Chapter 9

The day broke as brightly as always with warm sunlight pouring into the room through the open window. It was the perfect morning for a pair of lovers who’d spent their entire night making love till their muscles were worn out.

Suddenly, their blissful sleep was interrupted by a series of hard knocks on the door. They woke up feeling disoriented by the unexpected intrusion.

“Did you order room service?” Farrah asked groggily. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep.

“No,” Ryan rasped. Who the hell was the intruder and what did they want? He rolled out of bed lazily then grabbed his joggers from the floor where they’d discarded it yesterday. He wore it as quickly as he could because the knocks were becoming incessant, and the noise was driving him crazy.

He unlocked the door and swung it open, ready to lambaste the unwelcome noisemaker, but the moment he laid eyes on the person, his frown of annoyance slowly gave way to an expression of shock.

“What are you doing here?” he questioned.

“What do you think I’m doing here?” the visitor asked.

“How the hell did you get here so quickly?” Ryan asked incredulously.

“Ever heard of private jets?”

Farrah wondered what was taking Ryan so long at the door. Who was the mystery visitor? She sat up and gathered the duvet around her to cover her nakedness.

“Who is it, Ryan?” she called out to him.

In response, the visitor elbowed Ryan out of the way and walked regally into the room like a proud monarch. Farrah’s jaw dropped when she saw who it was, she couldn’t believe what her eyes were seeing—even her brain refused to accept it as reality. Right there in front of her was the unknown woman she’d seen in her dream two days ago. Impossible!

The woman stood in the middle of the room, staring at Farrah with those piercing hazel eyes. She was dressed in a fashionable DVF wrap dress made of premium silk in pastel pink. Her lean physique was stylishly supported by nude stilettoes that blended perfectly with her tan skin tone. She wore her long black hair in a tight ponytail that highlighted her prominent forehead and angular facial features. The woman was even far more striking in real life than she was in the dream.

“Who are you?” Farrah managed to ask when she finally found her voice.

“She’s Aubrey Silver,” Ryan answered, coming to stand beside the woman. “Aubrey, this is Farrah Njoku.”

“You know her? Who is she?” Farrah asked Ryan. The woman’s name meant nothing to her. What Farrah wanted to know was who this strange person was and why she’d showed up suddenly out of thin air.

Ryan cleared his throat. “She’s my—”

“Fiancée,” the woman cut in, speaking for the first time. She had a strong, almost masculine voice that commanded attention. “I am Ryan’s fiancée,” she clarified.

Farrah froze. She felt a sudden wave of déjà vu as if this scene had happened before, but she knew it hadn’t. History was simply repeating itself from another angle; this time, she was the one caught in bed with another woman’s man. Humiliation and anger boiled in her eyes when she looked at Ryan for confirmation of Aubrey’s announcement.

“Is that true?” she asked him.

“No, not really,” he said with an apologetic expression.

“What I want is a yes or no answer, Ryan!” Farrah could feel her temper rising to the surface.

“I think you already know the answer,” Aubrey said to her triumphantly when Ryan didn’t respond to her question.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Farrah snapped at her. “And who the hell are you, by the way? Some kind of sorceress? Showing up in my dream to threaten me and then showing up again in real life to continue from where you left off? You know what, he’s all yours. I don’t do liars.”

“Wait, what? Who showed up in whose dream?” Ryan wanted to know.

“Ask your fiancée! I need to get out of here,” Farrah said.

She dropped the duvet, stood up from the bed completely naked before picking up her clothes off the floor and marching angrily to the bathroom to get dressed. She couldn’t believe that Ryan had turned out to be a shameless liar just like Alex. Well, none of that mattered anymore; after all, it wasn’t like they were dating or anything. It was just a brief holiday fling, so it wasn’t a big deal. Nonetheless, Farrah was hurt. This was the same guy who had told her early this morning that he was in love with her, and she too like a fool had told him that she was in love with him too. But did he have to go that far? What was his end game for lying to her like that? What did he stand to gain?

Once fully dressed, she returned to the room to get her bag and wear her sandals. Ryan and Aubrey had been having a heated argument in hushed tones but immediately kept quiet once she entered the room.

“You don’t have to whisper anymore. I’m leaving already,” Farrah informed them as she made her way to the door.

“Farrah, I’m so sorry about this,” Ryan apologized. “This is all just a huge misunderstanding.”

“I don’t care,” Farrah replied flippantly. “And I don’t ever want to see you anywhere near me again. Both of you.”

She stormed out and slammed the door behind her before Ryan even had a chance to redeem himself.

“She’s got a temper, that one,” Aubrey said with a victorious smirk once Farrah was gone.

“What I am still trying to figure out is what you’re doing here,” Ryan asked through clenched teeth. He too was on the verge of losing his temper.

“Isn’t it obvious? I came to keep you in check since you refused to heed my warnings. Even after I called you yesterday, you still went ahead to continue seeing her.”

Ryan rubbed the bridge of his nose. His patience with Aubrey was wearing thin but he couldn’t seem to find a way to get out of this mess he’d found himself in.

“Aubrey, I do not belong to you. I am not your property,” he said with forced patience. “You had no right to barge in here like you did, claiming to be my fiancée.”

“Point of correction: I did not barge in; you let me in. And do I have to remind you that we’re betrothed? If you don’t know, that’s the same thing as being engaged,” she said.

“It’s not the same thing, and you know it. How could you even abandon your business in Fairbanks and fly down here to spy on me?”

Aubrey owned a successful upscale fashion business that was steadily growing with three outlets in Alaska: two in Fairbanks and one in Anchorage. She was already looking into opening a branch in Chicago as well since she would be moving there to live with Ryan once they were married.

“Spy on you?” she asked icily. “Have you no shame? I am the one being disrespected and cheated on by you, yet you have the nerve to act offended. Are you kidding me?”

Ryan exhaled. This conversation was heading towards a dangerous territory, and he needed to steer it back before all hell broke loose. “Alright, I’m sorry.”

