Threat?

The morning dew covered the woods densely, causing a damp coldness all around. The air was crisp and fresh, carrying the earthy scent of the forest.

"Ngh!" Darren grunted as he squinted his eyes open, the first thing in his field of vision being the damp area of dried leaves and twigs, surrounded by tall trees with thick branches. It was the early grotesque appearance of nature at dawn.

" Aagh!" He groaned in distress and held his head as he pushed himself up, a severe ring reverberating through his head.

Darren couldn't help but clench his eyes shut and shake his head. Slowly recovering from the splitting headache, Darren looked around, unfamiliar with the terrain he found himself in.

He wondered just how far he'd wandered into the woods this time.

This wasn't a surprise to Darren. Afterall, it wouldn't be the first time it would happen to him. It was more of a common occurrence to him.

" Ugh! I have to find my way back home" He muttered and slowly rose from the floor.

His clothes were tattered and torn, leaving only a few pieces hanging over his shoulder and torso while only the part of his pants that covered his groin remained. He was covered in dirt and slight bruises, and his nails were full of filthy soil.

Noticing this, Darren couldn't help but smile wryly at himself. Nonetheless, he didn't waste time in leaving to find his way back to his cabin. Navigating through the woods for a while, he soon found a familiar route and made his way back to his cabin from there.

' Home!' Darren exhaled satisfactorily, setting sight at his cabin.

The two-story cabin that stood tall in a small clearing in the very heart of these woods, surrounded by a carpet of dew-kissed grass, couldn't be hidden by the dense dew that had begun to rise.

As the sun slowly rose by the horizon, the morning light filtered through the trees, casting a soft glow on the damp wooden structure of the house.

As Darren approached, he couldn't help but wonder if Kyley was awake yet. Now that he didn't live alone in the house, Darren knew he had to be careful so as to not scare the poor lady.

' I wonder just what excuse I'd have to give if she found me this way. I was attacked by a bear in the woods?' Darren thought, a bit resentful at the thought of such a scenario ever happening. It would certainly be a 'dramatic' scene.

' That is never happening...' Darren shook his head as he climbed the small steps of the cabin's porch. When he reached the door, Darren calmly bent to push the flowerpot filled with muddy soil a bit to the side and reached to grab the key underneath.

He rose and unlocked the door before putting the key back underneath the 'clay' flowerpot.

Darren entered into his home and shut the door behind him.

Thud!

He sighed exasperatedly as he walked into the living room and headed towards the stairs, ignoring the designated furnitures in the room as they were just as he'd left them. Darren needed a change badly.

Just then, Darren halted in his track when he caught whiff of a strange smell permeating the room. At first he thought it was him but his frown deepened when he realized it wasn't as he'd noticed the large stain of blood on the floorboard right beneath the staircase not long after.

Darren's whole being visibly trembled at the sight of this and he grew alerted. His eyes grew wide when he realized something and he rushed all the way up the stairs towards the room where Kyley stayed.

The blood smelled and looked just like hers. Darren knew from days of having been responsible for treating her wounds.

He noticed that the trail of blood continued all the way up the stairs, further confirming his thought.

' Dammit!' Darren cursed as he pushed the door to Kyley's room open. A cold sweat broke on his face at the thought of Kyley's pack members finally finding and hunting her down while he was away.

" Wha-" To his surprise, Kyley was there, lying on the bed!

Darren's gaze shook when he thought of something and he quickly approached the bed to check on Kyley. He was, however, baffled to find that she was really asleep and not dead as he'd thought just now!

She really was just lying asleep!

' Knocked unconscious perhaps?' Darren thought and looked around frantically, quite uncertain if someone had broken into the house and knocked Kyley unconscious, and was now waiting in hiding to ambush him.

However, this didn't seem to be the case. Kyley was really asleep!

Darren moved closer to observe, and he soon noticed how Kyley, despite being asleep, tightly held a palm to her wounds which had messy blood stains all over them. He couldn't help but frown realizing what had happened.

