I must have sat on the bed for a couple of hours, just thinking of my options. The way I see it, I have virtually none. When stupid Jessie ran her big mouth, revealing to Vincent that I had planned to run away from him, he went all psycho and his possessive instincts kicked in. Therefore, he’s going to be even more annoying and clingy than usual. Now that leads me to my desire to leave him.

There’s no way he’ll let me out of his sight, so that means that Crystal’s help is now out of the question. I suppose it always was figuring that there was no way I’d be able to come up with the money she required for her service anyway.

I looked out the window. The sun had set and there were no stars out tonight. The moon was close to being full, which meant that in most likely two days, Vincent’s wolf will be in charge. I actually know how to explain this one because every full moon, humans are warned to stay indoors.

With a werewolf, it’s like there’s two people inside one body…kind of. The werewolf is completely aware of everything, however there’s a tiny voice inside their head, called their wolf. This inner wolf will sometimes guide them on what to do and will even tell them when they have found their mate. It’s kind of creepy, because when the wolf wants something, the werewolf is usually helpless in acting out its desired actions. Therefore, when the wolf becomes fully in charge of the limbs and all actions of the werewolf, it’s a little frightening.

It’s always during the full moon that humans disappear. That is, except for the humans who were chosen to be the mates of wolves. The wolf will keep the human mate by their side all day, not even letting them do the simplest tasks alone, even showering. I heard Danni once walked two paces from Reed’s side during a full moon, and his wolf flipped out.

Because wolves are more animalistic than the werewolf, it’s not unusual for them to bite or slash at their human mates. It usually happens when the human does something that the wolf isn’t fond of, and then-boom. They look like Two-Face or they’re in the hospital with tones of flesh wounds. They’re never killed, but they do often times come close to death.

Therefore, I need to leave Vincent within two days time. If I don’t, then, knowing me, I’ll do something that will result in him attacking me on the full moon. I guess the best option is to leave at night when he’s asleep.

I groaned and wiped at my tired eyes. When I did, I smelt the chlorine on them from the swimming pool and gagged. I walked over to the door and tried to open it, but when I tried, I hit something behind it and heard Vincent growl.

“Where are you trying to go now?” he snarled from the other side.

“I want to take a shower,” I said.

“Fine,” he sighed and got up off the ground. He opened the door and grabbed my hand, leading me out of the bedroom and over to the bathroom. He pushed me inside and closed the door behind me, sitting down in front of it again.

I looked around the small bathroom, noticing that there was no window, which totally explained why he was so accepting as to let me into this room all by myself.

I walked up to the counter, feeling the plaque on my teeth, making me scowl. I turned on the hot water faucet, letting it get all steamy and then ran the one toothbrush under it for a good two minutes before I scrubbed my teeth clean.

After that, I stripped off the bikini and jumped into the bathtub, closing the glass door behind me. Once inside, I turned on the water, making it a little hot. I wet my hair, feeling the steaming water hit my skin, washing away the nasty pool smell.

I closed my eyes and relaxed for a little bit.

Then I heard the door open.

I jerked and looked through the glass to see that Vincent had walked inside the bathroom. He closed the door and turned to face me.

“What are you doing?” I demanded. Deep inside I was thanking God that the steam had fogged up the glass door, making my naked body blurred. I silently cursed myself for not locking the door.

Vincent chuckled. “Nora,” he laughed, “I own you, so I don’t think you have the right to be questioning me like that.”

I fought the urge to shout for him to go fuck himself. Instead I grabbed the shampoo, noticing that it was guys’. Oh well. I put some into my hair and lathered it up, rinsing it out.

“Can I help you?” I scoffed, knowing damn well that Vincent was still standing there.

“My wolf just wanted to be near you,” he explained. He walked over and for a brief second, I feared that he’d jump in the shower with me. However instead he sat down on the toilet lid, just remaining silent. Could he seriously get enjoyment out of just being in the same room with me?

What a freak.

I washed the shampoo out of my hair and went to wash my body.

