Phoenix

Chapter 8

Keiran

She is lying on the ground, unconscious. I look at her in a panic, still in wolf form and nudge her.

Her clothes are in tatters, now that she has turned back to her human form and I have to concentrate a lot, not to look anywhere but her face.

" Isabelle," I say, uncertainly.

She remains unconscious. There is a large bump forming on her forehead and I squint in the moonlight to see her nose is also swelling up and there is dried blood there.

She was hurt before, but how?

Did that prick hurt her...? My nostrils flare at the thought and I bare my teeth but I try to calm myself down, because it's no use getting angry right now.

I gently nudge her again and lick her cheeks.

I have no other way to wake her, and she tastes heavenly.

Her scent...

I feel a thousand reactions to it, as pure pleasure courses through my body.

I want to bury my nose in her neck and just keep sniffing for an eternity.

Thankfully, she moans and slowly starts to open her eyes, before I make a fool of myself.

Her bright green eyes, which were flecked with gold when they were glowing in the dark, now seem grey in the moonlight.

She blinks a few time, trying to focus, and touches her forehead.

She grimaces when she feels that bump, and tries to get up as soon as she sees me.

Her eyes widen in panic, and her mouth opens as if to scream.

I back away, quickly.

She drags her body backwards, covering her bare breasts with her right arm and I have to call out,

"Careful.." Because that tree trunk is about to hit the top of her head again.

I can see recognition on her face, now.

" You.." She manages to say, her voice soft and uncertain, and still a little groggy.

She closes her eyes once again, and I remain silent, letting her work it out. I'm curious, how does she recognise me? She never saw me in my wolf form, except ....

" I know you... I saw you, after I... I" She interrupts my thoughts, but her tone is unsure.

" After you died." I complete her sentence, calmly.

" Yes," She says eagerly and looks a bit relieved, as if somebody just confirmed that she is not mad.

"You were there?" She asks me. " You brought me back, how?" She inches closer with this question.

" Yes I was there, and I'm not sure how I did it..I was just..." I trail off, trying to answer as honestly as possible, unsure how to begin to tell her what I feel about her.

" What did you mean, earlier when you said I can't escape? You really scared me when you said it, I thought..." She averts her eyes and trembles a little.

" I meant you can't change the past, you have to stay with him. Believe me, I tried." I tell her, with a hint of exasperation in my voice, and then it occurs to me. "He killed you, didn't he? Why? And you thought it was him who was following you, are you in danger right now?"

" Oh...." Disappointment clouds her beautiful face, and she smiles sadly. " I don't know why he killed me. I'm trying to figure out the conspiracy behind this, and I guess I am always in danger, considering he is my killer," She laughs bitterly and my chest constricts painfully. "But if what you are saying is true, then it's all futile. I am bound to die, again." She finishes, looking hopeless.

"No!!" I move close to her, forgetting everything. " I will not lose you again. We will find a way." I promise her. I have to restrain myself with great difficulty from hugging her.

She seems surprised by the intensity of emotions in my eyes and voice.

"Who are you?" She asks. " And why does it matter to you if I die or not?"

It's my turn to avert my eyes.

I have spent my entire life watching she- wolves throw themselves at me. I never had to confess anything to anyone, and I certainly never felt something as intense as I am feeling for her. It was always just varying degrees of mild interest before. With her, it's like a fire raging inside me, burning me and changing me every day.

Before her, all I had to do was stare for a second or two, and the rest was just automatic.

Now, looking at her I feel scared and vulnerable for the first time in my life.

I want to express my love to her in all those clichéd verses, I previously laughed at.

I want to tell her that there is not a single night, ever since I met her, when I slept and didn't dream about her.

I want to tell her that I miss the sound of her voice, and I have relived our first meeting for a million times, and I still look forward to relive it all again.

I want to tell her, that feeling her die made me die a thousand times, and that's not the worst thing at all to happen to me.

The worst thing was watching her come back from death, and marrying her killer, kissing him and looking at him with the kind of love, he craved from her.

I have been unable to relax ever since, and that's why I have been staying close to her cabin,under the excuse of hunting. I usually slip away at night and watch their cabin from afar.

That's how I watched her run towards the forest tonight.

There's so much to tell her but somehow when I open my mouth, it's as if my tongue is paralyzed and all the courage leaves my body.

She is still watching me silently, awaiting my answer.

" I want to see you," She finally says.

I knew she was going to say that eventually, and I guess it's the easiest way to start my explanation.

I take a deep breath as I start to turn, when I hear a voice.

" Isabelle..." The voice is slowly nearing us.

I recognize it, as it starts to grate on my nerves and I grind my teeth in frustration. It's that prick.

I want to bite his head off, and especially when Isabelle scrambles to get behind me, shivering in fear.

But I realize I can't keep them apart. At least for now.

" I told you before, I will always be here for you. I am always near." I tell her, in the mist reassuring voice I can manage, because it's killing me to leave her like this as well.

" But how will I find you?" Her voice is shaking and she is gripping my fur. For a moment, I want to take her and escape to somewhere far away, but I know it will be in vain. We have to work out a way to beat fate, and staying with her risks exposing her to her husband, who might start suspecting everything, and kill her sooner.

I break off the ruby necklace around my neck, and hand it to her.

" Keep it with you. When you need me, hold it in your hand and call to me. I will come to you, no matter where I am." I tell her.

She lets go off me and grips the necklace in her delicate hands.

I hear a twig snap, not far from us and retreat silently behind a tree.

Her husband appears soon after, looking worried and holding a flashlight and a blanket.

He wraps it around her, looking all worried.

" Isabelle.... Oh God... Thank goodness, I found you..." He is sweating and out of breath. And I hate his damn face because when he moves closer to Isabelle, she tries to get away, looking clearly scared.

He notices it too, because suddenly there are tears in his eyes.

I roll my eyes at his theatrics.

He falls to his knees beside her, and proceeds to apologize, telling her how sorry he is. Promising her he won't hurt her, ever again.

So, it was him who hurt her. I try to jump out and snaps his neck in half, but my body is frozen in place.

These rules suck.

He makes to scoop her up in his arms but she raises her hand and stops him,

and then silently gets up on her feet. He shuts up too and starts to walk towards their cabin.

She lets him get ahead of her, deliberately walking slowly.

And finally.... She looks back.

Her eyes are lit up with hope now.

" We will find a way to save you together and expose him..." I silently promise her, and she nods her head slightly as if she has heard me.

I can't help but smile at this, despite the situation.