Chapter 4
I must be crazy when I thought I was having deja vu after seeing the man sitting across the room wearing nothing to cover his chiseled upper body. For a moment, I thought I was still on that dream. That weird dream I constantly had when I was younger.
It was unusual for someone who's barely a teen to dream about herself between a man's arms. The faceless guy in my dreams were telling me words that eventhough I barely understood nor remembered, brought a different kind of feeling in my heart.
Sometimes it would wake up the butterflies in my belly I didn't remember swallowing, but most of the time, I would fear him as if he was the reason why I died in my dreams. And now, the longer I stared at the man who's watching me carefullly from across the room, I realized his resemblance to the guy I was running away from in my crazy dreams.
The dreams that made my parents bring me to a psychologist named Mara Le Fay, now a Beaufort.
I watched the man pour himself a glass of whisky while he's clenching his jaw. His chiseled upper body was in full display for my eyes to devour with. His biceps flexed effortlessly with his every movement, and the weird-looking gray necklace hanging on his neck danced when he leaned.
My eyes trailed from his handsome face to his sculpted chest down to his abdomen. My body shivered with the sight of his ripped muscle, and honestly, I had never admired a man's abs until I saw his.
His dangerous eyes drifted towards me. When he slouched on the couch holding his whisky in one hand, I found myself swallowing the pool of saliva in my mouth. This man was a beautiful nightmare...
"Thought I'm gonna have to wait another week for you to wake up." His voice was low, and there was no hint of humor in it like the first time I met him.
I blinked, trying to process what he said. Another week? Why? How long had I been knocked out?
My eyes scanned the dramatically huge room painted with gray coat. It smelled like a man's aftershave, sandalwood, and danger.
"W--Where am I?" I asked, almost a whisper.
He sipped on his glass without tearing his gaze at me before he spoke. "Home."
There was something about how he said home. I saw longing hiding underneath his lashes, and for some reason, it brought a painful warmth around my heart. Where did that come from? I barely knew this person. He was a nothing but a complete stranger whom I just met at Tifler's.
Tifler's...
Men...
Car crash...
Memories of the night we met came flashing inside my head. My stomach twisted when I remembered how the guys dragged me, and even when they were not here, I shuddered as I remembered how they whispered nasty things in my ear.
Tears formed in my eyes as I took the heavy sheets off my body. Realizing I was only wearing a shirt twice my size, my muscles tensed and fear thrummed under my skin. "D--Did you..." My eyes met his and tears trailed down my cheeks as I startled with all the thoughts running inside my head. "What did you do to me? Are you one of them?"
I watched his adam's apple bobbed up and down after he drank his whisky. Placing the glass back on the table, he shot me with a cold stare and sighed. "If I was one of them, you're probably chained by now." He stood up and walked towards the closet to grab a paper bag. My gaze didn't leave his direction as I kept my guards up, even when I knew he's aware that I was bad at defending myself.
He shut the closet doors and took his steps towards the end of the bed to place the paper bag. "Tell me if I got the wrong size." He put his hands in his jagger's pockets and looked at me with the same cold expression. "Dinner in thirty. Go clean up yourself. I'm so fucking fed up with those motherfucker's scent all over you."
Totally clueless with what his words meant, my eyes tailed him until he reached the door. I realized I pissed him off, and a part of me wanted to jump out of bed to run after him so I could wrap my arms around his waist.
What the hell was I thinking? I wasn't even sure if I was safe with him or not. Who knew what he had possibly done to me while I was unconscious?
As soon as he held the knob, I clutched the sheets and called him. "W--Wait." I swallowed hard. "Who... Who are you?"
I saw his shoulders went up and down as if he took one deep, painful breath before he looked at me with darkened pools. "Roam Dawson..."
I blinked as I felt another wave of painful warmth suffocated my heart. It was a mixture of longing, guilt, and unbearable desire to run towards something... or someone. The longer I felt all the foreign feeling, the harder it got for me to handle all of it. My chest hurt so badly yet on the back of my mind, I knew the feeling wasn't mine.
Clearing my throat to somehow ease the pain, I spoke to him once more. "Mr. Roam Dawson, could you tell me where I am right now?"
He sighed and looked away. "I said home, Jemimah."
My brows furrowed and my heart almost stopped when I heard him call my name. "H--How did you know who I am?" My grip on the sheets tightened. "A--Are you... Are you stalking me?"
I saw his fists clenched so tight that his veins became too visible under his tanned skin. He didn't answer but he breathed out another heavy air before he pulled the door open. "You better clean yourself up now before I lose my last strand of patience and drag you towards the shower myself." His deadly eyes and dark expression made me shiver. "The last time I did that to you, I almost marked you without your consent so be a good girl, Ahuvi and do as I said."
