I stumble back until I bump into a tree. The wolf before me doesn't move, only watches me with emerald eyes. His fur is black; his ears tipped in white. This can't be happening. Shifters aren't real. I'm dreaming. That's what's going on. This is a dream. I've been reading too much.

The wolf yips and sits down. I have no clue what that means. If I'm going off the dream theory, then it won't hurt to approach the wolf, right? I'm not actually awake. You can’t get hurt in a dream.

Stepping forward hesitantly, I wait for the wolf to spring. He never does. I don't stop until I'm a few feet away. He's bigger up close. Much bigger than I would have thought a wolf would be.

The wolf tips his head back to peer up at me. His eyes change to a crystal blue. My breath catches in my throat. This can't be happening.

“Are you... Are you Orion?”

He drops his head down and back up as if to say yes. As quickly as they changed, his eyes go back to green.

“You're a wolf.”

He snorts as if to say, “Obviously.”

I spin and walk back toward the path we took. “This can't be real,” I say out loud, to no one in particular, since I'm alone with a wolf. “Shifters aren't real. They don't exist except in books, television, and movies. This is ridiculous.”

The wolf, or Orion if you will, darts in front of me to stop me from walking away.

“Okay, I honestly don't know if I'm awake or dreaming, so if you're in there, can you come back? I'm having a hard time processing this and think you're going to need to take me to the emergency room for some strong meds.”

Just like that, Rion is back in all his manly glory, fully clothed, and grinning like he did the first night I met him—like he won the lottery. I’m not smiling, however.

“What just happened?” I ask.

“I'm a wolf shifter.”

“Uh huh. And when did you slip me the drugs?”

“I didn't slip you anything. This is what I've been trying to tell you all week by having you read Lealla's series.”

“Yeah, I don't think so. I think I'm either having some sort of breakdown or I'm dreaming. I can't figure out which.”

Rion steps closer, his crystal blue eyes staring intently at me. Then they flash emerald green. I shake my head and they’re back to blue.

“The green you see in my eyes is my wolf. The color appears when he is rising to the surface. The blue is me in human form.”

“Let’s just assume I believe you. If you’re in wolf form, can I pet you like a dog?” Of all the things for me to ask, this is what I choose. It’s not logical by any sense. However, it’s what slips past my lips.

“While my wolf doesn't like being compared to a dog, he would let you do anything you wanted to him. He'd never hurt you.”

“Why is that?”

“You're my mate, Ariane.”

“That's it. I'm out.” I start down the path back to the car at a good clip, not caring that I trip repeatedly. I need to go to the hospital. This isn't normal. He said he didn’t slip me any drugs. Now I need a professional, too. The good kind that makes me happy and stops me from freaking out.

“Ari, would you stop?”

“Nope. You're taking me to the hospital. This has to be a mental break. I don't know how else to explain all of this.”

“I’m a shifter, and you’re my mate.”

I spin, stopping him in his tracks. “I asked one thing of you tonight, and that was to finally answer my questions. Instead, you tell me you're a wolf.” Tell me, show me, same difference.

“I only want you to know the truth.”

“I don't know what to believe.”

“How can I convince you?”

“You think I have the answer to that?” I start laughing uncontrollably. “I'm losing my mind, Rion! You expect me to find a way for you to convince me? How about you make me believe I'm not dreaming or losing my mind? How about that?”

He stares at me intently for a moment before cupping my cheeks in his hands and pressing his lips to mine. I freeze, forget to breathe, and all I do is feel. Feel the heat of Rion's body pressed to mine. Feel the strength he possess as my hands rest on his chest then slide down to his hips.

Turning his head slightly, he deepens the kiss. Our tongues meet and it's as if a thousand fireworks are going off behind my eyes. Sparks like I've never known are lighting up my body. The jolt I get when we touch is nothing compared to what this kiss feels like.

He growls deep in his throat as he nips at my bottom lip. Before I have a chance to pull him closer, he's breaking our kiss.

“Would I do that to you in a dream?”

“In my dream you'd probably do a lot more.”

He laughs and wraps his arms around me. Instinctively, I hold on to him, my hands fisting the shirt at his back, afraid at any second, he's going to disappear. Then I'm chanting in my head: Please don't be a dream. Please don't be a dream. As much as I thought I was dreaming before, the reality is, I want it to be real. Wolf or not, I never want this to end. The way I react to him is something of another world—something magical.

He rests his chin on top of my head. “I would never lie to you. I want you to know all of me. That means knowing my wolf, too. He and I are entwined. We're one.”

Pulling back, I glance up into those blue eyes I easily get lost in. “Show me again.”

“Are you sure? I don’t think I could handle it if you tried to walk away from me again. I meant it when I said you're my mate, Ari. For me, there will only ever be you.”

“I won't walk away. Promise.” Maybe this time, if I'm ready for it, I won't freak out as much. Maybe. In reality, there's no telling how I'll react.

