Page 3

Before relief can settle in, the brittle snap of a twig cuts through the air. My eyes rise just in time to see a dark shape emerging from the very same place the deer had appeared. It’s only moments before my breath is taken, ripped away as a hard body collides with my own.

A startled gasp passes through my lips, changing almost immediately to a strained humph when my back meets the ground.

The owner of the body lifts themself, looking down at me, then pulling their head back, like they’re just as surprised by me as I am by them.

Not my pursuer, I notice right away. No horns. No breathy growls.

A man. I can’t see him properly from where I lay, only his silhouette. It’s still dark out, and most of his features are masked by the night. Shadows from the dim light catch against the lines of his face, highlighting a strong jaw and sharp cheekbones.

I swallow, trying to keep my breathing even, trying to combat the panic attack threatening my airway. Everything feels foggy.

For a moment, he just stares, not seeming to notice he’s still pinning me down.

But then he shifts, allowing more light to shine over him, and I find myself momentarily frozen as a pair of gray eyes flash over me. They’re striking. Deep and stormy, like clouds about to break open with thunder. Dark hair falls in his face, accentuating the pull in his brows. It looks soft. Messy.

“You…” He speaks so lightly, as though it isn’t me he’s talking to but himself. There’s a hollowness in his eyes, something so empty, like he’s looking at a ghost.

The stranger leans closer, burrowing his face in my neck, breathing me in. Smelling me.

“What are you?”

My gaze locks on something above us and my chest goes still.

Not one, but two crescent moons hang in the night sky. Their silvery beams dance across my flesh, painting me and the man in shades of pale blue and soft ivory.

His slow exhale flurries below my ear, and his mouth grazes against me. There’s a pinch, a sharp, burning sting igniting on the skin of my neck.

Whatever fog I was in, this pulls me completely out of it.

Releasing a breath, I slam my knee into whatever part of his body I’m able to make contact with.

It works. With a stifled grunt, he rolls off me.

The moment I’m upright, I dart for the trees. Frosty wind nips at my face. There’s a dull ache lingering where his lips had been. I trace the side of my neck, wincing when my fingers reach the pained area, and pull away, noticing the mess of red at their tips.

Did he…bite me?

I glance over my shoulder, expecting to see him—or even that other thing—close behind. But there’s nothing there. No one. Just a stretch of trees and the moonlight filtering through them.

Before I’m able to fully return my focus ahead, I run into something solid.

“Not a shifter or a witch.” The stranger stands in front of me now. “No necklace of shells, so not a siren.” All I can do is stare up at him while he speaks, my breath caught somewhere in my throat. “Not nearly strong enough to be an Alken of any kind. So, what are you?”

Why does he keep asking me that?

We aren’t far apart, still, he comes closer, twisting his fingers through the ends of my hair and bringing it to his face. “You don’t smell like anything I know.” I swat at him, but he grabs my wrist, examining the wet blood on my fingers. “You don’t taste like anything I know. Where are you from?” Dark eyes find mine, except, they’re not gray anymore. They carry an unnatural shimmer, as if they’ve captured flecks of the starlight, turning them silver beneath the twin moons.

A shiver runs through me, mostly in fear, but also fascination.

“Tell me, little stray, where have you been hiding?”

Hiding?

A nearby cackling steals my attention, a horrifying mix between a hyena and a banshee.

Each little hair on my arms stands on end, and my stomach knots with fear. The sound was loud, horrendous, then it’s followed with silence.

I look back to the man. He drops his stare, then lets out a sigh. “Come with me.”