After I had that awful nightmare about Grayson, I couldn't stop crying. The dream made me realize how important Grayson is to me and how devastated I would be if he died. As a split-second decision, I climb out of bed- still wearing pajamas- and grab my mom's car keys. She doesn't have work tomorrow anyways, and I need to go see Grayson. I don't even care that I have to go to the pack house to see him. I just have to see him- and now before I die from this awful pain in my heart.

I click on the address Cooper sent me the other day and it automatically plugs the information into the GPS. About 20 minutes later I'm driving out of a canopy of trees and towards the mansion. I had been here once before, but I wasn't in my right mind then. Not like I'm in my right mind now.

I turn off the ignition and begin running towards the front door. I don't know who will answer the door, especially at this time of night, but I'll sleep outside until someone wakes to let me in. I couldn't just sit in bed and do nothing, especially with the image of a dead Grayson replaying over and over in my mind. He was so bloody, and his beautiful gray eyes were lifeless as they stared at the ceiling. I need to see him to prove that it really was a dream.

Hopefully he doesn't think I'm creepy for driving to his house in the middle of the night. It also probably wasn't the safest thing to do, with me being unable to see clearly from my cloudy vision from the constant tears leaking from my eyes. Even now the tears won't let up.

I knock on the door and wait. After hearing no movement from inside, I knock once more. I wait, becoming more and more defeated by the second. Everyone must be asleep. Screw super hearing...

In a last ditch effort, I knock a final time. This time I hear footsteps nearing the door. I hope the werewolf who answers will let me in... And won't hurt me... Maybe this wasn't a good idea.

The door opens abruptly to an angry Grayson. My grumpy Grayson. He looks as if he's going to scream at me, but once his eyes lay on my shivering and sobbing form, his accusing eyes turn soft. His head turns to the side, a bit like how a puppy turns its head when confused. His actions brighten my mood a bit. Just seeing him alive and in front of me is enough.

In the blink of an eye I am in Grayson's arms, him hugging me close to him and lifting me so my feet aren't touching the ground anymore. His head instantly finds the crook of my neck and he sniffs me, which I would normally find strange and think about the last time I showered, but now I'm only focused on hugging Grayson back.

I sob into his chest, letting my tears of relief wet his naked chest. My breathing is fast and shallow as I try to gather the energy to speak. "I-I'm s-s-sorry," I whisper to him, pouring all of my emotions into my apology. I am truly sorry that I ignored and avoided him only because he is a werewolf. He can't help the way he was born just like I can't.

"Shhh," Grayson coos, rubbing his hand over my hair in a soothing way. He closes and locks the front door with one hand, all while holding me. He hikes me up higher, his arm now holding my butt up as my legs naturally wrap around his waist. He climbs the stairs with ease, never taking his hands off of me. We finally reach what I assume is his room as he sits down in a comfortable looking bed. The room is neat, with greens and browns decorating the space. It's not exactly what I pictured his room to look like, but I'm not judging.

We just sit there holding each other for what feels like an eternity. The silence isn't awkward or uncomfortable. It feels like everything has fallen back into place. I feel complete again.My tears died down long ago, and after the silence lasts a bit longer, Grayson is the first to break it.

"I'm sorry, Thea."

He's sorry? Why is he sorry?

"You have nothing to apologize for, Grayson. I'm the one who's sorry. I judged you too quickly, and I'll never be able to forgive myself for that. I wouldn't forgive me if I were you..."

Grayson interrupts my self pity. "There's nothing to forgive you for, baby. I'm the one who should be begging you for forgiveness. I should have told you sooner about all of this. You shouldn't have had to find out about me being a werewolf while you were in danger like that."

"Yeah, there probably could have been better ways to tell me," I laugh, and he smiles that award-winning smile that gets me every single time.

"I can't imagine how terrifying that must have been for you. And you were hurt, too. How are you feeling? Is your concussion gone? You had a nasty bump on your head that must still be uncomfortable."

I give him a kiss on the cheek to get him to stop talking. It seems to work as he stares at me with adoration mixed with concern. "Stop worrying about me. I rested the entire weekend and it doesn't even hurt that much anymore. I'm fine, Grayson."

He looks at me like he wants to call me out for lying to him, but instead he settles on pulling me in for another hug. I could never get enough of his hugs...

"It's late... Well, I guess it's technically early as it's after three in the morning," Grayson motions to the clock on the nightstand that indeed shows that it's 3:28 A.M. "Let's go to bed and we can talk more in the morning."

