fantasyanimegirl283: I cannot help myself with the sugar daddy jokes hahahaha and I'm glad to hear you like the Rex-Iris interactions. Who knows? I might bring more of them LOL. Hmm... will this lead to Klaus' pink heart event? You'll see soon enough. FYI, his purple and pink heart events are the ones that put the nail in the coffin for me to pick him as my husband in SOS... so I definitely won't go half-assed when I'm writing them. *wink*

Raelyn could not help but keep thinking about the woman they met back in the Trade Depot. After her brief exchange with Klaus, she excused herself—all the time, not even giving her an acknowledging nod to her. It was not really that woman's dismissive behavior towards her that disturbed Raelyn; it was more how Klaus' reacted to her presence.

She suggested that they could part ways in town and Klaus could have some rest since it was not too dark yet, but he would have none of it. He held her hand throughout the way, but otherwise, he was silent—so different from the jovial mood he had when they walked back to town.

When they reached her doorstep, Klaus gestured for her to enter first. The pinkette took a step forward, but lingered and turned to face him. He was still there, watching her, just like the old times. Yet, his face looked so somber. Raelyn reached out to him and hugged him tightly, pressing her face against his broad chest. It took him a few moments to get over his initial shock and hugged her back, enveloping her in his arms.

"I… I don't know what happened, but don't be sad. It upsets me to see you so."

"Ah, I apologize. I did not intend to."

She shook her head. "Don't fret over it. Is there something—anything—that you want to tell me? Ought to tell me?"

He stared at her for a long time without saying anything. The look on his face, however, suggested to Raelyn that he was actually considering her question carefully. There was something.

Finally, he reached out to her, touching her cheek. His hand was large enough to cover the entirety of her cheek; something that she found to be pleasing. "I'm very fortunate to have you by my side," he told her. "Very, very fortunate."

She wanted to believe him, but how could she when he looked so sad?

Iris opened a jar of cookies and offered it to Raelyn, but the young woman refused. "Allie? Never heard of that name before. Then again, I lost all contact with Klaus since he left—that's when he's around thirteen, I think. We only reestablished contact after he finished his apprenticeship."

Raelyn pouted. "There must be something with that woman."

"Why don't you just ask him?"

"I did! I asked him whether he has something he wants—or should—tell me, and he just said something else."

"He can be very evasive when he wants to, can't he? Try to be more direct this time."

"Like… 'what's the deal with that woman in black?' kind of direct?"

Iris smiled sweetly. "That's a start."

Raelyn studied Iris carefully. Iris was willowy and definitely beautiful; so was the woman from the previous day. She then looked at her own hands and squeezed her arms; she could feel her muscles tensing up. She was a scrawny girl, but growing up in a farm—then managing a farm of her own—has molded her body to be tough, not tender. Her hands were drier and coarser that she'd like, although she had worn gardening gloves to reduce the damage. She was not that tall, either; she could barely reach his chin even in her boots.

"What are you thinking, Raelyn?"

Raelyn shook her head, but still she could not shake off the thoughts of how she was so different from the women in Klaus' life, at least physically speaking.

"Instead of sulking here, why don't we take a walk? Maybe some fresh air will help."

"Yeah… let's do that," Raelyn agreed while she stood up. Iris smiled and linked their arms together.

When they reached the first floor, they heard some voices coming from the Antique Shop. From where they were, Raelyn could see Klaus' back profile.

"Klaus?"

He turned around, and Raelyn swore her heart skipped a beat when she finally learned whom his companion was. She clenched and unclenched her fingers, then clenching them again, trying to contain the sudden anger that welled up in her heart together with the tears in her eyes. She was so overcome by those emotions that she could not process anything to say. When simply looking at him was too overwhelming, Raelyn turned around and left the shop and began running across the town. She had nowhere specific in mind—just somewhere far away from Klaus and Allie.

She heard him calling out for her several times along the way, but she ignored him. She just ran, ran and ran until she reached the Trade Depot. It was near the closing time for the Trade Depot, so there were not many people around. There, Raelyn decided to stop and take a breather; there was no way Klaus was catching up to her, anyway.

But, she was dead wrong.

"Raelyn!"

Crap.

Raelyn took off for another run again, but she failed to notice the incoming wagon before it was too late. And from all time, it was this exact moment when soreness began to invade her leg and her breath became short again as her body gradually losing the initial adrenaline rush.

