Chapter 3 Saved by a stranger

TANIA'S POV

The next thing I felt after those strong hands pulled me over to the side was my ass hitting the ground and before I could understand what was happening around me, I yelled out immediately I saw a black wolf jump out from the other side to attack me but there was someone that stood in place of me.

It was a man. At least I could tell from the visible outline that curbed out from my night vision. He pulled me and began to battle with the Wolf. It even made me wonder if he had seen it before he pulled me to the side. That explains it – he saw the wolf coming to attack me and then he saved me right on time.

I panicked as I beheld the fight that continued between the animal and the man. I was still uncertain as to whether the wolf was a pure animal or a werewolf turned animal but either way I dragged myself backwards trying to find solace in the nearest tree that could protect me from the deadly combat.

As soon as I settled in, curling myself to the ground with my knees hugging my chest and my back resting against the tree, that was when I got to take a glimpse at what was really going on.

This man... Whoever he was had saved me from getting torn apart by the Wolf. Even with my speed and carefulness, I wasn't able to notice the dangerous creature before it attacked and yet this man saved me from it. Maybe it was because I was too focused on escaping and I wasn't focusing on my surroundings. Maybe that is why I didn't notice the Wolf.

He battled so elegantly, slashing his sword all over the body of the wolf with ease and as though he was born to fight that way. His steps were calculated and his tactics swift. The brawl didn't take long before the man finally killed the wolf with one last slash.

Due to how fast he was, I was unable to get a glimpse of his face and even as he had emerged victorious from the dangerous fight, I was still unable to catch sight of him because he had his back towards me. He wiped his blood stained sword with a piece of cloth and sheathed his sword back.

For another minute, I was taken aback by the approaching steps – the one which I heard before the wolf attacked me and I am sure that he heard it too.

I got up to my feet, dusting my ass and palms and looked towards the direction of the fast approaching steps with widened eyes and in one swipe, taken unawares again, the strange man pulled me to a hidden corner where the trees and leaves acted as shade.

He made me rest my back against a tree with his hands shielding the back of my head from hitting hard against the tree trunk. And goodness gracious, my heart started to pound heavily inside my chest, almost as if it was going to explode any minute.

Maybe it was because I was uncertain of who this man that had saved me was or maybe... Just maybe it was because of how close our bodies were. There was only a little distance between the two of us and even though he concentrated his gaze at the direction where my enemies were coming from, I was taking my time noting the features of this man.

Even in that panic state, nothing seemed to bother me -- not the guards of Crescida who were looking for me and not even the fact that I was standing uncomfortably with a man I knew nothing about.

He smelt of grass and of the forest but there was something else -- he smelt of fruit or maybe it was soap. Whichever one it was, it was a unique scent -- a type that not only fit him but made him seem more strange.

He had long dark hair that stopped at his shoulders and a jawline as sharp as the edge of a sword. And his face was square shaped in nature. All thanks to the moonlight and my night vision, I was able to note his features easily except the color of his eyes but it wasn't like that was important at that moment. While I stared at him, his focus remained still on my rivals and seeing his sole concentration fully in a specific direction, my mind was brought back to my reality.

It was then that I noticed that The Demilune Pack had arrived fully. In fact they were at the exact spot that my savior had slain the black Wolf. I couldn't see what they were doing due to my position but I could hear their voices and the words they spoke.

"Could it be that she killed this wolf?" Came the voice of one of them as he pointed his fire torch all over the body of the dead animal. I don't think she went far. She should be somewhere around this place."

"Nah… I don't think so. These are slashes from a sword. Only a skilled warrior or Hunter can do this," came the voice of another. At least the second person wasn't dumb. There was just no way that I would kill an animal in that manner. Did I even have any fighting skills to begin with? Well, I used to but not now.

Everywhere was suddenly overtaken with silence but from all indications, the rival pack still littered all over the place as I could see their torches swaying from all directions. What followed next was the sound of footsteps crunching against the rusted leaves on the ground, coming towards the side we hid in.

Fear gripped me as I knew that one of them was actually coming towards us. If we eventually got caught, it would be over for me and every effort made by this strange man to save me would be in vain.

As if my savior knew that I was about to let out a fear indicating sound, he covered my mouth with his hand and pressed himself against my body, trying to avoid being seen by my rival pack.

I looked down at my chest and found my breasts pressing against his chest and my eyes remained fixated in that position. I lifted up my face and that was when I saw that he was actually staring at me. I thought he was looking in the direction where the approaching footsteps were coming from but he didn't look like he was bothered that we might be caught in no time. He was looking straight into my eyes for the very first time that night and we remained still in that position.

My gaze was fixed on his eyes as he was on mine – it was hypnotic. Why didn't I seem to care that a strange man (who saved me by the way) was peering into my eyes in that manner?

The fire torch reached where we were but he was unable to see us; we had been totally hidden by the trees and their branches and so he was unable to sight us even though we could see him.

"Let's go. She isn't here and wherever she is, I am certain that she won't last long. It is impossible to survive in these woods alone."

I don't know how true the words he spoke were, but it was scary to hear and still, it was better for me to die in the woods than to remain in their Kingdom.

What followed next was the sounds of retreating steps by the Demilune Pack. I guess they got exhausted with their search for me and so they went back to where they came from. Crescida.

I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply. For a brief moment I forgot that my savior had his hand over my mouth and as soon as I opened my eyes, I was startled to see that he was still staring at me.