3: Lily

He touched her in a way that burned her. His roughness caressed her very soul. His crimson eyes burned into her, his powerful gaze making her legs weak and her sex soaked her panties. The scent of fresh rain was stirring her hormones like crazy. She had been man handled before, but his grip loosened on her wrist, and no longer held her captive. This was the same man that scared her earlier, towering over her like he was going to eat her. His hand turned her wrist over, her sleeve rode up a bit and exposed the scars on her wrists. She tried to pull away, but his grip tightened once more.

"Let me go." She pleaded as she grabbed his arm to pull him off. What good was her strength against the Werewolf King? Her flight response kicked in, but she couldn't run away.

"What are you?" He growled down at her. Her legs trembled, this time from fear. She tried to pull away, but he only tightened his hold on her. She felt her chest squeeze as she panicked.

"Stop." she pleaded to him. Tears threatened to expose themselves. Flashbacks to her ex trapping her with a devilish grin on his face came to her mind. She used her other hand to hit his chest until he grabbed that one. The shocks startled her, but it wasn't enough to derail her from trying to flee. He lowered his head closer to her, his body radiated a heat that made her lean into it.

No, I can't go through with this again.

She shifted the gear from Flight to fight, bringing her knee up and ramming it between his legs. He grunted, releasing her as he dropped to a knee.

He may be the Werewolf King, but he was still a man.

She didn't hesitate. What came naturally was what she did. She ran. Through the garden, into the house until she was inside her room and locked the door. For extra measure, she positioned a chair beneath the handle. She wasn't sure it would truly stop him, but she needed to try something.

"What the Hell was that?" She asked herself. Lily finally took notice of her racing heartbeat that nearly burst out from her chest. She rested her notebook and pen on the desk and tried to steady herself. Though everything happened so quickly, she couldn't quite grasp what happened between them. An unspoken need heated her body and drenched her inner thighs. She bolted into her bathroom, shredded off her clothes, and turned on the shower as cold as she dared. The droplets rain down on her, pelting her flushed skin. She felt every inch of her on fire and she didn't know how to put it out. That crimson gaze that was once filled with the rage of her being there had shifted to one ready to devour her. Her fingers dipped between her legs and she bit back a moan. She never expected to react this way after the way he grabbed her. She could still feel the imprints of his fingers on her skin. Another flashback came, the silhouette of her ex standing before her with a belt in one hand and the other hand clenched into a fist. Any desire she felt evaporated instantly as she looked on in horror. His image only smirked back at her while the belt lifted high above his head.

"No!" she screamed as she dropped to the floor of the shower, her hands up to deflect the blow. Though one never came. Her eyes carefully opened, the silhouette now gone. The tears she had restrained streamed freely down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around her legs and sobbed.

---

Lily had avoided the King since their altercation in the garden. She felt slightly guilty for how she reacted, but he deserved it. He hadn't approached her since then, but she can still smell the fresh rain. It was strongest just outside her door that night, but it had faded away into the morning. She didn't dare risk it though, so she skipped out on meals for a couple of days until she was sure he had left her alone. She had grown accustomed to not eating a few days at a time, anyway.

 A few days later, she sat at her desk with her laptop screen open as she scanned the emailed copy of her lease agreement Penelope had sent her. In more detail, it covered her responsibilities for the year she would live with the Werewolf King, Jayce, her son. Aside from the payments for each month of her stay, the rest of the home was hers to explore. Lily thought of it strange that Penelope had a bit more say over his homestead than he did himself, but perhaps things worked differently than she expected. Her phone buzzed softly beside her, the screen lighting up as Penelope's name stood out on the locked screen with the following message below it:

You have an appointment with Dr. Marshall. I'll have a car pick you up in 10 minutes.

Lily nearly forgotten about the planned therapy sessions Penelope had arranged for her. She had been the only person to care about her this much, even in the short time they've known one another. Lily opened the door to the hallway, taking a careful glance around before shutting the door behind herself. It was quiet.

Did Jayce leave for the day?

