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somethingeden · 5 months

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He was staring at her in a way no one had in her entire life. She couldn’t read anything in his eyes - not surprise, not fear, not malicious intent - nothing. (wolfrry, werewolf!harry, alpha!harry, ranger!y/n)

Lupus Noctis- Masterlist, Author’s Note & Warnings

Chapter 1 / alternatively, read on wattpad

Chapter 2 (word count: 7k)

Inside the station, Y/N put the pup into a crate and gave it water before locking up and putting her rifle away safely. She took a few deep breaths to center herself as she was still a bit shaken up. She needed to regain her sense of control and so she decided to busy herself to get her mind off things.

Pulling out everything she’d need to examine him, she realized the little guy also appeared to be done for the day, but she took advantage of its even drowsier than normal state, since it was already such a calm animal in general, and took it out of the crate in order to further inspect it.

Placing it on the disinfected metal table they used for inspecting animals, Y/N’s heart still pounded loudly in her chest - she was a bit shaken up after that encounter. What had just happened? That man had really gotten under her skin. The way he was looking at her, dissecting her appearance, almost reading her thoughts. It left an unsettling feeling inside her chest. But there was something so unusual about him as well. Dangerous even. She didn’t buy his story but she didn’t want to deal with bringing him to the station and further questioning him. Though she had a rifle, the man was far larger and clearly stronger than she was. Even in his heeled, velour chelsea boots, and jeweled fingers he could certainly take her. No question. She didn’t want to push it to find out.

She laughed to herself when the pup kept slipping and sliding on the table and eventually let it just lie there like a deflated pancake while she conducted her thorough examination. She inspected it closely and found nothing to suggest foul play, the animal appeared to be well nourished, its fur was shiny, if a bit unruly for a cub its age, its eyes were bright, if sleepy, and its teeth and gums were also healthy. Since it still had its baby teeth, she couldn’t tell whether it was a wolf or a dog, but there were some indicators of the former. And perhaps the most obvious one was the way it had howled in response to the wolf they’d heard just when they were getting back to the station. Its eyes were also indicative of the species, the golden hue quite apparent. And finally, the man had gotten something right at least - it was a male. He never did mention the name, though.

Which led her to another idea. If this animal really was the man’s pet, then surely it’d been microchipped. She took out the scanner and starting from the head, she ran it down its body side to side until she reached its tail, but it read nothing. She repeated the process again, but still, the scanner wasn’t picking up anything.

“Sorry, boy. Couldn’t find out your name. Nor your owner’s, for that matter.” She rubbed her palm gently down its back and lightly scratched. The eyes were the most interesting part. They looked almost human. This little guy was by far the most interesting-looking creature she’d ever encountered. The paws were more jointed than that of a canine too. Like it had digits. The curve of the spine and neck were odd as well.

She tried to determine the age. It didn’t seem like a newborn. It didn’t react in the way a newly born pup would. The muscles were well-formed and it had a keen sense of awareness. Perhaps she could say it was a year old based on these characteristics but the size was a touch too small to be aged at a year. Most wolves at one year were almost fully grown. This thing was the size of a typical wolf pup.

The cub closed its eyes and looked to be on the verge of falling asleep, and that’s when Y/N decided she should just microchip it now that it was naturally drowsy, since it had to be done anyway. Legal owner or not, the man had the obligation to microchip his pet. And if it really was a wolf that belonged in the forest, then she’d just log it into their inventory later on. She’d wait for the man to bring proof of ownership the following day, and if he could prove it was his, she’d just log in his info along with the pup’s name.

But Y/N was fairly certain she was looking at a wolf, not a dog. She’d have to run it by the vet the following day to be certain, of course.

The procedure was straightforward enough, and she’d seen the vet do it many times. The wolf cub barely budged when she grabbed the loose skin between its shoulder blades and inserted the needle, effectively microchipping it. She then scanned it and took a mental note to finish logging it into the system the following day, when she’d hopefully have all the remaining necessary info.

She still had hours left on her shift. The pup wouldn’t eat what she tried to give him, so she gave up. Not only was he at what appeared to be a healthy weight, but it was also probably stressed so she wasn’t going to force it to eat. She noted that it was looking directly into her eyes when she was checking it over and mumbling to herself. It was odd. Unusual. Only domesticated dogs would be likely to make that kind of eye contact. Dogs that were used to humans. Maybe this was just a pet. She’d see soon enough if the man returned to prove ownership in the morning. But she doubted every word he spoke.

She then took the little guy into her arms and watched it snuggle into her chest and she allowed herself this tender moment. It wasn’t every day that you could snuggle up with a wolf pup. Granted, this one was a peculiar one, because, as Nick had mentioned, even the young could prove to be quite feral. Their claws made up for what they lacked in the fangs department if anything. But this little guy was as docile as a rabbit, even more so. It was endearing. She placed it back into the crate and gave it a fluffy towel to snuggle up against, then secured it, pulling a blanket over the crate to make it feel as if it were in a den, and turned off the lights to the medical room.

Being a forest ranger came with certain perks but most of the perks were combined with some annoying aspects. Such as an old Jeep that smelled peculiar and creaked over bumpy roads. Or hot days with sunscreen melting down into her eyes. And bugs. Lots of bugs. But there was nothing like being in nature. Silver Wolf Preserve National Forest was gorgeous and expansive. She’d never tire of the views and the feeling of being outdoors under the canopy of the tall trees. But tonight? Tonight was not something she ever expected of her job. That man had her hackles raised and her head on a swivel. She kept hearing strange sounds coming from outside of the station.

Normally these sounds wouldn’t bother her so much but they did tonight. The radio wasn’t working at all. None of the stations would come in clearly still. She tried to enjoy the book she’d brought along but her mind kept wandering. To the wolf cub and how unusual it was. To that man. Tall and lean, dressed like he was going to a house party or a semi-fancy restaurant ready for a date. She tried not to let her mind wander too far about his appearance. Because sure, anyone could see that he was well-built and very handsome. But he was weird. Wasn’t he? And intimidating. His nonchalant attitude was also frustrating. She sort of hoped he’d come back to claim the cub in the morning so she could give him a piece of her mind. Tell him she wasn’t scared and that she wasn’t dumb. That she was onto him. She’d put him in his place if he came back around while she was there.

And his hands too. God his hands were so big and his fingers were long with an array of rings on them… She couldn’t go there. That is quite enough Y/N. Stop.

She watched out the window and sighed as she looked up into the sky. The moon was already hidden behind the trees so she couldn’t see it anymore but she knew it was still a full moon. And her night had been so strange but she was feeling absolutely exhausted. She figured it would be wise to sleep a bit.

Changing out of her work clothes, she slipped into her oversized t-shirt that she’d brought for this purpose, and got into the small one-person bed the station provided for watch duty. She had to be able to pull her pants back on rapidly in case she would be needed throughout the night. The bed was awful, the mattress was a joke, and she really doubted she’d get any sleep in.

But when she flinched awake in the middle of the night, checking the digital clock that read half past 3, she realized she’d been more tired than she’d initially thought. She couldn’t figure out what had woken her up, but then she heard the pup whimpering and she relaxed. It was probably frightened, having woken up in a strange place, locked up in the crate, with a blanket obscuring its view. Y/N decided to go check on it, and maybe leave a light on for it this time around.

She only slipped her boots on, forgoing tying up the shoelaces, and made her way to the medical room. She could’ve sworn that she’d shut the door before going to sleep, and the blanket was lifted from the cage but the wolf cub was still inside. Though he was standing and looking at her, very awake, and looked like it wanted to play.

“Poor fellow. You probably miss your siblings in your litter, don’t you? Way too young to be separated from your family. Wonder was that man thinking parting you from them…”

She took the pup out of the crate and slipped the lead back around its neck, deciding to step out the back and hopefully get it to relieve itself outside. She was happy to see it do just that the moment she placed it on the ground, and after letting it sniff around for a bit more, she took it back inside and placed it back into the crate, giving it a chew toy to keep itself occupied until it fell back asleep.

“Good boy. Don’t wake me up again, though, else you won’t be getting any treats come morning,” she warned and, careful to leave a lamp on in the medical room, she closed the door behind her and made her way back to the spare room where she was sleeping.

A very pleasurable whiff of something hit her as she crossed the hallway and she made a mental note to ask the cleaning lady whether she knew what type of air freshener they had in there. It smelled amazing!

She kicked off her Doc Martens and climbed under the cover, happy to resume her sleep, and glad that she was able to sleep at all.

Seemingly 5 minutes had passed since she’d gone back to bed, but her alarm proved otherwise, the clock read 7am. She begrudgingly got out of bed, stretched her sore limbs (that mattress really needed to go), and dressed herself back into her ranger uniform.

She was meant to wait for the cleaning lady, usually, the first person to turn in, before she could leave for her day off so that the station would not remain unoccupied in between shifts.

She debated making a cup of coffee and waiting for the vet to come in before she left for the day, though. She wanted to run the whole thing by her, regarding the microchip and why she’d installed it when she did (as to not unnecessarily have to anesthetize the pup), and also inform her about this strange man that was due to come in and provide proof of ownership over the cub.

She was gonna leave out how she’d happened upon them since that wasn’t standard procedure and she could get in trouble for having not called in reinforcement when she suspected poachers. She figured telling the vet was the easiest way to dodge having to explain to a fellow ranger what had gone down.

After all, she couldn’t afford to risk getting into trouble only 2 months into this job.

