First Kisses…Kind Of

RHIANNON

“We’ll drive together, alone,” he says quietly before walking quickly toward the cabin we came out of.

“Excuse me,” I say to the girl from the cabin, “can I...can we talk for a minute?”

“Of course,” she smiles before taking a seat on a log near the dying fire. “I’m Madelyn, by the way. I’m Alpha Isaac’s gamma.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” I pause for a moment. “I assume we’ve met before this.”

“Yes,” she smiles.

“Alpha Isaac...I feel—I don’t know how to say this. How well do I know him? I feel a strange connection to him.”

My neck tingles when I mention his name.

“I think that you should talk to Alpha about that,” she says cautiously.

“I just...please, Madelyn. I feel so strange and I don’t trust myself.”

“You can trust him, I promise. Talk to him. Whatever you’re feeling, you can tell him, he will understand. Trust your heart.”

Her face is so kind and her voice is genuine. I can’t help but feel more at ease.

I feel his presence as soon as he steps out of the cabin. He’s carrying a few small bags that he places in a car before turning to meet my eyes.

“Thank you, Madelyn. I appreciate it, and I’m sorry I don’t remember you.”

She smiles at me and says, “We’ll just have to get to know each other again!”

I feel nervous as I walk toward the car. It’s actually funny. There is a vampire king after me who wants to make me his personal blood bag.

A year of my life is missing from my memories. My lifelong home was destroyed and my people nearly obliterated.

But what am I freaking out about? An alpha that I can’t remember. Something about him makes me feel like I’m simultaneously floating and drowning.

It sort of hurts to look at him, but I don’t want to look away.

“We’re going to a safe house in Montana,” he tells me softly. “We’re driving to a small airport, then flying into North Dakota and driving over.”

I nod as I process the information.

“My dear, this is where I leave you. I have given information to the alpha about a sorceress that you need to contact. She can help you far more than I,” Ommin says as he pulls me into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry for the trouble my spell caused you. It was the only way we knew to keep you safe.”

“Thank you, Ommin. I will see you again someday, I’m sure of it.”

Everyone has loaded themselves and their belongings into cars. I realize that they’re waiting on me and my cheeks burn as I hurry toward the car.

The alpha is standing by my door, holding it open for me.

“Thank you, Alpha.”

Something passes over his face—a softer, warmer expression—before he resets his face with seriousness.

He’s trying to hide his emotions from me. I don’t know how I know that, but I can feel it—the same way I can feel my own emotions.

“May I call you Isaac?” I ask him when we’re settled into the car. I was taught to be respectful to wolves, especially alphas.

“Yes,” his voice is gravelly and low. It makes my heart pound in my chest.

The strangest sensation sweeps over my body. I peek over at him while he maneuvers the car down the winding road.

His lips are set in a hard line, and his brows are furrowed.

Before my brain can catch up with my body, my hand reaches out and touches his cheek. I just want to comfort him, to make whatever is causing him such pain and distress be gone.

He flinches in surprise as he turns wide-eyed to look at me.

I pull my hand back quickly and cover my burning red face. What did I just do?

“I-I…Alpha, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t thinking, I don’t know what came over me. I…I feel a strange connection to you. I…” I ramble as my voice shakes.

“It’s okay,” he says softly. I gasp and turn to him when I realize what I’m feeling. He liked it. He was happy that I touched him.

His eyes meet mine, and I have to look away. He’s so handsome it makes me nervous.

My life has been really lonely. My parents died when I was young, then my sister left the kingdom. We were never close; she resented me for having wings, for making her an outcast by association.

I hadn’t seen her in nearly three years when she came back to visit right before we were attacked. Now she’s gone.

I would spend so much time dreaming of someone who would love me, who would want me and take me away from my lonely, secluded life.

I would imagine a handsome face and a deep voice. A man who would give me my first kiss and maybe want to marry me. Stupid, childish things.

I feel the alpha growing more tense beside me. I know I should keep my mouth shut, but I want to talk to him, to hear his voice.

“Where are you from?” I decide on a safe topic.

“Nevada,” he says tightly.

“I was there? In Nevada?”

“Yes.”

“Did I like it?”

“You seemed happy,” his voice is softer now, but heavy with sadness.

“Um…Isaac?”

He glances at me with his honey eyes, and my heart flutters.

“Are we friends?”

He shifts uncomfortably in his seat before letting out a deep sigh. He looks like he’s fighting an internal battle. Whatever he has to say, he’s not sure if he should.

“We’re mates,” he says quietly, and my heart nearly bursts.

I throw my arms around his neck, causing him to swerve the car on the road.

“Shit,” he growls as he steadies the wheel.

“Sorry, I’m so sorry. I just…I feel so…I don’t know, so bonded to you. So close even though I don’t know you. Mates! I can’t believe it!” I say before stopping to suck in a breath.

Everything makes sense now. The strong bond I feel with him is a mate bond. We are fated, made for one another.

I can’t believe that I am mated to a werewolf! Excitement courses through my veins, and I have so many questions.

Realization suddenly hits me and I turn to him.

“Does your pack care that I’m not a wolf?”

“No, they love you.”

“Do you care that I’m not a wolf?”

“No, I love you.”

My neck tingles and I rub it uncomfortably. He loves me?

“That’s your mark,” he tells me, and my eyes shoot to him.

“You marked me?”

He nods.

“Did…did we kiss?” I ask nervously. This is so embarrassing.

For the first time since we met—or re-met, rather—he lets out a chuckle. “Yes, little mate, we’ve kissed.”

Irrational tears well up in my eyes. He quickly pulls the car off the road. The caravan behind us follows suit and the cars in front of us pull to the side up ahead.

“What’s wrong, why are you crying?” His voice is frantic.

I cover my face in my hands to hide my embarrassed face. “I… No one ever kissed me before and when someone finally does, I don’t even remember it.”

He leans over the console and puts his hands on my face. He stares at me intensely before slowly bringing his face to mine.

He lets his lips hover next to mine but doesn’t connect them. He stops, waiting. I lean in slightly and press our lips together.

For a moment the kiss is soft and sweet. He groans into my mouth and I gasp. He takes the opportunity to gently push his tongue between my lips.

My body responds before my mind can. Clearly, there is some kind of muscle memory involved in this. I whimper against his lips and his canines release.

My stomach tightens and I feel dizzy, achy, desperate. “Have we done…more than kiss?” My body is on fire, craving something that my brain can’t remember.

His chest shakes as he lets out a guttural groan against my neck. His lips press against the tingling mark.

“Yes,” he says, his voice thick and raspy.

“I want you to show me,” I tell him in a breathy whisper.

“Fuck, Annie, baby... I can’t here!” He sounds as frustrated as I feel.