Chapter 3: Kiss A Stranger
1624 Words
By evening, Pearl City was alive.
Music filled the streets, people crowded the taverns, and fireworks exploded above the Pearl Palace. I stared at them in wonder. To celebrate the festive season, I quickly dragged him toward a small pub I’d discovered earlier. I hadn’t told him it was my first time inside one and wanted to look like I knew what I was doing. We sat down. He stared suspiciously at his plate.
I frowned.
“Why are you picking at your food?”
He looked at me.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
I tore into a turkey leg.
“Only nobles do that.” I added, with a mouth full. He laughed awkwardly.
“Well, when you’re noble enough to make your servants eat like nobles, I suppose it’s a habit.”
I stopped chewing.
“So you work for a royal family?”
“Yes.”
“Which one?”
He smiled.
“I’d rather not say.”
“Fair enough.”
He looked at my turkey leg.
Then sighed.
“Fine. I’ll try it.” He said.
I grinned.
“Good.”
We ordered two beers, then three, then four. Somewhere between them, we stopped talking like strangers. We talked about childhood, things we’d lost or never had, favorite foods, dreams we had never told anyone. Neither of us gave the other enough information to truly know who we were. Yet somehow, it felt like we had known each other forever. Eventually, he leaned back and studied me.
“Have you done this before?”
“Done what?”
“Drink.”
I froze.
I had never tasted beer in my life. But there was no way I was telling him that.
“Yes.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“Many times.”
He laughed.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Why?”
He pointed at me.
“That’s your second bottle.”
I blinked.
“And?”
“Your eyes are already giving you away.”
I touched my face.
“What’s wrong with my eyes?”
He grinned.
“You’re drunk.”
“I am not.”
“You are.”
“I can handle it.”
“Prove it.”
I immediately lifted my chin.
“Fine.”
I pointed toward the bartender.
“Another bottle.”
His eyebrows shot up.
“You’re serious?”
I smiled.
“Absolutely.”
I had no idea what I was doing. But there was no way I was letting this ridiculously handsome stranger know that.
“Bring two.”
————————————————————-
I could only manage one more bottle. After that, the room began to sway. I was tipsy—more than tipsy, probably—and somehow, all the confidence I never had at home had suddenly appeared. I looked toward the window.
“Oh, look at the time.”
I squinted at the sky.
“It’s… it’s really late. I have to go.”
I stood.
Immediately, the floor moved. Or perhaps I did. I stumbled backward into the chair, but he caught me before I fell.
“Easy, tiger.”
His voice dropped into that low growl again.
“You’ve had enough for tonight.”
I looked up at him.His face was much too close.
My cheeks warmed.
“And I’m not letting you go anywhere.”
I stared at him for a moment.
Then smiled.
“Well…”
I poked his chest.
“There’s no way I’m spending the night with an incredibly good-looking man like you.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“I can’t say what I’ll do.”
He laughed.
“This girl…”
He shook his head.
“You are trouble.”
I smiled.
He steadied me.
“But I won’t hurt you.”
His golden eyes held mine.
“I promise.”
His voice softened.
“I just want to keep you safe.”
——————————————————————-
The room was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. It sat high above the city, in a tall building overlooking the ocean. Arched windows opened toward the night, and the curtains moved gently with the sea breeze. I couldn’t remember much about it afterward, maybe it was the alcohol or simply because I had never experienced anything like it. But I remembered the ocean, the wind—and I remembered him. I rushed toward the balcony, laughing.
“Careful.” He said, his arms caught me before I could get too close to the edge. I turned toward him, frowning.
“Are you sure you’re not some secret noble?” He laughed.
“How can you afford a place like this?”
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.
“Do you steal from your master?”
His lips curved into a grin.
“You’re cute.” He said as he steadied me.
“My master is a very generous man.”
“Hmm.” I wasn’t convinced. I turned back toward the ocean. For a moment, I simply stood there, city glittered beneath us, waves stretched endlessly into the darkness. I had never felt so free.
“I’ve never felt like this before,” I whispered. He looked at me.
“Like what?”
“Free.”
I swallowed.
“I feel more like a prisoner with my own family.” His expression changed. He looked out toward the ocean.
“I strangely feel the same way.”
I turned toward him. Our eyes met, neither of us spoke. Somehow, we had moved closer. Close enough that I could feel his warmth. He looked at my lips and he drew closer, our lips almost touching, then he suddenly stepped back. I frowned.
“Why did you stop?”
He looked away.
“Because…I should.”
I stared at him. Tonight, I didn’t want to think about what I should or shouldn’t do. For once, I wanted to make my own choice…so I stepped closer.
“Maybe I don’t want you to.”
His eyes returned to mine.
And for the first time that night, neither of us looked away, then he kissed me.
I froze for half a heartbeat before kissing him back. His arms tightened around me, lifting me effortlessly from the floor. For a moment, his eyes flashed an unnatural, brilliant gold, and he was unusually strong. I should have been frightened. Instead, I found myself staring at him, completely captivated.
It was my first kiss. My first time being this close to anyone. And somehow, it felt right.He carried me to the bed and paused, looking at me as though he was trying to understand how someone like me could possibly exist.
“How can a man be this fortunate?” he murmured, his voice carrying that strange growl again.
I smiled.
“I can’t wait much longer.”
I pulled him closer.
“I don’t understand this feeling but I know it has to do with you.” I whispered to him.
He kissed me again, then he used his right hand to cup my breast, while he touched me underneath. The pleasure I felt was unexplainable. I let out a quiet moan, which excited him.
“I’ll be gentle, I promise.” He whispered to me. Talking through it while he slid himself in. The feeling was new, bitter sweet, painful yet so pleasurable that I couldn’t help but scream. His lips curved.
“You’re so beautiful.” He said to me as he went in and out. Our breaths, sweat intermingling with the air in the room. It was filled with steady moaning and the sound of the waves from the sea.
Suddenly I forgot everything. The city, family, the life waiting for me at home. For one night, none of it mattered.
We lost ourselves in each other until exhaustion finally claimed us.
——————————————————————-
Much later, I lay beside him, barely awake, listening to the sound of his breathing.
Then—a noise woke me. A low, agonizing growl. I opened my eyes and he was sitting upright and his entire body was trembling.
“What…”
Before I could finish, his bones began to shift. I scrambled backward. His hands became claws and his eyes burned like molten gold. A terrifying wolf emerged from beneath his skin, thrashing violently against the bed.
“No!”
He roared, his claws tearing through the sheets. Something struck the table, sending a burst of sparks across the room. I was terrified. Every instinct screamed at me to run, but then I saw his eyes. There was so much pain in them. He wasn’t attacking me, he was fighting something inside himself. I don’t know why I moved closer or why I even dared to reach out for him. I only knew that something inside me was telling me to touch him.
My fingers brushed his fur. And suddenly—
light exploded from my hand, deep violet.
It spread across his body like flowing water. Then he started morphing back to human, and his growl disappeared. The light in my hands sank into him, his body shifted again. Then he collapsed onto the bed, he Human again, and very alive.
I stared at my hands.They were still glowing faintly.He stared at me, neither of us spoke. His golden eyes widened, still disoriented.
“What…”
His voice was barely a whisper.
“What…did you just do?”
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