div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; visibility: visible; float: none; box-shadow: none; color: #2a2a2a; border-style: solid initial initial initial;" role="complementary"
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; word-break: break-word; background: transparent; text-align: center; box-shadow: none;"a style="color: #666666; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 17.1469px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; box-shadow: none;" href=" /works/31032419/chapters/103082388"Chapter 10/a: Chao scala/h3
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div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 287.844px; float: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; box-shadow: none; color: #2a2a2a;" role="article"
h3 id="work" class="landmark heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 0.25em; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.125em; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; word-break: break-word; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent; box-shadow: none; border-color: initial initial #333333 initial; border-style: initial initial double initial;"Chapter Text/h3
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Trouble in paradise, huh?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha looked up from her shaking hands. It had been a pretty silent ride till this point, as she wiped her cheek./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"To be honest, Corpse had frightened her with his mention of being his mate but she didn't understand why./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Jack?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Right o. Lass!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"There was something sinister in that bubbly tone of his./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""I thought you two loved each other?" Jack asked./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha said nothing./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"They might not have been completely in love, but they were doing a great job at being.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Whatever it is they were./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"For Corpse it was important to establish more than just a flimsy sexual thing. So in the beginning of their relationship tried to push the boundaries by taking her to see Disney on Ice but that only made her upset./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"However, her mood brightened when Corpse surprised her at her doorstep one morning with a picnic. He had pulled all of the strings he could, found out that her favorite ice cream was at a diner across the street, then picked up the cones. She decided to look at the bright side and had a ball./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"They spent a lot of time bonding on a lot of levels, sharing secrets about themselves and their pasts. Or at least what they had been willing to share./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"It made him realize or at least feel that she was too good of a person for him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"So he agreed to whatever she defined as a relationship and he withdrew himself and his heart back into safety. Only seeing her once a month or more only by accident or he needed a plus one to a party./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"While he had his way of treating her well, he had a hard time being there emotionally. He didn't know what to do with all of his feelings./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"It didn't particularly help that she seemed to keep changing her mind about him, constantly trying to push him away and in turn, push away his own emotions. Her uncertainty only turned to hurt when she realized that he couldn't stop the on-and-off./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha was having a pretty hard time all on her own. Having an intense work life wasn't doing anything good for her mental health./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"The thought of him having a new girlfriend never left her mind. A girlfriend who would had her shit together and would be a good support system for him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Recently, in the past year alot of stuff had changed. Sasha didn't know when or why but it had./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Maybe it was that time on New year's Eve, she was in a bad place emotionally and had come to him. Most likely because her closest friends were out of town and Finn, well Finn had basically been AWOL for half a decade./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"After she collapsed in Corpse's arms he realized that he didn't care how angry she made him anymore, and he wanted to be there for her and protect her. Once he got her to his apartment, it was only a matter of time before they ended up in bed together./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"It wasn't their first time but it was the first time that she let someone get inside her completely and really love her. It was probably the greatest moment of Corpse's immortal life, but that's not to say that he was in a hurry to turn it into something serious./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Even though, in retrospect, that was probably the first time they'd actually connected. He knew that she had been thinking about him a lot and realized that he was willing to extend the boundary.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Just a smidge./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"They did go out a couple of times, but it was never as intimate as they both wanted it to be. He knew that he wanted it to be special, but he couldn't help but think of what more it could be./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He guessed that feeling had peaked in recent times. And as he watched the Uber finally disappear out of his view, he loathed himself./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She had told him on several occasions she liked how things were but here he was, typical Corpse, being selfish./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She had said she didn't want to think about labels and what they were. Or where their relationship was going to go. She wanted to focus on the now and how well it's going./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"His heart hurt to think of her with anyone else. But he knew it was probably better for both of them to be apart, at least for awhile. He was bound to be hurt even more, for the constant feeling of rejection was getting to him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"What he didn't know was Sasha's heart was just broken in ways that he couldn't even fathom. She thought that she'd made a good choice. She wanted what he could offer. A little fun, a little friendship, and nothing more./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Then came the time she mentioned him getting a girlfriend. He had stared at her in complete and utter disbelief./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Had the three years meant absolutely nothing to her?