Page 3 of My Dark Obsession

“Want to take a step back there, Lumberjack Joe?” Making sure my feet were firm on the sand and my hands were loose I breathed slowly, preparing for a fight. There was no holding back anymore; Lyal thought I was dead; I was eighteen and free. I wasn’t going to take anyone’s shit anymore.

If it was even possible, his brow lowered even more, “Lumberjack Joe?” He tilted his head, and I knew he was looking at my baggy grey top and my trusty scuffed up converse. I was indeed a total mess.

“Why’re ye’ covered in blood?” The way he rolled his ‘r’ distracted me from him taking yet another step closer.

Sue me, I’m a sucker for the Scottish accent.

Raising my hands in a fake sign of surrender I said, “I’m leaving,” whilst easing back. The forest behind me was my escape. I needed to find a car, a bus, some way to get back. The darkening sky had a slight wave of panic hit me at how long I had been gone.

“Why’re ye’ covered in blood Wee one?”

Wee one? I wasn’t even that small, I was a good 5 ft 3 inches and if I didn’t hunch, I reckon I would be another inch on that! Damn rude if you asked me. I mean I suppose I would seem small to him, as he had to be at least 6 ft 3.

“I fell. Now, if you’ll excuse me good sir, I’ll be on my way.” I answered flatly. He was wasting time I wasn’t sure I had.

Turning on my heel I went to march away, thoughts of miraculously healing and my boys crowded my noisy head.

“Wait—” His large hand wrapped around my forearm and as our skin touched an electric shock type pain zapped through my body, settling at my back making me arch and squeak in surprise and discomfort.

It ended as quickly as it had begun, leaving me staring at the huge stranger as he looked back at me with his mouth agape .

That was weird.

“Wh-How? I—” He stuttered as he released my arm and ran his hand through his floppy hair messing up the strands.

“Ookay, anywho, as we were.” I chirped with a false sense of confidence, I wasn’t scared of him but the longer I was away from my boys the more my nerves ran haywire, I backed away once more and started back on my march to the forest.

“Wait! Why’re ye’ walking away!” He grumbled as he walked behind me, because let’s be honest, my march was a slow walk to his giant tree trunks you call legs.

“Look mister, I have somewhere to be. Stop following me.” Snapping at him in irritation, I picked up speed. First the bird, now this man. What was with people following me lately? I hated people.

His large hand gripped my shoulder, stopping my march once again. Before I got the chance to yell some obscene things at him, I realised his sunglasses were now rested on his head, leaving his bright red eyes to stare down at me.

That’s right, bright red eyes.

Now I was always up for some strange stuff. I couldn’t say I was exactly normal with all of my dark thoughts but red eyes on a goliath of a man? Yeah, I was out.

I spun on my heel and raced through the forest.

By raced I mean I ran as fast as I could.

By fast as I could I mean I flayed about and got whipped in the face by a bunch of branches. I had never been the most athletic and my lack of nutrition didn’t help .

“I’m no’ going to hurt ye’! Please wait!” He called behind me.

Now it could have been the many bangs to the head I had received recently but I had this odd urge to stop and listen. The urgency in his voice pulled at me in a strange way.

I ran faster.

I panted as I ran further into the forest. What were barren twigs were now tall, glorious trees full of leaves and foliage. I jumped over fallen logs and branches, cut through thorny bushes and still I didn’t stop.

I’d be damned if I was going to let some giant lumberjack kidnap me and chop me up, even if he was a little bit yummy. Because that’s what kidnappers do these days right?

Tripping over another fallen branch I would have smashed my face into the lush greenery beneath me, but his large hand yet again gripped my forearm.

Turning me to him he removed his hands and backed away, showing his hands in a way of friendly surrender.

I glared at him and panted; I was seriously unfit.

“I’m no’ going to hurt ye’.” He nodded at me as if that cleared it up.

“Then why are you chasing me!” I said as I tried my hardest not to show how much I was out of breath.

“Ye’ was the one running!” He rumbled with raised eyebrows, his red eyes bright and slightly glowing in the darkening forest.

“Your eyes are red!”

“Uh, yeah, and ye’re my Circle Mate Wee one, ye’ felt tha’ right?” Lowering his hands, he reached back and rested his hand on his lower back .