But when she opened up the door to the medical room only to find the crate wide open and the cub missing she froze in place for a long moment.

“Fuck!” She groaned loudly and in a panic began to look all around the station to see if it had gotten loose from the cage but it dawned on her what had happened as she slowly woke up from the fog of sleep.

The pup had been taken. By the man she couldn’t get out of her head.

She put her hands into her hair and closed her eyes, “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” she couldn’t believe she let this happen on her watch.

She paced from the break room with the bed to the tiny medical room and back in thought. How had it happened?

Then she remembered waking up to check on the wolf pup and how the blanket had been moved, and the unfamiliar scent lingering in the air. Retracing her steps she could see a little better with the daylight falling through the windows and illuminating the space.

The medical room was tiny. She pushed the door wide open and investigated. There was no room for anyone to hide under anything. She popped her head into the hallway and then back into said room.

This time she closed the door behind her and realized then there was a perfect spot for a large man to stand right behind the door as it swung inward into the room. He had been standing there the whole time, smelling delicious and waiting for her to leave so he could finish what he’d started.

The fucker. It was him. He was there, only feet from her and she had no clue the whole time.

After stuffing her pack with things she’d need for her search and unlocking her rifle from where she’d safely stored it (she still had her handgun with her this whole time - thankfully, as it was quite apparent now that this man was a lot more dangerous than she’d originally assessed), she grabbed the GPS scanner they used to track the wildlife they could successfully tag and ran the microchip data through it in hopes of getting a read. She was hoping they were still on forest premises since the GPS could only cover so much ground, and when she got a ping she wasted no time and hopped straight into one of the jeeps. She was determined to get to the bottom of this, even if it meant sacrificing part of her day off.

She parked at the trail on the southeast entrance of the forest. The one the man said he’d parked at. She didn’t know if it was true that he came in from that end but not only was it far enough away from the station that it was very unlikely she’d cross paths with anyone she worked with, the GPS was showing her that she’d have a good chance of finding the pup if she began on that side.

She began the search on foot. She was able to follow the trail into the forest for about a mile until the location led her outside of the boundaries of the safe path. But she was prepared. At first.

Soon the path became difficult to navigate. There were down trees and slopes to climb. She passed through a stream, needing to remove her boots and put on her water socks to safely cross. But the ascent became sharper the further into the woods she got. She was glad she had a GPS device because it would have been easy for even someone as skilled as herself to get lost.

Y/N needed to sit for a bit and drink her water. She was out of breath. She was in good shape because her job required it but the elevation was getting to her. She figured she must have climbed a thousand feet. But she was headed in the direction on the map.

She prayed she could solve this unscathed, not only for her safety’s sake, but for her job’s sake. She was sure to get in big, big trouble if anyone were to find out about this. It was bad enough that she’d left with the station’s jeep, a rifle in her possession when she was supposed to be off-duty. But this? Wandering off into uncharted, off-limits territory, not having told anyone where she was going at the very least, not to mention without a partner - it was all in violation of all of their safety codes. She would lose her badge for sure.

It had already been a couple of hours since she began her trek. She kept track in her mind of how long it would take her to return to her car. She still had hours upon hours of daylight. But she’d need to be careful to turn back after hiking for another four hours. 6 hours in and 6 hours out. That would give her the right amount of daylight and be able to return before the sun was down.

After another hour of hiking, she found more level ground and the temperature was considerably cooler. There were more openings in the trees allowing more sun to shine on her. The GPS had her very close to the supposed spot the pup was in but there was no sign of anyone or anything that could indicate human or canine. She continued into the geo-location and even past the spot identified on the map, thinking perhaps she could make a large circle about twenty yards around the perimeter of the marked area.

Having to hold up her rifle was definitely slowing her down as well. There was plenty of wildlife roaming freely along these parts, she couldn’t risk a single step without it aiming to shoot in case it came down to it. She was hoping this was not gonna be the day she’d see more of those bears she was complaining about lack of to Nick the other day.

That, paired with continuously having to check her GPS to make sure she was staying on track, made her feel as though she was advancing with the speed of a slug, but after a few jumpscares that proved to be just a couple of deer, she stumbled upon something even more surprising than the scene she’d happened upon the day before.

Directly in her line of view was nothing less than a… cabin.

Certainly unaccounted for, she’d never heard of its existence, and she was certain no one at the station had any inkling as to it being there- she blinked her eyes a few times, as though she couldn’t believe her eyes.

How was it even possible? It was so deep into the forest, making it so wildly dangerous to live in, not to mention it had no way of generating electricity or running water…

Why would anyone want a cabin there? She couldn’t think of a single reason. It was literally insane.

It wasn’t just a shack, either. It was a proper cabin, far nicer than the ones the administration provided for visitors that were going to camp out during the nights and needed shelter from the elements should the weather turn bad, or in the eventuality of straying off course and not being able to make it out in time before nightfall- which, if they logged in at the station, the rangers would know to organize a search party to find them in order to avoid having to even use these so-called cabins anyway. She’d even sent the man to go spend the night in one of those amenities, not wanting to take him into the station all by herself.

This was getting weirder and weirder. But the cabin matched the ping on the GPS. The pup was definitely inside. The whole time she’d tracked it, it had stayed put, so it would account for the animal not moving.

She hadn’t really gone over how she’d handle it in her head. She’d just have to confront the man and find out what was happening. Of course, now that she was just about to come face to face with him, she was doubting any of this had been a good idea. None of what she’d done was safe or wise and she was probably going to get her ass fired.

If she even made it out alive, that is.

She circled the cabin, inspecting it from every angle.

She expected to hear the man inside, or the pup, or both, but the coast was eerily clear.

“Hello, the house!” she shouted, making her presence known in customary fashion around those areas. This wasn’t legally anyone’s property since it was government land, but she didn’t know who was living in it and what delusional ideas they had about it. Probably pretty far-fetched ones since they thought it wise to build a cabin in the middle of the wilderness.

Never lowering her rifle, she began advancing towards the entrance, having not gotten any response to her greeting. Very carefully, she inspected the windows up close, and since whoever lived there had goddamn lace sheer curtains and she couldn’t see a thing inside, she made her way towards the door.

Opening it just as carefully, she took in the open space whilst making her presence known again “Hello? I mean no harm. Please come out so we can talk.”

But again, there was no answer. She listened very carefully but she couldn’t hear anything. Finally, a noise caught her attention, a sound she’d grown familiar with.

It was a whimper.

Looking to her right, she saw the little guy sitting right next at the doorway to another room.

It was wagging its tail and seemed happy to see her and not at all afraid.

Y/N whistled, beckoning it over “Come here, boy!”

The pup obeyed her, which led her to believe its owner truly wasn’t there, since it wouldn’t budge from next to him the previous night. But then again, maybe now she’d earned its trust.

“There’s a good boy. Is your daddy home?”

The cub tilted its head which earned a chuckle from Y/N. She could use a break after all that amount of adrenaline.

She walked around the cabin, inspecting every room, not that there were many. Actually as far as she could tell there were just the two. There was no bathroom, but that was to be expected since there was no sewage system and running water. Plenty of candles scattered around in a safe manner, no kitchen either. Just the bigger, open space area in which you stepped in going inside, and the other room the pup had come out of to greet her, with a bed.

Little furniture, but still it was incredibly surprising there was any. How in the hell did he get it there? Just imagining the distance he’d have to carry it from the nearest point to which you could drive up. A couch and a coffee table. A bookshelf that actually had books in it. Quite an extensive collection of spirits. The place had lots of animal furs as carpets too. A huge bear skin rug, complete with the head, that was preserved eerily well.

And then in the bedroom, a surprisingly large bed, with lots of pillows and expensive-looking blankets. Lots of rabbit skin furs. There was also an armoire in there, and opening it up she found a collection of very expensive-looking shirts and, surprise surprise, even more heeled chelsea boots. Not that there was any doubt in her mind anymore regarding who was the owner of this cabin, but this just confirmed it. She couldn’t help being nosey, and on a closer inspection, she saw the items were designer labels. Mainly Yves Saint Laurent, but others too.

How the hell did that make any sense? This guy obviously had money and a lot of it at that. Yet here he was, living in a cabin in the deepest, most secluded part of the woods, with no access to facilities to live a half-decent life.

That only meant he didn’t live there at all, of course. He probably only used it in passing. But why would he need it? What use could he possibly have of it, so far away from, well, civilization? It’d taken her hours to get there. And she still needed to get back before sundown, or at least back to a more forgiving trail that she could navigate easily.

Something was definitely off about all of this.

She needed to get to the bottom of it, but maybe she needed to think it over more carefully and make an actual plan. She’d lucked out this time around, seeing as he wasn’t there, but this could’ve gone terribly wrong. And it still could, if she wasn’t careful.

She had to make her way back.

She crouched next to the cub and petted it. She noticed lots of plush toys scattered around the cabin, a food bowl that was now empty, and a water bowl that she refrained from topping off. She didn’t need him knowing she’d been there.

She was careful to leave everything intact and looked around for mud tracks, but thankfully, she’d been wise enough to wipe the soles of her boots on a patch of greenery just before entering.

There was no way he could tell she’d been there, and she intended to keep it that way and play it to her advantage.

At least the little guy was safe, it was very clearly used to being there, it wasn’t afraid, and didn’t even try to leave out the door when she stepped out of its way. He was apparently content to be there. That put her at ease tremendously, happy she didn’t happen upon the horrific scenarios she was imagining, where the strange man had performed blood sacrifices on it in the middle of the woods and left it for dead (the only other explanation as to why the GPS wasn’t monitoring any movement).