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"If she couldn't be bothered with trying to find someone else to share her life with, how could she expect him to? He knew that this whole time, he could only fall even more deeply in love with her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha came from her thoughts once more. She knew they had to have passed her home./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She looked out of her window. They were in a part of town she could not recognize./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Which was surprising cause she could swear she had been everywhere./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Where are you taking me?" she asked./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Jack guffawed, "you've evaded the Fae way too long, Sasha."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""I have..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""If you did, I wouldn't have been able to carry you in this vehicle. Don't even bother to bluff," Jack cut in sharply./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Corpse won't let you get away with this," she said, firmly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Oh? I thought he wasn't your mate?" Jack teased./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""He's not. But he cares about me, I'm not sure you understand how that feels... Sean!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Jack rolled his eyes, "do you even understand the concept of what a mate is? You've been fucking for over two years... Yeah don't look shocked, most of us supernatural creatures know. Sure, he might not be able to physically mark you cause of your rune but his aura never really leaves you... That's a mark in of itself."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""What did you even see in him anyway? He's..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Shut up!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Jack was not sure which happened first... Sasha kicking the headrest of his car seat hard into the back of his skull or the sound of the door opening./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He did not understand how she was able to kick the seat so hard or how long had passed till he came to. And there was blood on the back of his head./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He definitely had a concussion./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"But she could not run very far. They were in Fae territory and the Fae in the woods knew he was bringing her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha ran as fast as her legs could take her. She had left her heels in the car and was trudging through the oddly marshy terrain barefooted./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Her blue wig billiowing in the wind. She took it off remembering it was neon and anyone could probably see her from miles around./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"There had to be somewhere, a cave maybe or a hollowed tree she could hide in till dawn when she could call someone./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She turned around for a moment when she heard the sound of wings flapping against the wind./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"But these particular wings sounded very familiar./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She felt herself being grabbed upwards by her shoulders./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Lana, you..." she felt firm hands place a cloth over her face./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Then everything went style="box-shadow: none;" /~~~~~~~~~~~~~br style="box-shadow: none;" /Corpse was awoken by the sound of his phone ringing. He grumbled and stood up./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"His blinds were closed but he could see that the sun was not out yet./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Whoever was calling him so early on a Saturday better have an important reason./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Corpse dragged his feet to his phone on the cushion where he'd thrown it the previous night before crying himself to sleep. Whoever it was must have his number on automatic dial./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He picked up the phone, it was Finn./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Odd.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Corpse sighed and answered the phone, preparing for a scolding./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Is Sasha with you?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"It took a moment for it to register in Corpse's head. Finn calling him to ask about Sasha./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""No, why?" Corpse replied./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""She's not here. I called Rae and Kendall, they haven't heard from or seen her last night," Finn replied, his breathing was ragged./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"The Werewolf was panicking, "are you two punking me? This isn't funny... Her phone's not going through and it's not like her to not call anyone when she's not going to be home. I'm worried."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Corpse hands shook, "you're serious? She's not here... We had a misunderstanding last night and she left."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""What? What did you say to her?" Finn queried./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Corpse felt offended by the accusatory tone, "why do you assume I'm the one that said something?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""What did you say to her?!" Finn growled, he wasn't playing around with this vamp right now./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""I got lost in the moment, okay?! I asked her to be my mate," Corpse returned./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn let out an audible gasp. The werewolf was clearly taken aback by that information./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He was surprised and not surprised at the same time. He'd seen how Corpse and Sasha had acted in each other's company. But he certainly was not expecting the vampire to say anything to break his arrangement with Sasha./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn wasn't sure of Corpse's true feelings for her and Sasha had choosen to deflect the question, try to talk about something else or outright ignore it when probed./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He had initially thought it was because he had been away for awhile that's why he could not read her. But Valkyrae could not read her either./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha had someone learnt how to lock away her emotions and honestly, it terrified Finn./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"But clearly Corpse asking her to be his mate had brought something to the surface. And it scared her enough to run away or something./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn boiled, "why would you even say that to her? You know how she is with talking about commitment... You know what she's been through. Why are you so selfish?!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Selfish?!" Corpse returned, "I am not the one who left her alone for six years. Do you know how extremely difficult it has been for me? Going around for several months pretending I didn't love her, pretending like she isn't basically the reason I haven't ran a stake through my own chest right now. She's the only one that can calm down all the voices in my head and make my heart beat."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? You just got back three months ago and got to hook up with Poki..