Not a single cloud graced the bright blue sky, allowing a cascade of midday sunshine to adorn the forest with summertime light and warmth. The soft cadence of the trickling water harmonized beautifully with the songbird's sweet chirpy melodies. Lofty trees gently wavered above our heads, while light pink dahlias quivered down by Haiden's calves and feet. And a few little furry brown muskrats skittered around the shallow stream beside us. 

It would have been the epitome of a peaceful day. The pinnacle of perfection. If only he hadn't torn off the bottom of my shirt to tie my hands behind my back and my feet together, then flung my thrashing, screaming body over his shoulder like a measly sack of potatoes. 

Earlier, we'd gotten into a stormy argument about why I should either stay with him or go back to the town. I had given up thrashing about half an hour ago, but the tensely heated silence between us was tangible enough to fry an egg. We were both incredibly horny and enraged, and couldn't really seem to agree on anything. 

Yet despite being tied up and kidnapped by a naked erotomanic wolfman, I still kept my eyes peeled for a hoopoes bird.   

A woodlark fluttered above my head, landing on a vibrant young maple branch. My attention then went to a few red-rumped swallows, watching as they hopped and bounced from branch to branch within the shadowy depths of an evergreen tree. A tiny meadow pipit puffed up its speckled light brown feathers on a nearby stone, preening them with its little pointy beak. I smiled at how adorable it was. Still no hoopoes birds though.

"So um, what types of activities do you like?" Haiden's deep voice pulled my focus away from bird watching, reminding me of my less than ideal situation. His large bare feet carefully stepped over some mossy stones, while he continued onwards beside the winding stream. I didn't respond and silently scowled at the ground. 

'What types of activities do you like?' I contemptuously mocked his dumbass question in my head, using an insulting voice while making insolent faces.

A few more minutes of him carrying me in deafening silence passed until he spoke again. "Look, Isabelle, I truly am sorry about this." His voice was soft and apologetic. 

The motherfucking nerve of this therianthrope bozo...

I exasperatedly huffed. "No, you're not sorry. If you were then you'd be taking me back to the town, and not to some secret loony lycan village hidden within the forest." I tried to cross my arms, then remembered that they were tied behind my back.

His free hand glided through his hair in frustration, disheveling the soft dark locks. "You know I can't do that." He sucked in a deep breath, then exaggeratedly exhaled. "Okay look, I'll be honest with you, other than the very first lycans, I've never heard of a lycan being mated to a human before. I don't know why on earth this has happened. And truthfully, I don't know much about humans, or what to say or do to assuage your hesitation and fear about all of this." His hand gripped my butt a bit firmer.

"Well you could start by putting me down, since your giant boulder of a shoulder has been digging into my stomach for I don't even know how long now." I grumbled.

He almost immediately flipped me off of himself, and gently placed my bum onto a mossy stone right beside the singing stream. It was a mostly shady spot, except for a few crepuscular rays of sunlight pouring in through the dancing leaves to glitter upon the waters swirling surface. His arms momentarily wrapped around me, and I felt him gently untie the cloth which bound my wrists together. My eyes narrowed in irritation as he took in a not-so-inconspicuous whiff of my hair. Then he leaned back to gaze amorously into my eyes and grabbed my hands.

"I understand that this is difficult for you, dragostea mea. And I want to do whatever I can to help you adjust more easily, and properly explain everything." He lovingly gave my hands a little squeeze. "I just don't know how."

I glared at his stupid love-stricken face and yanked my hands out of his grasp. He frowned as I crossed my arms defiantly. "Give me a fricken break..." I drawled with an eyeroll. "You're literally kidnapping me right now! There's no helping me adjust to this!" I waved a hand up and all around in agitation. 

"You're my mate, Isabelle, and mates always live together. I'm not kidnapping you. I'm taking you home." He sternly reiterated what he'd said about a hundred times during the heated argument that had gotten me tied up earlier. 

"Well if kidnapping your mate and forcing them to live with you under the guise of 'taking them home' is normal for your people, then lycan culture is pretty fucked up!" I growled. "In fact, everything about this whole situation is fucked up! And I'm still not one hundred percent sure that I'm not hallucinating all of this!" An annoyed 'Oh boy, here we go again' look crossed his features. 

