I tug him towards the back door and he follows without much protest. The wind whips the trees surrounding us around violently. It's pitch black out, even the moon and stars are hiding behind the clouds now.

We're soaked the second we step outside- our clothes cling to us like a second skin.

"Should we really be out here right now?" he raises his voice over the wind.

I don't bother answering and run eagerly into the middle of the back yard, not caring if Maddox follows or not. I lay down in the grass with my hands behind my head and stare up at the sky. I'm so mesmerized by the light show dancing behind the clouds that it takes me a few minutes to realize that Maddox decided to join me.

He mirrors my position, laying next to me so that our sides are just barely touching. I can feel the heat radiating from him despite the cold rain drenching us and I subconsciously nuzzle a little closer to him.

"How can you not love this?" I ask quietly, but he still hears me.

"I guess the wolf side of me just craves shelter and security. There are too many uncertainties to account for in a storm, especially when you have a whole pack counting on you to keep them safe."

"I suppose you're right," I shrug.

"You're an odd one, Poppy," he says.

The words don't sound like an insult from him. When my brothers call me odd, it makes me want to throw things at them. From him, the words leave a warm feeling in my stomach, like he's giving me a compliment.

When I look over at him, I can see he's already staring at me, a sly grin kissing his lips. Like he's happy to be out in this raging storm with an odd girl he just met. Like there's nowhere else he'd rather be in this moment.

With each passing second with Maddox, my old fears, the ominous tea reading all seem to fade away like some distant memory.

Was it really all just over a day ago?

His eyes trail down my body slowly, taking in the way my satin slip clings to each curve, molding itself to me. His eyes grow hungrier as they fall to my bare thighs and he bites his lip. I didn't put the thigh highs back on after I had taken a shower and now I feel exposed under his heated gaze.

It made me uncomfortable- not because I didn't want him to look at me like that, but because I very much did want him to keep looking at me like that. I had chalked up our steamy kisses in the woods to blood lust and an obligation to fulfill our duty, but I have to accept now that this feeling between us isn't going away any time soon.

More than just being comfortable and at ease in his presence now, I feel myself wanting to push things further, but I have no idea where to start.

A wicked thought crosses my mind and I smirk up at him. He continues his appraisal of me, none the wiser. I pick up a handful of mud from the ground beside me and before Maddox can catch on, I throw it on his chest, caking his white t-shirt in it with a wet thud.

He looks at me in complete shock and I'm already up and on my feet, out of arms reach before he has the chance to retaliate.

"This is why you brought me out here? To throw mud at me?" He finally sputters out in response.

"Not initially, but it's certainly an added bonus," I laugh.

"Oh, you have no idea what you've just gotten yourself into."

He gets up into a kneeling position and fills both hands with mud. He flings them both at me in rapid succession before I can dodge them- one smacks me on the stomach and the other slaps against my thigh. I squeal and charge towards him, tackling him to the ground.

I'm certain I'm not strong enough to push him over like that, but it makes me smile knowing he let me do it. He's playing along with me. In no time, we're in a full-on mud war. Of course it's childish and maybe a little gross to some people, but it's the most fun I've had in a long time and I can tell he feels the same way.

He's been so caught up in learning his Alpha duties, I doubt he's allowed himself to have much fun at all, and maybe this stupid, childish fun is exactly what we both need to bring us closer to each other.

His weariness of the storm is long forgotten, and by the time we walk back to the house, dirty and exhausted, the rain had settled to a light drizzle. We walk inside with his arm wrapped around my shoulders and we're laughing uncontrollably.

A man and a woman are standing behind the kitchen island next to our neglected midnight snacks, their expressions unreadable, and Maddox's laughter dies instantly.

"Mom. Dad," he greets them stiffly.

Shit.