Chapter 15 - Lucy

I don’t know how long I stand at the edge of the parking lot, as far away from Peter as I can possibly get. The cold wind tears down from the mountain and tugs on my hair, creeping into my clothes and chilling me to the bone. I try not to think, even as the ache grows in my heart.

I am sorry that I embarrassed him. There were better ways of dealing with the situation, and I know that. I probably shouldn’t have even tried to go to the meeting.

All that aside, he was completely out of line. His words echo in my head, ringing through me with ripples of pain. Sensory images from the night before flash through my head. I wonder how we could get so close, only to tear each other apart like that.

It wasn’t intimacy, just stress, maybe even part of the spell. It doesn’t mean anything.

When I finally turn around, Peter is waiting by the car. I walk over to him, and he barely looks up. I open the door to get in, and he does the same, keeping his eyes down.

The tension in the air is appalling, like a storm about to rip open the sky and tear the earth open with lightning. I grip the steering wheel and manage to make it home without saying a single word.

If I talk to him, something’s going to start. I don’t know if it will be a fight or a fuck, but I’m not ready for either.

When I get inside, I go straight to my room. The sun is setting outside and the wind has gained strength, smashing against the house and making the trees bend and thrash. I know some witches can affect the weather, but I’ve never had the ability. It still feels like the elements are listening to me, though. Like they’re trying to answer my distress.

Maybe I could do a spell to calm us down. Peace in the home, or something like that.

Immediately, I reject the idea. My magic got us into this mess, and I don’t trust it to get me back out again.

I hear Peter moving around in the house and put my headphones on. It isn’t easy, but I manage to calm myself enough to meditate, sinking into a dark, quiet space deep inside my mind.

When I finally wake hours later, the complete darkness and sense of anxiety sizzling through me disorient me completely. It takes a few seconds for me to understand that I’m actually awake and night has fallen.

The fierce sense inside me that something is terribly wrong drives me out of bed. At first, I wonder if the wind from earlier turned into a blizzard. Maybe the power is out, or some horrible catastrophe has happened to the town.

I run through the house, listening for the wind or any sign of emergency, such as sirens or people shouting, but the night is utterly silent.

The wind has stopped.

I look out the window, and the street is perfectly still. Nothing moves, giving the scene a spooky, otherworldly feel. The streetlights are on, so obviously, there is no problem with the power.

Wondering why Peter hasn’t turned on any lights, I go looking for him, only to find the house empty.

He isn’t here!

The horrible anxiety in my stomach increases, making my heart pound and my palms sweat.

He’s fighting the spell. He’s trying to run away.

I grab my jacket and shoes, charging out the back door towards the forest. I know that’s where he would go, just by guessing, but I also feel drawn to him as if an invisible string connects us. I have a feeling that wherever he went in the world, I’d be able to find him.

I’m sure he’d love that.

As I hit the trees, I start to jog. I don’t do well in the woods. As much as I enjoy the outdoors, hiking through rugged paths is not my thing. A nice, comfy picnic in a meadow, a barbecue by a quiet lake—these things are pleasant.

Almost breaking my fucking neck in the dark on a rocky mountainside is anything but pleasant!

As I run, I can sense Peter getting closer to me. I’m already gasping with exertion, a combination of my burning anxiety and the physical activity making my sides pour with sweat. I stop to pull off my jacket before struggling uphill again, finally reaching the peak.

I put my hands on my knees and pant hard. My lungs are burning as I try to draw in a decent breath. The horrible anxiety has faded a bit, and I hope I’m close enough to Peter that we won’t get hurt by the energy if it snaps back.

When I stand up and look around, I see I’m in a small clearing with a light scattering of snow shining like diamonds in the grass. The blue-black sky is studded with the silver points of flickering stars scattered around the bright glow of a perfect crescent moon.

Okay, this isn’t so bad. A run through the woods at night could be worth it, to see a sight like this.

The anxiety settles even more, so I know Peter can’t be far away. Suddenly, the thought that he might be injured hits me, striking fear into my bones.

Maybe that’s why he didn’t come back!

The next few seconds are by far the most stressful I’ve ever lived through. My frustration and anger completely disappear, replaced by a deep, encompassing terror that I’ll never see him again.

He never had a chance to connect with anyone his whole life. He’s so hurt and damaged, and all I’ve done was tell him he wasn’t good enough! He has to be alright… he has to be! I can't let him go without telling him—

Telling him what?

I refuse to finish the thought, hurrying forward so I can check the next line of trees. I don’t get far when I see a glowing pair of eyes shimmer in the dark, coming towards me from the forest.

Please… be Peter.

He steps out of the shadows, picking up a long coat off the ground and wrapping it around himself as he walks towards me. His face is completely blank, not showing any emotion at all.

“You came,” he says.

“I had no choice.”

Disappointment flashes across his face, and he looks away.

“I mean, I don’t mind being out here,” I say quickly. “With you.”

