by Mia Harris
As she trudged down the forest path, she shivered. It was cold out tonight, and she was beginning to regret leaving the warmth of Tom’s car, despite how much she hated him right now. The reality of her situation was sinking in, and she sobbed as she walked, tasting the salty tears as they streamed all the way down her cheeks and over her lips and chin.
Lights were becoming visible between the thick trees in the distance, and she realized that she was getting close to the strange billionaire’s mansion. Oh good, that means I’m not that far from home, then. Only another fifteen minutes of walking.
A sudden noise from behind startled her. She froze for a moment, and then turned her head over her shoulder. She had been so upset over the breakup that it hadn’t even occurred to her that wandering through a forest at night was probably a really dumb idea. As her teary eyes struggled to see anything in the darkness, she saw something emerging from the distance and getting closer. Oh crap. A wolf.
Cerie had always thought that this part of the country didn’t have wolves, but there was no mistaking that that was what this creature was. It was large and grey, with amber eyes that seemed to glow, even in the darkness. As it slowly approached her, her fight-or-flight responses finally kicked in, and she turned and made a run for it, adrenalin coursing through her veins as her heart raced like crazy.
Seconds later, she tripped over an exposed tree root and went flying to the ground, landing uncomfortably on her side. As she rolled onto her back, winded, she could hear the wolf’s breathing steadily getting closer and closer. Still trying to catch her breath, she sat up and saw that the wolf was now only yards away. It began to sprint towards her, and she lay back down and closed her eyes. This is it. This is the night that I die. As if this night could possibly have gone any worse.
She felt the wolf land on top of her with one paw on either side, and waited for the pain. She didn’t even bother to struggle; it was enormous, so what was the point? After a few seconds, she realized that it wasn’t attacking her at all. It was licking her cheeks, lapping up all her tears.
Opening her eyes, she saw the wolf’s glowing yellow eyes as it continued to clean her face, and seconds later, it jumped off her and sat on its haunches nearby. Maybe it isn’t a wolf after all. Maybe it’s just someone’s dog that got loose, and just looks exactly like a wolf. Half-sitting up on her elbows, she addressed the animal.
“You really scared me, boy. I thought you were going to attack me. Whose pet are you? Do you have a collar?”
The wolf’s eyes seemed to flare with anger, and it dashed towards her again, pinning her to the ground. Cerie closed her eyes, and was surprised to hear a man’s voice hissing in her ear only seconds later.
“I’m no one’s pet,” the voice spat.
Her eyes flew open in shock, and the wolf was no longer in sight. She was being pinned down by a very strong and very familiar-looking man.
“What… what happened?” she asked. “I thought… there was a wolf or a dog here.”
“There was. It was me,” the man growled.
He leaned back down and moved his mouth to her neck, his breath providing Cerie with some much-needed warmth.
“And now… you’re coming with me.”
What? His words sent a chill down her spine, and she wondered what on earth was happening. This is all a dream, it has to be. I’ll just close my eyes, and soon, I’ll wake up in my bed.
As she closed her eyes again, she felt herself being scooped up in the man’s arms and then hoisted over his shoulder. Okay, I’m not waking up… maybe this isn’t a dream.
“Where the hell are you taking me? Put me down!” she screamed, pummeling her fists against his back as he strode along the forest path.
The man didn’t reply, and minutes later he was reaching into his pocket and pressing something. They had reached the wrought iron gates, and whatever was in his pocket was making the gates swing open, allowing them entrance to the reclusive billionaire’s property.
“Wait… you’re him? Sebastian Winters?” she asked, but he continued to ignore her.
She watched as the gates closed behind them, and screamed and cried out more as he carried her up the long driveway. Once they had reached the mansion, he set her down on the ground and unlocked the front door.
“Don’t run. You won’t get far,” the man said, smiling nastily at her as she shrank back from him in fear.
The house was even bigger than Cerie had originally been able to assess from the gate this morning, and she gasped as the front doors opened, revealing a beautifully-lit and elaborately decorated foyer on the inside with a carpeted double staircase in the middle. Remembering the circumstances that she had been brought here in, she looked over at the man and spoke.
“Please… what am I doing here? Why did you bring me here? Who are you?”
He looked over at her and smiled before reaching around to her back and nudging her through the door. It was warm inside, and Cerie was grateful for that, despite the frightening circumstances.
“You were right. I’m Sebastian Winters. This is my home,” he replied, his smooth, masculine voice sending a shiver down her spine despite the warmth of the room.
“Well, why am I here?”
