When he woke the next morning, Jesse was met by hunger. He craved breakfast, but after what happened last night, he felt too anxious to leave his room. What if the Vârcolac somehow figured out what happened? What if they found out that it was him and that he was aiding the escaped prisoner? Angst filled him to the brim, and as he opened his eyes, he frowned nervously and glanced around the room.

A little relief made its way through his paranoia once he saw that he was still in his room, and when he felt Ross move beside him, he rolled onto his back and turned his head to look at him. The man was sleeping, and for the first time since Jesse had met him, he looked relaxed...maybe even peaceful.

It was then that the revelation struck him again. Ross wasn't just some man, some escaped prisoner keeping him hostage. This man...this werewolf was his mate, the mate he'd longed for years and years to find. Although he was still a little unsure, he was glad that he chose to listen to his wolf, to his instincts. If he hadn't listened and chose to go back home, then he would still be searching fruitlessly for the wolf he'd spend the rest of his life with.

But there he was...sleeping beside him. Dark hair, toned muscles, and dark, scarred skin. He wasn't what Jesse had been expecting, but could a wolf ever truly know what to expect when hunting for their mate? He was certain that Ross hadn't been expecting his mate to be him; that was why he reacted the way he did down in the brig when they first met, wasn't it? He was shocked to see Jesse...and there had been resentment in his voice. Why?

No. Jesse wasn't going to lay there and overthink. If Ross was uncomfortable with the fact that he was trans, then he wouldn't have said the things he said, nor would he have treated him with such respect, either. He asked how Jesse preferred to have sex rather than just assuming as James did.

He gazed at his sleeping mate's face, wondering if he might ever learn everything that he kept hidden behind his cold, merciless mask. Did he even want to know? A part of him did. A part of him wanted to know Ross' stories, his journey, and his feats, but he was also afraid of what he might hear. However, if they were mates, and if...if Jesse was going to accept his claim when the full moon came, wouldn't it be best that they knew as much about each other as possible? The last thing Jesse wanted was to learn something horrible about Ross when it was too late to go back.

With a quiet sigh, he turned his head and stared up at the ceiling. The smell of cooking food teased him. He caught the scent of bacon and sausage, and the longer he lay there surrounded by the alluring aroma of cooking meat, the harder it became to focus on the fact that it might not be safe to leave his room.

But he couldn't ignore it. He couldn't stop thinking about it. He was hungry, and he needed to eat.

"What are you brooding over?" Ross asked.

Startled, Jesse sharply turned his head and met his mate's vacant gaze. "What?"

"What are you thinking so intensely about?"

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling again. "I'm hungry."

"So am I," Ross said as he stroked his fingers down Jesse's body.

"No, I mean I'm hungry hungry," he said irritably and sat up. "I want breakfast," he mumbled as he shuffled to the edge of the bed.

Ross sat up, too. "So go and get breakfast."

He glanced over his shoulder at him. "I'm scared of getting caught."

"Why would you get caught? No one has any reason to suspect you; I dealt with that asshole who was harassing you."

"I'm just...I don't know. Demons freak me out, and the Vârcolac freak me out even more. What if they somehow work out that their colleagues were killed by you and I was involved?"

Ross moved closer and sat beside him. "There's no way for them to work that out. No one saw, and no one was close enough to hear or catch a scent, either. There's wolfsbane all over this ship; that's the only thing anyone can smell."

He was right...and it made Jesse question why he was able to smell breakfast over the intense scent. Maybe the breakfast bar was close.

"What?" Ross then asked with an amused scoff. "Do you want me to hold your hand?"

Jesse scowled at him. "No," he grumbled...but he did like the idea of that. The thought of having Ross—the thought of having his mate at his side protecting him and making him feel safe was a tempting idea, but he knew it wasn't possible. He sighed deeply and grabbed his trousers from the floor. "I'll just...be careful," he muttered as he pulled them on. He might be nervous, but the scent of cooking meat was much stronger.

"Don't hang around," Ross warned him. "There'll probably be guards everywhere."

He huffed to try and dismiss some of his anxiety as he put his shirt on. "What do you want?" he asked him.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Whatever you're having."

Jesse nodded and stood up—

"Wait," Ross said, grabbing Jesse's wrist.

He stopped and looked down at his mate.

Ross pulled him closer, and when he edged his face towards Jesse's, he tensed up. Instead of kissing his lips, though, Ross diverted his face to Jesse's neck and kissed him there. "Hurry back," he told him.

Jesse nodded obediently as anticipation shivered through him. A part of him wanted to stay and see where this might lead, but his desire for food was stronger. Once Ross let go of him, he headed for the door. He slipped his shoes on, unlocked the latch, and carefully pulled the door open. For a moment, he peered out into the hall; no one was near or coming, so he quickly slinked outside and pulled the door shut behind him.

He made his way down the right of the hall, following the intoxicating scent. It took him to the very front of the ship, forty rooms away from his. He emerged into a large mess hall, where a large buffet stood along the left wall. Several other citizen passengers—including the annoying businessman he'd seen at the Solitudinem Docks—were sitting at the tables eating along with some staff and an unsettling amount of Vârcolac guards.