My grip on his shoulders tightens immediately at his words. I'm still wide awake from the last nightmare and I'm not too eager to relive another. I thought I had run out of tears, but I'm proved wrong as my eyes fill with more. They streak messily down my face, and my sniffling comes back with a vengeance.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Grayson asks, obviously confused and concerned about my sudden outbreak into tears. He brushes the tears away with his thumbs, my skin tingling with every swipe of his fingers.

"I-I just had an awful nightmare. That's why I came here so late. I couldn't go back to sleep a-and I had to see you." My last word comes out as more of a whimper as I pathetically cling onto Grayson as if he were my lifeline.

"I'm sorry, love. What was the dream about? Maybe I can help?" he asks like the wonderful man he is. I wipe my nose with the back of my hand- disgusting, I know- and I continue to tell him about the dream.

"It was horrible. We were supposed to meet at the coffee shop and when you showed up, someone stabbed you in the s-stomach with a silver knife and you d-died. In my arms!" I sob into my hands now, the memory still too fresh.

I feel a slight shaking of my shoulders, and a few moments later I register the feeling as Grayson shaking me. "Thea? Listen to me, okay? I can't die that way. It would take a lot more than a stab to my stomach to kill me. You have nothing to fear." His hands rub up and down my arms soothingly, the tingles ever-so-present on my bare skin. The feeling of his skin touching mine calms me down more. I will never understand the mating bond...

I blink my tears away, vowing not to cry anymore as it seems to upset Grayson way more than it should. "But it was a silver knife! Doesn't silver kill werewolves?"

Grayson chuckles at my comment, apparently amused at my query. "Silver burns us a little, but to a powerful Alpha like me you can compare the sensation to a sunburn. It would be like poking a beast with a flaming marshmallow."

I laugh abruptly, not expecting that amusing metaphor to come out of Grayson's mouth. "That's what I like to hear," he mumbles, and I blush under his stare. Only he can make my face shift to the darkest shade of pink with only a few words. His gaze lowers from my eyes, to my nose, then to my lips. This is the look he used to give me when he wanted to kiss me. Oh my god... is he going to kiss me?

My question is answered when he leans his head in slowly. His lips brush my own passionately, and I kiss him back after I process that Grayson Dark, the Alpha of a pack of werewolves, is kissing me, a mere human. Our lips separate only for him to tighten his grip on my hips and drag my body even closer to his- if that were possible. Without an inch of space between us, I can feel every dip in his body, and I can't tell where his body stops and mine starts.

Our foreheads are joined together as we soak in this moment, both of us having missed the other immensely. "You know, I thought you would never talk to me again," Grayson whispers as he lovingly rubs his nose against mine.

"I could never do that. I only lasted three days before I caved and came to see you. I don't think I could do that again." My words are true, but I still don't understand how I can have such intense emotions for him in such a short period of time. It feels like we've known each other our whole lives, yet it has barely been more than a few weeks.

"Why do I feel like this with you?"

Grayson drops one of his hands from my waist to cup it around my cheek. When he looks me in the eyes, he is so close to me that I can see the blue-gray color swirling, almost like it's alive. "It's the mate bond. We're connected and our souls know it. We will forever be drawn to each other. Not like I have a problem with that," Grayson grins.

I bite my lip and look up at him with wide-eyes. "So, since we're soulmates, does that mean that we... that we- um... are you-" I stumble through my words for a few more seconds, all the while Grayson is giving me that stupid grin where I know he's amused by my shyness.

"Just say what you're thinking," he smiles reassuringly, but I still don't know if I should ask my question. After all that I've learned about soulmates, werewolves, vampires and mate bonds, my question may still seem stupid or unimportant right now- and too human of a question for him.

"It's just that... well, you and me are soul mates. And now that I know that, I'm not sure... I'm not sure if we're... Um..."

"Oh my goddess! Just spit it out already, Thea," Grayson laughs as he lightly shakes me.

"Are you my boyfriend?" My question just comes flying out of my mouth, and as soon as it does I hold my breath and analyze his reaction. He looks a bit surprised by my outburst, and when he doesn't say anything, I quickly add on more. "It's just that... I've been asked before and I don't want to assume anything. I told them no because we hadn't talked about it but-"

A low growl sounds through the room- the source being Grayson. His grip on my hips increases immensely to the point that it's almost painful. I gasp at the discomfort as I look him in his eyes which are now extremely dilated. I've never been close enough to him to see his eyes when they change, and staring at them now, I can't help but be a little afraid. Just because I've accepted him and the knowledge that he's an Alpha werewolf, it doesn't mean that I'm not a little worried about his increased strength and speed.