Vincent cleared his throat, getting my attention.

“What?” I snapped.

“I just want to say,” he began, “that what you said earlier in the room really hurt me.”

“You mean when I told you that I hate you?” I smiled.

Vincent growled. “Anyway, I want to tell you that even if you don’t like me, I still love you.” Then he stood up and walked over to the door. He opened and stood in the doorway, pausing for a bit. He then turned back to face me. “And no matter what, I always will.” Then he left and closed the door.

I rolled my eyes and rinsed the body wash off me. I turned off the shower and opened the glass door to get the one towel that was in the bathroom. Once I was all dried off, I wrapped the towel around me and walked out of the bathroom to go get changed in the bedroom.

When I got in there, I saw Vincent was there as well, sitting on the bed with a smirk on his face.

Whatever. I don’t have time for him. I walked over to the corner where my boxes of clothes were, only to find that the corner was bare. I cocked my eyebrow and looked over at Vincent in confusion. “Where’s my clothes?” I asked.

Vincent, still with a smirk on his face, pointed over to the bed. There was a pair of my underwear and one of his shirts. “You’re wearing that,” he said.

“No I’m not,” I scoffed, folding my arms over my chest.

“Fine,” Vincent shrugged. “Walk around naked. In fact, I’ll join you.” He pulled the shirt off his body and went to pull down the basketball shorts he had on.

“Wait!” I shouted. He paused. “I’ll wear your stupid shirt.”

Vincent’s smile grew even larger, taking up most of his face. “Great,” he cheered. “You use my cleansing products, use my towel, and now you’re wearing my shirt. There’s no doubt that other wolves will know you’re mine.”

That sly son of a bitch…literally. I ground my teeth and trudged over to the bed. Figuring that he’ll try anything to see anyway, I let the towel fall to the ground.

Immediately Vincent’s chuckling ceased and his mouth dropped. His eyes popped out of his head and he stared at me.

I pulled on the underwear first and then slowly put on his shirt. It was way too big for me, the sleeves, which meant to be around his biceps, stopped at my elbows. Also the end of it went way past my waist, almost covering my crotch. Sure enough, I could smell his nasty sweaty aura on it. It reminded me of PE class, which go figure, he teaches.

Vincent stood up off the bed and held out his hand to me. “Let me make you something to eat,” he said. Hesitantly I reached out to take his offered hand, but then my personality got in the way and I walked right by him.

Vincent growled and grabbed my arm, yanking me to him. He then swung me over his shoulders, carrying me downstairs and into the kitchen like I was a sack of potatoes…or something lighter because he walked as if he weren’t even carrying something. When we made it to the kitchen, I was set back onto my feet.

Vincent still kept his arm around me as he moved around the kitchen, searching through the cabinets for something to eat. Eventually he settled on ramen, which was pretty much the only food in his kitchen. He grabbed about five packets and a pot from one of the lower cabinets. He put all the stuff together, still with an arm keeping me securely at his side. There was a small table in the middle of the room, which he led me to. He pulled out a chair and sat in it, yanking me onto his lap. When I was forced on his, both of his arms acted as restraints, keeping me trapped to him.

It was super uncomfortable. His legs are all hard from their packed on muscle. Plus his arms are hard as well, not keeping me secure or anything. Whoever said that biceps were attractive didn’t keep into account how hard they felt when they were being squeezed into you. He even rested his head on my shoulders, his chin digging into my body.

“Mine,” he mumbled.

I rolled my eyes. I need to leave this place as soon as possible. I hate it here! I hate this house! I hate Vincent! I hate sitting in his stupid grasp! I hate this whole situation!

We sat there for a while in silence. Vincent would just nuzzle me, growling in delight. I thought that was a little weird.

Finally we heard the water boiling, meaning the food was done. Vincent lifted me out of his lap (FINALLY!) and went over to the stove. He turned off the flame and grabbed two bowls, filling them up with ramen. He then grabbed them and walked back to the table, setting them down.

