Chapter 4 The meet

Keisha didn't sleep the rest of the night.

After the dream her body refused to settle. Even with her windows shut and lights on, she felt exposed, like eyes were watching her through the walls. She sat on her bed, arms wrapped around her knees, trying to block out the echo of the growl in her ears.

Damian's growl.

It had felt so real.

And yet... part of her hadn't wanted it to stop.

That was what scared her the most.

By morning, her muscles ached from tension, and her head throbbed from lack of sleep. But she still dragged herself into the kitchen, where Kristy was already pouring cereal into two bowls.

Kristy Baker, her best friend and roommate, looked up and frowned the second she saw her.

"Keish... you look like a ghost. Bad night?"

Keisha sank into the chair with a sigh. "The worst."

Kristy pushed a bowl toward her. "Let me guess. The wolf again?"

Keisha didn't respond right away. She picked up the spoon, stared at the floating cereal, and said softly, "It wasn't just a dream this time. I could feel his breath on my skin."

Kristy raised an eyebrow. "His? You mean Damian."

The name alone sent a shiver down Keisha's spine. Damian Grey. Tall, cold-eyed, quiet-but never far. Ever since they'd met a few days ago, he'd been everywhere she went. She'd caught him watching her from across the street, outside the coffee shop, even once near her college campus. Always silent. Always close.

And yet, no one else seemed to notice him. Like he wasn't entirely real.

"He's dangerous, Kristy," Keisha whispered. "But when I see him... I don't feel afraid. I feel like... he knows me."

Kristy leaned back, chewing her lip. "Okay, so what do we do? Report him? Get a restraining order?"

"No." Keisha shook her head. "That won't work on someone like him."

Kristy stared. "You sound like you think he's some kind of supernatural stalker."

Keisha didn't answer. Because honestly? She did think that.

She pushed the bowl away and stood. "I'm going to the woods."

Kristy blinked. "Alone?"

"I need answers. And if he's going to keep showing up, I'm done running."

The woods just outside town had always held a strange kind of peace for Keisha. As a child, before her parents died, they used to hike out there every Sunday. Her dad called it "the one place the city couldn't touch."

After they were gone, she avoided the trees for years.

But now, something about them called to her again. Especially since Damian appeared.

Keisha walked carefully down the winding trail. Tall trees lined both sides, sunlight breaking through the leaves in golden shards. Birds chirped somewhere far above. The deeper she went, the quieter the world became.

And then she felt it, like heat rising under her skin.

He was near.

"Damian," she said softly, almost like a question.

"I wondered when you'd come," came the voice behind her.

She turned fast. He was leaning against a tree, half-shadowed by leaves, arms crossed, eyes locked on her like she was the only thing in the world.

Even though he wasn't smiling, he didn't seem surprised. Or angry. He looked... hungry.

"You've been following me," Keisha said, standing her ground.

He stepped closer, slow and smooth, like a predator.

"I had to," he said. "You don't know what you are."

Keisha swallowed hard. "Then tell me."

Damian stopped just a foot away, his tall frame towering over her. His scent hit her again, woodsmoke, pine, something darker beneath. Her pulse stuttered.

"You're not like the others, Keisha," he said, voice low. "You were born with something powerful inside you. Your blood... it calls to creatures like me."

She flinched.

He held her gaze. "I'm a werewolf, Keisha. And you... you're something even rarer."

The words didn't shock her as much as they should've.

"I dreamed of you before we met," she admitted, voice shaking. "You touched me in the dream. And I... I wanted you to."

His jaw tightened, and something shifted in his eyes. "Because we're connected. You feel it, don't you?"

"I don't know what I feel."

"Yes, you do," he growled, stepping even closer.

Their faces were inches apart now. His breath brushed her cheek. His presence wrapped around her like heat. She couldn't look away.

"Tell me what you want," he whispered.

"I want answers," she said. "I want to know why you keep invading my dreams. Why does my blood feel like it's on fire every time you're near."

Damian's hand lifted slowly, carefully and hovered near her cheek. "Because you were made for something more. You just haven't remembered it yet."

"Remembered?"

He dropped his hand, jaw clenched. "Your blood is awakening. It will draw more than just me soon."

Keisha backed up a step. "More?"

His eyes darkened. "Others will come. And not all of them will want to protect you."

Back at the apartment, Kristy was pacing when Keisha walked through the door. She looked up with wide eyes.

"Are you okay? You were gone for hours!"

Keisha dropped onto the couch, still shaking. "I found him."

Kristy froze. "Damian?"

Keisha nodded.

Kristy came over and knelt in front of her. "Did he hurt you?"

"No. But he told me things. Crazy things. About my blood. About how I'm not just... human."

Kristy sat back slowly. "Okay. Well, that explains a lot, actually."

Keisha blinked. "You believe me?"

Kristy shrugged. "Girl, the way you've been glowing after nightmares? The way lights flicker when you cry? I've seen things. And now you've got some hot werewolf guy trying to possess you? Makes more sense than anything else."

Keisha let out a shaky laugh. "You think he's hot?"

Kristy grinned. "I'm not blind. But dangerous-hot. Like... bad decisions hot."

Keisha went quiet. "He said more are coming."

Kristy's smile faded. "Then we prepare."

That night, the wind howled harder than usual.

Keisha curled up in bed, holding a silver pendant she found in her late mother's jewelry box. It was warm to the touch. Like it remembered something she didn't.

She drifted to sleep eventually.

But her dreams were different this time.

In them, she wasn't running.

She was standing between two wolves.

One black as night, eyes glowing like gold, Damian.

And the other silver-furred, with eyes so pale they looked almost white. Elegant. Dangerous in a different way.

Lucien.

He didn't speak. But he looked at her like he'd known her long before Damian ever had.

When she woke, her mouth was dry, her heart confused.

Two names echoed in her mind.

Damian.

Lucien.

The pull was only beginning.