Whatever this man was, she at least knew he wasn’t cruel toward animals. He obviously cared about the well-being of the wolf pup and for some reason, it mattered a great deal to him.

She petted the cub again, scratching behind its ear, and took her leave just as carefully as she’d approached the cabin, then began her trek back to where she’d left her jeep, mindful of how dark it’d already gotten.

Days had gone by sans incident. Y/N felt like she’d been lucky to make it out of that dangerous situation unscathed. She had time to ponder every little aspect of everything she’d learned about this man ever since their encounter that full moon, and it all pointed to him being a very dangerous, if mysterious man.

It made no sense for him to have that cabin so remote, so deep into the forest. Everything indicated to him not staying there long (there was no bathroom, no electricity, no running water), but the trek there was so long and hazardous that it just didn’t make any sense to go all the way up there just to stay for a day or two at most.

Why did he need that cabin there, then? It just wasn’t adding up regardless of how she looked at it.

Being a ranger also meant she was a sworn officer of the law, so wasn’t it then her duty to shed light on this whole thing? The man had built a cabin there. Illegally. She’d checked all their logs at the station, there was no entry on any cabin in that area. He’d deliberately picked an area that not even rangers patrolled. He had clearly chosen such a hard-to-reach area to ensure it would be highly unlikely to ever be found.

Why was that? What was he hiding?

Was he a fugitive? Was he a wanted criminal?

But then, how would that work? He clearly didn’t use the cabin to live in, he just kept it as shelter from the elements mostly, in passing. Also, what kind of criminal owns designer clothes?

Actually - scratch that. Lots do.

But clearly, he had money, so this wasn’t a question of him having nowhere to go and hide from the law.

She was well aware this was way over her head and she needed to tell her colleagues about it. This was something illegal this man was doing, and the longer she knew about it and did nothing about it, she was becoming an accomplice to it by keeping her silence.

But, she didn’t know how to go about it. She knew what she’d done was in no way compatible with her keeping her job at the station. And she loved this job. She really didn’t want to give it up. But if it came to choosing her freedom over her job…

Maybe if she found out what he was up to, she could have a better idea of what the right move would be. If it turned out that the man was indeed an outlaw (aside from his little cabin in the middle of government forest), she’d have to turn him in and say goodbye to her job there.

But if this proved to be just a silly man with a silly cabin… which made absolutely no sense… then why would she risk her job over it?

She was contemplating all this in her little oasis of peace and quiet. She’d found this spot pretty soon after securing the job there, it was off-trail and so she didn’t have to worry about hikers walking in on her. Well. She would hope so, at least, but she was fairly certain nobody would venture off track since it wasn’t an easy trek there. However, it was worth it to her, because she knew what awaited her once she’d made the journey.

It was a small, but deep freshwater lake at the center of the wetlands of the mountain. The water was crystal clear, filtered as it ran through the crags and rocks. Beautiful old pines, hemlock, and cedar lined the shore and rose upward as the mountain sloped higher for a breathtaking backdrop. A literal lake in the mountains. A true refuge.

There were a few bodies of water in the preservation, including a waterfall, but none were quite as lovely and secluded as this spot. She considered it her little hiding place. She knew she could come here and be all alone with her thoughts, and the sounds of the forest and the occasional wild animal (none that would present any harm though, since those tended to inhabit the deeper parts of the forest).

She went there when she had her days off, or when things were particularly slow and she could take a longer break. She especially loved going there towards the end of the day, so she could enjoy her unobscured view of the majestic sunset.

And since she was alone and she knew none of her colleagues would be patrolling that area, and no hikers would walk in on her, she would skinny dip.

Walking into the water she slowly got deeper and sucked in a sharp breath when the water reached her waist. Holding her breath she bent her knees and ducked herself under the water to cover her head and then rose from the water quickly and laughed loudly. She loved the feeling of the cold water covering her limbs and shocking her system.

She waded deeper and began to swim, kicking her legs and propelling her arms as she glided in the water, already feeling her stress melt away.

She loved swimming, having grown up doing this as a pastime in her hometown, and ever since she moved to the big city she’d missed it.

She floated peacefully after doing her usual rounds, taking note of how the sky was beginning to change to her favorite hues of purple and orange as it was approaching sunset. She loved this part of the day the most but especially loved watching it all unfold while she was floating blissfully in the lake.

She was done for the day and was off-duty, so since she was heading back home after this, she could afford to get her hair wet and deal with it later. Whenever she would come there for short breaks in her schedule, she’d make sure not to get it wet though. She didn’t want her colleagues to find out about her little secret and accuse her of slacking on the job.

It was getting a bit chilly though, so she decided to get out of the water and watch the sun go down from ashore.

Turning in the water, she began to swim back in the direction she came from but paused with a jolt and gasped when she saw the man.

It was him.

He was right there, in front of her, his head barely visible atop the waterline, with only his eyes and nose breaking surface.

How long had he been standing there in the water? Watching her. Preying on her.

Did he know? That she’d been to his cabin. Did he know she was onto his secret? Was that why he was there? Was he going to harm her?

She couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard him get into the water. Or seen him, even. He must’ve done it while she was doing her laps.

Suddenly, she was reminded of her nakedness and she felt her whole body flush furiously in embarrassment, despite how chilly it was getting by the minute.

They kept staring at each other until she realized he was slowly making his way toward her in the water. It was barely noticeable that he was moving at all. This guy really gave her the creeps, but for some reason, she couldn’t look away. She could barely see half of his face but his eyes were mesmerizing, they had a strange hold on her. She just couldn’t look away.

She should’ve made a run for it while she still had the advantage, being close to the spot she’d dropped her belongings. She wasn’t armed, since she was off duty for the evening, but she did have her swiss knife and it was definitely better than her bare hands.

Her bare everything.

That was what was keeping her from doing just that - her state of undress. She knew he’d likely seen every bit of her, especially with the way she’d floated toward the end, but she couldn’t get herself to snap out of it. She was risking her life for the sake of her modesty, and even that was a thing of the past.

He eventually got within an arm’s length of her and began circling around her ever so slowly. He reminded her of crocodiles, with their eyes poking out of the water and the eerie, slow way in which they move before suddenly launching at their prey. She was expecting him to pounce on her in a similar fashion, drowning her maybe.

But she wasn’t gonna go down without a fight. She was going to stand her ground and use every tactic in the book she’d learned in military school to try and turn this around in her favor.

She wasn’t gonna show him how scared she was. She wasn’t gonna let him see how he intimidated her. She needed the upper hand. So she broke the silence as she watched him circle around her, making sure her voice didn’t waver.

“Why did you steal the pup back?”

She saw a glint of mischief in his eyes just before he pushed himself out of the water to his shoulders. Her eyes landed on that big, luscious mouth of his again, and sure enough, she saw the hint of a smirk there before his deep voice wiped it off his lips, “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, officer.”

“I warned you that if you didn’t come to provide proof of ownership it’s considered a criminal offense. Not only did you not follow through, but you broke into the station and stole the pup back.”

“Am I under arrest then, officer?” He batted his eyelashes at her innocently and she fought the urge to roll her eyes. He was infuriating. Did he think this was funny?

“I have every right to arrest you. You’re breaking more laws than I can count, sir.”

“I’m sure you’re smarter than you give yourself credit.”

She squinted her eyes at him for that little jab, “I’m warning you.”

“Or else, what?” He came impossibly close, rising slightly above her in the water. She could now see he was inked. Quite heavily so. She couldn’t stop her eyes from roaming over his torso, water droplets chasing down his tattoos. Her eyes took a quick inventory of two swallows, one atop each of his pecs, small ones that she couldn’t decipher, and further down, the top of what she could only assume were butterfly wings. “Go ahead. Take me in.” He teased, his voice low.

The innuendo wasn’t lost on her, even in her state of panic. She willed her eyes off his body, but looking straight into his eyes wasn’t any easier. A strand of his slicked-back, long, wet hair was falling over his face, his eyes were piercing right through hers and his heavy panting was accentuating his masculine nose. Just everything about him made her feral. She couldn’t deny her body’s response to him, and it infuriated her to no end to know she was allowing herself to feel this way when her life was in literal danger.

“I know about the cabin.”

It was just a split second, but she didn’t miss the look of surprise on his face. He didn’t know, then, that she’d been there. He didn’t know about the microchip she’d planted into the pup. He couldn’t have known, she’d made sure not to leave any tracks, but then why was he here, stalking her like this, if he didn’t know?

He searched her eyes, probably in an effort to figure out somehow just how much she knew about his dirty little secret, but her shivering seemed to snap him out of his train of thought.

“The temperature is dropping fast; go put your clothes on. You’ll freeze to death.”

She stared at him, taken aback. She hadn’t expected that.

“I’ll do no such thing!”

“Nothing I haven’t already seen,” he raised an eyebrow at her and she furrowed hers.

“You get out first, and turn away.”

“Oh? So you can shoot me when I’m not looking? Not very heroic, is it, officer?”

“Don’t play dumb. I know you know I’m unarmed. Who knows how long you’ve been stalking me.”

He lowered his gaze in between them “Can’t promise the same for myself.” And with that, he proceeded to make his way out of the water. Stark naked, of course. She expected nothing less.

