• Silence met me for a bit and I wondered what she was doing or even thinking. I surprisingly wanted to know. Finally I heard the scrape of her feet across the floor as she got off of the bed. The door flew open and I leaned slightly back as if anticipating a punch.
    “What?” she snapped at me, her eyes hard.
    “Mind if I come in?” Silence met my question again as she stared into my eyes with that raw power behind it, making me want to step back from the push and force of it but at the same time to step forward and take her into my arms so that I could feel the power tingle through my veins and brew my blood.
    “Fine, what ever,” she growled as she stepped away from the door, padding over to the bed to lay down, her eyes never meeting my own as I wished they would. Her legs slipped over the sheets, creating a sizzle in my body, the yearning to grab them and run my hand up to feel the silk that could never be matched. I shook my head slightly so that she couldn’t become aware of the arousal that was pressing against my jeans painfully.
    “So what do you want?” she asked, jarring me from my thoughts of that skin in my hands and I was sort of thankful for it. It took me a second to try and remember what I was trying to say however so I stumbled over words and phrases until I received a questioning from those eyes that aspired so much inside me and I gave out a sigh to calm my thoughts and gather them.
    “Sorry. I just wanted to talk to you a little. It’s been sort of lonely here and I like to talk to you,” I answered softly, peering back into her eyes. Something flashed in them but it was too short of a change to really figure out what it was so I decided to not try. A smirk wavered on her lips before she gave a disgusted chuckle.
    “That’s not all you came to talk to me about. Cut the s**t and just tell me,” she said shortly, cutting my small talk short with a sharp slap down. I had to chuckle myself at her knowledge of my dodgings.
    “Alright, you caught me. Something seems to be bothering you and I would like to know why you seem to hate men so thoroughly,” I told her simply. My words made her freeze instantly on the bed, her body tense as if she was digesting the words with every fiber of her being. I was curious and I was guessing that she knew the answer had to come out sooner or later since she grumbled lightly under her breath.
    More silence. I could hear her heart as it raced, beating like a fancy drum in a metal band, her breath in and out rapidly like hyperventilation. I stepped forward and she winced, drawing her perfect legs to her chest, ready to leap from the bed in an instance bound of stealth that I knew I couldn’t quite comprehend. At least not yet.
    “I’m not trying to startle you,” I told her, stepping back quickly. I could feel a sense of shame creep up my face at the fact that I had startled her and she didn’t trust me one bit. I didn’t blame her and I could feel the sting just as badly as if she had slapped me sharply in the face even if she hadn’t.
    I had a feeling her words would hurt far more then the strike would, but I wasn’t too sure. I could only stand back and watch and wait, helping her along until I could gain her full trust and hopefully her love.
    “Why do you want to know?” she asked, her now soft voice shaking slightly with strain. I looked her in the eyes and saw the quiver of emotion she tried to hold back from me, the sparkle of fear and pain that must have ruled her life for so long without anybody realizing it.
    She had always laughed and carried on like nothing was wrong, as if she wasn’t living in a shack that had been abandoned long ago, as if she hadn’t been hunting for her food rather then going out to buy it or receiving off of an elderly woman when the woman could pass away any time which would leave Mira to her own company. No one would have been the wiser, would have known that such a thing was going.
    “Because I wish to know what has made you hate me. I wish to know so that I will never make the same mistake nor ever bring anything like that up. I don’t want to hurt you Mira,” I told her softly. Silence followed my words again. It seemed to be a frequent happening between the two of us.
    It was sort of uncomfortable since I had been so used to such a woman yapping my ear off like crazy, but she didn’t. She was as quiet as a mouse when she was around males without the company of another as if she was afraid I might do something unpleasant.
    “Do you really want to know what happened to me, what has caused this hatred inside of me?” she snarled suddenly, her figure shaking with apparent rage. I hesitated as I watched her, her eyes glowing with the wolf’s anger and I knew it was bad.
    “Yes, I want to know so that I can keep it from happening ever again,” I replied strongly. It couldn’t be too bad; I knew I could prevent it from happening again. After all, as they say, what’s the worst that could’ve happened?