Rion leads us back to the circle. He leaves me off to the side and stands in the middle, where the moon is shining down on him. “You can come up to my wolf if you like. He won’t hurt you. Introduce yourself. Talk to him. He's part of me.”

“Can you hear me in there?”

“I can. When the eyes of my wolf are green, he's in control. When they’re blue, that's me. I can take over at any time, though. We have a cohesive relationship. He doesn't rule me, and I don't rule him. Sometimes, the wolf can take people over who don't respect them. Then, you're dealing with a completely wild animal.”

“All right,” I say, rubbing my hands together. “Let's do this.”

In the blink of an eye, Rion is gone and his wolf remains. Whoa, buddy. This is still a lot to take in. I mean, he's a wolf—a big freaking wolf.

He lets out a yip and sits down. Cautiously, I step forward. Rion said he'd never hurt me, but that doesn't stop my trepidation at approaching a wild animal. Well, not completely wild.

Reaching my hand forward, palm up, I come a little closer, stopping about a foot from him. He leans toward me and sniffs my hand. Those eyes of his are green, letting me know the wolf is in charge. I remember reading about their eyes changing in the series. It’s all true, isn't it? All the books?

Rion, the wolf, stands and does a lazy circle around me, sniffing my legs as he goes. He nudges me with his nose. I decide to pet him, though, I'm not sure if he likes to be petted. Only one way to find out.

His ears twitch and move as I run my hand over the soft fur on his head. Standing, the top of his back comes up to my waist. I stroke down his back as he walks by.

“You're not so bad, are you?” He sneezes and shakes his head. “I'm not sure who I like more—the man or the wolf.” Orion's crystal blue eyes flash forward, making me laugh. “I knew that would get to you.”

We spend a bit of time together—the wolf and me. I sit on the ground; he curls his body around me and rests his head in my lap.

“Mates, huh?” I ask, not expecting an answer. I can talk to him easily like this. It’s probably because he can’t talk back. “I'm not quite sure what to do with that information. Or any of this, for that matter. It's going to take a while for this to sink in. I'm only eighteen.” That makes me pause and think back to something I read in the books. “Are you really nineteen, or are you like two hundred and fifty? I remember reading that you can live up to a thousand years. Maybe you like younger women.”

My phone vibrates in my pocket, startling me. Orion jumps to his feet as I do the same. “It's only my phone.”

I dig it out and see a text from Paige, asking how the date is going. Did she think I'd answer her while still on the date? She can wait. Checking the time, I still have two hours until I need to be home.

“Are you hungry? I could eat. Not you, the wolf, but the man. I think it's cool you're a wolf and all, but I don't want to see you hunting down a deer and ripping it to shreds in front of me.”

In a flash, Rion is standing before me as a human. All his clothes just as they were.

“Hey, why don't your clothes get shredded when you shift?”

“Shifter magic.”

“Thanks for your thorough explanation,” I respond dryly. I’m not sure I’m fine with all of this, but I’m more relaxed about it.

He chuckles. “All shifters have magic within them. It's what allows us to shift in a flash, to keep our clothes on when we turn from our animal back to human.”

“Is that why I get zapped every time we touch? Magic?”

“The magic, yes. But it has to do with you being my mate. I've never felt that with any other person—shifter or not. No one I've shaken hands with, or touched skin to skin, has given me shocks as you do.” Wait, who else is he touching with only his skin? White-hot jealousy flares to life inside of me. Jealousy I didn’t know existed within me. I push it aside. He said he’s never been in a relationship. I have to trust him.

“So, you only feel that current of electricity, or whatever it is, with your mate?” He nods. “Is that why you lit up at the party when you first touched my hand? You were so happy.”

“Wouldn't you be, if you were told your whole life there is only one woman out there for you, and when you meet her, you'll know for sure the second your skin touched?”

“I see your point.” I smile. “So, you've never been with anyone else? Never dated, slept with, nothing?”

“No. Other shifters like to party their way through women until they find their mate. That was never me. I kept going to school, learning, and once I graduated, Lealla asked if I was interested in working with her.”

“I'm going to need you to fill me in on Lealla and the role she plays in all of this. But not right now. I need food.” My stomach growls on cue.

“Me, too. Come, let's go back to the car.”

He leads us down the path to where he parked.

“Do your wolf senses work when you're not a wolf?”

“Yes.”

“That explains how you can maneuver on this path so easily. If not for you, I’d have face-planted four times by now. I can't see anything.” Too bad the trees are so dense; it would be nice if some of the moon’s light could cut through to light my path.

“It certainly comes in handy. My wolf’s night vision is far superior to mine.”

“You're really nineteen?”

“Yes,” he chuckles. “I'm certainly not two hundred and fifty.”

I smile. “You never know. I needed to verify. I've read how old those other wolves are.”

“Rest assured, little mouse, I'm only a year older than you.”