When I woke up, Ryder was wrapped around me. His right hand was under me, and his left hand was over me. His left leg was on top of my legs. His chest was pressing against my back. Got all that?
I wrapped my arms and legs around Ryder. I shifted and I could feel his hardness pressing against me.
I turned around to face him without moving my arms and legs. His face looked so peaceful and calm. The crease in his eyebrows was smoothed. A small smile was formed on his lips.
I mischievously decided to wake him up. First, I pressed kisses on his neck. Then I moved up, dragging my lips to his chin. Then to both of his cheeks. I make a path until I kissed the corner of his lips. I pecked his lips once. Twice.
"Good morning." Ryder said sleepily. His sleepy voice sent shivers into my body.
"Good morning." I said. He pressed his lips against mine. I closed my orbs at the familiar sensation.
The kiss quickly turned into more, and soon, all my clothes were ripped off. But it was all fake. He was only doing the dirty deed to pretend I'm his wife.
"You're so beautiful, babygirl." Ryder smirked as he ravished my body. "What did I do to deserve you?"
I moaned in response. I couldn't really think when his fingers were doing magic. He stroked me, playing me like an instrument.
"I have to have you right now. You're mine." Ryder smirked. Before I could do anything, I could hear someone's throat clearing.
I looked up. It was the moon goddess. I lifted up the blankets to cover my naked body.
"Happy birthday." The moon goddess said.
"Thank you." I said. I pouted at Ryder. "Ryder, why didn't you remember my birthday?"
"I did remember. I was just distracted by your body." He smirked, kissing my mark.
The moon goddess cleared her throat again. "Brynn. You will now be able to shift into a white wolf."
"How do I do that?" I asked.
The moon goddess ignored me. "You're also half vampire, half witch, half omega, half animal, and half Mary Sue."
I gasped.
"You also have a prophecy." The moon goddess pulled out a parchment paper. "The prophecy says: You will defeat Great Evil."
I gasped. "What does that mean?"
"What do you think it means?" The moon goddess raised her eyebrow. "Now, to shift into a werewolf, just think about shifting into a werewolf. Got it?"
I gasped. "Got it."
"Great. I have to go." The moon goddess said as she began disappearing.
"Wait! I have more questions!" I shouted. But the moon goddess already disappeared.
"Do you want to try shifting into a werewolf?" Ryder asked.
"Sure." I said, smiling at him.
I thought about shifting. I thought about the image of my wolf and pretended shifting. At first, nothing happened. But slowly, I could feel my bones shifting. I closed my orbs. It was painful, but not that painful. I waited until the process was over before opening my orbs.
"Wow." I said, looking into the mirror. Instead of myself, I saw a beautiful, dazzling white wolf.
"You look beautiful." Ryder said, awestruck. He quickly shifted into a wolf. I watched as clothes fell off him as his body became too big for the clothes. He was a black wolf. Standing together, it felt like we were... a metaphor. Of something.
He ran out of the room. I quickly followed him. We ran across all the hallways and rooms and out of the front door.
Once we got outside, I ran to his side. Side by side, I followed him blindly, not knowing where he'd go. Is this how my life would be? I love it.
He continued running with a determined look. It was clear that he knew where he was going. I continued following him, since I trusted him.
I was right in trusting him. He ran to the forest, the one I always keep flashbacking to. As we ran, I looked at the beautiful scenery. Tall trees, different animals, nature, it was indescribable. I could see splashes of different colors as we ran. Distantly, I could hear the sound of the birds chirping and the sound of other animals.
I looked back to Ryder and almost lost my breath. If I thought he was beautiful then, he was even more beautiful now. His black fur gleamed in the sunlight. His orbs had the easygoing, relaxed look in them. He looked comfortable, like this was his home.
He caught my eye and smirked. I smiled back at him. Every part of my body felt light.
We continued running through the forest until Ryder stopped in exhaustion, laying down on the ground. I fell down next to him.
"This is a beautiful forest." I said, looking towards him. He had shifted back, and he was now naked. I could feel the blush rising up to my cheeks. I could never get used to this beautiful view.
I shifted back as well.
"Yeah. It is." He smirked, pecking my lips. I could barely restrain the giggle that rose out of me. "You're so beautiful."
