"You have no idea what you are," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, sending a shiver down my spine. "But you will. And when you do... everything will change."
____
Simone is a high school senior forced to move to a strange town called Greenw...
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The moon was barely lighting the sky and the forest looked and felt scary. Somehow the woods seemed like it's alive, watching every step I took.
My heartbeat quickened with every step, but I pressed on, refusing to let fear win.
I told myself I was here to figure out why Ryder had been standing in these trees, or if he really had been. I refuse to believe I would just imagine him outside my window.
Has the move really made me go loco?
Greenwood was eerie, though. It all seemed to belong to a different world, a world that shouldn't even exist.
Suddenly, I stumbled. My foot hit something uneven, and before I knew it, a gaping hole opened up under my weight, and I barely had time to scream as I slipped toward the darkness below.
Panic shot through me. I grabbed for anything—roots, rocks, whatever I could reach—but I was falling, my breath catching in my throat as dirt and debris crumbled around me.
And then, just as quickly, something grabbed my wrist. Strong, firm. I was jerked back, my feet scrabbling to find solid ground. I gasped for air, my heart hammering in my chest as I looked up.
Ryder......Ryder!??!! So I was right!!
"What are you doing" His voice was sharp, angry, but there was something else there—something like panic. His grip on my arm was tight, almost as if he didn't trust me not to fall again.
"I—" I tried to catch my breath, but everything came out in a rush. "I thought I saw you, I wanted to know if I was right."
Ryder's expression darkened, and for a split second, I thought I saw something in his eyes—something wild, something... not human. "You shouldn't be here," he muttered, releasing my wrist like I'd burned him.
"I know," I admitted. "But I had to know."
His jaw clenched, and he turned away from me, like he couldn't stand to be near me. "You don't understand anything, Simone. You can't just come into places you don't belong."
Um, he's the one in places he shouldn't even be.
But the way he said it—the way he looked at me—it sent a shiver down my spine. It wasn't just anger. It was fear. But fear of what?
"Then explain it to me!" I demanded, stepping closer.
He didn't answer at first. Instead, he just stood there, his back to me, shoulders tense.
The silence stretched between us, thick with things unsaid. Finally, he turned, but his eyes didn't meet mine. "I don't owe you anything."
"You don't," I shot back, my frustration boiling over. "But you're the one who's always acting like I'm some kind of problem for you!"
Ryder's face twisted in a mix of frustration and... guilt?
He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming, but his words were quiet, almost broken. "You are a problem, Simone. You just don't know it yet."
"What does that even mean?" My voice was shaking now, more from confusion than fear. "Why do you care so much?"
He was standing so close now, too close. I could see the sharp edge of his jawline, the tension in his face, the way his lips were pressed tight like he was holding something back. "You don't get it," he whispered. "I'm trying to stay away from you."
"Then why are you here? Why did you save me?"
He didn't answer. He just stared at me, his eyes flashing with something deep, something raw. Then, before I could say anything else, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, breathless, confused, and with a thousand more questions than before.
**
Somewhere in that same forest...
Someone's Pov
From the edge of the trees, I watched as the girl stumbled through the darkness. It was almost laughable how naive she was, venturing into a place like Greenwood without any real understanding of what lay hidden here.
She had no idea of her true significance, no inkling of the role she was about to play.
The boy, Ryder, was not originally part of the design. His name carried weight but seeing him in action was a different story.
How could the prince of the Bloodfire clan not even control his own urges or manage a single human girl?
The very thought was almost comical. His inadequacies were evident, his authority lacking. And now, he was bound to a girl who was far more important than he could comprehend.
Simone had come to Greenwood not out of choice, but because her father couldn't manage his new family and his wife's accident had left them in disarray. I had ensured that Claire's accident was no mere misfortune; it was a carefully orchestrated move.
Her downfall had been my design, meant to force Simone into this place where her presence would serve a greater purpose.
As I watched them chatter, I remained hidden, watching her every move as I always have, the forces were stirring and Simone's role was becoming clearer with each passing moment and when the time is right, I would claim her.
