Chapter 5: Chapter 5

VALERY

“…I am a man. A man who always gets what he wants, so stop fighting against me already. You will lose.” His whisper sends shivers down my spine, and I blush again.

“Good girl.” He kisses my cheek and continues taking off my clothes. Once my top and jeans are off, he covers me with the blanket and kisses my forehead.

“Now, do as I say and sleep a little. I’ll cook something for you so you can eat once you’re up.” He smiles at me, and I nod, but I have no intention of sleeping. He stands at the doorway, watching me, so I turn over, shut my eyes, and wait for him to leave.

***

When I open my eyes again, the sun is already setting, and I slowly sit up. Shit! I hadn’t meant to fall asleep! It had to have been a dream. I must be sicker than I thought.

I push the blanket away and blush as I see I’m only in my underwear. Okay. So it wasn’t just a dream. My heart beats faster. He really is a—

“Oh, you’re up. How are you feeling?”

My eyes immediately dart to the door, where he’s standing in some jeans, looking at me. I quickly cover myself and look away from him. “Oh, um, I feel…better.”

He chuckles and comes over to my bed, a mischievous smile on his face, and pulls my chin up to look at him. “Oh really? I don’t know about that. Your cheeks are red. Are you lying to me, my little kitten?”

I try to squirm away from him, but he has a firm grasp, so I avert my eyes. “I… It’s just that…”

He leans into my ear and whispers, “Because I make you nervous? Is that it, kitten?”

I whimper at his sexy voice and blush even more at the nickname. He chuckles again.

“Such a naughty little girl I have here…”

He traces my ear with his lips, and I try to suppress a moan. He smiles against my skin and pulls away from me.

“That’s enough for now. C’mon. I made you some food.”

I shake my head. “I’m not hungry.”

He growls, dissatisfied, and pulls the blanket away, making me gasp.

“You will eat. You didn’t even eat your breakfast.”

He picks me up and carries me to the living room. He knows I didn’t eat. I blush again but decide not to fight back this time. I know he’s right. It probably contributed to me feeling so lightheaded.

Once we reach the living room, he lays me down on the couch and covers me with a blanket. Then he walks to the kitchen and comes back with some tasty-smelling soup and sits down next to me.

“Here. Open up.” He takes the spoon and blows on the soup a few times before holding it to my mouth.

“I can eat by myself,” I say, trying not to pout. I haven’t been treated this way since I was a kid. I attempt to take the spoon from him, but he pulls it away.

“Maybe you can, but I will feed you anyway. Now be a good girl and open up.”

His eyes glitter with amusement, but he’s not backing down, not even with the glare I send his way. After several long moments, I sigh and open my mouth. He smiles and brings the spoon between my lips.

The warm, savory soup perks me up a little, and I sit forward. “That’s tasty! How did you make that?”

Eagerly, I wait for the next spoonful. He smiles.

“Glad you like it. I had my beta bring me some healing herbs from the pack house.”

I frown at his words. Beta? Pack house? He seems to notice my confusion and speaks again while feeding me.

“My beta is my best friend, my second in command, you could say. And the pack house is where wolf packs live together. My family.”

I nod slowly. “So, like your parents and siblings?”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “No. My parents are gone, and I don’t have siblings. I mean, my pack is my family.”

I nod again. It makes sense. Wolves live in packs. It’s only reasonable it would be the same with werewolves. As if the very idea of werewolves is reasonable! The proof he’s telling the truth is right in front of me, but there’s still a part of me that can’t believe it’s true.

After I finish my soup, he pats me on the head and smiles. “Good job. You can eat more later. Is there something you wanna do? Take a shower or something?”

I glance over at my bag, and he shakes his head. “You can do your homework tomorrow. You have to go back on Monday, right?”

I nod. He has a point, but I don’t know how to deal with what’s going on. Working would give me something to focus on. I look down at the blanket, not knowing what to say, and he pulls me into a hug.

“What are you doing?!” My feeble attempts to push him away quickly fade as I realize he has no intention of backing off.

“Just let me hold you like this for a while. You had me worried.” His voice sounds weary, and I soften in his embrace.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” I pull away from him and he lets me. “I was just so focused on helping you that I forgot myself again.”

He growls lowly. “Again? It has happened before?”

I fall silent but nod after a while. “I love animals. Not everyone feels the way I do though. They get treated badly by so many people. Humans can say when they dislike something, and other humans understand, but animals can’t speak the human language. They can’t tell us what they need with words. A lot of humans don’t want to learn their language, but I… I just feel so bad for them, so I always put them first.”

He pets my head, and I inwardly smile. It’s like he’s treating me like any human would treat a dog.

“You have a big, loving heart. Now I understand why you helped me. I could have attacked you, felt threatened by you, but you approached me anyway. You made it clear you didn’t want to hurt me and understood my language. You stopped when I growled at you and came when I allowed you to.”

I smile at his words. I’m happy he felt like that and trusted me. “Thanks. For letting me help you. It must have hurt when I treated your wound.”

He pushes me down so that my back is against the arm of the couch and then looks at me, his eyes soft as he touches my cheek.

“I’m the one that owes ~you~ thanks. You saved my life, Valery. I couldn’t have made it back in my state.”

I smile and his eyes, flickering a light golden hue, dart to my lips before he looks back into my eyes.

“Valery…” He leans into my ear and inhales sharply. I shiver, my heart beating faster again. “Can I kiss you?”

My eyes widen at his request and my heart feels like it’s going to jump out of my chest. He looks into my eyes, his lips so close to mine.

“Answer me. Please…”

I close my eyes and nod shyly, feeling his lips on mine immediately. He gently licks my bottom lip, causing a soft moan to escape my mouth, and then eagerly slides his tongue inside. I shut my eyes tightly, surrendering myself to the passion that consumes me. And with his fiery tongue, he claims my obedience, leaving me no choice but to succumb to the insatiable hunger of the wolf’s kiss.