^^Wrote this chapter to this song^^

Warning: You know what that means (;

"There's always a wild side to an innocent face."

Chapter 26

River's POV

Lavender. Perfumed flowers. 

Red, pink, purple...

I sat beside a rose bush. Fingers brushing lightly against red petals.

So soft.

A slip of a hand, a mind wandering in multiple directions, I felt as my finger pricked briefly on a sharp thorn. A line of red fluid ran down my finger. I should have wiped it away, but I couldn't help but watch silently as the fluid ran a crimson race down my finger and past my wrist.

So beautiful like melted ruby.

Drip, drop, drip, drop.

Red drops landed on a nearby dandelion, painting the once white petals in a bright red. Innocence being violated in a passionate red.

"River?" A soft voice called.

I gasped, pulling my eyes from its morbid transfixion.

What was I doing?

"River?" This time closer, soft padding against green grass.

I pivoted my head slightly, taking in Isaiah's form approaching from behind a flowing fountain.

He smiled brightly as he bent to sit down only to gasp as his eyes landed on my bloody hand. I was tempted to hide it behind back, but that would be childish, not to mention suspicious.

He took my hand in his as he eyed it up and down.

"What did you do?!"

"I pricked my finger on a thorn," I tried to play nonchalance.

"Your finger?" He looked at my finger, eyeing the wound, "Why is your whole hand bloody if you merely pricked your finger?"

I found a fascination watching it drip down my hand.

I merely shrugged.

"Come," he stood up, lifting me up by my arm, "Michael should look at it and put a cleaning liquid on it."

"No," he raised a brow, "I-I mean, I don't want to bother Michael. It's not a big deal. I have some cleaning fluids in my room."

"Okay," he dropped my arm from his hold, "If you claim so."

"I-I'll see you around," I rushed out, climbing the stairs back to the entrance.

"Rive-"

"Izzy!" Derek's voice interrupted as he ran from the direction of the courtyard, eyes transfixed on Isaiah's form.

A 'tsk' was all I heard as I closed the door and made a bee-line towards Alastair and I's room.

I slammed the door behind me as I walked into the familiar white bathing room. I immediately began stripping, pulling my shirt over my head as I unbuttoned my pants and pulled them down my legs. I turned the faucet on the tub, watching as water began streaming from the lion's open mouth. I ran my fingers through the water as I stepped into the warming liquid. I watched as the blood from my finger washed off my skin and into the clear water.

Clear no longer.

I swept my finger through the swirling water, now spotted in red droplets.

'Blood'.

I gasped, pulling my fingers from the water. I grabbed the nearest container of soap, pouring the contents onto a sponge and furiously scraping at my skin.

I felt dirty.

By the time I had stepped from the water my skin was tinged a slight pink from all the scrubbing I had done. I wrapped a plush towel around my shaking form as my body trembled from the cold air whisking through the white room. As I turned, my eyes caught sight of myself in the mirror. It had been a while since I'd seen my own reflection. The insecurities rushing back as my eyes roamed my pasty complexion.

Skin far too pale to be healthy, hair far too light to be a color. The only thing that caught me off guard were my eyes. Blue. I had never seen my eyes so blue before. They usually shone a dull grey, far too sad to be considered a blue. But now, now they shone a bright blue almost the same color as the sky on a sunny day.

What had changed?

I felt a warm pair of arms wrap around my waist. Soft hair brushed against my cheek as a pair of bright hazels peered back at me through the mirror.

"Why did you bathe without me?" His heated breath whisked against my ear, leaving shivers down my spine, "We could have bathed together." He left a small kiss against my neck, eyes watching me through the mirror.

I felt a wave of flushed heat swarm across my face in a pink display.

"I love how you still blush so prettily for me," he smirked, eyes darkening as he took my lobe between his teeth and lightly bit down.

"Ah!" I gasped.

His fingers pressed against my hips as he turned me from the mirror, back against the stone table as his lips crashed against mine.

