I am Sam

There’s pain, so much pain... I can see him, feel how the claws of the rogue slice through his chest; he’s fighting back, strength erupting and rippling through his muscles in waves, but it’s not enough; he can’t shift into his wolf, and the next blow takes him down, and all I can do is scream as I watch him die.

Gasping myself awake, my rapid breathing slowly begins returning to a normal rhythm; it was just a dream; it’s not real. Wolf is still alive; gripping onto the pendant around my neck it's the only thing helping me to calm down now; knowing that he’s got the other half of this kind of helps me still feel connected to him somehow. But still, it felt so real. I saw Wolf being attacked by a rogue, and he could not defend himself and protect our pack, all because I took too long to get back.

Taking in a slow breath, I let it out as my eyes lift up to suddenly be met with a stern hard look; startled, I’m blinking back the surprise in my eyes as I watch his jaw clenched tight, his breathing is low, and yet, it’s like he could lose it at any moment as his fists clench by his sides.

I swallow hard in confusion and suddenly give him a small smile, I want to be happy to see him, but by the way his eyes are roaming over me, it’s clear he isn’t.

“Atlas?” The moment I speak his name, his eyes are back on mine, narrowing them as a shimmer of something in his eyes suddenly has me swallowing hard; my body tensing when I see his dragon in his eyes; why does he look so angry?

“I rush back early from shifting into my dragon to make sure you’re fine, all because I was concerned about you, only to find you like this,” He suddenly spits the words in distaste.

It’s then that I hear a moan coming from behind me; when I turn my head to look over my shoulder, I’m looking at Caleb, he’s back in his human form, and he’s still fast asleep. His arm is under my head, and his other is draped over me, holding me tightly against his... I gulp when I realize he’s completely naked, his body pressed against mine.

Looking back up at Atlas in shock, my jaw goes slack,

“It’s not what you think or what it looks like...” Smirking, he shakes his head at me in disbelief,

“You don’t even want to know what it looks like,” He retorts irritably, “Caleb, of all people, seriously? I never took dark and psychotic guys as your type.” And I’m suddenly annoyed by his remark as I narrow my eyes at him; my type?

“That’s a shitty thing to say, you know that?”

“Oh, is it? So fucking Caleb is alright; he’s not even you’re mate, but when we thought we were mates, you had a huge problem with it?” And I’m suddenly furrowing my brows at him, pissed off that he would even go there let alone say something like that.

“Caleb and I haven’t...”

“Save it; I’m not blind; I can see what’s going on; I guess I’m just wondering how the hell it happened, is all.” I’m about to respond when Caleb suddenly groans as he tightens his hold around my waist, and I can’t help grimacing the moment he nestles his face close to my ear and mumbles,

“Sasha, baby, five more minutes, and then we can go again, I promise.” Pinching my eyes shut in response, I suddenly want to punch Caleb for that remark; he did that on purpose.

Looking back at Atlas, he’s suddenly glaring at Caleb, scoffing in disdain as he shakes his head.

“I definitely don’t want to stick around for that, thanks.” Giving me one last disgusted look, he spins around and starts heading back towards the direction of the castle,

“Atlas, wait!?” I call out to him, I’m suddenly trying to pull free from Caleb, but he’s got his arms around me like a vice grip, not letting go.

“Caleb, let go,” I’m grumbling as I keep pulling away, but this only has him holding on tighter before finally bursting out in a laughing fit; and my body instantly stills; it’s the first time I’ve ever heard Caleb laugh, albeit it’s a dark and sinister laugh, it’s still the best sound I’ve ever heard come from him.

And I’m suddenly turning my head questioningly to look him in the eyes; I can’t help the confused smile spreading across my lips as I suddenly scold him,

“That’s not funny; he thinks we slept together,” Smirking he rolls his eyes at me,

“No, he thinks we fucked; there’s a significant difference.”

“Does everything have to be so crude with you?”

“It’s a fact, I have a reputation, I’ve never slept with a girl in my entire life, I fuck them, end of story.” Raising a brow at him, I smirk at his comment,

“Oh yeah, news flash Kasanova, we just slept together, without any fucking.” And it’s like the realization only hits him now that we spent the entire night sleeping in each other’s arms.

“Yeah, Atlas thinks we fucked, so the whole sleeping together thing doesn’t count then.”

