"We've got to stop."

I leaned against a boulder, trying to catch my breath.

"How much farther?" I asked breathlessly.

Luca turned to me from where he stood a few feet in front of me on the trail, thumbs tucked under his backpack straps.

"Less than half a mile," he answered. "C'mon, we can rest at the top."

I could tell he was annoyed.

Clearly, I didn't have the stamina to climb a mountain in less than an hour, much less keep up with someone who did.

"I hate hiking," I admitted, taking a gulp from my water bottle.

"That would have been nice to know before we got more than halfway up a mountain," he said sarcastically.

"I was just trying to be a good sport," I admitted, standing straight to continue walking.

"You've done a terrible job at it," he laughed, walking next to me. "I could still see where we parked the truck behind you when you started complaining."

"This view better be spectacular," I wheezed, feeling my side cramp.

"It'll be worth it."

Luca took my hand in his and basically dragged me up the trail the rest of the way. When we finally came to the boulders that were perched at the peak of the mountain, I plopped down.

"Isn't it beautiful?" He asked me, standing near the edge as he peered out over the land beneath us.

"Yes, the trees are wonderful," I mumbled, laying on my back.

"You're not even looking."

"I can visualize a tree."

Luca sat down next to me and pulled his backpack around him to unzip it.

"Do you want beef jerky or a protein bar?" He asked.

"What about a chocolate chip cookie? Who packed this healthy shit?"

"You did. You're the one who went grocery shopping, remember?"

I groaned as I took a protein bar from him and sat up to eat it. He handed me another water bottle and I drank it with enthusiasm.

I hugged the sweatshirt Luca had given me around my body, wishing the sun would come out from behind the dark clouds that floated overhead. I was mildly underdressed in gym shorts and a t-shirt under his sweatshirt.

I reached into his backpack to pull out two Advil, finishing my water as I swallowed the pills.

The headache from my hangover still wasn't gone.

"Do we have to go back down the mountain?" I whined.

"Unless you want to stay up here for the rest of your life," Luca answered.

Maybe that wouldn't be so bad, I thought, finally taking a look around us.

The mountainous terrain was overgrown with trees at the base, the stone and rock taking over the top half of the mountains where snow was still visible on the taller ones.

Thankfully, we had climbed a smaller mountain.

I looked around us, shocked that I couldn't see anyone or any sign of civilization. I would have thought a view like that would be a tourist attraction.

"Does no one know about this place?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"I'm sure some people do. My grandpa is the one who showed it to me," he said.

"Philip's dad?" I asked.

He nodded.

"You're the only person I've ever brought up here," he admitted.

I suddenly felt like a brat for complaining about the hike the way that I had. Had I known it was sentimental for Luca, I would have kept my mouth shut.

I laid back down against the boulder, using Luca's bag to prop my head up.

As I closed my eyes, I listened to the sound of the wind that blew gently around us.

"Tell me about him," I said, opening my eyes.

"My grandpa?"

I nodded.

"He was an Alpha," Luca told me. "He taught me everything I know about being one. 'Land is power,' he used to say. He used to bring me up here and tell me about the stuff that was going on in the pack and how he was handling it."

He smiled at the memory.

"I wanted to be just like him," he admitted. "But I guess it's because he's the only man I really knew growing up. Philip was always working, so I hardly saw him. My grandpa babysat me a lot. He trained me to be the Alpha of his pack since Philip had no interest in it. He also taught me how to ride a four-wheeler, how to fish, how to build stuff."

He stopped to laugh.

"He gave me my first taste of whiskey. But, I'd say that was a vice learned rather than a skill."

"When did he die?" I asked.

Luca squinted as he looked out over the mountains in front of us, as though he were wishing he didn't have to answer.

"Almost three years ago," he said finally. "We had just laid the foundation for my house. I was living in the cabin at the time. It took me two hours to get to the hospital when Philip called to tell me he'd had a heart attack. I missed his passing by three minutes."

We were quiet for a few moments before I sat up and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

He forced a smile as he turned to me.

"He would have liked you," he told me. "You think quickly on your feet and say what you think."

"If he's anything like you, I think I would have liked him too," I said.

We sat there for a few minutes, before I felt a drop against my hand, which was still wrapped around Luca's shoulders.

"Are you crying?" I asked him softly, lifting his head.

"No," he said honestly as I noticed his dry eyes.

I felt another drop against my cheek and looked up to see the dark clouds overhead.

"Oh my God," I said slowly. "Is it supposed to rain?"

