53 Chapter 53
53 Chapter 53
Serahina’s POV 1
When I came to, I was hanging upside down in my seatbelt, my head throbbing and warm blood trickling down my forehead. The car hade to rest on its roof in a shallow ditch, steam hissing from the crumpled engine.
Through the spider-webbed windshield, I could see boots approaching. Heavy work boots that moved with deliberate, unhurried steps.
Fear shot through me like ice water as I realized my situation. Alone, injured, trapped in an overturned car in the middle of nowhere,
with whoever had just run me off the road walking toward me like they had all the time in the world.
I fumbled for my seatbelt release with shaking fingers, gasping as the mechanism finally gave way and I tumbled down onto the car’s
ceiling in an undignified heap. ss crunched under my hands as I tried to orient myself, tried to find a way out.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”
The voice was rough, amused, andpletely unfamiliar. A man’s voice, though I couldn’t see his face through the damaged windshield.
“Looks like a pretty little thing got herself into some trouble,” another voice added, and I realized with growing horror that there were at
least two of them. “Good thing we happened to be driving by.”
I managed to crawl toward what had been the passenger side window, now partly open thanks to the crash. If I could squeeze through,
get into the forest, maybe I could hide until they gave up looking for me.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, sweetheart,” the first voice said, and suddenly a hand was grabbing my ankle, dragging me back from the
window opening. “It’s dangerous out there in the dark. Bears and wolves and all sorts of nasty creatures.”
I was yanked from the car and hauled to my feet, swaying as a wave of dizziness nearly sent me back to the ground. Two men stood
before me, both wearing nnel shirts and jeans that had seen better days. The taller one had greasy brown hair and a scraggly beard,
while hispanion was shorter and stockier with mean little eyes that reminded me of a rat’s.
“Looky here, Dale,” the shorter one said, circling me like I was livestock at auction. “She’s even prettier up close. Nice car too, before we
messed it up. Bet she’s got money.”
“Please,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady despite the fear wing at my throat. “I don’t have much cash with me, but I can get you
whatever you need. Just let me go.”
Daleughed, the sound harsh and grating in the quiet forest. “Oh, honey, this ain’t just about money. Though we’ll be taking whatever
you got. His eyes traveled over me in a way that made my skin crawl. “But a pretty little thing like you, all alone out here… well, seems
like a waste not to have a little fun first.”
The shorter man, whose name I didn’t want to know, stepped closer and reached out to touch my hair. I jerked back instinctively, and his
expression darkened.
“Now, now,” he said, his voice taking on a threatening edge. “Don’t be unfriendly. We’re just trying to help ady in distress.”
There was something else in the air. Another scent, cleaner and more powerful, approaching fast through the trees.
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The sound of breaking branches and rapid footsteps made all three of us turn toward the forest. Someone wasing, moving through the underbrush with purpose and speed that suggested either extensive wilderness experience or supernatural ability.
“What the hell-” Dale started to say, but his words were cut off as a figure burst from the tree line.
The neer was tall and lean, dressed in dark jeans and a ck leather jacket. But it was his hair that caught my attention first-
golden blond, almost white in the darkness, catching the light like spun silver.
“Gentlemen,” the stranger said, his voice carrying a cultured ent that spoke of education and refinement, though there was an
underlying tone of barely controlled violence that made my would-be attackers take an involuntary step backward. “I believe thedy
would prefer that you leave her alone.”
“This ain’t your business, pretty boy,” the shorter man snarled, though I noticed he was keeping his distance from the neer. “Walk
away and pretend you didn’t see nothing.”
The blond stranger tilted his head slightly, as if considering the suggestion. “I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he said pleasantly. “You see, I have
a terrible weakness for damsels in distress. It’s a character w, really, but there you have it.”
Dale pulled a knife from his belt, the de gleaming wickedly in the darkness. “I said back off. There’s two of us and one of you. Do the
math.”
“Mathematics was never my strong suit,” the stranger replied, and I could hear the smile in his voice even though I couldn’t see his face
clearly. “I was always more of a hands-on learner.”
What happened next was too fast for my human eyes to followpletely. One moment the stranger was standing twenty feet away,
rxed and conversational. The next moment, Dale was on the ground, his knife spinning away into the darkness while he clutched a
wrist that was bent at an unnatural angle.
The shorter man tried to run, but the stranger moved like liquid lightning, intercepting him before he’d taken three steps. There was a
brief struggle, a pained grunt, and then he too was on the ground, curled up and whimpering.
“Now then,” the stranger said, brushing invisible dust from his jacket as he stood over the two groaning forms. “I suggest you gentlemen
return to whatever hole you crawled out of and forget you ever saw thisdy. Because if I hear about you bothering innocent travelers
again…” He left the threat unfinished, but the menace in his tone was unmistakable.
Dale and hispanion didn’t need to be told twice. They scrambled to their feet and disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind
only the sound of crashing branches and fading footsteps.
I stood there in the sudden silence, my heart still hammering against my ribs, trying to process what had just happened. The stranger
turned toward me, stepping into a patch of moonlight that finally illuminated his features.
He was breathtakingly handsome, with ssical features that looked like they’d been carved by a master sculptor. High cheekbones, a
strong jaw, eyes that seemed to shift between blue and gray in the moonlight. But it was his hair that truly caught my attention-that impossible shade of golden blond that seemed to glow with its own inner light.
“Are you injured?” he asked, moving toward me with fluid grace that spoke of predatory power barely held in check.
“I… I think I’m okay,” I managed, though my voice was shaking badly. “Thank you. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t
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shown up.”
“I have a fairly good idea,” he said grimly, his gaze flicking to my overturned car. “Can you walk? We should get you somewhere safe and
call for help.”
I took a tentative step and immediately swayed as pain shot through my left ankle. The stranger moved forward instantly, his arm sliding
around my waist to steady me, and the moment his skin touched mine, I felt a jolt of recognition that nearly knocked me off my feet.
“Easy there,” he said gently, his voice softer now, concerned. “You’ve had quite a shock.”
“My name is Seraphina,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper as I continued to stare at him. “Seraphina Knight.”
The moment my name left my lips, the stranger wentpletely still. The arm supporting me tightened almost imperceptibly, and I
heard his sharp intake of breath.
“Sera?” he said, his voice filled with shock and disbelief. “My God… Sera? You’re really Sera?”
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