I slept with a stranger

POV: Briar

"Are you going to drink that glass of whiskey or just cry into it until it overflows?" a woman asked.

I wiped my wet cheeks and stared at the stranger sitting on the barstool next to me. I was two towns away from my pack territory. Nobody knew me here. I could not sit in my house and let my father look at me with pity.

"Leave me alone," I said, my voice thick.

"A bad breakup?" the woman asked. She signaled the bartender for another round of drinks.

"Or did your man pick someone prettier?"

"He rejected me in front of everyone," I blurted out.

"He picked my own sister."

"Ah, betrayal," the woman laughed softly.

"The worst kind of pain. But crying in a dirty pub will not fix it. Do you know what actually fixes it?"

"Nothing fixes it," I muttered, staring at my drink.

"I am a joke."

"Being wanted fixes it," she said, leaning closer to me.

"Feeling like you are the center of the universe for one single night fixes it. I run a private service. It is very exclusive. It is completely anonymous."

"A service?" I asked, looking up at her.

"An escort," she clarified smoothly.

"A professional. He will make you forget that stupid boy who broke your heart tonight. He wears a mask. You wear nothing. There are no names. There are no questions asked. You pay the f*e, and for one night, you are treated like a goddess."

"I have never done anything like that in my entire life," I said, shaking my head rapidly.

"I am not beautiful. I am big."

"You are paying," the woman interrupted sharply.

"That makes you beautiful to him. He will touch you exactly how you want to be touched. Do you want to go back home and let them mock you? Or do you want to feel alive tonight?"I gripped my glass tight. I thought about the cruel laughter at the bonfire. I thought about Kaius holding my sister and laughing at my size. I wanted to erase that memory.

"How much does it cost?" I asked.

"Five hundred cash," she said, tapping her long nails on the wooden bar.

"That is a lot of money for one night," I whispered.

"It is a very small price for your sanity," she replied. "He will meet you in room four upstairs. Leave the cash on the dresser. Do not ask for his real name. Do not ask to see his face. Do you understand the rules?"

"What if he judges me?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"What if he is disgusted when he sees my body?"

"He is not paid to judge you," she said firmly.

"He is paid to worship you. Will you take the offer or keep crying over a man who chose your sister?"

"I will take it," I said, sliding off the tall stool.I walked up the creaky stairs and pushed open the heavy wooden door to room four.

The room was dark, lit only by a small yellow lamp on the bedside table. I placed the cash on the dresser and waited. My hands trembled violently. My heart hammered against my ribs so hard it hurt.The door clicked open behind me.

"Turn around," a deep voice commanded.I froze. The voice was heavily muffled, thick and unrecognizable. I slowly turned around to face him.He stood in the doorway. He wore a dark cloak, and a smooth black mask covered his entire face, leaving only two small slits for his eyes. The room was too dim to see their color.

"You are shaking," he said softly, closing the door behind him.

"I have never done this before," I admitted, wrapping my arms around my stomach.

"I feel stupid."

"Do not feel stupid," he said, turning the lock on the door.

"You are safe here."

"Will you laugh at me?" I asked, fresh tears stinging my eyes.

"When you see me?""I am not here to laugh," he replied, stepping closer to me.

"Take off your dress."

"Turn off the lamp first," I pleaded, stepping back.

"No," he said, his voice lowering into a rough growl.

"I want to see exactly what I am touching."

"I am not like the other girls you see," I whispered, my cheeks burning with heavy shame.

"I am big. I am wolfless. I am not perfect."

"I do not care about the other girls," he said. He stopped right in front of me. His broad chest brushed against mine.

"Drop the dress right now."I swallowed hard.

My fingers fumbled with the small zipper at my side. The fabric slipped down and pooled at my feet on the floor. I stood before him in my underwear, completely exposed. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the cruel insults. I waited for him to call me fat. I waited for the laughter.

Instead, large, warm hands settled gently on my waist.

"Open your eyes," he whispered.I opened them. He was looking down at my body, his masked face tilted in the dim light.

"You are beautiful," he said.

"You are just saying that because I paid you," I breathed, though a shiver ran straight down my spine.

"I do not lie in this room," he murmured. His thumbs traced the soft curves of my hips.

"You are perfect."

Hearing those words sent a sharp jolt straight to my core. It was exactly what Kaius used to tell me, but this stranger was actually backing it up with his touch. His hands were confident and slow. He dragged his palms up my stomach, mapping the heavy curves of my body without a single hint of disgust.

"Touch me," I begged, my voice breaking.

"Please make me forget tonight."

"I will make you forget everything," he promised.He lifted me effortlessly and placed me on the edge of the large mattress. My back hit the soft sheets. He climbed over me, his heavy body pressing me down into the mattress.

"Do you like this?" he asked, his hands sliding up my thick thighs.

"Yes," I gasped, my nails digging into the white sheets.

"Tell me what you want," he commanded, his masked face hovering just inches from mine.

"I want you," I sobbed, the emotional release finally breaking open.

"I just want to feel wanted."

"You are wanted," he replied fiercely.

"You are mine for tonight."

His mouth found the bare skin of my neck. His lips were burning hot against my flesh. He kissed me hard, silencing the rest of my cries.

For the first time in hours, I completely forgot the sound of the pack laughing at me. I forgot my father turning his back on me. This stranger touched me like I was the only breathing thing in the room worth keeping. It undid me in a way I was completely unprepared for.

The heat between us exploded. The tension was blinding and thick. My hands roamed over his broad shoulders, feeling the thick, powerful muscles bunching under his hot skin. I gripped him desperately, needing to anchor myself to him as the pure pleasure wiped my mind completely blank.

"Look at me," he groaned, his heavy body moving against mine.

I opened my eyes, panting heavily. The room spun around me. In the wild heat of the moment, my fingers slipped from his shoulders and snagged on the thick string holding his mask in place. I did not mean to pull it. My hand just clamped down tight as a sharp wave of pleasure hit me.The string snapped.The black mask slipped off his face and hit the wooden floor before either of us could stop it.The dim yellow light from the bedside lamp hit his bare face.

My eyes flew wide open. The breath completely left my lungs.For one frozen second, I stared up at the man pinning me to the bed. I stared at a face carved from the exact same blood as the man who rejected me just hours earlier. I knew that sharp jaw. I knew that cruel mouth. I knew those cold grey eyes just as well as I knew my own name.Kaius.My whole body went completely ice cold, even as my heart pounded violently against my ribs from what we were still doing.

"No," I choked out, my voice totally failing me.He froze above me, staring back at me with wide, shocked eyes.

It could not be him.

It could not be.

Could it?