A man… or a beast?

Rose’s POV

Rose's POV

Rael had told me not to take anything with me, because he was going to provide everything I needed once we got to his house. As he led me to the sleek black car waiting by the side of the room, I looked around, not believing that this was truly happening.

The entire road was deserted, with only a few stars in the dark night sky, and the full moon shining its silvery light down on us. For some reason, the moon made me feel uneasier.

He opened the passenger seat and helped me get in. He shut the door and walked over to the driver's seat. Once he got in, the clean leather scent of the car mingled with his heady, musky scent and it caused an unexpected reaction to rack through my body. My nipples pebbled against the fabric of my night dress and I hoped he could not see it.

I was wrong, because he turned to me, and his eyes fell straight to my chest. The air between us turned molten. I swallowed whatever lump had gathered in my throat, and averted my gaze, trying to hide my blush.

"Don't be embarrassed around me, Rose. I love seeing every inch of you. And I love that pretty blush on your cheeks right now."

I blushed harder, but I cleared my throat, trying to act cool. Trying to act like his words had zero effects on me right now. My little pretense was shattered when he leaned in, engulfing me with his body heat and scent. My eyes flickered to his, as I stilled against my seat. He was getting closer, and my heart was racing harder.

Until I heard a sudden click. I looked down and saw that he had fastened my seatbelt. I do not know why I felt severely disappointed when he leaned back into his seat and started the car.

We had been driving for a while, but we still had not gotten to his house. Instead, as the car sped past, I spotted houses and apartments becoming less and less frequent. At some point, I only spotted a house after a long interval of nothing but woods. The pitch blackness, silence and the eerie moonlight only made me uneasy.

What if he was going to kill me off in the woods? I bit my lips as I realized that I didn't tell either of my two friends before following this stranger.

Bad decision, I know. But I was just happy to have someone care for the life we both created through our one mistake.

"How far away is your house?" I asked, glancing back at him as he turned the car into a back road that only seemed to sink further and further into some dense woods. "We have been driving for a long time."

"We'll get there soon. Just a little more." He answered.

I was not satisfied with his answer, but as I opened my mouth to pester him for a more specific answer, I heard a sickening screech of something sharp scraping the car from outside. There was a loud explosion as the back tires flattened, and the car lurched out of control.

I screamed in shock.

Rael let out a curse, and manoeuvred the car from ramming into a mighty tree at the edge of the dark woods. As he controlled the car, something heavy thudded against my side of the car, and I gasped, shifting away from the window.

In another series of explosions, the front tires burst, and the car skidded uncontrollably till it crashed against a tree. Glass shattered all around us, but I felt myself being pulled against a warm, protective body before it rained down. I was trembling, and Rael had covered my body with his to protect me from the glass.

There was a hiss from somewhere in the car, and smoke began to spread.

"We have to get out. Are you hurt, Rose?" He checked my body, and I was dumbfounded by how calm he sounded.

We just had an unexplained car crash and I was almost hyperventilating, but he was so unfazed like it was part of his daily routine. There were even a few cuts on his arms, but he barely even noticed. He unfastened my seatbelt, and he spotted a tiny cut near my wrist. He froze, staring at the truckle of blood Roseowing down my skin.

Suddenly, a storm of murderous anger filled his entire expression. I was wondering why he was suddenly so furious when I heard a blood curdling howl come from outside the car.

I gasped. The howl was followed by a dozen others, and my skin crawled.

"What was that?" I whispered in fear.

His eyes hardened. Without a word, he kicked the door open and stepped out first, pulling me out of the rapidly smoking car. I would rather stay in the damaged car than step out into the night with those strange sounds. But I had no choice, he was determined to keep me with him.

There was another sharp growl, and he tucked me behind him. I peeked from behind his back, and what met my eyes nearly made me pass out. There were a dozen large beasts surrounding us, with drooling fangs and metal sharp claws. I saw deep scratches on the body of the car, and the tyres were shredded.

Wolves. They had caused our car crash.

"Rael…" I whispered in horror.

The biggest of the wolves snarled at me, and two of its kind jumped out towards us. Rael cursed and charged forward, kicking them both backwards like they were nothing but deflated balls. They both crashed into the woods, and this seemed to anger the rest of the wolves.

I was half dead with panic.

What could we do against animals? Should I call the emergency services?

"Rael, give me your phone, I need to call—"

The wolves charged simultaneously, and I thought it was all over for us. But then, I heard a sickening twist and crack of bones and muscles. I looked sideways to see Rael on the ground, his fingers sharpening into giant, sharp claws that could slice through the toughest flesh. He was transforming into some kind of beast right in front of me, and screams tore out of my throat.

His curses turned into a deep growl that resonated through the woods, and he raised his head up to the full moon and let out a howl that chilled my soul.

It was not Rael anymore. It was a giant, jet black wolf, with sharp long fangs, and a taste for blood. My screams died out, as I collapsed to the ground in a faint.