3

Glass shattered, along with the tray the attendant had been holding filled with wine. 

“I’m so sorry..” she started to apologize even though it was my fault but her voice sounded so familiar.

It was the attendant that had taken me to my room earlier. Her eyes widened when she recognized me. I didn’t wait for her to run away like she did earlier, I grabbed her and began dragging her with me, finally finding the washroom and locking the door behind us.

“Explain.” I demanded and she crossed her arms, looking at me like I was beneath her unlike her polite attitude the first time we met.

“Explain what?”

“I know for sure I’m in the wrong ship but what I don’t know is why there are people with glowing eyes on this ship. Why people call another person ‘Alpha’ like this is some kind of play and what it is about the full moon that everyone is talking about.”

She sighed like this was frustrating for her as well. “Fine. I’ll tell you. Not like you’re going to make it out of here alive anyway.

“What do you mean by that?”

“We’re werewolves. Humans who can turn Into wolves at will. Ever heard of that?”

I blinked twice, wondering if she knew how ridiculous she sounded. Last time I checked, I wasn’t in a movie.

“I’m sure you’re not going to believe me until you’ve seen it yourself. Typical human.” She sighed. “Look, any moment from now, the full moon will reveal itself and you’ll witness a sight you’ve never seen before. The only thing I can tell you is to be careful. Make sure no one finds out you’re human.”

Then she walked past me as if she was done talking. She paused at the door, turning to catch my gaze with a meaningful look. “If I were you, I would run to my room right now and hide.” 

Her lips curled devilishly and then she was gone, leaving me even more confused than I had been earlier. 

Werewolves? How can that even be real?

Was I dreaming right now or was I dead? 

As I hurried out of the washroom, my eyes happened to catch the moon that was beginning to appear in the sky. My heart raced just staring at it then I left the gathering, deciding to be safe than sorry. I found somewhere quiet, where only the sound of the ocean was present.

I thought I was alone so I released a soft breath and cursed out furiously.

I was on this ship in the first place to prove a point. That I was not boring. That I could be interesting when I wanted to be. I planned to take so many pictures with new people, update on my social media and make sure Max saw how different I was and wished he could still have me. But by then, it would’ve been too late for him.

That was my perfect revenge. Except now, it felt like I just walked into something I could not understand. 

“How could it have been someone like you?” A deep voice sounded behind me and I almost jumped out of fright. 

I turned around to meet dark eyes narrowing on me in a cold, predatory way. Fear instantly paralyzed my body, especially after I remembered his glowing eyes just a while ago.

Landon.

He stepped closer, his huge size instantly making me feel so small. “How could it have been you?” He asked again. This time, more lethal, closing in on me.

I should be running but I couldn’t move my legs. 

My heart raced as I looked around only to find out that we were all alone. There was something wrong about the way he was looking at me. The way his eyes had darkened, the way his fingers trembled as he softly brushed my hair from my face and the way he looked at me so tenderly, so possessively, before he pushed me against the rail, our faces inches apart. 

My heart was roaring in my chest, pounding with a kind of intensity I’ve never felt. I couldn’t tell if it was from fear or lust or both. 

His fingers curled around my waist, and he dragged me closer to him so that my breasts were plastered against him. A dangerous expression flickered in his eyes, then without warning, without giving me time to prepare for whatever was coming, he buried his head in my chest. 

I froze. 

My toes curled and I pressed my thighs tightly together as if it could somehow help the sudden pounding ache that erupted there.

Goodness, what was this?!

I’d barely just met this man. But he was… he was holding me in his arms, squeezing me so possessively and if I wasn’t in my right mind I’d think he just whispered I belonged to him. And then he was sniffing my skin, urgently, like he needed me to breathe.

I should say something. I should tell him to back off. But I couldn’t. My lips won’t move. All I could concentrate on was his nose grazing against my skin, sending goosebumps in its wake. 

The throbbing in my center intensified and I tried pushing him away but his sniffing got more aggressive. He was holding me too tight. Like he wanted to merge our bodies together. 

I couldn’t breathe. I was certain if this continued for another minute, I’d die. 

“Landon?” I whispered softly but it came out as a breathy moan. Whatever he was doing to me was so fucking good. I didn’t want it to stop but god, I couldn’t breathe. 

“Landon.” I called again, louder, and a deep, throaty growl answered back. I froze. No. That didn’t sound quite like a human. It sounded like a wild animal was close by.

