He'd forgotten his boots... and he hadn't given back the bracelet!
Ilio sighed as he stood up, biting back the need to shake off the droplets of water clinging to his skin since his body was still human.
With careful movements, he climbed out of the fountain and scooped up the tall shoes.
Hmm, they smell like fresh leather.
They must be new, or close to it.
Grinning, he nuzzled against the smooth leather, then calmly began walking off toward the edge of Vrasje's property.
He understood the man's warning, and he did appreciate it, but he also felt an unexplicable need to return Inkani's shoes to him... and retrieve the bracelet that he'd taken.
Surely he would accept a fair trade.
Oh wait... I'm naked.
Turning back around with a frown, he was just about to return to the house for some clothing when he noticed a small bundle of something sitting where Vrasje had been standing.
Curious, he hurried over and was relieved to see that the man had left him clothing.
After quickly changing into a pair of black pants and a dark red shirt, he picked the boots back up and turned back around to leave. The walk back to the docks was done in a bit of a haze. He simply followed his nose as it guided him step by step through the quiet streets.
He was a bit surprised, however, when he didn't end up back at the docks.
Instead, his bare feet took him to a much more active part of town.
I didn't know some humans preferred darkness.
The sheer amount of activity made him hug the tall boots closer. He didn't really want to walk forward, but his nose told him that Inkani was somewhere within the bustling area before him.
Just make the trade and get lord Vrasje's bracelet back, then leave.
Hunching his shoulders, Ilio nervously stepped into the growing throng of people. He could feel eyes on him immediately, and within moments, whispers began to meet his ears. It hadn't been smart to come out at night as a werewolf in a human town protected by vampires.
The crowds around him slowly started closing in, but he refused to stop moving until, finally, he was standing in front of a massive, bustling inn.
At least, that's what it looked like from the outside.
It smelled a bit... odd, though. Like a bunch of different flowers mixed together trying to cover up the underlying smell of sweat.
He didn't like it, but Inkani's scent was definitely coming from inside.
Licking his lips, he lowered his head and hugged the boots as he lifted his foot up onto the first step. Right before he could shift his weight forward, however, he was grabbed by the back of his collar and yanked backwards, making him fumble and nearly drop the boots before colliding with a damp chest.
Smells bad.
Ilio tried to force his way free, but whoever had grabbed him had a solid grip and refused to let go.
"I don't think I've ever seen a werewolf have the balls to walk right into our town without lord Vrasje's protection," the vampire said as Ilio glared at him over his shoulder.
I had his protection but Inkani stole it.
He needed to get that bracelet back.
"Hang on a minute, Morry," another man said as he stepped forward and put a hand on the man's shoulder.
Morry didn't look happy, but he reluctantly released Ilio, allowing him to turn and face the two with a scowl.
"Elder Vrasje's scent is definitely on his clothing, but it's not very strong. He's also got lord Inkani's new boots... he would never just forget those," the man said before falling silent.
The two men looked at each other for a few extra moments, yet neither of them spoke. Their expressions, however, changed quite dramatically by the time they returned their focus to him and pointed over his shoulder.
"You were heading in the right direction. Lord Inkani is inside there, up on the second floor," Morry said with a smirk that wasn't the most settling.
Ilio mentally shrugged it off, though. He knew that he was probably walking into a trap, but it couldn't be helped. He wanted Vrasje's bracelet back and he had a good enough item to trade for it. At least, he felt like it would be a reasonable trade.
After hesitating for only a moment, he slowly turned around and walked up the steps.
The building was surprisingly dark inside, even though he could hear plenty of people and vampires milling about and music being played down one of the halls.
That wasn't where Inkani's scent was coming from, though, so he paid it no further mind.
He could also feels eyes on him, even though he couldn't see anyone else in the long hallway. That didn't mean that there weren't others there, though, so he picked up his pace and eventually ended up stopping in front of the last door at the end of the hallway on the second floor.
His heart was beating a little fast, but he knew that his situation wasn't the best. He was rightfully nervous.
Licking his lips, he reached forward and grabbed the handle of the door, then gently turned it and pulled outward.
