and baby, for you, I would fall from grace / just to touch your face

His hands worked like magic. My skin burned and sparks flew wherever he touched. He touched parts of me that no other living being had ever touched before. His silver eyes, which were holding mine, had that glimpse of possessiveness as he watched me slowly sinking into that sensual trance his touch never failed to render. "Tonight I'm yours," he said huskily. His lips were against the soft skin below my ear.

And I could feel his hand with long, lean brown fingers that knew how to be cruel if the moment presented itself slid underneath my t-shirt and moved their way up my back. With his skillful hand, he unhooked my bra. With his hands exploring my skin, caressing and squeezing, he whispered, "I need you," setting my core ablaze.

"I can tell," I sighed out pleasurably. He was very turned on. It was as clear as the sky above, and I sensed it in my lower abdomen. It had only been a few hours since we last had sex, but it felt like a long time for both of us. "Show me how much."

His response was swift. His mouth hungrily covered mine with an ambitious force that had my head thrown back while his arms crushed mine tightly to him. Full of life and desire, his mouth urgent now as it kissed and sucked and licked and tasted its way across my cheek and jaw while his hand moved lower again. One hand rested on my thigh while the other swiftly advanced towards my breast.

After all that had happened recently, this was precisely what I needed, what we both needed. A release. An epic release.

I was prepared to take off and throw away my t-shirt and undergarments when he suddenly made his way down my body, seemingly having a different plan. His lips kissed my stomach, then trailed down my lower abdomen as his hands unbuttoned, then pushed my jeans and panties down my thighs all the way to my ankles until they were dropped on the floor. He tilted his head and looked up at me as he leaned forward and kissed the inside of my thigh. "Put your foot on my shoulder," he said, and I quickly did what he asked. He planted another kiss on the other thigh and muttered against my sensitive skin, "I've been dreaming about doing this to you for weeks." He parted my flesh with hand and took me into his hot mouth.

His tongue slid across my slick flesh and he gave me the most incredible oral sex of my entire life. He clearly knew exactly what he was doing because whatever he did, it felt good. So good. His tongue explored, embraced, and kissed as if he had been deprived of water in a desert for a while, being hot and thirsty, and I was a river. He kept at it until the first wave of hot orgasm started shaking my entire body, sending shock from the top of my head to the top of my toes. I was so close, so close to a release. I closed my eyes and cried out his name in desperation, grasping for that climax that I'd longed for. "I need you, Ry! I'm so close!"

Darkness engulfed everything, and upon reopening my eyes, I found myself fixated on the empty, dark ceiling. I blinked a few times. My mind was foggy and my body was drenched in sweat. I briefly closed my eyes and let my other senses feel everything. My skin was taut — almost as if he'd truly been here and touching me, and I didn't have to slide my hand down my pants to know that I'd creamed myself. Gosh, all of that was over a dream. A fucking dream. Albeit a good one, it was still a dream, nonetheless. Not the real thing. "Where are you, Ry?" I muttered to no one as my grip on his blanket tightened.

It had only been two weeks since my mate, Ryker Cromwell — the Alpha of one of the strongest packs, The Ethereal, had rejected me as his mate and left his pack (and me) to his Beta, Dmitry Vashkov. I'd later found out that during the last battle with the neighboring pack, The Night Walkers, he'd been wounded by an ancient sword which caused him to be infected by 'Mad Wolf'. There exists a legendary disease that would render wolves insane, leading them to consume their mate's blood, devour their heart, and perish upon realization of the consequences.

I understood it was a frightening situation and he left to protect me, but I didn't appreciate his action. No, I was pissed off. How could he run away? Did he think I was incapable of handling his condition? That I wouldn't be able to protect myself from him? I was a freaking sorceress, for goodness' sake! I accomplished the unimaginable by restoring my best friend Eros's memory after he was cursed by the witch Adelina, and by using my mind-altering abilities to make people reveal the truth. I was able to confine his ex-girlfriend's conscience, allowing her wolf to assume control. So yes, I found his action to be condescending and cowardly. Rather than finding the cure together, he decided to flee. On top of that, he had a passionate night with me, only to leave me alone and discover his rejection through a piece of paper given to his Beta.

If I could find him, I would definitely give him a piece of my mind while holding him upside down in the air for all that he'd put me through. The last two months had been horrible. I'd been a pity case for all the people I knew, including his beta and my best friend. The North, our territory, was filled with people giving me sympathetic looks, emphasizing my role as the unwanted human mate that the Alpha had escaped from. It was humiliating and the only reason I hadn't turned them into frogs or pumpkins was because I didn't want to reveal my power. A few individuals who fought alongside me against the Night Walkers were aware, but they too kept it confidential. It was best not to draw attention, especially when our pack had no alpha.

