The Alpha Weredragon's Favorite
CHAPTER 38 - Just a Taste

Ryan

After my run in with Lyra, I couldn't shake the unease that had settled in my gut. The doubts gnawed at me, a constant itch I couldn't scratch.

It was almost time for my birthday. The announcement of the Luna trials. I should fee excited about finally getting a mate, but the idea filled me with nothing but sadness... and dread. Restless, I found myself wandering the woods, the cool shade of the trees offering a a break from my thoughts. The scent of pine and earth filled my nostrils, grounding me in the present.

As I walked, a familiar scent caught my attention. Sweet summer honey and a field of wildflowers. Lyra. She was here, in the woods, alone.

I followed her scent, moving silently through the underbrush. When I caught sight of her, my breath hitched. She was walking along the path, her golden hair catching the end of the sun's rays. filtering through the leaves. She carried a pile of books clutched to her chest. Green eyes red and puffy. She looked lost in thought, her brow furrowed and her lips pursed.

I stepped out from the trees, making my presence known. "Lyra."

She startled, her eyes wide as they met mine. "Ryan. What are you doing here?"

I moved closer, my gaze never leaving hers. "I could ask you the same thing."

Lyra's eyes narrowed, a flash of defiance in their green depths. "I needed... I had to get away. I'm not escaping if that is what you're implying."

She turned to take another path.

I looked to the heavens as if an answer to all my troubles was there. It came quicker than I thought. Lyra and I were always at odds with each other. With two stubborn people, someone had to give in, and since I put up the last wall between us it had to be me.

I caught up with her, my fingers grazing her arm.

She shivered at my touch, her skin pebbling under my fingertips. I could hear her heart, beating faster, betraying the effect I had on her.

"I know you wouldn't leave." I wanted to add 'me' but I didn't, half-afraid she would laugh in my face.

"Ryan..." she breathed, her voice cracking with tears.

I couldn't resist any longer. I pulled her to me, my lips crashing against hers in a desperate, hungry kiss. Books fell to the forest floor as she melted into me, her body molding to mine as if it were made to fit there.

We stumbled off the path, our hands roaming, exploring. I backed her up against a tree, the rough bark scraping against my palms as I caged her in. She gasped as I trailed kisses down her neck, my teeth grazing her pulse point. "I can't stop thinking about you," I confessed, my voice rough with desire and the raw, primal need to claim her as mine. "Even with everything that's happened, the pain and the anger, I can't seem to shake the hold you have on me." Lyra's touch was gentle as she cupped my face, her eyes filled with an intensity that matched the fire burning within me. The contact sent a jolt of electricity through my body, and I couldn't help but lean into her palm. She silenced me with a kiss, her lips tender yet insistent against mine. The taste of her was intoxicating, like a cool breeze on a sweltering summer day. My hands found their way to her waist, pulling her closer as if our bodies were two magnets drawn together by an irresistible force.

"I know," she whispered against my lips, her voice barely audible but filled with longing. "Me too."

As our kiss deepened, I felt the barriers between us begin to crumble, replaced by a connection that seemed to transcend time and space.

We lost ourselves in each other, the rest of the world falling away. In that moment, there were no secrets, no lies, no doubts. There was only the heat of our bodies, the taste of her skin, the sound of our ragged breaths mingling in the quiet of the woods.

But then reality came crashing back all too soon. Lyra pulled away, her chest heaving and her lips swollen from my kisses.

"We can't do this," she said, her voice trembling. "Not until we've talked. really talked, Ryan. about everything."

I sighed, resting my forehead against hers. "I know. But Lyra, I... I care about you. More than I should, more than I have any right to."

She placed a hand on my chest, right over my heart. "I care about you too, Ryan. But I need an explanation about..." she trailed off, biting her lip.

"What do you need to know Lyra? Just ask me."

"Not here, where anyone could walk by." "Want to go to my home?"

"If I did, you know what would happen." She shook her head, trying to erase an image of us naked and entwined. At least that was what I tried to do.

I nodded, stepping back and giving her space. "Then let's talk. No more secrets, no more lies. Just the truth, no matter how hard it is to hear."

Lyra took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Okay. Meet me tonight at midnight. At the edge of the woods. Neutral ground. I'll tell you everything, I promise." "Why so late?" Was she going to see that Wolfsong soldier? Read him a damn bedtime story?

"I have a ton of homework."

"You can't be serious. Today is Friday. You-"

She put her hand on my chest. "Okay. Okay. I do have a lot of homework, but I'm also nervous, alright? I need to get my thoughts together."

I grasped her fingers and held them up to my lips, kissing them. "I can understand that."

"Thank you, Ryan." She removed her hand and cupped my face for one brief moment. Before I could lean into it, she turned and walked away, leaving me with the ghost of her touch on my skin.