"And you need her!" A strange feeling of freedom flooded my body. It was as if I had been chained up all these years and suddenly all the chains had disappeared. Somewhere in the distance I heard thunder peal through the dusky sky. "I have high expectations of you Ms. Winters" "Just please take better care of yourself" "You told her to take the route through the woods" "Because he was there" "-Suzzanah Winters as my-" "And you need her!" "This is important. She is important!" "Mate!" "Mate!" "Mate!" "LUNA!!!" My eyes shot open at the same time as the first droplet of rain hit my flushed sweaty skin. The feel of the cool drop of water as it slid down my hot face soothed me. My blurred vision cleared and I registered three people, all squatting on the ground around me. Three faces. Familiar faces. Male faces. All three looked down at me with heavy concern marring their features to different degrees. Mr. Talon looked so distressed that I worried he burst into tears any minute. Mr. Penson's brow was creased with deep worry, but his eyes held a strange understanding, which was somewhat reassuring. But the expression that surprised me most was that of the CEO. I was currently cradled in his arms as he sat crouched on the ground. His forehead was wrinkled, his eyebrows knit together in worry. His lips were slightly parted as though he was gasping for breath himself. His skin looked pale and clammy. But what really caught my attention were his eyes. Those deep intense chocolate brown pools of warmth were now pitch black, the color or a dark moonless night sky. Within the depths of those darker than black orbs swirled a multitude of turbulent emotions, the most prominent of them all, was fear. Fear about what? I did not know. But it was there, and it was evident. Involuntarily my hand moved towards his face, my fingers brushed against his cheek, and instantly his eyes widened. Brilliant radial flecks of gold suddenly appeared in his eyes dissecting the black depths all the way through. They gleamed against the dark background and I felt drawn into their rich powerful aura. But as suddenly as the gold flecks had appeared, they vanished, leaving me staring, yet again, into familiar brown orbs. The CEO's grip tightened and his eyes softened. The fear in them was gone and was replaced by something closely resembling longing, a deep, unparalleled, unfathomable longing. And I felt my heart hurt for him. Drawing me impossibly close, he gently placed my head in the crook of his neck, resting against his shoulder. He held me like that for a few moments, hugging me close to himself, his warmth seeping into my now cool wet skin. Why would he do that? A light drizzle had started to fall, drenching all four of us in cool, transparent, sparkling droplets of clear water. My eyes felt heavy as sleep called out to me. I felt the CEO shift as something warm was placed over me, covering my frame down to my knees. Then he stood up, cradling me in his arms and started walking. I could hear Mr. Talon and Mr. Penson follow close behind us. Suddenly the chilly feel of rainwater disappeared and I felt myself being placed on a seat. I immediately welcomed the comfort of the soft cushion under me but missed the warmth of the CEO's arms around me. I could hear hushed whispers, the words of which I couldn't make out. I heard a door close and the cool breeze of the outdoors completely disappeared. Another door opened and then closed promptly and I faintly registered the sound of an engine roaring to life. As sleep weighed down on me, I closed my eyes and felt myself drifting into sweet slumber when yet again a door opened and a chilly wind blew over my face. The fresh scent of wet soil assaulted my senses and I told myself it must be owing to the light drizzle falling lazily outside. I inhaled deeply wanting to savor the rich scent but when familiar tingles trailed across my cheek, my eyelids cracked open. Through my blurred sleep laden vision I saw brown eyes looking lovingly at me. I recognized the CEO's face but I was too tired to say anything to him. His lips parted but I heard nothing. A golden glow caught my eye and my gaze shifted from his face into his hair. Sure enough a rich band of gold ran across the left side of his thick dark locks, just like in his eyes, only this was a single streak. A thin golden streak running across the left side of dark locks, dark hair, dark fur... The wolf from the forest flashed in my mind once again and my eyes widened for a split second only to be weighed down by sleep almost immediately. I felt the CEO's fingers brush across my cheek once again as they moved the strands of stray hair out of my face. Then they brushed against the side of my face, cupping my cheek momentarily and then they trailed further down brushing against my lips, leaving them tingling. Lingering there for a few seconds, his fingers reluctantly pulled away. I felt his hand caress my hair gently one last time before he withdrew. I heard a door close yet again and the breeze once again ceased. After a brief vibration of the seat under me, I felt like we had fallen into a uniform motion. And as I let sleep conquer my body, my last thoughts were of warm chocolaty brown orbs which had suddenly turned dark. My last feeling was of a thousand tingles exploding on my body, overwhelming my senses. My last memory was of strong arms cradling me delicately, protectively, lovingly. And the one question that had been plaguing my mind all this time still remained unanswered... Why would he do that?... _______