“Why don’t you come and sit down with me, and I’ll explain myself. I apologize for my earlier callousness; I just had to get you here any way that I could.”
Mystified and still frightened, but curious as to what the handsome, odd billionaire wanted with her, Cerie followed him through an arched doorway on the left into a large sitting room. He turned to face her, and without any warning, his mouth was suddenly on hers.
Shocked, she stood there and let him kiss her. He wasn’t rough, and the kiss wasn’t invasive at all; he had simply pressed his lips close and softly touched them to hers. His mouth felt scorching against hers, as she was still cold from outside, and she suddenly forgot all about the terrible night that she had had… and the fact that he was a complete stranger.
After a few seconds, Sebastian reached out and placed a hand on her arm, gently stroking her cool, soft skin, and she immediately felt as if her entire body had been set ablaze from deep within. He pulled away just as a soft moan escaped her mouth, and looked into her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I couldn’t resist you. But that’s no excuse,” he said.
A million replies bubbled to her lips and died before she could get any words out. She couldn’t believe the way in which her body had responded to this almost-complete stranger’s touch. The man was so odd, but so handsome at the same time. His warm kiss and soft hands had made her momentarily forget all her worries, and that was a precious thing after the night that she had experienced with Tom.
Sebastian was still standing close to her, and the heat that radiated from his body was warming her up, along with the fire in her belly that his touch had created.
“You said you would explain why I’m here,” she finally managed to whisper.
“Yes, I did. Please, sit down,” he replied, motioning to a black leather sofa with one arm.
He remained standing, and began to speak. His voice was deep, yet so gentle, and Cerie no longer felt afraid despite still having absolutely no clue as to what was happening.
“You saw my… other… nature out there tonight. You’ve seen what I am. Do you understand what you saw?”
“No. What do you mean, your other form?”
“I’m a werewolf, Cerie.”
Cerie closed her eyes again. Yep, definitely a dream. Why won’t I just wake up?
“You aren’t dreaming, Cerie. Open your eyes.”
“How do you know my name? I never told you,” she asked, suddenly realizing that he was addressing her by her name.
“I have very sharp senses compared to a regular human. I have seen and heard you and what I assume is your friend or sister walking through the forest many times. I heard the other one call you Cerie.”
“No… I don’t understand
. Werewolves aren’t real. Is this all some big joke?”
As the words left her mouth, she gasped as Sebastian began to transform right in front of her. His eyes glowed yellow, his face contorted, and then his entire body changed into that of a large wolf. It happened so quickly that Cerie barely had time to register it before he changed back into his usual human-male self.
“Oh god,” she said, her voice a ragged whisper. “You really are a wolf. I thought…”
“That we were a mythical creature?”
She nodded, and Sebastian laughed.
“We keep ourselves mostly hidden from the human world. Some of us, including myself, choose to interact with humans, but we never reveal our true natures. I can only handle so much human interaction, so I stay out here most of the time, and hire managers to handle most of my business affairs.”
“So that’s why you’re so reclusive… you want to stay hidden and far away from most people.”
“Yes.”
“Why reveal yourself to me, then?” Cerie asked.
He sighed and finally sat down.
“As I said before, I have often seen and heard you walking by my property. Not only that; I have smelled you. You carry the most intoxicating scent, it makes me want to run out and grab you, and never let you go.”
“That’s more than a little creepy.”
“I apologize. Let me explain something to you. Us werewolves often feel and experience everything on a deeper level than humans. I knew the first time that I saw you and caught your scent that you were the one for me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I, honestly. Normally, we are only attracted to our own kind, but you… you are perfect, and when I first saw you, I knew immediately that you are my true mate.”
“Your mate?”
“Yes. We are family-oriented, and we mate for life. Once we’ve located our mate, then that’s it. We get married and have pups… I mean, babies… immediately.”
The fire in Cerie’s body was still not dying down, and she had no idea why. Sebastian may have been very attractive, but right now he was seriously freaking her out. She cast her eyes down to her lap and waited for him to explain more to her.
“I realize that this is all new to you. I’ll let it sink in,” he said gently.
“If I am your ‘true mate’, as you say, then why haven’t you ever approached me? You said that you’ve seen me walking past a lot.”
“Because you carried the scent of another man on you, as well as your own. As much as I wanted to, I could not take what wasn’t mine.”
“And now?”
“Tonight, I was out enjoying the cool air when I caught your scent again. I found you, and saw you crying, and knew what had happened immediately. The man in your life… he is gone, yes?”
“Yes. He said that I’m too… fat.”