Luca looked at me with a wary expression.

"I didn't check."

More raindrops fell quickly around us and we began to panic. Luca grabbed the bag and our water bottles before we ran back down the mountain trail.

I couldn't help but laugh as the downpour drenched us during our quick decent down the mountain. I was crying from laughing so hard as we reached the truck, Luca more annoyed than amused.

We got into the truck, soaking everything around us and listened to the hard drops of rain as they pounded against the truck.

"With the way my luck is going this week, that shouldn't have surprised me," I said, still laughing.

Luca just shook his head, but I could tell he was fighting a smile.

He drove us back to the cabin, but neither of us made a move to get out as he parked on the gravel driveway.

We sat quietly, listening to the sound of rain hitting the cab's roof.

I kicked off my shoes and sighed as I noticed my wet socks.

"You're going to be sick tomorrow if we don't get you inside so you can take a warm bath," Luca told me, unbuckling.

He looked my way and I felt my breath catch in the back of my throat.

The rain was still dripping from his dark hair, sliding down his face and neck, disappearing beneath his shirt.

Why was I jealous of the skin it touched?

I found myself leaning forward, Luca's face slowly inching towards mind.

I reached out, pulling him in by his neck to kiss me. I could taste the rain on his lips as his wet mouth pressed against mine.

As the kiss deepened, Luca lifted me up and over the console to sit in his lap.

With one arm around the back of his shoulders, my other hand moved up his neck, my fingers running through his hair.

He tugged and pulled at the soaked sweatshirt which was stuck to me, before breaking the kiss and pulling it over my head, my t-shirt nearly going with it.

His arm hit the roof of the truck as he did this, making him groan in annoyance.

I kissed him again, feeling one of his arms wrap around my torso to pull me in closer.

Luca surprised me by opening the car door and carrying me out into the rain, towards the cabin.

We were still making out as he opened the front door and slammed it shut behind us.

I felt my back touch the dining table as Luca laid me down on top of it, standing up to pull his shirt over his head. Luca leaned down on top of me, his hands on either side of my body, gripping the edge of the table as his mouth reconnected with mine.

Wrapping my legs around his soaked torso, my fingers tangled in his wet hair as his lips moved down my jaw and neck.

Suddenly, his body went rigid above me and he began to pull away.

I looked up to see his eyes tightly shut and eyebrows furrowed, his jaw hinged open slightly. Blood dripped from his mouth as his canine teeth extended from his gums.

"What's wrong?" I asked slowly, sitting up.

His face screwed in pain, he grabbed the chair next to me and threw it. Startled, I watched it splinter against the far wall.

Luca stumbled backwards and fell back to lean against the wall. Groaning, he made his way back towards the door.

"I'm going for a run," he said gasping for air as he struggled to open the front door.

I got off the table to help him open the door, and he held out his hand.

"Just stay over there," he said.

I froze in my tracks, no knowing what else to do.

His eyes were dark as he looked back at me before turning the handle to disappear out the front door.

I stood there for several minutes, watching the rain as it poured into the hallway from the open door, trying to wrap my mind around those last moments.

I finally walked forward and closed the door, not before I grabbed the clothes Luca had shed as he shifted on the doorstep. Using a bathroom towel, I cleaned up the water that had pooled in the threshold.

What the hell just happened? I thought for the hundredth time.

Puzzled, I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower before slowly peeling the wet clothes away from my skin and throwing them, along with Luca's, into the sink.

I showered thoroughly, taking my time washing my hair and body, halfway hoping that Luca would be back whenever I got out, but he was not.

I hung our clothes to dry over the shower rod and the side of the tub, my mind reeling the whole time.

The cabin stayed empty for another hour after I had changed and made myself lunch. The rain stopped shortly after I had eaten and I ventured outside to sit in one of the adirondack chairs that circled the fire pit.

A few minutes passed before I heard the back door open behind me and I turned quickly to see Luca standing in the doorway. His hair was disheveled and eyes wild, sweatpants hung loosely around his hips.

"Want me to light that for you?" He asked me, gesturing to the fire pit.

I stood up quickly.

"What the hell happened?" I asked. "Where did you go?"

"I went for a run," he said, letting me follow him inside.

I eyed his mouth where dried blood had caked around his lips.

"What happened?" I asked again.

He cleared his throat.

"It's happened a few times," he said. "I've just been able to hide it from you until now."

"What is it?"

Luca looked away, beginning to walk towards the bedroom door.

"I haven't marked you yet," he said. "I guess it's just my wolf's way of trying to make me."