"No, I'm not."
"You are. Anyone who says otherwise are liars."
He looks truthful, but I know everything he said was just pretend.
We smiled at each other for a while. I wished I could live in this moment forever.
"Have I told you what's special about this forest?" Ryder asked as he looked around.
"No. What?" I asked, leaning closer to him.
"It's mine." He said. I looked at him in shock.
"Really?"
"I bought it with my own money. It was just a piece of flat land when I bought it four years ago. I planted all the trees and bought in all the wildlife. And now, it's a beautiful forest."
I gasped, looking around. The trees were so tall, it was hard to believe it was planted a few years ago. "How is that possible?"
He shrugged. "I gave the scientists a lot of resources and everything they needed. Never underestimate the power of scientists with good budgets. This forest was part of the nature preservation program I'm doing to piss off the government and save the Earth. I even got the scientists to create an energy source that's a hundred percent renewable."
"But if you have this great energy source, why don't you spread it to the public?" I asked curiously.
"We have. The public can have it for free. But they believe it's a scam, and so, they never use it. It sucks, living in a society that thinks anything that is free is a scam."
"Yeah. It is." I said. And it really is sad.
We were silent for a while.
"You know what the best part about this forest is?" He asked.
"What?"
He looked around again. "This is private property. So if anyone hunts in here, I could easily sue them."
I laughed. "Genius."
"I know, right?" He laughed along with me. "Do you love this forest?"
I looked around the nature, appreciating the sunlight, the tall trees, the wild plants, the animals that I spotted. I love them all. I always had a soft spot for nature.
"Yes." I said firmly.
"Then it's yours."
For a few seconds, I looked at him in shock as the words registered in my mind. "I can't accept-"
"Nope. You're accepting this gift, no matter what. I'll force you to accept this gift if I have to."
"But-"
"Nope. No discussions."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine, I'll accept it."
He got up. I tried not to look at the back of his body but I failed. His muscles flexed, and my mouth felt suddenly dry.
"I have something else to show you." He said, holding out his hand in a silent invitation.
"Are we jumping off a cliff again?" I guessed.
He laughed. "Relax, babygirl. It's not that. We have all the time in the world to do that. I promise we'll do it later."
I put my hand in his and followed him. He led me to a car that was parked, partially hidden by the woods.
"Do you like this car?" He asked.
"Please tell me you're not giving that to me." I smiled at him.
"Of course not. This is my precious car." He said. He lovingly stroked the red coat of the car. "I named it Isabella, after my mom."
"Aww, that's so sweet." I could feel my heart melting from how sweet it was. Maybe I should name something after my father. Except I really, really hate the name Richard.
He opened the door for me. "Get in."
"Such a gentleman." I murmured as I got onto the car. As a response, he pressed his lips against my hand. I nearly swooned. It's all fake, I remind myself.
Ryder got on the driver's side and looked at me. He took something from somewhere and gave it to me. It was a blindfold.
"Wear this." He demanded.
"Ooh, nice. Do you want to have sex with me?" I asked, pressing my naked body against his. I smiled when I heard his breath hitch.
"No. At least, that was not what I was planning." He said, kissing my mark. He put the blindfold on me and started the car.
"Where are we going?" I tried to ask.
"You'll see, babygirl." He said, his hands going up a little. I tried not to make a noise.
"Are you going to kidnap me?" My voice was dying on me.
"You'll see, babygirl."
I wanted to ask more questions, but I was stopped. He began massaging his thigh. His hand slowly went up. At one point, his tongue joined in. Note that the car was still moving. I couldn't, since I was so distracted by his fingers, and his hands, and oh, his mouth...
After what felt like too long and too short, we stopped. I groaned involuntarily when he removed himself from me.
I could feel him getting me off the car and turning me to face a direction. Then, he slowly took the blindfold off me.
I gasped. In front of it was a mansion. A large, white, three-story, colonial mansion with wildlife where the plain green yard usually is.
"Wow." I said. "I love it."
Ryder slung an arm around me. "It's our house. I bought it just for us to be husband and wife."
We walked inside and I was dazzled by all of the rooms and the smooth floor and even the chandelier, which was the most beautiful chandelier I have ever seen.
