I felt something stirring deep inside of me. Shaking, grasping the very essence of myself.

My stomach turned to knots, my heart began to flutter and race all at the same time. It was overwhelming. A similar feeling that Lucas gives me by one simple glance or subtle smile. Glancing to my right I see said man sleeping soundly beside me, not a care in the world. My worries were forgotten for a moment when I saw how serene he looked. We were in his home tonight, the pack house, even though I was somewhat skeptical. My presence around here was tolerated, but not welcomed though a few wolves were very friendly and offered me congratulations and introductions.

Either way, I swallowed what little discomfort I did feel because Lucas was overjoyed that I had even thought about it. 'You are incredible,' he had said before lifting me off my feet with a large grin and I was a goner, I want him to continue to think that about me as long as possible. Then every time one of his pack members came along to announce themselves to me, an even bigger grin overcame his face and didn't leave for minutes after the introductions had ended.

It was in that moment that I felt a pinch of guilt eating away at me. I had only then realized how selfish I was being with Lucas and his time. This was his home, his safe place from the outside world and I hadn't even thought of staying over here willingly. Until today. Lucas had just always come to my place, he'd pick me up from work and that was where he drove. I never thought anything of it.

Granted, I never woke up in the middle of the night to watch him when staying over at my apartment but I don't think he could have been more relaxed.

'Riley.'

My entire body froze as a chill shook my spine.

'Riley.'

This wasn't me.

I wasn't walking outside, barefoot into my alpha mate's werewolf territory. I wasn't the one who left my mate in the middle of the night to follow strange, creepy whispers. Whispers that were calling my name.

It was freezing if the goosebumps across my entire body were any sort of indication of the temperatures. However, it seemed I had no control over the movements of my body. As if some outside force was forcing me to walk, that would be the only logical explanation. Though it certainly isn't 'logical', but neither are supernatural creatures. Logical or not, one thing is certain – I am certainly not brave enough to do this. 'Closer. Almost there.'

My brain could comprehend the sound of rushing water and see the edge of a cliff coming into view a few yards ahead of me but no matter how much I screamed at myself to, stop, I didn't. I kept taking steps, uncaring about the rocks, and random twigs tearing up my feet and arms as I walked. I tried to dig my heels, intentionally tried to trip myself – something I succeed at with no avail.

'Look.'

On instinct, I glanced down towards the water now that I was at the edge of the cliff. "RILEY!" But didn't get a good glance before they fluttered closed.

My entire frame shook from pure pleasure at the sound of his voice. I could hear crazed footfalls, and leaves cracking as he stepped. I could hear the fear and worry from his voice and I'm sure if I were closer or supernatural, the latter most likely, I would hear him breathing in deeply and trying to catch my scent. That thought alone, no matter how odd, made me smile. I loved it when he inhaled me deeply like a drug. "RILEY! PLEASE BABY! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Like I thought, that something was controlling me, that same something lifted its hold and left me standing at the edge of the cliff, my toes hanging off. Gasping loudly from fear, I fell backwards on my butt and crawled away from the edge. "RILEY!" Before I can blink, strong, warm arms encircle themselves around me, holding me tightly. Safety. That's all that I feel surging through my veins, the safety and comfort the familiar tingles provide. "What were you thinking, baby doll? Huh?"

"I'm so sorry, I don't know –

"You scared me to fucking death, Riley!"

Burying my face further into his neck, I sighed in relief when the soothing scent of cinnamon rolls encased me. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. One moment I was in bed and then I heard these whispers –

"Whispers?!"

Lucas' hand cupped my cheek and pulled my face back to look me directly in the eyes. "Whispers, what whispers? Who was whispering to you?" My brows furrowed in concentration, I'd never heard that voice before – and now that I'm thinking about it, there were multiple voices, not just one calling out to me.

"I don't know. It wasn't just one voice. I swear Lucas, I couldn't control myself."