And when he made it to the shore and turned towards her, on full display, she bit her tongue. She definitely had expected less, as it turns out; nothing could’ve prepared her for that.

Whatever happened to cold water shrinkage?

“It’s not polite to stare.”

“Then put some bloody clothes on!” Her voice came off way higher than she’d intended it to.

The man shrugged and, to her dismay, he walked over to her pile of clothes and picked up her ranger hat, placing it on his head.

She couldn’t help but to let out an incredulous laugh.

“I meant, cover up!!”

Harry looked down at his crotch, seemingly completely unaffected by his state of undress. It was as if it was perfectly normal for him to just roam around naked like that in front of a literal stranger. He then grabbed the hat from atop his head and placed it over his groin, holding it there for a beat before letting it fall to the ground.

Y/N’s mouth fell agape, and then the man just shrugged again “Come out, and I’ll make it stay on this time. I promise you.”

Y/N was blushing profusely, so she turned around, more in an effort to keep him from seeing just how much he was affecting her than to give him privacy. “Sir!… Please!”

She heard him chuckle and waited a considerable amount of time for him to get dressed. When she thought it was safe to turn back around, she froze.

The man was gone.

She hadn’t heard him make his way through the greenery at all.

She looked around, but the coast was clear. If she couldn’t see him, it was very unlikely he could see her.

And just as he’d reminded her, it was nothing he hadn’t seen before.

She finally emerged from the lake and rushed to her clothes. Her swiss army knife was still there, nothing was missing.

Except for the mysterious man, who was now aware she knew about his secret. And that sent shivers down her spine, and not from how cold it was getting.

Chapter 3

A/N: (@fkinavocado and @gurugirl here) ladies and gentlemen... wolfrry 🥵

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somethingeden · 5 months

Text

This is so good! Read it or no kneecaps!

Summary: Y/n gets sick of people making comments about her being single while at a work event and ends up asking her best friend, Sam, to pretend to be her date for the weekend.

Warnings: SMUT18+, strong language, alcohol consumption, reader being around judgmental people, flirting, kissing, hair pulling, biting, unprotected quickie, mix of sensual fluff and general filth, friends to lovers basically

Word Count: 9.8k | not really edited

Thank you for being so patient with me 🖤

"Don't you leave for that work trip thingy today?" Your best friend, Lilly asks as you finish your breakfast. You nod, "Uh huh." You roll your eyes with a sigh, "A weekend with a bunch of high class bitches who like to judge everyone around them and show off their sugar daddy hubbies."

"That sounds... awful.. but you get your own hotel room, don't you?" She leans onto the counter and you nod, "Oh yeah. It's a beautiful one, too. Here."

You pull your phone out to show her the hotel, "Oh god." She gasps and begs, "Take me with you!"

You laugh slightly, "I could if I would, but the only plus ones that are allowed is the significant others." You shake your head slightly, "Which is stupid."

"I'll be your significant other." She walks around, pressing her cheek to yours, "We can be lesbian lovers for the weekend." She laughs and you sigh, "We could probably pull it off, honestly."

She snaps her fingers and points at you, "Exactly." She stares at you for a second, "Why don't you see if Sam will go?"

You stare back at her, "Wh-what? why would you even-"

She cuts you off, "I know you like him." She smirks and glances up at you, "I can see it all over you when you're around him. When his name is mentioned.."

"He's my best friend, Lilly." You scoff slightly, "I don't think he'd wanna share a hotel with me for three days."

She raises her eyebrows and purses her lips. You tilt your head, "What's that look for?"

She shakes her head slowly, "No reason.."

"There's a reason. I know you." You move your bowl aside and rest your elbows on the counter, "Now spill."

She drags her finger in circles on the counter, "Colby and I may have had a little meeting, as the best friends of the people who like each other."

Your heart picks up and you blink, shaking your head as you try to understand what she just said, "Excuse me? You and Colby what?"

She laughs, "Oh come on. He can see it all over Sam, too. You guys.. like.. really need to understand the meaning of having a poker face." She snorts, "Especially around each other."

"Wait..." you hold your hand up, closing your eyes, "are you saying that Sam likes me?" You look at her and she nods, "And you like him."

"I never said that." You say quickly and she gently slaps the counter, "You don't need to, because as I just said, you have a horrible poker face when it comes to him. I can see that you're seething with love for him right now."

You roll your eyes, "Whatever you say."

"I say, that you guys are just scared, and one of you needs to just risk it for the biscuit because you both are head over heels for each other." Lilly stands up, "I have a photoshoot, so if i don't see you before you leave, good luck. I hope you get an award or whatever it is they're passing out. Call me when you get there."

"It's literally forty five minutes away and we're not done talking about this." You laugh and she shrugs, "I still worry." She smiles and grabs her jacket as she walks to the door, "and we are until I know you can just admit it. Love you, see ya!"

"Love you, see ya!"

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

Good luck tomorrow, y/n. Remember, even if you don't get an award, you're still a winner to us.

You can't help but smile at Sam's message, and that quickly leads into replaying this mornings conversation with Lilly.

You did like Sam, a lot.

But, you always thought there was way too much history with each other, and if it went to shit, you'd lose all the good things with him.

Besides Lilly, Sam knows you like the back of his hand. You grew up together, basically.

Which gets you into thinking about what exactly him and Lilly talked about, you and Sam obviously, but did Sam really like you, too?

"Miss... miss?"

You look up from your phone screen and the driver is looking back at you.

He smiles slightly, "Is this the place?"

You look out the window, getting a nauseated feeling as you nod, "Yeah, yeah it is." You look back at him, "I'll tip you on the app if that's okay?"

He nods, "I appreciate it. Have a good night."

You smile and nod, "Thank you. You too." You get out, grabbing your suitcase before you shut the door and slowly turn around to face the entrance of the very fancy hotel, "Just two nights." You whisper as you force yourself to walk into the building, "Just two nights."

You walk up to the desk, and right off the bat you felt like you were judge for being alone.

Everyone had their arm candies and you just had your suitcase.

"Hi, will you be checking in?" The lady behind the desk asks, "just you, I assume?" You clench your jaw and swallow, "Yeah, just me, for now." You step forward as you talk quietly, "Y/n y/l/n."

"You're under the reserved rooms for Brookendale." Her eyes move up to you and you nod, "That's right."

She doesn't say another word until she grabs your room key, "usually you get two.. but.." her eyes move down to your suitcase and you wanted to just turn around and go home, "Actually. Someone will be joining me later. He's just working late tonight."

She raises her eyebrows, seeing right through your empty lie, "Mm. Enjoy your stay, miss y/l/n."

You snatch the key from her grasp and make your way to the elevator, pressing the up arrow and praying that the doors open quickly.

As they open, you stop when you see Carmen Kline. The bosses favorite employee, "Ah, y/n! I'm so glad you could make it!"

Carmen was usually alright, but once she got around those certain type of people, she because a totally different person.

"Yeah. Im here." You laugh slightly as you get on. She leans back, "You should totally come down for drinks. Zack is buying us all our first one, but I'm sure we can milk him for a couple more." She nudges you as she giggles and you can smell that she's already had a few.

"Maybe once I get settled." You glance over at her with a smile and point to the doors as they open, "I'll see you later maybe."

"Yes please come down!" She yells as the doors shut and you keep walking, stopping at your door and going in as quickly as you can.

You press your back against the shut door and let out a sigh, the thought of doing what Lilly said to do was heavy on your mind.

You chew on your lip, pulling your phone out as you FaceTime her.

"Glad you made it there okay." She says as she answers, "You okay?"

You laugh slightly, "The lady at the desk already ridiculed me for coming alone, so it's going wonderfully." Your words dripping with sarcasm, "I fucking hate these things. It's been three years and I never win anyway."

"Maybe this time it'll be different." She says and you sigh, "doubt it." You walk over to the bed, lifting your suitcase onto it, "Since I have you, can you help me to decide on which dress to wear?"

"Um, yes. Of course!" She sets her phone down and sits down, watching the screen as you pull out two dresses, "okay.. this one?"

You hold up the spaghetti strap black velvet mini dress, "Or.." you grab the other dress, the black lace corset mini dress, "This one?"

"Definitely that one." She says with zero hesitation, "isn't that the one you designed yourself?"

"I sure did." Your eyes scan over the dress in your hands and you sigh, "I really like this one."

"I'm sure Sam will like it too." She teases and you can feel your cheeks getting warm, "Stop it."

"I'm just joking. You know I have to." She laughs and sighs, "which one are you wearing for the awards tomorrow night?"

You smirk and pull out the sparkly maroon gown, "This. Zack said we have to dress fancy and I figured this was fancy enough."

"And hot." Lilly says, "I remember you trying that on after you were done with it. It looked so good on you."

You smile, "Thanks." You check the time, "Alright. I have to get ready and head down for whatever the hell it is we're doing.. the mixer bullshit thingy."

"Call me later."

"So I can tell you how awful it went?" You laugh and she sighs, "I'm telling you.. ca-"

"Bye! Love you!" You hang up on her and throw your phone down before changing into the black dress with the lace corset.

You curled your hair before you left, so you just needed to touch that up, along with redoing your makeup.

You slipped your heels on and walk over to the body mirror, turning to each side as you inspect yourself.

You snap a few mirror selfies before you tuck your phone and room key into your purse and walk over to your door.

You take a deep breath, calming your nerves before you open it and walk over to the elevator. To your surprise, when the doors open, you see Zack standing there, smiling at you, "Hello, y/n."