"Let's make some memories here, shall we?" He pressed his body against mine.
"Yeah. Lets." I said breathily.
We had sex. It was rough and painful in the best way. But we used a condom this time, because I was eighteen and finally mature enough to use a condom.
Eventually, we ended up lying on the floor. I was exhausted but happy. This was the best birthday ever.
We looked at each other in silence, drinking each other in with our orbs. He smiled, his dimples showing. His green orbs had become light green, like an emerald in the sun. His muscular body and six pack abs looked bronze and perfectly sculpted. I love every part of him. I traced my finger around every area of his body.
He got up. "I have one more surprise for you, babygirl."
I tried to get up, but my knees were too weak. Ryder scooped me in his arms and took me to the kitchen and set me on the counter. He opened the fridge and there it was. The vanilla ice cream cheesecake we made two days ago.
I gasped. "It's for me?"
"Yup." He smiled, kissing me on the lips. "I know that things taste better when you make it, so I made you make it."
"You're so thoughtful." I said, pulling him into a kiss. He kissed me back, but I knew he would never like me.
I got a slice. It was the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. I not only tasted the cake, but I also tasted the memories of him and I making the cake. I tasted happiness and love.
Ryder got up on the counter next to me and ate a slice. With him eating cake, the smile on his face, the love, us naked on the counter, I realized that I love him. And as soon as I thought it, I knew it was true. It was carved in stone, a stone cold fact.
My fork dropped. I love him. I wanted to punch myself for coming to that conclusion. I'm in love with someone who would never love me back.
Suddenly, I could feel a hand steadying my plate. I looked down and realized how close I was to dropping it.
"Are you okay?" Ryder asked, concerned. I love you. The words were on the tip of my tongue.
"Yeah, I'm okay." I said. I could wait to say it to him.
He opened his arm, and I hesitated, then moved closer to him. I leaned my head on his shoulder and his hand smoothed through my hair. We were quiet for a while. I closed my orbs, trying to get used to this sensation. I felt comfortable. He felt more like home than my actual home, which I hadn't thought about for multiple chapters now. I wonder how my brother and my mom are doing.
Ryder jumped off the counter, pulling me with him.
"Let's go." He said.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"You'll see." He said mysteriously.
I kissed him on the cheek. "You really planned this whole day, didn't you?"
"What if I did?" He said, kissing me on my mark.
He tossed me some of his clothes and I quickly put it on. I watched as he put clothes on, silently protesting that I couldn't see his naked body anymore.
Ryder turned to me and kissed me hard. "You look so good in my clothes, babygirl. You're mine."
I was too stunned to speak, so I looked at him. Could he tell how much I love him?
"Come on."
~~~~
I got off the car and walked into Ryder's house. I followed him as he walked to a familiar direction. I knew where he was going to go. The training room.
Gayus was there, training with some people. Once he saw us standing in the doorway, his rainbow colored skin lit up. He waved to me, and I waved back.
"Evacuate the people at once." Ryder demanded.
Gayus did as he said. He shooed the people he was training out of the room. Once they were gone, he turned to me.
"Brynn!" He wrapped me in a bone crushing hug. "Why didn't you tell me today was your birthday?"
"It slipped my mind." I said apologetically.
"No matter. I got you a present. Technically, it was your brother's present to you. But he was kind enough to let me write my name on there and take half of the credit. Your brother's hot, by the way." He said, winking at me.
"Gross." I said. I could have gone my entire life without hearing that my brother was hot. "Don't you have a boyfriend?"
"I do." He smiled, missing my point entirely.
"My brother's straight, you know." I said.
Gayus paused for a few seconds. "I know."
He gave me the present and I opened it.
It was a copy of The Outsiders. Judging by the condition, it was a secondhand copy. "Thanks." I said, even though I already read this book. In fourth grade.
"Do you like it?" Gayus asked excitedly.
"Yeah." I lied unenthusiastically. If I hadn't gotten such amazing gifts from Ryder before, I would have liked this gift more. I put the book inside my pocket.
Ryder cleared his throat. "Can I steal your job for a moment so I can train Brynn?"
"Yeah, sure." Gayus said, leaving.