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Leave Imane out of this," Finn cut in./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Oh it's Imane now?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn hung up./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Corpse did not understand what was happening. He only remembered stumbling over the fridge to guzzle a bottle of Blublood knowing fully well he shouldn't./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Siri... Call Sasha."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Calling Sasha..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Corpse heard it ring then heard the beeps trail off./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Sasha cannot be reached..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Call Sasha again!" he bellowed./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"This time it didn't ring. Siri repeated the same thing./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He remembered the first time Sasha found out about his panic attacks, she rushed over to his house ignoring Sykkuno's tantrum to be by his side./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He was bigger than her but she had somehow picked him up and helped him over to his bed. Wrapped him with the blanket and cuddled him close, holding his head on her chest... Soothing him till he fell back asleep./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Even when he had attacks at night, if she couldn't come over... She would talk to him on the phone till he fell asleep or he calmed down./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"So he began to call her every time he was having a breakdown. And she would call him when she needed to rant./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Usually about Sykkuno being a bitch./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Hers was anger, his was anxiety./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He did not know how it worked but it did, they kept each other sane and stable./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Now he was sitting on the floor in his dining room shaking. Feeling the all too familiar cold numb iciness in his veins in a different, scarier light./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He felt like he was drowning and no one was there to save him this style="box-shadow: none;" /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~br style="box-shadow: none;" /Finn paced from one side of the living room to another. He was sure he had left up to 80 voicemails to her phone by now./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"The grimace had not left Poki's face. The gnawing thought at the back of her mind was that the Fae had finally got Sasha again./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Sasha when you get this, call me," Finn said yet again to her voicemail box./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Should I call the police?" he thought aloud./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""You need to wait 24 hours. I'm sure she's fine... She hasn't lasted this long in Moonlight falls without being able to protect herself," Poki tried to reassure him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn paused mid stride and turned to her dramatically, "what do you know about this?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""As much as you do," she answered./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn furrowed his brows, "do not lie to me Imane."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""What are you even trying to say?" Poki returned./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""You're a Fae..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Half, on my mother's side," Poki cut in./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""The point is, Poki!" he snapped then he lowered his voice, "I know you've been speaking with Sykkuno and the Fae have been trying to get to Sasha for years... What do you know?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""I know as much as you do right now. Plus Sasha and I have been friends way before my mom convinced me to join the Fae. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her," Poki stated./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn scoffed, "I just find it funny that the one night you decide to make a move, Sasha is nowhere to be found."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Wow," Poki felt insulted, "this is really what you're going to say to me?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn's ears perked up, she sounded innocent and genuinely hurt by his words./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He sighed, "I'm really sorry Imane. I just... I'm very worried about Sasha, Corpse said something about them having a misunderstanding and she left in an Uber."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Well. Maybe she just decided to take a break or something? But then again, it's not like her to not at least send a text... Let's just wait till tomorrow, I'm sure she's fine."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Do you know if Sykkuno might've anything to do with this?" Finn asked./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Last I heard from Sykkuno, he was summoned by his mother. You know how Alexa is with him, he might be AFK for awhile," Poki replied, honestly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn sat down next to her and buried his face in his hands./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Despite her annoyance, she felt bad for him. Finn was currently blaming himself./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She felt horrible too. Finn had been away from Sasha for a long time, he returned and the one night he didn't make sure she got home safe... Because Poki had decided to shoot her shot, Sasha doesn't get back./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha was her friend too./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She put her hands around him, not knowing what else to do or say to make him feel style="box-shadow: none;" /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~br style="box-shadow: none;" /A whole week passed./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Then another and another./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Suddenly the supernatural citizens of Moonlight falls were looking at 2 months without one of their alchemists./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Valkyrae sat down in the near empty bakery, deep in thought./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn had been forced to get back into things and work together with Felix to pump out potions. They wondered how Sasha had been able to juggle potion making, working for Sykkuno (before she quit) and helping Kendall out at the bakery after./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Not to mention the gathering portion of the potion work which took most of her Saturdays./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She had done all of that alone./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sure, during the full moons she'd ask Maaz and Joel to help her get some ingredients while they were in the woods in exchange for a free case of Schmoozing each but that was about it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Roman was still unconscious, Corpse had vanished and Sykkuno seemed to be having the time of his life./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Chaos reigned./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""That's it, I'm calling Eugene and Sara."/p
