"Melanie," A voice called. This voice sounded far away, but then it also sounded as if it was right on top of her.
She looked around, no longer seeing the forest scenery that she thought she was in. Instead it was a bedroom, not one that she recognized. And not one that she remembered arriving in.
Still, Melanie had wondered if she had maybe just gotten here by sleep walking.
Nevermind that, she still had no clue where she was.
"Issac?" She called out when she heard footsteps coming towards the door. They were heavy, angry footsteps. The type that one would do after they've just been yelled at by a parent.
But this felt different. These footsteps felt violent and familiar. Melanie couldn't pin point where she had felt or heard these steps from, but she recognized them.
Suddenly they stopped right in front of the door. She heard the person place a hand on the doorknob, yet they didn't turn it. They just stood outside, sending Melanie into slight panic.
"Who's there?" She asked, trying to move. But she couldn't, for some reason her legs weren't working like normal. It felt as if they were paralyzed, like they were entrapped in quicksand.
The door began to creak open, slowly. It was like something you'd see from a horror film.
A figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing a faceless being. This human, or whatever it was didn't have arms. It's arms were replaced by bloody lumps, almost like they were torn off.
Melanie was horrified, wondering why she felt like knew this thing. But she figured it out when it began to speak.
"You did this to me," It spit.
That voice belonged to a person that haunted Melanie, even though he died weeks ago.
Joe.
"This isn't real," Melanie repeated. She closed her eyes tightly, begging herself to wake up.
Joe was dead, there was no way that this was possible. Yet he stood here, well some of him. Her eyes remained closed, but she felt a presence by her. He was standing right next to her, close enough so that should could feel him breathing.
"I won't ever leave you, Melanie." Joe said, his breath spread over her skin, leaving her with goosebumps. "I'll always be part of you. I'll be part of your dreams, your mind, your body. Everything."
As he spoke, reminders of what he did to her filled her mind. It swarmed the air around her like a hoard of bugs, flooding her entire body. It was like his words were infiltrating her lungs, her chest, her head. Any corner that could be reached.
She screamed, willing the words to stop. Begging Joe to leave her alone, to let her live out this morbid memory in solitude.
"Melanie..." He said, repeating her name over and over. He repeated this, each time his voice became louder and louder. It reached the point that she could hear nothing but her name being yelled.
But the tone of the screams turned to a different one, a voice that Melanie found comfort in.
A voice that screamed her out of her night terror.
She woke with a blood curdling scream, swinging her arms wherever she could. Something was holding her down against her will, and for a couple of seconds she thought she was still in a dream.
"Melanie, it's me! It's Issac," Issac shouted. He held her tightly against his chest, pleading for her to calm down. He prayed that she would be able to bring herself back.
And she did. After another minute of panic, she found herself again. With the help of Issac, she was able to breathe normally and become calm.
While her cheeks were still wet with tears, and her breathing occasionally had a hitch, she was fine. She was able to tell that this was real, that Issac holding her in his arms was real.
"It was so terrifying," Melanie spoke. Her voice was barely even a whisper, but Issac still heard every word. "Everything seemed so real, and despite knowing that it wasn't, I was still scared shitless."
Issac rested his chin on the top of her head, tracing patterns on her arm. He didn't speak because he knew she had more to say. So he would just listen for now.
"I thought that him being dead would make everything go away, that the memories would leave too. You know? I just thought that it would all get better."
Melanie felt vulnerable again, she knew that words were going to start coming and that she couldn't stop them.
"I still feel what he did to me," She paused, "I can still feel his nails digging into my body. I remember how they pierced through my skin, and how he just didn't care. He enjoyed hurting me. He enjoyed every part of it!"
She lashed out, slamming her head back into the head board. Issac's hand shot up to separate her head from the board, stopping her from hurting herself.
She cried, shoving her head into his chest. She wished that she could disappear, that she could cease to exist.
"When will this stop?" She whimpered, pulling back to stare at Issac. He looked into her sad brown eyes, which held the same pain that she had from the first day.
But behind the painful and fearful eyes was a warrior, a wolf who was slowly drawing power for her confidence.
Issac knew that she couldn't see it, yet he knew that one day she would be changed. She would shed away that scared little girl exterior and release that little bit of darkness.
Issac continued to stare at Melanie, not bothering to fight one urge that had been bothering him for weeks.
"Melanie, may I kiss you?"
Issac knew better than to just kiss her without her permission, but he didn't know how much him asking for consent meant to her.
Her eyes widened momentarily out of shock, she had not expected this to come from Issac. And what came next, she didn't expect to come from herself.
"Please."
Her heart raced as Issac's lips connected with hers, sending her body into a frenzy.
Their lips moved against each other's, soft and slowly. There was not a minute where Issac wasn't gentle, and there was not a minute where Melanie felt uncomfortable.
Melanie noticed how Issac's lips weren't cracked, unlike Joe's. She noticed that his hand caressed the back of her head, not her ass.
It was a simple kiss, one without a tongue in her throat. Only the occasional brushing of their own tongues, which felt accidental.
And she liked it that way, she liked the simplicity of her first real kiss.
But it was over faster than it had started. Issac pulled away, not wanting to push Melanie's boundaries.
She looked at him, and he still held the back of her head. He played with her hair, running the smooth strands between his calloused fingers. He wondered how hair could be so soft, how it never had tangles in it.
They continued to lay there, wrapped in each other's arms. Issac was huge compared to Melanie, making her feel protected. She felt safe from the bitter world, safe from those who wanted to hurt her.
Shortly, their eyes closed. And the pair dozed off to sleep, swaddled in the arms of a beta and her alpha.
The morning came sooner than expected, well at least to Melanie and Issac. Neither of them wanted to leave the bed, or untangle themselves from one another.
"I was thinking about what you said last night," Issac said. His voice was husky, scratchy at some points. It sounded hot. "How you wondered when it would stop."
Melanie tuned in to listen to Issac, but didn't look at him.
"It will stop with you," He said, "It stops when you're ready to heal, when you're ready to move on from what he did to you."
"I wish it was that easy," Melanie mumbled. Issac shook his head, making his eyes meet Melanie's.
"It is that easy. Just stop holding onto the past, allow the past to die with him. Take the things that he did to you and turn it to anger, use it to get yourself through this."
Melanie looked down, but Issac grabbed her hands.
"You're so strong, Melanie. Stronger than anyone I've met, and stronger than you could ever know."
Issac planted a kiss on her forehead, before he got up. He sensed Melanie's complaints about him leaving, but he just brushed them off.
"Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm going to make us breakfast."
He scampered off downstairs, leaving Melanie to herself. She stayed in the bed, underneath the warm comforter and pillows.
This was the first morning that she wished she could start over, she wanted Issac back in the bed.
Everything just felt so natural with him, so easy. He always tried convincing her of who he thought she was, and he always knew her boundaries.
And last night, well last night made her head spin. It made her cheeks turn pink and her heart race. Last night was the single best moment of her life.
But, while she was lost in her state of mind, she didn't notice the smell. She didn't notice how Issac's link in her mind went silent. And she didn't notice herself growing tired, until it was too late.
And then figures came, the same figure that had been nonstop attacking Melanie. But this time it had backup, and this time it was one step ahead.
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