CHAPTER 5: TOWARDS DANGER
907 Words
Why didn’t I run?
Why was I still standing there… after everything I just saw?
Why was my heart still choosing him… even now?
The sounds of the fight faded slowly.
One by one, the growls disappeared.
The shadows pulled back.
Until it was quiet again.
Too quiet.
My breathing was uneven, my chest rising and falling too fast as I stood there, frozen.
Everything felt unreal.
Like I had just stepped into something I wasn’t supposed to see.
Then slowly…
He stepped out of the darkness.
Not the wolf.
Him.
Daniel.
My heart skipped.
But this time, it wasn’t the same.
There was fear in it.
Real fear.
He looked different.
Not just because of what I had seen…
But because something about him felt heavier now.
Like the truth was sitting between us.
Neither of us speaking.
Neither of us moving.
“You should have left,” he said quietly.
His voice wasn’t cold.
It wasn’t harsh.
It sounded… tired.
My chest tightened.
“You lied to me,” I said.
My voice came out softer than I expected.
Shaky.
He didn’t deny it.
He just looked at me.
And that hurt more.
“You’re not…” I stopped, swallowing hard. “…normal.”
A small, bitter smile touched his lips.
“I told you to stay away.”
“That’s not an answer!” I snapped, my emotions finally breaking through.
My hands trembled slightly.
“Daniel, what are you?”
Silence.
Heavy.
Long.
Then he took a step closer.
I didn’t move.
Even though part of me was screaming to.
“I’m not what you think,” he said.
My brows frowned.
“I just saw you turn into a wolf.”
“And yet… you’re still here,” he replied.
That hit me.
Hard.
Because he was right.
I was still here.
“I should be scared,” I whispered.
“But you’re not,” he said.
I looked at him.
Really looked at him.
And the truth slipped out before I could stop it.
“I am,” I said.
A pause.
“Just not of you.”
Something in his expression changed.
Softened.
Just a little.
That small shift in him made my chest tighten.
Because even now…
I could still see him.
Not the monster.
Not the wolf.
Him.
“What are they?” I asked quietly.
His jaw tightened slightly.
“My kind,” he said.
The words felt heavy.
Real.
“And me?” I asked.
“Why were they looking at me like that?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
And that silence…
It scared me more than anything else.
“Daniel,” I said, my voice breaking slightly, “what is going on?”
He ran a hand through his hair, turning away slightly like he was trying to think.
Or maybe… trying to decide.
Then he looked back at me.
And this time…
There was no hiding.
“They weren’t just looking at you,” he said.
My heart started racing again.
“They were tracking you.”
My breath caught.
“Tracking me? Why?”
Another pause.
Then—
“Because you don’t belong out here alone.”
Confusion flooded me.
“What does that even mean?”
His eyes locked on mine.
Deep.
Serious.
“It means,” he said slowly, “you were never supposed to be unprotected.”
My heart skipped.
“What are you talking about?”
He stepped closer.
Slow.
Careful.
Like he didn’t want to scare me.
“Think,” he said quietly. “Have you ever felt like something was missing?”
My chest tightened.
A strange feeling settled deep inside me.
Because…
Yes.
But I had never been able to explain it.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” I said quickly, shaking my head.
“It means everything,” he replied.
Silence fell between us again.
But this time…
It wasn’t empty.
It was filled with something heavy.
Something real.
“You said…” I hesitated, my voice lowering, “…that I don’t remember.”
His expression darkened slightly.
“That’s because you don’t.”
My heart pounded.
“Remember what?”
He stared at me for a long moment.
Like he was searching for something.
Then finally…
He spoke.
“You knew me before.”
Everything stopped.
My breath.
My thoughts.
My heart.
“What?” I whispered.
His eyes didn’t leave mine.
“You just don’t remember it.”
I took a step back, my head shaking slowly.
“That’s not possible.”
“It is,” he said.
“No, it’s not!” I snapped, my emotions rising again.
“I would remember something like that!”
His jaw tightened.
“You remember what they let you remember.”
The words hit me like a shock.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, my voice trembling.
But before he could answer—
A sharp sound echoed from the distance.
Both of us froze.
Daniel’s expression changed instantly.
Alert.
Dangerous.
“They’re coming back,” he said.
My heart dropped.
“What?”
But he was already moving.
Fast.
He grabbed my hand this time.
Not my arm.
My hand.
And the contact sent something through me I couldn’t explain.
“Stay close to me,” he said.
This time…
I didn’t argue.
Because whatever was happening…
Whatever I had just stepped into…
It wasn’t over.
It was only just beginning.
- Writer