/div
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; word-break: break-word; background: transparent; text-align: center; box-shadow: none;"a style="color: #666666; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 17.1469px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; box-shadow: none;" href=" /works/31032419/chapters/103082388"Chapter 10/a: Chao scala/h3
/div
div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 287.844px; float: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; box-shadow: none; color: #2a2a2a;" role="article"
h3 id="work" class="landmark heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 0.25em; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.125em; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; word-break: break-word; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent; box-shadow: none; border-color: initial initial #333333 initial; border-style: initial initial double initial;"Chapter Text/h3
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Trouble in paradise, huh?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha looked up from her shaking hands. It had been a pretty silent ride till this point, as she wiped her cheek./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"To be honest, Corpse had frightened her with his mention of being his mate but she didn't understand why./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Jack?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Right o. Lass!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"There was something sinister in that bubbly tone of his./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""I thought you two loved each other?" Jack asked./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha said nothing./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"They might not have been completely in love, but they were doing a great job at being.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Whatever it is they were./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"For Corpse it was important to establish more than just a flimsy sexual thing. So in the beginning of their relationship tried to push the boundaries by taking her to see Disney on Ice but that only made her upset./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"However, her mood brightened when Corpse surprised her at her doorstep one morning with a picnic. He had pulled all of the strings he could, found out that her favorite ice cream was at a diner across the street, then picked up the cones. She decided to look at the bright side and had a ball./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"They spent a lot of time bonding on a lot of levels, sharing secrets about themselves and their pasts. Or at least what they had been willing to share./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"It made him realize or at least feel that she was too good of a person for him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"So he agreed to whatever she defined as a relationship and he withdrew himself and his heart back into safety. Only seeing her once a month or more only by accident or he needed a plus one to a party./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"While he had his way of treating her well, he had a hard time being there emotionally. He didn't know what to do with all of his feelings./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"It didn't particularly help that she seemed to keep changing her mind about him, constantly trying to push him away and in turn, push away his own emotions. Her uncertainty only turned to hurt when she realized that he couldn't stop the on-and-off./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha was having a pretty hard time all on her own. Having an intense work life wasn't doing anything good for her mental health./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"The thought of him having a new girlfriend never left her mind. A girlfriend who would had her shit together and would be a good support system for him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Recently, in the past year alot of stuff had changed. Sasha didn't know when or why but it had./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Maybe it was that time on New year's Eve, she was in a bad place emotionally and had come to him. Most likely because her closest friends were out of town and Finn, well Finn had basically been AWOL for half a decade./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"After she collapsed in Corpse's arms he realized that he didn't care how angry she made him anymore, and he wanted to be there for her and protect her. Once he got her to his apartment, it was only a matter of time before they ended up in bed together./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"It wasn't their first time but it was the first time that she let someone get inside her completely and really love her. It was probably the greatest moment of Corpse's immortal life, but that's not to say that he was in a hurry to turn it into something serious./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Even though, in retrospect, that was probably the first time they'd actually connected. He knew that she had been thinking about him a lot and realized that he was willing to extend the boundary.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Just a smidge./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"They did go out a couple of times, but it was never as intimate as they both wanted it to be. He knew that he wanted it to be special, but he couldn't help but think of what more it could be./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He guessed that feeling had peaked in recent times. And as he watched the Uber finally disappear out of his view, he loathed himself./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She had told him on several occasions she liked how things were but here he was, typical Corpse, being selfish./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She had said she didn't want to think about labels and what they were. Or where their relationship was going to go. She wanted to focus on the now and how well it's going./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"His heart hurt to think of her with anyone else. But he knew it was probably better for both of them to be apart, at least for awhile. He was bound to be hurt even more, for the constant feeling of rejection was getting to him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"What he didn't know was Sasha's heart was just broken in ways that he couldn't even fathom. She thought that she'd made a good choice. She wanted what he could offer. A little fun, a little friendship, and nothing more./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Then came the time she mentioned him getting a girlfriend. He had stared at her in complete and utter disbelief./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Had the three years meant absolutely nothing to her?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"If she couldn't be bothered with trying to find someone else to share her life with, how could she expect him to? He knew that this whole time, he could only fall even more deeply in love with her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha came from her thoughts once more. She knew they had to have passed her home./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She looked out of her window. They were in a part of town she could not recognize./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Which was surprising cause she could swear she had been everywhere./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Where are you taking me?" she asked./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Jack guffawed, "you've evaded the Fae way too long, Sasha."