Saving His Nymph Mate

Chapter 5- Pragma

Candace glanced behind her back and saw him running after her. She didn’t know why she was running and didn’t know who she was running from, except that he was fast.

She pushed herself faster. Never did she expect to find him. Her drink was pre-ordered on her app before saying goodbye to her dad. She walked the two blocks to the café like she did every week. Seeing him was a shock and not one she was ready for.

Ahead was the tree line. She just needed to reach the forest. Her legs burned as she continued her uphill run. She was so close; Candace knew she could make it.

In a hazy moment, she was yanked back by her backpack. With her momentum being thrown off, she staggered, trying to keep her balance. Feeling her weight go backwards, she braced herself for the fall by throwing out her hands.

The stranger caught her around the waist. Fear gripped her as she wondered if the stranger was going to kidnap her. He easily lifted her upright and helped her regain her balance. She twirled around to face him and shoved his chest. Heart racing from the adrenaline.

“What the heck?” Candace said, glaring at him.

“Sorry.” He held his hands up in a gesture of peace. “I was just trying to catch you.” He stood tall and confident.

Candace looked at him. Her eyes swept over his black hair, then connected with his gray eyes before wandering to his defined jaw line and the stubble he had. His toned body and broad shoulders made him look like he worked out and was athletic. He stood over six feet and she tilted her head back slightly to look into his eyes.

He grinned, and she realized she had checked him out right in front of him. Her face burned with embarrassment. The moment seemed to stretch and become awkward. Candace didn’t like the way he looked so comfortable in her embarrassment and unease. With her heart still racing and muscles still tense from the run and presumed k********g, she felt annoyed.

“You could have hurt me.” She crossed her arms.

He took the chance to watch at her. Again, her face went pink.

“But you didn’t get hurt, did you?” He lifted one eyebrow.

That infuriated her. “No, but you don’t go around yanking on people’s backpacks.”

“How else was I supposed to get you to talk to me?”

“Typically, when one runs away, they don’t want to talk.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Why did you run?”

Candace paused at his question. From his smug look, it seemed like he already knew that too, which infuriated her. Who was this man that seemed to make her feel so many emotions?

“I got to go.” Candace twirled on her toes and continued toward the forest.

The stranger fell right into step with her. “Where are you going?”

“Into the forest.”

“Why? There is nothing that way.”

Candace paused and considered what to say. “And how would you know that?”

The handsome man in front of her couldn't come up with an answer. She was genuinely curious. She knew he was right, but how did he know it? Something about him unsettled her, and she didn’t know why. There was a secret that he was hiding, she could tell. Candace looked at the trees, really wishing for its security.

“My brother and I spend a lot of time in there.” He turned towards her. “You didn’t answer my question. Where are you going?” He took a couple of steps closer to her, his voice calm.

Candace looked into his eyes. It was a storm. It looked as if there was a raging tempest ready to be unleashed. Ready to destroy anything with its magnificent waves and flashes of lightning. She could feel herself wanting to see the beauty in the chaos.

A blue pickup stopped on the side of the road. This pulled Candace out of her trance. The man looked towards the pickup. The window rolled down, and the occupant inside said something. Candace couldn’t hear what he was saying, but apparently the stranger in front of her did. He turned more towards the driver. She didn’t care to listen as she quietly stepped the rest of the way into the forest.

Immediately, she felt herself transform into a nymph. She felt more alive and peaceful. Candace slid behind a tree and watched the handsome man realize that she was gone. He turned to the forest and took a couple of steps within. Turning his head to the side, he acted as if he was trying to listen. Then defeated, he walked back into the blue pickup and they drove away. She watched as the stranger made one last look in her direction.

Candace relaxed and walked out from behind the tree. Aware of the cold she felt inside, she watched the pickup drive down the street. Despite her relief that she was alone, she noticed she missed the stranger. Realization dawned that she had never got his name. She didn't know if she would see him again.

A recurring thought popped in again. I found my pragma. She did not know how to respond. Why now? Why had fate brought him to her? Her mother said that she and her father came together when they needed each other the most. This made her feel weary of what the future held and how that man was intertwined in it.

In the shadows of the tree, her thoughts continued to wander. He was infuriatingly charming. She enjoyed their little banter and thought about how she felt less than a week ago. She wondered if he was the sensation she had been searching for.

Shaking her head, trying to lose him from her thoughts, she focused on the task at hand. The forest was telling her of turmoil. Candace threw her backpack over her shoulder and walked deeper into the forest. As she walked, she listened to the inhabitants of the forest and felt the wind snake over her skin, giving her the story of where it had been.