    “I was beaten, treated like a sex toy every night, and used for sick and twisted pleasure. My body holds scars that are no longer there that no one is able to ever see. I see it every night, that b*****d’s face as he laughed at my pain, his body violating my own until I bled, until I was filled with the seed of the devil! Luckily I was too damn young to have child but he has left his mark in my body nonetheless and I return to it every so often, mostly at night and especially during the full moon. He would thrust me into a silver cage that would burn my poor flesh and whip me or prod at me like I was some wild animal. That b*****d was to pay and rot in hell,” she snarled, her eyes bright blue, fluorescent.
    I had been wrong, so much had happened to her, things that made me sick to my stomach as she mentioned each prodding and hellish night that she had gone through until I knew that my body was about to spill my food onto the floor before her. All the things that b*****d had put her through was not meant for anybody. I went silent until I figured I could speak without showing my shakiness.
    “Then we can make him pay together,” I replied shakily, holding back the anger that was so deep in my voice as I looked at her quivering form on the bed. Another male had touched her already and I found that it pissed me off, especially a male who treated her like that. It was unspeakable.
    “He’s long dead. I ripped out his cruel heart, the blood still staining my hands. I can still see the contorted laugh on his stilled face even after his body was long dead. I-I can see it a-and..” suddenly her voice faltered and her eyes went wide, body trembling terribly.
    This time I didn’t stop when I stepped forward, one foot in front of the other right up to her as I took her tear stained face in my hands, looking deep in those solemn pools. She tried to pull back and escape my gaze but I would not let her, not now.
    That fear. It was nearly the same I had seen when I had grabbed her the day she had disappeared, the fear that had flashed across her mysterious eyes before it was replaced by anger. When it had flashed only to disappear behind that mask, the one she always put on in front of everybody who crossed her.
    Now I understood. That anger wasn’t at me for grabbing her or pulling her from her somewhat heroic exit. It was anger at herself for showing that slight emotion to me so suddenly. I could see it now but it was becoming overwhelmed by the pain and sadness that her heart was now taking hold of.
    It was something I had never seen in her, a new side that I couldn’t understand complete but I wanted to, I wanted to know all about it with her. No, it wasn’t a want, it was a need to know this side of her, to know what she was hiding from me, I needed to know.
    “Layton, don’t,” she began but it was too late. I leaned in for the kiss, taking her lips with the compassion I wanted her to feel as it swelled deep within my very being. Her lips trembled against mine as if tears were starting in her eyes even if they had already fallen down that heavenly skin and I knew at that instant that I should back off but I couldn’t. She was in pain, grief-ridden and she needed my love now more then ever.
    “Please Mira, let me take care of you. You need someone in your life that can show you compassion. I can show you that compassion if you’ll let me, “ I whispered to her as I looked deep into her eyes, peering into those orbs as her face contorted into sobs, her form shaking with less violence then yesterday when she seemed to become trapped in a never-ending nightmare, her eyes wide in the fear of what ever ailed her.
    “I, I can’t,” she whispered softly through sobs. I pressed another kiss to her tender lips, pulling her into the contour of my body, her own softer features fitting within the confines of mine so perfectly I had to stall my breath for a fraction of a second. It astounded me at the perfection I felt against my body, that I kissed and peered at.
    “Yes you can Mira, you’re just afraid,” I whispered softly to her. Suddenly a flash moved across her eyes and I sighed, stepping back to wait for the outburst I knew was to come from my words. She was independent and showed little emotion that would prove her to be weak and she knew that I had finally seen them.
    “You know nothing of how I feel,” she snarled, standing up from the bed but stepping from me rudely. I peered into her eyes, concocting a reaction that wouldn’t send her over the edge but I knew it was going to like stepping on eggshells, hard on me.
    “I know you’ve felt lonely, hated, and possibly hoping to find that one mate that will make you feel like nothing you’ve ever known. I wish to give you that Mira, I want to give you everything because I love you. I’ve always liked you and I find myself wishing to be with you, for you to accept me. Please Mira, let me love you. Please,” I said softly, my fists clenching as emotion shook me. Silence followed closely once again and her expressions were hidden from me. I desperately wished to know how she felt but she wouldn’t allow it and it hurt.
