Angelina

I kissed him.

I pressed my lips into his and waited for him to connect with mine. I tasted him — slowly and briefly.

And he woke up and stared at me. I’d feared the worst would happen when he shut his eyes. I would prefer him as a wolf than dead.

I held his face and smiled.

“Will you leave me?”

I shook my head many times and rubbed my finger on his face to wipe the moisture away.

The cab stopped at our house eventually, and then we descended. I paid the driver, and the man stared at Collins as if I had made a bad choice on his behalf.

Collins was half-awake anyway. He said thank you and nodded at the man while I helped him out of the cab and towards my grandmother's house.

Grandmother was sitting by the window of her room on the upper floor. The moon wasn't out yet. She used to watch the moon on days like this. She said it energized her, and she would feel young again anytime the sky went dark and the spherical-shaped light turned out.

When she heard us coming, she turned around and stared at me.

"What happened?" she asked when we got to her bedroom.

I laid Collins on Granny's bed and pressed the cloth on the wound with one hand.

"I lost control and bit him," I said. I stared at her while wiping my forehead with the back of my hand. "But it's almost an hour, and he isn't dead. Is there something you can do? I can't take him to the hospital?"

Grandma walked towards Collins and stared at the wound.

"He survived," she said. Then she touched him as if she’d just seen someone walking out of a fire.

Collins coughed and turned his head slowly in the direction of Grandma.

Grandma stood upright and paced around the room. "Collins," she called. "How did he survive it?"

"He ran before I could bite him too hard. We were about… we were in the mood."

"I ran…" Collins interrupted, and then he coughed. "I remembered you told me to stay away and talk from a distance."

"Lucky you. I always knew you were a smart boy."

I looked from my grandmother to Collins. They had left me out of the conversation, and I wanted answers. "I don't understand," I said.

Grandmother walked towards her shelf and brought a glass cup and a bottle of concoction. She had given me that before. She made it with some imported herbs. When I was young, the content helped me cope with pain during transformation.

She handed the cup to Collins, "here," she said and poured the herb into the cup.

"Why are you giving him that?" I asked. "He is not a real wolf."

"He would soon be. This will help with the pain."

"I know he would soon be a wolf. Can we do something? Like, help him."

"You know everything, Adeline. I explained it all. Now it has happened, what do you suggest?"

"I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. I couldn’t. But he’s not born a real wolf. You know more than me, Grandma. Please help him."

"Nothing we can do, darling…. Well, unless we can remove all the blood in his body and replace it with a fresh one before the full moon."

"That's not possible," I said.

"Yeah, exactly,” she said.

I shook my head and looked at Collins. He drank the cup's content and handed it to my grandmother.

Fresh tears flowed down my cheeks as easily as I blinked. he looked at me and told me to come closer. When I got to his side, he held my hand and squeezed it gently as if urging me to keep calm; I had given my best.

“Remember old, times. When we were in high school,” he said. “You were always fighting other girls for crushing on me.”

I chuckled and then sniffed back tears.

Our romance started in middle school. He was this boy with fast legs, athletic, dark curly, and long hair. He was also good at a lot of things. So it happened that we used to be the teacher's favorite to take assignments together. We fought most of the time, and his family would invite our family during holidays. Or my family did. We were the only kids and had to play together. We continued our relationship in high school.

“I feel better after thinking about it. And the herb,” he said, looking at my grandmother.

“It will help you when you transform,” I said.

"Well, that's some good news," Collins said.

"I’m so sorry," I said.

"Whatever you want to say to each other," my grandmother said. She walked back to her shelf and put the bottle back inside. "I suggest you start saying it. He’ll begin to transform once the moon is out. The process will continue till dawn because this is his first time."

I turned to my grandmother. "Will it hurt him?" I asked.

"Not as bad as it would have been without the herb."

I turned to Collins again. "I’m so sorry."

My grandmother placed a hand on my shoulder. "You should make this moment count, Adeline." She used to call me the name she bestowed on me. "Your mother and I were not this lucky." Then she patted my shoulder and left the room.

It was Collins and me alone. He wasn't closing his eyes as he did previously. He was awake. He was asking questions with his eyes, which we both didn't have answers to. Was this the end? What am I going to do? What would be my plan?

I held his hands tighter. He wasn't in much pain anymore.

"You remember when my father died?" he said, staring at my hands. "We had this kind of these awkward moments."

It was a night never to be forgotten. The next night was even worse because I cried like the one who had lost her father all over. Collin's maternal uncle had come to town and asked to take him away. He had no choice but to leave.

"And when you told me you are leaving town the next day," I said and chuckled. Then I wiped my face with the back of my hand.

"Crazy night. You were crying."

"And you were forming a big boy. Tell me why did you run back after a week?"

"I thought I needed a break. And you won't stop calling."

"Yeah, I couldn't let you go," I said.

"Angie, I want you to know you are my choice of a woman. I kept looking back at our relationship when I should date someone else. Something always tells me there's a woman. The right person. I have already made up my mind that any date will not work. Kind of."

