And There Were Wolves

thirty | cause I know that it's delicate

All of a sudden, I had the urge to get out of my room. Out of the packhouse. I needed to get some fresh air. So I rushed downstairs and nearly bumped into Ryker who was on his way upstairs.

It only took him one look at my face and he could tell that something wasn't right. "You're not fine." It was a statement rather than a question. His hand found mine and he gave me a little tug. "Come on."

He brought us downstairs and through the front door. We only stopped for two minutes to put on our shoes then we kept going, walking down the porch and into the forest. "Wait, where are you taking me?"

Ryker looked over his shoulder at me and smiled. Not just his usual smile, this smile was genuine and spread warmth all over my body. "Somewhere that will make you feel better."

Despite everything else, I found myself laughing at his reply. "I doubt such a place exists."

"Oh, it does."

Blindly, having zero clue where we were heading, I trusted him. I retraced every step that he took, relying completely on him even though my common sense told me that I should bolt and run. Then he suddenly stopped and pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket. "I am going to put this on you."

"Seriously?" I glanced at the handkerchief and then gave him a pointed look.

A smile formed on his lips again. "Yes. Seriously."

With a sigh, I turned around and closed my eyes. I could feel the silky fabric loosely on my eyelids and my temple before he tightened the knot.

He turned me around to face him. Or face somewhere. I wasn't sure and I certainly had not expected this fabric to be so blinding. "Can you see me?" he asked softly. His breath brushed my forehead.

I let out a nervous giggle. "Well, what do you think?"

He held my hand and this time, he was walking rather slowly and even blindfolded, I could feel his eyes on me every now and then, checking and making sure that I didn't accidentally bump into anything or hurt myself. Then at last, after a rather long walk, we had finally arrived and he undid the blindfold. Not surprisingly enough at the lake with a waterfall. Except that this time, there were lights on the trees around it, making the waterfall, the lake, and its surroundings look enchanting.

I shook my head, laughing, as he brought me to the same rock that I'd sat on the day I'd been here, where Dmitry had found me. "I should have known you'd bring me here." I looked at him and bit my smile.

He leaned down and placed his hands on each side of my face. "Don't look at me. Look at the waterfall. And don't think about anything. Just watch the water from above falling to the lake and the simplicity of it." He dropped his hands and then urged me to look at the waterfall and I did.

Following his advice, I simply let myself enjoy the view instead of overanalyzing it or having my thought wander elsewhere which was what had happened the first time I'd been here. I took a deep breath and smelled the water and the flowers that grew on the edges of the lake. I took everything in and for once, I was grateful that I was alive. I had never thought about living or dying, I'd been focusing on facing each day as it came and I forgot that I was not going to live forever. That my time on Earth was limited.

I felt something cold touching my cheek and realized that Ryker had lightly touched the chilled glass of wine on my right cheek. I laughed seeing his gesture. "So was this your plan after all? Getting me drunk and going all romantic on me." I shook my head and my laughter became bigger when I saw the appalled look on his face. I accepted the glass of white wine and took a small sip. "Just to be clear, I am too smart to be seduced by you," I teased him.