Had he hurt his back chasing me? Maybe I wasn’t the only one seriously unfit. I also had no idea what the hell he meant by Circle Mate; was it some kind of kidnapping term?

I ignored the small itch at my lower back and growled “You’re going to have to find someone else to chop up!”

Exasperated, he threw his hands in the air, “what the hell are ye’ on about!” Bending to eye level he spoke slowly, as if speaking to a child.

“I’m not going to hurt you. You are mine.” He pronounced each word carefully, so to make me understand.

Welp, I didn’t. and I was getting pissed off at red eyes. So I lifted my scuffed shoe and slammed it down onto his massive foot, making sure to grind my heel right into his toes. His face turned a deep red as he jumped back in shock, giving me a head start to race away into the forest.

Except I got about two metres away before I looked back behind me to check on his approach and I slammed straight into a large tree. My head bounced off the bark and I flew backwards to the grounds where my head then bounced off a rock with a crack.

Just before everything went black, I could have sworn I saw that damn bird, that stalking crow, staring back at me from the branch above, the black mist behind it swirling away.

** *

I led on clouds; I had to be. Whatever was beneath me was soft and plump.

It was warm and my body had sunk deep within its cocoon as I hummed in contentment.

I don’t think I had ever been so warm, so comfortable in my entire life.

And the smell, God it was intoxicating. Warm cake and firewood.

It surrounded me, wrapped around my senses and made my mouth water.

Something was very wrong.

I wasn’t injured, I knew that much. No throbbing burning pain pulsed through my body like it usually did when I woke up.

Lifting my eyelids just slightly, I peaked through my thick lashes…

yup definitely had my lashes back. But I’d have to pop a pin in that because I was not in the darkened forest where I stupidly knocked myself out.

I was in a dark bedroom, where thick dark curtains were pulled mostly shut over a window showing it was now night.

Fuck. More time lost.

A large dresser sat next to a stupidly big, overstuffed armchair where the red eye man sat, with his tree trunk legs spread and his elbows resting on the arms of the chair. He watched me intently, his glowing red eyes shining in the dark room.

I couldn’t decide if my heart rate increased from waking up in a strange dark room with a giant stranger or the fact that something about his glowing red eyes intrigued me.

I had always pitied the girls in my town for being pathetic when it came to the opposite sex, and I was starting to get annoyed at myself. I needed to get my wits together and get the hell away from this man.

“I know ye’re awake Wee one.” His voice was so deep I swore I could feel the vibrations of it from across the room.

Giving up on my pretence I sat up, never removing my eyes from his own. I needed to treat him like a large predatory animal.

“Where am I?” I kept my movements slow, never showing any emotion on my face. It was easy for me to do. My mantra had always been ‘Show them nothing, give them nothing and expect nothing.’

I squinted at him in the darkness. I just about made out his arm moving before an array of well used candles lit up the dresser next to him.

A warm glow lit up the room. I could now see the thick drapes were a deep plum, and the bed that I really did not want to move from was so big it could fit four of the giant; it’s plum covers were littered with various purple cushions.

He really liked purple.

“I brought you to my home. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“I wasn’t scared.” I snapped, probably a bit too quickly. “What happened to your accent.”

Although there was a small lilt, his words were pronounced perfectly. Had he been faking it?

He tilted his head at me before standing, his shadow cast across the room, climbing the walls and stretching across the ceiling. “You didn’t seem to understand me before.”

Ugh, just because a girl didn’t like what was being said she didn’t understand? Typical male .

“I understood you perfectly. You were just chatting shit. I wanted to leave, I still do. How far from Bluewater Valley are we?” Giving him my usual flat tone and bored expression, I shifted my legs to the side of the bed, already missing its warmth.

I wanted to ask how and why his eyes were red and glowing, partially because it was unusual right?

But mostly because I was kind of jealous.

His brow furrowed again; his thick brows low as his eyes tracked me. I avoided looking at the glowing orbs.

“Bluewater Valley?” He genuinely seemed confused.

Shit, how far away was I?

“Where are we?” I slid down the side of the bed. It was the only way for me to somewhat gracefully get out of it. The bed was so tall it practically reached my chest.

