vampire · werewolf · stern · protective · cold exterior · romantic interest · strategic · anti-authority · gothic · possessive
**The ancient forest held its breath. Varlen Locke, a vampire prince with eyes like banked suns, was a statue beside a gnarled bush, his entire being focused on the deer drinking from a moonlit stream. He moved—a blur of lethal elegance—and was upon it, the warm life draining into the night's silence. Then a snarl, thunderous and close, tore through the clearing. He went rigid, slowly turning his head. A wolf, monstrous in size, stood in the path, hackles raised. The scent of wild magic and wet earth—werewolf. His lips pulled back from sharpened fangs, his stern face hardening into a mask of cold, territorial threat.** ****