I stood there as he walked into the bathroom, listening as the shower turned on.

Luca came back out and threw our damp clothes into the hamper that sat in the bedroom closet before stripping down and throwing his sweatpants inside the hamper with them.

I couldn't help the blush that crept up to my cheeks as I watched his naked form walk back into the bathroom.

I felt like a creep just standing there, gawking.

I sat down on the bed, realizing I wouldn't be able to watch him shower from that vantage point. However, I did briefly wonder if Luca had wanted me to. He kept the bathroom door open the entire time.

Steam poured from the bathroom for the next few minutes as I sat patiently on the bed, waiting for Luca to come out.

When he did, sans a towel, I immediately looked away, feeling my ears turn pink.

"You're not as bashful as I am," I noted awkwardly.

I heard him chuckle.

"It would be a little weird if I cared about you seeing my dick after I ate you out less than twenty-four hours ago."

My blush deepened.

"Touché," I said, keeping my gaze at the ceiling.

"You've never seen a dick?" He asked me, walking over to where I sat.

"I have," I assured him.

He pulled my chin down to look into his eyes, a mischievous glint shown in them.

"Whose?"

"I don't have to answer that. Please put pants on," I begged.

Luca smiled.

"I'm kind of enjoying this," he admitted, backing away. "Let's play twenty questions..."

"I think you should put pants on first," I suggested.

He grabbed his duffle bag from the floor and placed it on the bed beside me.

"Question one," he said, pulling a pair of boxer briefs from his bag. "Whose dick have you seen before mine?"

I rolled my eyes.

"I walked into the guys' locker room at the gym in college when I was trying to leave. It was my first week there and I didn't know the floor plan well."

He shrugged, as though the answer was satisfactory enough, and pulled on his boxer briefs.

"Your turn," he told me.

I sighed.

"What's your favorite TV show?"

He laughed.

"You're very innocent, my mom would be proud of you," he told me. "And to answer your question, I don't watch TV, other than hockey. So if the NHL channel counts, that's my answer."

Luca grabbed a pair of gym shorts from his bag.

"Question two: was last night the first time you've ever had an orgasm?" He asked me.

My eyes widened as I looked at him incredulously.

He patiently waited for my answer.

"No," I answered finally, my cheeks burning.

Luca's eyebrows furrowed.

"Then who the fuck-"

"Myself," I answered, cutting him off.

Luca's expression morphed from one of surprise as the corners of his mouth lifted into a smirk.

"Baby, you can't tell me things like that and not expect me to want to watch-"

"It's my turn to ask a question," I said loudly, interrupting him. "When is your birthday?"

"August eighteenth," he said, still giving me a knowing smile.

"Mine is September twenty-first, in case you were wondering," I offered.

"Yeah, that's exactly where my mind was," he said, nodding his head in an exaggerated way. "My turn..."

"I don't think I want you to ask me another question," I said, putting my hands on my cheeks to feel them burning.

"But I feel like I'm just getting to know you," Luca said, laughing.

I just shook my head as he continued.

"When was the last time you shifted," he asked.

The innocent question surprised me.

"Uh, a few years ago," I told him.

"Years?" He asked incredulously.

I nodded.

"Yeah, I mean, where I come from you don't shift unless you have to. I never found it necessary, I guess."

Luca seemed shocked by this.

"I would go crazy if I didn't shift at least three or four times a week for a run," he admitted.

"What's your favorite kind of music?" I asked him, changing subjects.

"Anything that came out in the eighties, early nineties," Luca answered as he pulled a t-shirt from the bag.

"What do you have against pop music?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"Just not my preference. Is that your favorite?"

"I like country music," I said.

He faked a gag.

"I can't stand that yee-haw shit," he admitted laughing.

My jaw dropped in offense.

"It's better than the oldies you listen to," I said defensively.

He just shook his head.

"My turn to ask a question," he said, placing both hands next to my body on the bed.

I prepared myself for the worst.

"Are you happy here?" He asked, his voice just above a whisper.

A few moments passed before I found myself nodding as I looked into his eyes, not imagining another answer.

"Yes," I said gently.

"Don't feel like you have to lie," he warned.

"I'm not."

And I wasn't.

- - -

Welp. Uploading early because I caught a cold, so my plans for today were cancelled lol

I'll still be posting a chapter tonight, though! It's definitely not one you'll want to miss ;)

I'll be uploading at 8:30pm EST (New York time) tonight, so be sure to come back!

See you then, little hens!

MaybeManhattan .x