2

Chapter 2

Ella

Slowly, I turned around, but was welcomed by just pitch darkness… No, it wasn't just darkness… Something even darker than the darkness caught my attention.

It stood there in a human-like structure, like it was watching me.

My breath caught in my throat.

I opened my mouth to talk, but no words came out.

What the fuck was I even thinking coming into this alley? I will never forgive Jasper if anything happens to me here.

Then the next second, the dark figure started moving… towards me.

I scrambled back, my heart pounding loudly in my chest, cold sweat forming on my forehead.

I paused as the figure finally stepped out of the darkness. A man.

I paused, my breath steadying. At least it was a human.

I stared at his black leather boot. They shone even in the dark. Then to his black trousers, and to his black shirt… I couldn't see his face clearly, but he was tall. Definitely over six feet.

I swallowed hard.

“Who are…” my voice faded into a soft fearful gasp as the growl came again. This time, louder and scarier.

I wasn't sure anymore if it was a wild animal, or if it was from something else.

I almost peed my panties.

The man seemed to be standing between me and whatever the growling animal was. He didn't flinch.

I was grateful for a second, but couldn't shake off the fact that he looked even scarier with the way he looked down at me.

“Who… are you?” My voice cracked shakily.

He stared silently without a word, as if he didn't hear me.

Then the indistinct chatter and footsteps behind me drew my attention.

I looked back. Three tattered looking men stood across the alley. They reeked of alcohol and cigarettes.

Their eyes swept over me, a creepy smile spreading across their faces. It felt as though they didn't notice the strange man.

“Hey, beautiful…” one of them said as they stepped forward.

“What are you doing here all alone, huh?” Another one said.

“Do you need a place to sleep tonight, hmm? We can celebrate Christmas together,” The third one said as they approached me.

I instinctively pulled up to my feet, rushing to hide beside this strange man. I wasn't thinking straight. Though this man looked scary, he looked like he would protect me from them.

“Please save me,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

He didn't say anything, just a glance back at me over his shoulder. His silence was already driving me nuts.

“Hey… who are you?” one of those three men asked, and their eyes shifted to the man.

The strange man still didn't speak.

“You look rich. You should go to the club and find another woman. This one is ours tonight,” the first man said, reaching to grab me, but before his hand could meet me, the strange man grabbed and twisted it, and with just one push, the man was sent flying across the alley.

I stiffened. My jaw dropped.

“Who the fuck are you?” The second one asked, his voice almost shaky as they drew back.

But Mr stranger remained silent yet again. He quietly and gently shoved me behind him, and as my hand brushed his skin, his muscles pulsed under my touch, and I could swear I heard him grow.

Then his body went completely still as he faced the two men, and before I could blink, he moved.

Fast and almost unnoticeable.

The only thing I saw was him being back beside me in the next five seconds, and the two men lying on the floor, groaning in pain.

My breath hitched. Who is he? What the fuck did I run into? He couldn't be a human.

I stepped back, my back pressing into the wall, unable to process what just happened.

He suddenly turned to face me, his eyes flashing gold as they caught the street light for a split second.

My breath caught. What the fuck did I just see? That can't be a human’s eye, right?

He closed the distance between us, and leaned in, his eyes piercing at me intensely, my skin prickled.

I pressed harder into the wall, swallowing the lump that formed in my throat.

He moved his hand to my face, but didn't touch me, and with a shaky and rough breath, he said only one word, his voice icy, “Mine,”

I stiffened, cold shivers ran down my spine.

Then he stepped back and walked away, fading into the pitch darkness... Not even a glance back at me.

‘Mine?’

I crashed to the floor, heart pounding nervously as his voice echoed in my head…