Dreaming of Fate

Chapter 3

The moon hangs low in the sky, unnaturally large, bathing everything in a silvery glow. I'm standing in the middle of a forest, but it’s not any forest I recognize. The trees are towering, their branches twisting together above me like dark, skeletal fingers trying to blot out the stars. The air is thick and heavy, making it hard to breathe.

I can hear something—no, feel something. A presence, lurking just beyond the trees, watching me. My heart starts pounding, and I take a step forward, but the ground beneath my feet feels wrong, soft and unstable. When I glance down, my shoes are gone. Bare feet, sinking into the earth as if it’s trying to swallow me whole.

A rustling sound comes from behind, and I whirl around. The forest seems to stretch endlessly in every direction, but I know I’m not alone. I can sense them, hear the low growl that rumbles through the darkness. Wolves. Dozens of glowing eyes, watching me from the shadows. My chest tightens as I catch glimpses of their fur flashing between the trees, closing in.

I try to run, but my legs feel heavy, as if they’re wading through water. Panic claws at my throat. I know I’m fast—I should be able to outrun them—but something’s wrong. I feel like I’m trapped in slow motion. The growling gets louder, the ground beneath me shifts, and suddenly, I’m falling.

I crash to my knees, and when I look up, I’m not alone anymore. In front of me, towering like a nightmare, is a figure—a man, but not quite. His eyes are a piercing gold, glowing with a predatory hunger. His teeth are sharp, too sharp, and his smile… it's like he knows something I don’t.

“Where have you been hiding?”

The gravel in his voice shook me to my core, and suddenly the panic was of a different sort. I was no longer afraid, but rather I felt guilty, it was my fault, it was all my fault. I began to cry, the exhaustion from running, falling, the fear, all hit me at once, and in that instant his face changed from that of a monstrous wolf-man to that of conflicted concern.

The man bent down and touched my shoulder, and it was like lightning struck me. I screamed and scrambled backwards. “I wasn’t hiding, I promise! The wolf attacked me, I’ve been in the hospital, I'm sorry!”

He seemed taken aback, but my inexplicable anguish wouldn’t let me register his shock. The man again came closer and crouched next to me, this time instead of touching me, he held his hand out in front of my face.

“Smell me” he commanded.

I breathed in, and my entire world shifted, the darkness melted away, and the forest was no longer terrifying. My tears dried up, only to begin again for a reason that was beyond me. I reached for his arm and held it to my chest as I cried.

“Who has you?” He asked softly.

“The doctor,” I whimpered as he tucked my hair behind my ear, the feeling of being struck by lightning was still there, but not nearly as powerful as the first time.

“Look at me”

I looked up into his golden eyes, the only thing I could actually make out anymore, and he studied my features, the eyes shifting over them as he analyzed every inch of my tear-stained face. Then he kissed me.

My world melted again, and I threw my arms around his neck, I needed his touch, I needed to be grounded, so much was happening to me so quickly, and I just couldn’t keep up. His arms hesitantly wrapped around my back, and he pulled me closer to him. Unbidden, I opened my mouth and turned my head into the kiss, deepening it in a desperate need for closeness, away from the wolves, away from the forest, away from hospitals and doctors with chaotic bedside manner.

There was just me, the kiss, and this stranger with the golden eyes.