5.

Wet sweaty hands, a thundering heart, and an ecstatic wolf. All were sensations drowning me at the same time. Sensations I couldn't control.

I was at the small diner overlooking the hotel I was lodging in. We agreed to meet there at exactly 8:30pm, and I have been here since 8pm.

I had showered, shaved my legs, and brushed my teeth, not that I planned on kissing anyone. But I did either way. And the worst part? I had let Robyn coerce me into putting on makeup, but a simple look. Just some kohl in my eyes, a mascara, and a nude lipstick. Dressed in a similar ankara to earlier, only this time it was red with black floral designs. It stopped at my knee, and I paired it with black high heels.

The diner was quiet, which was perfect for my raging nerves and the panic threatening to swallow me. I'm here. I'm really doing this. My anxiety grows with each passing second I spend waiting. My muscles were tense, as pinpricks of sensations washed over my skin. 'It is just a meaningless one night stand. Just a meaningless date.' I tell myself over and over.

But it didn't help. It certainly didn't when my skin zapped, as though a bolt of electricity had shot through me, or when my heart doubled its pace, or when Robyn, as quiet as she had been since we got here so I could calm down, finally tensed.

'What is that?' She snarled, sounding a bit disoriented.

I wish I knew the answer. Wish I knew what caused that sensation, because the last time I felt something like this was two years ago. And it made no sense that I felt it now. Absolutely no sense.

"Hello, beautiful. Are you dining alone?" A voice said from behind, before a handsome man finally stood before me. "I can join you if you don't mind," he added.

I nodded without thinking. Because I need a distraction from this feeling. I whirled around, taking in the diner, but found nothing out of place, yet, the feeling was still there, and I could feel Robyn begin to get restless.

"Thank you. Can I get you something?"

"Oh, no. Don't mind. I'm waiting for someone. I'll eat when he gets here." I replied, my voice a bit choked.

I checked the time. 8:35pm. Why was he late?

"My name is Bukar. And you?"

"Sherneil," I mumbled, shaking my head to get rid of the daze, as I watched his outstretched hand. He wants to shake, but I can stomach only touching one man, and not two. So I shook my head and kept my hands clasped together.

"I can get you a drink from the bar if you want," he continued, leaning closer as his smoky breath hit my nose. He had his hands stretched towards my face, and I realized he was trying to tuck my braid.

But before either I or Robyn could react, a feral growl tore through the diner, and I found myself looking at a man. A man so big and large that I felt so tiny before him. And he was holding a mask. Same mask my date wore in his picture. By the time I raised my eyes to his, slowly taking in the recognition, my heart clashed loudly against my ribcage, but the words that left his mouth as he gripped Bukar's outstretched hand in his made my insides turn.

"Your hands touch what's mine and I will kill you!"