He rushed towards the drawer in the corner where he'd kept several of the things he helped to treat Kyley's wounds with and hastily searched through them to pick the things he needed.

...

Kyley's POV

There was suddenly so much noise all around. I heard the faint bang of the door first, then hastened footsteps that went back and forth. The footsteps stopped and soon, I could hear the drawers being drawn and slammed shut, as well as the sound of what seemed like instruments clamming.

I couldn't help but force my eyelids open despite the exhaustion in them. The blurry sight of the stuffy room came into view and I noticed someone else was in the room with me.

My sight only became a bit clearer when I blinked, and I could now make out the figure that stood across the room with his back facing me.

He was dressed in tattered clothing and his pants were torn, leaving only the upper parts covering his groin. His hair was a mess and he was covered in dirt all over.

All drowsiness was washed away from my being at the sight of him and I could feel my eyes widen as a result of the shock and panic that overcame me.

Darren!

The memories from what had happened the last night flooded my thoughts and all I could think of now was...

I'm doomed!

I didn't know what he was doing standing there with his back towards me but I could tell from the clinging sounds that he was picking some instruments.

Is he gonna lock me up and torture me with those!? No way!

I fell in a state of frozenness and fawn for a second before it dawned on me that I only had two choices.It was either I fought or fled now while I had the chance.

However, looking down at my condition, I knew the former wasn't even an option.

Hence, I decided to run through the wide open door and leave the house entirely. At this point, I had to take my chances.

Just as I tried to sit up and get off the bed, I realized I couldn't even do so without suffering excruciating pain. My wound has gotten even worse.

" Ngha!" I tried to hold back the pain but I was forced to let out a painful groan. I couldn't help but kick my head back, clenching my teeth as hard as I could to bear the pain.

Then, I caught from my peripheral view that Darren had turned around and was now approaching with a needle holder in his hands; He seemed like a madman!

I was scared shitless and I quickly got off the bed to stand my ground against him. The pain that came with that wasn't trivial in the slightest; my side burned like how I believed hell would!

" Stay away ... from me!" I growled as I clenched my right hand into a punch to defend myself while holding the other to my wound.

I noticed that he stopped for a second and frowned, however, he continued to approach me with hastened step.

" No! No!" I cried as I tried to move away from him. I searched frantically for something I could use to defend myself, but there was almost nothing at all. However, I knew I could only use whatever was around me, anything at all!

I threw the pillow and the lamp on the bedside table at him but he easily dodged both.

Left with nothing else and still suffering inexplicable pain, I could only watch him come closer and beg with tears threatening to fall out of my eyes. Here I am again, about to fall prey to another man...

" Please...I beg you" I could hear my voice breaking and my throat aching as I begged. The expression on his face wasn't any friendly, and Darren seemed unlike the kind and charming Darren from these past few days. He seemed like a totally different person entirely, an exact opposite of who he used to be.

When he got close, he suddenly grabbed me by my arm. My heart almost leapt out of my chest and I froze in place, I was certain he'd stab me with the needle holder.

However, he leaned closer and he yelled out loud.

" What the hell is wrong with you! Have you gone crazy!?"

His expression was ugly and I struggled to wriggle myself out of his grasp. Ijustt couldn't go through this again, please! Not anymore!

" No! Let me go!" I squealed.

" Listen!" He ordered and for a reason, I felt my whole being compelled.

" You will lie down on the bed while I treat your wound! And you'll throw no fit anymore or I swear I'll!... Do you understand?!" He warned coldly with a fierce glare, pointing a finger to my face.

His words tolled heavily on me. Understanding the threat in his tone, I became so overwhelmed that I couldn't help but nod my head to show that I would listen to him instead of letting him exact his threat.

Wait? treat my wounds?

It wasn't until now that I realized he'd said that.

" Good! now lay back on the bed" Darren ordered as he let go of his grasp on me and pointed at the bed.

...