The Reckoning

I was growing tired of playing his game. I stood, crossed my arms and planted my feet, letting him know I was not going to tolerate his elusiveness tonight. "And why would that happen?"

He huffed. "Because I'd be taking your virginity. The act brings out the animal in us...literally."

My mouth dropped open. "I'm sorry...you'd be doing what, now?"

He raked his fingers through his hair. "Never mind. We can discuss it later."

"No! No, no! We're going to discus this now. How do you even know I'm a virgin?" I thought I'd hid that little nuance well—apparently not.

"You already know too much, Riley!"

"Yeah, in your mind! What do I really know besides you're a part of my imagination that wants to take my virginity and kill me; oh, and on occasion you turn into an animal?"

"Look, Riley, I came to have sex with you, not argue."

"Wait...wait!" I threw my hands in front of me as if they could ward him off.

"I understand your hesitation, but I think this is the only way to see if the Reckoning will end well or not."

"What the hell is a reckoning? And who even said I wanted to have sex with you?"

His blue eyes glinted in the light from an antique lamp, that tell-tale orange and gold bleeding through. "I'm not human, Riley. I can hear and smell your reaction to me before you even realize you've had one. This is meant to happen."

"You're not even real!"

"Oh, come now, love. You have to admit these circumstances are a bit too exact to be counted as happenstance."

"Of course this isn't real! You aren't real! My parents probably spent a fortune on a secret way to monitor my dreams and found out about you. Now they're sending notes and flowers to play games with me and see how I'll react so they don't have to pay for my college anymore."

Sedo's face drooped. "You really believe all that?"

"It's more plausible than you being anything more than a figment of my imagination! I mean, I'm dreaming, for crying out loud!"

"Of course you're dreaming; but, why couldn't a dream become a reality? Come," he said, leading me back onto the couch. "If it helps, I will tell you about how I sent the flowers and notes, okay?"

"I guess."

His hand traveled up and down my back in a smooth, steady rhythm; too bad it didn't have that affect on me. My pulse quickened and my flesh heated. I felt my body respond to him in ways it never had for anyone else. It was as if my body craved his touch. I didn't want to explore that particular nuance at the moment, so I pushed it to the back of my head.

"Right now, I am not allowed to, physically, see you per Code rules, otherwise, I would have hand delivered them myself. I watched and waited until you left this morning, then my friends and I left the flowers for you."

"What about the note on my pillow?"

His answering laugh was light. "That was a little trickier. I didn't want to break down the door or anything like that, so I searched for a way in. Your window was unlocked—which, you should not do, by the way—so I climbed in and set the note on your pillow."

"You're still not taking my virginity. You can forget it."

Sedo's laugh was light. "You can stop me in here, but when we're out there...it's a whole different world. You'll feel the fullness of my touch, see me with real eyes...your senses and emotions will be overloaded. You'll offer yourself to me, willingly, despite the warnings I've given you about my hidden nature. As if either of us have a choice," he added bitterly. He rose from the couch and began to circle me again. "I will tickle and tease your body until you beg me to enter you, then I'll graciously oblige. I am a gentleman, after all." He came to a stop behind me and ran his fingers through my hair. "I'll be gentle until the animal in me surfaces. My fangs will elongate, my muscles will grow and after the transition, I'll either give you an affectionate nibble," he whispered, trailing his finger up and down my neck, "or I'll take a chunk out of you and drain your blood."

I gasped as I wheeled around to face him. His once blue eyes took on that tell-tale, fierce orange-gold tint and his canines hung over his bottom lip. "I thought the animal only came out when my virginity was forfeit," I whispered.

"These are just signs of him. When the animal comes out, you'll know." His hands massaged the junction where my neck met my shoulders. "Let me make love to you, Riley. It's only here in your mind—you can hold onto your physical virginity for a few more days...I just have to know. I have to know if we'll ever have a chance."

I shook my head. "You're crazy. This is crazy."

"But you excel in the crazy."

I had to give him that. Whether he knew it or not, my life had been nothing but one big batch of crazy ever since birth. We had the papers to prove it.

"I don't know...."

"Tell me you've never had a sexual tryst in a dream before and I will tell you you're lying."

