LOVE BEYOND TIME

CHAPTER 6

EMILY FOSTER

He seems to ignore my request, and I see his brow furrow as he looks at my injury. The pain feels greater now, and I think I hurt myself more when I fell.

"She’s injured, take her directly to one of the healers, and then tie her up inside the cabin again."

"Why?", I ask, feeling tears in my eyes.

"Because we’re not monsters, as you imagine, human. You’re injured and need care."

"My name is Emily!", I shout, and he sighs.

They take me inside a tent, where an old woman starts tending to my leg. She gives me herbal tea to drink and says it will help with my pain.

I still can’t believe that I’m in the past and that all of this no longer existed when I was born.

I blink my eyes, feeling the men tying me up again, but all I can think about is the skull I found in the forest.

Axel.

The same kind of ghost I saw, and that was calling me, but why?

They give me food and water, but I can’t eat because all I can do is cry.

I lie on the floor, feeling the ropes around my wrists. I cry louder, and the cabin door opens.

Axel enters and looks at me. He stands there for a few seconds, staring at me, before leaving again and leaving me alone and tied up here.

I don’t know how much time passes, but I know it’s night again.

I have my eyes closed when I hear the loud sound of horses. I frown before opening my eyes and sitting on the floor, hearing screams.

"What’s happening?"

Chaos seems to be unfolding. I hear the wolves shouting as if something very bad is happening right now.

I blink my eyes, hearing the sound of fighting, screams, and swords clashing at the same time.

Oh my god.

I look at the ropes around my wrists, trying to free myself again, but I can’t. I hear Axel’s orders as if he’s leading an attack.

I scream in fright when someone forcefully pushes the cabin door open. I widen my eyes before screaming again when I see a...

Vampire.

My heart seems to stop when I see the man before me. Everything Axel said starts to make sense, and I try to get up when I see the man coming toward me.

"Axel! Axel!", I scream as I’m pushed to the ground, and I try to use my hands to keep the vampire away from me.

He’s very strong, and I scream more when I see the sharp teeth near my neck and red eyes.

"What are the wolves doing with a human prisoner?", he asks, and I scream more, trying to fight.

"Axel!"

I see the vampire’s eyes fixed on the necklace I’m wearing. He smiles, but before anything can happen, someone enters the cabin again.

Seconds later, I see Axel running towards us. He pushes the vampire away from me, and I sit on the floor, looking at them in horror.

"You found the magic stone. The king will be very pleased when he hears about this. From now on, the human girl is property of the crown, and we’ll take her.", the vampire says, and I tremble.

Axel shakes his head, and I see that he’s holding a sword in his hands.

"No one is going to touch her!", Axel growls.

His eyes seem more golden than before. I can still hear the screams and sounds of fighting everywhere outside.

The two of them start to fight, and I feel tears in my eyes again. I pull at my arms to try to escape when I see the vampire's strength.

He attacks Axel, throwing him hard against the wall. The table breaks with the impact, and I see the vampire’s gaze meet mine again.

"The king will love to meet you, human!", he smiles, approaching me, and I scream as Axel slams the man’s body hard onto the floor.

My eyes widen as I see Axel lift the sword before driving the blade through the vampire’s chest, who dies within seconds.

Axel stands up, and I tremble as he begins to cut my ropes.

"What the hell was that? Who are they?", I scream, frightened, and Axel grabs my arm before leading me out of the cabin.

"Vampires, the king knows we’re here and sent his guards."

I blink my eyes, seeing the scene before me. Many wolves are fighting the vampires. Axel keeps holding and protecting me against his body as more vampires appear in front of us.

"I have to get you out of here..."

"What? Why?"

Axel looks at me, and I see his eyes fixed on the necklace around my neck.

"The vampires want you, and they won’t stop until they get you. They want the stone you have."

I feel my whole body tremble, and I scream when a vampire appears. Axel puts me behind his body while he fights with the sword, and he seems to be the best at it.

He shouts orders, and I watch as the men begin to transform into giant wolves.

"Where are we going?"

"Away from the vampire’s reign. I need to keep you safe.", he says, holding my hand as we run together.

I shake my head, feeling the greatest fear of my life. I can’t go with him. I need to go back home. But I don’t have time to say that because more vampires appear.

One of them jumps on me, and I fall to the ground again. Axel tries to help me, but he starts fighting again. The vampire holds me tightly, trying to drag me away, but I keep screaming.

The wolves hear my screams and run to help me. I can feel blood running down my forehead as I fall and hit my head.

Axel keeps killing the vampires, and I scream as one vampire pushes me against the cabin wall outside. He puts his hands around my neck, trying to grab the necklace, but I push him hard away from me.

I close my eyes, expecting him to attack me, but it doesn’t happen. When I open my eyes, I see Axel’s sword piercing the vampire’s heart, which falls.

I blink my eyes, breathing heavily, seeing Axel in front of me. His gaze is very intense at this moment, and I can’t stop looking at him.

We are very close at this moment. His face is just a few centimeters from mine, and I wonder what it would be like to kiss a wolf, but I shake my head, pushing that thought away in a situation like this.

"Axel, I’m scared...", I whisper, shocked by everything that’s happening, and I see empathy and compassion in his eyes for the first time.

He reaches out his hand to me, and I look at him, confused, feeling my eyes fill with tears.

"I know, but nothing is going to happen to you. I’ll keep you safe, but we need to go now, Emily."

I gasped, surprised that he called me by my name.

"Come with me..."

Everything seems to spin around me, and I remember my life in the future. I see more deaths happening before us, and seconds later, I touch his hand.

I nod, holding his hand and running away. He puts me on a horse, and I watch as he mounts in front of me.

I close my eyes, listening to the wolves howling and fighting against the vampires as I keep my arms around Axel's body.

I’m in the past, and I feel there’s a very important reason for me to be here now. Something is between me, Axel, and this magical necklace.

Part of me believes I came to save him.