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4: Running With Dark Dreams (Lucky's POV)

My eyes shot open right as teeth connected with my throat. I sat up, gripping my neck and covered in sweat. I looked around. It was pitch black in the room. I listened carefully. There was no one else’s breathing, no one else’s presence. It was just a dream.

I stood up and walked to the bathroom. I was three days closer to my 18th birthday, and with each passing night, the dreams were getting more intense. If this was the Moon Goddess trying to send me a message, I wasn’t being very receptive. The lack of sleep was making it difficult for me to complete my job and make sure I was covered completely.

It started shortly after Wyatt had attempted to give me his number. I felt like I was being tracked. And not the usual paranoia-I’m-on-the-run-and-in-hiding track that I usually felt. This was different. It was close. Like someone was nearby. It put me on edge, but didn’t feel dangerous. It wasn’t like the dreams.

Honestly, it felt like I was being stalked.

And that didn’t seem like a very wolf-like thing to do during the day in a human town. It was like my daily routine was ever-so-slightly interrupted or off-kilter, and there was a presence nearby every time something happened to make my neck hairs stand up.

That coupled with the far more threatening dreams and I was more on edge than ever before. I was double checking locks and finding shapes in shadows. Mike had commented on my paranoia. I had become disheveled and messy my last few shifts.

Normally, I’d feel thankful that I have Sundays off. This week, I didn’t have anything to preoccupy my mind which meant I could either sit and stare at a blank, dusty wall and drive myself insane or go out. It almost felt safer to make myself go insane and stay in with how I’d been feeling.

Since I didn’t have a normal Sunday routine though, maybe that feeling of someone being there wouldn’t be there? I glanced at the small clock on the wall in the bathroom. 4:30. I could go for a run. Based on that dream, I might be thankful for keeping up on my cardio sometime soon.

I groaned as I stretched slowly and left the bathroom. I pulled on some running shorts and a sports bra and matching tank top before pulling my hair up into a low ponytail. My headphones had broken a few weeks ago, so I’d be dealing with the sounds of nature– which shouldn’t be a problem.

As I headed out, I locked the door and shoved the key into my bra. I started at a steady pace and headed down the winding mountain pathway. It was safer to run through town than to do a forest trail at this time, so I angled myself toward main street. My feet found a rhythm that pounded loudly against the pavement and allowed my brain to wander. I’d called out to Reika, my wolf, in last night’s dream. Was that what the moon Goddess was trying to tell me? Did I need to find Reika before Thursday? Was I doomed to die if I didn’t–

“Fancy finding you here, Lucky,” a soft voice said.

I yelped and stopped, immediately clutching my chest as I swung to look at who had run up on me. Wyatt was standing there in some basketball shorts and tennis shoes. I looked at his toned and slightly hairy chest and abs and swallowed. Holy shit. This dude was a God. Of course he ran. He probably only exercised and never did anything other than drink coffee and run to have a body like that.

After a quick shake of my head, I turned to face forward and started running again, “Jesus, Wyatt. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

There was a chuckle as he started to keep pace with me easily, “Not at all. Usually I’m the only one out at this hour,” his smile was slightly lopsided as he looked at me, “Really, you scared me first. I was trying to figure out if there was a fire or a murderer on the loose.”

“Oh,” I struggled to keep my breath even with the pace I was going, “Well, I just couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d run.”

“A perfectly logical choice,” he yawned, “I’m guessing you don’t mind if I join you?”

I slowed my pace to a stop and looked around. The streetlights were still on, and the sun was nowhere in sight yet. The forest that lined the town was dark and looming. As much as I wish I could feel like the badass I once was, some company couldn’t possibly hurt at this hour. Could it?

As I opened my mouth to tell him it was fine, I stopped. Yes it could hurt. Why was I constantly having to remind myself I was on the run lately? Especially with this guy? I didn’t even know him. And what 17 year old girl runs with a guy like Wyatt alone at almost five in the morning?

