LOVE BEYOND TIME

CHAPTER 4

EMILY FOSTER

“What are you?”, I scream, backing away as he growls and jumps on me again.

I scream as he grabs my head, exposing my neck.

I try to pull away and run again, but he keeps holding me tightly. I close my eyes, preparing for his attack, but seconds later, I hear loud howls.

I open my eyes and turn my head, seeing enormous creatures running through the forest toward us.

My eyes widen as I hear more howls.

The man behind me quickly releases me and tries to flee, but I see a large wolf howl, chasing after him and opening its mouth to attack.

I’m lying on the ground, too scared to move at this moment.

Wolves.

I had never seen wolves in my entire life, and it’s happening now.

There are many wolves, all howling simultaneously as they attack the strange man.

At that moment, I lift my head and see a pair of golden eyes fixed on me; a black wolf watches me and howls. I get up and start to run again, ignoring the pain in my injured leg.

I run in fear, hearing the wolf chasing me.

I want to believe this is a nightmare, but it feels too real.

I look back, seeing the golden pupils, and scream as I begin to fall from a great height.

I keep screaming as I fall from some kind of high place, feeling the impact of the water against my body. I sink, closing my eyes and losing consciousness.

I moan, thinking I’m dead.

I try to open my eyes, managing to see grass and men's boots.

I blink my eyes in confusion, furrowing my brow as I realize I’m being carried on the shoulders of a man who isn’t wearing a shirt.

The large, strong body is warm and makes me feel safe, but I’m too weak and in pain to try to escape or struggle against his body.

I blink, turning my head, and manage to see the sun rising in the dark sky.

It’s no longer night, and this means I’m being taken to someplace I don’t know. I can hear voices, but I don’t understand what’s being said.

I try to stay awake as long as I can, but I feel like I’m losing consciousness again.

“Who are you?...", I whisper, unable to finish the sentence, before fainting again.

When I open my eyes again, I smell smoke, thinking I’m home.

I blink, remembering the creature in the forest.

I’m lying on something and quickly sit up, trying to move my body, but my eyes widen when I realize my wrists are tied with a rope to a wooden post in some kind of old cabin.

I furrow my brow, pulling my hands and trying to free myself, but I can’t.

I look around, seeing that it’s no longer night.

I’m scared and try to pull my wrists again, hearing voices nearby at that moment.

“You know humans are forbidden here.”

“I know, but I couldn’t leave her alone in the forest. She fell off the cliff and didn’t die. They might try to kill her again.”

I hear the voices of two men and bite my lip, trying to find something to cut the ropes on my wrists.

I don’t know where I am, but I need to get out of here.

I hear the sound of heavy boots on the wooden floor and turn my head, finding two pairs of golden eyes looking at me.

Oh..my...god.

My eyes widen, paralyzed, when I realize that one of the men in front of me is the same one I saw in the car accident and in the lab.

But he doesn’t seem like some kind of ghost.

He’s real.

“Where am I? Why am I here?”, I ask angrily, looking at the two men who are wearing clothes made of some kind of hide.

They don’t answer me, but the man I saw in my car accident is looking at me with a stern expression as if he’s annoyed that I’m here, but I didn’t choose this.

“Answer me! Why did you kidnap me? Let me go now, or I’ll report all of you to the police!”, I shout, pulling at my wrists, seeing that they look confused.

“Police? What is that?”, the other man asks, confused, and my eyes widen.

“Are you kidding me? Let me go now!”, I shout offensive words, seeing that the other man is looking at me angrily.

“A foul-mouthed woman, your husband should punish your backside for being like that, now tell us why you were in the shadow forest and alone, human.”

I raise an eyebrow, not knowing what’s happening at that moment. I look at the man more closely, and I blink, remembering the wolf that was in the forest with me last night.

Golden eyes.

That’s not possible.

“Answer us, human. You are in our territory and need to tell us the reason you were crazy enough to be in the forest at night.”

“Crazy? I’m not to blame for being attacked by a man and wild animals!”, I say this angrily, looking defiantly at the man.

He doesn’t seem to like the way I talked about the wolves, and it leaves me even more confused.

“Now let me go!”, I demand, and he shakes his head.

“We cannot let you go, human.”

“What? What the hell is going on here? I need to go home, I need to go back.”

“We cannot let you go until we are sure you are not a threat to our people.”

“What are you talking about? Threat?”

The other man opens the door, leaving the cabin, and I fix my eyes on the strong man in front of me.

I don’t know how this is happening. I remember seeing him on the road before my car accident and in the lab.

“Vampires. Perhaps you are a spy for them, and if I let you go, you could tell them our location, human.”

I start laughing, shaking my head, and seeing him look even more confused; his pupils shine, and I pull my wrists.