Tongue against tongue, lips against lips.

I couldn't tell whose moan was whose, whose gasps were whose as his tongue encircled mine. Pulling and tugging as his teeth had done time and time again. I gasped as my towel fell from my form, leaving me completely nude beneath Alastair's heated gaze.

"Beautiful," he breathed as his hands wandered up my hips, pressing against my hardened nipples.

"A-Alastair," I gasped.

He bent down, knees against the cold floor as he took a perked bud between his teeth. Biting and licking in a pleasurable display of pain. I hissed as he bit in a manner that drew blood. I should have been frightened, scared but all I could feel was an immense pleasure. My fingers curled in his hair pulling him from his pleasurable act and licking his lips, tasting the metallic taste in my mouth.

A purring sound resounded in my head.

More.

I bit his lip feeling him shiver beneath my fingertips. My hands roamed down his chest, feeling his muscles tense as I got further and further down, fingers brushing against covered waistline.

"Off," I breathed against his lips as I tugged at his pants.

It was almost unfair that he was still dressed as I stood completely naked beside him.

His eyes widened, "you've become quite forward. Huh, love?"

I felt my face heat up, "off," I repeated.

He laughed as he swept his open shirt off his shoulders as he unbuttoned his pants. Sexual tension filled the room as his eyes refused to move from mine, eyes dark with lust as his pants dropped to the floor with a thump. Hands on heated skin, lips on bruised lips, fingers like feather, little things, brushing oh so softly against my flushed skin. They made a heated path down my chest, past my hips bones, and wrapping around my pulsing member.

"Ah," I whimpered.

"Shh," he cooed against my ear as he took my lobe in his teeth once again, biting oh so gently.

Up, down, up, down. A rhythm as old as time, a melody that sent electric currents up my spine in a fit of pulsing pleasure.

His muscles moved like waves, pulsing and moving as his hand pumped me. His teeth made their way to my shoulder, teeth scraping oh so slowly against my shoulder blade.

I hissed as my head fell back. A thump rang through the room as my head collided with the stone surface behind me. Alastair's head shot up, pupils dilated. His hands wrapped around my head, cradling it as one would an expensive goblet.

"Are you okay, love? Where does it hurt?" His eyes searched mine as his fingers ran gentle circles against the back of my head, taking away the pulsing pain from the collision.

I brought my lips to his, brushing them lightly against his soft lips.

"I'm okay, love."

He pulled his lips from mine, eyes still searching mine, "you can't say that every time you get hurt. You have to tell me if it hurts. You can't play-"

I crashed my lips to his, ignoring his usual preaching.

I was used to pain, he didn't need to make a big deal of it. I'd been through worse. I'd rather something as small as pain didn't interrupt our passionate moment together.

When I pulled away his eyes were narrowed. He wasn't happy I had interrupted him. His mouth opened to speak but instead a moan escaped as my fingers brushed against his shaft.

"No, River. I can't, " he gasped.

His hands pushing against me gently. I ignored his pleas as I ran my tongue up his neck.

"My turn."

I don't know what came over me. How this rush of confidence hit me. It felt like it was something else, someone else. Something was pulsing through my veins. A rush of power, of dominance. Something that demanded control. Something that wanted nothing more than to hear this beautiful man scream their name. My name.

My hand ran up and down his wide girth, copying what he had done for me time and time again. I wasn't sure if I was doing it right, but from Alastair's groans and moans, I must have been doing something right.

I ran my nose up his neck, his scent was always the strongest there. Especially when he was in the heat of pleasure. The scent of exotic fruit and a masculine scent that I could only call his. It made me almost dizzy, knees buckling as he let out a hoarse grunt.

His fingers ran down my chest, wrapping around my member and pumping it along with me.

I gasped, white dots filling my vision as electricity ran up my spine in a pleasurable current.

"A-Alastair," I gasped, teeth racking up his neck.

He growled as his eyes flashed yellow.

His wolf. But was that really his wolf or spurts of emotions as he claimed?