"But this is different." I sounded whiny and undecided. I wanted to be firm in my assertion against him taking my virginity, but his voice...his eyes...his proximity; he was a heady concoction sent to destroy me.

He rubbed his chin, looking off into the distance. "You're correct. This is different; but, that's not necessarily a bad thing, love." He turned his gaze back toward me. "You won't lose your virginity tonight, but you will feel as though you were. That's why I came to you in your dreams. It will feel real for me, too, and that will help me see if there's any chance of you making it out of the Reckoning alive. We have to try."

"If that's true, why didn't we do it last time?"

"Come now, Riley. Were you really going to let me fuck you on our first date?"

I gasped. "Date? You call that a date?"

He cocked his head to the side, assessing me. "Interesting." His lips quirked into a half smile.

"What's so interesting?" I huffed.

"No matter. Come. We have to try," he told me again, the conviction in his voice not wavering. "Please, Riley."

"I don't even know what to do," I sighed, planting my hands on my hips.

He came up behind me and pressed his lips to my neck, brushing them up and down. The movement sent tingles rushing through me—he didn't fight fair. "Just relax ...do what your body tells you."

"I need more answers. I...I don't know enough about you or this Reckoning thing." My excuses sounded puny even to my own ears.

"Why do you need answers if I'm not real?" I could feel him grinning against my neck.

"Oh, shut up."

He chuckled. "I will explain everything in a few days. Trust me."

I shook my head.

"Riley." My name on his lips sent butterflies darting around in my stomach. "Arms up." He pulled my shirt over my head, tossing it to the floor.

And just like that, I was lost.

I did what he asked without thinking, and we continued in that way—he commanded and I followed—until I was naked before him. He stood with his arms crossed, assessing my body.

"How is it possible to want to thank and curse the Skies at the same time? I've never seen anything so...breathtaking." He took my hand and led me to the couch before telling me to lie down. I complied, of course, and was rewarded with him sliding his index finger into my warmth. I groaned and he cursed. "I knew you'd be ready. The wetness is alluring," he said before latching his mouth onto an already-erect nipple.

"Oh!" I squirmed as he took turns licking, nibbling, and sucking at my breasts, making the pulse between my legs grow stronger. I never knew sexual desire until that moment. Sure, I thought guys were attractive and I had the urge to kiss one or two, but with Sedo, I wanted so much more. He was right, I was going to beg for him to enter me.

"Sedo, please."

"Please, what?"

What was I supposed to say? Do me? Put it in? "Umm...."

"I'm not certain what 'umm' means," he said before crawling down my body until his face hovered over the apex of my thighs.

"No! No, please."

"You don't even mean that. Look at you, Riley. You spread your legs for me as soon as you realized what was happening. I need them a little wider, though, love.

"I can't. It's...weird."

"But you want it. Spread them, please."

I did as he asked and barely had time to inhale before Sedo's tongue was buried in my folds.

"Oh, God!"

He licked and sucked; taking my body to unexplored heights. When he inserted his finger back into me I came with such violence I nearly knocked him off the couch.

"Truly amazing," he muttered while righting himself. He stood above me, his eyes glowing amber, as he removed his pants. "I'm not going to ask if you're ready. I know you are," he whispered.

"You're going to keep your clothes on?"

"I'm thinking it may help with the...uhh..." he made a biting motion with his mouth before climbing on top of me. "Relax, Riley."

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding and waited for him to enter. He pushed through my folds and hit my entrance, but didn't proceed.

"Sedo? What's wrong?"

His eyes met mine. "You can call me Sebastian," he said, pushing forward. "Oh, hell," he gasped. "Are you okay?"

I gripped my bottom lip between my teeth to hold in the guttural exclamation that wanted to break through my lips.

"Riley?"

"It's fine," I lied.

"I'll be gentle for as long as I can," he said, easing himself further into me. Each inch he pushed into me made my body ache. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the pain to go away. It didn't.

This is it, I thought to myself. This is what Cash was singing about. My crotch is the ring of damn fire.

It seemed like ages before he had pushed every inch of himself into me. Mercifully, he waited before easing out and moving back in, but with each push and pull, the pain lessened and was replaced with pleasure. Little moans escaped my lips as he ground into me.

"Riley," Sebastian crooned, "are you okay?"