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""I have..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""If you did, I wouldn't have been able to carry you in this vehicle. Don't even bother to bluff," Jack cut in sharply./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Corpse won't let you get away with this," she said, firmly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Oh? I thought he wasn't your mate?" Jack teased./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""He's not. But he cares about me, I'm not sure you understand how that feels... Sean!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Jack rolled his eyes, "do you even understand the concept of what a mate is? You've been fucking for over two years... Yeah don't look shocked, most of us supernatural creatures know. Sure, he might not be able to physically mark you cause of your rune but his aura never really leaves you... That's a mark in of itself."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""What did you even see in him anyway? He's..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Shut up!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Jack was not sure which happened first... Sasha kicking the headrest of his car seat hard into the back of his skull or the sound of the door opening./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He did not understand how she was able to kick the seat so hard or how long had passed till he came to. And there was blood on the back of his head./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He definitely had a concussion./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"But she could not run very far. They were in Fae territory and the Fae in the woods knew he was bringing her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha ran as fast as her legs could take her. She had left her heels in the car and was trudging through the oddly marshy terrain barefooted./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Her blue wig billiowing in the wind. She took it off remembering it was neon and anyone could probably see her from miles around./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"There had to be somewhere, a cave maybe or a hollowed tree she could hide in till dawn when she could call someone./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She turned around for a moment when she heard the sound of wings flapping against the wind./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"But these particular wings sounded very familiar./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She felt herself being grabbed upwards by her shoulders./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Lana, you..." she felt firm hands place a cloth over her face./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Then everything went style="box-shadow: none;" /~~~~~~~~~~~~~br style="box-shadow: none;" /Corpse was awoken by the sound of his phone ringing. He grumbled and stood up./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"His blinds were closed but he could see that the sun was not out yet./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Whoever was calling him so early on a Saturday better have an important reason./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Corpse dragged his feet to his phone on the cushion where he'd thrown it the previous night before crying himself to sleep. Whoever it was must have his number on automatic dial./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He picked up the phone, it was Finn./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Odd.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Corpse sighed and answered the phone, preparing for a scolding./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Is Sasha with you?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"It took a moment for it to register in Corpse's head. Finn calling him to ask about Sasha./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""No, why?" Corpse replied./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""She's not here. I called Rae and Kendall, they haven't heard from or seen her last night," Finn replied, his breathing was ragged./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"The Werewolf was panicking, "are you two punking me? This isn't funny... Her phone's not going through and it's not like her to not call anyone when she's not going to be home. I'm worried."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Corpse hands shook, "you're serious? She's not here... We had a misunderstanding last night and she left."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""What? What did you say to her?" Finn queried./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Corpse felt offended by the accusatory tone, "why do you assume I'm the one that said something?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""What did you say to her?!" Finn growled, he wasn't playing around with this vamp right now./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""I got lost in the moment, okay?! I asked her to be my mate," Corpse returned./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn let out an audible gasp. The werewolf was clearly taken aback by that information./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He was surprised and not surprised at the same time. He'd seen how Corpse and Sasha had acted in each other's company. But he certainly was not expecting the vampire to say anything to break his arrangement with Sasha./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn wasn't sure of Corpse's true feelings for her and Sasha had choosen to deflect the question, try to talk about something else or outright ignore it when probed./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He had initially thought it was because he had been away for awhile that's why he could not read her. But Valkyrae could not read her either./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha had someone learnt how to lock away her emotions and honestly, it terrified Finn./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"But clearly Corpse asking her to be his mate had brought something to the surface. And it scared her enough to run away or something./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn boiled, "why would you even say that to her? You know how she is with talking about commitment... You know what she's been through. Why are you so selfish?!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Selfish?!" Corpse returned, "I am not the one who left her alone for six years. Do you know how extremely difficult it has been for me? Going around for several months pretending I didn't love her, pretending like she isn't basically the reason I haven't ran a stake through my own chest right now. She's the only one that can calm down all the voices in my head and make my heart beat."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? You just got back three months ago and got to hook up with Poki..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Leave Imane out of this," Finn cut in./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Oh it's Imane now?