When I release another whimper from the pain in my sides, Grayson's eyes immediately return back to their normal state. His eyes widen when he looks down to see the tight grip on my waist and he immediately removes his hands from me. In a flash, I'm sitting on his bed and Grayson is on the other side of the room. He paces back and forth as his hands are continuously pulling at his hair.

"Fuck!" he growls, and then he proceeds to punch a hole in the wall in anger. I back up until I hit the headboard, staring at him with wary eyes. He turns to me and approaches me slowly. I don't move from my position.

"I'm so sorry, Thea. When I get angry, my more... animalistic tendencies come out. You're so damn fragile! I'm so sorry I hurt you," Grayson apologizes as he wipes his uninjured hand down his face.

"It's okay," I say slowly, watching Grayson's actions intently. I understand that he's a lot stronger than me and will need to be more careful with his strength. Of course I know he didn't mean to hurt me. Did the boyfriend question really make him that mad?

"I'm sorry I angered you. I won't bring up the boyfriend thing again, I promise-"

"No," he grumbles, the power of his voice even affecting me. He stalks towards me and grabs my waist once more, infinitely softer this time. He positions us so that we're both laying on the bed now with my body leaning on his a bit. He hugs me close to him as he once again sniffs me. I try not to be amused by how easily he lifts and drags my body to where he wants me positioned. His strength is amusing... and really hot.

"Listen to me very carefully, Thea. If anyone asks you that again, you tell them that I'm your boyfriend. Okay?"

I did not expect those words to come out of Grayson, but I'm happy they did. The smile spreading on my face cannot be concealed. Grayson is my boyfriend. My stomach grows all sorts of butterflies at the thought of the two of us as a couple. I know that we're technically soulmates, but having this label still makes me too happy to describe. It probably shouldn't matter, but it does.

"I hate that word. Boyfriend." He spits the word out as if it's poison on his tongue. I look up at him, my eyebrows scrunching up at his distaste.

"What's wrong with that word?" I ask innocently, but his response is anything but. One minute we're laying together peacefully and the next minute Grayson is hovering over my body with my hands pinned above my head. He doesn't allow any of his weight to rest on me, but his proximity makes my skin itch for his skin to rest against mine. With no shirt on, I can analyze his chest and abs more clearly, and oh my god I never want to look away. All sorts of crazy thoughts are stirring in my head, half of them I've never thought before in my life and all of them inappropriate.

"Well, the problem is," Grayson starts, then he presses light kisses up my collarbone and towards my neck. "That word doesn't even begin to describe what we are." He continues pressing feather-light kisses up my neck, and I have to bite my bottom lip hard in order to repress the moans that want to be released. My attempt fails when he nips at my neck, licking over the small bite mark he leaves. His chuckle only adds to my turned-on state.

More kisses are placed up my neck, my jaw, until he reaches my ear. He whispers softly in my ear, "You're my mate, so remember that I'm way more than your boyfriend. I'm your forever." He lightly bites at my earlobe and a very unflattering gasp comes out of me.

Since my hands are currently being restrained by Grayson, all I can do is squirm in place and try not to combust from all the heat traveling through my body. He smirks at me before leaning in closely to me. His lips are centimeters away from mine, yet he refuses to complete the space.

"Understand?" he teases. All I can manage to do in my flustered state is breathlessly nod in agreement. However, that response isn't good enough for him.

"Use your words, Baby."

"Yes, Grayson. I understand." The words come out as more of a desperate whine, but they seem to satisfy him as he smiles into the kiss. I'm sure he's all kinds of amused by how I'm like putty in his hands. He could probably ask me to jump off of a cliff right now and I'd do it. I hope he doesn't ask me to jump off of a cliff...

We continue to kiss for a while longer, our lips reacquainting themselves after a long time apart. Okay, it wasn't really that long, but it felt long. And he's my boyfriend so I can kiss him if I want to! In that time, I discover that I need to take many breaks in order to breath, which is very embarrassing. Grayson doesn't seem to mind because as I'm catching my breath, he is kissing me elsewhere- my neck, my jaw, my cheeks. He can't seem to keep his lips off of me, which I don't mind in the slightest.

Eventually, he can see that I'm becoming tired, so he turns off the light and has us get under the covers. By the time I'm drifting off into dreamland it is 4:45 A.M., where more nightmares wait to haunt me.