*The night air was inviting, pleasant, and warm with a gentle breeze. Looking up in the sky, he could feel the pull of the moon, almost seducing him as he made his way to an open field.
Then, a chill rattled through his bones. He shut his eyes and breathed in. Out of nowhere, everything was in black and white when he opened his eyes, which were now a bright amber instead of blue.
All of a sudden, everything spun.
He groaned and collapsed on the grass, pain prickling into his skin. He writhed, flat on his back. Every bone in his body became stiff, and he was hot to the touch.
For a minute or so, he struggled hard…until he finally stood up on all fours. He opened his mouth, but a loud growl came out instead of actual words. It was like he was inside a different body. And with his breathing and deafening roars, he could tell it wasn’t any human body he had suddenly possessed.
He howled into the night before everything around him went pitch black. He fell back onto the grass, wriggled, and clawed at what he could only guess was dirt. The darkness filled him until all he could do was cry out in frustration.
He had no idea what was going on with him.
He screamed, twisted, and squirmed.
Then a sound of a soft voice startled him, and he suddenly became aware, for the first time, that he was again standing on his feet―and he was no longer alone.
He turned around and saw her.
His heart pounded in his chest and, right then, the strangest sensation came.
“Harper,” his voice finally came back.
The strength and attraction that spread throughout his entire being were just overwhelming. The moon's light above largely illuminated everything around them, a few trees scattered here and there. The wind was biting at his naked body, but he didn't notice it either. All he saw was her, and all he wanted to do that very moment was to claim her.
He advanced on her―who the beast in him could see was a weak―a human. Nonetheless, lust and power lit up his insides, growing stronger by the second.
Harper’s mouth moved, but he couldn't hear anything she was saying.
Then he felt the heat. The air suddenly turned warm.
And in one swift motion, he was upon her almost immediately.
Harper looked up into his eyes that had already restored its blue color, though the shade was so dark, like the sky above them. When a roar echoed throughout the trees, she was frozen to her spot on the ground.
He leaned closer to better look into her eyes, heat emanating from his naked body. The beast inside him roared.
“Hello there, curious little kitty,” he said; his voice was deep.
Harper merely closed her eyes and grabbed hold of the fabric of her dress. She took a deep breath, then opened her eyes up.
“Do you know what will happen to you now, my dear Harper?”
She stayed still, her mouth closed. It was as if her body was there, but she had been muted, not to utter any word.
With intense interest, he turned her around and unzipped the back of her long chiffon dress. Carefully, he moved it off her shoulders and slid it down her arms. The sheer dress pooled at her feet. Without any signs of protest, she stepped out of it and pushed it aside with her foot.
He smirked as he stared at her exposed breasts, sending a shiver running down her spine. His wolf purred within him.
Without tearing his gaze off her, he slid a hand down her front and touched her folds. He smiled menacingly at her when he felt how wet she was for him and proceeded to massage her slick slit.
Harper gasped softly and then swallowed hard while moving her hips with his motions as he rubbed her back and forth with his thumb.
Then, he stopped and took her hands with an intense growl. He got down on his knees and guided her to join him. He laid her down on the grass. He thought she should have screamed or run away from him. But, for some reason, the only thing she did was obey him. Even as he climbed on top of her and leaned over, exposing his throbbing manhood, she did nothing.
“Oh, my dear Harper, I’m quite surprised how ready you are for me,” he muttered, his voice as hoarse. Teasingly, he pressed the head of his cock against her center.
Harper gasped at the sensation at the pit of her stomach. She moaned when he took one of her nipples into his mouth and sucked on it while his hand slid down between her legs and his thumb went on to rub her dripping mound. She whimpered. She gripped on the grass when he bit down on her bud and rolled it with his tongue.
When he could no longer wait, he positioned himself on top of her, grabbed his hard length. Harper’s eyes shot wide open the moment he penetrated her.
He felt her entire body tensed up as she adjusted to his length and size. But he went right on ahead, pushing his erection farther and farther into her. With shaking legs, all Harper could do was groan and spread wider for him and continued to grip the grass she lay upon as he sank deeper inside her.
He began to pull his length back, but when he thrust back into her, filling her and pushing even more, Harper threw her head back and moaned loudly in the night. Her back arched as he began thrusting in and out of her, slamming his hips into her own, sinking just a little more of him inside her every time.
Harper’s entire body shook, and he continued to slide his manhood in and out of her glistening slit. Her small breasts were bouncing up and down wildly. Her moans were encouraging him to push some more as he looked up at the moon above them.
When he looked down at her, his hands rested around her shoulders to keep her in place. Slowly, he leaned toward her neck, then down her left shoulder, and he began to suck on the flesh. He thrust into her once more, when she arched her back, he suddenly sunk his teeth into her flesh. Almost instantly, he heard her yell in great pleasure. But when he started to suck on the bite, she tried to push her hands against his chest to get him off her.
Harper shuddered. She fought underneath him, but her cries were somehow stifled. He growled at her reaction, looked up at the moon, and howled for a few seconds.
He looked down at her again, but his eyes widened in shock as soon as he caught sight of her, or rather the woman that was moaning in pleasure underneath him. He promptly pulled out and moved to climb off her, but the woman quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.
