“We’re no help to you there, son.”

A thunderous voice from behind them made the gamer jump off the couch and turn towards the open door. Standing there, barely in the room, was Dakota with a girl about John’s height leaning to look around the lycan blockade with her beautiful brown eyes.

“Uh, Dakota, Sir. I, uh...” He cursed himself for stammering, but Kiana chuckled, watching her mate as she slowly stood and stepped around the couch.

“Come now, Koda, there’s no need to scare the young man. John is brand new to the Abyss and he saved Tala’s life. We can trust him.” Her soothing voice washed over the group and the mated pair made eye contact, engaging in silent conversation for a few minutes while John shifted his weight, getting more agitated in the uncomfortable silence. Dakota grunted, reaching back to swat away the feminine hand pinching his arm before the brute of a man turned back to the lanky teen in his living room.

“Hmm… So. You’ve got some kind of magic that lets you scry for information about us?” John nodded in response to the other man’s question, confused and alarmed that he knew about Observe, but he was too intimidated to speak as the lycan looked him over before giving another subtle nod to his wife.

Kiana gently touched John’s shoulder, drawing his attention back to her **** aura. “We can give you the name and contact information of someone that may be able to help train you, but we only train our own.” She smiled a little sheepishly, showing slightly elongated canines. “No hard feelings, but it’s dangerous to let humans see too much. I’m sure you understand...”

“Oh, yeah, no. Of course,” he hurried to reassure her. “Any help you can give me would be awesome, but I get it. Looking out for your own and all.”

While John and Kiana talked, Dakota remained exactly where he was, clearly blocking entrance from the doorway until a soft whine from the girl behind him made him sigh and step fully into the room to let her in. The movement caught the gamer’s eye and she smiled brightly at him, flashing another set of pristine, fang-like teeth. ‘Is that a sign of lycanthropy or something?’

There was a slight bounce in her step, showing off her perky b-cup breasts with each footfall. The simple cream colored sundress she wore stood out against her perfectly tanned skin, and John had to rip his eyes away from tracing the modest curves of her athletic figure as she spoke. “Your name’s John?” He nodded mutely, stunned into silence by her musical voice. Here she stood, a living fantasy, easily prettier than any of the girls at Ashcroft, and yet she was talking to him, and smiling! He felt out of his depth standing in the same room, let alone trying to talk to her. “I’m Tala. It’s nice to properly meet you.”

“Y-yeah, you too.” He offered her his hand as he tried to connect his memory of a young grey wolf to the woman in front of him. She was beautiful. Chestnut hair fell loosely down her back, the cut angled slightly to frame her face and bring attention to her eyes that reminded him of pools of molten chocolate. Her dress showed off her body and her skin was soft and smooth when she put her hand in his. Rather than just shaking his hand, she smiled playfully and used it to pull him forward a step and kissed his cheek, taking advantage of his distraction in the blink of an eye. A low growl came from Dakota’s direction, but Tala just giggled.

“Thank you for saving me. And for keeping your promise.”

John blushed, his body reacting to how close she was standing to him with her hand still in his. Kiana subtly nudged her mate out of the room to let the teens talk, and their voices faded as they walked out the front door together. “No, thank you for saving me. I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t stopped that thing.” As John spoke, his voice seemed to deepen a little, and he watched her eyes glaze over with some unknown desire.

She shook her head, stepping even closer to him, so close that their bodies were nearly touching. John could feel the heat coming off her and smelled a hint of the forest pines on her skin. “I was running on instinct and doing my job, but you,” she kissed his lips, a gentle peck that shocked him again and brought his cock to full mast, “you jumped back in and risked your life to save mine. You called for help when I was hurt. And, this is the thing that’s most important to me,” her hand traced the pattern on his borrowed shirt as she looked into his eyes, “you stayed with me, keeping your promise, even though you were injured yourself and Bly tried to stop you…” Her voice drifted off as her eyes flicked over his face, a hint of nervous anticipation hidden in the swirling depths of brown as she continued softly, “I want to thank you. Properly…” he licked his lips as her hand trailed lower and her warm breath washed over his face, his vision blurring. “If you’re interested…”

John’s mind raced, trying to understand if she was really asking what he thought she was. ‘In porn, a proper thank you is-’ his knees locked painfully, cutting off his train of thought, when Tala’s finger traced over the zipper in his jeans. The sound of her nail clicking over every tooth of his zipper as the slight buzz teased his straining bulge, the tantalizing touch promising much, much more.. He groaned, his wildest dreams coming true, and she smirked, regaining her confidence and raising an eyebrow questioningly. “Y-yeah…” he gulped, “I’m, uhm, I’m interested.”

“Good!” She tightened her grip on his hand and started pulling him back towards the room he’d woken up in. “According to everyone I know, nothing makes you feel more alive after a good fight than some good sex,” winking at him before continuing, “and I’m not some little whimpering human female; I won’t follow you like a puppy for taking my virginity.”

That last word had his mind frozen in surprise. ‘Virgin? Really?’ He looked over her body again before her giggle eased him out of his shock. Her laughter was like a melody of bells, and John let it play on repeat in his head a moment as the scent of her skin drifted towards him again. ‘This girl is everything I could ask for, and she’s actually begging me to be her first…’ His fantasies spiked his libido, his mind practically numbing as he lost himself in it a little. ‘Fuck it, I’m not going to lose this chance...’

“Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if you did,” he hesitated, looking over her lithe body as she walked; the bounce in her step, walking on the balls of her feet, gave him delightful glimpses of the tops of her thighs, and he fought the urge to reach for them, instead occupying his hands by closing the curtain behind them. “So, you’re not seeing anyone?”

“Nope. Are you?” A slight pause in her stride towards the bed was the only indication John had that she would have been disappointed if he were in a relationship, and he smiled, taking a bold step towards her and letting her turn back to face him before he answered.