“Of course not, because goddess forbid you should actually sleep beside a girl and not get laid.” Cocking a cheeky dark grin, he suddenly muses,

“No point in changing a perfectly fucked up part of myself I actually like, now is there?” But I can only roll my eyes at him,

“I’m so glad you find this situation amusing, but now I have to go and explain to him that this isn’t what he thinks it is.” Cocking a brow at me, he slowly lets out a sigh as a devious grin creeps up at the corners of his mouth,

“Come on, I’ve always wanted to do that to him. Mr Virgin boy, did you see his face?” He lets out a low chuckle as he finally lets go of me and rolls onto his back. And I’m suddenly acutely aware of him flashing all of his adonis glory like it’s just another everyday thing; for shifters, I suppose it is normal to be naked in front of each other, but my father definitely didn’t promote it around me at least. His remark, however, suddenly has me furrowing my brows in response,

“Virgin boy?” I retort, raising a questioning brow at him.

“Yeah, didn’t you know that?” He asks, surprised,

“How would I know that?” I suddenly respond in disbelief,

“Why do you think that when he actually got the opportunity to have you, he was taking so long? The kid doesn’t know what he’s doing. If it was me, I would have had your clothes off and my cock buried deep inside you in under a minute, you we're in heat, any idiot knows it's about fucking and only fucking in that situation.” Grimacing, I’m suddenly cupping my hands over my face as I fall back against the grass.

“Please, can we not talk about what almost happened between Atlas and me; and trust you to turn this into Caleb’s sex therapy session.”

“Just saying it like it is, I know how to have a girl screaming my name until she finally loses her voice, if you we're under me at the time, nothing and no one would have been able to pull me off you.” I’m suddenly sitting upright as I cover my hands over my ears,

“Okay, no more. This is as far as the Caleb sex train goes, thank you.” And I’m instantly up on my feet as I hear him give another wicked chuckle; I’ve got my back towards him when I speak.

“I’ve got to go and do damage control because I can’t have him walking around thinking that we did more than sleep.”

“Why do you have to? You don’t owe him an explanation, Sasha; he’s not your mate.” Groaning, I suddenly spin around to face him; he catches me off guard when he’s up and standing only inches away from me.

“I know he’s not my mate, but I still feel obligated to explain that nothing happened. He doesn’t deserve what he went through that night with me in that room and then to shift into a... dragon.” I draw the last bit out as I place my hands on my hips, smirking darkly; Caleb’s eyes are on mine when he speaks,

“Remember one thing, before you go back in there wanting to now be the concerning sister, from the moment Atlas started thinking with his dick, the only thing he’s thought about was fucking you. That hasn’t changed just because he now found out you’re his twin; it just means that now he has to deal with feeling guilty about still wanting to fuck you because, believe me,” He says, closing the gap between us completely as he tilts my chin up, so his eyes are locked on mine, “He definitely still wants to fuck you. except now, he has to wrestle with his inner demons about why those thoughts are so very, very wrong.” He drawls out the last bit, smirking; he finally lets go of my chin as he cocks a brow at me, “But by all means, go and be the sympathetic ear he needs right now. Keep what I just said in mind when you’re standing in front of him, staring into his eyes,” My brows furrow when I look down; I don’t say anything; I can’t. Because I suddenly know he’s right, I guess it’s different for me because I haven’t spent most of my life fantasizing about having sex with someone, only to find out that person is actually my brother. Caleb’s right; I can’t just run off to Atlas wanting to comfort him; it’s probably the last thing he needs right now.

“Fine,” I mumble, “I won’t go and speak with him right now, but eventually, I’m going to have to.” Smirking, Caleb nods his head at me,

“Eventually, just not now. The sooner he finds his true mate, the better off he’ll be.”

“Speaking from experience?” I retort, raising a challenging brow at him,

“My situation is different; I don’t want to be with my mate.” He grumbles,

“How do you know if you don’t at least give it a try?”

“What, you think I haven’t fucked Eris yet?” And I’m suddenly raising my brows in surprise, “As much as my body tells me she’s my mate, there’s something else,” He says, suddenly lifting my hand up and placing it against his chest, “In here, that says she’s not.” I swallow hard when my brows furrow, feeling his steady heartbeat when my eyes find his.

“But fate says you are?”

“And fate can’t ever be wrong, right?” his dark eyes are suddenly piercing mine; this is the most open I’ve ever witnessed Caleb be,

“Not normally.” I respond softly,

“Yeah, well, fate’s fucking wrong about this. Because when I fucked her, I didn’t feel all tingly inside; I didn’t feel anything but hatred for what she took from me.”

“But, the picture up on you’re wall, the one you drew of Eris?”

“Yeah, drew it straight after. Right after I got up, grabbed my clothes, and fucked off out of her room,” Don’t ask me why, but a question suddenly popped into my mind.