Oh no.

Just as she began to fear for her life, she felt someone literally sweep her off. She felt her legs off the ground for a few moments before her body began to fall back to the ground. She prepared herself for the crash, but there was almost none. When she opened her eyes, she realized that Klaus had pushed her off and then hugged her to reduce the impact.

She rose and blinked a few times, trying to process what had just transpired in less than a minute, but Klaus was quicker in the take. He sat up, and when Raelyn tried to get away he held her wrist and glared at her.

"Are you a fucking idiot?!"

Raelyn jaw hung open at the profanity Klaus hurled at her. It was not the first time she heard him curse, but definitely the first time it was aimed at her—although, in retrospect, she might have deserved it.

"What did you think you were doing, standing in front of a damn moving carriage like that?! You could have been hurt—or worse, killed!"

She could only cringe at his words and hung her head down. It reminded her of the first time he had scolded her. She was being reckless that time, too, but his scolding vastly different in terms of the amount of profanities he employed. In his defense, what happened back then and this time had a drastically mortality rate to it. If he hadn't stepped in, she could've been literally killed this time.

Ashe ran towards them with a pale face. "Oh my gosh! Are you two alright?!"

Klaus stood up and then helped Raelyn back on her feet. Raelyn dusted her skirt for a few times before facing the merchant.

"Uh… we're fine, Ms. Ashe. Sorry for running without looking around," Raelyn said.

"No, no, I should be sorry for not being more alert. I'm so glad you both are not injured."

Ashe bowed deeply and both Klaus and Raelyn returned the gesture. After she left, Klaus turned to face her. "Raelyn, are you going to tell me why are you running like that?"

Raelyn looked around. Thanks to the earlier incident, everyone was looking at them now. Her heart was apprehended by the fear and embarrassment of being a center of attention in public.

"Alright, if you would rather not speak of it, I see no reason pressing you about this issue," Klaus remarked coldly.

He turned to leave, but Raelyn—in another spur of impulse—reached for his hand and held him. "This is no place to talk about it," she said. "Let's… let's go to your house."

Klaus was surprised, but he agreed. They were silent the whole way to each other; the only words spoken was a curt greeting when they passed by people they knew—including Iris and Mistel.

He opened the door for her, and they headed inside together. However, Raelyn quickly made her way back to the door and turned the lock. She closed her eyes and recalled Iris' advice:

Be more direct.

She was not sure whether what she had in mind would be the kind of direct Iris had meant, but if this was not direct, she didn't know what was. Raelyn took a deep breath, gathering her courage with it, and turned around to face Klaus who was already waiting for her to say something.

"Make me your woman."

There. She said it. She could feel heat flaring up on her cheeks, but she already said it. She saw Klaus' eyes widened in shock. "You don't understand what you're saying…"

"Stop treating me like a kid!" Raelyn snapped in annoyance. "I'm gonna show you I'm not one."

First, she took off the kerchief around her head as well as her loose braid, letting her hair loose in front of him for the first time. Then, it was her apron that got thrown to the floor. All the while, she studied his expression; his eyes widened, but that was all there was to it.

Next, she took off the upper part of her two-piece dress by pulling it over her head, revealing her white camisole and her nude bra straps. Klaus was still where he was, and she began to doubt herself.

Does he really not want me in that way?

She reached for the zipper of her skirt on her back; her hands were shaking. Before she could even reach the zipper, however, Klaus had quickly closed the distance between them in two large steps, took her arms and pinned them above her with one hand.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

She woke up not knowing the time, but the other side of the bed was empty. She looked at the mess on the floor thanks to the carelessly thrown clothes here and there. Her heart began to beat rapidly when she recalled what had just happened.

"Do you want some tea?" Klaus voice came from the kitchen.

"Tea… sounds good," she replied hesitantly.

Raelyn peeked behind comforter only to see her own naked body. When reality began to sink in, especially on how she had… behaved the last few hours, she quickly made a cocoon out of herself and the comforter in shame and put herself at the corner of the bed.

What the hell did I do?! Noooooooooo

She was still in her self-made cocoon when Klaus came back with two cups of freshly brewed tea. Raelyn head poked out from the cocoon to see his amused face. He was wearing his pants, but nothing to cover his upper body—his tattoos and scars were all there for her to see.

