Who is he?

Emily’s POV

I listened to all the rules as we walked together, our footsteps crunching over gravel and dry leaves. The sky faded from gold to deep purple, casting long shadows over the worn path. A cool, earthy smell lingered in the air, mixed with the faint tang of pine and woodsmoke blowing from somewhere nearby. Crickets started to chirp in the tall grass, and every so often, I caught the distant howl of something wild, echoing through the woods. He showed me the main places he wanted me to know, pointing out the kitchen with its rows of battered pots, the well with its creaking handle, and the shed that smelled faintly of oil and hay. It was getting dark.

Hunter, I said, walking behind him. Why me? Besides the obvious breeding problem.

He stopped. Took my hand. Let’s have dinner, and we will talk before bedtime.

Dinner was good; it was the first time in a long while that I felt full. My stomach didn’t growl.

He took me back to the bedroom, and he started to undress. I turned.

" You can keep your shirt on and take the pants off," he tells me.

I take them off and get in bed, trying not to look his way. He wears boxers. Of course, I looked, and the Goddess must have blessed him with a godlike body.

Would you like to get closer? he asks me. I nod, and his arm grabs my middle and pulls me close. I feel safe with him, for now.

He kisses the top of my head. Now tell me what you want to know? You ask me one question, then I ask you one. Deal?

"Yes. Do you have children?" I ask.

I have a daughter, and the mother left her for me to raise. Her name is Daisy.

Have you ever encountered wolves?

"I did, but… they didn’t see me or smell me," I answer.

"Smell you? I don’t understand," I say.

Oh, I read the guy’s diary, the farm man. He wrote about a plant that repels wolves' smell. I’ve been eating it since then.

What is a mark? like a tattoo?

He laughs. No, silly, it's a mating ritual, usually with a fated mate. But I found you to be that mate. Fated mates are rare for us. They say it's when the Goddess binds two souls together, so the connection is deeper than mere wanting. Being fated means our bond can never be broken, no matter what happens to us. It's not just tradition, it's everything to my kind.

What do you remember from your childhood?

Nothing, sometimes I have some dreams. The last one I had was a nightmare. Someone was chasing me, and I fell down a mountain, rolling in pain. I wake up scared.

"How do you do the ritual? Of marking?" I ask.

Uhhh, you sure you want to know? He asks. I nod. My head is on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Is picking up the rhythm. During …sex, I bite your neck.

I gasp, sitting up, clutching my neck, his laughter mixing with the thrum of my racing heart. He pulls me down, kissing my lips softly, and warmth swells inside me, flooding my stomach like a rising tide.

My hand grazes his cheek. Hunger trembles in me, craving his touch. But as his hand traces my side, palm cupping my backside, nerves jolt through me, sharp and electric. I'm standing on a precipice, danger and beauty tangled together. His kisses deepen; I drown in newness, breathless and shaken. I ache for him, yet fear the force he holds over me, the helplessness unleashed by a single touch. Does surrendering make me fragile? Or am I braver than I know? I feel his pulse, his want, and wonder, can he sense my trembling, or does this wild current too sweep under him?

I pull away, scared, his eyes open, and look at me.

Emily, I can feel your fear. His hand trembled as he touched my face, voice soft: "Let’s try to sleep."

Hunter, can I say something before I fall asleep? Watch your back, my gut feeling never lies…

Hunter’s POV

Her hand touches my face, and I close my eyes. She is so gentle and soft. My hand slides down her body as my kissing deepens, and I want her so bad. I feel her body trembling. She pulls away, scared.

"Too soon," I think to myself, but my wolf growls in my head. "What is with you?" I ask my wolf.

"She’s a human," I shout at him.

I like her, I like her smell, Pax tells me.

Interesting. Then Emily says something that I didn’t expect. To watch my back, she noticed that even though she was an outsider, she must have felt something towards someone close to me. My brother?

Maybe I’m about to ask her, and she’s asleep. I slide my hands up and down her back. I have blue balls, and I can’t sleep now thinking of all this.

Humans always attack us; the more they kill, the less for them to share. Our pack has good fighters, but bringing humans, I think, also exposes us. Once in a while, we get a rogue, lost from far away, and never trust them ever.

I finally close my eyes, and I see Emily’s beautiful face as I fall asleep.

Her hand hitting my face wakes me up. She’s whimpering and begging, and I try to wake her up. Domus, stop, don’t touch me…stop she screams. I pull her to my chest and whisper in her ear. Finally, she opens her eyes, looking around, still unfocused.

Emily looks at me, and then her arms go around my neck. I’m here. You had a dream.

"He touched me… he touched me…" she cries.

Who is he? I ask gently

I don’t know, Hunter, I’m scared of him.

No one will dare to…she kisses me, and she falls back with me on top of her. Mark me!