Aubrey sniffed. “Better.”

Ryan was still bristling but he decided to keep his cool. Arguing with Aubrey was only going to make things worse for him. “So now that you’re here, what do you intend to do?”

“I intend to take you back to Alaska with me today,” she said with authority.

“What the hell?” Ryan couldn’t believe her audacity. “What gave you the right to think you can just waltz in here and order me to return to Alaska with you as if I’m a child?”

“It’s not an order, Ryan,” she replied patiently. “You have no reason to be here anymore, so let’s go back home together.”

“And if I refuse?” he dared.

Aubrey shrugged nonchalantly. “If you refuse, I will not hesitate to let my father know exactly what you’ve been doing here.”

“Which is?”

Her eyes gleamed. “You dishonoring our betrothal by hooking up with that woman.”

“Seriously, Aubrey?” Ryan was incredulous. “What is wrong with you? Do you mean to tell me now that if we do get married, you will spend the rest of your life blackmailing into doing what you want?”

“If I have to, yes!” she admitted boldly.

Ryan wanted to smash his fist into the wall to expel his frustration. What did he ever do wrong in his life to deserve this sort of punishment? How was he going to survive the rest of his life being married to this psychopath? No, he couldn’t do it—wouldn’t do it.

“You know what, do what you must but I will not be your puppet,” Ryan told her. The clan be damned!

Aubrey’s nostrils flared in anger. “Are you calling my bluff?”

“Yes, Aubrey, I am calling your bluff. You want to run off to the clan and tell them you caught me with a woman, then go ahead. You and I aren’t married yet, so I don’t owe you my life.”

“But you owe me your loyalty! Just listening to you justifying your infidelity is nothing short of an embarrassment. We are betrothed, our wedding is to happen in a few months, yet you have the nerve to stand in front of me to imply that you haven’t done anything wrong? How dare you?”

Ryan ignored her outburst and walked over to the closet to grab a T-shirt. He put it on, then grabbed a few items around the room which he put in his duffel bag before heading towards the door. A thought occurred to him, so he paused with his hand on the doorknob to probe Aubrey about it.

“What did Farrah mean when she said you showed up in her dream to threaten her?”

Aubrey looked away. “How am I supposed to know?”

Ryan studied her for a few seconds before opening the door to leave. He didn’t believe her, but he also didn’t want to assume anything yet until he was sure.

“Where are you going, Ryan? You aren’t about to just leave me here all by myself, are you?”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” he confirmed.

“You wouldn’t dare,” she threatened him.

“As I said earlier, do what you must, Aubrey,” he said and left.

Aubrey remained where she stood, stewing in her anger. What did she have to do to win Ryan over? And why did he hate her so? For years, she’d admired him from a distance, longing to be his partner one day. She’d made a few attempts to become friends with him during the quarterly Full Moon Feasts in their hometown in Fairbanks, but he’d always ignored her. She had all but lost hope until one day, when she’d realized that her father was the leader of the clan, and he had the power to make her dreams come true. And so, she’d subtly but repeatedly dropped hints to her father about how nice it would be for their family to be linked to the well-respected Brown family.

Her father had read between the lines and notified the Browns of his intention to match-make his daughter with their older son. Of course, they’d jumped at the offer without hesitation. Who wouldn’t want to be a member of the clan leader’s family? Sadly, Aubrey’s dream didn’t come true in the way she’d expected. From the moment their betrothal was announced, Ryan became even more aloof towards her. All her efforts to make him fall in love with her were met with stony resistance time and time again, yet she’d refused to give up. Luckily for her, she was born with a gift—the dream watcher gift. Only a few of their kind had this gift and it was only used when necessary and with the consent of the subject being ‘watched' or with the consent of kin of the subject. Aubrey knew that it was very inappropriate to slide into Ryan’s dreams, but she couldn’t help herself. Now and then, she would sneak into his dream to watch him brood, relive memories, or create fantasies. It was intrusive, but she’d been so desperate to get to know her beau more that she’d thrown caution to the wind to stalk his nightly activities in dreamland. Imagine her dismay on one of such nights when she’d seen Farrah show up in his dream out of nowhere. Since then, she’d taken her surveillance to a whole new level of obsession. She’d even gone above and beyond to force her way into Farrah’s dream to threaten her to back off once she’d realized that the attractive woman was Ryan’s new lover.

It was an undignified thing to do, but she just couldn’t sit back and watch her betrothed continue to frolic with some random woman and get away with it. But since threatening that stubborn woman wasn’t enough to drive her away from Ryan, Aubrey had had to take this drastic measure of tracking Ryan down to do the dirty work in person. However, she was pained that Ryan hadn’t reacted to her threats as she’d expected him to. Now her coming to St. Kitts and Nevis was turning out to be a complete waste of time. Bloody hell!

She strolled across the room to settle herself delicately on the soft couch. Her mind was working furiously, trying to devise a clever plan to change her disappointment to victory. Whether Ryan liked it or not, he was hers, and she was ready to do anything to keep it that way. All she had to do was to come up with fool proof scheme to get rid of Farrah permanently and have Ryan all to herself once again.

As she ran through different scenarios in her head, she suddenly felt like a lightbulb had switched on in her brain the moment an unexpected wild thought crossed her mind. Why didn’t I think of this before? she mused as a devious smile curved her lips. She kicked off her stilettoes and curled her feet underneath her on the couch because she needed to get comfortable to properly plot her killer moves to the tiniest detail. This might be her last chance to win Ryan back, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to mess it up. There was too much at stake right now, so failure was not even an option.

******

One look at Farrah’s hard face, and Neemah immediately knew something was wrong. She didn’t want to guess or make assumptions, so she asked her ward if she was fine.

“Is everything alright, Farrah?” she asked carefully.

