LISA

"Good to finally meet you, Lisa. I have a meeting to attend, Emily. See you soon." He left.

This cannot be happening. That is him, the man from the other night. That same husky voice. Why is everything going wrong?

"You should see your face right now. Trust me, I get that reaction a lot when I introduce him as my father. He and my mum had me when they were 18. You already know she died during childbirth." Emily's voice jerked me back to reality.

I was finding it difficult to say anything. Should I tell her that I had a one-night stand with her father?

Arghhh. Why does my own Santa have to come bearing bad luck?

"Lisa... my daddy is off limits. I saw the way you were looking at him. Do not even think of using him as a rebound. Trust me, your heart will be shattered into pieces."

I did not know I was still looking at the place he just left, and my mouth was still dropped open until she dragged my nose playfully.

"Huh... no way. I do not want to deal with any man right now." I stuttered, hoping my voice would not betray me.

Someone came and helped me with my luggage while I followed Emily to the room where I would be spending my holiday.

The room looked like it would contain an extra ten people. It was spacious, with a king-size bed. Everything about this space screams luxury.

"So, this is your room. I want to quickly freshen up. Just ring the telecom if you need anything." She said.

She was about to go, but I requested her phone. Mine was switched off, and it should remain that way, but I needed to speak to my brother and fill him in.

He is the only person in my family who genuinely cares about me.

Now all alone, the sad reality dawned on me again. My life is not as peaceful as it used to be.

Has Josh said anything to my parents? I was meant to have my bridal shower tonight, where the extended family would possibly present their gifts to me.

What will Daddy's reaction be when I do not show up tomorrow? I collapsed on the bed, clearly going through a lot.

Josh's family had promised to help Daddy's company from going bankrupt after the wedding, but if I am out of the picture, things might never be the same.

I stood up and walked over to the tall mirror placed in the middle of the room to have a proper look at myself.

Maybe if I were slim like his step mum, Josh would have stayed with me. I have always been on the chubby side. Fat ass, round boobs. The only thing slim about me is my face and tummy.

No, I would not do that to myself. He is an asshole. I picked up Emily's phone and dialled my brother's number, saved as John, and he picked up almost immediately.

John: Emily, I have tried calling you. Do you know where Lisa is? Everybody is worried.

Me: Do not draw any attention. It is me. Move to a place where you will be alone.

Just like that, I told him everything that was happening, excluding my one-night stand story.

As predicted, he was furious. Just like Emily, he has never liked Josh for me. The call ended, but not without me letting him know not to let anyone know what happened.

I quickly had my bath and changed into something more comfortable. Today is Christmas, and I will have a fun-filled evening.

It dawned on me that I did not see any Christmas trees hanging around anywhere. Nothing feels like the season around here.

Everywhere is quiet. I might as well shop for a Christmas tree with my best friend and light up the house.

I left my room, hoping to see someone who would show me her room, but something caught my attention.

A door was slightly open, and I saw a painting that caught my eye, so I went inside.

A moon crescent. The painting felt so real. I got more curious and started looking around at other paintings.

Werewolves, crowns. Now I understand where Emily got her crazy fantasy about werewolves. She has always believed in this funny story about packs, werewolves, moon.

I find it funny because none of that exists in the actual sense. Just crazy fantasy that most writers come up with.

There was another painting, but this one was covered. I guess it must be really beautiful. I moved towards it to open it, but stopped immediately when I heard that same voice.

"Snooping around is not such a good trait."

It felt like the moment froze. He has this strong aura that makes me quiver even without trying much.

"I... I was just looking around."

The more he came close to me, the more I could feel my heart beating.

"I will forgive you this once because you are my daughter's friend, but I do not give second chances... Lisa." He tugged the tiny hair strand behind my ear.

How can someone sound so deadly and sexy at the same time? He moved towards the covered painting.

"You will not tell my daughter what happened. Not now, not ever."

I had to chuckle. It was my time to make him fear. "Oh, I should not tell my best friend that her father randomly has one-night stands with girls and throws out some wad of cash as compensation."

"Is that what you think of me, Mr..." Yeah, right. I do not even know his name.

"Her room is second wing on your left," he said.

Just how did he know I was looking for her room? I did not bother asking. I followed his direction and went to Emily's room.

She was arranging her clothes when I came in. "Hey, you. I thought you would probably be nursing your heartbreak or sleeping." She winked at me.

"You wish. Here does not feel like Christmas, so let us go shop for Christmas trees, flowers, and lots of roses."

"Put those clothes down. Let us go." I was about to drag her out, but she stopped me.

"We do not celebrate Christmas around here, Lisa."

Huh? What was she saying? I noticed that she was twisting her fingers. She only does that when nervous. Are they pagan? That explains it.

