The Warm, Cold Embrace of a Shadow (Preview)

As she laid, her dreams were interrupted. Something cold had touched her face. Something cold and wet.

It was something that spread from her chin all up the side of her face to her forehead. The odd, thick, eerie sensation was on the move.

A soft groan left her, her eyelids twitching while remaining close. Wha… wha? Her mind started to regain consciousness. She tried to move her body, but she couldn't. Everything felt numb, like it was still sleeping.

What she could do was open her eyes, although weakly. They slowly open to the sight of red and a very bright red at that.

Gleaming, blazing red eyes were staring right into her own. They were fierce, piercing, and so sinister. She could feel her body grow colder.

She tried again to move, but to no avail. She tried to move her mouth, utter a yell or scream from deep within her gut. Nothing came out, and her maw remained firmly shut. All she could do was stare into those eyes.

She stared and stared… and stared longer. Her blinking slowed. Her gaze remained steadfast, locked with the black irises in the center of those red eyes. She could not look away.

…so… Her mind weakly put some words together as it processed her situation. So… so handsome. Those eyes… I could look into them forever.

She knew she should be horrified and worried, but such things were fading fast. All she could do was lay there and stare at the figure. Her mind did slowly begin to piece some things together as she fully awakened.

Only now did she feel something on top of her. Something wide and large was spread across her form. Given its size, she should've felt it crawl on top of her. However, it didn't feel all that heavy. It was more like a beanbag had been laid across her, though shaped like a human figure. The being felt mostly cold but oddly comforting as well.

Melissa would've tried to think more on it. However, the being finally spoke and all of her attention was on its simple words. "Hello, mate."

For the first time since she awoke, Melissa trembled. Her mouth twitched, her jaws unlatching and moving. "Mate…" The word lingered in the air. Mate. Mate.

Her heartbeat rose, her cheeks warming. "Yes… mate. That's me."

The being let out a deep chuckle. It sounded sinister and mean, but with a touch of glee in it. Its head bent back, allowing her to see more of its face. Not much was seen though outside of its dark purple complexion before something long, bright and pink blocked her view.

It was its tongue and the second it hit her face, she instantly remembered it. It was what had touched her face before. This time, it slid across most of her mug, going along the other side of it and almost to her forehead. Her glasses were easily knocked off to the side, falling onto the ground somewhere.

She let out a soft giggle as the tongue retracted. That felt so funny. …felt… oh.

Melissa could feel again. Her hands and toes clenched, limbs moving slightly. She had control of herself once again.

However, instead of pushing the figure away, she merely touched her face where it had licked. "Oh you," she cooed, "You're so affectionate."

As she stroked her cheek, something felt off. Her face was so fuzzy. The texture wasn't like that of a dog or cat in terms of hairy. It felt thicker, more clumpy and dense.

It also felt cold.