Farrah marched straight to the mini bar in the den to pour herself a generous amount of whiskey. On a regular day, she hated whiskey, but today wasn’t a regular day and she was way too upset to even care about the burning effect of the spirit as it traveled down her throat into her body. As she set her glass down, she noticed the charm bracelet on her wrist. It was another reminder of how foolish she had been—she’d thought this gift was a token of Ryan’s affection for her. What a lie!

She ripped off the bracelet and flung it across the room, and the pretty little thing landed on the floor near the pot of monstera plant in the corner.

“Farrah, are you ok?” Neemah asked. Now she was getting worried because Farrah wasn’t a fan of strong alcohol, but here she was guzzling whiskey like she was drinking water.

“No Aunty, I’m not ok,” Farrah replied with a shaky voice. “I’m just a stupid woman with a poor taste in men. I always fall for the liars and cheats of this world. I must be cursed!”

“Heavens forbid! Don’t say that, please,” Neemah rebuked her. “What happened?”

“Oh Aunty, you were right. Ryan wasn’t to be trusted. Do you know that he is engaged?”

“What?” Neemah gasped.

Farrah went on to update her on the humiliating showdown that happened at the hotel earlier in the day. She was so heartbroken that as she spoke, tears ran down her face. Neemah hugged her, trying to console her.

“I came here to recover from a broken heart, but all I ended up doing was breaking my heart the more. What is wrong with me?”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Farrah. You’re not the one who lied or cheated, it was Ryan. That’s not your fault, ok.”

“I just want to go back home right now. Let’s pack our bags and leave.”

Neemah was disappointed. Farrah was in worse shape than she was when they’d first come here. She felt responsible for not being more assertive when she tried to discourage Farrah from getting involved with Ryan. But then again, Farrah wasn’t a child; she was a grown woman who had the liberty to make her choices in life and learn from those experiences. That was how life worked; you win some, you lose some.

“We still have a few days to stay here; why don’t you let us spend our remaining days on the island doing what we came for? Let’s enjoy the beautiful scenery, eat all the delicious meals and treats we can lay our hands on, and just have fun. How about that?”

Farrah opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted by some hard knocks on the front door.

“If that’s Ryan, please tell him to go away or we’ll call the police.”

Neemah got up promptly and went to answer the door. True to Farrah’s suspicion, it was Ryan at the door, looking disheveled like an abandoned puppy.

“Hello, Aunty Neemah,” he greeted politely. “Please, I’d like to speak with Farrah.”

“She does not want to see you,” Neemah said flatly.

“Please, I need to talk to her. I owe her an explanation for what happened this morning. Please let me see her.”

His appeal fell on deaf ears. “You have to leave now,” Neemah told him. “Leave this very minute, or I’ll call the police.”

“What?”

“You heard me, young man. Go away.”

Ryan was disappointed, but right now, there was nothing he could do. Farrah was upset, and that must have ticked off Neemah, so the older woman’s reaction didn’t quite surprise him. He’d probably act the same way if he were in her shoes.

“Alright, then,” he conceded. “And for what it’s worth, I didn’t mean to hurt her. That was never my intention, and I am very sorry.”

In response, Neemah slammed the door in his face. She returned to the den where Farrah sat on the sofa, nursing her second glass of whiskey.

“You need to stop the drinking, Farrah. It won’t help you in any way; instead, it will make things worse. Let me make you a bowl of pepper soup. I know it will make you feel better.”

Farrah smiled. Neemah knew her so well. Pepper soup was a Nigerian delicacy made up of mostly pepper and a variety of sweet-smelling spices prepared with either meat or fish and eaten while hot. It was a perfect meal for cold weather but can also be eaten any other time. Having lived in a Nigerian household for over two decades, Neemah had learned to prepare the soup to perfection.

“That would be nice, Aunty,” Farrah said. “But where will you get the spices from? Will you have to go to the market for that?”

“No, I don’t,” Neemah assured her. “There are loads of spices in the pantry, I’m sure I’ll find some that will work.”

“Was that Ryan at the door earlier?”

“Yes. He should be gone by now because I’m sure he wouldn’t want to be arrested in a foreign country for trespassing.”

Farrah chuckled. She didn’t truly intend to call the police, but she knew Neemah wouldn’t hesitate to do just that if Ryan made the mistake of remaining at the doorway or even coming back later.

After Neemah went to the kitchen to start cooking, Farrah put down her glass of whiskey before reclining on the sofa to relax. She tried to keep her mind blank because she didn’t want to plunge herself into depression over her holiday fling fail. Shit happens, she thought. It’s time to move on.

Then again, Aubrey probably did her a favor by bringing her back to her senses, since she was already getting carried away with the good sex and thinking that she was in love with Ryan. The humiliating experience of this morning had refocused her perspective, literally bringing her back to earth. You were not in love with him, her brain told her. You were simply infatuated. With that bitter truth replaying in her head, Farrah drifted off to sleep and dreamed.

She was running, trying to find her way out of the forest. As she ran, she heard Ryan’s voice behind her, calling out to her to stop. She ignored him and kept running; there was a sense of urgency in her to get out of that place. Suddenly, from nowhere, the same silver wolf she’d seen in her previous dreams showed up in front of her, blocking her way.

“Too late,” the wolf said with bared fangs. “You’re mine now!”

With lightning speed, the wolf pounced on her, knocking her unconscious.

Farrah woke up with a start and saw Neemah laying down a tray of steaming pepper soup on the coffee table.

“Oh, sorry dear,” Neemah apologized. “I didn’t mean to wake you like that.”

“It’s fine, Aunty. I’m glad you woke me up. I dreamt I was getting attacked by a wolf.”

“What an awful dream,” her aunt said. “It was probably because of all that whiskey you drank before sleeping.”

“I don’t think so,” Farrah disagreed. “I’ve been having these particular weird dreams for some time now where I find myself in a forest at night. The first time I had the dream was the day after I broke up with Alex. Then it became more frequent when we came here. They used to be just whimsical, fairytale-like dreams, but in the past few days, the dreams have become sinister, and they now feature a silver wolf that keeps attacking me.”

“Whoa!”

