Chapter 2

VALERIA A strangled scream rises in my throat as I press on the brakes of my car. The sound of the screeching tires grinds in my ears, and the smell of the burning rubber is so strong that it brings a gag out of me. Thankfully, however, my car stops before it can slam into a tree and kill me. I breathe hard, my hands still wound tight around the steering wheel. My knuckles are white and I’m sure my face is drained of color too. My heart is basically swinging inside my rib cage, and it doesn’t seem keen on going back to normal. I almost died. I nearly went off track and became a skid mark on the road. And it’s all because of the random person who appeared in front of me. “Who’s there?” I demand, looking around to find the person. “Are you hurt?” No one answers. I don’t see anyone else here too. But that can’t be possible, right? I did see someone stepping in front of my car. I know that it had a male silhouette, and it was wearing something reddish in hue, but darker. It was maroon. It’s hard to miss in the background of the green forest foliage. Even with my shaky legs, I get out of the car, grabbing my keys and wedging them between my knuckles as a weapon. The wind blows overhead, rustling the leaves and creating sounds, causing me to whip around over and over. However, I’m alone with the big trees and the fallen leaves. Is it possible that my anxious brain just came up with all of that? Is there really no man here at all, just me and my worries? It would make sense, because I was thinking of getting caught and perhaps that— “You shouldn’t be here.” The sudden sound of a male voice from behind me makes me flinch. I whip around so fast that I almost lose balance, but that’s not what sends me falling to the forest floor. This has to be the person who blocked me earlier, and it’s a man who has to be a couple of years older than me. A man who has the looks and the aura of a Greek god. His chiseled features are soft and sharp at the same time, with his straight nose, sloping cheekbones, and prominent jaw. His hair is black and wavy, slicked back to reveal his eyes, his most striking feature. His irises are brown, but in a shade that’s so light it’s almost yellow. The light just bounces off of it, reminding me of the last embers of a big fire. In short, he’s gorgeous. Probably the most gorgeous person I have ever seen. But there’s a certain aura about him that’s... strange. Like he’s not from around here. Something about those eyes suggests that he’s hiding something. When he smiles at me, that creeping feeling in my chest only gets more acute. Maybe it’s just his smile, because he has extra-pointy canines that give him a mischievous look. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s wearing some sort of a maroon suit with a black shirt, with some kind of emblem on his breast pocket. Maybe it’s just the way he appeared out of nowhere. Whatever it is, I just get to my feet as he starts to walk toward me. I back against a tree, readying the key in my hand. “Who are you? And what are you doing here?” The man only tilts his head. “I should be the one asking you that. Do you even know where you are?” To be perfectly honest, I don’t know where I am. I want to say that of course I do, it’s the sleepy small town of Florence, Oregon. It shouldn’t be hard to find your way, and yet I got lost for reasons I still don’t understand. His smirk is making me think that he had something to do with it. “Yeah,” I just say briefly. “Now tell me who you are and what you want from me. You almost killed me, you know that? Appearing like some sort of a ghost out of nowhere?” The man just chuckles. “You’re not a very good liar. I know you’re lost.” With that, his whole energy changes. Something strange clings in the air, a change in the wind that makes it feel electric. As I look into his eyes, I find myself getting more and more relaxed, but not in a way that’s comforting. His gaze is making me almost sleepy. Pliable. Obedient. I can’t move my body. No matter how hard I try, I’m still stuck against the tree and I can feel a physical force holding me there. He walks closer to me until his face is inches from mine. The scent coming from him is intoxicating, a mix of pine and musk and something sweet like nectar. I inhale it deeply because I can’t help myself, and that’s when I sink deeper into my trance-like state. “You know you’re not supposed to be here,” he whispers, leaning close and inhaling deeply as he reaches my neck. “Are you asking for danger?” “No.” I shut my eyes as heat rushes all over my body. “I’m lost. I want to leave.” The man laughs softly, his strange sweet scent filling my nose. “What if I don’t want you to leave? Because I can smell something on you, and it tells me I shouldn’t let you go.” He leans closer, but even though my instincts tell me to push him off, my body doesn’t react. In the end, he gets so close to me that I feel his skin. “You’re different,” he observes, his eyes lighting up. “You’re one of us. I see that now, and I’ll take you where we all belong.” I want to tell him I don’t know what he’s talking about, but it feels like my voice is gone. He reaches out and takes my hand, leading me away from my car. Every part of me that’s sensible is telling me to run, but it seems that he has control over my body. All I know is that I’m following him like a lost puppy, letting him navigate deeper and deeper through the forest. At last, we reach a hill surrounded by tall metal fence and vines. Perched atop the hill is a building that looks like a castle, with dark red bricks like his suit. The windows are lit and I can hear voices from inside. He turns to me. “Now, all you have to do is trust me so you can get in. I promise, everything will make sense if you come with me.” “I don’t want to go in,” I say, but I find myself nodding. “What did you do to me?” “Just trust me,” the man tells me soothingly. And with that, he holds my face in his warm palms and fixes his gaze on my lips, slowly leaning in.