"Here is the Silvercrest Dominion pack, the strongest of all packs. My father is the Alpha... we are werewolves, Lisa. It is high time I come out of my closet."

I burst into laughter, holding my ribs. "You should consider acting."

I stopped laughing when I saw fangs forming from her hands, her eye colour drastically changing, and the sudden glow.

"Nooo." That was the last thing I remembered saying before I passed out.

Emily could not stop pacing around. She was clearly tense. Looking at my daughter right now, for the first time, I regretted letting her go live with humans when she was just 11.

But Emily has always been an inquisitive child who wanted to explore outside the pack, so I did what I thought was best for her.

"You know she will be fine. You really need to take it easy, princess."

"Just what was I thinking, Dad? Lisa has really had a rough day. I should not have taken her unawares. I should not have tried to show her my werewolf form. I just wanted her to believe me."

"I was just tired of hiding in the closet. Gosh, why do I feel like I have lost my best friend?"

She finally sat beside her friend, tapping her feet aggressively.

Times like this, I wish her mum were alive. She would have known the best words to use.

"Come here, baby. None of this is your fault. She will come around to this reality. Go get some rest. I will be in my room."

I looked at her friend who was lying down peacefully, and I felt it again, that mate bond.

I immediately left the room and went over to the place where I draw out my feelings.

I have a gift of sketching and painting anything I lay my eyes on to perfection, even if it is just a glance. My memory retains every single detail.

I went over to the covered portrait and slowly removed the cover, revealing her... Lisa in that black short gown she wore last night.

I was only meant to unwind with cool music and some drink, but immediately I set my eyes on her, I felt something I thought I had lost 20 years ago when Emily's mum died.

That strong bond that keeps pulling me to mark her at that spot.

When she came over to me and used her hands to trail down my chest, I lost it.

I do not do one-night stands, but I made an exception with her because my body betrayed me without putting up a fight.

But everything about the way I feel is wrong.

I am not just an Alpha but the king of Alphas of the strongest pack.

It is against the rules for me to have this bond attraction toward her. She is a human, not just any human, but my daughter's best friend.

No matter how much I try, how her body melted into mine refuses to leave my head.

I covered the portrait again, this time I hid it and made sure I locked the door on my way out.

"Alpha Zayne, we have an issue. Your brother has escaped."

I stayed still for some seconds. "Scar, to my room."

He followed me straight to my room. "I made it clear that he should be placed on house arrest till after the Christmas celebration. He being outside there means danger, damn!"

"I am sorry. Our men had it under control, but he killed one of them, took off his clothes and identity, and left."

If Scar was not my most trusted aide, I would have had my fist on his face.

"I need him back before 24 hours."

"Scar, I do not need any mistakes this time."

He took his bow and left.

******

LISA

I opened my eyes and realised it was all a nightmare. Emily's eyes were shut as she sat beside me.

I sat up, making her wake up. "You are awake. How are you, Lisa?"

Was it concern, or did she look and sound frightened? "I am good. You do not want to believe the horrible dream I had. You had funny claws. I think I should throw away all the crazy werewolf books you read."

I was expecting her to laugh as usual, but this time she did not. She was avoiding my eyes.

"What is wrong, Emily? Did something happen? You do not look good."

She bent her head. "It was not a dream, Lisa. I am sorry for hiding it from you. You never believed in any of this. I just wanted to prove to you that I was not joking."

"What you saw was real. We are werewolves, and my daddy is the Alpha of this pack."

My knees started buckling as sweat formed on my forehead.

It was not a dream... I stood up and ran over to the wall. Just where am I? Why is my entire life taking a 360 turn? How did I go from living with humans to demons?

"Calm down, Lisa. We will not hurt you, not while you are here. I know this is a lot for you, but please, be calm."

Emily tried coming over to me. I picked up the flower vessel close to me and aimed it at her. "Do not touch me. I will use this. Move back right away."

She stepped back with her hands up, and I took to my heels and bumped into someone outside the room.

Oh no. Her dad. If there are demons, it simply means I slept with one.

I gasped and covered my mouth, then Emily ran out to meet us.

"I am so sorry, best friend. Look, we will not hurt you."

I could not stop my body from trembling. I should have stayed back and gotten married to Josh. Now I will be slaughtered like a goat.

"Please... just let me go. I will not say a word of this to anyone. Please."

"It is fine. If that is what you want, Lisa, I will ask someone to drive you back home safely. I am sorry again. We can talk once you are calm."

Emily's words were relieving. I wanted to run off as usual, but his hands stopped me.

"Unfortunately, you cannot go now. It is not safe out there," he said.

I removed my hands from his grip immediately. "I do not care. I cannot stay here with demons."

"Okay then. It is your choice. Go outside and get killed, Lisa."

LISA

"Dad, you can't stop her from going."

