The graduation ceremony didn't take too long. There was only one hundred and seven people in our class. We all got our diplomas and then Carrie Morton gave her valedictorian speech. The principal and a couple teachers gave their speeches, and then we all threw our caps in the air.

The ceremony was held outside at the back of the school, which backed up to the woods, and I saw Max watching me from behind a tree when I got my diploma. He had stopped back over earlier today, once again coming through my window. He stayed until it was time for me to leave, and told me he would be watching me. It brought a smile onto my face that I hoped nobody else noticed, and it brought back memories of us from earlier. There was lots of kissing involved, and I could still feel my lips tingling.

After the ceremony, my family and Mara's family went out to eat at a local Italian place that had the best chicken alfredo I've ever had. When we got home, I went directly up to my room and saw Max already laying on my bed. "Hi," I said, a huge smile forming on my face.

"You look happy," he smiled, hopping off my bed and approaching me.

"Because I am," I said before pressing my lips to his. His hands had already wound themselves around my back tightly, pressing every inch of my body up against his. Quickly and effortlessly Max lifted me up off the floor so I could wrap my legs around his waist, and he laid my back down against my bed.

"You look so fucking hot in this dress," he growled against my lips. His fingers began trailing up my bare legs and up my thighs, hiking the dress up inch by inch. It was turning me on and all I wanted was his touch everywhere on my body. "But it's taking everything in me right now not to rip it off."

Those words affected me more than I will ever let on, as my entire body felt like it was being lit up by fireworks. "Let's get out of here then," I whispered, not breaking the kiss. If anything, I only tried bringing his face closer to mine.

"Ok," Max said. "But then it needs to be now." I nodded and pushed him up a little so I was sitting up. His eyes were pitch black with a bright red ring around them, and I'm sure mine were similar.

"Where are we going to go?" I asked him. The tips of his fingers were tracing my thighs up and down, from my knee to my hip bone. My dress was hiked up all the way now, but I didn't feel the least bit self conscious.

"We can go back to my place. My parents are gone until tomorrow afternoon so we'll have it to ourselves," Max hinted, raising his eyebrows up and done suggestively.

"Let me pack a bag and I'll tell my parents I'm going to Mara's. You can sneak out the window and I'll meet you back in the woods," I said, kissing him once more before fully pushing him away so I could get up. I didn't want to stop kissing him at all, but the thought of what was to come made me want to get out of here as soon as possible.

I went into my closet and Max followed close behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist as I grabbed a duffle bag and started packing. He planted little kisses along my neck, his hands wandering all over my body and turning me on even more than I already was. A soft moan escaped my lips as he hugged my to his body. The back of my dress was bare, so the only thing separating his bare chest from my back was the thin cotton t-shirt.

I opened my underwear drawer and dug to the bottom, where Mara's christmas presents from last year was hiding. It was a lacy red bra that left nothing to the imagination, and a matching thong that was one hundred percent lace. I felt Max tighten his arms around me as his eyes followed the set into my duffle bag. I let a smile form on my face, knowing that later it would have even more of an affect on him.

I quickly finished packing with much difficulty because Max couldn't keep his hands to himself. I didn't mind, in fact I was actually highly enjoying myself. It just made it difficult to pack.

"I'll meet you in the woods okay," I smiled, kissing him as he pulled my right against him.

"Hurry up," he groaned, kissing me before crawling out the window headfirst. I watched as he silently made his way down the sloped roof and jumped, disappearing from sight.

"Mom I'm heading to Mara's," I called as I ran down the stairs. "I don't know when I'll be back tomorrow." Her head popped out from the kitchen entry way, her dark hair in a messy bun on top of her head. It came back to me that she wasn't my biological mother, and I didn't know how I felt about that. I wasn't mad, but I was hurt that they hadn't ever told me that my birth mother died giving birth to me.

"Ok, have fun honey," she smiled. I smiled back and walked out the door, walking around the house to meet Max in the woods. He was leaning against a tree, smirking at me with his arms crossed.

"Let's get out of here," he said, grabbing my hand once I was close enough to him and pulling me deeper into the woods. Once the house was completely out of sight, he came to a stop and shifted. His wolf was pitch black, and his eyes were the same color with a red ring around them. He cocked his head to the side and looked at me, waiting for me to shift too.

I did, and immediately I felt different. My sight and hearing seemed ten time more amplified, and it had already been that way before because I was a werewolf. I had shifted into the same wolf I had shifted into thousands of times before, but it felt like it was brand new all over again.

I watched as Max examined my wolf, his eyes meeting mine eventually. My fur was a dark chocolate brown, and my front two paws were white. I trotted up to Max and gently nudged my snout against his. He licked my cheek, and then he turned around and ran off. I grabbed my duffle bag in my teeth and ran off after him.

The green all around me was blurred as I picked up speed, jumping over and dodging the obstacles with almost no effort. I knew without a doubt that my speed must have doubled at least, because I had never even come close to this speed before. It was like the world around didn't even exist I was going so fast.

I followed Max out of the woods and up to a large house. We were in the backyard, where there was an underground pool complete with a hot tub and a water slide, a huge swing set that looked more like a park, and there were two soccer nets set up on the far side. Trees surrounded the entire back of the house, and followed all the way up to the front. The sun was beginning to set, leaving the sky an abstract painting of purples and pinks and oranges. It was amazing.

"We live in a coven, but everyone lives pretty spread out," Max explained. I turned around and saw he had shifted back into his human form. I did the same. Right away, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist and he pulled me into him. Our lips collided with an almost bruising force. Max picked me up once again so I could wrap my legs around his waist, and he started walking through the backyard.

Somehow, without breaking our kiss, Max managed to get us inside and upstairs to what must be his bedroom. Once we were in there, he set me down and pulled away, yanking his shirt off over his head. My dress came next, and suddenly I was standing there in just my underwear.

His eyes had already been black with the red ring, and they seemed to darken as his eyes roamed over my breasts. His eyes met mine, he smirked, and then he lunged, knocking me back on to the bed. Our lips met once again, and I let my hands wander all over his body, letting them do as they please. His lips left tingling trails along my body, leaving plenty of hickeys along my neck, collarbone, and breasts.

"I love you. I love you so fucking much already B," Max groaned into my neck. My heart felt like it suddenly wanted to jump out of my throat or just completely mess up the other organs in my body. It had barely been twenty four hours, but I knew what he was saying was true. The mate bond makes you feel attached to your mate more quickly than you could ever imagine, and there's was no denying the feelings that take place because of it.

"I love you too Max. So, so much," I whispered, very aggressively yanking his face up to mine so I could kiss him. I didn't mean to be so aggressive about it, but what I was feeling for him right now was so strong that I couldn't help it. Max seemed to like it though. I could feel him smirking against my lips as he responded with just as much aggression.

"I love you," he said once more.