CHAPTER ONE

Her POV

The light was so bright, I couldn't help but turn away from it, shying away into the darkness that already surrounded me.

'No... the light', a voice said suddenly out of the void.

I turned around but couldn't see anything.

'Come to me', the voice said again.

'Come into the light'

I walked hesitantly towards the light and the closer I got the brighter it became. I wanted to stop but couldn't as I continued to walk on as if propelled forward by some unseen force around me, until soon the light enveloped me and there was nothing at all.

The first thing I felt was the cold. It was so cold, I missed the warmth of the light. I gingerly opened my eyes, feeling drowsy. I blinked a few times in order to get used to the darkness around me. When I felt more oriented, I tried to sit up but the pain in my head went off like a siren, reverberating through my brain, forcing me to lie down again. I laid down for a few minutes before slowly attempting to sit up again. This time the pain was bearable and I was able to focus more. I looked around and immediately realized why I felt so cold. I was in the woods laying down on the damp floor which was no doubt caused by rain. I glanced around at all the similar looking trees, failing to understand where I was or how I got here.

The only thing I remembered was the dark void. I tried to think past that, to try and remember anything before that but the headache intensified into an almost crippling pain forcing me to stop trying. I slowly stood up and looked around, unsure where to go from here or what to do when I heard a branch snap suddenly close to me. I turned around and saw two wolves standing less than 10 feet away from me, their sharp teeth bared at me. I shuddered in fear. I slowly began to step back but with each step I took, they advanced as well. One of the wolves snapped at me and I shrieked before breaking into a run, the two wolves in pursuit. My legs felt weak, my head plagued by the crippling headaches, my mind disoriented by my inability to remember anything, it didn't take long for the wolves to gain on me even as I put all my strength into my run. I turned around to see how close the wolves were and tripped on a fallen branch. The wolves seeing me on the floor slowed down their pace and began to advance towards me more slowly. My heart beat rapidly in my chest with fear as I watched them advance. I tried to stand up but a sharp pain in my leg brought me to my knees immediately, I must have twisted my ankle. The wolves must have noticed that I was defenseless and smirked at me, they kept advancing towards me until they were about three feet away from me when they stopped and began to circle around me, watching me. Once they were sure I wasn't going to fight back, one of the wolves leaped towards me and I closed my eyes waiting for the pain I was sure would follow.

After a few minutes, I felt nothing, I slowly opened my eyes and the scene that played out in front of me had me stunned. There was a third wolf now, bigger and he was fighting the first two wolves. This new wolf was bigger and had pure black fur. He was strong as he fought the other two wolves viciously. As the fight played out, my headache slowly began to increase in intensity and a sharp ringing began in my head. I groaned and held my head in my hands as I tried to stop the pain but it only got worse. The pain was so intense I couldn't focus and as such didn't see when the black wolf successfully scared the other two wolves away. I only noticed when the black wolf began to slowly advance towards me. I groaned and tried to back away as the pain increased. Soon my vision began to distort but I could vaguely see the black wolf change into a human, a man and walked towards me, slowly. I didn't see his face because at that moment everything became pitch black.

When I woke up again for the second time, it was with more ease than the first time. The pain in my head had reduced considerably and there was no sharp ringing in my ears. I gingerly opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. It was daylight again and I could see my surroundings clearly. The room was large and well furnished. The bed I laid in was big, there was a bedside table, a couch and many other things. I tried to remember how I got here when the memories from last night flooded my head. I remembered the two wolves who had chased after me and the black wolf who had saved me. I remembered that just before I blacked out I saw the black wolf changed into a human. Was he the one who brought me here? Was this his house? Just then the door opened and a young woman walked in holding a bowl in her hands. She looked up at me and when she saw me staring back at her, her eyes lit up as she hurried to my side.

"You're awake", she said as she dropped the bowl on the bedside table.

I nodded feebly as I tried to sit up. She quickly reached out to help me up

"How are you feeling?", she asked.

"Fine", I mumbled.

"That's good, I'll get the doctor now, just wait", she said as she smiled at me.

"Wait, I-", I tried to protest but she was already halfway to the door.

A few minutes later and the lady from earlier returned this time she was followed by two men. One of the men was short and stout, he looked slightly older. He also had a stethoscope on his neck so I assumed he was the doctor. The second man however completely took my breath away. Next to the doctor and the lady, he was towering tall. He had short black wavy hair that moved with every step he took. His deep blue eyes sparkled and it felt like they were drawing me in. He was easily the most handsome man I'd ever seen. He walked towards me in fluid, confident movements.

"Good day, my dear, how are you feeling?", the doctor asked, forcing me to remove my focus from the handsome man.

"I feel fine", I muttered in my response.

"Hm, I'll do a little check up now", he said but I barely heard him, my attention was fixed on the other man who stood watching at the edge of the bed.

He felt very familiar, like I had seen him before.

"Well aside from your ankle which will heal in time, everything else seems fine, are you feeling any discomfort?", the doctor asked once again, forcing my attention back.

I shook my head no.

I glanced at the other man again and it suddenly struck me why he felt so familiar. He was the black wolf who had saved me last night! I had vague memories of the wolf shifting into a human just before I blacked out, it was him, I could feel it.

"Well, like I said you'll get better. What is your name dear?", the doctor asked.

I blinked at him. I didn't know how to answer. On one hand, I was wary, the encounter with the wolves from yesterday was even more reason to be but then again this man had saved me, brought me here, wherever here was, and even had a doctor take care of me. Why would he do that if he had bad intentions?

I glanced at the young lady from earlier who was smiling encouragingly at me then at the other man who looked up at me and met my gaze for the first time since he walked into the room. I stared into his eyes and he stared back and there was something in his eyes, warmth? sincerity? that made me, in that moment, decide to tell the truth, the one thing that made me vulnerable.

"I don't know", I breathed.

"I don't remember”