How could I have been so stupid?

I sniffle as I reach up with my arms and wipe my eyes with the sides of my hands. As soon as my cheeks are clear of the last tears, others quickly fall in their places.

I cried for what felt like hours until I felt the need to stretch my legs and travel elsewhere. I picked myself up off the dirt on the forest floor, then I started walking.

I kept walking, to clear my head, but I couldn't think of anything but Greyson. Eventually, the tree density lightened in the forest as I came across a small stream.

Now here I am.

As if out of pure instinct I automatically kneel down beside the clear running water. I cup my hands, dipping them into the fresh water and use it to slowly and tediously clean off the wound on my leg and the wounds on my neck. It takes me a while to rinse out all of the dirt and pebbles out of my open wounds. Finally I manage to clear them and sanitize them to my best ability. Once I've completed this task, I sigh in relief and cup my hands together placing them into the water once again, filling them up. I lift my hands and bring them to my dry lips and take a long sip. The cool liquid drips down my dry throat, quenching my thirst.

I take a few more refreshing sips before I scoot myself backwards. I find a nice patch of grassy turf and place myself on it. My body lays flat on the ground and I curl myself up into a ball. I sigh as an icy shiver spreads through my entire body.

Without my wolf, my blood runs a little cooler. Dang, how do humans live like this? Are they always chilly in nature?

My mind wanders off to Greyson again.

I wonder if he is back at the pack house by now? It has been at least an hour since we've been separated. If he isn't home yet, he will be soon. After all, he has no need to bring me back since I'm 'not his problem anymore.' The words still sting like a fresh wound.

The sky is a light pink blend. With the sun beginning to set it brings with it a cooler breeze that floats in all around me. I shiver and hold my legs closer to my body trying to warm myself.

There's no point in traveling tonight while it's chilly. I might as well rest up, hope my wounds heal a bit more and start my trek in the morning. Walking will take me an extra couple of hours to get back and it certainly isn't safe to be wandering around these woods at night. There are still random Hunter traps set up here and there. If I got caught in one it wouldn't normally be a huge problem, but now that I'm human I wouldn't be able to heal or bounce back as quickly.

I close my eyes and listen to the sounds of insects buzzing and crickets beginning their chirping. I can hear the relaxing tone of the breeze as it sends uncomfortable frigid chills down my spine. My breathing gradually bounces into a rhythm, and soon I'm fast asleep.

---------------------------------------

Laughter. That's what I hear.

The sound of children giggling and playing filters into my ears.

Next comes the visual.

The scene takes place in the outdoors. A back yard, a large one at that. Even bigger than the one behind the pack house. Little children, around five or six years of age, scatter and run about. They giggle, scream, and yell at one another as their game of tag grows intense.

My attention is drawn to a little girl. Her hair brown and loose. Her back is to me, but something in me feels a sense of familiarity about the girl. She turns her head around in my direction. As soon as her brown eyes make contact with my own, my body becomes numb to my actions and I feel an immense force pulling me toward the child. A rush of air pulls me in. When I next open my eyes, I'm much shorter than I was before and I have no control over my movement or where my eyes can go.

I've become the girl?

My body laughs as a hand comes out of nowhere and tags my left arm. I race forward and chase after the boy who had just tagged me. I easily catch up to him again and tag his back. He grumbles in annoyance and I laugh, turning on my feet and running around. Other kids race past me, trying to dodge being tag by the person who is now 'it.'

I run off to the side of the giant house, still giggling but panting hard at the same time.

A moment later I hear an argument. A man shouting and a child yelling back. My body reacts and turns toward the window that is next to me. I stand on my tippy toes and peer in to the cracked open window.

"You don't have time to go out there and play. You need to stay inside and train once you've finished with your homework." The father shouts at his son. He is sitting in a chair that's back is facing me. The large chair is so big that I can't even see a bit of the man. Yet I know he's intimidating judging by his voice.