Despite Ryker's request to have his beta as the new Alpha, Dmitry had declined and gone so far as not letting anyone call him Alpha Dmitry. He went by Beta Vashkov, even though he had assumed all of Ryker's responsibilities.

Taking a deep breath, I reopened my eyes and sat on the bed. With a mere flick of my hand, I summoned a ball of red smoke that took hold of the book on a nearby table and carried it to my lap. I flipped through the pages until I found one page that contained a little piece of information on Mad Wolf. The tip of my finger traced the outline of the sword picture as I read the same three paragraphs that I'd been reading for over five dozen times.

Without needing to look, I summoned another ball of smoke and brought the Book of the Damned from its secret place in the cupboard to the empty spot next to my right thigh. "How does one cure Mad Wolf?" I softly whispered while touching the book's spine, hoping it would open without its missing key, but it was just wishful thinking. The book remained immobile. Nothing happened. Everything was quiet and still for a moment.

Just a split moment before a knock from the door jolted me, causing my leg to kick the book off the bed and to the floor. The Book of the Damned momentarily flickered, and I could have sworn I glimpsed the front cover crack open just a fraction, restoring my hope.

°°°°°°°

It was a typical Friday, and I was working at the cafe like always. The day was rather slow and as I was cleaning the front window glass; I let my mind mull over what had happened for the last three months. To be fair, there had been tons of things. It was four months ago when I went to a wedding with my boyfriend, only to have the groom, Ryker, declare me his soulmate and the love of his life. Right at the exact spot where my boyfriend broke up with me, I came to know that there were creatures beyond humans inhabiting the Earth, with Ryker being one of them. Werewolves, witches, warlocks, and god knows what else truly existed and were hidden in the shadows. Furthermore, to take it to a higher level of shock, I realized that both my father and best friend were werewolves. My father was a rogue, kicked out of his pack after killing his mate, my mother. While my best friend, Eros, was actually sent by their alpha to monitor my dad's progress because he couldn't remember a damn thing the night my mother had been brutally murdered.

My eyes caught the sight of a man and his daughter crossing the street together. His hand was holding hers tightly. A tear pricked my eyes. My father had abandoned me two months ago, and two weeks ago, so had my mate. I knew Dmitry, Eros, and my friends kept on reassuring me that they were all here for me and that it wasn't my fault that two of my most important people in this world had left me but sometimes I couldn't help but wonder if they were wrong.

Before anything bad could occur, I swiftly extracted that thought from my head. The last time I'd been feeling upset, all the light bulbs in the entire house exploded. I couldn't risk any peculiar incident happening, especially in the Center. This was the humans' territory. Unbeknownst to them, the land was already divided into four regions. North was occupied by our pack, the Ethereal, South was Eros's pack, The Erebus's territory — used to be my dad's too. The Night Walkers owned the West while witches and other magical beings lived in the East.

"Xyrra, I'm quite positive that glass is pristine now," I heard a male voice from behind me and quickly turned around to face Lukas, my boss. "How about cleaning that table instead?" He indicated a table that had two cups and plates, but no one occupied the seats. "The couple left about half an hour ago," he explained. He narrowed his eyes, his forehead creased in a frown. "Is everything alright? Are you okay?"

No. "Yes." I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile and moved past him to the table he'd referred to earlier. "I'll get that table cleaned up right away."

Right after I finished cleaning that table, I went behind the counter and learned how to make latte art from the on-duty barista. Lukas let me learn in my free time since the cafe only had two baristas now and both were part time and had unreliable hours, especially during exams. On the other hand, I worked full day from morning till closing night on weekends despite being a part-timer. Once Lukas had offered me a permanent, full-time position, in which I politely declined.

"Xy," I heard another male voice calling me, and without even looking, I knew that it was Eros Adler, my best friend.

And without him even asking, I already said, "I'm fine, Er. You don't need to check up on me every day."

Lukas, who was standing behind the register, said, "Long black with no sugar, right?" Eros had indeed been coming here so often that my boss knew his order.

Eros gave him a small nod of confirmation and Lukas's eyes were once again on me. "You could join him, Xy, it's close to your break, anyway."

It was still an hour before my actual break. Clearly, my smile wasn't that convincing if my boss was still worried. I wanted to tell him that I was good but seeing the obvious concern in his eyes, I knew I wouldn't hear the end of this if I didn't sit with Eros so I nodded and muttered a small thanks before following Eros to the far end table by the window.

I placed Eros's drink on the table in front of him, then sat opposite of him. "Seriously, Er, I'm fine."

"It's only been two weeks since—" He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't have to.

I took a sharp breath and said for the hundredth time, "Still, you don't need to babysit me."

"I'm not," he denied. "I just come for my daily dose of caffeine."