This time Vincent let me sit down in my own chair. He sat across from me, loudly slurping his food. At first I thought I wasn’t hungry, but as soon as the food was in front of me, I gulfed it down, not even too bothered when I burnt my tongue.

When we were all finished, Vincent took both bowls back to the sink and quickly rinsed them off. He then turned to me. “Time for bed Mate,” he said, grabbing me arm and once again throwing me over his shoulder. I’m starting to think he’s doing this to show off his strength.

He carried me into the bedroom and tossed me down onto the bed. The light was turned off before I could get my senses together and I was soon tackled by Vincent.

His heavy body was on top of me, pinning me down underneath. My arms were at my side, trapped as Vincent wrapped his around me. He made sure to be low enough so that he didn’t lay on my head. Instead, we both shared the one pillow on the bed.

“Goodnight Mate,” he whispered in the dark, kissing my cheek. “Love you.”

I grunted.

For the longest time, me and Vincent lay in the bed. He managed to move the comforter blanket over us, making me pant with the heat. After about a half hour, Vincent started to lightly snore.

He’s asleep now. Awesome.

I began to wiggle my arms a bit, inch by inch freeing them from Vincent’s grasp. Eventually I had them out. I then lightly pushed on his broad chest, feeling his hard muscles for a bit. He sure was buff. I pushed, trying to roll him over.

Vincent make a little sound and I immediately stopped, my breath hitching in my throat. After three seconds, the snoring started back up and I began to push some more. Eventually there was a large enough space created in his hold for me to slip through to freedom.

I slid on out, feeling my way off the bed blindly. I’m actually doing it! I’m going to be free of Vincent! Using my foot out in front of me, I swayed it in a zigzag motion, like a blind person with a cane. Foot by foot, I made my way across the floor of the bedroom, reaching the far wall. Then all I had to do was feel around that for the doorknob, which I amazingly found with ease as it was the first thing my hand touched. Finally some good luck.

I turned the door knob slowly, quietly opening the door. I stepped out into the hallway.

Vincent whimpered.

I froze, not even daring to breath. I glanced back, looking at Vincent’s outline from the shine of the moon. He was still asleep. However, he was twitching, like how a dog does in his sleep. He just kept on moving, whimpering, like he was chasing something in his dream, but couldn’t catch up. Hmm, I wonder what he’s dreaming about…like I care.

I tiptoed out in the hall, finding the stairs, which I stepped on slowly, lest one should creak and wake up my captor. After the longest minute of my life (escaping a werewolf’s house sure is anxiety-ridden), I was at the base of the steps. Now I didn’t really want to go in public wearing only Vincent’s shirt and my underwear, but what choice did I have?

I walked over to the front door, undid the lock and chain, and opened it. Instantly air rushed inside, filling up my core with the sweet feeling of freedom of the outside world. Then I ran.

I didn’t even bother to lose Vincent’s front door. Let some crazy rouge werewolf go in there and eat him. I don’ care! I just ran on the sidewalk, turning left then running down that block. My feet began to pound as they hit the hard concrete over and over. Luckily, the hot weather made the cement feeling warm to the soles of my feet, allowing me to finally feel some ounce of comfort.

I figure that doing a zigzag pattern when I reach the end of blocks would be good. On one I take a right, then a left, then a right, then a left, then turn around because it’s a cul-de-sac, then a right. I didn’t even know where I was going and I didn’t even know how I was going to get some appropriate clothes for later on, but right now I didn’t even care. The streets were empty, only the streetlamps giving me some company. It was nice to be alone for a while after being smothered by some love-obsessed werewolf.

Eventually, after my run, I reached the end of the neighborhood. At the end of the street that was blocked off, was a forest. Perhaps if I ran in here, I could hide out for a little bit and then in the morning, find someone, maybe Danni, to help get me some clothes and get me out of the territory.

Then I could just sneak through the territories until I reach Florida and salvation from werewolves!

The howl of a werewolf sounded off in the not-too-far distance. Shit! It’s Vincent!