"What's with the cocoon, love? Is there anything else I have not seen?"

The pinkette ducked down to hide her red face. "You must think of me as some sort of loose women, throwing myself at you like that!"

She felt Klaus climbed back up to the bed and sit next to her. "Hardly. That was… your first time, right?"

Her head poked back out and she looked at him. "How did you—"

He simply nodded at a direction, prompting her to avert her eyes following him. It was then she saw his answer—the fresh bloodstain on his sheet.

"Ah…"

"I have to admit that I find your assertiveness to be… surprising—and refreshing"

"You're just trying to sweet-talk me right now."

Klaus smiled as he offered her a cup of tea. She looked at him for a few moments before releasing herself from her cocoon, took the cup, and settled herself next to him. "I must admit, I'm glad that I'm your first."

"Huh?"

"You've been with Ibuki for quite some time, so naturally I'd assume you've gone through… several things with him."

"Don't tell me you thought I—wait, you fantasized about me?"

Klaus shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm a healthy man. Those kinds of thoughts happen from time to time without my being able to control it."

"If you put it that way…" she trailed off as she took a sip from her tea. It was made the way she liked it. "So, am I right to assume that I'm not your first?"

"You're right."

His answer made her heart fell heavy for a moment, but then again, Klaus was much older than her. With that good look and the kind of life he led before this, surely he had done this before.

"…with Allie?"

She glanced at the corner of her eyes to see his reaction. He held his breath for a moment, but smiled and wrapped his arm around her to pull her closer. "Is that what all is this about? Allie?"

"I saw the way you looked at her that day. It was… different. The women in your lives, the ones I know about… they're so graceful and beautiful. I am none of them. You… you look so good with that woman, too."

"Let's answer your question first, shall we? Allie's father was my first mentor, who then introduced me to a perfumer who made me his apprentice. As for her… I did have feelings for her back then, but she left when she found out about my involvement with gangs."

"So… not her?"

"No, not her," he assured her. "Now, move on to your worries. First and foremost, you are correct when you said you're different from the women in my life. But, I must say that I disagree with your evaluation about how I look good with other women. Rather, no matter how things might seem to be to a third party, don't you agree that the most important factor in a relationship is the feelings of the two people involved in it? I love you for who you are, and I shall choose no other—even when given the choice."

Part of her worries allleviated, Raelyn began to relax and leaned on his shoulder. "You're so mature… then again, maybe that comes with age."

To her surprise, he laughed. "You're incorrect again. I'm not nearly as mature or secure as you think I am. I lose control of myself from time to time… truth to be told, at times, I'm worried about your popularity among men."

"Huh? I am?"

"You don't realize it?" Klaus looked genuinely surprised. "Then, I shouldn't have mentioned it… but since we're already on it… yes, you are. Remember the first time you modelled for Iris? Those men were crowding around you like bees to a flower. I had other examples, but I think that should suffice for now."

"Okay… what of it?"

"I couldn't help but to think that one day you might leave me for a younger man."

"What?! Ridiculous!"

Klaus chuckled. "Thank you, that really relieves me," he said. "That being said, I hope from this time on you will also believe that I love you enough that the thought of leaving you for a woman who quote-unquote looks better with me is as ridiculous as my thoughts of you leaving for a younger man."

His words gave her heart the warm and fuzzy feeling, and more importantly, one of security. "Thank you."

"Next time, let's discuss our worries more openly to one another, yes?"

Raelyn nodded in agreement.

"After all, we've gotten to see all of each other."

She elbowed him lightly on his ribs. "That joke is uncalled for."

He laughed as he pulled her closed and kissed the crown of her head. "It's not a joke. It's the truth, love."

Raelyn was at the Piedmont area the next time she saw Allie. When the two of them acknowledged each other, no one made a move until Allie broke the silence.

"So… are you Klaus' lover? Do you know who he really is?"

"In a wolf pack, female wolves fought for the right to mate with the alpha—be the alpha female. No other females can mate with the alpha…"

"What—"

Raelyn looked at her straight in her eyes. "The Alpha is mine, and I'm definitely not keen to share."

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Thanks for reading! Please rate and review!

A/N: Whew. This chapter is legit borderline M-rated LOL, although then again, Klaus' in-game convo suggested that his not all innocent and what when it comes to these things. Should I really write the M-rated part? What do you guys think? Hmmm