“Who-who are you?” he asked.
“What are you asking? I’m your mate. Now, finish the mark,” the woman whimpered.
Even his wolf couldn’t recognize her.
“No!” he protested.
“No? I’m your mate. Finish the mark. Please…” she implored, eyes begging him.
“I don’t know who you are…” he heard his voice trailed off. He slightly pulled away, then looked down at the woman as he struggled to take it all in. Pale skin, glowing red eyes, jet black hair, her features were disturbingly striking. She was beautiful, but she wasn’t Harper. Her face didn’t register to him at all.
So when her arms and legs loosened up around him, he quickly took this as his opportunity to pull himself up.
“Where are you going? Finish the mark.”
He shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Don’t leave me.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, then left the woman behind crying for him.*
Alex sat up in bed, beads of sweat rolling off of his forehead. His pulse was racing, his breathing ragged. When he found the opposite side of the bed empty, he pushed the sheets aside and walked out onto the balcony despite the visible massive bulge beneath his boxer shorts.
As soon as he was outside, he took long deep breaths, letting the cold wind brush his bare skin. It had rained earlier, and now a thin fog had enveloped everything around him. From where he was standing, he could see the streetlights flickered. One of the lamp’s light reflected on the puddles beneath it.
*How could his sight suddenly be this sharp?* He briefly wondered.
He shook his head as he leaned over the railing. But it was when he thought back about the woman in his dream when his mind suddenly raced.
*How could he feel like he had known her before yet not feel any connection at all? But who could she be? Was she someone from his past whom he had forgotten like the rest of his life? Was she really his mate? What could that even mean?*
He spared one more thought at the beautiful woman that took Harper’s place in his dream and inhaled slowly, deeply.
“What are you doing here?”
Alex spun around and saw Harper walking out of the glass door that led out to the balcony. “What the hell are you doing here?” he threw her question back to her.
In an attempt to avoid directly look into his eyes, Harper ended up scanning down his bare chest and over the bulge on his boxers. She shook her head. “I asked you first. What are you standing half-naked here for?”
"You should really know by now how I prefer to sleep in my boxers," Alex growled, somehow pissed at her for not knowing something as trivial as his sleeping preference.
"I asked you what are you doing here," she snapped at him. "It’s cold!"
“I had a bizarre dream, and I needed some fresh air. You weren’t there beside me when I woke up. Where the hell were you anyway?” he barked back.
“Kendal’s room. For some girl talk, if you must really know.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “What was your weird dream about?” she asked, walking towards the railing.
“You,” he answered stiffly.
“You…you had a dream about me?”
“Yes. Now let me be, Harper.”
“What was the dream about?” she pressed in, her eyes betraying her when it briefly drifted over his bulge again that was still very visible. Her cheeks instantly heated up.
Alex looked like he noticed this but didn’t mind it and went on to say, “You don’t want to know.”
“It’s about me. I think I have the right to know.”
“Are you sure you want to know?” His lips formed a smile as soon as he saw her cheeks blushing. “I was on top of you. Do you want me to continue?”
“No!” Harper yelled, putting her hand over his mouth to stop him.
He gently pulled her hand away to say, “Why not? You were really―”
“Stop it!”
Without letting go of her hand, Alex laughed. Then his thumb caressed her palm, eyes locked on hers.
As soon Harper noticed his gentle gesture, she quickly jerked her hand away from his. She blushed even deeper, until her cheeks were a dark red and looked away. His playful banter surprised her. And considering what he was previously like, she found his playfulness hard to get used to.
She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Hey! You asked.” He started laughing again. “Want to reenact the dream with me?”
“Shut up about it already!” she hissed, her eyebrows pulled together in annoyance. “I don’t want to know anymore. Okay?”
Alex’s laughter subsided, but his smile remained. “Okay. Now, let’s go to bed.”
“You go ahead.”
“It’s really late, and it’s really cold out here.”
“Compared to you, I’m fully clothed with my pajamas,” Harper argued.
“Well, it’s time to sleep,” Alex insisted, taking a few quick strides towards her.
“Hey!” she exclaimed, and to her utter surprise when he tossed her up and over his shoulder. "Alex! What are you doing? Put me down!"
"I told you. It’s late. It’s time to sleep,” Alex replied as he carried her back to their room.
Before Harper could further protest, she was suddenly dropped on her feet. “You’re such an ass!”
“You go ahead.” He yawned and stretched his hands over his head. "I think I’m going to need to shower."
“At 2 AM?”
“Yeah. So I can sleep with you next to me.”
“What?”
“Harper, I look at you right, and all I could think about is how you moaned in my dream―”
"Fine!" she raised her hands in defeat.
Alex laughed again at her reaction before he disappeared behind the door to the bathroom.
“Jackass,” Harper muttered. There was no question how attractive Alex was, and she might have lied to him and made him believe she was his fiancée, but taking his track record into consideration, there was just no way she could allow herself to let her guard down around him.
Then, there’s *Lucas*.
She sighed, thinking about him and what could possibly the reason be for his radio silence.
Did he forget about her? Without him, she didn’t have any clue at all what to do next. So what was she supposed to do now?