“And get this, I saw Ryan’s fiancée in one of those dreams before I met her today. In the dream, she warned me to stay away from the forest. She called it a realm of wolves or something like that, and when I saw her today, I instantly recognized her.”

“Ok, that is officially the craziest thing I have ever heard.”

“I know right! And I had a feeling that she recognized me too when she saw me this morning. That shouldn’t be possible if we’ve never actually met before.”

“This is so strange. I was going to say that the dreams were probably just a metaphor for your current state of mind, but this part about Ryan’s fiancée showing up in your dream before you met her in person is quite disturbing. What do you think it means?”

“I have no idea, Aunty. The whole thing is just so creepy, I don’t even know how to react.”

They were both silent for some minutes, engrossed in their thoughts before Neemah finally broke the silence.

“You should eat your soup now, dear. It’s getting cold,” she said.

“Thank you, Aunty,” Farrah said. The soup didn’t quite taste like the ones she always had back home because some local spices were understandably missing, but it tasted good all the same. The strips of chicken breast in the broth were tender and delicious. When she was done eating, she suggested that they go out for a walk, to which Neemah happily agreed.

She didn’t want to spend her whole day inside, feeling sorry for herself simply because she got played by a fuck boy. It was hurtful but that was life; she just needed to be wiser in the future and guard her heart more closely. She also needed to kill that childish fantasy of falling in love with a Prince Charming who would sweep her off her feet, then marry her and they’d live happily ever after. That only happened in storybooks. In real life, there was no happily ever after. At least, that was what her romantic experiences have shown her.

They took a stroll through the lovely neighborhood, admiring the scenery. They stopped at a coffee shop for some pastries and milkshakes.

“Being here has been fun for the most part,” Farrah said wistfully as they sat down to eat. “But I can’t wait to get back home and start my life afresh. I need to hit the restart button on my life.”

“You’re right,” Neemah agreed. “And to achieve that, you need to leave every emotional baggage behind here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you need to get over this disappointment about your failed relationship with Ryan. You can’t return to Nigeria with that weighing heavily on your heart.”

Farrah giggled. “It wasn’t a relationship; it was just a thing and I’m over it. Yes, I am disappointed about how things turned out but that’s life. Very unpredictable.”

“Ok then, if you say so.”

“Seriously, I mean it,” Farrah insisted. “I’m over it.”

“Ok!” Neemah laughed.

After they left the coffee shop, they decided to take a taxi to the mall and buy some souvenirs to take home to their folks in Nigeria. They bought tribal jewelry, a beautiful Italian silk scarf and a handmade wide-brimmed beach hat for Farrah’s mom; a pair of locally made leather sandals and gold cufflinks for her dad, a bottle of exotic oud perfume for her uncle, and then a variety of raffia bags, trinkets and sweet treats for the domestic staff.

On their way back to the hotel, they grabbed some take-home dinner from an Indian Delhi since Neemah was craving a taste of her homeland that evening. Once inside the bungalow, they hurried into the kitchen and devoured their meals down to the last morsel.

“I’m stuffed!” Neemah announced with a smile of satisfaction.

“Me too,” Farrah croaked. “And it’s your fault.”

“I’m not sorry.”

“Neither am I. It was so worth it.”

Farrah didn’t think about Ryan until later that night when she finally lay down in bed, alone with her thoughts for company. She wondered how it would have been for her to say goodbye to Ryan tomorrow being his last day in St. Kitts and Nevis, had things not ended so abruptly between them this morning. Despite all the resentful thoughts and awful things she’d said about him all day, Farrah couldn’t deny that she missed him sorely and a part of her was tempted to go back to the hotel and just hear him out. But what about his creepy fiancée, Aubrey?

There was still no rational explanation for how the stunning woman had shown up in Farrah’s dream days before their physical meeting. It was all too weird and confusing. Although, she’d once heard of people visiting certain places in their dreams before going there in reality, to meet someone in your dream and then they show up in real life was unheard of to her. Plus, she wasn’t just some random stranger, she was engaged to Ryan. Something in her subconscious told her it wasn’t a coincidence, but she just couldn’t see the link yet.

With a weary sigh, she rolled over, facing the direction of the open bedroom window. The curtains were parted to let in the cool night air that smelled of roses and wildflowers. The full moon bathed the room with a flood of silver light. This would have been a perfect night to sleep in Ryan’s arms, she thought. Ugh, stop it!

She clamped her eyes shut, trying her best to fall asleep. She’d told Neemah that she was over Ryan, so she needed to start acting like it. No more wishful thinking about him, it was time to move on. As Farrah finally started to drift off into slumber, she thought she heard a low growl, but she ignored it. She knew the Devons had a cute German Shepherd named Bison, but she also knew that they never let the dog leave their home unaccompanied so there was no way it would come to the bungalow, much less stand by her window and growl.

Farrah snuggled deeper under the covers as fresh scented air continued to flow into the room. It was pure bliss except—the low growl again. Goddamn it, Bison! Let me sleep. She opened her eyes and was startled to see Bison standing by the window inside her room. The window was low and had no bars on it, so it was easy for a curious dog to climb in.

“Go home, Bison,” she mumbled groggily without getting up from the bed. The dog was a friendly animal, but right now, Farrah wasn’t in the mood to play—she wanted to sleep. She let out a long, tired yawn as her eyes began to close and…Wait!

Alarm bells went off in her head and her eyes snapped open. She looked back at the animal standing by the window and her breath left her. It wasn’t Bison! In fact, the animal wasn’t a dog; it was the huge silver wolf she’d seen in her dream, in flesh and blood. It stood at alert as if it were ready to lunge forward at the slightest provocation. Its fangs were bared, and its eyes glowed with hatred. The wolf growled again, this time, loud enough for Farrah to know for sure that it was ready to attack her.

