She had fallen asleep fairly quickly and it had been a struggle for him to pull some sheets over them both without waking her. They hadn't cleaned up and they would both be sticky by morning, but that was a problem for the morning. Right now, Kandomere couldn't be more content than he was right now. Although he was old enough t have had a slew of relationships behind him, his dating life had taken a nosedive when he'd been made Special Agent in Charge. He worked long hours, which would sometimes include weekends. He'd felt that he couldn't adequately maintain a healthy relationship with anyone when he spent so much time chasing wand tip offs and rumoured Inferni activity.

Unfortunately, he'd been lying to himself. Montehugh spent as much time working as he did and yet he'd managed to mostly maintain a healthy marriage. There had been ups and downs, as most relationships had, but he'd made it work. If Kandomere was honest with himself, he just hadn't really been inspired by anyone he'd dated to put the work in. Not until Alice. The fact that she was human was a non-issue as far as he was concerned. He'd felt that spark the second he'd looked at her as she took his order at the restaurant. Montehugh had noticed it instantly. Most people didn't think he was too observant, but years working in the MTF had honed his eagle-eye skills. He could rival an elf with everything he picked up on.

She'd been so fearless despite her physical disadvantages when standing up to a bigoted elf with too much ego. She'd not even contemplated that it might be a tactical mistake to turn her back to Faltorin. She'd pulled Kyra away from him and yelled as though she might actually physically assault him. To say he'd reacted on instinct when Faltorin back handed her was an understatement. He'd actually wanted to put his fist through the bigoted elf's face. Only years of experience in controlling his knee-jerk reactions stopped him from doing so. Focusing on Alice's injured form had helped to quell the raging fury that had threatened to overwhelm him, only to be stoked further when he'd taken her to an Elvish hospital. Elf Care wasn't about money, though it had cost him considerably to have them admit Alice. It was about status and humans didn't meet the requirements. The profanity that had left his lips in perfect Ovusi had raised more than a few eyebrows. The fact that she'd had no broken bones had been remarkable to him. Elf strength was no joke. They could rival Orcs in that regard. Bruising and cuts to her back and arms from the display case she'd been knocked into was all she'd suffered. It had only strengthened his interest in her.

He'd meant what he'd said when he told her that having her stay in his spare apartment would be doing him a favour. He'd bought the entire floor for exactly the reason he'd explained to her. He wanted to control who he shared his space with. He was an Inferni target, as most of the agents within the MFT were, especially the elvish agents. He wanted to know who he would be letting the place to, so he'd rarely used it since buying it. He knew Alice wasn't Inferni. They didn't want humans. Being involved with him could put her in danger though, which isn't something he wanted to think about in that moment. Contemplating how he would keep a balance within his work and this new relationship was his priority. He looked down at her as she slept peacefully lying across his chest. His leg was now sticky, but he ignored it in favour of going to sleep. He'd worry about clean-up then.

Losing Leilah's entire coven had put the Inferni on the backfoot. Her wand was locked away in some MTF warehouse, and they'd lost three powerful Brights. Leilah had spent decades recruiting and training Larika and her sister, Tikka, but had become foolish in her trust in family. Blood was not thicker than magic.

Navarth ran his fingers over his wand. Long and sleek and less unpredictable than Leilah's had been. She'd often taunted him about his wand not having the same power, but his wand had a quiet strength. Judging by what had happened in LA, her wand had quite literally been the epitome of a nuclear bomb going off. Wands were uniquely individual, just like people were. They came in different lengths and thicknesses, and responded to each wielder based on their own wants and desires.

Unlike Leilah, Navarth had kept his coven small. He found they drew less attention as they searched for a third wand. Unfortunately, with Leilah now dead, they would have to search for a further two wands. Navarth's oldest friend, Keldan, was also a Bright, but he did not have a wand of his own. Their third and final member was Rina. She was young and impressionable, but she wasn't a Bright. For three wands they would need three Brights. The Dark Lord could not be resurrected without them.

So far, they'd had no luck in finding any other wands. They'd been searching around Bakersfield, but had discovered nothing but rumours and urban legends. Navarth was beginning to think that they would need to move closer to LA. It would be risky, but he didn't believe they would have any other option. The elf community there was large. Someone would know something.

Even on a weekend Kandomere found it difficult to sleep in. His body clock woke him sometime after 7am. Alice was curled up next to him, but no longer draped across his chest. He slowly slipped out of the bed and went to the en suite, retrieving a wash cloth so he could clean his leg and hip.

Alice felt the loss of his warmth and groaned, opening her eyes to the sight of him wiping down his leg. He was still naked, much to her delight. But then she remembered the reason why.

She sat up, pulling a sheet around her, thinking about where the nearest chemist would be that would serve humans.

Kandomere noticed and dropped the cloth in the sink, moving to sit back down on the bed.

"Good morning," he said, leaning in to press a kiss to her lips.

"Morning," Alice responded, flushing slightly. "Uh… I think I need a chemist…"

Kandomere was confused. "Are you not feeling well? A headache? I have pain medication here."

"Uh… no, it's not that. Um… We weren't… safe…" she explained, hoping he understood.

He did. He smirked slightly and stood back up, going back into the bathroom and retrieving a bottle of pearlescent pills. He handed it to her. The script was in Elvish, but she understood the gist.

"Are these… is this contraception?" she asked him as she opened the bottle, plucking one of the tiny pearls out.

"Yes. I had the presumptive foresight to take one before we left last night."

Alice blinked. Male contraceptives for humans consisted of condoms and a vasectomy. Male contractive pills had been created and tested many times over the years, but the side effects - the same kind that women had suffered with from their own pills for decades – had always resulted in the pills never being granted a license for distribution.

"So… if you take one… no accidents?" she asked.

"No accidents. I didn't want to assume you would be taking something, and I loathe barrier methods. Though, I would have used one if you'd asked. I understand some people prefer them."

Alice shook her head vigorously. "No, I hate them too. They're so… drying…"

Kandomere chuckled. "And that would be a travesty. I like you wet," he said, leaning in again as she blushed.

Alice popped the pill back into the bottle and closed the lid, dropped them onto the bed. "How often do you need to take one?"

"Once a day. I have 12 hours left until the next one."

Alice bit her lip and shifted closer, the sheet slipping away from her body as she did so. Kandomere capitalised on the movement and pulled her onto his lap.

"Whatever will we do for 12 hours?" Alice whispered against his lips, rolling her hips as she felt him harden underneath her.

"Whatever indeed…"