𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤

4. "We're all searching for someone whose demons play well with ours."

My heart stilled in my chest.

As I glanced back, the man disappeared into the cover of the trees. Although he was out of my sight, my sensitive ears picked up the ruffling of leaves, and the quiet falls of his footsteps, as he moved through the densely packed trees. The heavy fog surrounding me made it harder to keep him in sight.

Narrowing my eyes, I spotted the man breaking out from the line of trees and walking towards where I was sitting. I strained my eyes, finally being able to make out his ruffled curly brown hair and the stubble along his jaw. He was shirtless too, with khaki shorts that hung loosely on his hips.

My heart rate picked up as he inched closer, now only standing a foot away, I knew he was a werewolf by his scent alone, and I knew he would have picked up the sound of my ferociously beating heart, but he still hadn't faltered.

The man crouched down to my sitting figure, he carefully watched me just as I watched him back, and from a close distance, I could finally see that his eyes were an ominous dark brown.

The silence was thick between us, and the tension was high, but my fear was inescapable. My heart was a second away from beating out of my chest. My jaw clenched tightly, and my fingernails dug into my palms.

The smell of my blood was faintly present in the air.

The man in front of me started sniffing the air then looked at me with worry in his eyes. 

"Are..." He struggled for words as he cleared his throat, almost as if he was unaccustomed to human words. "Are-Are you okay?"

I continued to stare at the man through my narrowed eyes, wary of any sudden attacks or movements.

The wolf inside me wanted to rip him to pieces if he tried anything.

The man's lips twitched a little to what seemed like a smile for a second before he went back to his cautious form. Lifting his hand, he slowly moved it towards my head, searching my eyes for permission as he did so.

My lips curled back instinctively, and I snarled at him in a warning. Even with the fear present, I was prepared to fight if he started something.

"You're injured." He murmured, showing no signs of fear. "Let me treat your wound."

I growled at him again,  this time a low warning growl.

Wrenching myself up, I pressed myself against the trunk of the tree behind me, trying to put as much distance as I could between the stranger and me.

He was oblivious as he slowly inched forward again and tried to touch the back of my head, but I slapped his arm away. "I wouldn't do that If I were you. If you are out of line in Black Death territories, there is no guarantee you will return home alive." He warned, although he struggled to meet my glaring eyes.

Fear prickled up and down my spine as his words sunk in. For a moment, I continued to stare blankly at him, not being able to comprehend what he had said.

My vision was blurry, but I noticed this man's scent drawing closer and closer to me; although it placed me in a sudden state of panic, it was enough to snap me back into reality.

"Get away from me!" I screamed through the fierce chattering of my teeth.

My eyes darted around wildly, looking for any means of escape or any form of safety. Daylight was slowly fading away, the sky was now a dark gray, and the dim light of the forest darkened as the man loomed over me, blocking my line of vision.