[private] Sochi;

[sochi]

sochi

Life has settled into something still and quiet.

She does not love it—does not love the way that she has to spend hours patrolling a border that does not ever change, that does not ever show the tides of war that she so craves. This is not to say that she does not love the quiet moments with her family. She does. She loves watching her children grow—especially now that Nikolaus is home. She loves teaching them to hunt and learn how to protect themselves.

But none of this changes the fact that she is a predator.

None of this dulls the hunger that continues to growl in her chest.

But it all fades, curls away when she glances up and sees him approaching as dark as a blackhole. She angles her iridescent head, frowning in thought as he approaches. Castile does not hesitate to step toward her and she doesn’t stiffen or fight the embrace. She gladly leans into his, letting her lips wander down the  strong arch of his neck. She listens for a second, trying to understand what he’s saying.

She withdraws abruptly, her gaze sharpening on his features.

“They took it from you?” her voice is dark, deep, rolling like smoke across her tongue. “Why would they do that?” She can’t imagine what it would be like to lose the tigress, to feel trapped in only one of her forms. It would be like cutting off a limb. The realization softens her features, dulls the anger that roars in the back of her throat as she comes to term with what it means. She presses her nose against his jaw.

“We will be ready no matter what comes,” she murmurs. “It doesn’t matter what they’ve taken.”

She pulls back so that her silver eyes can study his.

“They did not take this.”

well, I can try to get you closer but I know you’d break your neck just to see the stars
and if we don’t dare to hold it then this reckless wandering love was never ours