*Daphne*
When I admitted my feelings to him, it was as if a heavy weight was released from my chest. I had felt so tight and constricted holding the feelings and the secret in. I spoke the truth, regardless of the consequences.
I had nothing left to lose.
I waited for him to respond. His face had beco so stoic and unreadable, that I wasn’t sure what his actual reaction was. He could have been thinking I was joking and I wouldn’t have known either way.
He looked hardened, like what I had just said had struck him.
Finally, he spoke.
“I have feelings for you too, Daphne. And want you to know that I know it would take more than a lifeti for to make up for what I’ve done to you,” he said with a lilt at the end of his words that promised more. “I know my words may not an much, but from this point forward know that I would die before I let anything happen to you.”
I let a smile splash across my face. The words coming out of his mouth were such a relief.
We crossed the small space between us to co near to each other. My hands reached up for his neck and wrapped around, my fingers brushed his hair at the nape of his neck.
I looked into his eyes, drinking in the silvery gray. He leaned into and kissed . Our lips crackled with electricity when they t but smoothed into a soft, warm sensation as our kiss deepened.
We pulled apart and smiled as we held each other’s arms.
“Let’s get back to camp. I’m beat,” he said.
I let out a laugh and he followed suit, both of us relieved.
We walked back to camp and took the path we ca. The moonlight fell on us both, dappled through the leaves in the trees, making it look like we were speckled with silver and white light. I saw the forest with a different set of eyes that night.
The breeze skimming through the trees was light and kissed my cheeks as it ran through my hair. It felt comforting for once.
No longer did it seem like a horrible, dark place, where nothing but danger presided, but instead, it felt like a place where I could be honest with myself. Alone under the canopy of trees with only him, and him alone, I felt both vulnerable and protected.
It was sowhere I could walk the earth with Rion, almost as though it was our own domain. As I walked with him, it felt good to finally feel like we were on the sa side. For the first ti in a while, I was hopeful for the future and excited for what may happen between us next.
It felt so light to be free of that confession. I felt like a breeze as we walked back to camp, and that anything was possible. I imagined a future with Rion in it, though I didn’t want to get too carried away. What would my parents have to say about it?
I looked at him and wondered if he was thinking the sa thing. But his eyes were narrowed and his head bent to the side. I frowned.
Rion’s hand shot out protectively in front of .
“I hear sothing,” he whispered.
I stopped in my tracks and then glanced around. I assud his ears were trained to listen for dangerous noises because I heard nothing. The woods around us were as quiet as they had ever been.
But I knew with one look that he wasn’t joking around with . He had heard sothing and by the looks of it, he didn’t like it.
“Stay back,” he said, even quieter. I didn’t have ti to respond as two wild rogues jumped out and snarled at us. I scrambled backward, unable to help myself. Their abrupt movents startled my already wired-up nerves.
They lunged toward us and Rion quickly pushed out of the way. I collided with a tree and banged up my arm on impact.
“Climb!” Rion ordered and I didn’t hesitate, gripping the tree and hoisting myself up with Rion’s help as the wolves stalked closer, eyeing us like cornered prey.
When I was safe on a branch, I reached my hand to him. He shook his head.
“Stay here,” he ordered.
I shook my head in protest. He took a knife from his pocket and plopped the safe side of it into my unprepared hands.
“Wait,” I mumbled, but he had already turned away.
The wolves were on him in the next mont, not giving him ti to shift.
I heard his groans amid the colliding of his body with the wolves and the slashing of his flesh.
I couldn’t leave him to fight those wolves on his own, so I quickly drew the knife and leaped down from the tree.
My fingers trembled as I wielded the knife. I had never used one as a weapon, but I knew I was being forced to learn whether or not I liked it.
I looked up in ti to see one of the rogue wolves had broken away from fighting Rion. It gave a once over then lunged for . I gripped the knife tighter. It seed to that the wolf didn’t expect to put up a fight, but it was in for a shock when the blade sank into its furry face.
The rogue flung back and howled in pain, taking the knife with it.
I cried out in panic and ran over to get the blade back. I crawled over the wounded wolf and swept for it while still trying to keep out of the reach of its swiping claws. I dodged the claws and went for the face, where I yanked the blade out.
