Queen POV
Warmth. That was the first thing I felt.
It wrapped around me, a soft silken rope holding me together when everything else had fallen apart. For a second, I stayed there, relishing in the heat and what the darkness brought me. I dreamt of a bright sun taking me, enveloping me, melting me. I welcomed it.
A shift of movement broke through the haze. It was slow and rhythmic. Like the gentle sway of a hammock in the breeze. Except that the sway of it was wrong, up and down instead of side to side. I forced my eyes open but my vision blurred in the darkness. I blinked slowly, trying to clear the fog from my brain. Then a shape formed in the darkness, a figure. My heart stuttered. A man. I didn't move, didn't speak.
His jaw was sharp yet smooth against the faint glow of moonlight filtering through the trees. My cheek was pressed against his chest as it rose and fell continuously beneath me. His bare skin held so much warmth here in the cold. I could feel the strength of arms—one hooked securely under my knees, the other wrapped around my back. I blinked in confusion. This didn't make sense: the woods, the bear, the wolf. My breath caught. Was this one of Death's reapers taking me to the afterlife?
I tried to lift my head, but my body felt heavy and weak.
"What…" My voice barely came out. No answer.
The man didn't even look down. He just kept walking. Like carrying an unconscious woman through the woods in the middle of the night was normal. I braced for the feeling of fear from this stranger carrying me, but it never came. I frowned slightly, my thoughts sluggish. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but they shut again before I could stop them.
———————
Cold air brushed against my skin, the warmth I had felt was gone. There was a stillness, I was no longer swaying. I then heard voices, distant at first but coming closer…
"Ms. Jones?!" My eyes snapped open. Light flooded my vision. A porch light. My porch.
"What—?"
I pushed myself up slightly, a sharp sting shooting through my ankle.
"Ah—!" I sucked in a breath, grabbing my leg instinctively.
Crystal, the babysitter, stood in front of me, wide-eyed and panicked. I noticed a phone pressed to her ear, "Oh my God, are you okay? You were just lying out here!"
I blinked up at her. Confused and disoriented. Crystal spoke into her phone quickly, telling whomever that she was going to call them back.
"What… what happened?" I asked, my voice rough.
"I don't know!" she said quickly. "I heard knocking and when I opened the door you were just—there!"
Knocking? My brows furrowed. I turned my head slightly, taking in my surroundings. The porch was empty, save for the plant I've long since stopped watering. There was no man, no wolf, nothing. My chest tightened.
"I… I don't…"
My mind scrambled for something—anything—but everything felt… slippery. Like trying to hold onto a dream after waking up.
"I'm so sorry," I said automatically, pushing myself up more, ignoring the pain. "I didn't mean to make you wait."
"Ms. Jones, your ankle—"
"I'm fine," I said quickly. But I wasn't. The pain pulsed through my leg, sharp and insistent. I grimaced, but that wasn't what had my attention. Not entirely. It was the feeling that something was missing. Something important.
"I just… fell," I muttered, more to myself than her. "I was walking and I twisted it or something."
That sounded right, normal. Something I could understand. Because the alternative didn't make sense.
"Do you want me to call someone?" she asked. "Or an ambulance?"
"No," I said immediately. "No, I'm okay." I forced myself to stand. Big mistake. Pain pulsed from my ankle and I grabbed onto the railing to take the weight off.
"Alright, maybe not okay," I muttered.
She moved closer, concerned. "You need help getting inside?" I hesitated, then nodded.
"Yeah…yeah. Just, give me a second."
I glanced out into the darkness one more time. Half expecting a shadow to be there, for anything to be there. But there was nothing. Just the quiet night and the trees. I cleared my throat.
"Yeah," I said finally, turning back toward the door. "Let's just go inside."
Crystal helped me carefully across the threshold. The warmth of the house hit me immediately. I drew in a slow breath. It was familiar and safe. Everything the woods weren't. I sat down carefully on the couch, wincing as I lifted my leg onto the pillow there.
"Is Demetri asleep?" I asked, trying to take my mind off the current situation.
"Yes, he knocked out like a light a few hours ago." Crystal said. "Stay here, I'm gonna get you some ice."
"Thank you," I murmured.
My hands rested in my lap, fingers curling slightly as my thoughts slowly started catching up. Manny. The woods. The bear. My chest tightened. The memory hit clearer this time. The size of it and the way it moved…the way it saw me as prey. I swallowed hard and then paused—the wolf.
White and massive with golden eyes. Golden eyes that looked strangely human yet animal at the same time. My heart started beating faster.
"That wasn't a dream," I said softly to myself. I could still see it, feel it. The way the wolf looked at me was like it understood. The way it—my breath hitched—touched me, so gently. Wolves don't do that. I tried to recall the last memory before waking on the porch. There was a painless shock, white and hot, that ran through my whole body. Then there was the warmth I felt that cut through the cold of the forest. Then—my eyes widened slightly. The man.
I sat up a little straighter. That part didn't fit, didn't make sense. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to remember. I felt him. Strong arms, warm skin, the swaying movement. But that couldn't be real. There was no way—
"Okay, here," the babysitter said, breaking through my thoughts as she returned with a bag of ice and a towel. "Let's get this on your ankle."
I nodded absently, letting her help me. The cold bit into my skin as the ice settled against my ankle, but I barely reacted. Because my mind was somewhere else. It was back in the woods, back in the dark, back in that moment. I tried to calm down, none of this made a lick of sense.
"Did you see anyone?" I asked suddenly.
She paused in thought, "What do you mean?"
"When you opened the door," I said, trying to keep my voice casual. "Was anyone out there?"
She shook her head. "No. Just you."
My stomach dropped.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," she said slowly. "Why?"
I forced a small shake of my head. "No reason. I just thought I heard something earlier."
She studied me for a second, then nodded. "Well… there wasn't anyone."
I leaned back against the couch, staring ahead.
"No," I murmured. "There wasn't."
But I knew what I felt. And I knew what I saw. No matter how hard I tried to explain it away, one thing wouldn't leave me alone: I didn't get home by myself. I looked down at my swollen ankle, angry and red.
Couldn't have.