I nodded.

"Tell me you're okay."

"I'm okay. It feels good." My cheeks heated at the admission of my pleasure.

Sebastian let out a groan as he quickened his pace. "Tell me again."

"It feels good."

"Touch me."

I ran my hands up and down his back, feeling his muscles lengthen and contract under his shirt as he buried himself in my warmth.

He groaned with each passing of my hands. "How long I have waited for your touch...for this moment with you, Riley. God, you feel...." He let the rest of his sentence trail off as he quickened his pace again.

He rocked our bodies into the couch and I met him thrust for thrust. I felt the pressure of an impending orgasm building. I squeezed my eyes shut, focusing on the sensations I was feeling.

"Oh no, you don't. Open your eyes, Riley. I want to see your pleasure."

His carnal words were my undoing. My eyes burst open to see flares of color and light. "Sebastian," I crooned as my hands gripped his rippling biceps.

Our eyes met—my green to his gold—as his fangs protruded. "It's happening," he gasped.

"What? What's happening?" I asked, my post orgasm glow extinguished.

"The change," he groaned. "I thought it was okay. We...we were doing okay."

"We can stop," I said, releasing him from the grip of my arms and legs.

A low growl came from his lips as his muscles grew under my hands, telling me it was too late. "Sebastian?"

"Don't say my name. It's making the transition go faster."

Part of me was satisfied I had to the power to make the animal in him come out; the other part was petrified.

I kept my mouth shut as he growled and flexed his growing muscles—that was until I felt him growing inside of me. He stretched me wider and his cock lengthened—to where, I didn't know. I was sure there wasn't any more vertical space for him to expand to. My groan was a testament to the pleasure-pain combination I felt from the change of his size—and it was a groan I should have held in.

Sebastian's eyes darted back to mine and the cryptic, sarcastic jokester I knew vanished. He said I'd know when the animal came out, and he was right. His excessively hairy, yellow-taloned hand gripped my neck as he began to piston in and out of me. Knowing my cries of pain and fear would do nothing but excite the beast, I stayed as quiet as possible. Sebastian was not quiet. Snarls and growls ripped from his chest and left his mouth with every thrust.

I prayed for the end.

I sent up a litany to whomever was listening that Sebastian would find his release and let me go—but it didn't happen. Sebastian plowed on, burying me into the velvety, crimson couch. His eyes blazed an abnormal fiery, gold as he stared blankly at me...or was it through me? I couldn't stand the sight, but I couldn't look away or shut my eyes. It was like an awful car wreck that you just had to watch even though you knew nothing good would come of it.

It's just a dream, I told myself repeatedly to no avail. It all felt too real. Even as his fangs scraped down my neck, I just knew I'd have marks when I woke up.

If a few marks are all I wake up with, I'll count myself lucky.

But, of course, I spoke too soon.

Sebastian let out a fierce growl that made the hairs all over my body stand on end; that was my only warning before he plunged his teeth into my neck. I felt, and heard, something snap as blood gurgled in my mouth. I tried to scream, but I only choked on the blood. Sebastian continued to plow away as he ripped his mouth from my neck, a piece of my flesh dangled from his jaws. The hot, sticky evidence of his release coated my insides as I faded into darkness.

Part Two: Lover's Week

"NO!" I shot out of bed and headed straight for my vanity.

"Riley?" Abby's voice came through the door.

Why was she always around when something happened and I didn't want her to know about it?

"Riley! What is the matter?"

I moved my hair to the side to assess my neck. "Nothing," I traced my fingers down my neck. "It's nothing. I just had a dream."

I couldn't, necessarily, call it a "bad" dream, because I already had faced the fact that I enjoyed most of it. I sat back on my bed and recounted my meeting with Sebastian, my flesh heating at the remembrance of his touch, his words...if he was as real as he said, I had a lot to look forward to in a week; but, also much to fear. If the dream from last night, somehow, manifested into reality, I would not have woken up this morning, but I couldn't talk myself into running or hiding.

When Sebastian took my virginity, I had never felt closer to anyone. Our bodies were entwined, yes; but, it was more than that. I had no reference to form a reasonable explanation but I knew he had to have felt it, too—the longing beneath the surface of the skin, the feeling that we would never be fully sated and we'd be trapped in bed for hours upon hours. The feeling I had known him before all this only intensified with his touch. Him killing me, though, was an issue.