Aubrey is the wolf; the wolf is Aubrey, the thought zipped through her mind with so much clarity that she couldn’t deny the truth in it. It seemed farfetched, crazy, illogical but it was the truth. Now all those weird dreams began to make sense to her. In what might be her final moment alive, Farrah realized that she had gotten herself mixed up in something way more mysterious and extremely dangerous than she’d thought. She began to shiver under the covers but not from the cool breeze coming in through the window. It was her fear of dying at the claws of this wild beast that made her bones shake and her skin crawl. She’s going to kill me! Farrah screamed internally.

As if to confirm her suspicion, the wolf took one menacing step forward then another which propelled it forward into the air and straight at Farrah. As the animal leaped into the air towards her, Farrah found her voice. She screamed at the top of her lungs, shrinking back into the bed in an attempt to escape her fate. The giant wolf landed on her, knocking the wind out of her and cutting off her shrill screams. From then on, everything happened so fast as if someone pressed the fast forward button. Another giant wolf dove in through the window in the nick of time, knocking away the silver wolf a second before it sank its teeth into Farrah’s neck.

The silver wolf landed hard on the ground but was back on its feet almost immediately. Just then, Neemah burst into the room to find out what all the noise was about. Unable to comprehend what her eyes were seeing, collapsed on the floor and fainted. Farrah was so terrified, she couldn’t move a muscle. All she could do was to remain where she was on the bed and watch the unbelievable spectacle unfolding right before her eyes.

The brown wolf stood guard over her in a stance that showed the other wolf that attacking Farrah was absolutely out of the question. That clear warning didn’t deter the attacker one bit because it dove at the brown wolf with the obvious intention of pushing it off the bed to reach Farrah, but that was not to be. Farrah’s rescuer met its opponent in mid-air and they both landed on the floor to engage in a tussle that lasted for more than ten minutes. Farrah had once wondered what it would feel like to have someone ride for her against all odds as Priye did for Alex, and now she knew—it was a damned good feeling, knowing someone had your back and was ready to fight to the death to keep you safe.

Even in her distress, Farrah observed that the silver wolf wasn’t quite interested in fighting with its counterpart, it was only searching for a way to get past the brown wolf so it could get back on the bed and rip Farrah to shreds. However, after trying severally but not succeeding, it stopped making attempts to pass. It gave Farrah one last hateful glare before running off towards the window and jumping out. Farrah’s savior maintained its position a bit longer, its full attention focused on the window as if waiting to see if the other wolf would spring back inside the room at any moment to continue from where it left off a few minutes ago. When it was finally convinced that its opponent wasn’t coming back, it turned around to face Farrah. As she looked into those bright brown eyes, Farrah knew without a doubt that she was looking into Ryan’s eyes.

How is this even possible? She wondered as her initial fear was slowly replaced with a combination of confusion and fascination. Is this a dream? Farrah asked herself, but even as her brain refused to accept what was staring her in the face as reality, she could see from her peripheral vision that her aunty was still lying unconscious on the floor. They were in her bedroom in the bungalow, and everything was one hundred percent real, so this wasn’t a dream at all.

“Ryan, what is going on?” she whispered to the wolf.

It advanced towards her slowly, as if afraid that any sudden movement might scare her. When the wolf was only a few inches away from the bed, it stood on its hind legs and instantly became Ryan. The transition was so smooth that Farrah could have as well imagined it. Ryan stood before her stark naked, his expression tense. He didn’t know what her eventual reaction would be now that she knew what he was.

“Please don’t be scared,” he said calmly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I’m not scared,” she said. “I’m just…confused. What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know, but first we need to check on your aunt to see if she’s ok. Do you have anything I can wear? I don’t want her to pass out again if she sees me like this.”

Farrah nodded and got off the bed. She knew he was trying to ease her tension with humor, but she wasn’t in the mood to laugh right now. What she needed was answers, not jokes. She went to the wardrobe to rummage through her things to see if she could find something for him to squeeze into. She found a pair of free-size white joggers that she loved to wear whenever she was having a lazy day indoors. When he wore the joggers, they were like capri pants on him but thankfully, the oversized grey T-shirt she gave him made him look a bit decent.

Once fully dressed, he went to where Neemah lay on the floor across the bedroom entrance. He checked her pulse and breathing pattern before carrying her off the floor.

“She’s going to be fine,” he informed Farrah confidently. “We’ll just have to revive her, but please, you can’t tell her what just happened in here. Please, Farrah, I’m trusting you with my secret. Can I count you?”

Déjà vu again, she thought. Alex once trusted her with his secret, but she messed up by telling her bestie who went and sold it to the press. Farrah couldn’t let that happen again; this man or creature, had just saved her life and the least she could do was to keep her mouth shut about his true identity even if that meant lying to her aunty. Exposing his secret might put him in danger and she didn’t want to be responsible for that.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell her anything,” she assured Ryan.

Following Farrah’s lead, Ryan carried Neemah to her room where he gently laid her on the bed. He tapped her cheeks firmly a few times while Farrah called her name as they worked together to try and revive the older woman. When her eyelids finally fluttered open, she moaned and asked for some water. Farrah grabbed the plastic bottle of water on the nightstand and helped Neemah take a few sips.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Farrah said. “Are you ok? Does your head hurt?”

“Yes, I’m fine. My head doesn’t hurt, I just feel a little woozy,” she said, rubbing her forehead. She noticed they had company and her eyes widened when she saw who it was.

“Ryan? What are you doing here?” she asked in surprise.

Ryan glanced at Farrah for help. He didn’t know the best way to respond to that question without implicating himself.

“I invited him over,” Farrah answered quickly. “I—I didn’t like the way we ended things, so I called him here for us to, you know, straighten things out before he leaves St. Kitts tomorrow.”

Neemah didn’t buy that story, but she let it slide. Farrah had always been a terrible liar, but she was a grown woman, and Neemah was willing to trust her ward's decisions, especially when it came to relationship matters.

“Why are you dressed like that?” she asked Ryan. “Are those Farrah’s clothes?”

“Um…yeah,” Ryan said with an embarrassed smile.