"And guess what, wolfboy, I'm an independent woman, who greatly enjoys her freedom! I'm not looking to be tied down anytime soon! Let alone go off and live in the goddamn forest with some random lycan man who broke into my bedroom and kidnapped me, claiming me to be his mate! If you actually loved me, then you would respect my wants and opinions about this matter!" I huffed and seethed as I spewed out my diatribe. 

He ran his hand through is hair for what was probably the fortieth time. "I am considering your feelings on this." He gritted in agitation. "That's why I want to do whatever I can to make this easier for you. Our bond is sacred and everlasting, just as my love for you is. You mean the world to me, and I can't just let you go back and never see you again." He held up a palm while shaking his head.

"Yeah..." I drawled. "So you see, that right there is a big reason why this won't work out." I pointed between us as I spoke. "You've kidnapped me. You murder and eat people. And worst of all, you're looking for a long-term committed relationship! I'm sorry, Pal, but this just isn't for me." I firmly laid it all out there for him, holding his gaze like the bold, dignified, and rather bitchy woman I am.

"Isabelle please, I know it might be hard for you to fathom, but believe me when I tell you that from the very second I caught your scent, you became the most beloved thing in the world to me." He reached out and gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear with a soft smile. "Please, try to be open about this. We belong to one another. And we need to try to make this work."

Try to make this work? ...Yeah flippin right.

"Eeee-yah!" I abruptly yelled like a banshee on crack. My face contorted with fighting rage, while I kicked him square in the chest with both of my bound together feet. Using the force of the kick to my advantage, I sprung back and managed to unceremoniously tumble backward off of the stone and into the tall grass. Then, not wasting a single measly second, I immediately tried to slither away like an inchworm... "I belong to no one, you beguiled beast!" 

Haiden was almost instantly on top of me, pinning me down with his huge, muscular, and still very naked frame. "Get your filthy paws off me!" I angrily hissed while violently squirming beneath him. 

His long hard erection was firmly pressing against my butt, practically searing it like a branding iron. He leaned his head down right next to my ear and gave my lobe a tiny warning nip with a growl. "I love how feisty you are, my little mate." His deep voice was husky and dripping with lust, making my loins gush with desire.

Oh, snap, what have I done!?

"Lookit, Haiden, this is not going to work. I'm not your mate! You're delusional! And I just want to get the fuck out of this goddamn forest!" I shouted in anger and frustration while trying to flail my limbs. But all in truth, I was terrified of the intimate connection I was beginning to feel with him.

He furiously growled as he swiftly flipped me onto my back, then knelt before me with his powerful thighs on either side of my hips. His erection strained up into my line of vision, make me clench like a bitch in heat. A hard steely scowl was set upon his face, while he pinned both of my wrists above my head with one of his large hands. His perfectly muscled upper body eclipsed the whimsical rays of sunshine. They illuminated the back of his head like a halo, while he cast a foreboding shadow across my stunned face. I audibly gulped. 

His upper lip aggressively curved back over one of his fangs in a snarl. "I'm delusional, am I? Well if that's true, then please do explain to me what is going on down here!?" He firmly grabbed me between the legs, feeling my completely saturated panties. I yelped in surprise. "Because it seems to me that although your mind might not recognize me as your mate, your body certainly does!" He leaned his face in closer as he spoke, with his hot breath fanning my face.

I was suddenly losing all resolve and he knew it. My body cried out with an agonizing need for his touch, and my willpower was quickly crumbling like weathered stones falling to crashing waves of desire. I was too horny to think straight, and his hand on my pussy was sending my mind spiraling down into a raging whirlpool of lust. 

"Maybe... Maybe I just think you're re-really hot." I breathlessly gasped out. "That doesn't mean we're mates!"

He gazed down at me with a dark looming expression and sinisterly chuckled. "You should know, Isabelle, that I am a warrior wolf. I take great pleasure in conquering whatever challenges are set before me." His hand left my wrists and roughly grabbed my chin, while the other tightened its grip on my poor weeping center. "And I am going to thoroughly enjoy the challenge of dominating the fuck out of you, my feisty little mate." Slowly, his thumb swiped across my bottom lip. Then with a deep bestial growl, he furiously crashed his lips to mine in an aggressively heated kiss. 

...Holy hot damn!