"Hello, Mr. Brookendale." You give him a smile and step onto the elevator.

"Y/n. You can call me Zack." He chuckles, "Going to the mixer?" He turns his body so it's facing you. You look over at him, nodding, "Yes. Are you?"

He chuckles, "Now what kind of question is that?"

You laugh slightly, "Of course you're going."

Zack has always been flirty with you, which you didn't like, but he's never actually tried anything, then again, he's flirty with all the other girls who work for him.

"Of course I am." He smirks, "My company, right?" His smug look makes you want to round house him, but you just play it off with a gentle laugh, "That it is, Zack. That it is."

You started thinking about Sam. About how if he was here, Zack would possibly have a whole different attitude towards you and Sam could play the protective boyfriend or whatever.

The ding of the elevator snaps you out of your daze and you look up as the doors open. As you step forward, you feel a hand lay on the center of your back and he leans in slightly, whispering, "That dress is gorgeous, by the way."

You swallow, nodding, "Thank you. I designed it myself."

"I know you did." He winks and walks off, leaving you to follow behind him alone. You walk up to the table, letting the people know you're here for the mixer and they direct you into the side room.

You walk in, immediately grabbing a glass of champagne from the tray, "Please. Yes. Thank you."

The waiter nods and walks away as you practically down the drink in one gulp.

"Thirsty or something?" Carmen asks walking up to you. You force a smirk and shrug, "I just don't really want to be here."

"You'll be fine. Now come on." She grabs your hand and pulls you through the room, not giving you a chance to escape.

The whole time you're following her, you're mentally cursing at her because you know what she's pulling you into.

It's the same thing every year.

You show up without a date, you get judged for showing up without said date, even though the girls think they're being discreet, they're absolutely not.

"Hey!" Carmen says loudly in a sing songy tone, "Look who I found!"

"Oh y/n! We were wondering when you'd get here." Alexa says bringing her glass to her lips. You fight hard on not rolling your eyes, "Yeah, yeah.. here I am."

You look around, grabbing another glass of champagne off the tray that's moving by and immediately bringing it to your lips.

"Carmen said she seen you on the way here, but.." Alexa giggles slightly, "So.. do we get to meet this mystery man that you're being so private about?"

Fuck, you think, why do they have to remember that?

You laugh slightly, "Maybe. Maybe. He's actually working late tonight, so if not tonight, tomorrow for sure."

You could knock yourself out. Literally.

"We're all excited to meet him." Alexa says and looks around at the other overly dressed girls, "Aren't we?"

They all agree, "Yeah, we just don't know why you won't tell us about him." Deana says, but her tone of voice screams that they don't believe you.

Which they shouldn't because you have been totally lying about this mystery man the whole time.

"I like to keep things private. You know how it is." You sip your drink and Deana laughs slightly, "yeah.. privacy is important, but at the same time, doesn't that get suffocating? I mean you don't have any posts about him on Facebook, Instagram.. I mean.. come on, y/n."

So you've been stalking me.. nice, is what you wanted to say, but instead you force a smile, "I'll see you guys later." You turn and walk away, and you can hear Carmen scolding them, but it quickly turns into laughter.

What a surprise.

You roll your eyes and walk up to the bar, sitting down so you can check your phone. You click on Lilly's name and start typing, but you stop when you remember you never answered Sam.

You go out and click on Sam's name and start typing your message, Hey. I have a question.

You shove your phone back into your purse, hoping that drinking the rest of your drink will give you the ounce of confidence you need to ask Sam.

You didn't think he'd say no. He'd do anything for you.

The kicker is, if he says yes. You both have to play the part, and you have to play it good.

You feel your purse vibrate, so you pull your phone out, reading Sam's message, I may have an answer. What's up?

You chew on your lip as you circle your fingers above your keyboard, unsure of how to ask, Can I call you quick?

Before you even have a second to think about what you're going to say, you see Sam's face pop up on your phone and you smile.

You stand up, walking out of the room as you answer, "Hey."

"How's it going? Need me to come rescue you yet?" Sam chuckles but that wasn't perfect lead way, "Um.. actually.."

"Uh oh. What happened?"

"Can you do me a favor?" You look around as you walk away to a lesser crowded area, "It's a huge and.." you laugh, "..a very weird favor."

"I'm listening." He pauses, waiting for you to ask your favor and you shake your hand slightly, rubbing your sweaty palm against your thigh, "Can you come here?"

"You want me to come there? Like right now?" He asks kinda surprised. You regret asking until he speaks, "What do I need to pack?"

"Wait. You're actually coming?" You ask and he scoffs, "you sound shocked, like I wouldn't do anything for you."

You smile and nod, "yeah, well.. there's.. um.. here's the things.." you sigh and just spit it out, "I need you to pretend to be my fiancé or whatever." You quickly follow up, "please don't ask. I'll explain it when you get here. Or later. Sometime just.. fancy. Dress fancy and nice, these people will eat you alive if you come in your xplr merch."

He laughs, "They must not know fashion then."

"Yeah, I guess not. Do you want me to send you what I'm wearing now so you can coordinate or whatever?" You ask, a nervous feeling washing over your body.

"Yeah, you can. Just so I can get a feel for how fancy I need to pack quick."

You can tell you're on speaker now and he's working on packing. You loved how much he cared about you and would drop everything, if he could, for you.

You honestly loved him for how he is in general, though.

"Okay..." you go out, sending him the picture you took before coming down, "Sent. And when you get here, Sam.." you pause, laughing anxiously, "Tell them you are here as my plus one and that you were working late."

"Tell them I was working late?" He repeats and you sigh, "Like I said.. I'll explain everything when I see you."

"Fine, fine. I gotta let Colby know I'm leaving. I'll be there in like an hour or so."

"Thank you. You're the best." You smile at the ground and he sighs, but you can tell he's smiling, "I know." He laughs, "I'll text you when I'm almost there."

"Thank you."

"Welcome. See you soon."

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

The next hour felt utterly painful.

It was dragging by so, so slow for you and you just wanted Sam there already.

Your phone vibrates and you lift it, smiling as you read his text, Pulling up now. I'll take my bag to the room then come back down.

You type back quick, Tell the lady at the desk to go fuck herself while you're at it.

You may have gotten a stronger drink, so therefore, you weren't in any mood to deal with the judgement comments from anyone anymore.

Harsh, but I'll see what I can do lol, you laugh at his text and shake your head, grabbing your drink as you move through the room, talking to people who actually enjoy seeing you.

You mainly talk about your dress, other designs you have coming along.

The fashion industry usual.

You can tell your mood changed the second Sam said he would come, but it changed even more when you seen him walk in.

He's wearing his black short sleeve button up, black and white striped pants with his white shoes and he just looks absolutely incredible.

A huge smile spreads across your face as you walk over to him. His eyes lock onto yours, a smile growing on his lips as he walks towards you.

"There you are." He says and brings you in for a hug, "How's it going?"

"Better, now that you're here." You look up at him and he glances from your drink to your face, "Sure it's not from whatever you're drinking?"

You shrug, "Maybe." You smirk and turn as you hear Carmen talking, and it's growing closer, "Y/n."

You lean into Sam slightly, sliding your arm around him and his arm slides around your waist, "Carmen, this is Sam, my fiancé. Sam, my coworker Carmen."

"Sam." She says as she looks him up and down, "I honestly feel like I know who you are I just.." she looks him up and down, "Can't put my finger on it."

He chuckles and shrugs, "I get that a lot." His thumb runs slow and gently up and down your waist, "I need a drink, excuse us." He turns, moving you with him and he leans in more, "How good do we have to play the part?"

You look up at him, "We have to fully commit to this. But only if you're okay with it."

"That's good because..." he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ring, "You said fiancé, and I noticed in your picture you send you didn't have one on and Lilly told me how judgmental these people are so.."

Your lips part slightly as you watch him slip the ring on your finger, "I'm so glad you thought of that because I didn't even.." you laugh slightly, kinda flustered, "Thanks."

He nods, "Mhm." His eyes stay on you as you lean forward to order your drink. He looks away when you look back and you lean in, "What do you want?"

"Get whatever." He smiles and you nod, looking back to the bartender, "Two of them please."

Just as you turn back to Sam, Deana walks up with Carmen and Alexa, "So, this is the mystery man she kept us from knowing about."

Her ring covered fingers reach out and grab his hand, "I'm Deana. I work in the same department as y/n."

Sam glances down at her hand and back up to you. You give him a subtle look, indicating that she's one of the bitches who's always on you with the comments and shit.

He takes his hand away, pulling you closer, "Yeah?"

Deana nods, "You know she doesn't talk about you right?"

"Deana." You sigh and Sam chuckles, "We like to keep things private, you know. It's more intimate between us, the less the public knows.." he glances over at you with a smile, "The better."

Deana didn't like that she wasn't getting to Sam, "Mm. Yeah, I mean.. to each their own I guess." She raises her eyebrows and shakes her head as she shrugs.

"How long have you been together?" Alexa pries, following up quickly with, "I'm just curious."

"I've known her, basically my whole life." Sam nods, "We grew up together and one thing led to another and now we're getting married here soon."

You smile, laying your hand on his abdomen.

"Hm, really?" Alexa raises a brow, "Here I thought you were just a lonely gal." Her eyes move up and down Sam, "But now I can see that you're just a gal who got really lucky."

