Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Lost and Found
I had never been good with directions. That was something I’d learned early on, from the way I always managed to get lost in new places or forget where I was supposed to go, no matter how many times I checked the map. But today, I made a mistake. A big one.
I should have turned left, not try the dirt road questionable shortcut after the bus dropped me with my suitcase. Now it’s not as much of a dirt road as a trekking path. It seemed like such a simple thing but I guess I was distracted by these pretty trees. I always wanted to live by the woods, there is something so comforting about a wall of green with tall, imposing birches, of pine trees dancing slowly in the wind. But now, as I stood at the edge of the woods, the wind picking up and the trees starting to whisper their secrets, I knew I was in trouble.
The job interview with housing I had been on my way to? Gone. It was somewhere off in the distance now, lost to the confusing turns of my thoughts and the uncertainty in my chest. My heart was hammering in my chest, the urgency of needing to find my way back weighing heavily on my shoulders.
I hadn’t intended to end up here—lost in the woods, completely alone, but the truth was, I felt more at home here than I did in the cramped, dark apartment I was evicted from, or better said, my roommate made me leave because of the filthy and loud, obnoxious boyfriend always crashing there. Maybe it was the quiet, the absence of people and noise, or maybe it was something else. Something that had drawn me to the woods in the first place.
I wasn’t sure where I was going. I wasn’t sure I had the strength to get back to where I’d come from. The more I walked, the further I seemed to get from everything I knew. My feet were sore, my stomach empty, and all I could think about was how small I felt in the face of the vastness around me.
The trees stretched above me, towering and ancient, their roots tangled deep into the earth. They looked like something out of a storybook, but instead of feeling enchanted, all I could feel was a sense of isolation. And, maybe, a bit of fear.
I stumbled over a root, my ankle twisting beneath me. The ground beneath me gave way, and before I could catch myself, everything went dark.
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When I opened my eyes, the world felt… off. Like I was underwater, floating but not quite connected to the ground. I blinked, trying to clear the fog from my vision, but everything was blurry. My head was throbbing, a sharp pain right where I’d hit the ground. I reached up to touch the back of my head, feeling the sticky warmth of blood.
“Shit,” I muttered, trying to sit up. The dizziness hit me like a wave, and I collapsed back into the dirt.
“Easy, now.”
The voice was deep, gruff. My heart skipped a beat. Was I dreaming? Holy shit! Who said that? Am I in danger?
I squinted, trying to focus through the haze. A figure loomed above me, blocking out the light. It was a man—no, more than that. He was huge, towering over me like some sort of beast. His broad shoulders seemed to take up the whole space around me, his chest rising and falling with each slow breath.
My pulse quickened, fear gripping me. The last thing I remembered was walking along the edge of the woods, trying to get my bearings. Now, I was here, alone, with a stranger—no, not just any stranger, but someone who looked like he could crush me with a single hand. His features were rough, his face covered in a dark beard, his eyes dark and unreadable.
“Don’t try to move just yet,” he continued, his voice soft but firm. “You’ve hit your head pretty hard.”
I swallowed, the panic rising in my chest. “Where am I?” My voice cracked, and I hated it. I hated how weak I sounded.
“Deep in the woods,” he answered, his tone blunt, not offering much else. He knelt down in front of me, his presence overwhelming, as if the entire forest were bending around him. I should have been scared. Hell, I was terrified. But there was something in his eyes, something I couldn’t place, that made me feel like he wasn’t going to hurt me.
I couldn’t place it. Maybe it was the way he gently lifted my chin, checking me for any other injuries. Or maybe it was the way he moved, deliberate and slow, like he didn’t want to frighten me further.
I tried to push myself up again, my legs feeling like they weren’t quite mine, but the moment I moved, the dizziness hit harder. “I—I don’t know how I got here,” I admitted, my voice small.
He just nodded, his gaze softening slightly. “No need to worry about that right now. You’re safe here.”
Safe. The word echoed in my mind, but I couldn’t understand it. Here? Where was “here”? And what did that mean, exactly?
I opened my mouth to ask, but the words wouldn’t come. My head was still too fuzzy, my mind too scattered.
“Let’s get you inside,” the man said, his voice still low, but there was an edge to it, something insistent.
He stood and, without asking, lifted me effortlessly into his arms, cradling me against his chest. My breath caught in my throat at the sudden contact, and I didn’t know what to do with the rush of warmth that flooded through me. He was strong—so strong—and even though this was an enormous and curious stranger I felt calm.
I let him carry me through the woods, my head resting against his broad shoulder, the steady beat of his heart a comforting rhythm that I couldn’t quite understand. I wasn’t sure who this man was, or why he seemed to know exactly how to take care of me. But as we walked deeper into the trees, the dark, looming woods started to feel a little less scary.