"I was actually doing the same. Not directly. When I meet someone and want to turn them away, I tell them about you. I told a woman about you because she wants to hook me up with her cousin or something." I sighed. "I wanted you, but…." I shook my head.

He looked outside again. "It's okay," he said.

The sky was getting darker. Perhaps it would rain, and the moon wouldn't appear early enough or take a break tonight.

"Will you take care of my parent's house till I am sure of what to do with it?"

I nodded. This was the part where I needed to tell him all the things I had bottled up because of my secret… which, as it seemed, was no more a secret.

"Collins," I started, placing a hand on his chest. His heart was beating hard against my palm, like someone running a race. "I have always wanted to be with you. I have always wanted to build a future with you, and when I made up stories in my head about marriage and the kind of man I want to spend my life with, you are part of it. You are the man. You are always part of everything. I was afraid that this… would happen if I said yes. I was afraid…."

"It's okay. I understand now. This isn't how I think it would turn out, but…" he nodded. "Come here," he said and pulled me into a hug. "It's sad. Our story could have been different. I love you, Angelina Adeline Cole. I always will."

I looked into his eyes, and he looked into mine. "I love you too," I said.

Then we had our third kiss for the night. My hands were on his shoulder at first while his lips and tongues searched for lost treasure in my mouth. I had this feeling in my chest whenever we kissed — like I was receiving head and body massages simultaneously. My body was super active, and yet I did was slowly, the tongue-twisting, the rubbing the back of his head, the gentle nudge on his arm.

My eyes were shut, and when I opened them again, he had closed his eyes. I pushed him back gently so he had to rest his back on the bed. My hands were moving around him, searching for his buttons, squeezing his nipples. My thighs were pressed lightly against his groin. I had wanted to do this for many years. This was the moment to seek all the pleasure I had fantasized about, the lust that had caused sleeplessness.

He was kissing my neck, and his hands loosened the zipper at the back of my gown. I stood up and moved the arm of the dress from my shoulder so that it fell off the floor. I stepped out and crawled to him. I stood before him and helped unbuckle his belt and then his trousers, his clothes off.

When I tried to straddle him, he said, lie down.

“You sure?” I asked.

He nodded. “You don’t know how much I desire you, Angie,” he said.

Lying on the bed with my back, I sighed. "Okay," I said.

I started kissing my body from my knees and moved from one side of my body up and up until he was on my stomach. He evaded the breast and went upper part of my body.

His mouth found a path on my neck, and his tongue sent a shock through my body. I looked up at the ceiling and gasped.

“Have you been with another woman. In London?” I asked.

“I always think about you. I wanted you.” Then he kissed me so that it was hard to breathe.

I pushed back and kissed him even harder.

He took off my bra and stared at my breast for a while. What did he think of their size, the redness of the nipples? He caressed them first with his palm and then with his tongue, one at a time. His hands were on my hip, tracing the lines of my panties. We kissed again, and his hands pushed my panties down, so I lifted my butt and let him get them off.

He slowly pushed my back down on the bed as if I should prepare for what was coming. I bit my lips and lay down, hands spread to each side of the bed and holding the bedsheet. I should touch his head and play with his hair as his tongue touched my left nipple, the right one, then he traced down my cleavage with his tongue.

Down he went on my body, to the stomach and the groin. And the hitch! Ah! The touch of his lips on the opening was electrifying, tickling. I giggled briefly and looked down at him. He crawled up to kiss me again and down, there, he slid in. But it was impossible not to scream. I held his waist and moaned out loud.

The rain started after that. It continued as we both enjoyed the pleasure and warmth inside each other's bodies. We took turns and rode each other. The sound of the downpour on the roof and window seemed like a background tune. This was a memory, the sweetest, the saddest, the joyous one we had ever had, and nature was in support.

We lay in bed after that, stark naked. The rain hadn't stopped.

"So," he said, "will you come to visit wherever I go after my transformation."

I stared at his face now, and he pushed my hair sideways. My left hand was on his stomach, rubbing the hairs that extended down. But I really wanted to hold his dick and stroke it till it got hard again.

"You will be by my side. There is no need for any separation," I said.

“I would be a wolf, You think people won’t ask questions.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. You’re coming with me to California. People can say whatever they like. We will figure out to make you a hybrid,” I said.

He smiled. I didn't know what he was thinking, but he patted my arm and pulled my body towards him. Then slowly, like I was sneaking something I didn't want him to notice, I touched his dick. I tried to raise it, and it dropped in my hands. He chuckled. I turned to face him only to be met by another kiss.

As I kissed and stroked my hands, he got an erection again, and we started the pleasure ride again. I was the one at the top this time.

We were resting after that again when the rain stopped.

Outside the room, we heard the shout of merry Christmas.

"Merry Christmas," I said.

"Yeah," he said, but it sounded like a cry.

He was staring down at his hands. His nails were growing longer, and his arms were becoming hairier. His eyes turned dark and slowly; the normal bluish color came back but with some yellowish around it.

I looked outside the window and saw the moon emerging. I got up from the bed, stepped back from him, and tried not to burst into tears as I waited for him to become a wolf.