I woke up that night freezing.

At some point as I slept, the duvet shifted down, exposing my bare shoulders. My body had curled into a fetal position and was shivering in the chilled air.

I stretched out and sat up slightly, looking over to see the curtains blowing in the frigid breeze that wafted in from the half-open window.

That was not open when I went to bed, I thought.

In fact, I specifically remembered Luca lighting the fireplace to warm up the room before we got into bed. He certainly wouldn't have cracked a window.

I turned over in the bed to see it was empty, the covers pulled back and the sheets laid bare where Luca had once slept. I sat up all the way to see that the fire had been extinguished and the bedroom door was slightly open.

Suddenly, I saw a dark figure move in the corner of the room and felt panic begin to set in.

"Luca?"

The shadow returned my question with a slow, deep voice.

"No."

My blood ran cold.

Jonathan stepped forward, the moonlight streaming in from the windows now partially illuminating his face.

"He's gone," he said, taking another step forward. I heard the floorboards creak with each step he took towards me.

I fought to get air in my lungs. My body was completely frozen in fear, like a deer in headlights.

"What do you want?" I whispered, afraid of his answer.

He stopped moving, his lucent blue eyes staring straight at me.

"You."

He reached out to touch the outline of my leg under the duvet and I immediately withdrew back into the headboard, pulling my knees into my chest.

"Leave me alone," I warned him.

"I can't," he admitted, getting closer.

Where is Luca?

I moved to the other side of the bed to escape his advances, though he moved quickly to reach out and grab my upper arm.

I let out a shout of pain as Johnathan forcefully yanked me back across the bed, towards him.

Kicking and screaming, I clawed at his face when he pinned my back against the mattress, his forearm pressing down into my throat.

I was gasping for air as he cooed, running his hand over my head in an odd attempt to comfort me, despite the restriction still crushing against my wind pipe.

He moved on top of me and I jabbed him in the rib cage with my knee but he made no indication that it bothered him.

"You don't carry his mark," he said, his breath fanning against my ear as I turned my face away. "You're free for the taking..."

I began to poke at his eyes in a desperate last attempt to get him off of me before I would lose consciousness. I could already see the darkness invading the corners of my vision.

"You're mine," he whispered.

His arm released from my neck and I gasped in a sudden intake of air, my lungs burning.

"Wake up!"

My eyes opened to see Luca over me, his eyes wide with worry and hands pressing down into my shoulders.

I was still heaving for air as I realized it had all been a dream.

Feeling the lingering ghost pain, I raised a hand to gently touch my throat before beginning to sob uncontrollably.

"Hey, hey, hey," Luca said softly, pulling me up from the mattress into his arms. "You're okay, it was just a nightmare."

I wept into his bare chest, tears rolling down my face and neck.

Although my convulsive gasps calmed after a few minutes of tears pouring from my eyes, I still clung to Luca like my life depended on it.

I couldn't bring myself to look around the room in fear of what could be hiding in the shadows.

"You're okay," he repeated, his fingers brushing through my hair.

As the adrenaline running through my body dwindled, I felt a wave of exhaustion pass over me and I slumped against Luca, laying my head on his chest.

"Do you want me to get you some water?" Luca asked, beginning to pull away.

"No," I whispered immediately, shaking my head. "Don't leave me."

"Okay," he said, pulling me in tighter. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

I held onto him desperately, the side of my face pressed against his chest.

I began to hiccup and Luca ran his hand up and down my back.

"What was it about, amore?" He asked tenderly.

"Johnathan, he..."

I trailed off and closed my eyes tight, feeling the anxiety beginning bubble up in my throat again.

Luca didn't say anything else as he held me for a few more minutes before gently laying me down against the mattress, keeping himself close as he laid next to me.

"You're okay," he assured me again, his arm wrapped around my waist and the other tucked under my pillow.

I raised a hand to wipe my eyes and tear-drenched cheeks before letting out a long, shaky breath.

"I lied to you," I admitted, staring up at the ceiling.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"When you asked me who the first man I saw naked was," I said, turning to him.

Luca's eyebrows furrowed.

"It was Johnathan," I said, turning my head to look away.

Luca sat up a bit, pulling his arm from under my head to prop himself on his elbow.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, his quickening speech reflecting his growing concern.

I kept my gaze forward.

"He followed me into the bathroom when we were in high school and cornered me in a stall. He told me we were mates. I knew he was lying because I was only seventeen. I tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn't."

I could feel Luca's anger radiating off of him, his breathing growing uneven.

"What did he do to you?"

I shook my head.

"Nothing," I said quickly. "A teacher watched him follow me into the bathroom and intervened, but not before his pants were at his ankles."

Luca let out a slow, shaky exhale.

"He was expelled from school and we pressed charges. My dad even filed a restraining order against him after he followed me to my car when I ran into him at the gym a few weeks later," I continued. "I don't understand why he would let Johnathan anywhere near me, much less tell him where I was."

Luca's hand wrapped gently around my jaw as he turned my face to look at him.

"I'm going to kill him," He said firmly.

My eyebrows furrowed.

"You're being serious?"