"What's that supposed to mean?" You straighten up and she smirks, but Sam cuts her off before she can add anything, "If anyone is lucky here, it's me. I don't know what I'd do without her."

Sam kisses your temple and you can feel your cheeks heating up again as you smile.

"I'm proud of her." He smiles at Alexa and Deana and they say nothing, "Did you design your dress too?"

Alexa clenches her jaw and sighs, "No, but it's fro-"

"Alright, well now that this is over, we should take our seats because Zack will be up to announce the nominees." Carmen cuts in, pushing them away as she turns around mouthing a quick, "Sorry."

You turn to Sam, "See what I mean."

He brushes hair from your face and tucks it behind your ear as his eyes scan over your face, "You don't deserve that, so I'll do whatever it takes to get them off your back."

You wanted to admit that you liked him, you wanted to come clean about everything but by the time you got enough courage to blurt it out, the microphone omits a high pitched screech and Zack clears his through, "If everyone would take their seats please.. I'm about to announce the nominees."

You grab your drink, along with Sam grabbing his and you make your way to your table.

He moves his chair closer to yours and lays his arm over the back of it, around you.

If it wasn't for you asking him to pretend for the weekend, you would honestly think you and Sam are actually together.

"You're nominated for something right?" Sam asks leaning in, and his face is so close to yours if you turn you could kiss him.

You nod, "I think so. I wasn't told for sure, but I think." You shrug and turn your head slightly towards him, "Not a big deal if I'm not."

His fingers gently rubbing your arm as he sips on his drink, "It'll happen, babe. I'm sure of it. They'd be stupid not to give you something."

You smile and bring your drink up to your lips, mainly because you were jittery about him calling you babe. No one was around, so that was all him.

After a few categories and the people nominated are announced, you start to have this feeling that your name is going to be said.

"The nominees for the Creative Genius are.. Deana Till.." Zack pauses as people clap and you sigh, "Of course."

"Carmen Kline.."

Everyone claps, including you. You genuinely liked Carmen, and she surprised you tonight by not joining in on their ridiculing crusade.

"Y/n y/l/n."

Even thought you had a feeling it was coming, you're still shocked and Sam gently grabs your shoulders, "That's you, babe!"

The name makes your heart skip a beat, again. You cared more about that than being nominated for an award you probably won't win.

You smile, looking from his eyes to his lips before Carmen comes up to you, "Who would have ever thought that we'd be running against each other! Ah! I'm so excited for tomorrow night!" She sits down and looks up at you, "How do you feel?"

You look over at her, slightly shrugging your shoulders, "I mean.. I probably won't have a reaction until we find out who gets the award tomorrow, but.. yeah. Good I guess."

You look back at Sam and he smiles, "You're so gunna win, babe. I know it." He brings his drink up to his lips and Carmen groans, "You guys are so cute, just stop it."

She smiles and nods back to her table, "I have to go find my hubs before he spends all our money at the bar."

She gets up and walks away and you look at Sam, "Don't you just love my coworkers."

He chuckles, "You work in a high class fashion industry, darling. I wouldn't expect it any differently."

You raise your eyebrow and nod, no longer talking about work, "some days I wish it was."

"Yeah.. I know what you mean." He finishes his drink and you look at him, "You hunt ghosts, Sam." You laugh and he sighs, "It's hard work, you need to come with us one of these times."

You shake your head and hold your hand up, "I'm good."

"I'll be there to protect you." He smiles and pokes your shoulder as he leans in, "It's not bad... sometimes."

"Exactly. You never know." You take a sip of your drink and check the time, "Does that mean we can leave? I need out of this godforsaken dress."

He looks around, "I see other people leaving so.. I would assume we can."

You look over at him, "Do you want to leave?"

He smirks, "I'll do whatever you want, fiancé." He winks and stands up, "M'lady." He holds his hand out and you can't help but smile and take his hand.

As you're walking out, Carmen stops you at the door, "Hey, y/n. Wait up."

"Yeah?" You ask looking at her. She smiles, "we were just going to dinner." She motions to Zack, "I want you and Sam to join us."

You glance over at Sam and he shrugs, "I haven't eaten yet." You nod and look back at Carmen, "Where at?"

"Just right down the hall." She points and you nod, "We'll follow you." You keep ahold of Sam's hand as you follow them out the doorway.

"So fiancé, huh?" Zack says as he glances back, "How long has that been a thing?"

"I proposed recently, actually. It was a private thing, on the beach where we went all the time as kids."

You were surprised with how fast Sam came up with responses, but at the same time, he knew you.

He knew you well.

"That's so sweet!" Carmen pushes her bottom lip out and you smile, "Yeah. I didn't expect it, really. We go there as much as we can, it just never occurred to me that this would have happened.." you hold up your ring and Carmen pouts, "I'm sure it was beautiful. Do you have any pictures?"

Carmen looks between you and Sam, and Sam Saves your ass, "I do, but they're all on my laptop at home. The photographer recently just sent the rest to us."

"Can't rush perfection, am I right?" She laughs and Zack holds his hand out, "Stay right here."

You look at Carmen with a weird look as he walks away from you and she shrugs, "I have no idea. But I understand. You'll have to send them to me, y/n. I'd love to see them. I'm such a sucker for cute engagement pictures."

"Engagement pictures? Oh I'd love to see them too, y/n.." Alexa says walking up with her husband, glued to her side.

"They just got them back, Lex. Lay off, okay." Carmen sticks up for you but Alexa just snorts, "I still don't believe this. There's just something..." she looks you up and down, smirky smugly, "Fishy.. about all of this."

"You can think what you want.. but I'm real. I'm here. So there's no need to be a bitch towards, y/n." Sam's words shock you, but also set a fire inside of you.

You love when he sticks up for you.

You always have.

Alexa snaps her head back slightly, "Excuse me?" Sam laughs, "Clearly, you heard me." His grip tightens on your waist and you lay a hand on his chest, "Baby, it's fine."

He looks down at you and you smile, "It's not worth it."

"What's going on out here?" Zack asks walking back out, looking at Alexa. She shakes her head, "Nothing. Nothing at all." She rolls her eyes and pulls her miserable looking husband with her, quietly yelling at him because he didn't stick up for her.

"Sorry, Sam." Carmen furrows her brows and frowns, "She can be a little..ehh."

He shakes his head, "Don't sweat it. We get that a lot actually."

"Really?" She asks and he nods but Zack cuts in, "Our tables are ready."

You all walk in, expecting to be sat in a booth, but you're led to a whole other table, kind of away from everyone else and it's decorated with scattered rose petals and a lit candle, "What is this?" You look at Sam and he shrugs.

Zack walks up between you and Sam, "I'd like to congratulate one of my favorite employees on her engagement." He lays a hand on Sam's shoulder, "You're a very lucky man."

Sam smiles and nods, "I am." He locks eyes with you, "Very, very lucky."

At this point, you weren't sure if you were just pretending, or if the truth was slowly coming out.

"Well.. dinner is on me tonight, as a congratulations. Enjoy it." He smiles and walks back over to Carmen and you look at Sam, "Free dinner? Hell yeah."

He walks around, moving your chair out for you and helping you scoot in, "Good?"

You nod, "Good." He walks to his seat, sitting down and looking over the menu, "this place is way too fancy, I can't even pronounce that."

You laugh slightly and shake your head, biting your lip as you look over the menu for yourself, "I know right? It's a lot of fancy for me, too."

You lean back in your chair and look up at him, "I have a confession."

"Oh, I love a good confession." He leans forward and stares at you, elbows on the table, "Hit me."

You laugh and lean forward, "Lilly gave me the idea to do this.. I just wasn't sure if you'd actually do something like this. But I guess I thought wrong."

He smiles and shakes his head, "Yeah, her and Colby have meetings about us apparently."

"You know about those, too!?" You lean back slightly and scoff, "Well.."

"Well?" Sam tilts his head and you look up at him, "I guess now a a good time to-"

"Hello, sorry about the wait. My name is Luis, I'll be taking care of you guys tonight."

"Hello." You smile up at him and Sam nods, also smiling, "Hey, how are you?"

Luis nods, "I'm great since I've been giving the pleasure of taking care of the newly engaged couple, can I get you guys started with some on the house drinks?"

You and Sam look over the drink options and order and Luis nods, "I'll be right back with those."

You look back at Sam, "We should do this more often." You laugh and Sam nods, smiling as he thinks about doing it for real one day, "Yeah, yeah we should."

You pull your phone out, "Smile this is going to both Lilly and Colby."

Sam laughs as you take the picture. The rose petals scattered in front of him make the picture even better.

"Such a cutie." You smile at him and look down at your phone as you send the picture to your friends, "They'll love this."

You put your phone away and rest your chin in the palm of your hand, "so back to-"

"Here we are." Luis sets the glasses down and leans up, "Are we ready to order?" You look at Sam and he nods, "I am if you are."

You nod and look at Luis, ordering before Sam does. Luis nods, "I'll put that right in."

"Okay." You look at Sam and sigh, "Before we get interrupted.. again." You laugh slightly and lean in as you whisper the truth, "I like you a lot, but I'm just scared that if we tr-"

Sam cuts you off by leaning over and pulling you to him. His lips press to yours and you immediately give into him, laying a hand on his arm as your lips move slowly together.

"I've been waiting years to do that." He whispers before leaning back, "You have no idea."

You smile, "Trust me. I think I do." You lean back in, pressing your lips to his and he smiles within the kiss, "I've been in love with you the minute I saw you. I was just so scared to tell you and then we became such good friends."