It swung open with ease on silent hinges, gifting him a much stronger dose of Inkani's scent... and someone else's.
He unintentionally gave out the most pathetic, insecure grumble of a growl he'd ever unfortunately heard, then immediately felt his face heat to the temperature of the sun.
Maybe I shouldn't have come here. I could have found him by the docks another day.
"Sweet one, come here."
Just like that, he was walking forward into the dimly-lit room. He had to move around a large folding screen, then around a small corner before he saw the person he'd come to speak with.
The man was resting in a comfortably large padded arm chair with his surprisingly-long hair draped over the low back. His bare feet were propped up on a footrest and his body was mouthwatering.
Uh, I should have eaten before coming.
He'd never thought he'd ever consider eating a vampire!
"Come, sit," Inkani said as he patted his lap with a knowing grin.
He knew that he wouldn't sit there, and besides, Ilio's attention had moved to someone completely different at that moment, anyways.
"Be good, little pup. She is just tending to me," Inkani said with humor in his voice.
He wasn't laughing.
Ilio felt uncomfortably irked, yet he couldn't understand why.
Not wanting to linger while feeling so awkward, he steeled his nerves and met the man's eyes.
"Return lord Vrasje's bracelet and I will give you your shoes back," he said, his voice quieting a surprising amount as he finished speaking.
He'd meant to sound determined and unflinching, yet he ended up sounding like a nervous little pup trying to get one of the adult wolves to pay him just the slightest bit of attention.
His quiet words might have had something to do with him finally noticing that the man before him was quite close to being naked, with only a simple pair of white undergarments on that barely went down to his knees.
He nearly dropped the boots before he managed to yank his eyes away from Inkani's body!
"Such a pure little wolf!"
The vampire captain was quite impressed with his perusal, evidently. So much so, in fact, that he couldn't stop himself from laughing for nearly three full minutes.
He honestly didn't mind the man laughing at him that much, but when the woman standing behind his chair, leaning an arm on the space next to where Inkani was resting his shoulders began to giggle, he got annoyed again.
A second, slightly more impressive growl slipped from between his parted lips as he narrowed his eyes on the woman.
Inkani began to speak again a moment later, but Ilio couldn't focus on anything but the woman still smirking at him.
His attention only returned to Inkani when the man gave a gesture that sent the suddenly-scowling woman away to another room.
"Still a male, I see. Do not worry, we didn't get a chance to do much since I needed to bathe and shave, first," Inkani said, making Ilio suddenly realize the changes to the man... besides his lack of clothing.
He shaved most of his beard and washed his hair.
It wasn't quite as long as lord Vrasje's but it was still very pretty.
It looks really soft.
"You are such an absent-minded little one. Do you lose focus this much while out in the woods? I can't imagine that your alpha would be very happy with your lack of concentration," Inkani said as he suddenly appeared before him and reached up at to gently but firmly grasp his jaw.
Ilio blinked out of his daze again as his chin was tilted the slightest bit upward.
"I apologize, I am not usually so distracted. I don't feel well," he replied, being honest.
Every time he was around Inkani his stomach felt strange and now it was getting to the point where he felt as if he might throw up.
A cold hand against his forehead made him jump abruptly, finally allowing the boots he'd been carrying to slip from his fingers.
"Ah, you do have a bit of a fever, my Ilio," Inkani whispered before leaning closer and pressing his own forehead to his.
Ilio felt his entire body tense up as the man's scent completely overwhelmed his senses. His heartbeat thundered within his ears as saliva pooled in his mouth, forcing him to swallow again and again.
Pretty soon, he heard Inkani's laughter building up again, though it thankfully dispelled itself after only a few moments.
"Little one, are you in heat?"
Male wolves didn't go into heat. Inkani likely knew that as well since his voice had quite a bit of humor still left in it.
Ilio slowly shook his head, trying to dispel the cloud of confusion that was trying to distract him again while at the same time answering the man's question.
"I am not," he managed to mumble before lifting his hands to press against the man's bare chest.
It was a bad idea.