“So, what happened to you, Aunty? We found you passed out in front of my room,” Farrah said, changing the subject.

“Oh yes, yes. I’m not sure I remember the details of what happened, but I think I heard some sort of noise coming from your room, a scream I think, so I ran there to see what was going on and to check if you were ok. Then I think I saw a giant dog or was it two giant dogs in your room? I’m not sure but it looked like they were attacking you and I was so afraid and that’s all I can remember.”

Farrah took Neemah’s hands in hers in a gesture of comfort. “I guess that was a dream, Aunty. There’s no way I would have been attacked by two giant dogs this night and still be sitting here right now, unhurt. That’s not possible, it was a dream.”

“I think you’re right. I must have probably sleepwalked to your room, although that hasn’t happened in years.”

Farrah was intrigued. “I didn’t know you had a history of sleepwalking.”

“Well, that was a long time ago. I must have been a bit stressed from our outing earlier today for me to be sleepwalking this night. And to think that our reason for going out was for the sake of relaxing…what an irony.”

“Don’t worry about all that now,” Farrah soothed her. “I’ll make you a cup of herbal tea to help you sleep.”

Twenty minutes later, after Neemah had drunk her tea and was fast asleep, Farrah and Ryan returned to her room, quietly closed the door, and sat on the bed to talk.

“Do you think she’ll be ok?”

“Sure,” Ryan said confidently. “Just make sure to check on her at intervals to see if she’s sleeping well or needs something, but I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

Farrah sighed. “Can we talk about you now?”

Ryan smiled. “Of course. Where do I begin?”

“From the beginning, please. I don’t even understand why I’m not freaking out right now after what just happened here a couple of minutes ago. What are you?”

It was Ryan’s turn to sigh. “Well, I am what people might call a werewolf or a shapeshifter.”

“Wait, those aren’t real, are they? Those are just fictional characters created by authors and movie producers. They don’t exist in real life.”

Ryan chuckled. “You’d be amazed if you knew the various mythical beings that do exist in this world. And you’ll also be shocked at how much effort has been put into making the general public believe these creatures don’t exist. Inspiration for the books and movies didn’t come from thin air, you know. There’s an origin, but that’s a story for another day. Let’s just talk about me for now.”

“That’s mind-blowing,” Farrah said in awe.

“My kind has been existing as long as mankind has. Our ancestors were formed when a warrior called Vak Smallchief, on a quest for power to defeat his enemies, sought an alliance with a pack of wolves that lived near the Denali Mountain. With the wolves by his side, he fought and won many wars after which he eventually became the supreme ruler of all the tribes in that region. His thirst for more power drove him to seek the counsel of a powerful shaman who told him to mate with a female wolf on the night of a full moon so that he could become one with the wolves and harness their powers. This he did and the bloodline of werewolves, my ancestors, began.

“Vak eventually relieved the wolves of their battle duties, since he could now transform into a wolf at will to devour his enemies. Every child born to him by his many wives inherited his werewolf and shapeshifting powers. They grew up and started their own families, and as their population increased among humans, they divided themselves into clans and spread out across the country. Each clan consists of about five or six families of werewolves living in the same community. They meet at intervals to discuss issues about their welfare and the progress being made by clan members in the human world. This usually happens during the Feast of the Full Moon, a day set aside to celebrate the beginning of our existence, thanks to Vak Smallchief. It’s like our version of the fourth of July celebration, except it’s more frequent and way more fun.

“As the years passed by and civilization came, some humans informed the government about the werewolves with claims that they feared for their safety, although there had never been any report of humans getting attacked by werewolves. Some of our kinds were captured and tortured to death under the guise of carrying out experiments. Scientists wanted to know how the werewolves could switch from human to animal and vice versa. Several studies were carried out in attempts to learn how to manipulate our shapeshifting techniques, but they all failed. Of course, you won’t find this in the history books because they were top secret experiments that ended with the death of the last werewolf that was captured. Because of that, we receded into the shadows to prevent further capture. Eventually, tales of werewolves became mere folklore told to the public for entertainment. It was the price we had to pay to remain alive.”

“Wow,” Farrah breathed when Ryan was done talking. “If I hadn’t seen you in action tonight, I wouldn’t have believed any of these things you’re telling me now. So what happened to Vak Smallchief? Was he captured too?”

“No, he wasn’t. He died centuries before the capturing began.”

“Oh, I see,” Farrah said. She thought for a few minutes before speaking again. “So, you mean everyone in your family is like you?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Including my brother’s wife and their baby.”

“Wow…”

“Yeah, and Aubrey too. Obviously.”

“Speaking of Aubrey, are you two engaged for real?”

“Not exactly. Her father is the head of our clan, he is the current chief. He approached my family to ask if they’d be fine with his daughter and me getting married and my parents agreed without even asking me because they assumed that I’d be thrilled about it. Imagine my shock during the Feast of the Full Moon some months ago when it was announced to the entire clan that Aubrey and I were betrothed to be married later this year. Arranged marriages are pretty common among my kind, it was a safety measure to ensure that we don’t get emotionally entangled with a human who might eventually sell us out and have us captured again. But here I am breaking all the rules.”

“I promise you, Ryan, I would never share this with anyone. Not even my aunty,” Farrah said sincerely.

“I believe you,” Ryan said. “You know, before I met you that day at the greenhouse, I’d seen you in my dream. You were running after a guy who kept walking away from you.”

“Could this get any creepier?” Farrah laughed. “I had the same dream too!”

“For real?”

“Yes. And I saw Aubrey in my dreams too before she showed up at the hotel this morning. Is that a werewolf thing? You know, showing up in people’s dreams.”

“Not exactly. Only a few of us have that gift. I didn’t even know I had it until that night that I first saw you in my dream. Or your dream, as the case may be. I think that was when I had the premonition that I’d meet you soon in person, although I didn’t know when or where.”

After a brief pause, he asked, “Did Aubrey say anything to you when you saw her in your dream?”

