, cheeks all flushed. I couldn't resist kissing him. Nipping at his lips, slipping my tongue between them when he gasped into the kiss.

I kissed him until we were flushed and panting. We stopped at a corner to catch out breaths and get a drink. I told Cassidy to stay there while I went to get us drinks. He nodded and pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. I love him so much.

At the makeshift bar, I grabbed two tankards of ale and made my way back to Cass.

He wasn't there.

My heartbeat picked up. I pushed the tankards into some random stranger’s hands and tried to sniff out Cassidy’s honeyed apple scent. I whined at the smell of distress and arousal in his trail. I frowned, these two scents didn't go together. Unless... I sniffed again. My breath caught in my throat.

Incubus.