Chapter 1: One Night with a Stranger

YENA

"Want it? Tell me..."

"please..."

I tilted my head back and gasped for breath, moaning. I couldn't take my hand away, the intense heat from his body rushed into my fingers, stinging my arm, making my whole body warm.

I don't know how he appeared, but the one I brought back to the cave was a wounded wolf. But when I woke up, there was only a stranger beside me, no wolf. Then we were uncontrollably attracted to each other's bodies—

He shifted his weight towards me, and my fingers sank into the hot, bleeding wound. He let out a deep growl.

I ran my bloodstained fingertips over his chest, which was covered in mud and matted into thick, rough hair.

He brought his face closer, his lips against mine. His hot breath flooded my mouth, he touched my face, and ran a big rough hand down my cheek, along my neck and side.

Resting his hand on the thick curve of my hip, he squeezed hard.

My blood felt like it was on fire.

I can't take it anymore. I gasped and lunged at him, and he wrapped his huge arms around me and slammed my body into his. He pulled my clothes and I let him tear them off.

The thunder was getting closer, roaring overhead.

We kissed with insane passion, grabbing every inch of each other.

Pulses of lightning, neon white and blinding, caress our bodies and cast wild shadows on cave walls.

We can only lock for a few seconds at a time. His gaze was piercing and intense, and with every bolt of lightning, his eyes shone emerald green.

We couldn't be apart for hours, it was like gravity pulled us together like a magnet. The person was a stranger, yet somehow it felt like our bodies knew each other and belonged together.

He is rough. We are all shameless.

Every touch is a jolt of joy.

I was here with some classmates on a camping trip the other day - or so I was told.

One of the only normal human girls at the Werewolf Noble Academy, I was at the bottom of the social order from the start. But even worse than that, just about everyone at school, including my adoptive brother Evan, picked on me for being fat.

So I couldn’t believe my luck when a few beautiful girls from one of my classes invited me to go camping on the mountain with them this weekend. But once we arrived in the forest, they ditched me at the edge of a cliff and left me there, stranded. By the time I managed to climb back down to the main road, I found my phone was dead, so I couldn’t call for help.

Then as I started down the road on foot, a blanket of dark clouds covered the sky. I tasted moisture in the air, and just a moment later, a sudden downpour struck the mountain.

I hurried down the road searching desperately for shelter, when I came upon a wolf lying injured beside the road. He was battered and unconscious, with a gash on his front leg. A crimson puddle was growing around him, starting to pull him down into the wet earth.

I picked my way over to where he lay. His breath was slow and ragged. I spotted the cave and wasted no time; I carried him over the rocks, drenching my clothes in his blood, and got us both inside.

I tore apart my jacket and used the fabric to wrap his leg. When it seemed the bleeding had stopped, I let myself collapse beside him, exhausted.

We slept for some time, and when I woke later in the night, the wolf was gone.

In its place was the hulking form of the beautiful stranger. The makeshift bandages had fallen off. Lying on his side next to me, I could feel his hot breath on my skin, and couldn’t help but inch my body closer to his…Then we make love until we pass out from exhaustion.

#

I woke to the sound of water dripping on stone and the distinct feeling of being alone in the cave.

The stormed had passed, and the stranger was gone.

I drew in a long, deep breath.

Will we meet again?

Maybe not. We will never know who the other is.

The smell of the stranger lingered. I noticed, hardly believing the sharpness of my senses, that he’d left two distinct scents behind: the smell of the wolf, and the smell of the man.

I wiped my face with my hands, smelling the metal and minerals scents of blood and earth on them.

Something had changed.

Yes, I lost my virginity, in the middle of the strangest night of my life.

But it wasn’t just that. I felt awake and alive.

I stood and stretched. I was warm and relaxed, with an energy pulsing through me that I’d never felt before.

Then a voice spoke.

Not aloud. Somehow it came from within.

At first it was like a whisper.

It’s because you’ve transformed, the voice was saying.

I walked out of the cave into damp yellow sunlight.

You’re a wolf, the voice continued, growing louder.

"Hey, you know what? You're a wolf, not a normal human," the voice continued, growing louder.

or more like...

"There's a wolf inside you, that's me, you can call me Lily..."

am I crazy? I've never heard a sound like this before.

"How can this be?"

lily. Her voice sounded almost like my own, only lighter. happier.

"We are two sides of one soul," she said.

"I've always been with you and always will be. I'm just waiting for you to find your strength. You'll see...I'll explain everything."

Eighteen years. Eighteen years I’d been just a normal human, knowing something was missing from my life.

And now I found it.

#

I descended the mountain and followed a trickling stream to the river. I traveled quickly, surprisingly sure-footed on the soft ground.

I knelt at the river’s edge and drank, and washed my face and hands.

My shirt was stiff with dried blood. I rinsed it, wrung it out, and put it back on wet. It clung to my body and sent a chill down my spine.

"You're different from the girls at school, even stronger..."

"What? That sounds outrageous!" I couldn't believe it.

"Listen to me, when you bond with our destined mate, the power is released to grow into your true self: an unrivaled beauty, with an ancient lineage nobler than ruling royalty."

I laughed.

“Fated mate? More noble than the Lycan king?”

“Sure.”

"Are you sure I'm going to be a peerless beauty? Haha, no... I'm just a fat girl! Lily, I appreciate you making me happy, but please stop kidding me."

I’d been self-conscious about my appearance forever.

It didn’t help that when we were kids, Evan was always pinching and poking the soft flesh on my arms, making jokes, and calling me chubby.

“Yena! Yena!”

As if I had conjured him with that thought, Evan suddenly appeared, running toward me.

“Evan? What are you doing here?”

He was in his practice gear, wearing a filthy white jersey over shoulder pads and holding his football helmet in one hand.

“What are YOU doing?”

He had a strange look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He took a step back, met my eyes briefly, then looked away.

“I was calling you last night,” he said. “I— are you— what hap…”

He trailed off mid-word and frowned, staring at my clothes.

“I’m sorry, my phone died,” I said. Before I could continue, he interrupted.

“Just call me later,” he mumbled. “I have to…”

He turned and sprinted away. His face and ears were flushed.

I heard Lily’s voice.

"What don't you understand? He's nervous because you're pretty! Now you believe me?"

"Evan? My brother, who laughed at my weight for whole life? I think he probably took the wrong medicine today!"

"Fool, you'll know I didn't lie to you. You're going to be an amazing person with an incredible future..." She laughed, a little smug in her voice.

I crossed my arms, hugging my curves, feeling strangely comfortable in my body. I believe this is a wonderful blessing and that I shouldn't be antagonizing Lily again.

"Okay, maybe you are right, I will become more beautiful and the most popular girl in the future, God bless!"