Luca nodded slowly, his expression stony.

I shook my head, wondering why he would even say something like that.

"It's been five years," I said.

"Clearly, it still bothers you."

"Not until six nights ago, it hasn't."

He laid down on his back next to me and I rolled over on my side to face him.

After what felt like an hour of watching Luca stare up at the ceiling in thought, the room around us gradually grew brighter. The windows behind me let the blue hues of early morning light filter between the gap in the curtains, illuminating Luca's face and body.

I put my hand against his arm, tracing the outline of his defined bicep with my fingers, drawing unintelligible shapes on his smooth skin as my fingertip dragged up across his shoulder to his chest.

My hand fell between his pectoral muscles, sliding down to feel the outline of his abs. His skin was warm under my touch.

"You're not going to change my mind," he said, trying to be firm.

My hand stopped at the waistband of his boxer briefs and I contemplated going further.

"I don't want to," I whispered, my hand slowly sliding back up.

I hoisted myself up and over him, placing one leg on the other side of his body to sit astride his torso. Leaning down, I pressed my lips gently against the skin of his chest.

Chill bumps erupted across his skin as I left a trail of wet kisses down his chest and abdomen. The taste of his skin was addicting.

Luca groaned as I shifted my body backwards, my hips grinding against the bulge beneath his briefs.

"Don't do that again," he said, his breathing shallow.

"This?" I asked, moving my hips forward to press into him again.

In a swift move that nearly left me dizzy, Luca shot up and rolled over me, pinning my shoulders to the mattress.

"Don't torment me," he growled, his body between my legs.

I wrapped one arm around his neck when his face dipped down to the crease of my shoulder. As his lips pressed against my skin, my left hand slid down his body and under the waistband of his briefs.

I felt the vibration of his throaty moan against my skin as I took hold of his throbbing dick, beginning to rub my palm along its length.

Looking up at him as he pulled his face away from my neck, I saw the pain in his dark expression. It was then that I noticed the canine teeth extending from his gums, blood dripping from his mouth as they did.

I felt a weird tug in the pit of my stomach, my next words tumbling out before I could process them.

"Mark me," I whispered.

The muscles in Luca's jaw tightened and he closed his eyes tightly as I applied more pressure, my hand moving quicker.

"I can't," he exhaled sharply.

"Please, Luca," I begged.

He groaned, his hands fisting the sheets next to me.

"I don't want hurt you," he reasoned, although I could see his resolved quickly breaking.

"I'll be okay."

I massaged Luca's tip with the pad of my thumb, making his body quake above me. His hips bucked as I returned to stroking him repeatedly.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath.

He wrapped a shaking arm around me and pulled me up to sit in his lap, his breathing becoming increasingly labored.

I felt his whole body go rigid with his release, at the same time feeling his teeth sink into the place where my neck met my shoulder.

Not able to quite handle the magnitude of pain and pleasure I felt, I didn't know what to do other than scream.

My hands pressed against his chest. I could feel the blood running down my neck and shoulder as he latched on tight.

"Luca," I whimpered.

His hand lifted to grasp the other side of my neck, keeping me still.

When Luca finally pulled away, my fingernails were so deeply embedded in his biceps that I had drawn blood to the surface of his skin.

I let go of him slowly, my body trembling as Luca laid me back against the bed.

We both struggled to regulate our labored breathing.

"You okay?" He asked between breaths.

I could only nod, although I wasn't quite sure of my answer yet.

He got off the bed and stripped from his boxer briefs, throwing them into the hamper before grabbing a clean pair from his bag and disappearing into the bathroom.

The numbness in my arm and shoulder dissipated after a couple of minutes and I reached up slowly to touch the wound.

My fingers inspected the broken skin with care, although the bleeding seemed to have stopped. One good thing about being marked, from what I had heard, was that it healed rapidly.

"I told you it would hurt," I heard Luca say as he emerged from the en suite.

He laid down next to me as I turned over.

"It wasn't too bad," I assured him.

Luca looked guilty as he rolled over and cuddled me into his chest.

"Sorry," he apologized, sounding genuinely remorseful.

"Can I do it to you?" I asked curiously.

I felt the vibration through his chest as he chuckled.

"I don't think it works that way," he said.

"A hickey is a hickey."

He pulled away to look at me with a scowl.

"It's not a hickey," Luca said defensively. "That's to let everyone know your mate is an Alpha who will kick their ass if they mess with you."

"Maybe you need a hickey so all the girls know that I'm a Luna and I can kick their ass," I suggested.

I saw Luca roll his eyes before he pulled me back into his chest.

I felt overwhelmed with contentment as we laid there, watching the room grow lighter with the rising sun.

It wasn't long until my eyes closed, the lost hours of restful sleep catching up to me.

I was drifting off when I heard Luca whisper into my ear.

"Dream of me, amore."

In my drowsy state, I hummed, knowing I would.

- - -

I'll let the chapter speak for itself...

Don't forget to vote and comment your thoughts!!

I'll be posting tomorrow's chapter at our usual time of 8:30am EST (New York time).

Stay sweet, parakeets!

MaybeManhattan .x