iii

~ A WEEK LATER ~

It had been a few days since Noah had come to stay with Blythe, and surprisingly she found herself enjoying his company more than she thought she would. He was such a gentleman and always respected her space and privacy rather thoughtfully. Plus most of the time he was at work, making sure to return before the evening faded into night.

It was refreshing.

Not as refreshing as blocking Dion and changing the locks on her door, though.

That was exhilarating.

Did he even notice?

Hell, she didn't care.  

After enjoying a creamy bowl of chicken alfredo with Noah as they watched a movie, she grabbed the nearly empty bottle of wine they had shared and headed to her room. Closing the door behind her, she sighed and took a prolonged swig. She didn't even know she was crying until she seen the traitorous tear fall from her cheek. Her thoughts were laced with regret, thinking of all the time she wasted loving Dion. All the love, all the water she gave to a wilting flower that would die with or without her attention. It has been weighing on her heart for the past week.

She felt like a fucking idiot.

She hadn't admitted this to Noah cause she knew he wouldn't want her to waste her tears, nor even a single breath on the thought of him.

How couldn't she though?

It's not like she wasted three years on him. Patiently loving him even when his love was uncertain. Waiting for him to give her even the slightest bit of attention while all other aspects of his life consumed him. Hoping to feel the spark they once felt in high school when they first started talking. Missing the moments when it felt like they were the only two in the world and nobody could stop them. The countless times she took care of him and had his back when nobody else cared to. It's not like the relationship was one sided.

She took another swig.

It was one sided, like everything else he denied their love to be. Deep down she knew she wasted three years trying to keep a man who didn't wish to be kept. 

She attempted to muffle her sobs.

Trying to love a man who wasn't ready for what she had to offer.

Trying to help a man who didn't wish to change.

She ignored the burning feeling in her chest and took yet another swig, resting her head against the door with a soft thud. Blythe blankly stared into the space of her room, her racing mind making it harder to breathe. Harder to think.

That's when she heard it.

Knock, knock, knock.

Glancing toward where the sound originated from, a drunken Blythe was startled upon spotting a tall figure standing on her balcony.

"Leo?"

She stumbled off the floor and rushed to open the door to her balcony, her shaky fingers unlocking the barrier between the two before she was swept off her feet and into a warm embrace.

"Mate," he growled whilst tightening his hold on her waist. He placed his nose in her neck and inhaled deeply, a content sigh escaping his lips and greeting the crook of her neck. She shivered beneath his touch, her back arching as butterflies erupted in her stomach.

"Mate?" she questioned dubiously as she pinched her brows.

A few seconds later she heard her bedroom door slam against it's hinges as it was burst open. Before she could turn all the way around she felt her arm being yanked toward Noah, who had a stern glare targeting her visitor as if they were familiar with one another. She didn't get time to register this completely before she heard a guttural growl being released; the ground quaking as if it was as scared shitless as Blythe. He pulled her back into his arms and rubbed small circles around the spots that Noah touched as if they were bruises.

Multiple sirens could be heard blaring loudly in the distance, prompting a sinister chuckle from Noah as he glared daggers into the man behind her, "Hand over the girl, mutt. There will be four units on the apartment and several covering the forest."

She felt herself being inched backward yet she stared ahead as if she was stuck in time, watching as Noah revealed a side she had never seen before. He cocked his head to side and squinted, pulling a revolver from behind his back and aiming behind her with a sneer.

"I won't let you get away this time."

Shots fired into the air, leaving Blythe hardly any breath to yell a pleading, "No," before feeling her body lift off the balcony and into Leo's arms as he dove into a fleeting sprint toward the forest line; his feet barely touching the ground.

She squeezed her arms tightly around his neck and shut her eyes, shivering as shots flew all around them. Sirens, doors slamming, and commands being shouted echoed throughout the forest as they attempted to escape. Although she was not entirely sure why they were running, or why Noah had attempted to kill Leo, she still wasn't certain if going with Noah would've been a better choice.

"Have you ever explored this forest?" he asked breathlessly, breaking her away from her thoughts as he hurdled over a stray branch that had fallen in their path.

A searing pain grazed her shoulder, and she turned to see an arrow land on a tree ahead of them. Leo readjusted his grip beneath her knees and now cradled her bridal style, glancing down at her injury with a menacing snarl.

"Once," she found the strength to say.

His eyes were pitch black.

"Did you reach the stump?" he bit out angrily.

She thought back to the time she had ventured into the forest and thankfully she could faintly picture the stump with deep roots visibly surrounding it's projection from the ground. It stood alone encased in the middle of a field of overgrown grass, and she briefly recalled reflecting on the hard surface before nodding against his chest. Blythe's body melted into his strong arms, secretly savoring every second of contact between the two.

"Stop!"