“You are very crazy...”, I whisper, and he shakes his head.

“You almost got bitten by one of them last night.”, he says, and my eyes widen when I realize he’s not joking; he’s looking at me seriously.

“Tell me you’re joking. Vampires are a myth and a legend, creatures that drink blood don’t exist in this world. What’s wrong with you?”, I ask, looking angrily at him.

The man kneels in front of me, and I see his golden eyes fixed on the necklace around my neck. He blinks in silence for a moment before reaching out to try to touch the stone of the necklace, but I pull back, looking at him angrily.

“Don’t you dare touch me. I don’t know you.”

“I saved you; if I hadn’t, you would be dead right now, or you would be like them now.”

“A vampire?”, I smile, laughing, and he nods.

“I don’t know why you’re laughing; this isn’t funny, human.”

“Human? Do you see what I’m trying to say? You’re calling me that as if you’re different from me and talking about vampires, all of this is very crazy.”

“What are you doing with the moonstone?”, he asks, and I furrow my brow, looking at the necklace around my neck.

I stay silent, realizing that he won’t believe me if I try to tell him everything.

“Moonstone? Is that its name?”, I ask, and he says something in a language I can’t understand.

“What did you say?”, I ask, whispering as I look at his face.

“You shouldn’t be wearing that. Many people believe that this stone is cursed and capable of doing things to you.", he replies, and I blink, remembering what happened when I examined the stone more closely in the lab.

“What kind of things?”

“Things that are not possible in this world. Things we can’t do without the power of magic.”

“Like seeing dead people?”, I ask, and this time, he doesn’t answer me.

Oh, God!

What happened to me?

What did this stone do to me?

“What’s your name?”, I ask, and he blinks before answering:

“Axel Harper. Alpha and leader of the mountain wolves.”

Okay, something tells me he’s not normal; he’s very, very crazy.

Jesus.

“Axel, you need to let me go. I would never tell anyone anything, but I need to go back to my house, please.”

“Where are you from, human?”

“California.”, I whisper, seeing that he doesn’t know where that is.

“California? I’ve never heard of that place before, but I think you’re very far from your home.”

“That’s not possible. I was at work, and I ended up here when I was examining that stone.”

“Wow!”, he says, looking at me with wide eyes, and I furrow my brow, seeing him look at me with a funny expression.

“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“A woman who works—is that common where you come from?”

I stay silent, unable to believe he’s asking me this.

What’s wrong with him?

“Many women work where I’m from.”

“What’s your name, human?”

“Emily, and you can stop calling me that stupid name as if I’m some different kind of person.”, I say irritably, seeing a smile on his lips.

“Okay, Emily, from California. Now tell me what you know about the vampires.”

“Oh my God! How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t know anything about that? You’re scaring me by talking about vampires, Axel.”

He stands up, blinking and sighing, and I turn my head, seeing a lit fireplace in the corner of the cabin.

“They are real, Emily. It’s not safe to be alone in the forest; there are many of them that can kill you.”

I furrow my brow, remembering the man who attacked me at night; he had sharp teeth and red eyes.

Red eyes.

My eyes widen as I feel my body tremble, and I pull at my wrists, trying to get up, but I can’t do that right now.

Vampires.

Vampires.

This can’t be real; they don’t exist. This is just a legend.

“If that man was a vampire, those large creatures and…”

“Wolves. What you saw were wolves, Emily. We don’t harm humans.”, he says naturally, and I shake my head, feeling my heart pound harder and harder in my chest at this moment.

“You? Jesus, everything is very confusing to me. Vampires and wolves.”, I breathe heavily.

I open my mouth to breathe, but I can’t. I’m shaking, and I see Axel kneel in front of me, touching my shoulder.

“Emily, what’s happening to you?”

“I can’t breathe. I think I’m having a panic attack.”, he looks at me confused again, and I close my eyes before trying to control the beating of my heart in my chest.

“What should I do?”, he asks nervously, and I point to my hands tied with the rope.

“Please…”, I beg, and he looks at me suspiciously before touching my hands.

I lift my head, looking around before trying to find something I can use, and then I see a knife on the table.

Axel unties my hands before looking at me, and I take a deep breath. Before he can try anything against me, I push his body before getting up.

My clothes are still wet, and I run to the table, grabbing the knife, but Axel is very fast. When I raise my hand to attack him, I see him pushing my body against a wall before holding my arms tightly.

My eyes widen, seeing his pupils shine brighter as if he really is a wolf.

Jesus.

I sigh, feeling his hands holding my wrists beside my head, and he looks at me with an irritated expression.

“Never, never try that again, or I won’t hesitate next time. You act like you’re not from this world, girl!”, he says, and I look at him angrily.