Blood splashed over from the wound, but the wolf was not dead yet. I plunged the blade into its chest until it let out a wounded cry that faded.
I stepped away from the wolf, hopped off its dead body, and stepped back. I was afraid that it would spring back to life and take another jump for , but it was dead.
My hands shook as I looked around, trying to find Rion. I saw him pinned on the ground with the other wolf looming over him.
Without a second thought, I ran toward him with the knife in my hand. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew that I had to do sothing. As I approached, the wolf turned toward , its eyes locking with mine.
I was stopped dead in my tracks and stood there, frozen, as it stalked toward . My heart was pounding in my chest and I couldn’t move. The wolf was getting closer and closer, its jaws opening wide to take a bite out of . But I had given Rion enough ti to finally shift.
He leaped onto the rogue, tearing into it rcilessly. I held my breath waiting for the final blow when I felt myself being lifted off my feet and into the air and suddenly dropped to the ground.
My body splintered into a thousand shards of pain as the wind was knocked out of .
I lazily rolled to my side to see a giant of a man dressed in black making his way for . I still gripped the knife, and just as the man approached , I tried to stick the blade into his flesh.
I missed, and he grabbed by the forearm and twisted it. A flash of pain reared through and forced to loosen my grip. The knife dropped where I couldn’t reach it. He grabbed by my forearm and I dangled over the ground.
My arm scread with pain as he gripped it tighter, cutting off the circulation. I squird and kicked, but my feet were just shy of range. The man snickered at and I glanced over his shoulder to watch more wolves moving in on us.
Rion and I were hopelessly outnumbered. Where was his crew?
Rion took on four other wolves and while he was a good fighter, he was quickly outmatched by the sheer number of wolves overpowering him. My eyes blurred with tears as I watched him struggle to get free.
Through the haze, I could see Rion face . Even from that distance and in my blurring vision, I knew he was looking at .
I heard Rion’s voice call to . My eyes were slowly blinking, but I heard him.
“Daphne!”
Tears spilled down my cheeks as I was strung up by both my arms, and I feared that the man would rip in half. My heartbeat pounded. Another surge of adrenaline pulsed through and beat to an erratic rhythm in my head.
The giant in front of snarled, but seed to grin as if he knew that we were done for. Then, he let loose a high pitched whistle. Within a few minutes, I heard the fighting die down and I glanced over his shoulder.
The wolves had Rion’s wolf pinned to the ground, bloody and exhausted. Several other n erged from the darkness. One of the n tied up Rion and gagged him as well.
The giant of a man in front of clamped cuffs over my wrists and slung over his shoulder.
We were captured.
As the man marched through the woods, I couldn’t help but feel defeated. We had been outmatched and outnumbered. Rion’s crew were still nowhere to be seen. He and I were on our own and taken captive, and I was powerless to do anything about it.
What would happen to his sister now?
My heart felt heavy as we were taken to a caravan of vans and trucks. Rion was shoved into a van. I was pushed into the back of a truck, and the giant of a man took the seat next to .
I clamored to make an attempt to escape but quickly found myself restrained by the giant, and I felt a foul-slling cloth covering my mouth and nose.
Everything went black.
***
I woke up on a cold wet floor in what was obviously a cramped cell, just in ti to hear the sound of the heavy tal door slamming shut and being locked. I sat up in the darkness, my mind racing with thoughts of what would happen to us. Would we be killed? Would we be used as bargaining chips?
It all depended on who had captured us and why.
The giant of a man stalked from the room as he hung the keys by the door, far out of my reach.
“Wait!” I called after him, but he didn’t even pause.
I was trapped in that cell for what felt like hours. My stomach growled with hunger, and my throat was parched from thirst. As ti passed, my anxiety grew. I had no idea where Rion and his crew were, or if they were even alive.
Desperate for answers, I banged on the tal door, yelling for Rion or soone to let out. But no one ca.
I was alone in my cell, with nothing but my thoughts and fears to keep company. As the hours ticked by, my anxiety grew into terror. What if I was never found?
What if I never made it out of there alive?
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