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn hung up./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Corpse did not understand what was happening. He only remembered stumbling over the fridge to guzzle a bottle of Blublood knowing fully well he shouldn't./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Siri... Call Sasha."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Calling Sasha..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Corpse heard it ring then heard the beeps trail off./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Sasha cannot be reached..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Call Sasha again!" he bellowed./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"This time it didn't ring. Siri repeated the same thing./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He remembered the first time Sasha found out about his panic attacks, she rushed over to his house ignoring Sykkuno's tantrum to be by his side./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He was bigger than her but she had somehow picked him up and helped him over to his bed. Wrapped him with the blanket and cuddled him close, holding his head on her chest... Soothing him till he fell back asleep./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Even when he had attacks at night, if she couldn't come over... She would talk to him on the phone till he fell asleep or he calmed down./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"So he began to call her every time he was having a breakdown. And she would call him when she needed to rant./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Usually about Sykkuno being a bitch./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Hers was anger, his was anxiety./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He did not know how it worked but it did, they kept each other sane and stable./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Now he was sitting on the floor in his dining room shaking. Feeling the all too familiar cold numb iciness in his veins in a different, scarier light./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He felt like he was drowning and no one was there to save him this style="box-shadow: none;" /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~br style="box-shadow: none;" /Finn paced from one side of the living room to another. He was sure he had left up to 80 voicemails to her phone by now./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"The grimace had not left Poki's face. The gnawing thought at the back of her mind was that the Fae had finally got Sasha again./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Sasha when you get this, call me," Finn said yet again to her voicemail box./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Should I call the police?" he thought aloud./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""You need to wait 24 hours. I'm sure she's fine... She hasn't lasted this long in Moonlight falls without being able to protect herself," Poki tried to reassure him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn paused mid stride and turned to her dramatically, "what do you know about this?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""As much as you do," she answered./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn furrowed his brows, "do not lie to me Imane."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""What are you even trying to say?" Poki returned./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""You're a Fae..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Half, on my mother's side," Poki cut in./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""The point is, Poki!" he snapped then he lowered his voice, "I know you've been speaking with Sykkuno and the Fae have been trying to get to Sasha for years... What do you know?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""I know as much as you do right now. Plus Sasha and I have been friends way before my mom convinced me to join the Fae. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her," Poki stated./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn scoffed, "I just find it funny that the one night you decide to make a move, Sasha is nowhere to be found."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Wow," Poki felt insulted, "this is really what you're going to say to me?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn's ears perked up, she sounded innocent and genuinely hurt by his words./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"He sighed, "I'm really sorry Imane. I just... I'm very worried about Sasha, Corpse said something about them having a misunderstanding and she left in an Uber."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Well. Maybe she just decided to take a break or something? But then again, it's not like her to not at least send a text... Let's just wait till tomorrow, I'm sure she's fine."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Do you know if Sykkuno might've anything to do with this?" Finn asked./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""Last I heard from Sykkuno, he was summoned by his mother. You know how Alexa is with him, he might be AFK for awhile," Poki replied, honestly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn sat down next to her and buried his face in his hands./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Despite her annoyance, she felt bad for him. Finn was currently blaming himself./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She felt horrible too. Finn had been away from Sasha for a long time, he returned and the one night he didn't make sure she got home safe... Because Poki had decided to shoot her shot, Sasha doesn't get back./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sasha was her friend too./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She put her hands around him, not knowing what else to do or say to make him feel style="box-shadow: none;" /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~br style="box-shadow: none;" /A whole week passed./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Then another and another./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Suddenly the supernatural citizens of Moonlight falls were looking at 2 months without one of their alchemists./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Valkyrae sat down in the near empty bakery, deep in thought./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Finn had been forced to get back into things and work together with Felix to pump out potions. They wondered how Sasha had been able to juggle potion making, working for Sykkuno (before she quit) and helping Kendall out at the bakery after./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Not to mention the gathering portion of the potion work which took most of her Saturdays./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"She had done all of that alone./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Sure, during the full moons she'd ask Maaz and Joel to help her get some ingredients while they were in the woods in exchange for a free case of Schmoozing each but that was about it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Roman was still unconscious, Corpse had vanished and Sykkuno seemed to be having the time of his life./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;"Chaos reigned./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.7592px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; box-shadow: none;""That's it, I'm calling Eugene and Sara."/p
/div