    “Why? Why do you want a being such as I? I’m a b***h Layton and no one wants a b***h,” she replied softly after what seemed like an eternity. I wasn’t sure how to really react, talking to a distraught female not really my degree, but it was worth a try.
    “Of course you’re a b***h, you’re a female wolf, are you not?” I joked, chuckling lightly even though he knew it wasn’t at all funny. She sighed and curled into a light ball back onto the bed.
    Suddenly I reached for her, grabbing her and holding her to me tightly, my face buried into her soft hair. She growled, but made no move to get away when I knew fully well that she could’ve thrown me down in a second and injure me pretty badly.
    “Please Mira, let me be your mate, let me take care of you as you would see fit. Please Mira, please,” I whispered. Her growl stopped and soon her hand went to my arm. Emotion had swelled in us both but it almost seemed like I was most emotional.
    It seemed like an eternity, awaiting her answer. If she answered positively, I was making progress and soon her love would be won, her trust as well. But if it were negatively, then I would work harder until she gave in.
    “What’s the worst that could happen I guess,” she replied softly at long last. I took my face from her hair and looked into her eyes to see that she was indeed telling the truth and a smile lit my lips and eyes. I hugged her tightly and she returned it, just not as tightly.
    “Thank you Mira, thank you,” I whispered before I kissed her deeply, our lips pressed lightly together. No longer did I feel the hate and anger in her kiss, but surrender and something else I couldn’t quite place but it felt good and strangely right. I had found the woman of my life.
    “Does that mean I have to get married to you?” she asked, a bit of mocking whining in her voice and I couldn’t help but chuckle at her. Funny how she talked about marriage so soon.
    “If you don’t wish to, I will not ask it of you now but perhaps you’ll change your ill thoughts about it. But Mira?”
    “Yes?”
    “Will you allow me to make the mating complete, allow me to take you as my own mate, right now, right here?” I asked softly, hopeful of her answer. I know she had answered yes to my making her my mate, but how soon could I make it true?
    “Wh, what? Now?” she asked, her eyes wide with surprise as she leaned back from me. I nodded, my hands holding hers as if she may disappear from me any second, that she may run.
    “But Layton, why? I mean why the rush?”
    “Because I want to prove to you my love, that I wish to hold you close and love you as no other can or will. I love you with every breath in my lungs and the beat of my heart. You are my reason for life and I love you so much that I could never say it enough. I owe everything to you. I just wish to make you into my mate so that no other may have you, so that the world knows that you are mine. It would kill me if you were to take another as your mate and I would be forced to kill him and take you back,” suddenly my voice turned into a snarl at the very thought of another male touching her and images came to my mind. Anger filled me of the thought of her being ******** by another male, his hands all over her, his seed in her womb. No, I would not allow it!
    I leaped onto her suddenly, holding her down beneath my weight as I felt the over possessive wolf take over, his instincts controlling every bit of my actions, my body the robot to its desires. Growls erupted from us both as we struggled, me to take her right then and there and Mira to show that she was dominant. I could tell her wolf hadn’t taken over yet, Mira’s control steel solid but I knew she was struggling, the wolf wishing to be taken right then and there. It was the nature to.
    Finally it ended as I snarled and clamped down on her smooth shoulder, making her go limp with a small cry. Our wolves had won this battle and the mating process could finally begin.
    Slowly my groping hand moved down her shoulder and arm to her side and up, playing with a peaked n****e through flimsy cloth. A strangled cry leaped from her as she arched into my touch, stranger to her desires.

    * * * * * *

    It was a new experience to be touched in such an intimate way that was not so harsh and injuring but I couldn’t help but melt into his burning touch, letting it flow thickly through my veins and pool into my waiting core, a liquid fire I wished to cool with his body aside my own.
    His broad, callused hands left seductive shivers in their wake as his fingertips came to my peaked , sensitive, n****e, at attention for a master caress. His fingers circled them, bending me like an overheated piece of iron, melded to his convenience.
    His other arm curved around, fitting in the small of my back as he took the other n****e, still covered by cloth, suggestively into his wanton mouth. Gasps and moans escaped me, the sound foreign to my ears but yet still arousing.
