Chapter 5

A day had already passed, but Alina was yet to calm down. She hadn't been able to get any sleep the previous night. Technically, she always had a hard time sleeping, but last night it had been worse. Each time she closed her eyes, she was forced to relive yesterday's experience. And she knew quite well that she could have easily lost her life. All the effort she had out into hiding would have all been for nothing. 

She placed the small space of her shack. 

It was impossible for anyone to find out she was there. That little place had been her home for the past three years, despite the fact that it was basically falling apart. But the important thing was that she had a roof over her head. Hidden in the deep depths of the Forest of Skulls. The name itself waded everyone off. According to the entire kingdom, that entire forest was cursed and all sorts of strange spirits roamed free. But Alina had never come across any such thing in all her years of living there so she had come to the conclusion that those were just rumours. 

And rumours was something her kind were extremely good at. Those same beings had regarded her as the incarnation of doom simply because of a dream one of them had had. 

" Eyes of steel, hair of blood. With her, despair shall come." 

She had been born a day after that dream, and immediately after her birth, the witches had began to endure countless turmoil. Like the loss of whatever authority they had, being driven out and the worst of all, a ban on the use of their powers. And what was a witch without power? 

She felt something against her feet and jumped out of fright, but then she sighed on realizing it was just her cat, Sunny. She had stumbled upon the stray three years back while she had been searching for refuge. It had been injured and she had felt pity for the poor thing, so she had taken it with her and tried her best to nurse it back to health. And after that, they had come across the cleverly hidden shack and the cat had refused to leave. So she had named it and decided to adopt it. The company was appreciated. 

" You're hungry, aren't you Sunny?" She asked the grey cat, going down on her haunches to pet its fur. It purred in satisfaction as it leaned into her touch. 

She had been too focused on fleeing the previous day that she had left behind all the supplies she had bought. Which meant that in less than two days, she'd be completely out of resources. And she'd have to live the way she had been living when she first arrived there. On wild fruits and roots. And if she was lucky during her hunting , she'd be able to catch something as well. Either way, she was NOT going to return to town. 

And when she thought of that ordeal again, she thought of him. 

The same way she'd been doing since seeing him. A shifter. A tiger to be exact. 

Why he had rescued her was a complete mystery to her, but other than the fear of that grueling experience, another thing she was unable to forget was his piercing gaze. The way her surrounding had turned into a daze the instant their eyes met. There wasn't a single detail about him she couldn't recall. His long hair with the dark silky strands, those brown eyes that had entrapped her in the moment. That perfectly tipped nose and the chiseled angles of his face. 

Like a god of sorts. 

And for the first time, she had wanted to reach out and touch someone. It had been like a craving that she couldn't explain. 

But why? Why did she feel that way? Why had he saved her? Shifters and witches had had a long history of bad blood. The two species had never seen eye to eye on anything and witches were regarded as discarded waste. It was a miracle they were even allowed to exist. She was certain most shifters desired to just put an end to the witches' race once and for all. 

Standing up, she walked over to her small "bed" and sat down. Looking around the space once more before she lied down and let the thoughts flood in like they usually did. 

" Aunty, I miss you..." she whispered into the silent space. Sunny went over and laid on top of her and she absentmindedly began to pet him. Her aunt had been the most important person in her life, actually, she had been the only person in her life. And each day that passed, Alina still found it difficult to come to terms with her death. 

It was the guilt, knowing that it was mostly her fault. Her aunt had died inorder to give her a chance at survival. But most times, Alina wished her life had been the one to end, because what sort of life was she living? It was hard to even term it as a life. 

Things had never been easy for her growing up but currently, she had reached an all time low. And she was starting to feel as if the seclusion was messing with her sanity. It was why she couldn't sleep well. She kept getting haunted even in her sleep. She'd see her aunt and the pain she had been forced to endure. She'd hear the curses from the crowd of witches that wanted her burned at the stake. 

And lately, each time she saw her aunt, the sight would be accompanied by a crazy message that was too weird to even bother comprehending. She had had the same random dream three times in a row. Her aunt , kneeling in the middle of a murderous crowd, blood streaming down her face and arms, her eyes on Alina. Then she'd say..."One from a pair, one side of the same coin. "

It was the same words over and over. 

" What do you mean aunty?" She asked out loud. Then she grunted out her frustration and placed a palm on her forehead. It was getting dark outside, so if she wanted to eat, she had to go out and search for something while there was still some light. 

She sat up, placing Sunny aside and rolling her eyes when she saw the lovely blue pair of shoes she had been forced to run off in. She partly blamed them for the entire event that had transpired. Had she not decided to try them on, chances were she'd have been long gone before that damn calf run right past her, exposing her to the entire market. 

But it was currently the only pair she had so she had no choice but to place he spite aside and wear them. She then put on her cloak and took the medium sized basket she used to collect food in. 

" I'll be right back Sunny, don't go wandering off, " she warned the cat before heading to the exit. She unlocked the door, slowly opening it up because it creaked too loudly, then she stepped out and locked the door. It was hidden from view by a large curtain of plants. Actually, most of the shack was hard to notice unless one was extremely keen and observing. She had also intentionally used dried leaves to cover most of it up, but she knew she was safe there, nestled between the large trees with countless branches. 

After locking up, she put on the hood of her cloak and turned around, using her hands to part the greenery covering up the front of the shack...then she gasped. Her spine grew rigid as she froze on the spot. Her silver eyes wide and unblinking as she once again came eye to eye with those same compelling brown orbs from the previous day. 

He was standing a mere step away from her. And the second he saw her, the corner of his lips tilted up in a subtle smile. The expression was smug, tinged with unhidden arrogance. He was significantly taller than her, and when she breathed in, she caught hints of what she assumed was his scent. 

It evaded her surrounding and demanded that she breathe more of it in. And as she unconsciously obeyed the demand, she began to feel calmer and more at ease, the initial fright disappearing bit by small bit. At a distant past of her brain, she knew she was supposed to be frantic and frowning in fear, but she was neither of those things. The fear was fading faster than she could explain and she had no logical explanation for it. 

" You're quite hard to find. And you have a surprisingly odd preference in terms of architecture, little flower...." he said in a voice that harboured mischief and allure, " I rather like it, " he added. Then he took that one step that separated them, bridging the gap between them, his gaze leveled with her own. The proximity had the hairs at the back of Alina's neck rising and her heart gaining momentum... but not in a bad way. 

" You truly are prettier up close, " he then whispered, and she watched as he slowly raised his hand with the intention to touch her.