Queen POV
Warmth coated my skin accompanied by the scent of oranges and vanilla musk.
It wrapped around me, a soft silken rope that tingled in the places it caressed my skin. For a second, I stayed there, relishing in the heat and the comforting smell. 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. I blinked slowly, trying to clear the fog from my brain. Then a shape formed in the darkness, a man. My heart stuttered. I didn't move, didn't speak.
His jaw was sharp but free from stubble from what i could make out under 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 with one hooked securely under my knees, the other wrapped around my shoulders. I blinked in confusion. This didn't make sense: the woods, the goons, 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.
The man just kept walking. Like carrying an unconscious woman through the woods in the middle of the night was normal. I frowned, 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. I then heard voices, distant at first but coming closer.
"Ms. Jones?!" My eyes snapped open. Light flooded my vision.
"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 on 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 no longer were. 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. I swallowed hard and 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 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. My eyes widened, a man.
I sat up a little straighter. That part didn't fit, didn't make sense. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to remember. 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, but I barely reacted. My mind 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.
****************
Sleep came in pieces. Every time I closed my eyes, I was back there in the forest. I was running, lungs burning, branches snapping against my arms. Manny's voice could be heard somewhere behind me, footsteps getting closer and closer.
I jerked awake with a sharp gasp, my chest rising and falling too fast, sheets twisted around my legs. My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. I was in my room, in my house. Safe.
I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to slow my breathing. "You're okay… you're okay…"
But my body didn't believe me. It still felt like I was in the woods. Still felt like something was watching. I turned my head toward the window. The curtain swayed slightly from the draft, the faint glow of the sunrise bleeding through. Nothing was there. But still, I couldn't shake the feeling. I pushed myself up slowly and regretted it immediately.
Pain shot through my ankle so fast it stole the air from my lungs.
"Ah—shit!"
I grabbed my leg, teeth clenching as the throbbing slowly dulled.
"Okay… yeah… that's not a twist," I muttered.
I swung my legs carefully over the side of the bed, testing my weight just enough to confirm what I already knew. Nope, not happening.
"Great," I whispered. "Love that for me."
A soft knock came at my door.
"TT?"
My expression softened instantly.
"I'm up, baby," I called, forcing the tension out of my voice.
The door creaked open, and Demetri peeked in, his little face still puffy with sleep, curls sticking out in every direction. He stepped inside my bedroom, and I chuckled as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes.
"Come here baby." I held my arms open for him. He sluggishly moved his little legs toward me and stood in between my thighs before throwing himself on me. His foot brushed against my ankle, and I winced, holding back a groan. I tried not to alert him, but he noticed anyway.
"You okay TT?" he asked, pulling back.
I smiled, "I'm okay."
"You look sleepy," he said.
"I am sleepy," I admitted.
He climbed onto the bed, and I slid back carefully, trying to cushion my ankle with the bed. I was surprised when his small hand suddenly landed on my leg, right above my swollen ankle.
"Did you get a boo boo?" I hesitated for just a second.
"Yeah," I said, hand reaching out to stroke his curls. "Auntie just had a little accident."
Not a lie. Just not the whole truth.
He frowned, looking down at my foot. "Does it hurt?"
"A little."
His face scrunched up like that answer personally offended him. Then he leaned forward and blew gently on my ankle.
"I'm fixing it," he said matter-of-factly.
A small laugh slipped out of me despite everything.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah," he nodded seriously, blowing on the ankle again.
I laughed and pulled him close to me and brushed my fingers through his hair, palming his small face with the first genuine smile in hours. "Well then, I'm lucky I got you, huh?"
He nodded again, satisfied.
"Can I watch Paw Patrol?" he asked.
I glanced to my left, checking the time on the small clock atop my nightstand.
I smiled. "Go ahead."
He slid off the bed and ran out, his little footsteps echoing down the hall. The moment he was gone, the quiet returned. Heavy, much too heavy. I leaned back slowly, staring at the ceiling. And just like that, it all came rushing back. Manny, the woods, the wolf. My stomach twisted.
"They really followed me…"
That wasn't something I could ignore. That wasn't something I could pretend didn't happen. Manny planned that, and they were waiting for me. He knew my routine. A chill ran through me.
"I can't keep walking home like that…"
That much was clear. I sat up slightly, wincing at the movement. My mind drifted to the wolf: massive, white fur, golden eyes. Too big, too aware, too...gentle.
"That wasn't normal."
There was no way that was normal. Animals didn't act like that. Didn't look like that. Didn't--My thoughts then rapidly shifted to "the man." Another mystery. My chest tightened. I could still feel it: the warmth. My mind clearly remembered the way I was held, the steady movement as I was being carried. And his smell. Citrus and woodsy at the same time. But for the life of me I struggled to remember his face. All I knew was that it wasn't anyone I met before.
I flinched as a sharp knock echoed from downstairs, tearing me from my thoughts.
"Demetri?" I called.
"I'm watching TV!" he yelled back.
Good, he didn't open it. I swung my legs carefully off the bed, gripping the wall as I stood. Pain shot up my ankle, but I forced myself to move anyway, limping toward the stairs. By the time I reached the bottom, my breathing had picked up again. Who was knocking like that this early? I moved toward the door, hesitating just for a second before unlocking it.
I pulled it open, "Hello?" I froze.
No one was there. Just the empty porch. The quiet street. The faint sound of wind brushing through the trees. My brows furrowed.
"Hello?" I stepped forward slightly, looking left. Then right. Still nothing.
"That's… weird."
I was about to close the door when something caught my eye on the ground, right by the steps.
"No way…"
I stepped out onto the porch slowly, my heart starting to pound.
My purse. My phone. My wallet. All were things I dropped in the woods. They had been neatly placed on a stand that used to hold a flower pot. My stomach dropped.
I looked around again, sharper this time. No cars were pulling away, no footsteps, no people. My hands trembled slightly as I bent down, picking up my belongings. I checked inside my purse, and everything was inside, exactly how I left it. My throat went dry.
"That means…"
I could no longer ignore the reality as my mind recalled the warmth I felt. I swallowed hard.
"I didn't make it home by myself."
The realization settled heavily in my chest. Because if that were true…someone brought me here. And that someone knew where I lived. That meant they were close enough to come back. To stand right here, to knock on my door, and disappear before I opened it. A chill ran through me at how creepy that was. Why not just wait for me to answer the door? I turned slowly, stepping back into the house, closing the door a little faster this time.
Locking it.
Then locking it again.
I leaned back against it, my grip tightening on my purse. My heart wouldn't slow down. Someone had brought me home, returned my things, and I had no idea who.