How To Leave After a One-Night Stand With A Werewolf

Wren

I woke up to sunlight spilling through the curtains.

Fucking hell.

It was morning already.

Groaning, I turned and buried my face into the hard, warm body lying next to me.

“Shane,” I mumbled, burying closer, “Close the curtains.”

He answered with a rumbling growl, and I felt his hand around me tighten.

“Wrong name, sweetheart.”

What the—

My eyes flew open, and I came face to face with a pair of familiar blue orbs.

I scrambled back so quickly and ended up rolling off the bed, plunging my knee straight onto the hard floor.

“Mother fuck—” I hissed, cradling my sore knee. Only then did I have a chance to take in my surroundings.

This wasn’t my room.

And that was most definitely not Shane.

Last night's memories crashed back.

“Shit!” A pair of bare, muscular legs swung off the bed, followed by Ryan, who dropped to his knees at my side.

He reached for me, but I jolted back.

“Let me see.”

I hesitated, and he blew out a breath.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Wren. I want to make sure that you’re okay.”

Judging by the pain radiating from my knee, I’d say I was most definitely not okay, but to pacify him, I let him check anyway.

Carefully, he examined my knee, his frown deepening.

“Thankfully, nothing’s broken, and it’s not going to bruise.” his fingers moved along my skin in a surprisingly gentle motion.

I shuddered, and he lifted his gaze to mine.

Those clear blue eyes of his searched my face before dipping back down, and I followed their trail down to my clothes.

I blinked.

“Why am I in your jersey?”

He shrugged. “You needed clothes.”

“What about my clothes?”

“They’re in the dryer. I can get them for you if you want.”

“I do want.”

“Hang on a moment.” He rose and disappeared out of the room.

A minute later he was back. My clothes from last night neatly folded in his arms.

I muttered a thank you as he dropped them onto the bed and tried to get up.

“Whoa.” A surprised squeal escaped me as I was suddenly whisked into the air.

He gently placed me on his bed and stepped back, giving me room to breathe again.

“Thank you.”

“Just doing my job.”

Right. The mate bond.

“So…” he began, leaning against the nightstand and folding his arms across his chest, “Do you usually pass out after an orgasm and is that something I need to look out for in the future?”

Heat flooded my face, and the memory of the way his tongue moved over my clit replayed in my mind.

“No, it’s not.” I hesitated before continuing, “I’ve never had an orgasm before yesterday.”

Ryan grew quiet, and I immediately wished I could take it back.

He probably thought I was some inexperienced virgin who passed out every time she had an orgasm.

But I wasn’t.

A virgin, that is.

“Like ever?” He asked softly, and I didn’t miss the note of pride in his voice or in his eyes when I met his gaze again.

I shook my head, and I watched his expression turn smug. “Well, don’t look too pleased about it.”

My sex life with Shane had been ordinary.

I know that now, but before last night I was convinced it was good, or at least adequate.

When I heard other girls talk about orgasms, I just assumed it was something my body couldn’t do.

Obviously I was wrong because it had only taken Ryan’s mouth to make me cum.

Twice.

“I’m not; this is my deeply displeased look,” he said, his words not matching the gleam in his eyes one bit.

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me.

Maybe it was the orgasm still messing with my head, but I realised talking to him was extremely easy. I didn’t have to guess my words second or wonder if I said the right thing.

It felt nice.

And I immediately knew that was my cue to leave.

“I should go,” I said abruptly, standing up and ignoring the ache in my knee.

“Right now?” He asked, clearly surprised at my change in demeanour.

“I have a lot to do today.”

Technically that wasn’t a lie.

I’d been sharing a dorm with Rachel since first year, but now that she’d fucked Shane, that was no longer an option.

Which meant I had to find a new place to stay.

I planned to get as many of my things as possible from my dorm and stay at a hotel near campus until the request office opened on Monday.

“I can come with you.”

“No.” I blurted way too quickly.

He arched a brow.

“You should stay here. Do whatever it is werewolves do when Humans aren’t looking. Please, don’t let me bother you.”

“It’s no bother, Wren. I want to take you home.

Why was he making this more difficult than it needed to be?

“That won’t be necessary, really. I’m fine.”

“But I—"

“Please, don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” I said, needing him to understand what was happening here. I ran my fingers through my hair and released a long breath. “Look, last night was fun, but that was all it was. Fun.”

The way the warmth drained from Ryan’s face so fast looked like I’d physically struck him. His blue eyes, usually sharp and confident, dimmed into something fractured, and yet I couldn’t stop myself from continuing.

“Last night, I was hurt and angry. You kissed me, and it felt like I could finally forget what a shitty night I had, so I let myself get carried away. I understand now that maybe I wasn’t clear enough with you, and for that I’m sorry, but it was just a one-night stand.”

“A one-night stand?” He stepped back, swallowing hard. “You thought all I wanted was a one-night stand with my mate?”

I winced.

“You have to understand. I just got my heart broken. The two most important people in my life betrayed me. I need time to heal. To process how I feel before deciding if another relationship is worth it, especially one with a werewolf who thinks a mate bond is strong enough to form the basis of a relationship.”

His jaw worked beneath the quiet intensity of the moment, and I hated that I was the cause of the devastating look in his eyes.

“It’s not just a basis to me, Wren,” he said slowly. “A mate bond isn’t some convenient excuse I made up to get you to jump into my bed. It’s… It’s everything. It’s my entire soul recognising you as mine.”

“And that scares me, Ryan!” I snapped, taking a step back. “Do you even hear how terrifying that sounds? You’re talking about souls and forever when twelve hours ago we hadn’t even talked, and I was still in love with Shane. I don’t know who I am right now, let alone how to be someone’s ‘everything’.”

He advanced toward me and reached out a hand as if to stop me, but froze mid-air when I flinched.

He pulled back and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m not asking you to figure this out right this second. I just…I want you to give us a chance. Give me a chance. Let me help you get home.”

I bit my lip.

“I’m sorry.” I walked around him to where my clothes sat on the bed and picked them up.

When I glanced at him again, he looked downright pathetic. Almost heartbroken as he watched me take my stuff.

Every cell in my body wanted me to go over to him.

To hug him.

Kiss him.

But that would be wrong.

It would only fuel whatever illusions he had about us, and I couldn’t have that.

I couldn’t hurt him any more than I already had.

“Maybe you’ll find another mate,” I said and headed for the door.

I paused for a moment.

Then turned back one last time to look at him, the ache in my chest drawn.

“Goodbye, Ryan.”