Mayawi_Insaan
Celeste Laurent.
I ran deeper into the forest, my breath breaking apart in my chest, each inhale sharper than the last. The trees stretched endlessly, their shadows twisting, watching... closing in.
I told myself not to look back.
Because something inside me already knew-
if I did, I wouldn't be able to run anymore.
But fear is cruel.
It makes you do the very thing that will destroy you.
So I turned.
And my world stopped.
He was there.
Not chasing.
Not even trying.
Just walking.
Slow. Measured. Certain.
Like time itself bent around him.
Like he wasn't following me-
but waiting for me to realize I was already his.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs as I stumbled back, forcing my legs to move again. The thin fabric of my gown clung to me, snagging against branches, tearing just enough to slow me down.
The forest grew quieter.
Too quiet.
No wind. No sound.
Just the echo of my own fear-
and his footsteps.
Steady. Unhurried. Unstoppable.
He knew.
He knew exactly how far I could go.
And what terrified me the most...
was that I was reaching the end.
I pushed forward anyway, desperation clawing through me-
until something wrapped around my wrist and yanked me back.
Hard.
A sharp gasp tore from my throat as my body collided against something solid. Unmoving. Cold.
A hand tightened, unyielding, as if it had been waiting there all along.
A breath brushed against my ear.
Slow. Controlled.
Possessive.
Aurelion Solstic.
His fingers curled tighter, not enough to hurt-just enough to remind me I wasn't going anywhere.
"Run," he murmured, his voice low, almost gentle-
"tear yourself apart trying to escape..."
A pause. I felt his presence lean closer, darker, consuming.
"...but you were never running away, Celeste."
His grip tightened just slightly.
"You were only ever finding your way back to me."