A deep grumble shook his chest in pure disdain. I didn't like it either, not one bit, would whatever it was made me jump? That alone had fear holding my heart in a vice like grip, and made me clutch onto him even tighter. "If you didn't have scrapes and cuts all over your body, you'd be over my knee getting spanked." That caused a whole other type of shiver, I heard him inhale deeply, scenting something, I'm assuming me. He growled lowly in his throat, then stared back at me as his pupils began to dilate, "don't test me baby doll."

"W-What?"

My mate blinked a few times, the lovely green that I love so much taking more control. "Never mind, doll. Let's go get you cleaned up and then back to bed. We'll discuss this in the morning." I nodded in agreement, about to get up and out of his lap, but a pair of strong fingers grasping my chin had me staring at my mate's gorgeous face. The moon billowing in through the branches of trees casting shadows across his angular nose and sharp jaw, which somehow made him even more handsome. "I love you so damn much, baby doll."

Sighing in complete happiness even after my near-death experience, I say, "I love you too, Lucas."

"Everything seems to be okay, Alpha. Just some scratches, a few bumps and bruises. The bandages on her feet need to be changed twice a day with ointment to avoid infection. The branches and rocks were a tad bit unforgiving."

Lucas huffed before giving me his evil eye, he still wasn't happy with me. Understandably so, I still hadn't explained everything that happened. He has no idea that I literally had zero control over my body. I had mentioned it, but didn't go into full detail. For all he knew, I was going to jump. "Thank you, doctor. I really appreciate your help." I all but whispered.

The older woman smiled lightly and patted my hair with a motherly touch before grabbing her shawl and wrapping it tightly around her frame. "Have a good night, Luna. I for one am going back to bed." The first few time I was called 'Luna', I just assumed they didn't know my name, but after a few laughs from my mate after trying to politely correct them, he finally told me what it means.

The responsibility it came with.

It still takes my breath away. Lucas' bedroom door closed, leaving my mate and I alone in the quietness of his room. Avoiding any sort of eye contact with my mate, my orbs shifted across the room and for the second time since I had been here, took note of how bare his walls were. I hated to say anything but it was obvious at one point and time there was something hanging on the walls. The sun had basically tanned the walls, showcasing where frames filled with pictures had once hung. My heart stung a bit at the notion of it being a possible past girlfriend, my head shook in disagreement. For once, my brain won over my heart. Mates were sacred to wolves, especially Lucas, it was a silly thought. "What are you thinking?"

Taking advantage of the change of subject, my pointer finger gestured towards the now empty place on the walls where pictures once hung. "I was trying to work out what used to hang there." His entire frame tensed. I must have hit a soft spot, wincing at the pain radiating out of my feet, I pushed past it and sauntered towards my mate. "I'm sorry if that was too personal of a question. I just realized I don't know much about you." I shrugged indifferently while snaking my arms around his waist, "aside from the fact you are an Alpha of a pack of werewolves that a few weeks ago, I thought were myth." That earned me a small smile.

"It's a long story, doll."

"I'm sure it is, but I would love to hear it. If you want," I rushed out knowing that this could be a personal story. But hey, he knows that I was created by his Moon Goddess', and my parents weren't my real parents and that my best friend lied to me about being a supernatural creature. I have zero secrets.

Lucas lifted me off the ground in one swoop and zipped towards his bed, gently laying me down in the process. Snuggling into his chest, I inhaled deeply and waited. I wasn't going to pressure him and if we fell asleep before then – "When I was eighteen years old, we were at war with the vampires. It wasn't the worst one we've had, but it certainly caused a lot of deaths – too many to be considered worth it. In the end we have a vampire king who we signed a treaty with but he doesn't enforce it so we send him body parts of his underlings weekly. I digress," he sighs before nuzzling into my neck, his lips grazing my neck with every word. "My pack – our pack was huge, Riley. We were the biggest this side of the globe and it was because my dad was a fair leader."