Before walking down the hallway, she released a breath. She checked her pockets for her phone and wallet. She fixed her long sleeve black shirt and pushed a lock of hair out of her face. As she rounded the stairs, the scent of fresh rain hit her as she met Jayce's icy gaze coming up the staircase. He was shirtless, with sweatpants hanging low, the curve of his pelvis disappearing into the depths of the fabric. Tribal tattoos licked along his ribs, arms, shoulders, and chest. His slightly long black hair was damp and slicked back. He looked so delicious.

"Where are you going?" He asked her, stopping his ascend. Her fingers pulled on the edges of her sleeves nervously. She wanted to avoid his eyes, but she couldn't get herself to look away. She opened her mouth to speak, but the silhouette played in her head again. He stared at her for a moment, frustration settled in his shoulders.

"Fine. Don't answer me." He moved past her and down the opposite hallway. She watched his back as he walked away from her. She had the urge to chase after him, but she didn't dare budge. He was probably still upset with her from the other night. A car honked outside, bringing her back to her reality. Here goes nothing.

---

Dr. Marshall sat in a rolling chair in front of her desk, her pen tapped the notepad in her lap, but her hazel eyes were on Lily. Since she sat down, she struggled to talk to her. Maybe it was the fact that she was a Wolf and Lily was just a Human.

"We can sit here all day if you need to, Miss Thornstun." She informed her.

Right, Penelope was getting charged for this, after all.

Lily balled up her fists in her lap, her eyes downcast as she took several long breaths, "Where should I begin?" She asked her. Dr. Marshall stopped tapping her pen and leaned forward in her chair.

"Where you are comfortable." She simply told her. Lily took another deeper breath.

"It started about nine months ago when I met Jasper. At first, things were going pretty well. He was sweet. Charming. It seemed like he cared about me." Lily started, her eyes only on her hands. She let the memories take over her as if she was reliving them in that room.

"When did things change?" Dr. Marshall's voice echoed in the memories.

"I didn't notice the changes until he started getting physical with me." Lily bit her bottom lip, "But the mental abuse came first, that I know. He started putting words in my head about my friends and family, how they were plotting against us from being happy." Lily's eyes shifted out of focus. It was as if Jasper was sitting beside her, whispering into her ear even now.

"Then it was the emotional abuse. He tore me down about my looks, my weight, even my clothes." Lily clenched the edges of her sleeves, tears dripping onto them. "I'd go without eating just to lose weight for him. Just wanted him to be happy. I wanted him to love me." Her voice trembled.

"That's enough for now." Dr. Marshall said, but it was as if her voice couldn't reach her.

"But then he hit me." Her hand covered her mouth. She could still feel the impact of his fists punching her until she was barely conscious.

"Lily!" Dr. Marshall raised her voice, the image of Jasper shattering next to her, and she was alone with the doctor again. Dr. Marshall had knelt in front of her, her short brown hair curled and bounced against her shoulders. Her brown eyes filled with concern. That's when she finally noticed how hard she was shaking.

"I'm sorry..." Tears flooded her cheeks as she brought her knees to her chest. She wanted to close up the box again, lock it tight and throw away the key. Dr. Marshall rubbed her legs reassuringly.

"You did nothing wrong to apologize for. You yearn for what everyone wants. To be loved." The doctor sat back a bit and pulled out her phone. "We'll wrap up today." She put her phone to her ear. "Alpha, can you come to the office and pick up Lily?" She asked over the phone. Lily's eyes widened as she stared at the dark-skinned woman.

"No! Please don't have him come here!" She panicked, reaching for the phone, but the Werewolf kept her at bay.

"She needs to be picked up and taken home to rest." The doctor continued the conversation.

"Please." Lily begged, dropping back onto the couch. "I don't want to anger him again." She cried into her hands. The doctor hung up the phone after she said that.

"Did he hurt you?" She asked worriedly, but Lily shook her head.

"No. There was a moment we had... He grabbed me, but I don't think he meant harm by it." Lily said to her, but even her own words didn't convince her. He looked mad and maybe a bit conflicted, but she was so wrapped up with how her body reacted, she couldn't read into his expression. The tears continued to flow for sometime, but the doctor let her. They sat quietly, the ticking of the clock above Dr. Marshall's desk being the only sound.