Page 352 of Once Upon a Fable

The moment stretched as our eyes met, tangling through the gloom of night.

The man stood unnervingly still.

Tall and strong, layered in a heavy jacket with his hands looped in the straps of a large rucksack on his back. Dark hair, powerful physique, an aura of absolute anarchy around him.

I swallowed.

I swayed to run.

He cocked his head and stepped closer, revealing a stunningly savage face. A jaw that could cut granite. A scar down one cheek. And bi-colored eyes that glittered in the moonlight.

One blue.

One brown.

Both pinned on me with sick, piercing interest.

The valley seemed to tense around me. Silence fell as if all the oxygen had vanished, suffocating every leaf, creature, and soul.

I gulped and backed up slowly.

His jacket rustled as he inhaled, his eyes drifting over my nightgown, hoodie, and bare feet. For a second, it looked as if he’d let me go. As if finding a half-dressed woman in the dead of night wasn’t interesting enough to make him care.

But then his attention locked onto the short chain wrapped around my ankle and he made a sound under his breath. A sound of curiosity layered with threats.

Goosebumps darted over my skin.

I took another step.

And he shadowed me.

His boots crunched on a twig as he matched my distance.

I stepped again.

He mirrored me.

Fear siphoned through my blood.

He didn’t speak.

I didn’t dare.

We were locked in a game of cat and mouse, both waiting for the other to break the spell.

My heart raced as his bi-colored eyes flashed in the moonlight, his brows coming down with a slash of deep brown. His hands fell from the straps of his bag, balling into fists by his sides.

He took another step toward me.

I took one back.

He stopped.

He smiled.

He spoke.

“You found him first, I see.” His tongue swiped along his bottom lip, his head once again tilting to the side as if he found me fascinating, all while figuring out the best way to pounce. “Did you hurt him?” He swallowed a black chuckle. “Then again...did he hurt you? After all, he did show a violent side that surprised us.”