    I wanted him in each and every way, wanted his body so tight against mine that it would feels as if we would mold and become one the instant we’d shatter through our greedy pleasure. How maddening it was to feel his hard, throbbing erection pressing against my thighs but was unable to thrust him deep within my body through our cloth cages.
    His lips pressed against the flesh of my neck, close to my neck, that sent delicious chills down my hot body. It was nothing like how I had expected, it was so much more but I still feared it even if my wolf wished for it. I couldn’t get the past out of my head.
    “Ah, L, Layton,” I gasped out as I felt the fire pool deep in my womb, the burning erotic between my trembling thighs. I wanted him to touch me, wanted him to take me as he said he would but at the same time I feared that sexual tendency that we both felt.
    “Yes Mira? What is it love?” he asked, his voice sending delightful chills down my body and to the heated liquid that churned deep in my belly, adding to the delicious burning that slowly sent me to a whole new height. His lips were moving against my skin, which didn’t help the situation either.
    My breaths came in small gasps, my body hot to the touch and wanting more. I could only moan in answer as his hand slid down to my waist, his fingers gliding across my skin so softly that the burn became an inferno. He was trying to drive me insane, I could see it in the way that he chuckled at my mewlings.
    My shirt rose higher and higher with each exploring caress of his fingers until finally he grew tired of that damned barrier and lifted me up into a comfortable sitting position and removed my shirt.
    I wore no bra, my breasts displayed to him in peaked readiness, the red buds dark against the creaminess of my sun neglected breasts. He watched them with a carnivorous hunger, fingers playing, grasping and caressing. Another moan was ripped from my form as his mouth joined the foray of his hand. That tongue was a devil’s tool, a fiery torture that could keep me going for hours if I allowed.
    It wasn’t like anything that I had dreamed, that tongue of his far less forgiving to my now sensitive skin then his fingers had been. The moon that now showed through the small window just a few feet away added a delicate glow to him, ironically like an angel. He leaned back to look into my eyes and my heart skipped a beat. I could see it, I could see everything.
    The moon highlighted his dark hair, creating a glow around his head. His face showed the concern, etched deep within the lines only visible due to the light while his lips held a true smile, one that was a bit devilish, but true none the less. And his eyes.
    His eyes were a window to his heart and soul, so pure for me, so truthful. They glowed green and a sparkle danced across them. I found that for the first time, I cried in happiness rather then fear. He wanted me, me of all people. Me who was so impure and angry while he could never live in the world I had been thrusted into for so long.
    “What’s wrong my love? Why are you crying? Did I hurt you or are you having another flash back?” he asked softly, reaching for my head so that I may lay it on his chest. I smiled for the first time as I grabbed his wrists, holding them in their place, his hands on my cheeks.
    “No. For once, I’m crying of happiness. Thank you,” I whispered, my eyes closed to feel his warm hands, to keep that image in my mind forever. I felt the chuckle before it reached my ears but as it surrounded me, I opened my eyes, seeing his face lit up in laughter and I couldn’t help but join him a little.
    Only when his lips, soft but strong, pressed against my own did my chuckle stop. His hands explored my skin to my back before he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tight into the contour of his own muscular body. It felt right and I showed him as my own hands moved to his shoulders and my fingers played with the strands of his soft but wild hair.
    His mouth left my own and moved down along my throat to my shoulder, tender and teasing. A gasp, a straggled cry escaped me as his teeth bore into my flesh, the pain sensual in a way I could never dream. The smile on his lips had me melting and that tongue as he licked the pinprick wounds sent images in my mind much like that of my dream this morning.
    “Mira,” he whispered breathlessly as his fingers splayed across my stomach, my womb clenching beneath his needy touch. My body was trembling with pent up need, held back from my wolf for days and now I was finally able to let it all go.
    “Y, yes Layton?” I asked softly, just as breathless as he was. His fingers delved further down until they played with the waistband of my shorts, the touch far more erotic then it should have been, the skin air sensitive.
    “Tell me. Tell me that you accept me. Tell me that you are willing to take me as my mate, that you accept me as the male, the only male, in your life. Your lover,” he whispered, his mouth inches from the wound he had created. I found that my breath hitched slightly at his words, as if hyperventilation was in store for me but then it came out just as easily as if it was never held with my words, each one spoken as they came into my head.