“Why her room, why not yours?” I’m suddenly giving him a questioning look,

“No one’s allowed in my room,” He responds, as a matter of fact.

“No one?” I ask suddenly sounding surprised,

“No, no one.”

“But, I was in your room.” And there’s a moment of silence that stretches out between us when his sinister smile suddenly creeps up at the corners of his mouth again,

“Yeah, you were. Must say something, huh?”

I’m suddenly smirking when this realization has me feeling both honoured and even more confused. To be the first girl in his room, well, the first anyone, I guess, since his brother, why would he allow me in?

Suddenly feeling the need to change the subject, I shrug as I cock a brow at him,

“Come on, let’s get back so we can get some clothes on you.” Scoffing, he rolls his eyes at me,

“You lead the way.”

We’re halfway there when a sudden thought has me turning my head to look up at Caleb in concern,

“Um, I don’t think we should be walking into the castle together.”

“Why not?” He asks, giving me a quizzical look,

“You’re naked, for starters.” Scoffing, he rolls his eyes,

“Yeah so,? I’ll cover up my shit, don’t worry.” He says as he goes to cover his hands over his manhood. “See, we’re all good.” He says, giving me a wicked grin. And I’m internally rolling my eyes because deep down inside, I know this is probably the worst idea; this will just fuel the fire with Atlas, but it’s not like anything happened, and I don’t have anything to feel guilty about, right?

So why do I still feel like I should explain myself to Atlas?

When we reach the castle, it feels like we’re being watched; this eerie feeling suddenly creeps down my spine. But I quickly shake it off because right now, all I need is a bath and a change of clothes, my hair, even though I tried smoothing it over, is all messy from spending the whole night out in the forest with Caleb’s dragon. It’s still a surreal thing for me to try and wrap my head around; Caleb is a dragon, a giant green dragon with horns that come out of his head and all along his body and tail. When I close my eyes, that’s all I see now, his breathtakingly beautiful and magnificent thirty-five-foot dragon.

I’m about to head up towards my bedroom and Caleb towards his; when a booming loud voice suddenly thunders from further up the stairs, it’s Ronan, and my body instantly stills.

“Caleb, Sasha, my office, now!” Swallowing a heavy lump, I turn my head to look up at Caleb. His eyes are narrowed in annoyance toward where Ronan just shouted for us.

“You can fucking wait, old man.” He grumbles before turning his attention towards me and mumbling through a clenched jaw, “Wait here.”

I do as he says, and luckily he’s back within five minutes, clothed in low-lying jeans and a distressed black long sleeve. I can see he’s annoyed as he walks past me, mumbling, “Come on,” running his hands through his dishevelled black messy hair.

Caleb doesn’t even knock on the door before opening it and walking straight in. Me; on the other hand, I follow nervously behind him as I begin fidgeting with my fingers. When I finally look up, I suddenly freeze when I notice Atlas seated lazily on an antique-looking leather couch against a wall. Blinking twice, my lips part to say something, but nothing comes out, and Atlas suddenly looks away. My eyes lower to the floor, but I can see the giant evil monster sitting behind an extensive desk, lazily eyeing us.

“So, my guards have informed me that we had a breach yesterday; an Unseelie creature managed to slip past you and gain access to the castle. Would you like to explain to me how this happened?” Ronan raises a brow at Caleb, his lips set in a tight line as he stares hard at him, and Caleb only returns his hard stare with his own.

“We’re not dealing with just an Unseelie creature; this one is different; it keeps coming back,” He responds in a deadpan voice,

“Oh?” Ronan retorts as he raises his brows, suddenly intrigued, “But I’m curious, what were you two doing when this creature just strolled past you undetected?” Caleb suddenly cocks his head with a smirk as he narrows his eyes at Ronan,

“Sasha was in the library, reading, and I was jerking off to her in the shower if you must know.” My jaw suddenly drops as my eyes widen in shock; the moment my eyes land on Atlas, he’s glaring hard at Caleb. I look like a fish out of the water, my mouth opening and closing as I look from Atlas to Ronan to Caleb.

How could he confess to something like that, in front of Ronan and Atlas, no less?

Ronan narrows his eyes in a challenging way but then sighs when he suddenly tilts his head questioningly,

“So, how did you two end up in the forest again?”

“I went after the creature,” Caleb retorts with a shrug,

“Go on?”