I started up in a sprint and made it for the forest. I looked behind me, hoping to God that I’d see nothing at all. However, thanks to my good luck, I got to see the large werewolf in wolf-form run around the corner, coming my way.

I quickened my pace, even bending down a little hoping to stop air resistance. My life depended on making it to the forest. I had to make it there in the coverage of the trees and leaves. Then maybe I could climb a tree and Vincent would run by me or something.

I glanced back over my shoulder, seeing the large werewolf covering the distance that took me thirty seconds in just four flat. For some reason, Vincent looked a lot larger, like his wolf form had grown larger and more muscular. Could his extreme anger have done that to him?

Wow I royally screwed myself over.

I was only about a couple yards away from the forest when the werewolf behind me snarled. I stumbled over my feet, falling to the ground. I hit it pretty hard, the air rushing out of me. For a few moments, I lied dazed on the grass. This is it. Vincent’s going to get me and then drag me back to the house. Then he’ll break my legs, making me dependent on him.

I looked up at the werewolf who was only twenty feet away. He leapt up in the air, most likely to pounce on me. I flinched, but kept my eyes open, wanting to at least see the minute in which my life would end.

The werewolf flew over me, landing at the clearing of the forest. I heard him snarl and then something else snarled back at him. I cocked my eyebrow and looked back to see the werewolf standing in a protective stance, obviously defending me from something.

“Fucking mutt!’ I heard a woman shriek from the forest. She ran out and charged at the werewolf. She was really tall and skinny. Her long black hair was really shiny and looked glossy in the moonlight. Her pale skin even seemed to glow. She bared her teeth, showing off her…fangs?

She’s a vampire!

The vampire pounced on the werewolf, latching her in his fur. The werewolf growled and began to buck around, eventually sending the vampire falling to the ground. The wolf then trapped her in his powerful jaws, biting down and thrashing his head.

I covered my eyes, hearing the vampire shriek as she was ripped to pieces. After her cries were silences, I slowly moved my hands away from my face to stare at the werewolf who had just saved my life from a bloodthirsty vamp.

I cleared my throat, trying to muster up the courage to speak. “Thank Vincent,” I mumbled.

The werewolf growled and stood up on his two legs. Slowly he morphed back into his human form, hair disappearing and shrinking two feet. At the end of the transformation, I realized that this werewolf wasn’t Vincent.

The man was way taller and a lot more muscular. Plus, his hair was brown and it wasn’t put up in a spikey style like Vincent’s. His hair was short and tame. Because he had just phased back into a human, the man was naked. I’ll admit, I glanced and sure enough, I liked it a lot more than Vincent’s. This man even appeared to be older, maybe by about five years. I’m basing that off the age lines near the ends of his eyes.

“I’m not Vincent,” the werewolf spoke in a baritone voice. “I’m Jason, your Alpha.”

My jaw dropped. I was just saved from a vampire, by Alpha. Wow, there’s no coming back from this. Now he’s going to tell Vincent what happened and I’ll be forever punished. Then I’ll never escape to Florida!

“Thanks for saving me Alpha,” I murmured, bowing my head in respect. I’ve been taught in school that this was appropriate as alphas were naturally more dominate and demanded more respect.

Alpha chuckled. “Call me Jason,” he said.

I looked up, seeing a large smile stretch on his face. His face was lit up with happiness, his canines poking out of his mouth, gleaming in the moonlight.

I nodded. “Thank you Al- Jason.”

If it were possible, Alpha’s smile grew even larger and I saw his chest puff out with pride. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was trying to show off his body, like what a lot of male werewolves do. They try to make it look like they can protect their female interest by doing so, luring them into a sense of security with them.

Alpha spoke up again. “Well,” he smiled, “since you now know my name, can I get yours Mate?”

“Nora,” I answered. Then I jolted in shock. “W-what did you call me?”

Alpha looked at me like I should already know. “Nora,” he said, walking over to me with fast steps, “you’re my mate.”

I fainted.