an Everlasting Pursuit

fifty

The water was always a comfort on my shoulders, something to help guide my thoughts and calm my body.

As I lay face up in the water, I watched with fascination as the sun set.

This lake was something else, and every time I came out here, I found I was so close to a touch of internal peace. After the small... kerfuffle with Asra, he had demanded that I did not close myself off. I wasn't sure what that meant, but apparently I could shut him out without even realising, so I purposely imagined locking him in a cage and throwing away the key. He was angry at me, unable to look me in the eye as I stormed out of his office.

That's what he got for telling me what to do.

My thoughts slowly fizzed away until my mind calmed, and as I lay floating on the surface with the magical lake, my mind wandered to only one thing.

Asra.

I barely knew the man. I have only known he was my destined soulmate for weeks. Yet things seemed to move too fast. From him wanting me gone, to him dragging me back here and now, asking me what I desire from him. It was too much, too soon.

There was only one way I was going to have an answer, and that involved opening up...

Him, of course.

I needed to know him, to see what he wanted from me. Was this magical bond just a trick? Was his emotional whiplash just part of his game?

I was falling for it, and I had to protect myself after Darius and my mother. I couldn't let someone else ruin what was left of me. There was only so much I could take. My heart had been broken way too many times, my father's death being the first of many hits. The scars that torture left behind can only go so far, can only cut so deep before they strike through the other side.

It often felt like I was only one step, one push away from falling from a dangerous cliff.

As though nature was in time with me, the wind picked up and I found myself floating towards the centre of the lake. Sighing, I pulled myself from the water until I was upright. Pushing my hair from my face, I backed against the wind, hoping to tie it into a bun.

Splashes of water hit my shoulders, the waterfall picking up in pace with the wind. A strange feeling washed over me, a tight dread in my gut that had me holding my breath. The current of the waterfall had pulled me in and now was pushing me to the opposing side. Deciding it was getting too rough and too dark, I swam back to where my towel was, despite the sudden harshness of the water dragging me back.

Walking out from the water's edge, I shook off my arms before bending to grab my towel. The wind blew across my bare back, goosebumps rising on my skin as the instinct to pause came over me. It felt like someone was here, like someone was watching me. Now, humans may have dull instincts compared to wolves, but I felt this in my soul.

Pulling my towel to my chest, I scanned the dark woods surrounding me. The lake's noise hid the sound of any footsteps or critters, but the very feeling of the trees was strange. Quiet, despite it being sunset. No birds were out singing, no crickets chirping or owls hooting at the approaching moon.

But then there it was, beneath the roaring of the terrifying water, a rustle. A crunch of leaves and breaking of twigs. It must've been close for me to hear it because my hearing was not that of a predator. Whatever it was, had to be close or large because their footsteps-

Something cut my thoughts off, barrelling into my side. I shrieked at the impact, but it muffled my mouth with a large, calloused hand. Hands were on me, hushing my screams of protest. I writhed against whoever held me, their body hot and broad. I thought I could kick my way out, being my neck was the only thing they pinned down, but a sharp pinch came to the base of my ear that had me jerking in surprise.