“It jumped and attacked me, and Sasha managed to heal my wounds.” The moment he says that, both Ronan and Atlas’s brows furrow in response as their eyes land on me,

“You said she healed your wounds?” Ronan suddenly asks curiously,

“Yes. She used her spirit power and healed the deep gashes against my back; otherwise, I would have bled out completely.” Hearing him say it like that, I’m suddenly reliving what happened, the smell of his blood still fresh on my mind. Looking down at my hands, I remember just before I fell fast asleep, his dragon kept licking at my hands, trying, I guess, to get the blood off. However, there are still blood stains between my fingers and my nails.

Atlas suddenly raises his brows in surprise at this news about me healing Caleb; his eyes are fixed on me. But it’s Ronan who suddenly eyes me curiously when he speaks,

“Is this true, Sasha? Were you able to channel you’re spirit element to heal him?” I swallow hard when I nod, lifting my eyes to him; my jaw is tight as I stare at him. “Interesting,” He says as he cocks a brow at me. “You’ll make for a very intriguing part of my elements.” I’m frowning, suddenly giving him a suspicious, confused look,

“What do you mean part of your elements?”

“I meant what I said when I welcomed you to the family, Sasha, you belong to me now.” Clenching my jaw as his words hit me like a blow to my chest, my heart suddenly starts racing, I’m shaking my head vigorously, and I suddenly feel like my entire body is tingling as my anxieties hit the roof, the heat begins pooling in my ears as my breathing begins to escalate,

“No, no... You said when you got back, we would talk about freeing Wolf from his curse; I need to go home; he’s my mate; I can’t stay here...” My feet suddenly want to start frantically moving backwards when Caleb grips me around my waist and pulls me to his side,

“Well, as you can see, that’s never going to happen. You’re a spirit element and Atlas’s twin, by you being here with him now, it’s strengthened his dragon beyond what I could have imagined; it’s the only reason he was able to return so soon; you can’t leave.”

I’m suddenly hyperventilating as I stare wide-eyed at Atlas,

“Atlas! You can’t let him do this; I have to go back to...” But before I can finish that sentence, Caleb suddenly spins me around with him. It happens so quickly that I don’t even have time to respond when he tilts my chin up to him and crushes his lips on mine. And I want to push against him; what the hell is he doing? But his eyes are suddenly stern and rigid as he stares down at me, silently screaming for me to SHUT UP! He leans down and possessively claims my lips once more. All I can do is stand there frozen until he finally releases me and slowly turns back to face Ronan; I’m shaking inside; I have no idea what’s going on.

The moment my eyes collide with Atlas, I notice that he’s seething, clenching his jaw tightly as he glares daggers at Caleb, but he doesn’t say a word and doesn’t look at me.

I want to start crying, and it takes everything inside of me to hold it in, but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to.

Ronan suddenly looks surprised as his eyes travel from Caleb to me and back to Caleb again, “Is there something you would like to tell me, Caleb?” Staring hard at him, Caleb finally takes a deep breath before responding.

“I’m claiming Sasha as mine,” And the moment those words spill from his mouth, I’m suddenly furrowing my brows, turning my head up to him in disbelief; he’s what?

Ronan cocks a brow at him as an evil grin fills out the corners of his mouth,

“Oh really?” He retorts with an amused smirk, “You’ve never shown any interest in claiming a mate before,”

“Yeah, well, now I do.” He grumbles through his hooded eyes as he suddenly laces his fingers with mine and squeezes my hand so tightly it almost cuts off the blood circulation, “Do you have any objections?”

Smirking, Ronan suddenly shakes his head in response,

“No, not at all. This works out perfectly; now, we can get back to normal. Eris can resume with Atlas like was planned; Noah and Circen are completing their mating process as we speak, that was a pleasant surprise, and you can have Sasha; everybody’s happy.” I’m glaring at Ronan, my body shaking and tense; raising a sinister brow, he suddenly gives me a wicked grin, “See, Sasha, in the end, I always get what I want.”

I hate him; I have never hated someone as much as I do him in my entire life. Slowly turning my head to look at Atlas, his eyes are down to the floor, he won’t even look at me, and as instant rage begins to bubble to the surface, I suddenly can’t hold it in,

“You’re a coward, Atlas. You know this is wrong, yet you’ll stand by and watch him do it anyway.” Atlas’s jaw clenches as he frowns, and I’m about to lose it completely when Caleb suddenly pulls me with him until we’re right outside the door, shutting it, he turns to look at me when he sighs, but I’m shaking. I’m so distraught, glaring up at him when I’m about to go off at him like a rocket. But instead, he suddenly scoops me up in his arms as he tosses me over his shoulder, suddenly marching off in the direction of his bedroom. I’m kicking and screaming, but he doesn’t let me go; instead, he only tightens his grip on me.

