CHAPTER 5

KRISTINA'S POV

When I reached the end of the path, I realized that I'm still outside the woods. Even though there weren't many humans around anymore, the forest remained the same scenery. I looked up at the dark skies, trying to see what kind of moon was there tonight.

The clouds were slowly moving across the sky while the moonlight was shining brightly and giving a little relief to the dark surroundings. I looked down onto the muddy surface below me, taking in everything that I'm seeing. This must be some kind of trick from the Moon Goddess, showing her favor to me because I am no ordinary being who has been given a very special gift.

A small, almost indiscernible noise caught my attention, and I was about to turn around when my eyes caught something that I shouldn't. It was too early in the morning to see such a strange sight since I couldn't see the person standing nearby.

"Don't move!"

Startled, my legs suddenly gave way from under me as my knees met the ground. A pair of long legs was soon looming over mine while my back was pressing against the ground. In addition, he took one of my arms that was resting on top of my head and wrapped it tightly around my chest.

"What did I just say? Don't move."

He pointed something on me, ready to fight against me.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

I stayed silent. I knew that this human had no reason to hurt me, yet I kept quiet anyway. I wouldn't show any fear even though I'm frightened out of my mind.

It's not like I can do anything, so why should I try to resist him? He is human after all. But… Why does he have a gun? After what seemed like forever, I heard footsteps behind me. The human seemed to be walking away with me in his grasp.

As we stepped into a place filled with darkness, I felt someone holding me closer as if wanting to prevent my escape. And now I started struggling to break free without breaking his hold on me. That's probably the first time I ever disobeyed anyone's command except for myself.

My hands were shaking, and I wanted nothing more than to escape but my body refused to obey. I struggled harder instead, causing my body to be jerked forward as the human squeezed me tighter and tighter.

"Please! Let me go! I'll do whatever you want," I screamed, tears beginning to fall out of my eyes and mix with the raindrops on my face.

The pain wasn't going away and neither was my heartbeat. All I could think about is how much worse this situation could get. I would be captured and sent back to that hell hole. Then the human let me go.

I immediately fell onto my knees as he released his grip on me, and I was left panting and sobbing. I hugged my knees close and tried my best to stay away from the man who had brought death upon me. But he didn't seem like he cared about that anymore as he stood right next to me.

His tall stature allowed him to make himself look bigger. With every step he took, he got closer to me until he was towering above me again. He lifted one of his hands, and in seconds, his cold palm was placed on my head.

In the next instant, he began running his fingers through my wet hair. His fingertips moved faster than I could process anything they're touching. It felt amazing. So incredibly good. Then he leaned forward to whisper into my ear.

"Now don't move."

I shivered as he continued to run his hand through my hair until he stopped at its last strands. I tried to move my hands, but he pulled them back by grabbing them behind my knees.

"Stop," he growled. "You will not move until I tell you otherwise…"

"Please don't make me move," I begged. "I've already done enough harm, please–"

He pulled harder and I yelped out loud, feeling the pain in my shoulders. The pressure around my wrists made me feel like I couldn't breathe. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably as I tried to pry his hands off of me. But his grip was firm and immovable.

"Please..."

Suddenly, another hand grabbed both of the man's wrists and he was forced away from me. His body went flying backward, landing on the ground several meters away. I didn't know what was happening until I heard the loud thump of his body hitting the mud, along with a few curses and groans.

A man's voice rang. "Are you okay, Miss–"

I quickly turned to see him standing a couple steps away from where I was sitting before he approached me, and he came rushing towards me with his usual cheerful expression.

He kneeled in front of me and grabbed my cheeks, looking straight into my teary eyes. "Oh my God! Are you alright?"

I nodded and smiled weakly. The man helped me up, brushing the dirt off of me before leading me into the woods. His hand rested firmly on my lower back and we walked side by side until we came to a clearing with no trees around.

A small cottage sat there and was lit with a warm light. He guided me toward it until we reached the door. He put his hand on the knob and pushed it open with ease, revealing an entryway with a living room. There was a fireplace burning with a beautiful wood burning fire in the middle of it.

A table was in front of it, full of various food items such as fruits, nuts, dried meat, and even some breads. On the table was a plate containing different meats, vegetables, rice dishes, and desserts.

After placing me down on one of the couches, he poured the water for us and handed a cup to me. He sat down across from me and picked up his own cup, drinking from it. When he finally set the cup down again, he said, "So... what happened exactly?"

I took a sip of my water, which tasted delicious. I thought that perhaps I should start with the incident that caused me to come here.

"I don't even remember how I got to that place," I lied. I looked down to avoid making eye contact with him as I said those words. It felt awkward talking about it like this. I'm sure he doesn't want to hear this.