"Riley, you okay?" Abby's voice came through the door another time.

I knew she wasn't going to leave me alone until she knew, for sure, I was okay; especially, after some of the dreams she'd walked in on in the past. I took a deep breath and let it go before swinging the door open. I was ready to give her my full on "I have a bad attitude voice" until I saw her eyes. They appeared to had doubled in size and were darting from me to my room, and back to me again. Man, I hope she can get her nerves in check. I shook my head. "I'm fine. Just an intense dream."

"Was it the guy again?"

"What?" My pulse quickened.

"The guy with the dreads and face paint? The one that would be chanting and stuff."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "No, I haven't dreamt about him in a while. It, really, was nothing. I gotta get ready for class."

"Are you dressing up at all?"

I was going to ask what she meant, but it hit me... "Lover's Week," I sighed. The festivities surrounding this five-day period felt even less appealing after last night, but I played along anyway.

I donned a black and white striped skirt with red tights and a red blouse to match. I wore lipstick as red as blood and a smoky eye shadow to complete the look. I definitely looked more festive than I felt.

"You may not have a Valentine today, but you'll have your pick from dates by the end of the week," Abby told me as I donned my coat. "You look hot."

"Thanks. I just want this week to be over." Though I was glad to see Abby had recouped from her recent panic about me and my dream, I still couldn't find it in me to be anything more than tolerant of the school week ahead. People always said it, but I found it was true: I had more important things to worry about.

Like Sebastian.

The name suited his human side; a polished name for a polished guy. Sedo was a good name for the beast that fucked and killed me.

The argument about his reality was coming to a close, I found. His logic made sense to me; his retelling of how he slipped me the notes and left the flowers was sound...it was just...challenging. For most of my life, I had believed in a world apart from this one where vampires, werewolves, witches, mermaids, and other creatures shared our planet with us; but, I had to put those beliefs away when my parents offered up their funding-shrink ultimatum. Since then, I had repressed every dream, every sense, and every intuition I had about that other world. I became good at it; but now, I couldn't deny what was so blatantly staring me in the face.

Sebastian was real, and so were Shifters.

Abby's voice brought me out of my contemplation. "What? Why?" she asked, her voice too high and eyes too wide. She was overcompensating, which she always did after an episode. "This is your first time celebrating a holiday! You might as well have fun."

She was right, in a way. I did need to enjoy the holiday, especially because it, apparently, was due to be my last. If I would have known earlier that a guy from my dreams was set to kill me, I would have taken the holidays more seriously last year.

I pulled into the student lot on campus and put my car in the "park" position. The too cold, too dry air of February blew against my cheeks and face as I exited the Taurus. I hated winter. Some people thought the snow and ice were beautiful—I saw them for what they were: a nuisance. To me, winter symbolized a time of death.

"How fitting," I mumbled as I trudged through campus. "The trees die, the plants die, the flowers die; I die."

Winter was the opposite of spring; the opposite of everything I enjoyed. I loved coming into the warmer months when everything that was once dead came back to life. The birds returned and sang their intricate songs with one another, the grass would sprout up; the flowers would poke out of the ground and grow into blossoms of every hue, making waterless rainbows in the grass. Spring represented a time of hope, in my mind.

I hoped springtime would come in Sebastian's and my relationship...if you could call it that. In truth, I had no idea what label our situation deserved. Could I call him mine? He did come to my head and take my mental virginity; but, did that let me make a claim on him? The fact I was even entertaining the idea of claiming a man I met in my dreams threw me for a loop.

No, I'd never physically seen Sebastian, but the evidence of his presence was around me; he sent me the flowers and notes, and even as I walked to class and sat my things down, I could feel myself being watched. I wanted to believe it was him. It had to be.

My answer came in the form of messenger.

I was removing my coat and getting settled into my second class of the day when I was interrupted.

"Riley Tenor?"

My head popped up and I was looking into the groin of an overly-muscular man. I stood upright and came to this man's neck. I wasn't a tiny girl by any means—closer to five foot seven with my boots on—but this guy made me feel like a dwarf.