Chapter 7

• Aurora's POV
• The day passes pretty fast, which is a huge relief in my end. I just didn't want it to go any faster, and time seemed to fly indeed.
• Now it's nighttime, and I'm back in bed curled up safe. I locked the window out of fear, and I didn't get the chance to tell my parents about what happened. It's probably for the best, since they are too busy entertaining Margot and Mason to ever pay me attention.
• Speaking of those two, they didn't stay for the night. I'm glad they're back at their university so they can snuggle and I don't have to see them, but I have to admit that it still hurts.
• But like what Mom said. Supress and kill.
• I'm doing exactly that as I try to get some sleep. It's been exhausting, and I just want to sink into the realms of dreams and just forget everything.
• Thankfully, the stars seem to align and I fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow.
• At first, the only thing that surrounds me is darkness. But slowly, more and more colors loom into view, except that they're not as bright and vivid as I expected them to. They're all just dark hues of green and brown and some purple. Until the full picture comes and I realize that in my dream, I'm in a crowded forest.
• The only source of light is the stars, strewn on the sky like powder. The moon is nonexistent. The wind seems to be frozen. The dream doesn't change and shift like dreams usually do. It's almost like I'm actually here. Everything is crisp and clear.
• But the clarity comes with a price. Soon enough, I see exactly what the catch is.
• The white wolf with the bright blue eyes from my dream just before the day of my birthday.
• My blood goes cold immediately. I try to remember what that dream was about and it comes to me. The face of the wolf covered with blood spatters. Its teeth stained with blood too, almost like it lunged at somebody and deeply wounded them to the point that their blood is all over. I don't even want to think about it.
• Now, the wolf's face is clean. It's just emerging from the woods with an unbelievable grace. Its paws don't make a single sound on the ground. It's just sleek and cool and not at all unfazed by my presence, even though it keeps its laser blue eyes on me.
• "Who are you?" I want to ask, but the words seem to be stuck in my throat.
• The wolf just stops in its tracks and looks at me, and slowly, it starts to shift into its Human form.
• I keep my gaze pinned on it until it becomes a he. And he is now standing tall in front of me, completely naked from the head down to his toes. He's tall, towering over me at least a foot higher. The only thing I want to focus on is his face because I don't want to feel a certain way, but his features are muddy and blurred. It's almost like the dream is incomplete but just with his face and nothing else.
• I try to stare harder, to make out the clearer picture so I could at least recognize if this is Mason or not, but I can't see anything.
• The only thing I know is that this is not Mason. He doesn't have this kind of strong, domineering energy. He doesn't intimidate me like this man does, and I don't even know if he exists in real life. All I know is that he is emanating power in strong waves that I feel like I need to kneel.
• But I don't, because if I do that, I would see the rest of his body.
• Particularly that big thing swinging between his legs.
• "I don't know who you are," I say, succeeding in speaking properly this time. "Please, if you are looking for trouble—"
• "I'm not," he interjects, and his voice is so deep that it almost feels like it's the forest that spoke and not him. "I was looking for you, and now here you are. Exactly where I want you to be. I need you to... Bare it all for me."
• His last statement takes me aback. After a moment, I don't think I still quite get it. Then I remember the other half of that dream, when he told me to take my clothes off and get naked for him.
• "No," I say, but my voice doesn't sound firm. In fact, I sound exactly the way I feel: afraid.
• I start to back away from him, but he just closes the distance between us in a couple of strides. All of a sudden, he wraps one of his strong arms around my waist and pulls me closer to him. My breath gets knocked out of me, only returning when I focus on his face and manage to see his eyes a little more clearly.
• His eyes... as blue as the deeper parts of the ocean, with bright specks around his pupils like the spokes of a wheel. There's a certain kind of intensity in them that I have never seen in anyone before. A fire. Fierceness. But what stands out to me is the hidden warmth and kindness in those blue waves....
• And being lost in the beauty of his gaze is exactly what he needs.
• In one go, he leans toward me and captures my lips with his.
• Perhaps it's surprise. Perhaps it's the fact that I got mesmerized by his looks. Either way, I find myself closing my eyes and getting lost in the kiss. His lips are firm on mine, sure and urgent, tasting me in a way that makes me feel like he's been starving and I'm the only one who can satiate it. His hands are on my waist, crawling up until his thumbs are positioned right over my nipples.
• A moan escapes my lips, but he stops it by sliding his tongue into my mouth.
• Something hard and long is poking at me, and I realize that it's his manhood, alive and ready to take me.
• I should be scared right now. I should back away.
• But I don't do that.
• Instead, I let him kiss me and touch me until the dream fades and I wake up.