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"You understand that this is for the safety and good of our packs, correct?" A woman's voice came out of his sight. He wasn't sure who's voice it was, but he felt calmed by it. There was also a twinge of fear in it as well. It was conflicting - this feeling. "If you and I stick together, both our packs will be stronger for it. They won't rise against us, we will have shared resources, and we can keep each other safe. And with this, we can ensure our futures."

"I understand." A much deeper voice came from the other side. Everything was dark to him, but someone was there. He was aware that someone was there and that this one made him calm. No fear. No conflicting emotion. In fact, it made him sort of happy to hear him. To know that this voice was near. Strange as it was, he preferred it over the higher voice that was to his other side. "I hope you understand as well that this is purely for that reason alone. I hold no attraction to you."

A chuckle from the other. "That is fine, my dear. The feeling is mutual. You are easy on the eyes, yes. You are strong, that is definitely true. However, you are in my house, you are on my lands, and your council had decided that you were to stay here with your... "bodyguard"." Her voice made him uncomfortable, that was for sure. He didn't like it. Not at all.

"If they were not strong armed into agreeing to this, I would not be here - We would not be here."

"Oh please, don't tell me you did not enjoy it. And we both know that you had wanted this. And here it is, what you had wanted. Are you saying you are regretting this action, because we can easily rectify it now and try again when you are feeling more compliant." Still, he did not like it. But he could not turn away from the voices and he couldn't say anything about it.

"NO!" the deeper voice growled. Growled so loud and deep that scared him even more than the other voice. But just as loud as it had got, the voice soothed down to a timber. "We will not be rectifying anything, Naerina. We continue on from here as we have been. We forged a contract, I intend to keep my end as long as you keep yours. The stipulations and by laws within it are binding and, as a demon, I know you must abide by them."

"And you think, as a monster, you won't? That is why I created an insurance policy to keep you to your word. Understand this, shadowling, we may be alphas, but you hold no power here."

"You threaten me and expect me to respect you-"

"Respect? No, my dear, I do not want your respect. I want your obedience. I want you to never question me. For the good of your pack, and mine, you are better off listening to me than giving into whatever silly notions are in your head. Just be content that I appreciate your physical features as oppose to your thoughts on leadership." Sounds of steps away from him was all he could hear and then the close of a door.

The remaining voice hissed and muttered something as he leaned over him. "Forgive me, little one. I had brought you into an unsafe place with uncertain creeple." He was being held. It was warm and he was content. He snuffled closer to the warmth as he was pressed against the firmness of it. "I should have never agreed to mix our FEARs... but, I do not regret you. I would never regret you." Something wet was pressed against his head, something very prickly too. "I will keep you safe, Uruzar."

"You never want to get married?" Her voice questioned as she rested on a lounge chair beside the bed, the light spilling through the large, grand windows. Her brother's room was wide as it was long, tall as it was open. He was neat. Books lined the entire left wall, the en suite on the right wall. Desk pressed up against the desk and the bed against the center of the room, flanked by curtained windows that reached up to the ceiling. The siblings were spending their free time together, lounging in the brother's living quarters. After their morning lessons - which ended abruptly after Uru had frightened the tutor to leave - they had snuck their lunches back to the room from the helpful staff in the kitchen. It was idle chatter. First it was how excited the brother was to go to Amityville and how jealous the sister was. Then it was the uncertainty and the anxiety. The concerns about one another. Their joyous tone became serious and it was dampening their free time. So the sister, Brenna, had brought up a subject they had discussed before. One they had discussed in great detail. "Like ever."

"No." Uru had replied as he leaned against the pillow that lined the head of the bed, hands laced behind his head. Ever the conversationalist. That was okay, Brenna preferred to talk anyway.

"Is it because of what happened to mom and dad?"

Uru scoffed. "If you would consider that a marriage." The topic of their father was always a sore spot for the demon hellhound. The monster was their father but had left them at a young age, leaving the siblings with their mother and their uncle. In time, their uncle had tried to squeeze himself into the lives as a father figure, stepping up from watching guardian. It was annoying to the brother than anything else. Brenna was more polite about it. She had manners. Not to say that Uru didn't, he liked his father a lot. Admired him beyond anything else. To know that his uncle, his father's brother, was trying to take his place was a joke.

"So what about that ghoul mom got you engaged to?" Brenna questioned, rolling in the chair until she was on her belly, her ankles crossed above her as her head rested on her hands. Her platinum blond hair rolling over her shoulders.

"No. She..." Uru closed his eyes, furrowed his brows, and let out a hard exhale. "Look, if I was going to be with anyone, it is for comfort. Like, being around you is awesome, I am okay with it."

"So you won't love anyone?" The ghoul teased.

"I do! I love you and dad. But that's about it. Like..." Uru twirled his hand in the air as if stirring his thoughts to find the word. "Familial love."

His sister whined as she sunk low into the chair. Her brother raised a brow and a frown. "Like, no ghoulfriend or boilfriend?"

Another scoff from the male. "I don't think so. Partner maybe. If I can tolerate them and they put up with me. So whenever that happens, maybe I'll have someone I can be around and be happy with."

"If you're happy with them, and comfortable, that's a ghoulfriend!" The brother grumbled something as he threw a pillow in her direction. "Why does the idea of being married or bonded with someone so frightening to you!?" She threw back.

"Because I don't want to end up like dad!" He shouted, meeting her gaze with displaced anger. While Brenna's expression softened, his eyes were searching hers for a reaction that he had expected. When it wasn't there, he turned from her. "I won't get married, or bonded, or mated, or whatever. I am fine."

Brenna crawled out from her chair, sliding onto the bed beside her brother, his back toward her. "The staff talk about you, y'know." The brother offered a low sound of affirmation to say that he knew. "They say you're always angry because of mom and that dad is gone... that they don't want to get near you because you might get angry at them. But, y'know, I know the truth. You're actually quite bashful. You only look angry so the teachers get scared and try not to talk to you. So, everyone just thought you were angry all the time. But I know that when you want to talk to someone, you put on that angry face." Uru turned over his shoulder, his cheeks flush with the penchant expression she had been discussing. She poked his shoulder with a grin. "That one. It's because you don't know how to talk to creeple and get embarassed."

"Ugh!" Uru threw his arms up, exasperated as he threw the covers over himself. "Why are you reading my life!? You're spoiling it. You're spoiling my life."

"Well, you gotta pay for those good looks, sometime, brother."