Daisy was confused when Cyrus left the cabin at bedtime, leaving her alone in the big feather bed by herself.

She had been positive that they would take their relationship to the next level tonight, but after several passionate kisses, Cyrus had backed away. Daisy couldn't understand why he was reluctant to move forward. She knew she was his mate and she was ready to assume that role.

He didn't come back to the cabin before she fell asleep. She found him cooking over the stove the next morning. A makeshift bed roll spread on the floor near the fire.

"I'm reheating our dinner from last night for breakfast," he said. "Any objections?"

"That's fine," Daisy said, confused.

She didn't understand why he was being this way. She thought that they had connected the night before. The last thing Daisy had expected to find out on this cold mountain was her mate, but now that she had Cyrus, her life had taken on new meaning. She didn't want to lose that.

"I'm going to go hunting again today," he said, as he stirred the stew on the pot over the stove.

"Okay," she said. "What should I do all day?"

"You can do whatever you'd like. But we should be getting you down the mountain soon. The snow from yesterday is melting off. It should be easier to get you back down tomorrow. It doesn't look like any more snow is coming."

"You want me to leave?" she asked.

"Daisy, you need to go back to civilization. You need to live like a normal girl your age."

"Fine, Cyrus," she sighed.

Cyrus dished up two bowls and sat them on the table. Daisy joined him and ate her meal, worried what would happen next. Daisy had no idea how she could possibly convince him to leave and return to civilization with her. Cyrus was a stubborn man and Daisy didn't feel like she had the power to convince him of anything.

"I'll be back in a few hours," he said, standing from the table when he was done. He took the empty bowls and placed them on the counter, saying he'd wash them when he returned.

Daisy watched Cyrus leave the cabin and gazed out the window as he removed his clothes in the snowy front yard. The site of his bare back sent a thrill of desire through her and she wished he would come back to the cabin and finish with they’d started the night before. Instead, he jumped into his grizzly form and barreled off into the forest. Daisy groaned and rolled her eyes, feeling like she had a problem without any solutions.

She stood from the table and walked around the small cabin. Across from the cooking stove and work bench was a bookshelf lined with books.

Shifted –A treatise on the effects of ‘coming out’ on shifter society

The Great Council Deception

Human Fraud– The great war and the shifter draft

Daisy bit her lip, not sure what to think of any of these books. She hoped to find a romance or at least a thriller like you might buy at the airport. Anything to help pass the time while she waited for Cyrus to come back to his cabin. These books were boring and political. She ran her finger over the spines. She pulled the book out of the bookshelf and opened it. It was the one called The Great Council Deception. The Great Council was the shifter leadership that had decided to come out to humans.

She started to read, growing more bored with each word. Finally, she rolled her eyes and slammed the book closed. She couldn't take anymore. Cyrus needed to get his act together and stop making excuses for his behavior. If you wanted something out of life, you had to go out and get it. She learned that lesson recently. She vowed to herself that when she got back to town, she would finally start college and get her own life on track.

She hooked on Fifi’s leash and walked outside to take her little dog to use the bathroom. She walked Fifi around the snowy front yard of Cyrus’s cabin. Fifi finally did her business even though the snow was cold on her tiny paws.

"Is that better?" she asked the dog when they returned inside.

Fifi’s tongue lolled and licked Daisy’s face as she held her close. Daisy put the dog on the floor and went outside to inspect something she has seen before. Under the eaves of Cyrus's cabin, she found a rather large aluminum bucket that could be used for a bathtub.

Daisy hadn't had a bath since the morning she'd been kidnapped. She would have given anything to wash the dirt and grime from her hair. She pulled the empty bucket into the cabin and began to wipe it out. She would need to boil the water on the stove to get it hot enough for a decent bath, but she was willing to do that just to feel the warm liquid on her skin.

She filled as many pots as she could find with water and placed them on top of Cyrus's cook stove and fireplace. Then she stoked up the fires and waited for the water to boil. It took over an hour to get the tub filled with hot water.

When it was finally done, she stripped out of her clothes. She stepped into the bathtub with a sigh. She scrubbed her skin with soap and used it on her hair before rinsing it off. It felt so good to be clean that she didn't notice the door creak open behind her. Cyrus stepped above her and cleared his throat, holding a rabbit in each hand.

"You're back," she said, feeling self-conscious as he gazed down at her in the water.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm taking a bath. What does it look like I'm doing?" she was annoyed he’d let the cold air in.

"You're naked," he growled.

"I know you've been on the mountain a long time Cyrus, but you must remember that people take their clothes off to bathe.”

All he did was grunt.

"What happened last night, Cyrus?" she asked, stepping out of the bath. "I thought we were connecting."

"We were. That's why I put a stop to it.”

She stood naked beside the tub, staring at him with her eyes wide and her body all a flutter.

"Do you have a towel I could use?" she asked, shivering.

"Yes," he said grabbing a towel from a trunk under his workbench.

He walked across the room and wrapped the towel around her shoulders. The look in his eyes was penetrating and unyielding. She held the towel around her body and met his gaze with equal intensity. She wanted him to know that she was ready to be with him.

"Why did you leave civilization?" she whispered.

"The world is full of betrayal and death.”

"Just because things are bad doesn't mean you have to be alone all the time," Daisy said in a soft voice.

He gritted his teeth and growled. His shifter eyes shined down on her.

"I'm not alone. I have the forest."

"And now you have me," she said." Cyrus, I…"

"Do I have you, Daisy?" he asked, spreading his fingers through the hair at the back of her head.