Lucas swallowed audibly, and since I've yet to meet any of his family, plus he is speaking in past tense I knew that this story didn't have a happy ending. "He was strict, strong and fair. He was a great, Alpha. Either way, my father led the rebellion against blood suckers. He was sick of losing pack members and humans were dropping like flies in his territory. They were just left to die, they didn't even drain them fully, they wanted them to suffer."

"That's horrible," I whispered as my fingers ran gently up and down his chest in a hopefully reassuring manner.

"It was creators not watching over their newborns. Newborns can take centuries to grasp their thirst and these weren't trained properly. So, we struck back and lost countless great wolves in the process. My father; mother, younger brother and sister, uncles, aunts, and a few cousins." Tears immediately fill my eyes at the pain my mate had gone through at such an early age. I immediately cursed myself for not finding him sooner, because this is a ten-year-old wound and I can feel his entire body, mind and soul breaking. "They attacked our home, while we were sleeping. We thought we had a victory, we were meeting with the late vampire king in two days' time and we relaxed."

I shushed him lightly and held him tightly as he poured out every single memory. I'm not even sure if he could stop if he tried. Years of pent up emotions can be too much for one single person, especially a man like Lucas who had been through so much. "They slaughtered, women, children or men it made no difference and I felt every single family bond I had break."

"Lucas –

"That's when I lost control and nothing was going to get in my way." His voice was hard and cold, a tone I immediately disliked. "That night, I collected fangs from every vampire that attacked our camp and took them to the vampire king who was celebrating – what we were doing the day before. He was shocked to see me there, I killed anyone who got in my way, but kept my eyes solely focused on the man who killed everyone I cared for. He tried to flee and I taunted him for a good hour before tearing his head off. I enjoyed every kill and smug vampire I killed that night. I put a new king in charge, but I fear that he may be getting to comfortable with power and laxed with leadership. Your attack is a prime example."

I blinked, letting a few tears fall from my – I'm sure, swollen eyes. Every crack in his voice, tremor in his words or shoulder shake as he held back a sob broke me to my very core. A few calloused fingers grazed my cheek, wiping away the remnants of tears. "Don't cry for me."

"I will always cry for you," I whisper, "because you won't do it for yourself. You –" his mouth pressed against my own, slowly and sweetly caressing my lips, showing how much he loved me. Hands. Strong hands held my cheeks before slowly making their way to my hair to tug lightly.

My body trembled as he began to hover over me, one hand bracing his weight while the other continued to caress my neck, running gently from the nape to my collarbone, causing an involuntary moan to escape my lips. Calloused fingers grip my hips before creating small circular patterns on my hips, Lucas growled deeply before raising his hands to gently touch the bare skin of my waist. In one swoop, my shirt is lifted off while I finally come up for air. He doesn't stop, warm lips bite, nibble and suck at every inch of skin on my neck before latching on to one specific spot.

Oh God.

That spot.

Like a wild animal my nails begin to claw down his bare back. When did he even take his shirt off? "Oh Riley, I fucking love you. Damn it, I love you so much."

I'm about to reply. I'm about to tell him how much I love him and how I'll be his family despite losing them years ago. The words are at the tip of my tongue, but a searing – almost burning pain starts at the top of my shoulder spreading to my toes and my 'I love you too', gets replaced with an ear shattering scream. My breathing becomes heavy, my heart begins to pound and every part of my being is alight with – I don't even know what to describe it as. That's how intense this feeling is.

As Lucas pulls back with a huge grin on his face, staring at the shoulder that is throbbing, my eyelids become heavy. Every blink becomes longer, my breathing becomes more shallow, my body feels like it weighs a ton, and it seems like he's just now noticing this. "Riley?" I tried to reply, but instead just stare at his beautiful green eyes. "Oh Goddess, Riley? Baby doll?" I'm lifted in his lap, caressing my cheeks and brushing the hair out of my face.

As much as I would like to keep looking at him, I could always dream about him. "Goddess! Riley, don't you fall asleep baby, I love you. Don't you dare fall asleep!"

Too late.