You lay a hand on his cheek, "I know the feeling, Sam." You smile and lean back, your cheeks filling with a deep pink tint as he continues to stare at you.

"You are.. amazing." He reaches out, taking your hand in his, "You deserve this award and even if you don't get it.. we'll get you one made."

"You don't have to do that." You shake your head and Sam sighs, "you deserve it, y/n. You are so beyond talented and smart, I mean hell, look at what you're wearing."

You glance down at your dress, absolutely speechless.

"You are going to go far, and I'm so beyond happy that I get to watch you turn into such a successful.. hold on.." he bites his lip, squeezing your hand and you look up at him.

"I'm so beyond happy that I get to watch my girlfriend become successful in what she loves doing." He smiles and your heart rate picks up, "Girlfriend?"

"Well, fiancé, for the weekend, but yeah." He smirks and brings your hand up to kiss it, "I'm so proud of you."

The rest of dinner was a blur, but a good and happy blur. You felt like you were floating, maybe it was the three drinks on top of what you had at the mixer, but you knew you were genuinely happy.

As you stand up, you notice Carmen and Zack are gone, "I'll tell them thank you tomorrow." Sam wraps his arm around your waist and leads you out and to the elevator.

He stands behind you as you wait, arms wrapped around you with his chin on your shoulder, "Guess we're done pretending, huh?"

You nod with a sigh, leaning back into him, "I guess we are."

The doors open and you step in, assuming the position you were just in after pressing the button, "Sorry I was so scared before."

"Mm. Don't do that." He kisses your cheek, "water under the bridge, baby."

The doors open and you make your way back to the hotel room. Sam holds the door open for you and you immediately kick your heels off as soon as you walk in.

Sam walks over, sitting on the bed next to your suit case, "Is this the dress you designed a few weeks ago?" Sam looks from the dress to you.

"The sparkly one?" You turn after taking your earrings out and he nods. You nod, "Yeah, that's her."

"Incredible." He bites his lip and tilts his head as he looks back down at it. His fingers run over the fabric and you walk over, "What's on your mind?"

"I'm just thinking about having you design our next merch line." He looks up at you and you smile, "Really?"

He nods, "Well, basically im asking you to. Colby and I already talked about it and he's game."

"Of course, yes." You smile and he smiles, "Yeah?"

You nod, "I'd be honored to. Just let me know what kind of designs you want." He holds his hand out and you take it. He spins you around and unzips your dress, "Go change into your comfy clothes."

You smile and go to the bathroom to change and take your makeup off. You walk out and Sam is already in shorts and a t shirt, and your suitcase is moved next to his on the floor.

He stops and looks at you, "You're so beautiful." You shake your head and cover your face, "Nooo."

"Yesss." He mocks you and walks over to you, "Come on." He pulls you to the bed and you lay down, his body pressed against yours from behind.

His arm lays over your waist and you gently play with his fingers, "Where did you get this ring from?"

He chuckles anxiously, "Well.. you see.." he pauses and you look over your shoulder at him, "What?"

"I've had it for a little bit actually.. not that I was actually going to propose or anything.. but mainly for when I got enough courage to tell you I liked you.."

"A promise ring?" You roll over to face him and he smiles and laughs slightly, "Basically, yeah."

"Sam." You whisper and he tucks hair behind your ear, "Sorry if it's not the right timing but.." he shrugs and leans in to kiss you, "I just want you to know that I got you.. no matter what."

You lay a hand on his cheek and smile, yawning as you feel the tiredness hit you, "I love it."

He smiles and kisses your forehead, "Get some sleep, you have a big day tomorrow."

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

Your eyes fluttered open, squinting at the sunlight peaking through the slightly open curtains.

You roll over, shocked for a quick second when you see Sam lying there asleep, but that shock is quickly filled with happiness and a feeling of relief.

You sit up, trying your best not to disturb him. You reach over, grabbing your purse from on top or your suit case.

You quietly laugh and smile as you see both responses from Lilly and Colby.

Lilly's text reads, now that looks like l.o.v.e.

Colby's text reads, he is so in love with you, y/n.

Sam sits up, rubbing his eyes, "Morning." You look over at him, setting your phone down as you turn to him, "Morning."

He smiles at you and leans in for a kiss. You lean in, closing the space and you both smile.

"Are you ready for this afternoon?" Sam asks as he stands up and stretches. You sigh with a laugh, "Not really."

"I'm sure you'll be alright, babe. I'll be with you the whole time." He smiles and you tilt your head, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" He asks running his hand through his hair.

"Make everything okay."

He tilts his head, "What do you mean?" You lay on your side and he sits down on the bed, still looking at you.

"You just.. have this way of making me feel better.. no matter what." You look up at him and he smiles, "I could ask you the same question." He leans down, pressing his lips to your forehead.

You smile, closing your eyes until he leans back, "what time is it?"

He looks at the clock on the wall that's behind you, "Almost eleven."

You groan, "We have to be down there by one." You flip onto your back and say lays next to you, propping his head up with his hand, "At least you know what category you're in, so you can just ignore it all until then."

You look up at him, "I just really hope I win so I can rub it in that bitch's face."

He chuckles and nods, "Yeah, yeah. Me too honestly."

You laugh as you sit up, looking at the dress that's laid out over the chair, "You ever do something and it turned out better than you thought that you just can't believe that you did it?"

"You should be proud of yourself, babe. What you do is pure talent. Even I'm a little jealous." Sam chuckles and you look at him, "Didn't you win awards already?"

"That's besides the point." He kisses your head, "Get ready, we'll go get some breakfast before we have to actually get ready."

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

"Sam?" You call out as you walk out from the bathroom, "Can you zip me up, please?"

You look up and he's staring at you, "Wow, um. Yeah, I can. Turn around for me."

You turn around, holding your dress to your body as he gently tugs the zipper upward, "alright. Spin around, let me see you."

You spin around and Sam's eyes rake up and down your body, "This is beautiful." He reaches out, his fingers lightly dragging up and down the fabric over your hip, "You outdid yourself with this one."

You smile, "Does this low bun and loose strands look okay with it?"

He cups your cheeks and tilts your head up, "You look absolutely gorgeous. I promise." He leans down, kissing you gently before stepping back, "Now.. how do I look?"

"It's a simple outfit, but you look expensive." You smirk and he chuckles, "That was the goal." He hands you your purse and you take it, making sure you have everything before nodding, "Alright. Let's do this."

You make your way down, everyone you pass complimenting you on your dress and you can't help but tell each person that you designed it yourself.

Sam was right, you should be proud, and you are.

You walk in to the small ballroom where you were last night and you feel like all eyes are on you.

Sam leans in, pressing a kiss to your temple and your anxiety washes away, "Thank you."

"Mhm." He points, "I'll go get us a drink if you want to go to our table." You nod, parting ways and going to sit down.

Carmen comes up and makes you stand up, "Oh my god, y/n. This dress is absolutely perfect. Holy shit."

You smile and shrug, "Thanks. I made it myself."

"You totally deserve this award. If I win, I'm giving it to you." She looks you up and down, "I don't know how you aren't higher up in this industry."

You shrug, "I'll get there at some point, right?"

"You will when you win that award for creative genius, because this just screams, creative genius." She laughs and holds her hand up, "Hey Sam."

"Hey." Sam smiles and hands you your drink, "here babe." You take it and smile, "Thank you."

You hear the microphone squeal and Carmen sighs, "Good luck!" You nod, "You too!" You turn to Sam and sit down.

"You so have this in the bag." He smiles and everyone claps as Zack makes his way to the stage, "Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you all for being here, I'm very excited to give these ladies the recognition they truly deserve, so without further ado, our first category.."

You lean in towards Sam and laugh slightly, "You know.. I don't know why I said fiancé.."

He chuckles, "Yeah. We're kinda screwed on that one."

"Yeah. I can't just be like, oh hey. We started dating last night. We're not actually engaged." You laugh quietly and he nods, "we'll figure it out as time goes on, but in the meantime, I don't mind being your fake fiancé."

You smile and nod, "Yeah, it's pretty fun."

He shrugs, taking a sip of his drink before leaning in close to your ear, "Gives us practice for the future, right?"

You look at him, smiling as you nod, "Right." He pecks your lips and lays his arm behind you across the chair.

A few drinks later, you're finally at the category your name is listed in.

"Here we go. No matter what. You still got it." Sam grabs your hand and you hold onto it right as Zack speaks.

"And the winner of the creative genius award goes to.."

There's a slight pause as he opens up the folded piece of paper, "Y/n y/l/n." Zack claps and looks over at you and your mouth drops.

"That's you baby! You won! You fucking won!" You stand up, along with Sam and he kisses you, "go, go." You walk up to the small stage and accept the award from Zack, “Thank you.”

"You deserve this. Look at who you're wearing." He smiles and claps as you turn to the microphone, "um, wow. Okay. I honestly didn't expect this, but at the same time.." you laugh slightly and motion to your dress, "I made this."

"Yeah you did!" Carmen yells and you laugh, "I don't really have a speech prepared but I just want to thank everyone in my life who's pushed me to keep going and to Zack for taking a chance on me."

You look back at him and he nods with a smile. You turn back to the microphone and nod, "Thank you."

You step back and walk off and Zack starts talking again, “I also just found out today that our y/n has just recently got engaged, so if everyone would give a round applause for the newly engaged couple, Sam and y/n!”

