I've been awake for hours unable to sleep, replaying last night's events over and over.

Sweetheart.

I feel tingles every time he called me sweetheart. Every time he looks at me is strange, it's strange how close I feel to him and I just met the man. He's a bit older than me but that doesn't bother me... does it bother him? Hmm, what does confuse me is how normal it feels being around him. Texting him was another risky move, he checks up on me, asks me about my day and if I'm eating enough.

Tom never did that.

My absolute asshole of an ex.

Tom doesn't even come close to Kane, not one bit.. his built, the power that radiates off him makes my knees go weak, I saw it as soon as he left Amanda's and Lucas's party, people noticed, I noticed.. he controlled the whole room but he didn't notice or care. When he left it was like the room could breathe again.

Were people scared of Kane? He is intimidating, sure! But it was different.. the vibe was strange and people were quiet around him.

Perhaps he's into some shady stuff? I'll ask Amanda about him.. I don't want to rush into things but I should at least know who I'm talking to and what his deal is.. and maybe why I can't stay away from him, even if I tried.

Sighing, I decide to get my ass up and go for a run, reminding myself I'll ask about him later.

Changing into my running clothes quickly, I head into the living room where Amanda sits with her newborn son Troy.

She hasn't noticed me yet. "Morning mama Mandy." I say suddenly to Amanda who jumps slightly.

"Mornin." She says with a groan. She looks exhausted. "Where you off to?" She asks smiling up tiredly at my attire.

"Just out for a run." I shrug. "Where's Lucas?" I ask

"Oh um.. he is with Kane working?"

I raise a brow amusingly. "Are you sure? That sounded like a question."

She smiles apologetically. "Sorry, I've been up a while, this little guy is finally settling down." She sighs hinting to her son, asleep in her arms.

Hmm. "Okay well, I'm heading out, I have my phone if you need anything." I smile towards them both and wave bye.

It's a beautiful day today. They're so blessed to be surrounded by so much nature, completely different from the busy streets of Paris, everything is so quiet and peaceful.

Running down the trail I notice a lot of houses, Lucas said something about having 4 thousand people living here.. how big is this place?

Hearing a large group of men's voices and.. barking? I stop running and look around. No one is out here and the voices stop.

Then I heard it. Growling.

Yep, no thank you. I turn around and run back the way I came. Are there dogs around here? Last night there were wolves...

My stomach twists in dread as I try to steady my heart rate, my fitness watch is beeping due to a high heart rate spike and I  take a quick stop to breathe, bending down to put my hands on my knees. 

Why is it suddenly getting warmer?

Making it to the road again I notice that the sounds have stopped and I take a sigh of relief. I'm definitely not going running in the woods again, the last thing I need to worry about is being eaten by a dog.. or worse a bloody huge wolf.

This makes me think of him Kane 'wolf man', the most mysterious yet obvious man, who I can't seem to figure out.

He is good-looking. No scratch that, he is possibly the most attractive man I've ever laid eyes on and yet he is surprisingly interested in me.. I mean he did kiss me. Which was another experience altogether. It felt as if my body was a firework and his lips were what set my body off.

I decide to walk into town and there are a few people walking around with their families. It's surprisingly amazing, there are so many stores and so much culture everywhere I look. I walk over to the fountain in the middle of the town and something catches my eye.

A statue of a huge wolf.

What an odd thing to do. I read the plaque and underneath it says.

First Alpha of Deepwater Pack

First Alpha?
I read again and that would make this wolf 200 years old when it died. This confuses me more, maybe someone has a sense of humor and decided to write that. But Deepwater.. that's what this community is called.

Why would they worship a wolf? I grab my phone and do a google search, curiosity eating my mind.

GOOGLE

SEARCH: Locus Black, Deepwater New Zealand, Queenstown

ENTER.
Results not found.

That's odd.

I sigh and decide to leave it for now, maybe I'll ask a local about it. For now, I set my sights on a building catching my attention, it's huge. A museum? I jog across the road and people are giving me weird side looks, some with curiosity. Do they not get visitors often? or perhaps I just look weird.

The stares are starting to make me nervous.

I was about to go inside when I hear my phone beeping in my back pocket, someone texted me. I notice who it is when I grab my phone and my heartbeat speeds up instantly seeing his name.

11:10 AM

Hey, are you free for lunch right now? -Kane

Am I free? I probably look a mess right now. A sweaty mess..

I reply back, my hands suddenly start sweating.

11:12 AM

Hello, I'm in town right now I just went for a run, I'm all sweaty 😳

I hit send and groan when I realize what I just said.. Did I have to tell him I'm all sweaty? He's not even near me and I manage to embarrass myself.

His reply comes instantly, making me jump.