He looks up at me again, his eyes so dark I can’t see what he’s feeling.

I don’t even know what I’m feeling.

“Peter, can we talk?”

“Not successfully so far, no.”

I smile, in spite of myself, and gesture to the ground. “Sit, please. I want to try and explain some things… and apologize.”

“Apologize?”

“Yes. I didn’t mean to embarrass you at the meeting. I should have just kept my mouth shut and asked questions later.”

He nods, sighing. “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have said those things. I was just really upset and… well, I’m sorry.”

I move away from him a little, finding a fairly dry place to sit and look up at the sky. After a moment, he joins me.

“It’s not so bad out here, you know,” I say. “I could get used to coming out here… if I was with you.”

“I like the sound of that, Lucy,” he says with a little smile. “But we aren’t going to be tethered forever, are we?”

My heart falls.

He really does want to get away from me.

“I don’t know,” I say. “The thing is…”

“Yes?”

“I feel something for you,” I blurt out, my cheeks burning. “I don’t know if it’s real, but I feel close to you. I care for you. Tonight, when I found you gone, I panicked.”

“You did?” he asks, sounding incredulous. “Why?”

“I thought you might be hurt, and it made me crazy. I couldn’t stand it. I just had to see you again.”

He sighs, looking down at the ground. “I feel something, too,” he whispers. “I don’t know what it is. I’ve never been in love. I don’t know if I’ve ever loved anyone in my entire life.”

This admission makes my heart ache even more. I can’t imagine what he’s been through, the trauma he’s suffered, the lengths he’s had to go to just so he could survive. The idea of having no one, being completely alone, is so alien to me that I can’t even imagine it.

Peter looks up at me suddenly. His green eyes are wide, lit by the pale light of the moon into shimmering emeralds.

“I don’t know how to love,” he admits. “Even if I could fall in love with you, I know I’d only let you down.”

His words completely, utterly break my heart. Tears sting my eyes, and I lean forward, putting my hands on his cheeks.

“Don’t worry about anything, then,” I whisper. “Just feel this. Feel me.”

For a moment, he stays frozen in place, a million miles away, even though he’s right in front of me. Then, he leans forward and kisses me.

When our lips touch, my body responds immediately. The aching between my legs spreads fire along my belly, making my nipples tight until they feel like red-hot embers. I grab his shoulders and pull him towards me, running my hands across the bare skin of his chest.

Peter shoves me against the ground, grabbing my waistband and tearing open my pants. I lift my butt as he yanks the jeans down my thighs. He barely gets them to my knees before I feel him grab my hips and flick his tongue against my clit.

I throw my head back and scream, my hands digging into the ground. My knees are trapped by my pants, and I can’t get my legs open, no matter how hard I try. Peter keeps me pressed against the ground by the hips and teases against the outer lips of my pussy with his mouth, sliding his tongue around to tease my clit.

The orgasm takes me by surprise, building so slowly it feels almost like teetering on the highest point of a roller coaster. I grab Peter’s head, tangling my fingers in his hair as I rock my hips against his mouth and let out a scream that echoes through the clearing and out into the forest.

I’m a trembling wreck as Peter tugs my jeans all the way off my legs and climbs on top of me. When I look up at him, he’s wearing that cheeky grin again, but I don’t want to slap him this time. Instead, I reach up and catch his bottom lip with my fingers, pulling him down to me.

He kisses me with even more urgency now, his tongue diving into my mouth as he pushes me down to the ground. I can feel his hard cock pressing against me, and I grip him with my knees, twisting my hips until he slips inside.

Peter groans, a shudder running through his entire body. He props himself up on his arms, looking down at me as he thrusts his hips forward. I brace my hands on his forearms and smile up at him, rocking my hips back to slide him even deeper inside.

A growl rises in his throat that is more wolf than man. When he grabs my shoulders and digs his fingers into my flesh, I can feel the sharp tips of his claws. Even though it scares me, I know he won’t truly hurt me. The sense of danger turns me on even more.

Peter’s cock gets thicker and harder as he moves in long, slow strokes. Another orgasm shudders through me. As my pussy convulses around him, Peter stops and rests his head on my shoulder, waiting for the waves to subside before he starts to thrust again.

I wrap my arms loosely around him, clinging on for dear life as his thrusts get harder and faster. Every stroke triggers another orgasm from me until I’m trembling, nothing more than a wreck of utter surrender.

Peter throws his head back and cries out, thrusting his hips into me with all the strength in his body. I open my legs and scream as his hard cock pounds the end of me, triggering a wave of pleasure that blurs all my senses.

When Peter collapses against me, panting for air, I wrap my arms and legs around him, stroking his hair as I bury my face in his shoulder. He’s trembling all over as his body shudders with the release of his orgasm.

I don’t ever want to let you go, poor little lonely wolf. But I can’t bear to keep you in a cage, either.

I push away all my thoughts and feelings and just cling to him, praying I have satisfied his body, even if I can’t comfort his heart.