☽Ⓛ❈Ⓒ☾

I sit awkwardly on the sofa, waiting for Satura to finish her phone call. In my dream, she wanted me to fix them. The only other people in the dream had been the two guys, the one I saw in the expensive car and the other that I met in the library.

Realising that the conversation is heated and obviously quite pressing, I get to my feet and take my cold, untouched tea through to the kitchen. I pour the contents down the sink and rinse out the mug. I give it a shake and place it on the side to wash up later on.

When I come back into the room, Satura is hovering by the front door.

"I'm so sorry but I have to dash, I'm needed back at the hospital, one of my pack members is giving birth and needs me there to bless their child into the pack."

"Oh, wow. You have a hospital here?"

She nods quickly, her hand already resting on the door handle. "Yep, up on the hill near my house, Regulus Manor."

"Oh...okay. Um, I guess I'll see you soon?" My voice goes up at the end, so that the sentence sounds more like a question.

"Yes, we'll talk soon. It was lovely to meet you, Felicitas."

It's still strange to hear that version of my name.

"Felicity, please," I insist.

My name is part of who I am, I don't care what my mother called me, I've always been Felicity in my eyes.

"My apologies. Speak soon," she says as she rushes out of the house and down the steps, car keys in hand. "And please, try to keep a low profile. My pack members feel safe here, I will let them know that you have permission to be on the territory but try and be respectful of their privacy. I know you've probably got a lot of questions but if you could direct them to me instead of questioning them, I would really appreciate it."

"That's fine," I call out to her as she waves and gets into her car.

I watch her drive off as I stand on the porch with my arms wrapped around myself. I don't move for a few moments, just watching her car disappear around the corner.

I slowly re-enter the house and shut the door behind me. It feels painfully quiet now that I am alone again. So much has happened in the last hour, I feel completely bamboozled.

I need some space. I need to get out and stretch my legs. Despite already having been on a walk this morning, I head for the back door. Walking is one of the best types of therapy for me, it gives me a chance to make sense of the things I am feeling and experiencing.

It's mid-afternoon by now and I'm glad that I ate lunch before I started reading the diaries. I would be too shaken up to make myself eat anything now.

I'm not concentrating on my footing, and I stumble a couple of times over gnarled branches and uneven ground. Eventually, I stub my toe against a particularly unforgiven rock and decide to pause walking. There is a moss-covered log that seems to be relatively dry, and I hesitantly take a seat, holding my breath in case it gives out underneath me.

I exhale when I realise it is going to hold firm. I put my head in my hands and focus on my breathing. I weigh my options up in my head. There is no chance that I am going to tell my father about this. It was clear from my mother's diaries that he has no clue that his baby mama was a werewolf. I'm not about to test his weak heart by dropping a bombshell like that, I'd probably send him into cardiac arrest.

Part of me wants to stay here and find out more. I need to finish what I started and find Pax something-or-other to sell my aunt's house to. The other part of me wants to run for the hills and return to my tiny studio flat for a sense of normality and comfort. My world has been flipped upside down and I could use some grounding right now.

Perhaps I should go home for a night or two, collect my thoughts and come back in a better frame of mind?

I stand up from the log, my decision made. I pace a couple of steps back and forth, trying to think what is best to do.

"Okay, I'll go back to the house, grab my things and get out of here. I'll take the bags of clothes with me and stop by the charity shop on my way home."

Thinking aloud is something I have always done since I was a child. It allows me to plan things out easily and solidifies my decisions. I'm about to move onto the next step; when I will return to Arcis, but I'm interrupted by the beautiful Asian man -Asper- coming towards me, crunching fallen leaves underfoot.

His face is slightly marred by the serious and concerned expression on his face. He stops a couple of feet in front of me, his expression suddenly wary as though he is worried that he might frighten me. He should frighten me a little, at least. My common sense should be telling me that being alone with a stranger in the middle of a forest is not a bright idea at the best of times, being alone with one that is a werewolf is even worse. Who knows what powers he possesses.

"You can't leave."

His deep, accented voice acts like a tranquiliser on my body. At the sound of it, my heart rate calms, and my breathing stabilises. It's like everything in my body returns to a normal rhythm. I can't fathom why.

"Excuse me?" I stutter around the words and decide that getting out of this forest and away from this stranger is the smartest choice. "I'm going now."

He steps in front of me, holding his hand out, palm open and fingers spread. His fingertips briefly touch my arm and the weirdest jolt of warmth spreads over the affected area. I look at him curiously.

"I can't let you do that," he says softly.

My eyes widen at his words. "What? Why?" I ask nervously.

Sensing that he is alarming me, he changes tact. He drops his arm, takes a step back, away from me and sighs. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to scare you. It's just, I can't let you leave yet. We have to talk."

"Talk?" I parrot him. "About what? I don't know you."

He cocks his head slightly to the side and looks amused for a moment. "Don't you?"

I recoil back like he has offended me with his words. My cheeks automatically heat up and I'm grateful that the colour of my skin means that it isn't easily noticed.

"Pardon?"

He takes a step closer to me, no longer concerned about intimidating me. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that you haven't dreamed about me."

If I hadn't been experiencing weird dreams recently, I would think him the most arrogant man I've ever met. But he's spot on and he knows it.

"I have not dreamed..." I trail off as I meet his eyes and I find myself unable to finish the sentence.

It's like looking into his dark eyes does something to me. Something akin to hypnotism.

He smiles widely, pleased with my response. "Don't worry, I've dreamed of you, too. And I'd be happy to explain it all...if you'll let me."

I hesitate before answering. Everything below my head is telling me to hurriedly accept his offer and go anywhere with him. My mind is the only part of me that is desperately trying to keep some rationality in my decision. I shouldn't be going anywhere with a man I barely know. Having dreams about someone does not mean that I know them. It merely means I'm familiar with their face.

"We can go somewhere public if that will make you feel more comfortable," he suggests. "And, I'm Asper, by the way."

I decide that this is the perfect opportunity to find out more about what is happening here. Satura said that I wasn't supposed to make other people feel uncomfortable by questioning, but this man is blatantly offering the information up of his own free will. I've heard it from my mother, I've spoken to the alpha, perhaps it is time to hear from a pack member.

"Okay, Asper, I'll go with you."

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