Footsteps could be heard nearing the pair as several more arrows took flight, one imbedding itself in his lower back resulting in an earth shaking growl that split the ground beneath them. He leapt into the air and onto seemingly safe ground ahead of them, taking several turns that made her skull thrash in her head and her vision blur. Her wound pulsated; her shoulder now feeling like it was on fire.

"Jesus," she sighed, her fingers massaging her head as a headache began to surface. She then regretted allowing herself to reach the bottom of the bottle of wine.

Leo suddenly stood dead in his tracks, gently setting her onto the ground before cautiously grabbing both of her shoulders; gazing beseechingly into her eyes.

"When you get to the stump, tap the center twice and trace what you see as you think of a place you would rather be."

"I don't have anywhere to go, Leo."

He appeared to be taken aback and took a moment to gather himself, softly commanding her with serious eyes, "Think of the moonlight reflecting on the trees as you relax on your balcony."

He slowly leaned in, placing his thumb in the middle of her forehead as he mumbled to himself absently. He then placed a warm kiss in the exact spot and then traced what she thought was a crescent. It lasted mere seconds but she had wished it lasted forever. He motioned to turn around; only pausing because of a small hand gripping his sleeve.

"You're hurt. There's too many of them, they'll over power you!"

He offered her a brilliant smile, ripping the arrow out of his back effortlessly and tossing it away as if it had just been a tac.

"I'm the predator, they are the prey."

And with that he disappeared in the direction they had came from, sprinting as fast as he could hoping to turn the tables in his favor. She believed there to be a slim chance he would make it out alive, and if he did she would never see him again. That thought made her heart sink even further into her chest as she spun around and was greeted with the sight of a clearing in the forest.

She drunkenly ran into the overgrown but vibrant grass, almost stumbling several times before spotting the stump.  She gravitated toward it, watching the green all around her sway to the rhythm of the wind that pushed her forward. The field seemed to command her to reach the stump, the earth beneath her warm and inviting and the tall meadow opening up as she advanced. The closer she got to the stump she felt as if she was meant to be there.

Just as it had the first time.

The field was ethereal and she could faintly feel the presence of someone else there with her. After taking a few steps, she would glance behind or around herself momentarily before continuing. This occurred until she finally had seen it.

Once the stump stood before her, she crouched down then plopped onto her knees; cradling her sore shoulder and noting the blood that was slowly descending from her wound.

'Just my luck,' she had thought to herself before tapping the center of the stump twice.

Immediately a glow had formed around her body and the remnant of the tree, the wind that she had previously felt blowing now eerily still. She gasped at the sight, glancing around just to realize that it was pitch black. The field of grass she had been walking in, the gleaming night sky, and everything else she had been surrounded by was replaced with darkness.

Her eyes widened and she stumbled backward in a daze. Before she could fall however, she was lifted back into her kneeling position; her head instantly turning to see who was behind her.

Her eyes were met with darkness.

A shiver crawled up her spine as she gazed at the stump astonished. In place of the tanned oak sat a gold crescent moon encased in the same void as the area around her. 

Blythe peered into that darkness with curious eyes, and unlike the pitch black that encircled her this darkness held stars. Each glistened upon receiving her attention, and the more she observed the more she could see. The depth of the stump appeared endless. She felt lost in it's beauty, and only snapped back to reality when the crescent flashed a bright gold light into her eyes.

She shut her orbs tightly, gasping as she shielded them with her hands, waiting a few moments before looking at the stump again.

"Fine," Blythe huffed defeatedly.

She placed her pointer finger on the highest point of the moon and began to trace the curve, feeling warmth beneath her fingertips that only got hotter as she completed it's outline. Lifting her fingers she waited for something to happen, understanding that anything was possible as her mind raced with thoughts on what was to come next.

All she could think about was how finishing off a bottle of wine by herself led to leaving everything she had known behind as she and Leo ran for their lives. She still couldn't even conclude why they were really running in the first place. What had he done?

Who was Leo?

Was he okay?

Blythe's rapid heartbeat seemed to weaken at that thought, and she felt the burning desire to see him again. She had anxiously bit her lip, aching to know if he was safe, wishing to be in his arms just once more out of harms way.

Although she had barely known anything about him she felt deep down inside he was a good guy. She couldn't help but think of all the empathy he held for her and how delicately he had treated her. Her soul yearned for his presence, acknowledging the comforting feeling he provided her effortlessly.

It was in that moment the exhaustion of the day's events had weighed on Blythe ruthlessly, her body feeling weightless as she fought to keep her eyes open. Her vision had started to blur but she could faintly make out stars revealing themselves within the black void of space around her. She gazed at them aimlessly while fighting the urge to succumb to sleep,  yet unaware of a once faint star beginning to glisten brightly.

Her eyes forced themselves together tightly at its beaming light.

And almost as if in submission she had fallen asleep.