    “I accept you Layton Canaan. You’ve shown me that you care unlike any other male has and… I wish for you to be my mate. I may not get used to it and I may get growly at you or angered and there may be hurt, but I do choose you. I take you as my lover.” As if my words created it, a smile lit his lips as he looked into my eyes.
    It was a smile I had never seen before and it reached his eyes with a bright dancing sparkle, something that lifted my own sorrowed heart. I had chosen right and something told me that over and over until my whole being was light with happiness.
    His hand moved my shorts lower and lower until my underwear was left out in the open and my shorts laid in a pile on the floor. His fingers sent heated chills up my body with delicious rubs and pets. I was in heaven, rising higher and higher with each forward caress.
    His lips were butterfly wings fluttering across my already sensitive skin, licking sweet circles on the blessed flesh. A hiss escaped through my teeth as his canines soon became involved. How wondrous it felt to be touched so lovingly by a man I thought to be the world’s biggest pig, who turned out to be the world’s most endearing lover.
    “Mira,” he whispered breathlessly as if he might loose himself to oblivion if he didn’t say it or held onto me like I might disappear into the sheets beneath me any second and be lost forever from his sight.
    “Layton,” was all I could respond. As if words needed to be spoken. Our bodies did the talking, our touches and kisses far more effective then any words could be. His body practically sang with his arousal and predatory want.
    I looked into his eyes, seeing my pleasure stricken face within those darkened orbs, dark because of the wolf that wished to rise to the surface and rear its head, to ravage and take me fully. I knew that mine wasn’t far behind.
    My name escaped his lips, a soft moan in the air that sizzled with our need and want. One simple word that created electric in my system and oh how wondrous it felt. That slow but frantic caress with both hand and eye slowly driving me over the edge. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could last, how much longer this man that I decided to mate with would drive me before I crashed from the sensation.
    “Layton, please, take me now,” I gasped, writhing underneath his moist and lively body. A torture he gave. One that left white spots behind my eyelids and my body crying desperately for more, an addiction in my system. I thought that it was nearly over when his mouth left my breast but then his hand tore my underwear from my body, the ruined lingerie piled on the floor. His thick fingers splayed across the engorged folds, slick and weeping.
    His head raised and I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks. I knew he was taking in my sex, the sight of it and I couldn’t help but feel slightly ashamed. He would not be my first and I was used goods, no real use to him. I turned my head away, my eyes moistening as the pain hit me.
    Oh god, it was another flash back, another wicker of shame. I was going back into my state, unwanting of his love, the hard woman I was known to be, the b***h. I didn’t want to be here now, I wanted to run. I wanted to run, so I struggled instead.
    Suddenly I felt his heat move up my body, his hand caressing up my throat to my cheek, turning my head slightly so that I may peer into his handsome face. I closed my eyes, unable to look him in the eye due to my shameful state. I heard his pleas, asking me to part my eyelids, to show him my shame full on. I couldn’t, I just couldn’t.
    “Look at me Mira!” he snarled. My eyes snapped open in fear as I tried to hide a wince. His face was contorted into a look of hurt and compassion rather then the anger I had heard in his voice, creating an even flow of tears. My hands came to cover my now closed eyes, pressing down until I would see a play of rainbow colors in the shadows.
    “Mira, my love, what is wrong?” he asked softly, running his fingers through my hair as he rolled to the side, taking me with him in his embrace. Sobs pressed my words back, my breath catching in my throat as I tried to drag them in and out.
    “I,I can’t,” I sobbed, trying to escape his embrace but his grip held me strongly. My hands pried at his arms but no matter how I scratched and clawed, he still held me even closer to his mass. His lips found my throat, close to my ear, his breath tickling.
    “Come on Mira, you told me about why you hate men, so why can’t you tell me this? Please Love, just tell me. I won’t think any less of you and you know that,” he told me softly. A soft growl escaped my lips at my petty actions and his determination to hold onto me.
    “I’m impure and pathetic. Nor am I beautiful in any way. I know you’ve probably had you’re share of women, but I’ve been torn through so totally that there is no possible way that you could love me. I’m someone who should just stay as I am. Alone and a b***h,” I said softly, tears fogging my vision.
