he night forest. I immediately notice the burning, sharp pain that's lighting my neck on fire with

rried? Like a f

e, cutting right through my cl

r anything at all. Warm fur tickles my palm, s

leaping out of the woods, roaring

s over me. I don't want to face t

let the safety of the

es the pounding worse. Out of instinct, my hand reaches up to the source of the pain. Instead of oozing b

dings. Through the trees, in the distance, a bri

ee it through the trees. Ho

for the spinning to stop and the nausea to pass

e stranger. Though strange is far f

ore. All my attention is on him and only him. His smell, his looks, and even the pleasant rhythm o

e a pure obsidian color, and they hold an uncanny resemblance to the glowing red ones I vaguely remember. Hi

t's clear that his build is larger than an averag

t. He's attractive in a way no on

ith some veins in his forearms. Judging from the raw power stored in that

n different brutal ways- and I feel like they have. Ye

r, making my focus on him so heigh

ut. Instead it gets stuck in the front of

a

h at th

ramble backwards on my butt, fight

fallen beech tree. It blocks me from going any fur

rom a standing position his size looks impossibly large

chest, getting louder as it travels up to his throat. "You smell l

s he mea

rs him, then that

hout missing a beat. That was a lie. That wa

gne mixed with the natural scent of a pine forest. And the fac

s seems to dance, like a black and grey fire burning in his irises. It's as thoug

he finally asks, the gr

may already trust him, begging for his arms

rd, hands clenching into fi

nt to tell him the truth. Not only because it would be voicing my misfo

I ask instead, trying

I've made him uncomfortable. For th

have the right to be uncomfor

glance past him and a lump forms in my throat at what I see. The snow is disturbed

iece of hot pink fabric laying

further, looking

roken in the snow. I recognize

od run

't need nor want to

on before answering with a

es

Goddamn it, why am I so nervous? If he wanted me

Why

hurt

o touch the bandage around my he

. She made snide comments about everything and walked over everyone. She

dead... who els

snap of a twig pulls me back to reality. My neck doesn't even have time to tur

tingling, pleasant fire. It's like a chain reaction, making my heart st

ing me. But I can't focus on anything except his body against mine. My neck tilt

ng me hallucinations or not, I think I he

gait of his walk while being carried by arm

n the small village of my pack. I happen to look up, and in the second story

contempt, glaring hatred at me even through the

de. They're all in the windows, peaking out and watching u

s that I didn't? Bes

nd; the one notoriously known as the Alpha's house. The stranger carrying me- my mate?- i

t door, angling me carefully so that my

asser waltzed through our village, and stepped int

d he do

nging the room into darkn

knots as the stairs creak under t