You're Mine

13: Local Legends

"You aren't even going to believe me if I just tell you," he sighed deeply.

"Well of course I will. I told you I trust you, remember?" I assured him.

"No, this is different," he paused. "Here let's go somewhere I can show you," he said as he turned sharply in the opposite direction we were walking, pulling my hand so that I followed. He was walking back toward his truck.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I jumped into the passenger seat.

"The same place we went yesterday," he responded without taking his eyes off the road.

"Is it something with your family?" I asked. I couldn't figure out what else would have him so worked up, I hadn't seen this side of him before.

"Sort of," was all he said in response.

We sat quietly while he sped down the county road before pulling off into the secluded area and driving out into the woods. He stopped just before the trees parted to reveal the beach from our date yesterday. He came around to my side of the truck, opened my door, helped me out, and led me in front of the truck. He picked me up and placed me on the hood of the truck and I watched him as he returned to the drivers side and opened the door, blocking himself from my view except for his head.

"What are you doing?" I said with a laugh.

"Just trust me, okay? Promise me you won't be afraid?" he asked me as he pulled his shirt off.

"Seriously, Zander... what are you talking about?" I asked him nervously as I jumped off the hood of the truck and backed away slightly. He walked over to me, still shirtless, and my eyes naturally wandered across his body. He intimidated me in that moment. I had never seen his body like that before and my attraction to him intensified. He just seemed so anxious and I was afraid of what he might tell me.

"I would never do anything to hurt you, Rose. I just need you to know what I am. It's going to seem crazy if I explain it all before I show you, so I just want to show you," he said as he grabbed my waist and pulled me close to him. We were chest to chest now, but I still had to look up at him. My hands went to his stomach and traced over his chest and abs. He smiled at me and looked up at the sky in response to my touches. "Of course you would make me feel like this is in this moment," he said with a laugh. I smiled back at him but kept my hands where they were and he kept his arms secured around my waist. Suddenly I was comfortable around him as I saw his personality return despite his anticipation to share something with me. "You said you read a lot, right?" he asked seriously.

"Yes," I responded.

"Well have you ever read about the legends of our town?" he asked me.

"Sure, the mystical wolf pack town? I used to read about it all the time when I'd visit here in the summers. Doesn't the name of the town literally mean mystical, or something like that?" I asked.

"Yeah," he smiled briefly. "Well where do you think those legends came from?" He asked me.

"I don't know?" I laughed. "I assume folklore, ancient peoples, things like that," I told him. He glared back at me and then picked me up by the waist and set me back on the hood of the truck. He moved quicker than I'd ever seen back to his driver side before stripping his remaining clothes behind the coverage of the door and tossing them into his seat. Then he moved so quickly in front of the door that I could barely see the blur of his body before he transformed into a large wolf looking creature of my imagination. I gasped deeply and jumped down from the hood of the truck once again.

"Zander?" I sighed, hardly audible at all, but he looked into my eyes and I knew he understood me. I stepped closer and touched his face, he turned towards me ever so gently in delight. He was ginormous. My head almost reached his shoulder, but he lowered his head in submission to me and touched his face to mine.