    “Mira, I’m a virgin. I’ve never taken another woman in my life since I always wanted to find the right one first before I bedded her. And you’re not torn. I can save you from your past and I can save you from him,” he replied. I found myself gocking up at him, ready to burst out in wild laughter at his confession. Surely he was just playing with me. With all of the women that he was known to be with he had to have had bedded at least one of them if not two or more.
    “That’s a lie. You’ve been with too many of them to not have,” I found myself saying, unable to look him in the eye any longer.
    “I tell the truth,” he whispered softly.
    “What ever. It doesn’t matter. I’m not right for you,” I replied, struggling to get away again. This time he let me slip from his grasp slowly and I left the room, going to the bathroom where I could breath and be left alone to collect my thoughts even if I knew what those thoughts would consist of. It hurt but it was the truth in my eyes.
    I closed the door behind me quietly, my eyes coming to the reflection of the empty shell I knew I was. My eyes were dried, misty but slowly dulling. My chin softly curved and my cheekbones slightly heightened. My throat curved into sloped shoulders, an hourglass figure they called it. My breasts were high and perky, the areola a rosy color. They swerved to a tight abdomen, flaring hips, delicate calves and I suppose medium feet.
    I never thought myself beautiful and neither did that man. He beat me for my lack of charming looks, scaring my lack of petiteness or the bare skin of my sex that showed rosy as soon as I bared it of the thick, curly and dark hair. My eyes showed nothing of the wolf that I knew lurked below the surface, only despair and loss.
    Why? Why did it have to be this way? I could’ve been a wonderful lover if only I didn’t have these scars, if I didn’t have this ugliness. I hated myself and I knew he would hate me too. Everyone would. That’s how it had to be.

    * * * * * *

    The next day I went for a drive, trying to think of what I could do, what I was supposed to do. I was at a complete loss and was slipping fast. Mira had slipped back into her depression, her fear and hatred of men.
    When I had checked on her before I left this morning, she was laying on the floor, away from the bed and next to the window as if to make a quick and painless escape if I were to come in to talk to her or to try and make her understand.
    I drove all day, well into the afternoon when I only stopped for food since I had not eaten that day, then once the sun had begun its setting, I returned home to find her downstairs still. Seemed right I supposed. I came home upstairs and she could escape if I came down there since it was hard to not hear someone come down.
    That night I lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts racing faster then those cars on the track or the falcon’s flight. I wanted her, I could feel it in my core and in my heart but yet again I had been rejected just when I thought that maybe she was finally giving me a chance. So close but still so far away. I would keep trying but I knew it still wasn’t going to be easy.
    I didn’t know what had set her off and I’m sorry that I had done it, truly. I sighed and sat up, legs hung to the side, elbows on my knees and face in my hands. I needed to find a way to convince her, I wanted her to know how I felt about her even if she denied it up and down this whole world or universe. I will not let her go. I had finally found the woman I knew had to be my life mate, the woman who would forever hold my heart and soul. No matter what.
    But why was she so intent on trying to run from the inevitable. I didn’t understand but I suppose that was another thing that she would have to learn from me and I would gladly show her that it wasn’t so bad.
    I got up, crossing the room in two quick strides, flinging open the door and cringed at the force. Perhaps I shouldn’t have flung it so hard but then again it didn’t really matter. I walked through the living space, downstairs and straight to the bathroom. She was in the bathroom, probably getting ready for bed or something to that effect.
    Should I knock or just open the door was the question. The door had no lock and it would be easy to just grab her and slip her to the floor where I could sweetly take her in one thrust of my hips. I could feel the tightness in my balls at the awaiting of my sweet explosion into that delicacy between those slim thighs.
    I placed my hand on the doorframe, breathing in and out with soft pants, wanting to calm the wolf and my own arousal that threatened to ruin everything that I had worked hard on, everything that I needed and wanted. After a few shallow breaths I was able to calm both down enough to talk.
    Then the shower kicked on. Sweet Mother of Earth how that enflamed everything. I could see that wanton body in the pictures of my mind, playing with me in ways truly unimaginable. I should have known that this wasn’t at all going to be easy. What pictures, images that came to my mind though.
