61.

-HER-

With my heart wildly racing, I doubt if I’d be able to sleep at all. He tightens his arm around my waist while burying his nose in my hair.

“Good night,” I mumble lowly, pretending to fall asleep but soon, he is turning me around. His eyes are glowing in the darkness as he looks down at me fervently.

“Are you sleepy?” He inquires, tangling our legs together.

“Yes,” I whisper, burying my face in his chest. I am already so red tonight. I doubt there is a deeper shade of red that a human could turn into.

“Good night, mate,” He sighs deeply before silence follows. I let myself relax in the darkness. His presence makes me feel calm and his heavy arm draped over my waist makes me feel safe. In no time, I find my eyelids fluttering shut. I soon drown in a dreamless sleep.

I wake up early in the morning due to some commotion in the room. He is not beside me on the bed. I yawn and rub my eyes before trying to locate him in the room. I soon find him walking out of the wardrobe with only shorts that are very lowly hanging on his hips.

The smile on his lips is blinding when he sees that I am awake. He slowly creeps up to me on the bed and pecks my lips.

“What are you doing so early?” I croak as I turn to his bedside table to look at the digital clock. It’s four-thirty in the morning.

“I have to go for a run,” He murmurs against my skin as his lips set small kisses all over my jaw. I am still groggy from the sleep but the strong sparks make me more aware of him.

“A run?” I croak, eyeing his beautiful body. He pulls back to look down at me. He is hovering over me, supported by his hands placed on either side of me.

“Yeah, I need to check the borders and check things related to preparations for today,” He answers nudging his nose against mine.

“But it’s so early in the morning. The sun hasn’t risen yet,” I frown at him. How’s he able to wake up so early in the morning every day? Wasn’t he tired or sleepy?

“Do you want me to stay?” He grumbles as he trails his nose down my neck. I sigh, “Yes,”

He ends up staying in bed with me for some moments, cuddling me. I am not used to waking up so early so my eyelids are in a constant fight with sleep. I want to savour these moments with him.

“Are you going to phase?” I ask him as I play with his hair. Meanwhile, he has his face buried in the crook of my neck. He hums in response. Suddenly, the excitement drives my sleep away.

“Can you take me with you? I want to see you?” I request him politely. I feel him freeze before he slowly raises his head to look at me.

“You want to meet my wolf?” He asks after a small pause. His eyes are fixed on me pensively. I can feel the tension in him. I nodded lightly, “Please,” I insist.

“You wouldn’t be scared?” He asks and I instantly shake my head at him. I remember Lisa’s words clearly but I just couldn’t contain my curiosity. He continues to stare at me pensively before he grumbles, “Okay,”

Sleep instantly abandons me before I am on my feet, getting clothes for the day and going to the bathroom to change. He’s waiting for me patiently on the bed when I step out.

“Cybele,” He grumbles when he sees me. I falter on my steps when my eyes fall on him. He seems somewhat different. I couldn’t put a finger on it but his eyes look darker, and his tone sounded deeper. The possessiveness in his eyes is just unmistakable.

I slowly step closer to him. He stands up and holds my hand before guiding me outside his bedroom and then out of the house through the backdoor that faces the woods. I don’t miss how tightly he is holding my hand. He’d often glance at me as if to make sure that I am with him.

He continues to guide me into the woods. He stops when we are fairly deep into the woods. Although his house is still visible through gaps between the trees. I wait for him to do something but he keeps standing and staring at me.

“Jake?” He steps closer to me while his eyes turn darker. His chest vibrates with a growl which sounds like an approval. Next, he kisses me lightly but soon pulls back after sensing my impatience.

“Stand here,” He tells me before turning his back at me and disappearing behind a tree. I shuffle on my feet hesitantly when the sound of bones snapping echoes in the silent woods. It sends a shiver down my spine but I keep my feet pinned to the ground. I don’t want to show any sign of fear and trouble him.

The cracking sounds turn eerier. Several crows croak in warning before they fly away. I hear some animalistic grunts before a large wolf’s head peaks out of the tree behind which Jake had disappeared just moments ago.

I freeze and stare back at the wolf’s head. My eyes are wide and my heart is palpitating in my chest. I forget to breathe when the majestic creature steps away from the tree, revealing its enormous body covered with black fur.

Moments pass as we stare into each other’s eyes. His eyes are so very familiar to Jake’s. It’s the only thing reminding me that it’s him and I am not supposed to run away. After a few moments of staring at each other, the wolf starts to stalk towards me like I am its prey. It doesn’t look away from me at once.

My heart is threatening to abandon my chest as the wolf slowly eats the distance between us. When it is finally in front of me, it stops for a moment before it starts to sniff. I let go of the breath that I didn’t know I was holding when he places his snoot in my hand as if telling me to touch him.

I hesitantly go on my knees to come face to face with the animal. He’s is easily towering me while I am kneeling. I gently run my hands over his soft fur. He takes a couple of moments before burying his snoot in the crook of my neck, just like Jake does sometimes.

I instantly freeze as he starts to lick me. I shiver a bit when he licks my lips gently before doing the same with my cheeks. Slowly, the tension starts to dissolve between us when he grows a bit playful but the possessiveness is still there.

I am aware of Lisa’s words as I watch him sniff and lick me at several places as if getting familiar with me. I continue to run my hands through his fur, finding the softness addicting.

After several moments, he folds his hind legs and looks at his back before looking back at me. My eyebrows come together, unable to understand what he meant. Slowly, it makes sense to me.

“Are you sure?” I ask him, shuffling on my feet. He grunts at me in answer. After some moments of staring at the wolf’s huge body, I hesitantly get over his back. I hold on to his fur tightly as he unfolds his hind legs and stands up on its four.

Before I could react, he dashes deeper into the woods, leaving everything behind us in a blur.

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