"What do you want from me, Cyrus?" she breathed.

He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. “I want you to be mine.”

Daisy exploded with desire at his touch. She could barely contain her panting breaths as he swept her off her feet and carried her across the room to lay her across the feather bed.

“Cyrus…”

He climbed over her, his leather pants brushing over her naked thighs. Daisy sucked in a deep breath before Cyrus pressed his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. His chest was bare against hers under the leather vest he wore.

Cyrus slid his tongue between Daisy’s lips. She groaned at the taste of him, his scent enveloping her and dominating her senses. She had never wanted anything like she wanted to be with Cyrus now. She kissed him back, hard and greedy, gripping the leather of his vest in her manicured hands. Cyrus ran his hand up her side to cup her breasts. He squeezed gently.

She moaned as he flicked the pad of his thumb over her nipple. He pulled back from their kiss to rain kisses all over her neck, shoulders, and chest. She sucked a deep breath as he nibbled at her nipple and kneaded her other breast.

"Cyrus," she groaned.

He licked her body, inching down. He slid his tongue over her thighs and gripped her ass. Daisy arched her back. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind simultaneously.

He gripped her thighs and spread her legs wider. Cyrus licked his slick tongue up the slit between her legs. Daisy moaned loudly, never having experienced so much pleasure.

Daisy gripped his shoulders, rising under the burning pleasure he poured down onto her. He focused his tongue on the mound of pleasure between her legs. She gasped and threw her head back. She dug her fingernails into his shoulders, unable to comprehend what was happening to her body.

"Cyrus, Cyrus," she begged.

"You’re mine, Daisy. All mine."

She moaned as her climax built inside her. She called his name over and over, mixing it with beseeching prayers for release.

He growled and pulled his vest off. He pulled his pants open, revealing his massive, hard cock. He dropped his pants and climbed back on the bed, his hands on either side of her.

"Cyrus," she whispered as he pressed the head of his cock against her soaking wet opening.

Daisy let out a sighing breath, wanting more than anything to let him inside her. She leaned up and claimed his mouth in a deep kiss. Cyrus pressed the tip of his cock against her opening. She felt him slide into her, stretching the walls of her core. As strange and slightly painful as it felt, her body called out with greedy need.

"Yes," she groaned.

“I need you now, Daisy,” he growled.

“I need you too,” she whispered.

He kissed her deeply, sliding his tongue between her lips and tasting her mouth in luxuriant strokes. She felt herself open to him as he pushed deeper inside. All thoughts of who and what and why melted away and all that was left was her and Cyrus, in that moment where everything was perfect. The sting of his thick manhood pressing into her virgin core. She sucked a sharp breath through clenched teeth.

“Are you all right?” he asked, kissing her neck and nibbling on her ear.

“Yes. I’m okay. I need this. I need you,” she whispered, arching her back.

Cyrus growled and pressed deeper, coming against her resistance. She let out a little groan of pain as he sliced through, shattering what was left of her innocence. As he sank the base of his member and pressed his hips against her pelvis, she groaned and panted, clinging to him desperately.

Fireworks exploded behind her tightly shut eyes. She didn’t know where one of them ended and the other one began. The mix of pleasure and pain radiating through her, sent her into a tailspin of emotions. She needed Cyrus now more than anything. As he rested against her, letting her breathe through the pain of her first time, he kissed her gently on the mouth and gazed into her eyes.

Silently and slowly he slid his hips back, only to press inside her again. This time the sensation of opening to him had a pleasure she’d been waiting for. It felt so good.

“Oh my God,” she breathed as he began to move in a tantalizing rhythm.

He built her up and pushed her further up the peak of pleasure that his movements promised. His big hands caressed her skin and worked her body. Between the fire of her emotions and the blood of her body, she was swept up into an altered state of consciousness. The romance novels she read had not prepared her for this moment.

She experienced a whole new awareness in Cyrus’s arms. He slowly increased the speed of his rhythm, moving over a deep seed of pleasure inside her. Her breath hitched as he moved a finger down to play with her clit. All at once, she felt a rush so intense, she thought she might die from the overwhelming flood.

Cyrus growled into her neck, pressing his teeth against her skin. She felt the bite of his sharp fangs as her body contracted and throbbed around his manhood. Without a word of warning, he clamped down hard and came deep inside her. Jets of hot semen pumped inside her, her nipples tightened into bullets, and his teeth, deep and sharp, clamped to her flesh.

In that moment, the world stood still and time stopped. A whirlwind of thoughts and feelings swept her up and carried her away to another world, where she and Cyrus were united as one. She felt the monumental expanse of the man she had come to love. The totality of Cyrus flowed into her as she flowed into him. The sensory impression of her mate swirled around her and mingled with her own identity. She knew in her heart and soul Cyrus was feeling the same thing that she was. They were merging, becoming one, true mates in every way.

She felt his sorrow and his pain, his integrity and his determination. She also felt his warmth and loyalty. His deep need to understand and to solve the problems of the world. She admired him beyond words. Beyond explanation.

As he pulled his teeth from her neck, he licked the wound, salving the pain and healing it quickly. They lay together, tangled in each other’s arms. She rested her head against his chest and listened to his deep thrumming heartbeat as he held her close and kissed the top of her head. Daisy had never felt so complete, so real, so rooted in her own womanhood as she did in that moment with Cyrus. Fate had given her this beautiful opportunity to give and receive love. In all her life, she had never felt anything close to this perfection. She wanted it to last forever.

That’s when she heard the pop, pop, pop of gunfire outside.