    The warm spray of water caressing her skin far more erotically then my fingers ever could, slipping and sliding down those erect nipples, sliding between those heavenly thighs and trickling down her a**, slightly white, tan lines blending with that naturally, lightly tanned skin. No longer could I take it.
    I stepped in the bathroom, strolled to the shower and pulled the curtain aside. She leaped, covering her breasts instantly, making me chuckle at her modesty even after we had almost made love, almost mated only last night. I wanted to give her her space but it seemed it failed for a second time in less then a few hours.
    “Wha?” she never finished as I took her head in my hands, kissing her tender lips, pressing tight kisses to the pink satin folds. My tongue slipped across the seam, asking for entrance, but she never granted it. Her kisses had returned to the pain and anger.
    “You’re beautiful, so perfect, I love you,” I repeated with each kiss, her lips loosening slowly with each of my words until finally my kisses were returned. My hands traveled down as I stepped into the shower with her with my clothes still on, pressing our bodies together in impatient loving.
    “Why are you in here? Didn’t you get the hint?” she asked when given the chance. I couldn’t help but sigh at her clipped words. She truly was hard to really please.
    “I can’t let you go. Mira I love you, no matter how you may view yourself. You are beautiful my love. That wolf that lurks in you is the most majestic thing I’ve set sights on and you are my life mate.” My mouth clamped shut at the admitting words and her eyes went wide as she stepped back.
    She knew she had agreed to be my mate, but to be ones life mate is a rare occurrence. There was almost none but that didn’t come as much of a surprise since there wasn’t many who were like us either, especially in the area.
    “Y,your life mate? Layton, how can that be possible, especially since we’ve only just decided to become involved with each other? How can you possibly know?” She asked me quietly, looking away shyly.
    “I just know. I didn’t ask for it but I know and Mira, I love you so it shouldn’t matter if we’re life mates. Do you love me too Mira or are you too afraid to admit anything?” Silence met my question and my heart stopped a beat.
    I couldn’t tell if she was thinking of what to say or nearly telling me that she didn’t love me in return. Pain stabbed at my heart with each skipped beat, nearly gagging me. Her eyes refused to meet mine, her hands hanging at her side.
    “I know I’ve asked this before but I still don’t see how you can love a being such as I, a broke one,” she muttered, making it barely audible over the heavy spray of shower water but it was a relief none the less. My knees nearly buckled from beneath me as I reached in and pulled her to me, molding us. Her hands rested on my pectorals in a way that reminded me of a frightened child.
    Perhaps she was frightened. Frightened that maybe there really was someone out there who could care for and love her. Frightened that she no longer has to hold anything back, to finally show emotion to anyone, including me. It would make sense even if it seemed petty to me. Mira was known for being the hard a**, the b***h and she was used to men treating her like s**t. She wanted to live in her own painless world but I couldn’t allow it. It’s said you need to experience the pain to experience the joy.
    “Mira, no matter how you may see yourself, I do not see you the same way. You’re beautiful my love and I don’t care what that b*****d told you because it isn’t true to me. It doesn’t matter to me because it’s not my view. Don’t you think it only matters what I think since I am your mate? I love you. You’re beautiful, so beautiful in and out my love, “ I whispered into her hair. A shiver pressed down her body and a hitch of her shoulders.
    I held her gently, rocking her like a babe. The sobs continued, followed suddenly by violent shakes that had nothing to do with crying, she was shaking as if her body was going into cardiac arrest.
    My breath stopped as I gently lowered her to the ground and quickly turned the water off. Her body arched and slammed back down with bone breaking force as if someone was shaking her, then slamming her back down.
    “Mira, Mira baby, come back to me. Mira,” I called, fear racing through my veins. What is she died? What was going on? I wanted to know but now was not the time for any of it. I grabbed the towel hanging on the bar and quickly wrapped her in it. Perhaps it was a fever or maybe she wasn’t telling me something.
    After an hour, her violent shiver retreated to a soft but noticeable set of goose bumps that coated her skin. I lifted her bridal style, carrying her to the bedroom and under the covers where I could hold her to me so that I could keep her warm.
