Rude Awakening

Valerie’s POV

My skull throbbed with a vicious, rhythmic pounding. I groaned and forced my heavy eyelids open, fighting through the thick fog of a brutal hangover. A sharp intake of breath tore through my dry throat the moment my vision cleared. This was not my bedroom. The walls were painted a stark cream, and heavy blackout curtains let only a narrow sliver of sunlight slice across an unfamiliar mahogany dresser.

I sat up. The sudden movement sent a fresh wave of nausea rolling through my stomach.

"Take these."

I jumped at the deep, unfamiliar voice. A man stood near the edge of the large bed. He was striking, possessing a rugged and sharp jawline, broad shoulders, and piercing blue eyes that stared back at me with absolute, freezing indifference. He held out a glass of water and two white pain pills.

Panic flooded my veins. My mind immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion. I was in a strange hotel room with a man I did not know, and my memory of the previous night was a gaping black hole. I frantically yanked the heavy duvet back, staring down at my body. I was wearing an oversized white hotel robe. My breathing hitched as I desperately tried to figure out if I had been violated while passed out.

"Do not flatter yourself." He placed the glass and pills on the nightstand. His gaze remained detached and icy. "If I had fucked you, your pussy would still be aching right now, and you would feel the physical aftermath of my cum dripping between your legs."

I froze, my cheeks burning white-hot. His blunt, explicit words left no room for doubt. I swallowed hard and pulled the duvet up to my chest.

"Then how did I get into this robe? Did you undress me?" I demanded, my voice shaking.

"I had room service give you a bath and dress you. Your clothes are folded on the chair over there." He crossed his muscular arms over his chest. "You were heavily intoxicated. You blindly ran straight into my car in the middle of the road. I pulled you out of the way to save your life. In return, you vomited your guts out all over my clothes. After that, you attempted to seduce me, practically begging me to fuck you right there on the pavement."

Utter mortification crashed over me. I had lost all my dignity. I had broken down in front of a total stranger, ruined his clothes, and thrown myself at him like a desperate fool. The memory of my emotional breakdown over Corbin’s betrayal flared in my chest, adding a fresh layer of shame to the situation.

"I am so sorry. I was going through a terrible emotional breakdown last night, but that is no excuse for my behavior." I scrambled to the edge of the bed, feeling incredibly small under his towering presence. "Thank you for saving me. I promise I will find a way to make it up to you."

"I do not want anything from you. Get dressed and return to your family. They are likely worried." He turned his back to me, clearly done with the conversation.

Acting on pure instinct and a desperate need to show my genuine gratitude, I reached out. My fingertips gently brushed against his broad shoulder.

He reacted instantaneously. He violently recoiled from my touch, spinning around with a feral flash in his blue eyes.

"Are you trying to seduce me again?" he snapped, his voice dropping into a lethal, hostile growl.

I shrank back, horrified by his extreme aversion. It was as if my skin burned him.

"No! I was just trying to say thank you." I grabbed my folded clothes off the nearby chair and clutched them to my chest.

"Get dressed and leave." He pointed a rigid finger toward the heavy wooden door.

I did not waste another second. I practically sprinted into the attached bathroom, threw on my ruined clothes from the night before, and rushed back out. I paused by the door just long enough to glance back at him.

"Thank you again. I am truly sorry." I blurted out the words and fled the hotel room, the heavy door clicking shut behind me.

***

Several weeks later.

The mattress dipped under a heavy, suffocating heat. My back arched off the bedsheets. My breathing came in shallow, frantic gasps.

In the dark depths of my subconscious, the mysterious blue-eyed stranger pinned me down. His cold exterior had vanished, replaced by a dark, seductive dominance that set my blood on fire. His large hands pinned my wrists above my head, while his mouth trailed hot, wet kisses down my neck. He released my wrists, his hands sliding down to cup my bare breasts. He squeezed the soft flesh roughly, his thumbs flicking and pinching my hardened nipples until I thrashed beneath him.

"Are you ready for this?" He whispered into my ear, his hot breath sending wild shivers down my spine.

I nodded frantically in the dream. I wanted him. I needed him to claim me. I spread my thighs wider, practically begging for his hard dick to slide inside my aching pussy.

"Use your words, Val!" He commanded. His dominant aura forced a whimper from my throat. He dragged his fingers down my stomach and slipped them straight into my soaking wet slit, rubbing my clit ruthlessly.

"Fuck me!" I growled out loud, my voice echoing in the silent room.

The intense, explosive fantasy shattered into a million pieces.

"What the fuck, Val?"

My eyes flew open. I gasped, shooting up in bed. The morning sunlight blinded me for a second before my vision focused. My older brother, Victor, was standing in the doorway of my bedroom. He was staring at me with a horrific mixture of utter disappointment, shock, and pure amusement.

My face ignited. I grabbed a pillow and pulled it over my chest, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole.

"You should not be in here! Get out!" I screamed, throwing another pillow at his head.

"I knocked five times! You did not answer, so I barged in because I thought you were dead or sick." Victor dodged the flying pillow and let out a loud, mocking snort. "I definitely did not expect to catch you having a wet dream and screaming for a ghost to fuck you."

"Get out of my room right now!" I jumped out of bed, aggressively shoving him backward into the hallway.

I slammed the bedroom door shut in his laughing face and locked it. I collapsed back onto my messy bed and buried my face in my hands. I groaned in sheer agony. For weeks, this cold, nameless prince had completely hijacked my subconscious mind. I did not even know his name, yet my body craved his touch every single night. I was losing my mind over a fantasy.

Later that afternoon, the tension in the house eased slightly after our mother departed to attend to her daily Beta duties. I was sitting on my bed, trying to focus on a random movie playing on my laptop.

The mattress sank. Victor slumped onto the edge of my bed, crossing his arms. He aimed a heavy, interrogating stare right at the side of my head. I tried to ignore him, keeping my eyes glued to the bright screen, but his silent pressure was unbearable.

"So, who is the lucky guy?" Victor asked, a teasing smirk playing on his lips.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about." I rolled my eyes and kept my gaze fixed on the laptop.

"Do not play dumb with me, Val. You were moaning loud enough to wake the ancestors this morning." He leaned closer, trying to block my view of the screen. "Who had you screaming like that? Is it someone from the pack? Do I know him?"

"It was no one, Victor. It was just a stupid dream." I slammed the laptop shut and shoved it aside.

Victor raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying a single word. He watched my flushed face for a long moment, the playful teasing slowly draining from his features. His expression shifted, softening into one of genuine, brotherly affection. He reached out and wrapped his hand around my arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"You know, no matter who this mystery guy is, I am just relieved." Victor let out a soft sigh. "Thinking about him has finally taken your mind off Corbin. You have been spacing out, but you are not crying anymore. You are moving forward."

My chest tightened at the mention of Corbin’s name. The sharp, suffocating pain of the broken mate bond had dulled into a persistent ache, but Victor was right. The blue-eyed stranger had somehow built a wall in my mind, protecting me from the worst of the heartbreak.

"I just hope this guy wants you just as much as you clearly want him." Victor smiled sadly.

I looked away, staring down at my hands. A deep, heavy longing curled in the pit of my stomach. The stranger hated me. He could not even stand the feeling of my fingertips on his shoulder.

"He might just be a fantasy, Victor. Nothing more." I whispered, fighting the lump forming in my throat.

Victor’s grip on my arm tightened in support. He leaned in, his voice steady and full of hope.

"Or maybe he is the one destined to make you forget Corbin for good."

I closed my eyes, picturing those piercing blue eyes one last time.

"I guess we would never know..."

Or would we?