Chapter 5 Dangerous Embrace

"No! I don't want to go with you!" I screamed, bolting upright in bed. Silver moonlight poured through the bare windows, illuminating the unfamiliar shadows of my new bedroom. My silver-blonde hair clung to my sweat-dampened neck as I struggled to catch my breath.

"Mom! Mom! He's coming for me!" My voice cracked as I clutched the blanket against my chest. These nightmares had plagued me every other night since I started taking the medication. Mom always warned me that if I didn't take my pills on time, "he" would come for me. Was my wolf—this "seductress" inside me—trying to break free?

I buried my face in my pillow, whispering my mother's name between choked sobs. The shadows seemed to stretch toward me, closing in from all directions. This was why I never slept alone.

Three sharp knocks on my door made me freeze. The doorknob turned slowly, the door opening then quickly shutting. A male figure stood in my room. My heart hammered against my ribs—had the nightmare hunter found me?

"No! Please don't take me!" I pleaded, pressing myself against the headboard.

"I'm not here to take you anywhere," a familiar voice replied. "I promised your mother I'd look after you, didn't I?"

Lucas Blackwood stood at the foot of my bed, wearing nothing but black shorts. Moonlight traced the defined muscles of his bare chest and shoulders. The scent of motor oil and leather clung to him, reminding me of his passion for motorcycles.

"Nightmare?" he asked, moving closer.

I nodded, still trembling. "Stepbrother! I can't sleep alone."

He studied me for a moment, his gaze traveling from my face down to where the blanket covered my body. Something in his eyes made my skin tingle with an unfamiliar warmth.

"Lie down. I'll stay with you," he said casually, as if sharing a bed with his new stepsister was perfectly normal.

Goosebumps covered my arms as I remembered Mom's warnings. Don't let them touch you. Your wolf thirsts for nasty things.

"I said, lie down," he repeated, his voice deeper, commanding—pure Alpha. Something in my body responded instinctively to his tone, even as my mind screamed to refuse him.

I turned away and lay down, feeling the mattress dip as Lucas settled behind me. He adjusted the blanket over us both, the scent of leather and oil enveloping me. One arm slid beneath me while the other draped over my torso. His hand landed directly on my breast, and heat instantly flared through my body.

I froze, shocked into silence. My wolf stirred weakly against the medication, responding to his touch in ways I couldn't understand.

"You sleep with a bra on?" he complained, squeezing gently.

His fingers pressed against me, his Alpha scent filling the space between us. Embarrassment and an unfamiliar heat rushed through me. I jerked away, turning to face him.

Lucas stared at me with blue eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness, like a wolf's eyes catching moonlight. I suddenly realized that we weren't truly siblings—that was just what Mom wanted me to believe to control my "seductress" wolf.

"What?" he frowned, pretending he hadn't done anything inappropriate.

"You can't touch someone else's chest," I whispered.

"Why not? It's not like they'll explode if I touch them," he said dismissively, adjusting his arm. His blue eyes never left mine, creating a strange sensation in my body—like something was clicking into place between us.

"Besides, you've got such a small back with such large breasts. Try sleeping more comfortably at night without the bra," he suggested, his voice dropping an octave lower. My heart raced as he spoke directly into my eyes.

"Go on, I'm not staying up all night for you," he urged.

I felt compelled to obey—not just because I wanted to, but because his words carried an Alpha's power that was difficult to resist.

In the bathroom, I removed my bra under my sleep shirt, letting my silver-blonde hair cascade over my shoulders. I felt both lighter and more exposed. In the mirror, my blue-violet eyes seemed brighter somehow.

When I returned, Lucas lay motionless, as if nothing had happened. I crawled back into bed, turning my back to him. A strange warmth spread through my body. Part of me felt disappointed when he didn't reach for me again, then ashamed for having such thoughts.

Minutes later, his arms encircled me once more, his body unnaturally warm—a trait specific to werewolves. His palm grazed my nipple through the thin fabric, and my mind short-circuited. Electric currents shot through my body, making me shiver involuntarily, causing my breast to brush against his hand.

"Why are you moving around so much?" he asked, amusement lacing his voice.

His hand cupped my breast fully now. I cataloged every detail of the sensation—the warmth, the slight pressure, the way my wolf seemed to call out faintly beneath the medication.

"Sorry, I was just adjusting," I murmured.

"Don't wake me up again, or I'll leave," he warned, playfully squeezing my breast before pretending to fall asleep.

As I lay there, confused by my own reactions, I couldn't shake the feeling that something significant had just happened between us—something my mother had desperately tried to prevent. Despite all my anxiety about this strange situation, exhaustion finally took over.

Strangely enough, his powerful arms helped me sleep better than I expected. The warmth of his body chased away the nightmare that had haunted me, and I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

It wasn't until birds began chirping that I slowly awakened. Morning light flooded the room through the bare windows. Without curtains, the entire wall of glass exposed us to the dawn breaking over the forest. The emptiness of my new room was even more apparent in daylight.

I yawned softly, then froze as I realized Lucas's hand was no longer just resting on my chest. During the night, his grip had tightened, his palm now firmly cupping my breast. My breath caught in my throat. Worse still, I felt something hard pressed against my lower back, unmistakably male and disturbingly large.

"Oh my god," I whispered, my face burning. I didn't know how to unwrap myself from his embrace without waking him—or acknowledging what was happening.

Then the unthinkable happened.

"Ember! Why is this door locked?" My mother's voice came sharp and panicked from the hallway, the doorknob rattling violently. "Open this door right now!"