“Landon.” I called more frantically, pushing against him. This time, with all my strength. And he finally stopped. When he pulled away from me, his eyes were different, out of focus. He blinked and it returned to normal but the way he looked at me now, it was cold. The lust and possessiveness I’d seen in his eyes a while ago was gone like it was never there.

He swallowed hard then turned away from me. 

“I will strongly advise you to go back to wherever you’re coming from.” He said it like a warning, turned around and left like nothing ever happened between us.

I stood there, against the rails, breathing heavily, clenching my throbbing core as I watched him leave. 

*******

The party was still in full swing and by the time I returned to that table, Kain and the rest were gone. And only Emily sat there. Precisely, she was sitting on the lap of another very handsome man, and they were kissing intensely like no one else existed. 

I swiftly turned away from that direction, embarrassed on her behalf only to find that all around me, women and men were half naked, kissing like animals, like they couldn’t control themselves at all. My cheeks burned intensely and I didn’t know where else to go so I went to the bar, sitting on the stool as the bartender flashed me a grin. 

“What should I serve you, gorgeous?”

I noticed how his eyes lingered on my breasts again and ignored it anyway. 

“Anything strong enough to knock me out?”

Probably a very very bad idea but I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened just now. The way Landon looked at me, that possessive way he touched me. I could still feel it. His nose grazing my neck, sniffing my skin. 

My toes curled again and I cursed under my breath.

“I think I have just the right thing for you.”

I didn’t recognize what drink he poured. It was white and smoky and looked absolutely delicious. He poured a tiny drop in a cup before handing it to me.

“Careful.” He warned but I didn’t listen and by the time I realized, it was too late. My throat burned like I’d just swallowed fire. 

I coughed violently, tears springing to my eyes as the bartender gave me a concerned look.

What in the world was that?!

I’ve never tasted something so strong and out of this world yet it was also… sweet… I found myself wanting another sip and as I pushed my cup to the bartender, he chuckled knowingly and poured me another tiny drop. This time, I tasted it slowly, felt it burn my tongue and then my throat down to my stomach. But it wasn’t so harsh this time.

The bartender looked at the sky behind me and grinned almost excitedly. 

“It’s almost time.” He whispered and as I followed his gaze, I saw the moon, the clouds around it parting slowly to reveal its round shape. My vision got blurry as I stared at the moon and I shook my head.

There was no way I could be getting drunk when I only had two sips but that shit had been strong as hell. 

Something clattered to the floor. A table I realized. But then another table fell and another, glass shattered, screams followed. The whole place turned into an uproar and then I heard a growl. A flash of fur moved swiftly past me and I gasped. 

I must be drunk. I told myself as I watched someone standing in the distance bend and break. His bones shifted and twisted in an unnatural way and the next moment, a wolf stood in his spot. 

My world tumbled. 

No no no. I must be dreaming. It had to be the alcohol. That was right. And my vision was doubled so it cannot be real.

But the sickening sound of the growls that followed proved how real this was. 

Terror seized me, paralyzed me on that stool as I watched even the bartender transform into a big wolf and leapt away. 

My head pounded with intense pain. I was shivering, trembling and just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I felt a huge presence looming over me. 

I turned my head with an expression of horror, only to see a flash of grey fur with twinkling brown eyes, looking at me like it recognized me.

I didn’t know how I knew but I knew I sounded absolutely insane as I whispered, “Kain?”

The wolf seemed to be grinning at me as it nudged me agressively before leaping forward.

I fell, nausea rising to my throat. 

With terrifying realization, I knew I needed to be away from here. I crawled to hide behind a huge pillar, watching another wolf leap past me. They all seemed to be playing around excitedly in an unnatural way. 

That attendant's words pounded in my head. 

If they find out you’re human, they’ll kill you.

I knew then that I needed to get back to my room. It was the only safe place I could trust. The only place where I got to be alone.

But I was drunk. I couldn’t remember which direction and I’d lost the card she gave me. 

Fuck! I cursed furiously, knowing I was in deep shit but not knowing how to handle it. My legs wobbled as I continued to move. Sometimes, I crawled and sometimes, I staggered on my feet to find a room. Any room would do at this point. 

But the cabins seemed like they’d disappeared. But as I continued to wander aimlessly, I stopped in front of a closed door for a moment before I pushed it open. 

I thought I saw a figure. Perhaps another wolf inside here but I wasn’t sure because my body gave up on me and I collapsed there, at the entrance of the room that could’ve been my only safe place. 

Before my world plunged into absolute darkness, I saw a familiar face hovering over me, whispering my name 

And then it all went blank.