"Bruno is outside, and you know what that means, princess." Her father turned over to me. "She has been your best friend since when again, and you actually think she would not have hurt you all this time?"

"My daughter is hurting already. Don't make this harder for her. Get a grip on yourself and learn that life is not always black and white."

He left, leaving both of us standing there. I had to look at Emily. He was right.

If she wanted to harm me, she would have done that a long time ago.

"Let's go to your room. You owe me lots of explanations."

******

I woke up when I felt the morning rays hit my eyes. Emily dragged the curtain wide open.

I slept off last night listening to Emily's story about her world. All that it entails.

It felt surreal, but somehow I found it intriguing now. The whole discovery.

"Happy Boxing Day, best friend." Emily dropped two wrapped boxes on the bed.

"Awwww. You got me gifts. Now I feel bad for not getting you any."

"No, it's fine. I know how these few days have been for you," she said, but something else caught my attention: the sadness in her eyes.

Emily is like an open book that I can easily read through. "What happened this time?"

"Ark.. He is sick."

Oh, Ark.. Her fiancé. Or should I say mate? Now it makes sense why I have only seen his pictures all this time. I just learned yesterday that he is an Alpha of another pack.

After this whole chaos, I should probably write a book. Maybe leave my job as a fashion designer and become a full-time writer.

"You should go see him. Don't worry about me. I will be fine."

"Are you sure? Today is meant to be your..." she paused, scared to complete the sentence.

"Wedding. I will not cry because of Josh. Yes, I feel sad and heartbroken, but trust me, I am good. I am peckish now, let's find something and eat."

Breakfast was served. There was so much to eat that I thought they were expecting extra guests.

Why do I feel like Emily's dad is staring at me? I don't even know his name.

He just sat opposite me at the dining table as we ate in silence.

"Dad, I will be going to see Ark today. Can you please take Lisa somewhere fun? I really want her to have a fun-filled day. Please?"

I let out a scoff, hoping it was not audible. I expected him to say no immediately. "Okay, if that is what you want," he said.

Okay... that was fast. "Thank you, Dad."

Time flew fast, and here I was sitting quietly in his car while he drove.

I was having so many emotions at the same time. I mean, this man literally saw me naked and did things to me.

I cleared my throat to get his attention. "So, what's your name and where are we going?"

"Zayne, and we are going somewhere that feels like Christmas."

Was he counting his words, or does he hate talking? At least I know his name now. Finally, the car stopped at a park.

With Christmas trees and lights all over the place. So many fun activities are going on. It was snowing.

I came down and started jumping, and the loud Christmas music made it more fun. "Merry Christmas!" I screamed.

Did he just smile? Zayne was watching me play around.

I dragged him into the circle and made him jump with me. This felt so good.

"Here, have this jacket. It is very cold." He removed his jacket and gave it to me, but I was finding it difficult to put it on because of the gloves on my hands.

"I will help you with that." When his hands touched my neck, I felt an impulse.

What is wrong with me? "Thank you, Zayne."

"Do you mind if I take a photo of you two? Don't worry, it is free." A man with a camera smiled at us, waving his camera.

Before I could say anything, Zayne drew me closer to him and asked me to pose for the camera, which I did, followed by the lens clicking.

"You both look so beautiful. Perfect couple. Merry Christmas," the man said, handing the hard copy to Zayne.

Couple? That sounded so awkward. "You want to take a look?"

"Huh? Y... yeah, let me see."

Zayne gave me the picture, and damn. The man was right. Picture perfect. I must confess he has one of the cutest smiles.

Does he also think I am pretty, or find me attractive? No, Lisa, don't do that.

"You should smile more, you know. It makes you look prettier," he said.

Oh goodness. I have never fallen so hard for a compliment. "Thank you."

Zayne took me to another beautiful sight. Walking with him side by side felt dreamy.

He got me new clothes, mostly jackets, boots, and I picked up this short black gown. I have a thing for black.

It is safe to say I was having the best time of my life. Who would have thought my Christmas would be spent far away from family?

The ride home was not awkward this time. He played music, good Christmas songs that I jammed to, and we were finally back home.

"Thank you for today. I know none of this matters to you, but you still tagged along."

"Someone will bring your shopping bags to you. Goodnight."

Oops. We were back to being hostile. Just a while ago, he was acting sweet, and now... distant.

I came down from the car and went inside the house, straight to my room, and collapsed on the bed.

Today was meant to be my wedding. I could not help but think about how things were back home.

I saw a small laptop on the table and picked it up. Thank goodness it had internet. Maybe I could find a few news posts on blogs. Josh is a popular business tycoon, and I bet many blogs are interested in his wedding.

I typed his name, and a recent video he uploaded hours ago popped up.

I clicked the video and started watching. No way. He has got to be kidding me.