Chapter 10: Hypnotized by the voice of the forest

(POV: Lina)

I sense something warm, soft, and moist on my cheek. Then on my forehead, nose, and chin. When I sense this contact in my mouth, I open my eyes and the first thing I see are the beautiful green eyes of my wolf. My alpha. My mate!

"Good morning!" he says, holding my right hand and kissing its back, leaving me so entranced that I can't respond. "How do you feel?"

I look into his eyes and see genuine concern in them, but why? I'm fine! I slept ex well, I can't even remember the last time I felt this good about life. Still looking at him, I try to sit up in bed and feel a great discomfort from my waist down.

"Ah!" A pained groan escapes me, making him move closer and grip my shoulder. "Wow! Mentally, I'm great, but from my waist down, it hurts a bit." I look down.

"Normal," he holds my chin, making me look into his eyes. "We did a lot yesterday, and I imagine I may have been too rough for your first time."

"No! Yesterday was perfect, but I got carried away, and you saw how I reacted." I sense my cheeks burning like embers. "I think I enjoyed it so much that I went beyond my limit, for my first time, of course."

Nicollas smiles knowingly at my not-so-subtle comment, and I promptly return the smile.

"Now we are entirely bonded." He takes my right hand and kisses my wrist. "Now you are mine, and I am yours." He shows me his wrist.

I blink several times, and yes, I do see the first letter of my name written on his wrist. With that, I pull my wrist from his hand and see the first letter of Nicollas' name written there.

"So that's why my wrist felt a burning sensation yesterday?" I ask, still amazed as I look at his wrist.

"Yes," he says and steals a quick peck that makes my cheeks blush and a silly smile grace my lips. "Nothing and no one can separate us." He captures my lips in a calm, affectionate kiss that is in parallel hot, dominant, and very enjoyable.

As we break the kiss, I smell food, and my stomach grumbles.

"I made it for you to strengthen yourself for our next round," I sense embarrassed at the moment. "I'll never get tired of seeing you like this, blushing with flushed cheeks. You're perfect." He spoon-feeds me some soup. "Good girl." He winks at me.

"My hands don't hurt, I can eat by myself."

"Not now. I'm going to feed you." He puts another spoonful in my mouth. "After the meal, straight to the shower."

"Stop it, I'm not a little child." I pout, and Nicollas gives me a quick peck, making me want to bite his mouth as punishment. "This won't end like this!"

"I'm excited to experience your revenge." He smirks, mocking me. "I hope I won't get hurt too much."

"Wait and see."

We don't say anything more. As soon as I finish the soup prepared by Nicollas, he drags me to the bathroom, undresses me, and pushes me under the shower, turning it on. For a moment, I thought we were going to have something more "intimate," but it didn't happen, and I confess I felt disappointed. Nicollas solery gave me a bath; he didn't join me because he had already showered when he woke up.

With shampoo, he washes my hair, massaging my head. His fingers glide over my body, spreading the soap, leaving small shivers as evidence of his touch. When the shower ends, I wrap myself in a towel and we leave the bathroom. I head straight to the closet and dress in black jeans, a blood-red tank top, and black ankle boots. I comb my hair and leave it loose to air dry naturally.

When I finish getting ready, I return to the bedroom and find Nicollas struggling to tie his tie. Without saying a word, I approach him. I hold the tie in my hand and adjust it around the neck of my beautiful, delicious, wonderful partner.

"Thank you!" He gives me a quick peck on the lips.

"Where are you going dressed like that?"

"I'm going to the company to take care of some matters." He walks over to the mirror and fixes his hair. "I'll only be back for dinner." He informs me, turning towards me.

I walk towards him and grab him by the lapels of his jacket, bringing our faces close and looking into his eyes.

"You better not be a minute late."

"Are you threatening me?" He starts to speak, but I interrupt him with a chaste kiss on his mouth. Our tongues meet and battle each other until the damn lack of air leaves us breathless, ending the kiss.

"When you come back, I have a surprise for you," I say and release his lapels.

"I can't wait to come back."

He gives me another peck and leaves the room. I follow him and bid him farewell on the balcony with another kiss. Have I mentioned how much I love kissing? No? I'll say it now! I looove it, it's so good, and I also squeeze his ample and round butt, making him retaliate with a strong slap on mine. So delicious!

As soon as the car disappears from my field of vision, I hear, "Lina, come, enter the forest, come." I look towards the forest but see nothing. "I am here," I hear the voice again, calm and sweet to the ear. Once again, I try to see something within the forest, but my attempts are frustrating. "Enter the forest, come meet me, my Lina."

I don't know what happened, but it seems like this voice has enchanted me and put me in a trance-like state. I try to move a part of my body, but I can't. I try to speak, but no sound comes out of my mouth, and panic takes hold of me. I'm not trapped in a locked room; I'm trapped within myself, and that scares me too.

"Don't be like that, come meet me," the voice orders, and my legs gain a life of their own, moving towards the dark forest.

The forest is dark, which scares me because it's still morning. Even with shoes on, I feel that the ground is cold and damp. The scent of exotic plants and flowers that once filled the forest has been replaced by an unpleasant odor that irritates my nose. I smell garlic and sulfur mixed with rotten meat.

"Stay calm, my beautiful, nothing bad will happen to you," the voice speaks, and my fear increases. "Hurry up, we don't want to be interrupted, do we, my supreme?" It speaks sarcastically, its calm and sweet tone turning irritating and high-pitched.

My legs pick up speed, and now I'm running deeper into the even darker forest. This part of the forest I didn't know, and it's even more ominous.

The birds that I had never seen in person before, I now see, and I don't scream in horror only because I have no control over my body.

They are enormous, with four legs resembling those of a leopard. They are all black, and some are black and red, which are much larger. Instead of beaks, they have two mouths with sharp teeth.

"Don't be afraid, they are your friends." Now I hear a male voice.

In the distance, I catch sight of what appears to be an abandoned castle. A shiver runs down my spine, and once again, my legs increase their speed. As I get closer, everything around me becomes darker.