Jackson groaned loudly for the third time that night as he slumped against Areum's sweaty frame, trying to catch his breath. For someone whose body was strumming with immense pleasure, he felt like garbage.

He just claimed Areum.

Three times.

He took that away from her only a month before he was going to die.

What kind of man was he?

He rested his head in against her neck before letting his tongue swipe languidly against her shoulder. He knew that it would be good, but he didn't think that he'd be left so mind blown and euphoric.

His whole body felt like it was made up of sparks and fire and it burned so perfectly and so deliciously that he had come to the conclusion that everything about Jo Areum was intoxicating.

It got to a point where even feeling her breath on his shoulder was over stimulating.

He moaned into her skin when her fingers danced up the curve of his spine and brushed through his dampened hair. His tongue brushed a blooming bruise on her collarbone, making her whine under him at her oversensitive skin.  

It was her fault.

If she didn't have such a strong hold on him, he would've been able to resist her. But that voice begging him to touch her and her hands digging into him like he was her anchor was enough to make him come undone.

He wanted to give her everything, including his self.

Jackson rolled off of her and stared at her tired figure beside him.

She cracked her eyes open and turned her head to glance over at him. She looked wonderful. Her skin was covered in sweat, her cheeks were red and her hair was a halo of a mess.

He could hear her heart hammering in her chest as she panted while holding the covers close to her chest.

He stared at her silently, his eyes hiding a storm.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She whispered even though no one else was in the house.

He didn't respond and shifted closer to her so that he could kiss her. Her hand came up and cupped his cheek before softly tugging on his ear. His fingers lightly trailed down her body, making her gasp into the kiss when his touch brought goosebumps on her skin.

She was a tornado.

He could control weather in any way that he wanted. He could create every weather pattern that he could think of, but he would never be able to replicate the windswept feeling that Areum always left him in.

He nipped her bottom lip with his teeth before pulling away. "I'm just in love with you and you're amazing to stare at." He mumbled back.

She smiled shyly as he brought an arm around her shoulder and rested her head against his chest.

"How do you feel?" He slurred while trying to refocus his vision that was still a little white.

Areum's face flushed an alarming red, "Good."

Jackson looked up at the ceiling with a lazy smile, "Oh please, don't get carried away. I wouldn't want my ego to inflate."

"I feel really good." She said softly, her words shooting his veins up. She tilted her head back to look at him, "You make me feel really, insanely, good."

Their eyes locked and he could feel that familiar rush coming back to him.

"You smell incredible." He breathed. It was like she was dripping in his scent and it was making him territorial.

"Why? Do I smell like you?" She teased.

"You smell like you are mine." He said, choking down the lump in his throat.

Their first night was supposed to be something so special that every cell in his body was supposed to be screaming in excitement.

But there he was, after making love to his mate, feeling guilt ridden.

"Gongzhu?" He asked as his fingers drew mindless words on belly, living off the feeling of her skin under his hands.

She shivered at his touch, "Yeah?"

"How were you like before me?"

She snorted, "I was totally fine. I was happy. I did my thing and lived my life. There were times when I was lonely and sad, but I survived just fine. I was a tough one."

"How about when you were with me?"

"I was still tough, but a little more irritable. First you made me mad, like all the time. You were the worst. Then you made me confused, because I started feeling things about you that I wasn't used to. Then you made me the happiest girl in the world, because you opened me up, you made me smile, you made me stronger than I already was and you loved me no matter what. You made me fall in love."

Jackson let her words absorb into his skin sending him higher than he thought was possible.

"What about after me?"

Areum froze before sitting up, "What?"

"What would you be like, after I'm gone?"

"What the hell kind of questions is that?" She snarled angrily.

"Would you hate me?" He whispered.

"Stop." Her eye twitched as she fisted her hands.

He just continued to look at her with sad purple eyes, "I don't want you to hate me. I don't think I could handle that. If I knew that you wouldn't hate me, it would make everything a lot easier."