I rubbed my thumb against his head, fingers pumping up and down. I felt a wetness against my fingers as he released, head falling to the side in a grunt, a sound that caused my own as I whimpered my release. His neck fully exposed itself as he breathed heavily. I felt my eyes dilated.

Something about his neck was causing my blood to boil, my skin to burn. My mouth felt tight. So tight. Something scraped against my lip as a wetness fell down the edge of my lip. I brought a hand to my lip, the other still wrapped around Alastair as he breathed heavily, chest rising and falling at a steady pace.

Blood.

My eyes widened.

Something sharp poked at the edge of my mouth. I ran a finger against it. I flinched, a shiver ran down my back as my finger came in contact with the sensitive part. It was connected to me. Ignoring the electric currents running through my mouth, I ran my finger lightly up it until I had my gums.

What...?

I pivoted my head slightly towards the mirror, eyes widening.

Canines.

By the edge of my mouth laid two elongated canines. Each pressing harshly against my lip, lines of blood running from the punctured wounds.

I gasped.

"Love?"

I covered my mouth.

Did he see...?

I watched him in the mirror and let out a sigh of relief as I saw his eyes on my head, behind me.

He hadn't seen my reflection in the mirror. He hadn't seen...them.

"Why are covering your mouth? Did you hurt yourself? Let me see," his hand reached for my mouth.

No.

I flinched away.

His eyes widened along with mine.

"I'm not going to hurt you, love," he cooed, "I just want to help, just help."

He thinks I'm going through another attack.

I didn't know what to do. Would it be considered lying if I went along with his misconception?

I shook my head as the back of my eyes stung with unfallen tears.

"River," his voice was so soft, hands so gentle as he brought me to his chest. My head rested in the crook of his neck as I wept silently.

It wasn't for the reason he thought. Yes, I was afraid, but not of another. Of myself.

What was happening to me?

His scent, his neck, it was making my head swim.

Stop. No more. Make it stop.

'Mine.'

My canines pulsed against his neck, brushing briefly against his neck before I pulled away with a gasp.

What was I about to do?

"Love?"

I couldn't look at him. I couldn't...

I felt my feet skid briefly against the floor as I ran. Ran away from him. I was about to hurt him. I felt it; the aching desire to sink my teeth into his subtle skin.

No. I can't. No.

I jumped into our bed, pulling the comforter above my head.

Perhaps I could suffocate the idea out of me.

I felt a presence beside me as a warm hand brushed lightly through my hair.

No. Go away. Go away.

My eyes squeezed closed as I curled into a ball.

"Love, I need to clean you. Please, love. You're still covered in our fluids."

My eyes widened, face heated up as I looked down at my form. Semen still present on my hands and stomach.

"Love?"

I lifted the blanket slightly, still covering my face but allowing access to my stomach. He smiled lightly as he brought a wet cloth to my stomach, wiping away evidence of our intimate moment in the bathing room.

"Hands?"

I lifted my hands, allowing him to wipe it away as I brought them back to the comforter to hold it to my face.

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. I watched as the strands fell through his fingers like black ink, resting against his exposed chest.

So beautiful.

He tried to run his fingers down my face but I turned my head away.

He couldn't see. No one could. If someone were to find out I was beginning to shift...

I felt tears well in my eyes.

It was treason.

Why? I had taken the shots like everyone else. Why was I shifting? What was wrong with me?

Fingers brushed through my hair causing tears to begin to fall down my face.

He was so kind. Even when I pushed him away, he treated me so gently.

"Talk to me, love."

I shook my head.

He sighed, "I can't help you if I don't know what the problem is."

Problem. Yes, surely this was a problem but not a problem he could fix.

He sighed again.

He was sighing a lot.

"I'm going to go get you some tea. Perhaps your throat hurts, which is why you're not speaking with me." Denial ran thick in his voice as he got up from the bed and walked towards the door.

I heard the door close with a thud as I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding.

What was happening to me?