Radio to the heart

Part two deepening the connection  a test of trust 

The wind bit at my skin as I stood in the center of the clearing, arms crossed, eyes darting toward the shadows around us. The moonlight barely reached through the trees, but it was enough to see Alistair standing at the edge of the forest, watching me in silence. There was something different about him tonight, something darker lurking beneath his usually calm demeanor. It clung to him like the night itself, heavy and unnerving.

I shifted my weight, my heart pounding louder with each gust of wind. "You've been different since we left the cave. What's going on?" My voice came out steady, but inside I was anything but calm. Did I do something to upset him? Was there something he saw in the cave that unsettled him?

He didn't answer, not right away. Instead, he paced back and forth, eyes never leaving me, like a predator sizing up its prey. That smile I'd grown used to-the one that once made me feel safe-was gone. His face was hard, unreadable, and it twisted my gut into knots.

"Alistair, talk to me. Please."

He stopped suddenly, his movements unnervingly smooth. The wind whipped around us, growing stronger as if the forest itself felt the tension between us. Alistair stepped forward, just enough for the faint light to catch the strange glow in his eyes. I swallowed, instinctively taking a step back, but forced myself to stand my ground. Whatever was happening, I wasn't about to run.

"You said you wanted to know more about me," he said, his voice low, almost too calm. "Are you sure you're ready for that?"

My breath hitched. His eyes... they weren't right. Something unnatural flickered there, and the way he looked at me sent a chill straight to my core. I'd always known there was more to him than what he let on, but now it felt like the mask was slipping.

"What do you mean?" I asked, though I wasn't sure I wanted the answer.

Alistair took another step forward, his movements deliberate, like a wolf stalking closer to its prey. "You think you've seen me. You think you understand what I am."

"I know you," I insisted, my voice barely above a whisper. "I know who you are."

His laugh was low and bitter, more a sneer than anything. "No, Tess. You've seen nothing."

The cold in his words cut through me like ice. I searched his face for some sign of the Alistair I knew, the one who had been there, who had protected me. But the man standing in front of me now-there was something dangerous in him. Something that made me question if I ever knew him at all.

"You're trying to scare me," I said, my voice shaking despite my best efforts. "Why? What are you trying to prove?"

He smiled then, but it wasn't warm. It was sharp, predatory. "I'm trying to show you who I really am. And what you mean to me."

The darkness seemed to close in, the trees pressing closer as if they, too, were part of whatever game he was playing. I couldn't look away from him, couldn't bring myself to move. I wasn't sure if I was more afraid of him or of the truth he was about to reveal.

"I'm not afraid of you," I whispered.

"We'll see."

The wind howled through the clearing, bending the trees until they seemed ready to snap. The moonlight, once a steady glow through the canopy, dimmed, swallowed by the dark clouds rolling across the sky. It felt like the night itself was closing in around us, suffocating, but I refused to let it crush me.

I straightened my back, squaring my shoulders as Alistair stepped closer, his presence heavier now, darker. My heart pounded in my chest, but I wasn't going to show fear. Not now. Not ever. Not to him.