I wasn't sure how long I ran or where I had been running. It was long and far away. By now it was pitch black outside and I could barely see.

When I found a small lake, I stopped and sat down in the dirty sand. By now, parts of the bottom of my dress had torn. But I knew that was the least of my worries.

How could he try to slap me? How could he not say I was his girlfriend? It was like denying everything he had with me to stay cool in front of these guys he barely knew. I didn't care that he was drunk. He purposely tried to make himself look bigger at the cost of my own happiness.

Tears welled up in my eyes again at the memory of him moving forward as if he was going to attack me. What if Michael wasn't there? What if Davis hadn't tried to step in front of me when he did?

My hands reached up and covered my face. What would I do now?

"You alright?" A sudden voice asked. Immediately, I jumped up and five feet back in super speed. My eyes searched for the voice but couldn't see anything through the darkness. At this point, I was regretting drinking alcohol so fast.

"Who is there?" I demanded. I could feel the strength I tried to muster but I knew it came out more shaky. 

A stick cracked slightly to the left in front of me and soon a tall muscular man was stepping into the shine of the moon. Tattoos lined his half covered arms. His face held scruff and gentleness. But I knew what he was.

I stepped back, my heart rate picking up.

"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you." He raised his hands gesturing empty hands. "I'm sorry I snuck up on you. I figured you would have heard me." He was right. I should have heard him. I would have if I hadn't drank so much. 

"What do you want from me?" Fear was clear in my voice but I was still on edge and prepared to try and run.

"Nothing," he sat down in the dirty sand. Slowly I sat back down, prepared to run at any second. He turned and looked forward at the water. "It's peaceful out here. No people, no drama, just quiet and peaceful."

I stayed watching him and not looking at the water. He could be playing me right now.

"If you're going to kill me, can you not play this out and just do it quickly please?" I whispered.

He looked over his shoulder at me.

"It might just be me, but it seems like you've had enough pain for one day." He gently smiled at me and laid back now staring at the sky.

"You're a wolf... everyone says a wolf can't resist the urge to kill a vampire or at least hurt us."

"Look, I can hear how scared you are. I already told you I have no interest in hurting you. It would benefit no one to kill you. You're not a royal family member. Pretty sure you're not married to one. What good would it do to kill a beautiful upset girl like yourself?"

I paused looking down at my hands.

"I don't understand."

"I don't want to kill you. We don't all want to kill every vampire we come across... do you want to kill every wolf or human?"

"Touche... though I almost did last week with a human..." I smiled over to him.

"That would have been bad because then I would have to kill you." He laughed. "So tell me, why is a vampire sitting by a lake, crying... in a ball gown?"

"My... friend... tried to hurt me." I whispered, reaching up to my cheek.

"Doesn't sound like a friend. Sounds more like an ex to me." He looked over at me. "He punched you?"

"No, tried to slap me... said in front of his friends that we weren't dating like he was going to impress them by being single. And because I had attacked a royal, that's why he tried to slap me. He actually wanted to hurt me but his friend pulled him back."

"Sounds like a drama fest." He leaned back into the sand and crossed his hands behind his head. "But props to you for attacking a royal..."

I stared over at him. His plaid shirt was unbuttoned showing a black tank underneath. Tattooed on his neck was an interlaced tribal tattoo I knew nothing about. Clearly it was a pack thing but our history didn't explain any meanings like that. None of us ever got this close to one of them.

"What are you staring at?" He asked.

"I still don't get it... why haven't you killed me yet."

He leaned on his side and looked at me. His gentle eyes stared at me before he stood up and began walking towards me. My heart was beating out my chest but yet I didn't move. I didn't run. He stood over me, looking down at me.

He crouched down, pressing his arms into his knees. I felt frozen.

"Maybe I see potential in you," He smiled.

"What does that even mean?" I asked sitting up closer, face to face with him. He reached his hand down, ripping me up to standing. In a second, he had me pressed against him, facing the water with him behind me. My breathing froze in my chest.

"Do you see the girls across the lake?" He pointed across but my focus was more on his defined chest pressing against my bare back. His shirt pulled back more, revealing more tattoos on his arms. "Focus, what do you see?"

"I can't. It's too dark."

"But it's not for us. We can see in the dark. Mostly it's to catch you guys but it helps us run at night too." His arm dropped and I could still feel his chest against me. "I'm sure you feel that warmth too?" He turned me around swiftly. I felt immobile as he told me what to do and guided me around. "The heat and warmth cause you guys to lose focus. Basically, you're attracted to us."

His warm smile seemed genuine, not a result of pheromones. I pulled back away from him, fearing what was happening.

"Don't worry. I don't take advantage of people." He sat back down leaving me standing there in front of him. "Despite how beautiful they are," he added.

"You're not worried at all are you? I mean of me killing you."

He smirked and redirected his eyes to mine.

"You would most definitely not be able to kill me."

"Cocky much?" I spoke to him. Speed running behind him, I went to grab his head but was cut off. He stood up and caught my hands, twisting them behind me. His breath brushed against my neck and I closed my eyes. Thomas' face flashed in my head and I tore myself away from his grasp.

My breathing was harsh and I grasped at my chest. I'd never had a flashback or anything of the sort before and it almost pained me to think about him.

"You okay?" He asked.

I looked up at him and blinked a couple times before running into the forest and hiding behind a tree.

"You can't hide. Remember, I can see in the dark. I can hear your breathing. I can even smell the alcohol you drank. Hmm was it royal alcohol?" He spoke out, turning towards the lake. I ran fast around the tree towards him. The millisecond I reached out for him, his arms wrapped around my neck and waist. We were inches from each other and my best attempt at getting my hands on him had failed time and time again.

Slowly he released me and stepped back.

"I'm glad I was able to help you get your mind off of home but I'm sure they're worried about you now. It's been a couple hours. You should probably go."

I stepped back, taken aback by the sudden mood change. He was teaching me, showing me things about wolves I'd never known and probably never would have.

"But, I want to know more... I want to understand why you are so different or why we have to hate each other..." I looked down. "I don't want to go back either."

He paused and stepped forward.

"If you stay, my people will smell you out and come kill you before I have a chance to stop it. You can come back tomorrow if you can. I can teach you more if you really want. Maybe I'll even teach you some defensive moves to stop your ex friend from hurting you. Now go, they're already coming. Run."

Just like that, I'm a blink of an eye, I was running. I could hear running behind me but that made me push harder. The sun would come up soon and who knew what this new day would bring. I knew I was in no way ready for it but approaching it head on meant I was closer to coming back here to learn more.