Wolf under an oak tree.

“That was the best kiss that I have had in my life,” he said, and I was standing there shell-shocked. Did he just kiss me and on top of that, he is grinning at me. I don't know why but the moment our lips connected, all I felt was guilt and disgust.

“Walter! How dare...” I didn't get to finish my sentence because just then we heard a lot of rustling from the nearby bushes and I saw that all the animals that were nearby scrambled deeper into the forest.

Why did they run?

“Oh shit!” I heard Walter mumble, and I can hear the fear clear as day in his voice, and when I was about to ask him what was happening, Sparkle sprinted from the forest and pounced on Walter. Everything after that felt like it happened in slow motion, and I thought maybe I was just dreaming and any moment now I would just wake up.

“Sparkle! Get off from Walter!” yelled at him.

What has happened to you, Iris? Have you completely lost your brain? How will an animal listen to you?

But the events that followed after that made me go into shock. When Sparkle was about to bite Walter’s neck, I heard a gruesome sound of bones breaking and clothes shredding and now there was a huge brown wolf under Sparkle.

“Oh my God!” I whispered, looking at the scene in front of me. Two enormous wolves were fighting, and both of them didn't even care about who is looking. Sparkle was trying to bite the brown wolf’s neck, and I can already see that he was bleeding profusely in several places, and he had a limp on his hedge leg, he was doing a great job at dodging his attack, but I don't think he can keep going like this. And I didn't know what came over me, I quickly ran towards a dead branch that was a few feet next to me. And I took the branch in my hand, and with one swing I threw it towards the wolves. The branch flew, and it hit Sparkle which made him stumble backward, and he looked at me.

“Please stop fighting, Sparkle. Please.” I begged, my voice barely audible, tears streaming down my cheeks, I felt my knees weaken, and before I knew it, I hit the ground hard, scraping my knees and hand on the gravel. Black spots were obstructing my vision, but I fought the dizziness away.

When I looked up, I heard the gruesome breaking of bones and in Sparkle's place stood a very naked Jace?

“Iris, are you alright?” Jace’s voice was laced with worry and pain while he sat on the ground next to me and he gently pulled my face towards him, instantly sparks flew, and a yearning to be near him arose within me, the same feeling that I felt with Sparkle and that is when I saw the color of his eyes rapidly changing from liquid gold to deep chocolate brown.

How stupid am I? I did notice this color change even before, but how didn't I figure out that it was Jace and Sparkle?

“Don't touch me.” my feeble attempts to move away from him were useless, and moreover he didn't care that I was pushing him away. And from the corner of my eyes, I saw that the brown wolf was also now shifting, and in its place stood, Walter.

“What are you?” I mumbled, and that was the last thing that I said before I welcomed the darkness that was slowly surrounding me.

Jace Emerson.

“Don't touch me,” Iris mumbled, trying to push me away, but I ignored her attempts and brought her closer to me.

“What happened to mate?” Sean whined in my head, and I can clearly feel his distress too because I was feeling exactly that or even more.

“What are you?” she mumbled, and that was the last thing that she said before her eyes slowly closed and her breathing evened out.

How did I end up in this shit right now?

“It's all because of that, Walter. Let's go and finish him.” Sean snarled, but I blocked him from my mind and turned my entire concentration towards Iris. And the only thing that was running through my head was how on earth am I going to explain this messed-up situation to her.

“Alpha, I am so sorry, I didn't know Iris was your mate,” Walter mumbled from behind me, and I sigh, knowing that it was not his mistake either because I was the one who told him to go find a human to date.

“That’s alright, Walter, but remember I have not completely forgiven you for kissing my mate like that. You should have known better to kiss a girl without her consent.” I warned him, and he bowed his head and bared his neck to me. “I guess we might have to take her to the pack doctor immediately,” I said, and Walter nodded to him, and I heard his retreating footsteps. After I was sure that I can no longer sense him near, I gently carried Iris in my arms and made my way down the hill towards the car that Walter was waiting with. I quickly opened the back door and gently placed Iris on the seat before getting into the passenger seat.

The ride back to the packhouse felt like hours, with the thick tension in the air and various thoughts circulating in my head. And for each passing minute, I felt my anxiety grow. When we finally reached the packhouse, I saw Mike pacing back and forth and occasionally looking at his wrist.

“Oh thank God you are here I...” Mike stopped his rant midway when he noticed that Walter and I were only in a pair of boxers. I ignored him and made my way to the back door, carried Iris in my arms, and made my way back into the house with Walter and Mike hot in my trail.

“Hey, is that Iris?” Mike asked, and I ignored him again and made my way to my bedroom, simultaneously mind linking the pack doctor to come to my room as soon as possible.

“What is she doing here?” while Mike was throwing random questions my way, I focused my entire attention on my lovely mate, who is in a blissful oblivious.