"Then don't ask stupid questions." She snapped. "What are you even talking about anyways?"

He sighed and reached out, clamping his fingers around her arm before pulling her back down. Her body curved perfectly with his as he closed his eyes.

"I know you'll hate me in the morning. Just promise me that you stay away from Mino. He's a lot more dangerous than I first thought. Don't look that panther in the eye."

She made a face, "In the eye?"

"Just…just remember what it was like before me. Remember that you were perfectly fine before I came along. You were happy, you were tough and survived without a problem. Never forget that. You didn't need me for you to be those things." He used the last bits of energy that she had left him to make sure his voice didn't waver.

Areum's voice was firm, which surprised him because he was sure he had worn her out. "Jackson."

Jackson dipped his head down, "You know I love you more than anything, right?" Even more than my life.

Areum gulped at the intensity of his words. She didn't like the aura that was radiating off of him. "I know."

"Then just remember that I will always be with you, no matter what happens."

-----

Areum woke up feeling last night's soreness in her legs but the first thing that she noticed was that she was cold.

She was never cold around Jackson.

She quickly flipped onto her other side to see Jackson's side of the bed empty. She sat up with a start and stared at the dent on the bed where he would've been.

Her eyes caught something neatly placed on the pillow next to her. She reached out to pick it up. Her eyes widened when she realized what she was holding.

Jackson's collar.

He told her that wolves trade collars once they officially became mates.

She stared at the bullet in her palm before slowly hanging it around her neck, the bullet falling  past her chest, hanging  over her belly button.

She touched it gently with her fingers before squeezing it in her palm, it was cold, but she imagined the heat that the metal would've caught when it was around Jackson.

She tried not to feel bad that he wasn't there in the morning since he normally waited for her to wake up before leaving the bed.

She looked over to the door and spotted her backpack leaned against the wall, making her smile at the fact that he kept his promise to grab her things for school the next morning.

All his clothes were gone and if it wasn't for his collar or the ache in her thighs, she would've thought that last night didn't happen.

But it did.

Jackson claimed her.

She bit down on her lip, holding back a smile as she pulled her clothes on. It was amazing. Every touch, every kiss and every word, made her head spin. He treated her like glass but near the end something always snapped as his wolf side would take over.

Her stomach curled at the memory.

She stood up and walked passed a mirror before stopping and walking back to it. She stared at herself. Her cheeks were rosy, her lips were swollen and there were bite marks all over her collar and more that were thankfully hidden by her shirt.

But there was one thing that made her look the most beautiful, in her eyes.

She was smiling.

"So this is what it's like to be claimed." She said with a stupid grin as she stared at the obnoxious glow that was radiating off of her.

She pulled her collar up before wandering down the stairs. The house looked completely empty. There wasn't a trace of Jackson anywhere.

She wondered if he was already doing rounds of the district when loud laughter and chatter echoed from outside, drawing her attention. She walked outside and saw the pack lounging on the porch.

"There she is!" Youngjae cheered

Areum blinked in surprised before frowning.

There were only 6 of them.

No Jackson.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked as she walked over to them.

Jaebum's eyes narrowed before he started sniffing the air wildly. His cheeks suddenly stained red before he stiffly turned away.

"What's wrong with you?" Jinyoung snorted when Jaebum kept his eyes averted from Areum.

 Jaebum pursed his lips but said nothing while the other boys caught the same smell and started sniffing as well. Yugyeom was the first to look away shyly with widened eyes.

"Oh."

Areum gave the wolves a weird look, "Oh, what?"

Youngjae teased, "I never thought that Jackson's old bedroom was that much of a turn on."

"Excuse me?" Areum's eye twitched as her lip curled over her teeth.

Jinyoung tried to remain mature, but his eyes were glittering, "You two had quite the exciting night, didn't you?"

Areum's eyes widened as she shot a look to Mark, "How do  you guys know?"

"His collar." Yugyeom pointed out.

"And you smell like him, it's stronger than when