    She looked rather peaceful as she slept, the only time her guard dropped completely and her eyes closed from the hatred. Shadows danced across the room as dawn slowly ticked by. And array of colors, deep and beautiful, faded away to a soft blue with lazy clouds. It would be time to go to the school in a few hours but I didn’t want to leave. Mira needed me here with her.
    Today was Monday, the most hated day on the planet and even more so for me today. Well, at least I could stay with Mira for just a little while longer and hope that nothing happens to her when I leave.
    Slowly 6:30 rolled around and I knew I couldn’t hold it off any longer. I untucked myself from her limbs and moved myself from her bed. I could feel the long night upon me, dragging along on my shoulders. The day was going to be slow from what I could tell.
    I skipped the shower since I had been in it with Mira earlier and grabbed some clothes to thrown on. The hygenics came next followed closely by my tennis shoes and my pack. The truck was exactly as I had left it and for some reason it made me hate it even more. Oh well, whiners don’t get to choose.
    I climbed in my Chevy truck, hearing it creek lazily beneath me, then pulled out slowly, turning to head down the driveway and onto the long road ahead of me. It took me twenty minutes to reach town even if it felt like an eternity as the minutes clicked by, then another ten to grab breakfast and arrive at school. Should have known the girls would flock me. It happened every time no matter how I warned them off. It was supposedly a fan club but now I no longer had any interest in their crushes, Mira on my mind.
    “Ladies, please. Not today. I stayed up all night studying,” I lied; side stepping through the pack, only to be followed uncomfortably close. No matter how I tried to rid myself of the annoyance, it never seemed to really work and my temper was rising ever so steadily.
    “Guess what Layton, supposedly there are two new students in school. A male, who is so totally hot, but not as hot as you, and a female who is so pretty, model pretty,” one of the groupies gossiped at me. I couldn’t help but growl in even more annoyance.
    “Oh yeah? And where did you get this little tidbit of news?” I found myself asking before I could stop myself. I suppose that it was curiosity at the fact hat there was finally another male that the ladies thought interesting, which was a rather rare occurrence, and I wanted to thank these two. Too bad I didn’t have to wait long to find out.
    “So this is the infamous Layton Canaan, the lover boy of the school grounds and famous football player,” a baritone voice sounded from my right. I turned to find that he was indeed a handsome fellow but then again, I knew that werewolves were known for that. Oh yeah, I could tell from the first instant what he was.
    His black hair showed a soft shine, lusty in a way. It was slightly spiked in various ways, the gel he used for it barely visible but defiantly smellable from where I stood although it wasn’t the usual foul-smelling gel but rather more lavender smelling. His eyes were brown, gold softening the darkness of those orbs, holding intelligence, a puzzling age far more so then the teenager who stood before me and something I couldn’t quite place.
    He wore clothes that went well with his careless form, a black t stretched over his taut chest and strong stomach and biceps erupted from the sleeves in a sensual werewolf way. Blue jeans hid thighs that could deliver a powerful kick able to kill. The masculine boots went well with the whole mix.
    “Yeah that’s me. Who are you?” I asked, a growl rumbling up my throat, starting deep in my chest. He held his hand out, a smug smirk pulling those thin lips over a set of canines protruding from his gums.
    “Eric, Eric Shaffer,” he replied smoothly. I didn’t like him. Something about his struck all warning bells in my system, all senses on high alert for more reasons then just the one. I took his hand and he shook it strongly, my skin prickling at the contact.
    Suddenly he pulled, dragging me towards him. On instinct I swung but he caught my wrist in his hand, the smirk widening. He leaned in, his mouth close to my ear as he held me in place, my body rigid with irritation. I heard his breathe draw in deeply and I knew he was catching my scent, a small groan only heard by me leaving him.
    “I would know that sweet vanilla scent any where. My little wolf b***h,” he whispered. Shivers ran up my spine at his words but I had no time to respond as he quickly pulled back and the female stepped in my way.
    She was pretty but not beautiful like my Mira. The Blood red curls, strange on an Asian girl, swooped down her sloped shoulders, fading into a rounded face balanced out by green eyes that were much lighter then mine, emerald shine. They held mystery but not the same predatory look as Eric, softer and a bit more relaxing. But there was also a spark of impurity.