Mated

Sleep Walker

Kieran's heart felt like it was going to burst out between his ribs it was beating so hard and fast as he walked inside. Every iota of his being was screaming for him to stay exactly where he was; out of pure arousal and the desire to keep others away from her. He just couldn't trust himself.

"Oh sweet Jesus," he exhaled when he entered the house. All he could smell was her. It made his head spin.

"Kieran, please!" Lyric pleaded as she trailed him inside. "Don't leave me alone!"

He spun on her, more harshly than he ever intended to, and backed her to the balcony doors. At first she shrank back from him, then he saw a sparkle in her eye and she stood up straight, puffing her chest out and holding his gaze. There she was. The true Alpha-she wolf that was pent up inside a meek girl. It thrilled him to see her act this way. But it also made his belief that he may do something he'd regret even stronger. Lyric's breath was coming in short spurts as she stared up at him, tears of anger and hurt welling in her gorgeous brown eyes, and she put her hands on her hips. The human equivalent of puffing up to appear bigger. Before he could stop himself, he pressed his mouth to hers and demanded a kiss. Two fists landed in his sides and he yanked back.

"What in the hell, Kieran?" she shouted.

"I fucking told you," he ground out. "Don't you get it? All I want is you. All I want is to mate you and I can't be here or else something will happen. Your wolf will come out to defend you or I'll do something that I won't be able to live with. I'm going."

He stormed away from her and grabbed the phone in the hall, calling the house. When Gram answered, he gave her a short terse rundown and said he needed to come home but Lyric would need to stay at Getaway Lake. Gram agreed and promised to hurry.

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Three nights later he woke with yet another start. He was covered in sweat and was somehow freezing. When his vision cleared enough for him to see, he noticed he was in the middle of the woods. Again. Since leaving Lyric, he had started sleep walking in the direction of Getaway Lake, but always managed to wake up a little less than halfway there. This time, however, he was on the other side of the lake. He could see a light burning in the kitchen window and against all better judgment, made his way for it. He was too cold to care. He opened the front door as quietly as he could and went down the hall in search of a blanket so he could sleep on the couch. He bumped into a warm body and heard a startled scream.

"Kieran!" Lyric shouted. Her teeth had elongated for a brief second and he saw the glint of her wolf in her terrified eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"You won't believe me," he muttered. His heart started racing as he caught her scent and he had to bite back on a groan. It was stronger than usual.

"Try me," she growled.

"I walked here in my sleep," he said, blushing. He knew it sounded foolish.

"In your sleep?" she asked, giving him an arched eyebrow.

"I used to sleep walk as a kid and even as a teen," he rushed to explain. "Usually only around the full moon when everything is amped up. I used to wake up in the most random places. My study, the garden, and once even in the food pantry. But it faded as I got older. I just started this again when I went back home."

"That doesn't make any sense," she said. "It's not a full moon."

"No, but my hormones are amped up because of your condition," he sighed. "I've woken every night in the woods since I left."

"So you're telling me that you walked here in your sleep?"

"I know it sounds far fetched, but yes. I did. Look, I'll call someone and have them come get me."

"No," she exhaled. "You don't need to go waking someone up at three in the morning. Just. . . Sleep on the couch and so help me god, if you try anything with me--."

He held up a hand to silence her, "Lyric, I won't. I swear to god, but I really don't think we should tempt anything by having me stay. I can call my mom or Gram."

"Let them sleep," she said. "I will prolly be up for a while now. Thanks to you scaring the holy hell out of me. Too amped up to go back to bed. I'll lock myself in the bedroom." He nodded and went to get his things for night on the pull out couch. He heard the door to the bedroom shut and lock and felt a strong knife of guilt drive into his belly.

He set himself up on the pull out and tried to go back to sleep but all he could think about was Lyric. She'd been in one of his old band T-shirts and panties and her smell had been thick enough in the air he could physically taste it. He growled under his breath as his erection came on full force and rolled to his side, trying to will it away. When that didn't work, he got up and stalked outside. He stripped down to nothing and dove into the lake without a second thought. He gasped as the frigid water enveloped him, and then sputtered as lake water filled his mouth, and yanked himself back onto the dock as fast as he could. While it was torture, it worked and his erection was no longer a problem. He dressed as best he could with a soaking wet body in the dark and went back inside to sleep on the couch.