“Yes. Initially, she kept telling me to stay away from what was hers. Then another time, she threatened outright, saying something about me not surviving if I showed up to the realm again. I was confused like, hey, this is my dream. How do I not show up in my dream? I can’t control what I dream about, can I?”

“She wasn’t supposed to do that,” Ryan said. He sounded irritated. “Werewolves with the dream gift aren’t supposed to encroach into the dream of others without invitation. I know I showed up in your dream uninvited, but I swear, I can’t explain how that happened. But for Aubrey to be in your dream, communicating with you…that wasn’t a mistake. She most definitely found you in my dreams.”

“Whoa, she’s been spying on you?”

“It appears so.”

“What are you going to do now? What if she comes back here?”

“That’s unlikely. She knows attacking a human unprovoked is against the rules and I caught her red-handed doing just that. She wouldn’t dare attempt it again.”

“So what happens now?”

“To be honest, I don’t know,” Ryan said. He sounded worried. “I broke the rules too. I had no business getting involved with you to the point of falling in love, but I did. The betrothal announcement caught me off guard and I didn’t want to embarrass my family, so I didn’t contest it. Where I come from, being betrothed was almost the same thing as being married even though the official marriage rites hadn’t been performed. So me having a fling with you is like cheating on Aubrey.”

Farrah didn’t know what to say. Ryan had just told her again that he was in love with her, and she believed him because she could hear the sincerity in his voice. But where did that leave her? It was crystal clear that their relationship was doomed from the get-go; plus, he wasn’t fully human, and he was already committed to marrying someone else.

Despite all the nasty thoughts and even nastier things she’d said about him all day, she couldn’t deny the fact that she was in love with Ryan too. She knew she should stay away from him after everything he’d just told her about himself, but she didn’t want to. She also knew she probably should be afraid of him, but she wasn’t. She’d always felt safe with Ryan and that hadn’t changed even though she was now aware that he wasn’t just a regular guy.

“Listen, Farrah,” he said, breaking into her thoughts. “I’m returning to Fairbanks tomorrow and I don’t think you and we would ever see each other again.”

“Why not?”

“It’s the right thing to do. I don’t want to humiliate my family by breaking my betrothal to Aubrey. Stuff like that is pretty serious amongst my kind and my family could get banished if things go sideways. I don’t want them to be disgraced because of me. They don’t deserve that.”

“But what about me?” Farrah wanted to know. “What do I deserve? You said you love me or was that a lie”

“No. That wasn’t, isn’t a lie. I love you, Farrah. I’ve been in love with you from that night I saw you in our dream. Believe me when I say that I have never felt this way about anyone before. For years, I have waited for a time like this when I would feel what it is like to fall in love and be loved in return, but unfortunately, our timing is wrong. If I’d met you before I got roped into agreeing to marry Aubrey, this would have been a different ball game.”

Farrah had been in love before, but not like this. This was more…encompassing. How could she experience something this beautiful and then just let it go? How?

“I love you too, Ryan. Just like you have said, I wish we’d met under a different circumstance, but I think we can still make this work. This isn’t the Stone Age, and you don’t have to marry someone you don’t love just to impress your family. Look at me, I am a perfect example. I broke off my engagement with my ex-fiancé because I knew I couldn’t marry him knowing he’d lied to me from the beginning of our relationship. Why would you want to spend your life with someone that you might end up resenting?”

“I understand you, Farrah but this isn’t just about me. It’s about—”

“Your family,” she cut in. “I get it, but your parents have lived their lives and your brother is living his life happily with a partner of his choice. So, what about you? Don’t you deserve to be happy too?”

He sighed but said nothing. Farrah could tell that as much as he hated the thought of marrying Aubrey, he would still go along with it because he was noble, and he didn’t want to be responsible for dishonoring his family or having them banished from the clan. It was unfair but Ryan seemed determined to follow the rules and do the right thing even if it meant breaking his heart and Farrah’s.

She admired his guts, but it hurt her to know that she might never be with Ryan like this again. She scooted closer to him on the bed where they both sat, then she linked her arm with his.

“Ryan, I know you and I may not have the opportunity to be together like this ever again, so let’s make our last night together special,” she said softly.

He searched her face. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. Make love to me Ryan.”

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Yes, I am sure,” she replied confidently. “Nothing else would make me happier right now.”

He held her face tenderly before leaning closer to kiss her. It was the kiss of a man bidding his lover farewell. Farrah clung to him tightly, her hands roaming over his face, torso, and everywhere else they could reach. She wanted to memorize every inch of him before he was gone from her forever.

She reached for the hem of his T-shirt and lifted it to undress him. Then he stood up and wiggled out of her joggers. In one swift motion, Farrah took off her flimsy nightdress, revealing her beautiful naked body. She got on the bed, then laid on her back, giving Ryan an aerial view of her body as he stood over her. He climbed on the bed to join her, his body quivering slightly with anticipation. This was their last night together, so he wanted it to be memorable, but he was afraid he might mess things up because of his burning need to ravish her in a fast and furious style.

Ryan began by kissing her shapely calves, then he inched upwards ever so slowly towards her thighs, leaving a trail of wet kisses as he proceeded. Once he reached the mound of her womanhood, he paused briefly to admire it, making Farrah squirm under his gaze. With his long fingers, he parted the lips to reveal her throbbing clitoris. He touched the tip lightly with his tongue, causing Farrah to gasp from the effect of that singular act. He continued to take tentative licks, slowing down and speeding up at intervals. Farrah had to put a hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming and waking up every soul on the island.

When he changed tactics from licking to full-blown sucking, Farrah sat up and grabbed his head with both hands as if to stop him even though she didn’t want him to. While still actively sucking her clit, he slid two fingers into her to work her from the inside. At that point, she knew she would implode if she didn’t find an outlet for the screams bubbling inside of her, so she grabbed a fistful of her bedsheet and stuffed it in her mouth to muffle her loud moans.