You smile, shaking your head as you make your way back to the table, eyes continuing to stay on you while hands clap together.

Sam stands up, hugging you tight, "I'm so proud of you, y/n." He kisses your cheek a few times and as you sit down, you're still floating so you don't really recognize Zack announcing that you got engaged as a problem.

That is until you remember that this little ceremony is being live-streamed on multiple accounts and they have cameras.. Everywhere.

"Shit." You look around and Sam leans in, "What?"

You can't help but laugh, "Zack just outed us as being engaged." You look over at him and he shrugs with a slight laugh, "So?"

You tilt your head, "This is being live-streamed, Sam.. and we’re only dating.. I just.." you cover your mouth with your hand as you laugh into it.

He lays a hand on your thigh and shakes his head, "how many people actually watch this anyway? And I mean other than the other people in the fashion biz, and you know family and stuff."

You nod, "You're right, it's probably not that big of deal, honestly. I mean your fans probably don’t even know you’re here." You smile as you look over your award, "I can't believe it."

"Believe it baby." He gently pinches your cheek, "I knew you were going to get it."

"I hope Colby and Lilly saw.” You sigh, “I can’t believe I won. I won't be able to think about anything else now." You look over at him and he smirks, "Wanna know what I'm thinking about?"

"What's that?" You bite your lip slightly and he leans in, whispering just enough so you can hear, "Just how slow and gentle I want to pull this dress down your body.."

You tense up slightly, biting down on your lip harder as an excited chill goes down your spine, "Really?"

He nods, his fingers run up and down the zipper of your back, "Really."

You take a deep breath, looking around for any indication that you’re allowed to leave.

“I’m sure they’ll want-“ you get cut off by Zack tapping the microphone, “Would all of my winners, please come back up to the stage.”

“That.” You laugh slightly and Sam shakes his head, “It’s fine, babe. We have all night.” He nods towards the stage, “Now go get your picture taken, my little winner.”

You smile as you grab your award, making your way through the sea of people clapping. You walk up on stage, standing between two of the other girls and you bite your tongue as you see Deana sitting there with her arms crossed, pouting like a child.

You look in front of you to the sea of people taking pictures, you swear if you don’t get vision problems from the stage lights, it’ll be from the flashes of the cameras.

“Y/n. Did you make this dress yourself?” One of the photographers asks and you nod, “I sure did.” You step forward, twirling around to give them a full 360 of your gown.

“It’s beautiful!” They say and you smile, “Thank you!” You step back and Zack walks up to the microphone, “Another round of applause before I set these ladies free to celebrate.”

The audience claps and stands up, cheering and whistling for you all. You knew the industry was important, but you now realized just how important it really is.

“Alright girls.” Zack walks up to you and the others and claps his hands together, “Go celebrate! You deserve it!”

You all say thank you in unison and you make your way back to Sam.

“I’m so proud of you.” He pulls you in, kissing your forehead, “so fucking proud.”

You lean back, looking up at him, “Were free to celebrate.” He raises an eyebrow, “Are we?” You nod, standing up as you hold your hand up, “We are.”

He takes your hand and grabs your award for you before you lead him out of the room.

A string of congratulations follows you all the way to the elevator and you are feeding off the high of winning right now.

You loved it.

The elevator opens and Sam walks you in, spinning you around so his lips can meet yours. Your arms move around his neck as your back presses against the cool metal of the elevator wall.

“You deserve this..” he kisses back your jaw, “So much.” He kisses down your neck and you pull him into you, turning your head so you can kiss his lips again.

The elevator dings and he pulls away, glancing up at the floor number, “C’mon.” He slides his hand down your arm and takes your hand, leading you to the room.

He pulls the key from his pocket, unlocking the door and you both file in. He hands your award to you, “Before we take this dress off of you, let me get your picture.”

You take it, smiling as you pose for him.

“God you’re perfect.” He sets his phone down and you set your award down, your cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

“Let’s get this dress off of you, yeah?” Sam pulls you to him and his hands slide to your back. His fingers gently pull down the zipper and he pulls the sleeves gently from your arms.

And slowly. Just like he said he was thinking about doing.

He slowly tugs it down your body, letting it pool at your feet, “Step out for me.”

You step out and he moves it, kissing up your thighs, torso, and chest as he makes his way back up to your lips. His arms wrap around your waist as his lips move in a slow sync with yours.

You pull him towards the bed and you sit down, watching as he shrugs his jacket off then slips his shirt over his head, tossing it on the floor.

He walks over, hovering his body over yours as he brushes hair from your face, “I can’t believe that after all these years..” he smiles and shakes his head, “Yours finally mine.”

You smile, “We move fast.” You joke with a laugh, “Got engaged right off the bat.”

He chuckles and shrugs, “Not the worst thing in the world.” He dips his head down, kissing you as you run your hand through his hair.

“Do you wanna do this?” He leans back and you furrow your brows, “Please. I’ve thought about this everyday for the last few years.”

“Really?” He laughs and smiles and you tilt your head, “Well, maybe not everyday but you know what I mean.” He nods, pressing his lips to yours, “I do.”

You slide your hands down his torso, undoing his jeans, “Please.” You whimper out, “Don’t make me wait any longer.”

He pushes himself up, and you watch him as he takes off his pants, and he watches you take off your panties. He pulls his bottom lip between his teeth as he moves his body back onto yours.

Your legs part, knees resting on his hips as he stares down at you, “You ready?”

You nod, “Uh huh.” You lay a hand on his cheek, gasping as you feel his cock starting to slip inside of you, “Fuck.” He groans out, dropping his head to rest his forehead against yours.

Your legs move to wrap around his waist and you moan, “S-Sam.”

He pushes in all the way and you gasp, whimpering as you squeeze his cock. He moans, “S-shit.” His lips crash onto yours as he slowly thrusts in and out, feeling you as much as he can for the very first time.

“You feel incredible.” He whispers, “So fucking good.”

You moan, arching your back off the bed. You tangle your fingers into his hair and tug slightly, earning another groan from his lips.

“I love you.” He moans against your lips and you freeze. You’ve said it to each other, but as friends and mainly on birthday posts or something, but now it has a whole other meaning.

“Sorry.” He leans up, giving you a worried look. You stare at him, brushing hair from his forehead, “I love you.”

He smiles and his lips meet yours as his thrusts pick up again, “Every time I said it..” he whispers, a quiet moan following behind, “I’ve meant it this way.”

You nod, “Me too, baby.” You smile and pull him down to kiss him again. You gently bite his bottom lip and he groans, “Fuck.”

He smirks and kisses down your neck, biting and sucking spots into it as you moan out, “S-so close. So close.”

“Cum for me.” His words push you over the edge and you cling to him as he works you through your high, “That’s it baby.” He kisses your cheek over to your lips.

You gasp at how much pleasure your feelings right now, “Fuck, fuck.”

He groans, “I’m not.. gonna be able to hold it much longer..”

You nod, pulling him down to kiss you again, and a few thrusts later, he pulls out and you feel him spill onto your stomach.

He rolls over, laying on his back as you both breathe heavy, taking in what just happened. You look over at him, “So that happened.” He smirks and nods, “Yeah, yeah it did.”

You laugh slightly and look around, “Sam, can you-“

“Already on it.” He gets up and walks into the bathroom. You hear his phone going off, “Sam. Your phone is going off.”

He walks out with a towel and looks at it quick, “Yeah it’s just Colby. I’ll call him back in a second.” He walks over to you, wiping you off and you sit up, just as your phone goes off, too.

“Now mines going off.” You laugh slightly and stand up, grabbing the robe off the door and slipping it on as you walk over to your purse.

You pull your phone out, “I have three missed calls from Lilly and two from Colby.” You look at Sam as he slips his shorts on, “That’s not good.”

You toss him his phone and you call Lilly while he calls Colby.

“About time you call me back.” Lilly says on the other end.

“Yeah, sorry Lilly. I was celebrating.” You laugh slightly.

“Did Colby tell Sam?” She asks and you shake your head slightly, confused, “Did Colby tell Sam what?” You ask looking at Sam again, and his eyes go wide, “um. I’m guessing whatever it is, he just found out.”

You put Lilly on speaker, “What is happening?”

Sam burst out laughing, “Oh fucking shit.” He looks at you and puts Colby on speaker. You set your phone down, “Can someone tell me what’s happening?”

“You guys are trending on twitter.” Colby and Lilly say at the same time and your eyes go wide, “Excuse me!?”

Colby laughs on the phone, “Yeah, um. Hashtag Sam Golbach Engagement is now the third most trending hashtag..”

You look up at Sam and he has his hand over his mouth, “I don’t.. I don’t even..” he shrugs and Lilly laughs, “You my dear are just one above him with hashtag y/n and Sam Engaged.”

“Shut the fuck up.” You laugh, unsure of what to do, “what do we do?”

Sam walks over, pulling you into him, “I don’t even.. I didn’t think..” he laughs, which makes you laugh, “Oh my god, Sam. This is unbelievable.”

You look at your phone, “Lilly. Why did you give me the idea for this!?”

“I didn’t think you’d actually ask him to pretend to be your fiancé!” She laughs and Colby chimes in, “Well, looks like we have a wedding to plan.”

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

My apologies if this absolutely sucks, I feel like this isn’t my best work. but I hope you enjoyed it either way.

If you want one for Colby, you know what to do.

Likes and reblogs are appreciated!

Readers dresses - I like to give a visual sometimes