"But dad, all my friends are out there. It's stupid I have to stay in here and do dumb homework." A boy fires back in an angry voice. He is hidden from my vision as well. The large back of the chair is perfectly in-line with the boy, shielding him from my view.

"You do not have the luxury of going out to play like the other kids. You have responsibilities to attend to. As my son-"

"Well maybe I don't want to be your son!" The kid screams.

A loud growl erupts through the room. I feel my body shaking and trembling at the power of the noise. My fingers grip hard on the window pane in order to hold myself up. The chair in front of me pushes backward as the man in it stands up tall. My eyes widen at his large stature. He is a well built man, clearly strong and very intimidating.

"You will not disrespect me like that ever again. You are my son. Whether you like it or not." I feel the wolf in me submit to the tone immediately. My legs still trembling.

The man stares down at his son. I hear the kid huff in annoyance. "Whatever..."

The man growls and my legs shake even more. "You will reply to me with respect. Answer me properly."

A silence passes through the room. An awkwardness fills the space. The kids hesitates. I can sense the father glaring down at his child and I can't help but feel sympathy for the kid.

The kid's resilience is outstanding, but finally he answers, "yes father..."

"Now go study. I'm going to talk to your mother. After our discussion, I'm going to go to your room to make sure you're actually working. Got it?" The father dictates as he pushes further from the desk, shaking the chair. It shifts slightly and I can see a bit of the kid now. He is young but older than the body I'm currently in.

"Yes father..."

"Good." The father announces, confident that he won the conversation. He proceeds to leave the room, passing by his child on the way to the exit.

He opens the door and slams it closed in his wake. The room shakes for a moment at the force of the slam, but it quickly calms. The kids huffs in anger. I can see his cheeks are reddened with fury. He's pissed.

"What a stupid father." He murmurs. He's about to spin toward the door to leave, but something catches his eye.

His head snaps in my direction. My heart accelerates as I realize I'm the thing that caught his eye. Green orbs stare into my soul. My cheeks grow red in embarrassment. My fingers unlatch from the window pane. I fall onto the flats of my feet. I turn the opposite direction to run when suddenly a voice comes from directly behind me.

"Wait, don't go." It's the boy. I freeze in place, still not facing him. "Did you hear all that?"

I gulp. Oh boy, now I'm going to get in trouble again for doing something I wasn't supposed to. "I um... I think I just heard the end but I'm not really sure..." I whisper. My voice slightly shaking. At least he can't see my face.

"Well what do you have to say for yourself?" His tone is stern, he sounds mad.

I gulp again nervously. My palms grow sweaty as my heart accelerates in my chest. I can feel my pulse racing. "I -- I'm so sorry... I swear I didn't mean to overhear you."

"But you did. And there will be punishments." He tells me.

My heart falls to the floor. "No! I'm so sorry, I will do anything just please don't tell my parents!" I whip myself around to face the boy.

To my surprise, he is smirking. He laughs at my expression as our gazes meet. "The look on your face is priceless!"

My jaw drops and my heart starts pounding again, but this time I don't think it's from being scared. "Wait, you were kidding?"

He nods enthusiastically. "Yeah. Trust me, I understand strict parents... I wouldn't wish that on anyone nor would I taddle on anyone."

He leans on the window sill and gazes down at me. I feel my cheeks flush again. He's staring so intently, it's a bit embarrassing. "So your parents are strict too, huh?" I ask.

He laughs, "isn't that obvious? Did you even hear any of the conversation just now between my dad and I?"

I snort. "I guess it was a dumb question... I think your dad's rule is stupid. I mean normally my dad has rules like that too, but today is such a nice day he decided we could play for once."

"So if you're allowed to play today, why are you here?"

"Well... we were playing tag and I was it then I tagged someone else and I needed a break so I ran over here to hide while I took a breather and I heard some noise so I walked up to the window and peered in..." I ramble.