He slammed the door close, making my soul almost jumped out of my body. What did he say? He almost what? And what did he call me?
My trembling hands raked onto my hair as I shut my eyes. I had to think. Right now, with everything he just told me, I didn't think I could trust him enough. There was something about him that made me see danger signs flashing inside my head. My gut feeling was telling me to find my way out and that's what I was going to do.
My legs wiggled when I got out of bed. Damn it. It felt numb a little and there's like tiny needles pinching my limbs. I hated the feeling of my blood trying to go back to its proper circulation but I'd rather have pins and needles my entire life than stay here with a complete stranger.
Not to mention he's creepy. Fine, he's gorgeous and he reminded me of Matthew Daddario with a little bit of Timothee Chalamet's features but he's still a creep. There's no way I would fangirl over another guy just because he slayed the mug shot. I had no plans to be like Maurine and Tilly who joined that website where they could penpal some prisoners in hopes that one of their letters would land in the hands of the Menendez brothers.
I dragged myself towards the paperbag and checked what's inside, but when I saw the underwears Roam bought for me, my cheeks threatened to blush in total embarassment. My dad never shopped for my undies!
Nevertheless, there was no time to whine about a guy buying me underwears. I grabbed a pair and walked towards the comfort room. I washed myself quickly then wore it before coming back to the room which I scanned as soon as I shut the door to the bathroom.
I had to get out of here in anyway possible.
My eyes focused on the open doors leading towards the porch. If I would manage to climb down using a bunch of sheets like those I'd seen in the movies then maybe I would stand a chance.
I didn't waste time anymore. Grabbing all the sheets I could find inside, I made a rope that was long enough to reach the ground then I tied its end on the glass door. God, I wished the knobs were strong enough to hold my weight.
After securing the knots, I climbed the railing and just thought about silly stuff so I wouldn't tremble and slip to my death. I never knew I had fear of heights until I looked down. My breath was trapped in my throat when I realized how high I was from the ground but if I wouldn't do it then... then I might never see Dad again.
I just wanted to see my Dad...
Guilt clawed my heart, and suddenly, I had the guts to slowly climb down the sheets. I stopped myself from looking down and just shut my eyes as I moved as careful as I could. The place was surrounded by trees, like it was built in the middle of a freaking forest or something but I'd worry about snakes and bears and everything else later.
The moment my bare feet reached the ground, I almost jumped in pure joy, but when my back bumped against a hard chest, my body froze and my head slowly tilted to look over my shoulder like I was in a horror movie.
"Nice try. Next time, use the door. I'd still catch you either way, Ahuvi," he uttered before grabbing me by my waist and carrying me back inside like I was a bag of potato.
Curse this good-looking creep!
Chapter5I DIDN'T realize I was so good at glaring at someone until I met Roam. When he caught my ass after I did the whole James Bond thing, he brought me back inside the house and settled me in the kitchen. Now what? Was he going to poison me?My eyes looked at him and I swore if my pupil--iris? Damn anatomy! Anyway, if it were lazerbeams, he would be dead by now but the bastard didn't seem to care. He even smirked as if I was the biggest joke he'd stumbled on. "What were you even thinking? You're in the middle of nowhere. If you managed to get out of here, you ain't gonna last 'til dawn in the woods."I glared at him. "I'm a girlscout, mister."He trapped a laugh by pursing his lips. "Yeah, right. As if assembling tents and singing camp songs are not the only things you did."An exaggerated gasp escaped my mouth. "How dare you? We did more than that you... you..."He raised both of his brows and folded his toned arms in fron
Chapter 6Half an hour had passed before Roam went back to the house looking like a ragged warrior. His shirt was ripped with blood stains, horrifying me. I knew there was something inhumane about him that was scaring the shit out of me, but when I saw the cuts on his cheek and lower lip, something inside me twisted.He pulled off his shirt, revealing more of his cuts on his chest ang back. Jesus! What the hell happened to him?I was left frozen on my spot at the living room, unable to blink as he reached for the first aid kit hiding under the center table. The fact that he was keeping it there and not in the kitchen made me assume that he usually gets himself into trouble.He dropped himself on the couch then looked up. "You okay?" he asked with a wrinkled forehead.Was he for real? "How am I supposed to be okay when you just changed eye color in front of me and then returned looking you just had an MMA match with a freaking be
