9. Avery

Chapter nine

Avery

I cannot believe I asked Frost to share a bed with me. Even more so, I can’t believe he actually accepted!

I don’t remember the last time I shared a bed with someone that wasn’t Ellie. It’s soothing to have a presence here with me. Though, I can’t help but wish he’d close the distance between us. I want Frost to wrap his arms around me. To push himself against my back and hold me. I want to feel his body against my own. I want my peachy scent to mix with his deep mocha chocolate scent until we make an entirely new scent together.

Okay, I need to pull these thoughts back. The last thing I need is for my scent to turn all sweet with lust. No boners while in bed with the hot alpha!

I’m not sure how long it takes, but eventually, my breathing evens out and I drift into sleep. Somehow, I know I’m dreaming.

I walk through an enchanted forest. The trees have long, hanging branches. The leaves at the very ends of the branches sparkle with soft, pink lights. There are fireflies drifting through the air, humming softly to themselves and giving the forest a pretty song that drifts through the air.

I take a deep breath, a scent catching my attention. It’s familiar and leaves me warm and breathless at the same time. I need to find the owner of that scent. An animalistic instinct takes over and I find myself running through the forest, tracking it. I allow my human mind to drift to the back until my wolf is at the front, guiding me.

The other night, I was chased through the woods, a black wolf on my trail. This time I’m the hunter, not the prey. I’m the one doing the chasing.

This is exhilarating.

If I was sitting still, I would be shaking but all this energy is being put to good use. My legs move faster, my lungs expand, my heart thumps against my ribs. I run and I run and I run, following that deliciously addictive scent on the wind.

The sound of a twig snapping catches my attention and I change course slightly, moving to my left. I duck under a branch, leap over a stump, and continue running full force. Because this is a dream, I don’t lose my breath, I don’t get a stitch in my side. I can just keep going.

As an omega, maybe it’s a bit fucked up for me to be the one doing the chasing but I don’t care. This feels good. This feels right. Any alpha worthy of my attention would want to be part of a chase like this, would willingly allow himself to be my prey. Even if that alpha happens to be made up by my own imagination.

I hear footsteps now. I’m gaining on him. The scent is growing stronger. As I run, I tilt my head up towards the bright moon and howl , the sound coming from my chest and reverberating through the forest. Fuck, I feel wild in a way I’ve never allowed myself to experience before.

A dark blob comes into focus in front of me. I double my efforts, running with all my might. The alpha is taller than me, but that doesn’t slow me down. I will have him. I will devour him.

We break into a clearing, both panting with effort despite the fact that this isn’t real. Now I can see that this is the alpha haunting my dreams. I want to catch him even more, now that I know it’s him .

My big bad wolf.

Our pace is evenly matched but what he isn’t expecting is for me to launch myself at him. I leap into the air and tackle him onto the ground. Our bodies tangle, our scents mingle, our limbs wrap around each other. I can’t tell if he’s trying to push me away or pull me against his body even tighter.

We struggle in the grass for a long moment before he finally rolls away from me, just enough to pull our bodies apart. Fuck, I immediately miss his touch. He doesn’t go far, crawling away with until his back collides with a tree.

He’s trapped. Nowhere to go. Completely at my mercy.

Something dark rises up inside of me. I want him. I want to pull his mask away. I want to gaze upon the face of my prey. I want him to be mine . My eyes shift until they’re shining omega gold, my fangs ache with the need to descend and bite my prey. I’ve never felt like this before but I don’t recoil from it, instead embracing it.

“I’ve got you,” I say, my voice deep and husky, almost slurred even to my own ears. I’m drunk off the chase, off of this alpha’s scent. The dark chocolate smell washes over me, sinking into my pores, becoming part of me.

I watch as he swallows. “And what will you do with me now that you have me?”

I crawl towards him on my hands and knees, feeling entirely like the wolf that I am. “I want to devour you,” I tell him seriously, watching as his eyes widen. The mask he’s wearing covers the lower half of his face, the hood on his head covering his hair. All I can see is his eyes.

They’re the most beautiful brown eyes I’ve ever seen. But why do they seem so familiar? Why does my stomach flutter when I look into them?

“You don’t want me,” he says softly. Even his voice calls to something deep within me. It’s familiar in a way that leaves me aching.

“Yes, I do,” I say defiantly. “If I didn’t want you, I wouldn’t have chased you.”

Even with the mask on, I can tell he smiles from that. My chest blooms with warmth, starting at my center and slowly running through my extremities until I’m tingly all over. Just being close to this alpha makes me happy.

“You don’t even know me.”

“Don’t I? You’re a figment of my imagination. You’re quite literally my perfect alpha.”