"You sure are a talkative one." He remarks. "What's your name?"

"M -- My name?"

He laughs, "yeah. I don't get out much and the only friends I have are in my grade. So let's be friends, huh?"

A smile forms on my face, "ok! My name is Arlina."

My body is suddenly ripped from the scene. A pain races through my head. It pounds and aches. I groan. My eyes open and the woods filters into my vision. Birds chirp as the sun rises in the morning sun. I must have slept through the night. I groan again in pain as I feel myself being pulled from that bizarre dream.

I bring my right hand to my head and massage it gently. The pain slowly dwindles away.

I turn slightly, but as I do, I notice something soft resting against my back. It radiates heat and warms my skin. A cool breeze wraps around my front, but I don't shiver due to the warmth surrounding my body.

I place my hands on the floor and push my upper half from the grassy ground. I glance to my side. My eyes widen in shock.

A large dark brown furball lays curled up beside me. He's sound asleep, his body rising and falling at an even tempo as he breathes. His soft fur touching my now warm skin. I study him carefully, wondering why he is here.

I thought Greyson would have gone back to the pack house last night? After all, he did say I wasn't his problem to deal with anymore. So why did he stick around? Why did he stay?

A flush crosses my cheeks as I realize my bladder is full. I really need to pee.

Slowly, and very careful not to stir Greyson from his peaceful sleep, I push myself up and onto my feet. I tip toe away, avoiding any leaves or sticks that will crunch beneath my weight. I continue on. I get a good distance away into the deep woods before I decide I'm far enough. I've been walking for at least five minutes, so I'm way out of Greyson's hearing range.

I'm quick to pee.

I also take a small detour and head over to a different section of the small stream. I cup my hands to the water and sip. I have three or four handfuls. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was until my lips touched the water just now. I wash my face. It's cold and sends shivers all over my body.  The chilliness helps me recall the warm state I was just in before leaving to go to the bathroom. That's when I decide I'm all set and ready to head back.

If I'm lucky, I can catch Greyson before he wakes and cuddle back up to his soft fur.

It doesn't take me long to get back to the spot where I slept last night... At least that's what I thought.

When I arrive, the forest floor is barren of a large brown wolf. I question for a minute if I accidentally went back to the wrong place, but decide I'm wrong when I notice the way the grass is formed on the ground. I can see the marks of where we slept last night. I frown.

Where the hell did he go?

Did he wake up, not see me and decide to just take off?

How ridiculous!

I huff and make my way over to the stream again. I sit on the grassy forest floor. I pull my legs up to my chest and hug them close to my body for warmth. My chin rests comfortably on my scuffed up knees. I stare at the water. It runs past me quickly; it's clear and fresh. I can even see the smooth rocks that line the river bank floor.

I get mesmerized by the tumbling rapids.

I lose track of time as I listen and watch the nature surrounding me. So many birds flying and weaving through the trees and up in the clear sky. Insects chirp their love songs from branches and a few moths are finding their resting places on trees as they get ready to sleep for the day.

"It's beautiful out here, huh?" I jump from the sudden deep voice that erupts from behind me. I quickly calm down as I recognize the familiar tone.

"Very beautiful..." I reply, but don't bother to turn around and face my intruder. After all, I think we may still be arguing with each other.

I listen carefully to his movements. I can hear him approaching me from behind. He stops before he gets too close.

A silence comes over us. An awkward silence. I could practically cut the tension that's filling up the air between the two of us. But I resist starting the conversation. After all, he freaked out on me because he said that I betrayed him. I mean I understand him being mad and upset at the situation and taking that anger out on me, but I don't understand him completely blaming me for it. It's not my fault Damien talked to the Alpha about being a mating pair with me before Greyson got the chance.

Greyson breaks, "I think we should talk more about what we were discussing last night..."

I nod my head in agreement. "Yeah, I suppose we should touch upon some points of confusion." Like how you think I just deliberately chose Damien over you? Dumb ass.