He continued to eat her like a hungry lion eating his last meal, his chin covered in her juices. This night was for her—he wanted to give her an unforgettable parting gift. He withdrew his fingers out of her then gently slid one into her anus. Farrah had never had anal sex before, so this was new to her but to her surprise, it was extremely pleasurable. He slowly thrust his finger in and out of her backside while still lapping up her kitty like he was eating vanilla ice cream. Farrah thought to herself, If I die now, I die a very happy woman. She was swimming in a sea of unexplainable levels of orgasm.

Ryan withdrew his finger out of her, then crawled up her body while creating a new path of wet kisses till he reached her boobs. Without preamble, he drew one of the erect nipples into his mouth and sucked it with so much zeal as if he was trying to extract breastmilk from it. Farrah writhed under him, her hands gripping his shoulders tightly. He moved to second boob, sucking it with equal fervor before advancing to her neck. He buried his nose there, sniffing her and kissing the sensitive spot till Farrah giggled. He nibbled on her earlobe and whispered, “I love you,” in her ear.

She removed the bedsheet she’d stuffed in her mouth to whisper back, “I love you, Ryan.” Then, she turned her face and kissed him deeply. She reached down with one hand to grab his hardened cock, then she began to stroke gently. Farrah loved the way he moaned under her touch—she wanted to give him as much pleasure as he had given her.

“I want to be inside you right now, Farrah,” he whispered shakily.

“I want you too,” she replied, then guided him into her.

He moved over her slowly, making smooth shallow thrusts that gradually went deeper and deeper till he finally filled her up. She began to move her hips wildly, urging him to pick up the pace but he didn’t. He kept his movement slow and deliberate till Farrah cried from the torturous pleasure of it. She used to believe that missionary style was the most boring sex position, but Ryan was showing her tonight that it wasn’t. The way his body moved over her so sensually, his hard chest rubbing against her soft breasts, their taut bellies touching, sweats mingling, hips joined—it was so erotic and perfectly delicious! And they weren’t just having sex this time around, they were making love.

His pace began to quicken involuntarily, so she knew he was about to meet her at the peak of ecstasy. She looked into his eyes and saw him looking back at hers. Perhaps she imagined it, but she thought his eyes glowed in the dark. As they both came together in one explosive burst of climax, Farrah had a vision.

She saw herself and Ryan walking hand in hand on a field covered in lush green grass and flowers of varying bright colors. Two children ran ahead of them and as they did, they transformed into pups.

The vision was like a quick zap that lasted for only two seconds, but it was vivid enough for Farrah to remember the details. She and Ryan clung to each other as their bodies convulsed in a fit of powerful orgasms.

“I am going to miss you so much,” Ryan said when his breathing returned to normal. His head was nestled on Farrah’s bosom.

“I’m going to miss you too,” she replied. “I don’t want to imagine what my life is going to be like after tonight.”

He sighed. “A part of me wishes that we never met, then you would’ve just had your holiday in peace and returned home refreshed and happy.”

“But then I would have missed out on the chance to meet a real-life mythical creature who has taught me that love can creep up on you when you’re not even looking. And let’s not forget about the awesome sex. I’m going to miss that too.”

Ryan laughed and raised himself on his elbows so he could look at her as he spoke. “I am truly glad I met you. Thank you for giving me an experience of a lifetime. I’d never been in love before but because of you, I now know what it feels like. Whatever happens to me after today because of this, I’ll gladly accept it knowing that we have shared these past few days have been worth it. And I’m not talking about the sex, I mean the connection—that deep friendship we’ve shared. I will cherish every single memory we’ve made for the rest of my life.”

Farrah felt her nose tingle as tears clouded her eyes. “Oh Ryan, I hate goodbyes.”

“Me too,” he agreed with glistening eyes.

“Why don’t you give me your number, we could still keep in touch, you know. Just as friends.”

He shook his head. “You know that’s not possible. You and I can’t be just friends. That could never be enough for us. Aside from that, I don’t want to put you in any more danger. Aubrey’s attack on you tonight was because of me. I don’t want anyone else to come after you. I’d never be able to forgive myself if you got hurt because of me.”

A thought occurred to her as he spoke, so she asked, “Do you think Aubrey’s attack was what that psychic woman at the flea market was talking about the other day?”

Ryan considered it. “Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “I just thought she was a drunk woman who simply made a lucky guess. You know some of those so-called psychics are con artists, right?”

“Well, her lucky guess turned out to be accurate, so I think she’s legit.”

“Whatever,” he said absently.

“You got busted. Get over it.”

He laughed. “I’m going to miss this too. No one else makes me laugh this much when I’m with them.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” she said with a smile.

He rolled off her and laid beside her. “Let’s get some sleep, my love. Tomorrow is another day.”

“It sure is,” Farrah agreed and snuggled up to him.

They fell asleep in each other’s arms. Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by a naked woman who stood in the shadows beside the window. She continued to observe the sleeping lovers in silence, like a night guard on duty.

She longed to climb into that bed and lie down beside Ryan, to feel his body against hers, to have him touch her and caress every inch of her body tenderly as he’d done with his lover. She’d seen them make love intensely for several minutes while she watched from her hiding spot behind the low fence covered with flowers and tall grasses near the window. Her body had yearned for that lavish affection that Ryan had given his lover, but all she could do was to watch them helplessly as if her eyes were glued to the erotic lovemaking scene playing out before her. She’d climbed into the room after they’d both fallen asleep to get an up-close look at them. She wondered if this was a perfect time to kill the sleeping woman, but even as she thought it, she knew it wasn’t possible. Ryan would wake up before she reached the bed because his sense of perception was razor-sharp. He might even smell her now and wake up if she didn’t leave the room soon.

You’re going to be mine, Ryan, she thought with determination. I don’t care what I have to do to make it happen, but you will be mine!

Aubrey turned around and jumped out through the window as a woman but landed on the grass outside as a giant silver wolf. After one final look at the sleeping lovers, she turned and quietly disappeared into the night.