The alpha tilts his head slightly and a growl sounds between us. I realize a little too late that the sound is coming from me, my eyes locked on to the exposed length of his throat. I want to bite him. I want to mark him. I lick my lips and lean forward, my intent clear.

I expect to be pushed away but instead, to my absolute delight, he tilts his head even more. I lean into his space, running my nose over the side of his throat, breathing him in. Jesus fucking Christ, he smells downright divine. It’s dark and heady, like the perfect mocha. The smell makes the pit of my stomach warm and I want to drink him in.

My head grows foggy the longer I smell him. I want to connect with him. I want to mark him. I want him to be mine.

Opening my mouth, I run my teeth over his skin, feeling him shiver against me. His hands reach out and clasp my hips, holding on so tightly I swear there will be bruises against my skin when I wake up. I lick him, marking him with my scent.

“Fuck,” he gasps out, finally pushing me back. “Fuck, Avery.”

I growl in response. “Mine.”

The alpha across from me stares at me for a long moment. “You don’t even think I’m real,” he says softly, barely above a whisper.

For some reason, that sobers me. Some of the fog clears. “What? Of course you’re not. This is a dream.”

He nods. “Yes. This is a dream.”

“So you’re the alpha I’ve made with my imagination. You’re exactly the type of alpha I crave but know I can’t have out in the real world.”

This time, it’s the alpha who moves. He lunges and I fall onto my back, staring up at the night sky. He crawls over me and desperation claws at my chest. He’s over me and around me and fuck, I even want him inside me .

“Don’t think like that,” he says, his voice fierce. “You can have any alpha you want. I’ve only known you a short time but I’m already interested. I want to know everything about you. I want to crawl under your skin.” He leans down and runs his nose over my cheek, his mask tickling my skin.

Why does this feel so real?

“I’m obsessed with you,” he admits.

“You are?”

“Yeah. I can’t stop thinking about you. I watch you when you’re not looking. When I’m not with you, I swear I have your phantom scent in my nose.” His lips press against my cheek through his mask. “I want you so fucking much but I’m terrified of scaring you away before we even have a chance.”

My head swims and my entire body warms. His voice is so deep, washing over me as he makes his confession. His desperation is so fucking hot. I’m hard and wet and aching. He nuzzles at my neck and I whimper, wrapping my legs around his hips, wanting to feel his body press down against my own.

If I didn’t know this was a dream, I would think I was going into heat.

“What’s holding you back?”

And just like that, he’s gone. The alpha pulls away, sitting back on his heels. He stares at me and I can tell he wants me. So why the fuck is he over there instead of on top of me?

“I won’t do anything until you know the truth. The whole truth.”

“Then tell me,” I say, my voice higher than usual. I’m ready to beg if I need to. “Please. Tell me everything so I can have you.”

“I’m not sure it matters. You don’t even think I’m real.”

“None of this matters for that very reason! You’re not real so why the fuck are you holding back!”

I reach for him but he moves back even further. He shakes his head. “You might not think I’m real, but what if I told you I was. What if you know exactly who I am but you’re not letting yourself properly see, Avery?”

I open my mouth to respond but don’t find the right words. Is he right? Am I ignoring that familiar feeling because I don’t want to actually see who this man really is? Am I pretending he’s completely made up because that’s safer?

No, this is a dream ! There’s no way this is real.

So why is the figment of my own imagination fucking with me?

The world around me begins to flicker and fade. “Wait. No,” I blurt out, reaching for the alpha in front of me.

“It’s okay,” he says softly, smiling beneath his mask. “I’ll see you soon, Avery.”

One moment, I’m staring at my alpha and the next, I’m blinking myself awake. I remember falling asleep as close to the edge of the bed as possible, but apparently, I moved while I was asleep.

I wake up wrapped in warmth, strong arms wrapped around me from behind. Frost is pressed against my back, his breath warm against the back of my neck. I feel so safe, so warm. Not unlike how I felt in my dream moments ago.

I take a deep breath, sinking into Frost’s scent. It takes longer than I care to admit that the scent in my nose is the same scent from my dream. Was I sniffing Frost while asleep and that translated into my dream? Or was Frost the alpha I dreamed about?

No, that can’t be it. That would mean--

Frost stirs behind me. He tightens his arms around me before freezing. “Oh fuck,” he murmurs before pulling away, flipping himself around, and falling out of bed onto the floor.

I turn around, watching with amusement as he pops his head above the edge of the bed in order to look at me with a wince. “I’m sorry, Avery.”

“It’s okay,” I say softly, “I didn’t mind.”

“You didn’t?”

I shake my head. “Oh,” he breathes out. “Okay. I’m umm, I’m going to go jump in the shower. I have some more work to do today for Theo and Elias.” Before I can say anything else, Frost is running into the bathroom, leaving me in bed alone.