"Can you at least face me while we talk?" He asks.

I snort at that. "Face you, huh? This is starting to sound like that time I went to give you an apology and you were so pissed at me that you wouldn't even glance in my direction. So is that what this is? Are you going to apologize?"

I hear him take a few steps forward, getting closer to me. He makes it to my side by the little stream. He sits down next me. In my peripherals, I see him turn his head in my direction. I gulp and slowly glance my brown eyes over at him.

Big mistake.

His green orbs stare at me intently, taking me in. I can feel an intense rush of his emotions pouring in from his stare. It's as if they are directing all of his emotions on to me. My heart reacts accordingly, beating erratically in my chest. I feel my breathing grow more shallow.

"Do I owe you one?" He asks me.

My face grows confused. "Owe me what?"

He gives me a small smile, "an apology.... Last night, you said some things that I just couldn't understand. You said something about it being my fault... I couldn't tell if you were just putting the blame on me out of spite or if you actually meant what you said."

I frown. "I really just don't know how you're confused. Girls don't have a choice on who we are assigned to mate with."

"Don't have a choice? That doesn't make any sense?"

I roll my eyes, "oh please. Don't act like you don't know."

"Seriously Lucia, I have no clue what you're talking about."

I grunt at his lies. This is the way the world works. "The men in the pack have the choice. They can select a woman and bring their selection to the Alpha. If the Alpha approves of the pairing, then it's settled. The woman doesn't even have to know about the pairing until she is being tossed up on stage and being introduced as a mating pair with some man."

To my surprise, his face grows angry. "Wait... Your Alpha is in charge of selecting the mating pairs in your pack?"

"He is just in charge of approving them. Why do you seem so confused? This is the way things have always been."

"Maybe for this pack, but my old pack was completely different."

I pause. Different? Wait... There's no way. "What do you mean?"

"People chose who they wanted to mate with on their own terms. It wasn't solely the male's or female's choice, it had to be a decision made by both of them."

"You mean... girl's didn't just get forced into mating with someone in your old pack?"

"Not even in the slightest. If anything, girl's had more choice on who they wanted to mate with than the other way around." He tells me.

My heart thumps in my chest. My cheeks grow red with a bit of anger. "So this method that Alpha Serg uses... it's... it's not universal?"

He shakes his head. "Not in the slightest."

I growl and my hands squeeze into little fists. But no matter how angry I get, does it change anything? This is still the way our pack is run. Our Alpha dictated it this way. Why he chose to make it like this? I'm not sure, but it's probably just to gain more power and respect over the rogues.

I take a deep breath in. Then slowly, I exhale. I try to calm myself. Then I turn to Greyson. "Well... I suppose I can see where our confusion came into play..."

He nods in agreement. A sadness glazes over his eyes as he looks at me. I can't tell if it's pity or if he is genuinely sad about something. A silence comes between us again.

A moment later he speaks, "Can I ask you something..."

I nod my head.

"If this pack had the same rules as my old pack, would you be in the same position right now?" He asks me.

I think this question over, analyzing it in my head. After a moment, I reply, "if you're asking me if I would be with Damien and have his mark on my neck right now, then the answer to your question would be no. But if I consider your question deeper than face value and think about the person I love... then my answer would have to be 'I hope so'... because no matter where I would be, I would hope that the person I fell in love with is the person I would love in any situation..." I think my response over. A blush spreads across my cheeks and I turn and bury my head into my knees.

I can't believe I just admitted to Greyson that I fell in love with him! But honestly, he's so clueless that he might not even realize it's him I'm talking about. He's been a complete dummy about this type of thing since I met him.

I hear a sigh of relief, "so you don't love Damien?"

I roll my eyes. See, he is still clueless! He had no idea I was talking about him! I huff angrily. I grunt as I say, "Seriously? That's what you gathered from that?"