His mouth, which had previously been nearly full with saliva suddenly dried up and his heartbeat doubled instantly as it thrummed like a hummingbird around a delicious flower.
Before Inkani could respond he gave a little shove. Thankfully, the vampire allowed him to push him a few steps away. The air cleared enough after a few seconds to allow Ilio to calm his mind, then a quick bite to his tongue nudged away the remainder of the clouds muddling his thoughts.
"Inkani, I brought your boots back. Give me Vrasje's bracelet," he said firmly, his voice having regained a good portion of its strength.
The captain didn't look like he was interested in the offer, though. He didn't even look away from Ilio's mouth when he mentioned either item.
Why is he...
His eyes widened as understanding quickly dawned on his face.
I bit my tongue.
"Do you... want to make a different trade? My blood for lord Vrasje's bracelet?"
He could see Inkani's fangs already peaking out from beneath his upper lip as he spoke, making him feel like his new offer might just work.
Unfortunately, the man's dazed expression fractured a moment later and he took a steady step backwards.
"You think I'd ever consider feeding from a werewolf?!"
Ilio felt his heart skip a beat in his chest as he uncomfortably lowered his gaze from Inkani's. The man had seemed interested a few moments ago, yet now he was being laughed at again.
I don't like it here. I don't want to be here anymore.
Vrasje had said that the bracelet wasn't important and to not bother retrieving it. He should have just listened. And honestly, he probably hadn't even gone to find the pirate lord for the bracelet, either. He'd just felt like he'd needed to, so he did.
"I apologize for bothering you, lord Inkani. I'll leave now," he said as he forced himself to stand straighter and meet the man's dark eyes.
No sooner had he spoken those words that he realized something wasn't right.
Someone's behind me, blocking the door.
"Ilio, I think I've been nice enough to you. Werewolves might be more animal than human, but they are not stupid. Did you think that I wouldn't try to catch you? Did you think that I would possibly let you go back to the forest?" Inkani said, humor, once again, in his words.
He'd known that the man was likely going to cause him trouble. He'd sensed it right from the very beginning, but that hadn't stopped him. His instincts had been quieted by something else. Though what it was, he had no idea. All he knew about it now, was that the feeling had made him uncomfortable and confused. It wasn't worth risking his life to continue pursing it.
"I will go back to the forest. Tell your men to move aside," he said with a voice that wasn't quite his own.
His wolf had finally had enough of the pirate's mockery, but Ilio knew better than to just let it out. An aggressive alpha wolf in such a small space would be disastrous. He didn't want to cause elder Vrasje more trouble.
"You're not an omega." Inkani said as he suddenly paid much closer attention to him.
Even though he was only wearing a thin pair of undergarment pants he looked more than ready to tear his throat out if the opportunity arose.
Ilio didn't respond. It was obvious that he was not an omega now, so there was no reason to waste his breath answering his question. The man would now likely assume that he was a beta, A more formidable werewolf, but not one that was impossible to take down.
Something was still off, though.
He's not trying to attack yet. And his man behind me hasn't moved closer, either.
"Let's make this a fair fight, hmm? I'll keep my men away if you agree to fight me as your wolf. If you win, I won't bother you anymore, but if you lose... you belong to me," Inkani said, making Ilio realize exactly what he had been missing.
He wants my wolf.
His brow furrowed a little as he tried to put the rest of the pieces together. A wolf wasn't easy to fight. The human version of a werewolf would always be a safer target, and yet Inkani wanted him to shift in order to fight him alone.
Sure, his leg still wasn't fully healed, but that wouldn't be much of a handicap to an alpha wolf. It just didn't add up.
I don't want to fight him.
He still couldn't explain why he was so partial to the man, but it was what it was. He didn't want to hurt him, but he knew that he also shouldn't shift, either.
Well, that left him with one remaining course of action at that moment, then.
With a quiet sigh, Ilio met Inkani's dark eyes one more time before promptly sitting down right where he'd been standing and crossing his legs like he'd seen humans do countless times.
Once he was comfortable, he looked back up with a tired smile and calmly spoke.
"I refuse to fight you and I refuse to shift."