Trying his best to act casual, Jesse headed over to the buffet table. He grabbed a plate, but when he set his eyes on the bacon, his wolf urged him to feast. And he wasn't strong enough to resist; he was just so fucking hungry. He grabbed a piece of bacon and greedily shoved it into his mouth, and once he got a taste, he couldn't stop himself. He grabbed a few more pieces and eagerly shovelled them into his mouth, chewing and swallowing as fast as he could. But he wanted more—he needed more—

"Jesse, hey," came Sophie's voice.

Jesse choked and held his hand over his mouth as he turned to face her.

The stewardess giggled. "Hungry?"

He swallowed his mouthful of bacon and nodded, laughing awkwardly. "I haven't eaten since yesterday."

"Well, it's complimentary and all you can eat, so, take as much as you want."

Jesse smiled as best he could and wiped the grease from his mouth. "Thanks," he said. "Oh, I was actually...wondering something."

"Yeah?"

"How long until we reach DeiganLupus?" he asked. He hadn't asked at the docks because he'd been so focused on getting on a ship heading to his destination, but this galleon was a lot larger than the ship he was supposed to be on and might take longer.

"Oh, um..." she thought to herself for a moment. "Just six days."

Jesse frowned. "What? But the Abigail was nearly three weeks."

She adorned an awed smile and leaned closer to him. "Well, that's the thing about these military ships. They're not like other boats; they're pulled by kori serpents."

His frown thickened. "What serpents?"

"Kori serpents. They're those big snake-looking lizards that the Nosferatu use to transport things across the ocean."

He'd never heard of them, but the idea of a huge snake pulling the ship both made sense and made him feel a little surprised. But why wouldn't the Caeleste government have special means to transport and travel?

"Do you want to come and sit with us?" Sophie invited, nodding at a table where three of her co-workers were sitting.

Jesse didn't want to be rude, but he wanted to get back to Ross. Not only was he worried that someone might go into his room and discover him, but he also felt like he needed to get back to him. He wasn't going to ignore his wolf or instincts ever again, not after what they'd led him to. "Uh...I actually have to get back to my room and finish some work," he said. "Sorry."

Sophie looked disappointed but didn't argue. "Oh, that's all right," she said with a smile. "I'll see you later." She then walked off and joined her co-workers.

He turned his attention back to the table. Embarrassed that he'd been caught scoffing down bacon, he grabbed a pair of tongs and started plating his food like a normal person. He took a few pieces of everything, topped the plate off with a few more sausages and pieces of bacon, and then headed back towards his room.

As he walked, he started eating the bacon—he just couldn't resist it; he'd been so distracted since getting on the ship that he hadn't thought to eat. At least he was doing it now, though.

When he got back to his room, he slowly opened the door and slinked inside.

"Everything okay?" Ross asked.

Jesse locked the door behind him and headed over to the bed, where his mate was still sitting—he was dressed now, though. "Yeah," he answered and sat beside him. "I got a bit of everything."

Ross took two pieces of toast and several other items. "This is the only actual food I've had in months," he mumbled, making a sandwich.

He frowned a little. "What...did they feed you? I've heard horrible things about how prisoners are treated, especially ones convicted of crimes like yours."

"They call it gruel," he said and took a bite of his sandwich. He continued with his mouthful, chewing loudly, "Taste's like shit; I wouldn't be surprised if the guards actually shat in it."

Jesse grimaced but couldn't help asking, "Then...how did you keep in shape?"

"I work out," he said, finishing his sandwich with one more huge bite. "It's the only thing there was to do."

"I attempted working out once," he mumbled and took a bite of a sausage. "I tried sit-ups. I was aching for days after and never tried again."

Ross laughed a little and took some bacon. "I can teach you," he said and shoved the food into his mouth.

Jesse smiled shyly. "Okay."

He then focused on eating. Despite how much he'd had already, he was still hungry, and when he ate the final sausage, he felt irritated that he hadn't grabbed more. Why was he so hungry?

With a perturbed frown, he looked at Ross—maybe he'd know. "Do you—"

The ship suddenly jolted violently, flinging Ross and Jesse off the bed. They both hit the floor with a thump, and the force knocked over one of the cabinets and sent several items flying across the room.

"What the hell was that?!" Jesse panicked.

As Ross helped him to his feet, the siren started blaring again, and the sound of yelling, screaming voices cut through the air. Jesse grunted anxiously when the ship rocked again, and when gunfire accompanied the voices, sheer terror shot through him.

Ross grabbed his wrist and pulled him along as he headed for the door.

"W-what are you doing?" he questioned as his mate pulled the door open.

Wordlessly, Ross hurried down the corridor, pulling Jesse with him, and once he found a window, he stared outside.

Jesse stared, too, and what he saw horrified him. Another huge ship had collided with the galleon, anchored to it with massive silver chains. Crowds of darkly dressed men and women were flooding off its deck and onto the galleon, carrying rifles and swords, and flying from the main mast was a navy-blue flag bearing the white crest of the Hunter's Emporium.

Ross tightened his grip on Jesse's wrist and gritted his teeth. "They're here for me."