I shoot my head up.

I turn to glare at him when I realize he is closer than I expected. A smirk is plastered on his face, "I was fooling with you," his hand reaches up slowly and cups my cheek, pulling me a smidgen closer to his lips. He whispers and his words breathe onto my face, "I love you too."

Our eyes close simultaneously. His warm lips crash upon my own. I moan as the feel of him surrounds me fully. I unravel myself from my little ball and curl my arms around Greyson's neck. I slip my tongue into his mouth greedily as a heat pulses through my body. His hands latch onto my bare hips.

With barely any force, he is able to pull me onto his lap. I forgot how much stronger he is than me right now, considering I'm a mere human. I straddle him and lightly lower myself down, tired of holding myself up. My eyes widen a bit in shock as I feel his hardened self below me, fully exposed and skin on skin. I continue to kiss him and I calm down soon after the initial shock. I press down lightly on his shaft and grind my hips back and forth in a small rocking motion.

Greyson groans at the feel of me on him. I feel his fingers tighten on my waist. I flinch a bit, because it hurts a little considering he is so much stronger than me at the moment. A second later his fingers loosen, but I realize, I don't mind the slight pain so much. It makes me know how much he likes what I'm doing.

A heat courses into my core. A strange desire tingles within me, and I become greedy. Greedy for Greyson, all of him. I slink one of my hands down his shoulder, to his chest, down his abs, and toward his large shaft. I grab hold of his thickness beneath me. I stroke the length of it a few times. He groans in satisfaction, his hands gently massaging my sides. Then I position myself over him. I gently get it in place and slowly I lower myself onto him.

A sharp-initial pain shoots through me for a moment, giving me pause. I break the kiss for a moment and rest my forehead on his. I take a few deep breaths as I allow myself to adapt to him being inside me again.

"Shit, did I hurt you?" He asks. "We can stop Lucia-"

I laugh a him. I open my eyes, looking straight into his big emerald orbs. "I'm fine, okay? Relax, it's been a while, remember? I think I just need to adapt."

His eyes look between my two, as if he is searching for something in my words. A smile forms on his lips. His hands slip up from my hips and reach up to caress my cheeks gently on either side. He pulls me in close for a slow and passionate peck on the lips.

When he pulls away, he's still staring at me. The look he is giving me causes my stomach to bubble with butterflies. "I love you." He whispers.

My cheeks flare red. To cover up my embarrassment, I inch forward and connect our lips together again. We start off slow. The kiss teetering on a thin line, on one side is pure passion and on the other is pure emotion.

Passion soon wins, as it consumes us whole. Greyson moves one of his hands down to my hip and the other lands on my ribcage, right below my breast. He raises it higher, cupping me in his hold. Gently he massages me with his fingers. They soon find the sweet point and begging to gently twist and massage even more. My head starts spinning and I moan out in pure pleasure.

The heat in my core returns with a flaring passion. I start to find my confidence again as I slowly move myself up and down. After a moment or two, my hips start to have a small rocking motion along with the up and down motion. I fall into a rhythm that sends these strange and desirable pulses throughout my body.

Need fills me. I want him deeper and deeper inside of me.

I continue this charade as Greyson groans underneath me. Clearly I'm doing something right because his one hand is roughly holding onto my hip and the other has slowed its delicious movements on my breast.

His one hand lands on my hip, joining the other.

I can feel him expanding a bit inside me. I know he is nearing his release.

Then, suddenly, I'm flipped over on my back. I'm laying on the grassy forest floor with Greyson hovering over me. He continues to pump into me a few more times. I moan into his lips as he finds a spot that's extremely pleasing and sends shivers throughout my body. My hands land on his shoulder and squeeze them as pleasure courses my body at the feel of his thickness inside of me. I can feel ever inch of him moving in and out at a rapid tempo.