Once he left, Ryder trained me. He trained me really roughly. He did not hold back on his ruthlessness. He taught me everything about fighting. About using weapons. About how to defend myself. I caught onto everything pretty quickly, but it was hard. It was tiring. He trained me for hours until I could barely walk. But despite feeling tired and exhausted and sweaty, I felt accomplished.
Then, we had shower sex. For the first time, I gave Ryder a blowjob. But for some reason, he stopped me just before he climaxed and demanded that he only come when he's inside of me. It's weird, since I came in his mouth several times. That's not fair. But it doesn't matter. I care about him more than I care about equal rights.
I liked shower sex, but not as much as normal sex. We used a condom, obviously. Did you know that condoms were waterproof?
Ryder and I lay on the bed, feeling clean and fresh and exhausted. Today was the best birthday I ever had. And there was only one reason: Ryder. I love him so much. It's crazy how much I think that, but would never say that. After all, this relationship is fake.
We stayed there, hand in hand, for a long time. I closed my eyes, finding myself drifting off to sleep. It was barely evening. The sky hasn't set yet.
Ryder kissed my forehead and whispered, "I have to work."
The bed felt cold without him in it. I tried to sleep, but it didn't work. I drifted in and out of consciousness.
Suddenly, the door opened. I grab the razor next to me and pointed at the intruder. It was Jake Fromstatefarm. He raised his hands up nervously. I put the razor back into my pocket.
"I have something to tell you." He said.
"You broke up with Brittany and decided to date Heather instead?" I guessed.
Many emotions flashed in his brown orbs. "First of all, Heather's practically my sister. Dating her would be incestuous. Second of all, are you jealous? Do you secretly like me?"
"Of course not." I said. "But you should definitely break up with Brittany."
"Why? She's a great person. So amazing and beautiful and-"
"She's a cheater. I saw her cheating on you with Ryder."
"Ryder cheated on you?" He didn't even sound surprised. "You should break up with him."
I started walking away from him. "No, it was not his fault. Your girlfriend seduced him and forced him to have sex with her."
Jake started following behind me. "Yeah, I don't know if that's true. I trust her."
"You shouldn't trust her. She's a snake. She's going to break your heart."
"I think you're wrong. Brittany is a good person. I think Ryder is to blame here. Why don't you break up with him?"
I sighed and started walking in a different direction. I don't know where I'm headed. "How many times do I have to tell you it's not his fault?"
"It's definitely his fault. He is a horrible person who cheated on you."
"No, I'm not going to break up with him just because you told me to."
"You know what?" Jake was yelling now. "If you break up with Ryder, I'll break up with Brittany."
"No! That's not fair!" I yelled in his face. "Ryder is a good person, and Brittany is not! Ryder is someone I trust! Brittany is a slut!"
He held out a finger to my lips. "Shh. I think I hear something."
He looked out from behind the corridor.
"What is it?" I hissed. I tried to listen and to my surprise, I did hear something.
"Bro, good job." I could hear Chris say. "You won the bet. You know, the bet that you could make Brynn fall in love with you?"
I could hear Ryder's nervous laughing. "Yeah, I did. I can't believe it."
"I knew it." Jake whispered.
I gasped and walked over to them. "It was a bet this whole time?"
Ryder looked at me in shock. "Babygirl- Brynn, please let me explain. This is not what you think it is-"
He began his explanation, but I wasn't listening. I couldn't believe that everything that happened was a bet. I thought he married me to get his father off his back. But no, it was about money this entire time.
"I can't believe it." I cried, tears running down my face. "Why did you do this to me? You stupid, insolent, manipulating douchebag. I can't believe I love you, Ry."
Ryder looked shocked. "You love me?"
Jake looked just as shocked. "You love him?"
"Yes. I love you, but you betrayed me. You hurt me." I cried, walking away.
"Wait!" Jake said, grabbing my arm and ruining my dramatic exit. "I never got to tell you the thing I wanted to tell you."
"What is it?" I snapped. I couldn't deal with this right now.
"The thing is... we're childhood friends."
"Childhood friends?" I gasped, popping the p. The memories started to flood through me.
A/N: Bet you guys didn't expect that. I just love leaving you guys off with a cliffhanger. I am so evil. I am the evilest person in the world. Mwahahahaha.