Chapter 2: Lucien Storm.

MIA.

"Arrgh!" I screamed.

My feet snapped through a branch as I fell to the ground. I felt the ends of my dress rip across but even more so the sting that came from the thorns slicing through my skin.

I forced myself up, even though I could barely move. My feet were bleeding and my whole body ached. I clenched my teeth together, picking out the thorns from my flesh before completely ripping the wedding dress in half.

The weight of the ends fell around me as I struggled to my feet. I threw a look over my shoulders, the breeze icing the tears on my face which I wiped savagely. Night had fallen and after running the entire day, I had reached the outskirts of Rosewood.

The darkness clouded the periphery of my eyes as the winds picked up with howling from a distance. This was no place to be at this time, especially as a wolfless rogue. I had heard all about the forest, but it was even scarier now that I was in it.

I limped forward carefully, not that I had much of a choice but my ankle could literally snap in two with too much pressure.

By this time, I had no idea where I was going and the thought that I was making a mistake crept into my mind. There was no way I could survive in here. Maybe it's not too late to turn around, I thought.

Except it was.

At that moment, a strange feeling consumed me. Like I could feel the intensity of eyes boring into me. The hairs across my skin stood as I walked with my back.

"It's nothing." I whispered to myself. I hoped. But even I wasn't as half as convincing because the truth was, someone was out there.

I turned around, picking up my pace and slicing through the leaves as fast as I could. My heart was pounding against my chest as I ran. I could hear thuds behind, of footsteps that didn't belong to me. Deep breaths escaped my pale lips as adrenaline fired in my heart.

But before I knew it, a hand clamped over my mouth drawing me to the side. My eyes widened with fear as I felt my feet leave the ground. I let out a scream which was nothing in a forest this size.

"Let me go!" I yelled, unaware of what was behind me. But his cold scent purged through my nose. His voice was like death.

"What do we have here?" His breath slammed into my neck as his grip around my ribcage tightened. Bile rose into my throat and I could barely breathe.

"Please," Escaped a whisper.

"Don't fight this. If you stay still, you won't get hurt and I just might let you live." His claws tore the back of my dress and dug into my skin. I wailed with tears falling from my eyes as I jerked from him, falling back to the ground.

I turned on my back but the darkness shielded his face. His shadow was three times mine and he looked like something of half man, half beast. I clawed away from him before realizing he wasn't alone.

"You disobeyed me. Now you won't live." He muttered.

"I'll make sure of that." I stood to my feet, with as much strength as I could garner and I plunged myself forward. Even though I knew there was no way I could outrun him, I still ran as fast as I could.

The pressure ruptured through my ankles as I ran. My face was wet with tears and my heart jackhammered in my chest. I ran, and ran. Through the forest, I ran. Until I couldn't anymore.

Before I crashed to the ground, an image of my mother flashed behind my eyes and I thought one last time, at least I'd get to meet her again. But just as all hope was lost, I saw a shadow before me.

The moment his cold palm caressed my skin, I lifted my eyes to him.

He was one wall of a man, crouching low to lift me from the ground. I collapsed into his hefty arms as he roped me closer.

"Are you okay?" His words took me like a storm and my heart, all of a sudden was calm. I couldn't look directly into his stern brown eyes—they were so golden, so blazing with a fierce look. And his jaw was the sharpest I had ever seen.

The weight of his body pressed into mine but I could tell he wasn't trying to hurt me. He was trying to protect me. There was a daunting look in his eyes, like he'd recognized me from somewhere.

But I was sure I'd never seen this man in my life.

"Please don't hurt me," I murmured. "I won't." He whispered.

"What are you doing here?" His fingers swept through my hair and I turned around to the now peaceful forest, like I was running from nothing and I looked back at him.

"There was someone there—something. He tried to hurt me. We need to get away before he comes back" I cried as panic surged in my voice but the man before me was the calmest.

"Do you not hear me?" I screamed.

"Relax, my sweet angel." A smirk appeared on his lips. "No one will dare hurt you. Not when I'm with you." His voice thundered and so did the gloomy skies above all of a sudden.

"I need to get you out of here. You're wounded badly." His gaze softened as he grazed my wet cheeks. Suddenly, my feet escape the ground and I'm on his shoulders.

The next few hours were a blur but when I awakened, he was beside me. With a wet towel in his hands, dapping across my bruised skin. Our eyes met at that moment, and there was a fire in my chest.

His face wasn't hidden in any darkness now. I could see him. I mean, I could really see him. His perfectly sculptured face with strong cheekbones covered in beard scruff and a thin pale scar that ran across his temple, nearly an inch away from his golden brown eyes.

His dark hair was the length of his neck, cascading his sides like a Greek god. And his scent—a heady mix of pine and earth, with a subtle undertone of something wild, like the forest after a storm.

It was intoxicating, and primal, and it filled my senses, making me dizzy with the need to get closer to him. The warmth of his presence washed over me, and I could feel the raw energy radiating from him.

It was the first time I felt this way. And his eyes, dark and intense as they locked into mine with an almost hypnotic pull made the air between us crackle with tension.

I sat up on the bed, pulling away from him for a moment.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He promised. But I already knew that. His eyes told me first. He reached for my hands, and his were just as callous as they were warm.

"What happened to you?" He quizzed.

"Nothing." Reluctance was subtle in my voice because after everything, I still didn't know this stranger. He may have helped me, but how sure was I that I was a hundred percent safe now?

"You are in a wedding dress, I'm pretty sure it's not nothing." The ghost of a smile flashed across his lips before they turned cold. "You know I'm not very lenient with trespassers." He echoed.

"I know a Blood Moon when I see one, and this isn't your land."

He inched closer towards me, pressing tightly around my hands. His face was meters away from mine and the heat of his breath crashed into my ears. My skin ruptured with goosebumps.

"And I know you're the Alpha's daughter." He whispered.

"That's right," Before pulling away. "You're not very hard to read."

"But the question is what would an Alpha's daughter be doing all alone in the forest, without any guards or help if she wasn't running away from something? From someone."

"I was lost," I murmured.

"Don't lie to me. I saved your life, just now."

"Do you think if I was going to hurt you, I wouldn't have already gotten it over with?" He muttered and I lifted my gaze to him.

"I don't belong there," I said. "I've felt that way for so long now but the moment I knew was when my father was about to give me away to Alpha Ezra—as his wife, as his breeder." My eyes stung.

"I couldn't do that. I could never marry a man I don't love."

By the way he stared, I had a feeling that he already knew the truth, he only wanted me to tell him. A feeling that he knew me—that I was supposed to know him too.

There was this feeling, like a fire in my chest.

"You don't have to go back there." He broke the silence. "If there is anything I know about Ezra, he'll always come back. If you stay here, I'll be able to protect you, from anyone" He pulled away but I stood.

"Do I know you?" My voice caused him to halt and when he turned around, I was barely an inch away from him. He locked his eyes into mine and my hands found his pale skin. His fell around my hip.

At that moment, I could feel the lingering heat from his touch, and it felt like my heart wanted to burst out of my chest. It started as a flutter, a sensation both thrilling and terrifying.

"Why do you feel so familiar?" A whisper escaped my lips.

"Like my heart knows you." His gaze held mine, intense and unyielding, and I felt something shift deep inside me—something ancient, primal, and undeniable. I leaned into him.

"Who are you?" I stared into his eyes and he leaned into me too, the heat from his growl crashing into my skin. "Lucien." He replied.

"Lucien Storm." His gaze softened.

"Your Mate."