A moment later he pulls out of me and I feel a bit of something warm shoot out and onto my stomach. At first I'm unsure what it is, but then I recall the white sticky mess that came out last time. I'm rather glad he didn't come into me again. I didn't realize how much of it oozes out. But at the same time, I'm a bit sad. The sensation it gives when he came into me last time was delirious and exhilarating.

Our kiss is still filled with passion and the heat within me still hasn't been placated yet. But I figure we will be done soon because he already reached his climax.

I start to slow the kiss. Before I do, Greyson's hand lands on my core. I moan as his fingers retreat downward. They slip between my folds and gently rub me. I moan and my fingers squeeze his shoulders tightly in their grip. He continues to rub me in gentle circles before slowly putting a finger in. I moan aloud as he wiggles it up and down and gently rubs and massages my insides. Another finger soon joins the other and they work together to send surges of pleasure throughout my entire body. I shiver in delight as a feeling of ecstasy builds deep within me.

He breaks the kiss and trails smaller kisses down my cheek and down my neck. Before he reaches the sweet spot where my neck meets my shoulder, he stops his kisses. His fingers down bellow continue their torturous journey. I close my eyes as he slides down my whole body. His mouth meets the inside of my thigh. He kisses it sensuously and trails small kisses all the way up to my core.

He slowly removes his fingers and starts doing magic with his mouth. He sucks and accordingly my body tremors beneath him. His tongue swirls around and my head spins in reaction. A sensations continues to build as his mouth explores. He finds a sweet spot and continues to play around with his tongue.

Eventually the building sensation hits its limit. It gets so strong and suddenly I come undone beneath him. I moan in ecstasy as he finishes up his last few motions. Then he pushes himself back up to my level.

I'm panting at this point. My eyes barely open. An exhaustion keeps my muscles at bay. I gently reach up and grab his cheeks in my hands lovingly.

"How do you do that?" I ask, small sparkles in my eyes.

He smirks, "it's a secret."

I laugh at his dumb answer, but accept it anyway. "Whatever you say."

We quickly clean off in the stream right near us. Once we are done, we decide to cuddle on the forest floor. I yawn as I lay down next to him, facing him. He throws his arm around me, pulling me into his chest.

"How did I get so lucky with you?"

I gulp. Lucky? "You didn't...because of me your feelings have been through an emotional wringer."

He smirks, "yeah but you're worth it. I'm sorry for ever doubting you. I was stupid. I should have come to you and figured out the whole story. You know I'm going to get you out of this mess, right?"

"Out of this mess? You mean with Damien?" I ask. Startled that he's actually been thinking this deeply into it.

"Yeah. Are you kidding me? I'm not going to let him have the woman I love."

"Greyson, he already marked me... Marks are forever...." I tell him, a certain inevitable sadness creeping into my tone. There is truly no way out. I'm stuck with Damien forever.

"Marks are forever, but there is a loop hole."

"A loop hole?" My heart accelerates. He's lying, right? This has got to be a joke.

"Yeah. I just need to do a bit more research."

"What is it? Do you think it could really work?"

"I mean... I'm pretty confident it will, but I just need to look a bit more into it before I tell you anymore."

I sigh. I want to know, but he is right. I don't want him to get my hopes up on something that could be mere speculation. I gently place a tender kiss on his chest and proceed to nuzzle into it.

He strokes my hair gently as I rest. He weaves his fingers through my locks, sending comforting chills throughout my body. I cuddle up even closer to his warmth as a gentle breeze wraps around the two of us.

He kisses the top of my head before saying, "We need to get back soon Lucia. People will start to wonder where we are."

I sigh. "But I want to stay here forever..."

He laughs, his chest rumbling beneath me, causing me to smile. "Now you're just being greedy with me."

I huff. I nuzzle in closer to him. "Can't I be greedy with the person I love?"

His arms rest around me and pull me closer to him, embracing me deeply. We couldn't get any closer if we tried. "I suppose that's not such a bad thing."