Sebastian’s eyes darkened as his eyes lingered over her soft curves.
“Fat? You are perfect to me. What is this ridiculous notion that you humans have, equating thin with perfect? You are perfect, the way you are,” he growled. “Tell me what else he said to you.”
Something suddenly told Cerie that she had known him forever, even though she hadn’t, and she found herself telling him everything; how Tom had unceremoniously dumped her and then fired her all within half an hour, and how she had been so convinced that he was actually going to propose to her. Sebastian listened intently, and cocked his head to the side.
“Did you love him?”
“Yes.”
“And do you still?”
“No! Of course not! He turned out to be the worst person in the world,” she said, sniffing and choking back a fresh set of tears.
“True love is eternal, Cerie,” Sebastian murmured, placing one hand on her knee. “If you do not love him anymore, within only a couple of hours of the breakup, then it wasn’t meant to be. I already knew that he wasn’t right for you, from the way that I could tell you were meant to be mine, but the sooner you realize that he was wrong for you, the better.”
Cerie realized immediately that he was right, and sniffed again. His hand on her knee was sending violent, tingling shivers down her spine, but they felt strangely good.
“You’re right. I think what upset me the most is that we were together for so long, and he just treated me like that for no reason, even though he was the one who was cheating on me. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
He smiled warmly.
“That’s right, Cerie. You did nothing wrong. Except choose the wrong mate.”
“You still haven’t explained exactly why I am here,” she said.
“When I saw you crying, I couldn’t resist. I had to lick away all your tears; I couldn’t stand to see you so hurt. And then it was too late; you had seen me as a wolf, so I figured that it was time to come clean, and admit that I needed you.”
“Needed me?”
“As my mate. I need you here with me.”
“I don’t know you,” she muttered, staring down at her lap.
She was extremely attracted to him, and there was no mistaking what the heat that he had generated within her body earlier meant. With every touch, her body responded to him like crazy. I am incredibly drawn to him… but I can’t… I only just broke up with Tom. It’s too soon.
As if he was reading her mind, Sebastian leaned over and murmured into her ear.
“It’s never too soon, Cerie. Not once you know who your mate is. Don’t tell me you didn’t feel it when I kissed you earlier.”
“I did,” she whispered.
“Then be with me. Be my mate,” he said, gently grabbing her chin and turning it so that she was looking directly into his face.
His eyes implored her, and she suddenly found herself actually entertaining the idea. There really did seem to be some kind of magnetic attraction between them, so saying yes wouldn’t be too hard… but she still had so many questions.
“But… what would that mean?” she asked. “If I said yes.”
The thought seemed to arouse Sebastian, and his eyes flared with golden specks for a moment before settling back to their normal dark brown.
“If you said yes,” he growled, “I would take care of you forever. You would stay here with me and have my children, after we married, of course.”
“But…what about my house? And I need to get a new job,” she replied inanely.
He grinned, displaying a strangely white, straight row of teeth.
“That’s your only response? I’m a billionaire, Cerie. You don’t need a job. Raising young werewolves is far harder work than what you humans call a ‘real’ job. Of course, I would be here to help. Raising our young is something we must have an equal share in.”
“I can’t believe you are talking to me like this. Like I said before, I don’t even know you,” she said.
“But you do. You admitted it,” he murmured softly.
“No, I didn’t.”
“You did. When I asked if you felt it when I kissed you earlier, you said yes… that magnetic force that exists between us. It’s always been there, since the day that you were born. Your body has known me for your whole life, and mine yours.”
Cerie remembered the strange notion that she had always had in the back of her mind; the one that made her unsure about committing to Tom, or any other man, at first. She no longer felt it around this man. Sebastian is right. I do know him, and my mind and body have known for my whole life that no one else was right for me.
“Yes,” she whispered, scarcely able to believe what she was saying.
“Yes, what?”
“You’re right about everything that you said. I only just met you, but my mind and body seem to feel as if they’ve known you forever.”
Sebastian’s eyes blazed amber again.
“So you’re saying yes to being my mate?” he growled.
“Yes.”
His eyes continued to glow as he pounced on her from where he was sitting, and his hands
coasted over her shoulders, rubbing and caressing her smooth skin. Fireworks seemed to go off in Cerie’s mind from his stroking fingers alone, and a soft hum of pleasure escaped her mouth as she laid back and slightly parted her legs, allowing him access to her entire body.
He gave her a wolfish grin and grabbed her hands, their fingers entwining as he raised her hands to his shoulders, bringing them even closer together.