Chapter 7 Roam OVER THE PAST decades that I was waiting for my mate's return, there was never a moment in my life that I didn't think of her. Her soft lips that used to whisper sweet words in my ear to calm me down, her eyes that spoke more than she could ever utter, her hands that fitted perfectly with mine, and even the tiniest thing about her, it all haunted me even when I was awake. She was my nightmare and my sweetest dream, while my love was her calmest sea and the same ocean that drowned her... With a halfway empty bottle of whisky in my hand, I sat on the edge of the bed and watched her sleep. Her forehead wrinkled and she let out low groans as she dreamed of something, but no matter how much I was trying to convince myself that it's not possible for her to remember it all, I knew her bad dreams were about me. My hand held the side of her face as I looked at her with raw affection. I waited for so long and each pas
Chapter 8JemimahSINCE the night I dreamed about Roam transforming into a dangerous beast who preyed on me even when I begged him to stop, I kept my distance from him. I avoided him in any way possible. I dodged his worried stares, and shut my mouth whenever he was trying to approach me. It's all because of that fear I felt because of that dream, yet everytime he's letting out a frustrated sigh, my chest would feel heavy.How long had it been? A few days? A week rather since I stopped speaking to him? I couldn't remember. I already lost count anyway, but there's one thing I was sure of.My heart was not happy with what I was doing to him...I hugged my knees tighter when I heard his footsteps approaching the room. He stopped but didn't knock as soon as he reached the door, as if he was hesitating to do so becausee he knew I would not bother answer.My eyes watched the small gap under the door. He was standing outside for
Chapter 9IT FELT WEIRD. Sitting on the couch with a saucer of cake while Roam was next to me just gave me goosebumps for reasons I could not decipher. My fear subsided earlier at the sight of his sweet smile, as if my memory of him being a monster I should be scared of suddenly went blurry.I swallowed the piece of cake in my mouth before I threw him another glance. He was busy eating like me when I noticed the icing left on the corner of his lips. When he licked it off before he chewed, I felt my throat went dry as I watched his jaw moved.Dear God, I know my points in heaven have been decreasing eversince I got here, but for once, I'd like to blame you for sculpting such well-defined jaw...I looked away instantly when he gazed at me. My heart did the crazy drum roll-like beat again as I pretend to be admiring the cake I was slicing with my fork. This organ better behave before I volunteer for a transplant once I was out of
Chapter 10I COULDN'T help it. I just wanted to greet the morning sun when I went to the porch but after seeing Roam effortlessly cut the giant trunks of woods with his axe like he was Thor, I found myself staring at his sexy back like it was a once in a lifetime phenomena to have a sight of his majestic bod.His back muscles would flex with his every movement, yet with all the force I assumed was needed to cut such large pieces of woods, I wondered why he was not sweating as much as I was expecting?Not that I found it sexy when a man was doing manly stuff and their skin were sparkling because of their sweat. I was just... oh, right. I figured it out. Was it because he wasn't normal?"You nasty, nasty mind. Since when did you built allegiance with my stupid heart, hmm? He ain't someone to fangirl over," I murmured to myself. Great. Now I was sure I was losing my mind.I sighed and looked at Roam again but what he did next
Chapter 11ROAM made us dinner early. He tried to bring up something to talk about while we shared our meal but everytime it was my turn to tell him about my life back in my town, I would see him glancing at the clock as if it was a ticking bomb that would explode once the Sun was finally set."Sorry." He cleared his throat and drew his attention back to his pasta. "You were saying?"I heaved a silent sigh and reached for my glass of water. "I said many girls from my school dreams to be a werewolf's mate." I took a sip. "What exactly is that?"I saw the corner of his lips lifted for a sly smile. "It's uhm, like a soul connection. A unique one chosen by the Moon Goddess. Mates share a powerful bond. They get to feel each other's feelings, communicate thru their minds, and heal each other once the bond was established.""Huh. That's weird." I rested my chin on my fisted hand. "You mean to tell me that that's similar to lycan
Chapter 12IT ALL HAPPENED TOO FAST. The magic his touch was sending all throughout my body burned me instantly as we stared at each other with nothing but familiarity in the strands of our pools. It was as if our souls had waited forever just to be reunited, and even though I barely understood where this recognition was coming from, I gave in to something I knew I'd regret."Jemimah..." he called me hoarsely, struggling to get a hold of himself. He was looking more dangerous when he's like this, but it was the kind of danger I didn't think I should be fearing about.I knew I should never play with fire I could never kill, but the moment Roam stroke my jaw with his rough finger, my eyes glistened with the same raw desire I was seeing in his eyes. "You just saved me, Ahuvi... You saved me again..."Warmth clawed my heart as I gave him a small, genuine smile. "You scared me, but I'm happy you're okay now."His eyes sparkled with sheer h