Okay, that one was a stupid one. Every 17 year old girl would.

But I couldn’t risk putting him in danger, could I? It was one thing for me to be in danger, but a completely different thing if it was him. Even as a human, if he was caught by a wolf with a rogue – especially on the Alpha King’s territory– he’d most likely be killed alongside me.

I glanced around again. It didn’t seem like anyone else was here though. And I also wasn’t feeling that lingering presence. If Reika were here, she’d know what to do, I found myself thinking, *So what would Reika do?

A small shake of my head was all I could manage. She couldn’t be trusted. That’s why I was in this mess. Maybe I should do the opposite of what my wolf would have advised me then.

My eyes met Wyatt’s soft brown ones and I swallowed, “Yeah. Some company would be good, actually.”

He pulled something from his pocket and held it out, “Wanna listen with me?”

I looked at the AirPod in his hand and felt myself smiling. My hand wrapped around it and I gasped as there was a shock between us. He cocked his head to the side but still sported a happy face. I scratched my head and then inserted the earbud, “Thanks. Sorry about the shock.”

“Don’t be,” he furrowed his eyebrows, “Why don’t I set the pace since you’re trying to kill us both?”

A small laugh escaped from between my lips, “That would be good.”

Wyatt started to jog at a steady pace. His footsteps were surprisingly light for how large he was, and I nodded an approval for it before I could stop myself. His chuckle was low, “What on earth was that about, lovely?”

Another blush hit my cheeks, “Oh, nothing,” he shot me a look and I waved him off, “I was just admiring how graceful you seem. I’ve been such a clutz lately.”

“That might be because you go a million miles a minute,” he swept his hair back from his forehead as he continued the run down a hill, “You’d be amazed how less insulting and rushed you’d be if you just slowed down.”

I stopped dead in my tracks and cocked my head to the side, giving him a small glare, “You don’t even know me.”

“Which, if you think about it, is a little weird since I’ve come in to the place you work at least once a week for the last two years and you just recently got my name,” he sighed, starting up yet again, “Yet, you’ve been drooling over me the whole time.”

The flush was now a deep red– I could tell from the amount of heat I was feeling. I blinked slowly, drawing out the word, “No.”

Wyatt arched an eyebrow and reached over to his arm band, skipping the song that had started, “No?”

“No,” I stated firmly, starting to ease him into picking up the pace, “You seem pretty sure of yourself, ya know.”

“I am,” he tossed me a grin, “Just like I’m sure we’d like to get to know each other. It’s not one-sided, Lucky.”

My chin jutted down so I was watching the pavement as we continued. The sun was rising a bit, putting everything in a slightly purple haze. My heart was pounding, but this time it wasn’t from running. I kept telling myself that I was hiding out and had to stay alone, but there was one thing I kept forgetting to account for: I was a 17 year old girl. And a cute guy had just stated he wanted to get to know me. A cute guy that I had been drooling over for two years, as much as I wish he didn’t know that.

Maybe there was a way I could play this cool for both of us. Keep it casual enough I wouldn’t consider it a danger for both of us.

Wyatt led us to the left and I stated firmly, “Prove it then. I’m off today, and could use a new friend,” I was careful to emphasize the word, “I normally stop in and see Mike. Do you want to tag along?”

“See, you said 'friend' all weird and then practically asked me on a coffee date,” he shook his head, “I’m afraid you’ll have to be a bit more clear.”

“Not a date,” my voice was rushed so I couldn’t give myself time to reconsider, “Just hanging out.”

“Just hanging out,” he said softly, then grinned stopping at a stop sign, “Sure. I can do that,” Wyatt saluted me, “Meet up at eight?”

I barely managed a nod before booking it back up the hill, doing two things at once: needing to be alone with my thoughts and making sure I was thinking straight and dreading what I was going to find out. It wasn’t until I was standing outside the cafe that I realized I still had Wyatt’s AirPod in my ear– and that the feeling of eyes following me was back again.

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