KazAlkemi

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
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Cass bats Nic’s hand away from her hair. ”You can’t tame something that doesn’t want to be tamed,” she said and mussed up her hair so that it was even more unruly. She grinned at him. ”It’s the Scottish heritage. I can’t tell you how many hairbrushes and hair ties I’ve broken over the years.”

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
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Cassiopeia blushes for the first time in hours. ”Open for the cats,” she said, and moves her hair over to her other shoulder. ”I wasn’t sure what side of the bed you wanted… I usually just sleep wherever the cats aren’t,” Cass said with a bit of a laugh, the sound weird to her ears.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
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Cassiopeia’s focus doesn’t waver when Nic makes his proclamations or when he moves her off his lap and onto the bed. She folds her legs out, sitting cross legged and watches him walk around her bedroom to tend to the laundry.

Wayland bolts out the door before Nic, Calypso quickly on Nic’s heels. The sight warms Cassi’s heart more than anything.

She had thoughts and dreams about Nic being in her room for the first time and this definitely wasn’t how she had envisioned it, but she didn’t mind the slower pace.

Cassiopeia shifts on the bed after Nic leaves and moves her blankets and rearranges the pillows. She’s unsure what side of the bed Nic may want so she stays in the middle until his return.

I’m here for the long haul. Cassi’s heart had started to pound in her ears when Nic said that. She was too tired to unpack the full meaning of that statement, but she sincerely hoped that was true. She wouldn’t mind walking through this life with Nic by her side. She had spent too many lifetimes on her own for a good portion of them. She didn’t want to keep going through this one without someone.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Nic’s smile is infectious and Cassi can’t help but reach out and brush her fingers along his dimple. She isn’t sure why, but in that moment, she feels that those smiles are for her and only her. Cassiopeia is certain Nic smiles like this for others when he is genuinely happy, but in this moment she chooses to believe otherwise.

His words cause her heart to flutter in her chest and Cassi places a hand over his chest. ”Thank you for looking after me… Thank you for staying.”

Nic could have easily left, and Cassi wouldn’t have blamed him. He didn’t sign up for any of this.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
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”Some people would argue you were in shock,” Cassiopeia pointed out when Nic stated he hadn’t been afraid. Cassi was happy to hear that he wasn’t, though.

She looked into Nic’s eyes and brushed her fingers down his cheek. ”I would never hurt you,” she declared.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Cassiopeia tries not to get mad at Nic, but she’s emotionally wrecked right now. She pulls her head from his neck, shifting away from him a bit to stare at the floor.

”Yes, I’m sure he’s really struggling with the fact that he’s choosing the person who lead the charge and murdered my entire family. I feel absolutely terrible for him.” Her tone was full of bitter sarcasm, but she didn’t care about being sympathetic right now.

Nic switches the topic of conversation and Cassi looks back at him and nods. ”It was. The lightening was controlled. You were never in danger,” she found herself adding.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
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Cassiopeia breathed in Nic’s scent steadily, listening to his heartbeat, and feeling the vibrations of his voice as he spoke. All of these things, coupled with the cats’ growling and meowing grounded Cassi in the present. She shifted just slightly to watch her fingers trace lines along Nic’s collarbone.

”The mating bond is formed when the dragon chooses whom they want to mate or form a life bond with. It is like a contract, but it is much deeper than that. It is all consuming. It’s like a soul mate but on a larger scale. Werewolves also have a mating bond, but dragons have a choice who they wish to bond to, whereas werewolves mating bond is predetermined by the wolf. It is like a soul connection, and when they come across that person with the matching half, it snaps into place. But a werewolf can reject the bond if they wish, but most don’t as the feelings of the bond are all consuming and can be painful to ignore.”

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Cassiopeia lets Nic scoop her up and cradle her close. Despite the horrible memory, Cassi smiles as she curls into Nic and rests her head in the crook of his neck. ”They didn’t feel anything. They killed my sisters, my brothers, and my mother and didn’t feel a thing.”

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
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Cassiopeia naturally closes her eyes, letting her mind and body focus on Nic’s hands and his subtle touches. She takes a deep breath in and nods. ”I saw the night my family was murdered. I was back in that field but the perspective was wrong. I was seeing it from Nero’s point of view. They were there. They led the army of demons that killed my entire family.” Her voice cracked on the last word, and the tears started again. Her hand tightened on Nic’s stomach as the pain of the memory washed over her.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Avery Zain

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Location: Caden's House – Chicago, IL
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She slams the door, and Avery locks it right away. What the hell just happened? Avery rested his forehead against the door and tried to breathe, but he ended up slamming his hand into the door. The wood splinters, and Avery walks away.

Inside, he feels like he’s being ripped in two. This can’t be happening. You’re wrong.

But I’m not.

”Shut up,” Avery growled and laid on the bed. He covered his head with a pillow, trying to get his wolf to shut up.

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Outside, the wolf pack of Chicago had been hunting and patrolling in the woods behind Caden's house. They had noticed the unnatural storm in the area, and now the destroyed trees. Levi guessed it was Caden's sorcerer friend. Trouble in paradise he surmised. That was good news. It meant Caden wasn't as strong as he pretended to be. Perhaps they could finally drive him and his pet wolf out of Illinois.

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
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”I’m sure. It’ll help me process everything rather than repress it,” she said and leaned into Nic’s touch. Wayland and Calypso continued to chase each other around Cassi’s room, jumping over the bed and running all over the place. It was strangely normal for Cassi, and it helped her to remain present. Her hand on Nic also aided in her task to remain focused.