The moment he shuts his door behind him and places me firmly down against the floor, I suddenly lose it,

“How could you?!” I shout at him, slamming my fists against his chest. “Why would you do that? Claim me!? Fuck you, Caleb, I’ll never let you...” But he suddenly grips me hard, swinging me around and crushing my back against his hard chest as he folds his arms around me, caging me to him. Tears suddenly fall from my eyes uncontrollably. “Let me go!” I scream in between sobs, trying my best to get out of his tight grip.

“Hey, hey... Just calm down, feisty pants, take a breath and listen,” He breathes. “There is no way that Ronan will let you go, but if he thinks we’re together, he won’t get suspicious about me helping you train; he’ll insist on it. And if you train with me,” He whispers right beside my ear, "I'll take you into the Unseelie realm and help you break you're mate's curse." His voice is low and deep, and my body instantly stills against his hold, sniffing back tears. I’m suddenly confused by what he just said,

“W-why would you do that?” Shrugging, he suddenly smirks,

“You saved my life; I kinda owe you one, so...” He says with a dark hooded grin; turning around in his arms, he suddenly lets me. Facing him, I’m swallowing a heavy lump in my throat.

“But I don’t understand; if you help me, Ronan will have your head,” Scoffing, he suddenly rolls his eyes,

“I think the correct response would be, thank you. And besides, I don’t give a fuck about Ronan, never have. The only thing is, you’re gonna have to pretend like we’re together just so Ronan buys it; that way, he’ll allow you to move around with me; Do you think you can do that?” Blinking back in confusion, my lips part as my brows furrow,

“I, I don’t think I can...”

“I’m gonna level with you and tell you something no one here is willing to tell you. I didn’t give a fuck about telling you this before because I didn’t have anything to lose or gain from it. Every week in our realm is a month in your world, so let that sink in.” My brows suddenly furrow when I begin shaking my head,

“No, no, that’s impossible... that means...” I’m suddenly horrified as my eyes widen,

“You’ve been gone for a month, which means in you’re world, you’ve been gone for four.” His voice is low and deep, and I suddenly feel like I can’t breathe,

“I can’t do this, pretend to be with you and stay here; I have to go home, I have to leave now...” I’m suddenly feeling frantic when Caleb instantly cages me in and pulls me to him, his low voice calm beside my ear.

“You can’t leave, not even if you wanted to; these wolf cuffs around you’re wrists stop you from travelling through a portal,” Lifting my one wrist up, he gently rubs his thumb across the metal cuff, and I’m suddenly swallowing a heavy lump,

“I’ll ask Atlas to take them off; he’ll...”

“Do exactly as Ronan tells him to do,” He groans in response as he cocks a knowing brow at me,

“No, he wouldn’t... If I tell Atlas I want to return home, he’ll take them off.” Scoffing, Caleb suddenly rolls his eyes,

“Okay, so why don’t you ask him the next time you see him, ask him to take off these cuffs and see what he says? I guarantee you that he’ll say no.”

“He wouldn’t...” I’m shaking my head in disbelief as my brows furrow more,

“He’s just shifted into his dragon for the first time; more than ever before, he’s bound to Ronan; trust me when I tell you, he will not only tell you, no, but if Ronan told him to lock you in the dungeons bellow, he would do it; no questions asked. Before he thought you were his mate; that dream died along with the boy he used to be.” Swallowing hard, my bottom lip suddenly quivers in response. Still, Caleb merely cups my cheeks as he comes to rest his forehead against mine.

“Let’s focus on one thing at a time, getting you trained, breaking that curse, and getting you back with Wolf,” He mumbles, and I’m suddenly looking up into his eyes, trying to make sense of him,

“Why do you care if I get back to Wolf?”

“I don’t,” He retorts, “I guess you’re annoying little ass has somehow got me feeling sorry for you.”

“Is that all?” Smirking, I look questioningly at him, tilting my chin up; our eyes are only inches apart; when he suddenly speaks low,

“Does it have to be any more than that?” Suddenly biting my lower lip, I shake my head, “No.” Sighing, he shrugs,

“So what do you say, we have a deal?”

Swallowing hard, I suddenly nod, “Deal.” And a slight hooded grin slowly creeps up at the corners of his mouth when he smirks,

“Well then, I guess you’re my girl now.”

And as I lower my eyes with a nod, the only thing on my mind is, that I will do anything to break that curse and get back to Wolf now, anything it takes.