“The shadow land.”

“What’s with all the half answers? I don’t know where that is. I’m leaving. Stay where you are.” Edging towards the door, I kept him in sight. His eyes flashed as a low growl reached me, its small rumble a warning.

“Why would ye’ want to leave; we’re Circle Mates.” His accent thickened with his growl as he took a big step closer.

Okay so I slightly panicked. I had wasted so much time by getting myself kidnapped and I just wanted my boys. So I swung my arm back and jumped up and punched him right in the throat.

As he choked and gripped his throat, I ran through the slightly open door, through a spacious living area and out the door.

Running down the dark stairs, I shoved myself through a set of swinging doors and was greeted by a loud noisy bar.

Glasses clinked and the low chatter of.. .animals and people ?

I stood frozen; there to the left sat a full-sized fucking brown bear. Its thick fur and plump ass was perched on a tiny wooden stall that creaked under its weight. Its large black snout turned to me, twitching as if sniffing me.

I was about to be fucking mauled by a bear in a bar.

“Fates Above Benny, not in the damn bar!” Shouted a woman.

A tall blond bombshell with luscious hair to her shoulders and legs for days came into view carrying a crate so full she shouldn’t have been able to carry it; however, she showed no sign of struggling.

In fact she lifted it over the bar and placed it down with ease.

Just as the giant’s heavy footsteps came behind me, the large brown bear shimmered in front of me. Its huge snout shrunk as its fur shifted as if a breeze blew through. In a blink of an eye, in the bears place sat a large man.

“My bad Cece.” He yelled back, lifting his glass of brown liquid and drinking it in one.

“Oh hay there Rí.” He nodded behind me.

A Fucking bear…turned into a man. It was a bear. Then it was a man. In a bar.

I slowly turned to the giant behind me. My mouth was wide open, and I knew my eyes were huge.

“Ye’ are no’ from around here are ye’?” He asked with one brow raised. I didn’t answer, I was obviously not from around here, where I came from, bears didn’t turn into people!

He placed his large warm hand to my lower back where an instant itch had begun. He gently led me back up the stairs and into the spacious living area over to the set of large armchairs. I sat down wide-eyes and mouth agape .

A fucking bear…into a person…

The giant, Rí knelt in front of me, close but not touching. “What were ye’ doing in the Dead Village?”

The Dead Village? The burnt village? Why was he asking this? He hadn’t seemed surprised at the bear changing its form. In fact, not one single person in the bar had. No one screamed and ran for the doors.

“That bear…man…how?” I stuttered. I was in shock, I knew this. Who wouldn’t be in damn shock?

“Ye’ don’t have shifters from where ye’re from?”

“Shifters? In books or films maybe but not real ones no! Where I’m from, humans. Only humans. The only animals are well…animals.”

“Ye’re human?” The shock on his face should have been my first sign that I was fucked, but it was when the knock at his door made me jump and twist around to stare at it and his mouth fell open to gape at me like a fish.

It was then that I realised I was being like my weak old self-how pathetic of me.

“Mother fucker of all things fucked.” He croaked.

Before I could say anything, the door knocked again, and the bar lady’s voice called through.

“Rí you okay in there? Are you coming down? I’ve made you your drink.”

Such an innocent question for her to ask. He lived above the bar and obviously knew her, so why oh why, did my stomach now burn with the need to add her to my dark tortuous fantasies.

“I’m havin’ the night off.” He answered, still looking at me with shock upon his face .

“Oh. Well your drinks here if you want it.” As the footsteps receded Rí looked as though he managed to compose himself.

Clearing his throat, he stood up and walked to the fireplace opposite the chairs. Above the large stone was a stunning painting of a dragon, his large black wings spanning the entire painting. Its red eyes shone bright with the flames that were bursting from its monstrous mouth.

“What is ye’ name Wee one?” He asked in his deep timber.

“Amaya.” It had become hard to keep my tone flat and emotionless with all the shit that had just gone down. And by shit, I mean a bear changed into a man!

Stuff like that only existed in the fantasy books I read; they were well crafted from people with incredible imaginations.

Right?

“Well Amaya, ye’re in Wisteria, the first home to the Supernatural.”

Son of a bitch.