I rolled my eyes, not convinced by his reasoning at all. "Yeah, right! And you have to get it all the way here at District 8 and not from a nearby coffee shop around your area?"

"The coffee around my place tastes bad. Lukas got some good beans," he insisted.

I was still not convinced at all. I appreciated my friends' concerns and being all caring, but they could be too much sometimes. Visiting me at work every single day was on the list of being too much.

"Xy," said Eros after taking a sip of his black coffee, "I've been thinking. You know, even though it was impossible at that time but you managed to cure me. You actually brought me back so I think you can fix Ryker too."

"It's a different thing, Er." I swallowed a big lump in my throat. I wasn't making excuses. I'd read about the Mad Wolf disease and asked around. There wasn't much one could do. Not even a powerful sorceress could fix it, and I'd only been a sorceress for a month. "You were hexed by a witch and that witch told me how to fix you. Ryker was struck by an ancient sword and there is no way I could go knocking on the West and ask one of the Night Walkers to tell me how to cure him. They hate my guts."

"They hate your father for killing their alpha once upon a time," corrected Eros. "Not you."

"Fine, but did they go after him? No, they went after me. Me. Didn't you hear what they said after they struck him?" I could feel my breathing getting heavier and my chest hurting but I didn't pay any heed. "Fleur Ashcroft, now you know how it feels to lose the one you love."

We stayed silent for a few minutes, both were on our own thoughts. I knew that Eros could no longer argue with me once I'd laid all the facts on the table.

"I will find him for you, Xy," he vowed all of a sudden. His blue-green eyes were holding mine. Eros had a central Heterochromia. It was a condition that caused his eyes to have two colors: light blue and deep green. The one around his iris was light blue, just like the morning sky in the summer, while the rest was deep, moss green, like the dampened grass after the rain. His eyes were beautiful and made me jealous sometimes. "Once I have my hands on that bastard, I will bring him home so you could try to do some magic on him. I am sure it would work. It worked on mine," he still insisted.

In the end, I thanked him, and shortly after, he left. Time passed quicker when one was not paying attention and before I realized it, it was already nine in the evening. After clocking out, I bid my goodbye to Lukas, then walked out of the back door. There was a small alley there where I parked my motorcycle whenever I worked in order to avoid paying the parking fee. My boss was okay with it, too.

I was approaching my bike when I heard the storm and looked up at the sky. "Shite!" I cursed under my breath. Here was not London, but Great Britain's sky still loved a little thunder and rainstorm. I ducked my head and raced towards where I'd parked but before I managed to reach there, I heard a loud bang as if something was hitting a metal surface and the next thing I knew a big, strong arm grabbed me around the waist, turning me around, and in a matter of seconds, warm, hungry lips clashed with mine in a passionate but punishing kiss. I fought like a madwoman, kicking and throwing my fists, for two seconds before realization kicked in and I twirled my wrist, ready to summon some magic, and kicked my assailant's arse. Yet something stopped me and I stayed perfectly still. Only for a split second before my body swayed and I found myself kissing him back because I knew exactly whose lips were pressed against mine, whose tongue was caressing the inner, most sensitive part of my mouth.

Ryker.

No, not just him. There was Khrysaor, his wolf, in this kiss too. Ryker was a sweet, passionate lover, but there was something dominant, rough about this kiss, something that was more in Khrysaor's nature than Ryker's.

My back was pushed against the side of the building. He had one hand on my thigh while the other was on my waist, keeping me upright as if he knew that I would melt into a puddle without his hold. The hand that was softly caressing and squeezing my thigh surely belonged to Ryker, but the other one, roughly fondling my breast and pinching my nipple, was without a doubt belonged to Khrysaor.

Just when I thought we would be getting down and dirty in the alley with the rain pouring on our hot, sweaty bodies and the thunder muting our scream of passion, he detached himself away from me. For a split moment, before he bolted out of the alley at lightning speed, I caught sight of his eyes flickering from silver to black to silver as if both Ryker and Khrysaor were fighting over control. I didn't see his face. I didn't even have a chance to see him properly, but I knew that it was him. I could feel it in his kiss, his touch, and in his presence. I also knew that not a damn soul would believe about this rather odd encounter and that I had to live with a possibility that I could be mad and this all was nothing but my own hallucination. After all, it wouldn't be the first time in the last two weeks that I'd imagined him being with me, feeling things that weren't present.

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Dear Readers, who do you think it was? Was it truly Ryker Cromwell? Minds can do some tricks to the eye (;

P.S. for those who are asking whether Season II will be "free" or "paid", for now, to avoid being "stolen", some parts of Season I will have "Paywall" (meaning it will be a Paid Chapter). For each time I update a chapter, one old chapter will be a Paid chapter. HOWEVER, if you're reading this as I update, you won't have to pay a dime because all new chapters won't be Paid Chapters immediately <3