“How many have there been?” I asked.
“Only a handful throughout our five thousand years. It’s so rare because it takes a supreme Alpha to handle a human mate.”
“Because some may want to hurt her?” I interjected.
“Not just that, but also the human tendencies. They possess free will. She doesn’t have to choose you. You may fuck her, but she may not accept you as her mate for life,” Creed explained.
Hunter and I snarled as he stood up and asked in outrage, “What do you mean?”
“Just as I said. Unlike us, most humans take more than one lover. Many human females get divorced and have children with more than one man.” Rage was building in me again and I could feel my wolf at the surface, ready to make an appearance.
“That’s not happening. She’s mine,” Hunter roared.
“Then you must make her love you as you love her. How is she in your dreams? Does she fear you or does she welcome you?”
“She welcomes me,” Hunter said with relief. I growled and rushed to the front door. Fuck. If it took him six months and she let him in, what would it be like for me? She hated me. Running outside, I high-tailed it back home. Shifting again, I went for another run.
Chapter Three
I rushed back into my house breathing heavily, and locking the door in a hurry before the cameras snapped one more picture. I hated the paparazzi more and more with every new film project they wanted to ask about. Tearing off my hat, I plopped down on my sofa with a sigh. It was getting to be too much. I just wanted them to go away. I was already frazzled by what happened last night with that weird, angry dream. Dealing with their questions made me want to snap.
Everything was normal until I went to bed the night before. I hadn’t been asleep more than a few minutes before the most attractive man entered. He was deliciously handsome and rugged. The crazy thing was, I spewed out in pain and anger that I hated him. Being cruel was never in my personality. I couldn’t be mean if I tried, so why I dreamed of someone I never met and was mad at didn’t make any sense to me.
Tossing my head back, I thought about his face. What a face! He was scruffy looking with a short beard and wild dark brown hair. His jaw was taut... in anger? He exuded power with that strong, manly face. Even though I couldn’t make out his whole body, I saw his shoulders in a suit. He was broad and powerful, which also showed in his jawline. Then his eyes... they were a brown color but a light brown, almost the color of honey. I stared into those pools of beauty and hated him, but at the same moment wanting him like no one else.
Still daydreaming on my sofa, I fell asleep. Again, he was in my dreams. It was the exact same one as before and I again woke up in a daze and completely frustrated. I threw the accent pillow across the room angrily. Why was I so mad? It wasn’t like me, and why did it have to be this man?
I walked into my special art room and began painting scenery until an image developed in my head. Of course, his face was the first image I could think of and before the day was over, it was the only image I had painted. The clean lines of his chiseled jaw forced me to stare at the painting for over an hour. It was already after midnight before I managed to fall asleep.
I woke up that morning having slept through the night without him. I sat on my bed and cried. I didn’t understand why I broke down because I didn’t get to see him. It was nonsense and I was being a little overdramatic.
My mind was running wild with paranoia. What if now that I’d painted him, I wouldn’t dream of him anymore? Rushing into the room where my painting stood, I looked into his eyes and he was sad. I didn’t notice that I had rendered him that way, but I guess I did.
Standing there staring at it, I thought of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. The Hollywood life force must be getting to me. I shook my head. It wasn’t like the image was going to change for me. A part of me wanted to destroy it so my dream man would come back to haunt me, but another part was afraid if I did, he wouldn’t come back. What would I do then?
“You, mister, are a menace.” I tapped my finger along his jaw line, my temper building. Fucking nutty; that was what I was becoming.
I needed to get back to my normal life and forget about my handsome stalker.
Chapter Four
After I left Creed’s place, I couldn’t sleep. I’d spent the whole day working like a zombie and hoped I would make it through the night because I was exhausted. I needed to learn to calm my feelings and stay asleep long enough to get to know her.
I drove back home after a very long day. It was well past eight now, so I showered and ate something small. Picking up a book, I read War and Peace. It wasn’t long before I passed out.