Predator

Part Twelve✔️

"What's happening?" She grew dizzy, eyesight blurring. As he stepped towards her, she put a hand out to stop him. "No, stay away from me."

He didn't stop his approach though, his eyes that blazing blue color, as if blue flames were dancing within as they assessed her, his canines seemed to be sharper, larger, behind his plump lips and this scared Grey. He approached her like the predator he was.

Grey tried to stagger away but her body quickly grew weak and soon the world was nothing but a black haze.

• • •

It seemed that the moment he touched her, the forest became alive. As if every tree, every creature, every being underneath the shade of the tall trees had their eyes on them, watching them in awe.

"A girl?" They all seemed whispered to each other, soft voices carried with the wind. "A girl."

Every living thing in that forest knew of his affliction, and to see him carrying this girl deeper into the trees and not out of them was like a dream. For just like him, they were all cursed too, even the trees. The little creatures may not have been able leave the cursed forest like him, but they didn't carry the curse in their blood, it just surrounded them. For him, it burned in his veins each time the moon grew big and full in the night sky, every waking moment of everyday, and each time he touched her.

She could save them all, break the curse placed upon the land and free them all. But she had the hardest of it than any other being in the forest, for she had to learn to love a beast, a beast incapable of any emotion. A beast who had taken the lives of so many innocents. A beast who can't even love himself, expected to love a girl as much as she loved him, before time ran out.

• • •

He didn't know why he was carrying her deeper into the trees, towards his home, but he was. Maybe it was because of the way she talked back to him, maybe it was because she didn't fear him, maybe it was because he liked the way the fire burned within her eyes when she spoke to him, as if she liked the danger of being near him.

He glanced down at her, her long eyelashes hid those magical eyes of hers. Never before had he seen such a color, a shimmering silver that on some days he'd noticed was a light blue. He had taken his time the first night she came into the forest to truly see her, to scope out every detail of her face that he could see, and he had been mesmerized. She had brought upon him feelings; emotions that he didn't want to ever feel again.

The wind grew harsh and the world grew colder the further he walked, for the journey to his home was a long one. The cold wind began to turn her skin pink and she turned to hide her face in his chest causing him to tense. He could feel her warm breath through his shirt and he felt like his control was slowly slipping away from just the feel of her breath. He couldn't imagine what would happen if she looked at him a certain way. He silently vowed to himself to not lose control in the way the beast wanted, if any control was lost it would end with her life being taken, not her innocence.

The sight of the old castle shadowed by the trees was a relief to him, it meant he could distance himself from the girl and still know she was safe. He looked upon his home, the ivy that grew up the gray-colored stones and the west wing that had been destroyed long ago and now was simply a ruined structure hanging onto the rest of the home. Pushing through the large front door, he kicked it shut and made his way up the winding staircase and down one of the many hallways to an empty room, one of the smallest ones around but he didn't know how long the beast inside him would keep her alive for.

Setting her down on the bed's white duvet, he stared down at her as she nuzzled her head into the large pillows, his focus on the way her slender fingers gripped the pillow as if it was keeping her from floating away. And standing there he wondered what she was dreaming about, whether it was good or bad, and all of the sudden his thoughts took a turn to the darker side and the beast inside raged for control. He pushed him down and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

• • •

Grey shot up with a gasp, the chirping of birds filling her ears from the open window to her left. With wide eyes she looked around the unfamiliar room and froze, trying to hear anything but the sound of her own breathing, but there was nothing. She was alone, so she thought, and decided it best not to sit around and admire the small yet elegant room, but to find a way out.

As she stood, she noticed her feet were bare and her boots and socks had disappeared to god no where, but shoes were her last worry. In fact, if anything, Grey was grateful to be barefooted as it helped her to move about with stealth she normally didn't possess.

Grey came to find the only unopened door - the open one led to a spacious looking bathroom - for in the room was unlocked and it opened without a sound. Creeping into the long hall, she didn't bother to close the door behind her and instead moved as quickly and quietly as she could down the burgundy colored hallway, pushing down the urge to take in all the paintings on the walls. At the end of the hall, she found another hallway across from her and a grand staircase in between the hallways. Deciding the staircase was her best escape route, she slowly descended the stone stairs and at the bottom, she hurried to the double doors that were twice her height.

Her hands were on the handles for just a second before they were ripped away and found her back now against those very doors and a large hand wrapped around her neck. Her own hands gripped the stranger's and her nails dug in his skin but he didn't loosen his grip.

"Kak vy syuda popali?" He snarled down at her as she gasped for air, his dark eyes glaring at her.

Grey tried to push out words but his hand around her throat prevented any from forming. She tapped his hand repeatedly, as if trying to tell him she couldn't speak let alone breath but he didn't let up. Squeezing her eyes shut, Grey tried to suck in as much air as she could but none would come through and she felt her head begin to spin.

On the brink of unconsciousness, the man's grip let up, just enough for her to suck in all the air that her lungs could handle. He repeated the Russian words again but Grey shook her head.

"English." She managed out and he frowned, putting a little more pressure on her neck.

"How the fuck," The man's accent was thick with anger filling each word like venom. "Did a girl like you find this place?"

"I don't know."

He growled low in his throat and it was then Grey realized he wasn't human. "Lie to me again and I'll have your blood painting these walls, human."

"I swear." Grey stammered out as she gasped in more air, her hands back to clawing his. "I just woke up upstairs."

The man was now furious, eyes a pitch black color seemed to shine and his jaw was clenched so tight, Grey thought it might break under the pressure. His grip around her neck became impossibly tight to the point where Grey wasn't even gasping or fighting, she just stood there like a fish with her mouth wide open and her eyes teary.

She closed her eyes, preparing for the end when she heard a loud growl that shook her to her core and all of the sudden she was on the ground in a coughing fit. In between coughs she'd gasp, trying to make herself feel normal again. Still in her fit, she looked up to find the man who had just been choking her was now in her position across the room. The man with his hand around his neck had his back to her but Grey had no doubt who it was by the way her body began to buzz. Khishchnik.

They were having a glaring match and with a vicious few words in Russian, the beast dropped the stranger who looked at Grey with a venomous glare before he stormed off leaving a now silent Grey alone with the beast. He turned slowly to face her, those blue eyes burning as bright as always.

"Where am I?" Her voice was rough and her neck was throbbing but she didn't care as she pushed herself to stand on wobbly legs. Her slender fingers gripping the doorknob as support as well as a quick escape.

He was silent for awhile, simply staring at her hand that was carefully holding her neck. "Home."

"My home is thousands of miles away." Grey said slowly.

"Not anymore." He turned and began to walk away when her voice stopped him again.

"Who was that?" She asked. "The man who-" Her hand hovered over her aching neck.

"That was my brother."