11:13 AM

I'm in town too, where are you? -Kane

He's in town? I suddenly feel the need to hide behind this tree, which is exactly what I'm doing and I don't know why. My heart rate is skyrocketing and I'm nervous. Shit.

I reply back while glancing around nervously.

11:15 AM

I'm near the center of town, I was going to check out the museum

Hiding behind the tree I wait for his reply but minutes later and it doesn't come. Holy shit I'm nervous. Should I leave? I'm in my running gear, my hair is all over the place and-

"Hey, there you are." A deep voice startled me making me jump.

I turn around and my chest is beating so fast when I see him. How can he look so amazing wearing simple colors baffles me.

"H-hey!" I squeak out nervously, trying not to stare at him much.

Kill me now.

He's looking down at me, he looks a bit mad. Did I piss him off? I notice people glancing at us.. or more like me. I shift nervously under his deep stare.

"Were you hiding? He asks, his voice is hard.

I swallow the lump in my throat and try to play it off. "No.. n- I was just catching my breathe... from the run.."

He just nods and glances at my clothes and then his eyes meet mine and I swear I just saw his eyes flash like headlights. Yellow headlights.

"You shouldn't be walking around alone, Sora."

I look up at him confused. Was I not allowed to go out?

"I wasn't aware I wasn't allowed to go for a run." I say confidently to him. But inside I'm shaking.

His eyes harden and his frown deepens. He shakes his head. "I didn't mean it like that." He says as he runs his long rough large hand through his hair, frustrated. 

"Let me treat you to lunch." He asks but leaves no room for answers as he reaches for my hand and gently tugs me across the road.

"You know people usually wait for an answer instead of dragging them." I say quietly with a frown, which just makes his eyebrows raise amusingly.

We walk towards the statue and I decide to ask him about it. He owns this land, right? Surely he will know more about it than what I found out online.

I have an odd feeling about this, it's just too weird, this place is weird, but most importantly, Kane...

...I'm just going to ask him!

"Um, do you know who Locus is?" I ask him and he stops walking and stares at me, eyes slightly wider.

"Where did you hear that name?"

I point to the statue ten feet away from us and I see the panic on his face which is instantly replaced by his normal expression.

Okay, that's odd.

He squeezes my hand I can see he's trying to think of what to say and his eyebrows are now causing creases in his forehead. Is it a touchy subject?

"It's better if I show you." He whispers so quietly I barely heard him.

Show me?

"Show? What do you mean? I'm sure this Locus Black is dead long by now." I joke and he nods glancing at me then back at the statue with a frown.

"He was my great grandfather." He says with a hard voice. "He founded this... community, he was a great man... the wolf... my community its.. it's a symbol of our goddess. The Black family Crest is a wolf.. I was named after him." He says almost out of breath, his eyes burning into mine, slight panic swirling in his eyes.

I stare at him slightly shocked. He was a man and the wolf is just a symbol? Such rich history but I couldn't find anything online. It all makes a little more sense, his family is known here..

Kane Locus Black

He was named after this man. "He was my great grandfather" Kane said.

"Sora." Kane says and I jump, realizing that none of us are saying anything and the air is thick around us. Shit, I got lost in my thoughts and made it awkward.

He stands in front of me and he looks nervous. "I want to show you something, but I want you to keep an open mind... I.. I've never.." he pauses and clears his throat. "Please just keep an open mind?" He says and I nod. Suddenly I'm curious and SUPER nervous. He nods and takes my hand. We walk out of town and continue walking for a good 15 minutes more, both not saying anything.

As both aren't saying anything I follow him into the forest silently, it looks like he knows where he's going so perhaps I shouldn't be so nervous. If he was going to kill me he would've by now.. right?

We've now been walking in the forest for 15 minutes when the sound of a water stream is louder and finally upon reaching the gorgeous waterfall I heard a while back I notice Kane has let go of my hand and is taking a few steps back from me.

His eyes are watching me carefully and he looks nervous, but he still looks so lethal.

He starts undressing,  starting with his shirt and I turn so fast I couldn't see his facial expression anymore as he just looks at me.

I ask him nervously. "Kane.. um, what are you doing?"

"Please don't scream." Is all he says before I start hearing the breaking of twigs.. then it sounds like..

The breaking of bones..

I slowly turn to glance at where Kane was, suddenly so nervous I thought I was going to pass out or just throw up from the sounds coming from behind me.

That's when I see it, and I'm terrified.. I don't even notice the shaking in my legs anymore.

A wolf.

A huge giant wolf with yellow eyes and Jet black fur is standing where Kane was seconds ago undressing...

His clothes are still on the floor. Kane is gone and a wolf is staring at me with huge yellow eyes.

And then it hits me.

The statue, the name, the secrecy of this place.

Holy fucking shit.

Kane is a wolf.