Her saviour (3)

Surprised at the sudden transformation, she crawled backwards until her back was touching the alley wall.

The strange man took a step closer, a ray of faint light from the road illuminating his face. Emma could now see the shape of his facial features clearly. She stared in shock and amazement at the man.

It was the same man from that dream! The steamy one where they...

She gulped.

There was no mistaking that handsome face. His features were the same, that straight nose, those perfect black eyebrows, the long black hair the same shade as the beast's fur. And the eyes. She focused on those bright green eyes, the exact same ones as the beast, and alight with the same intensity and intelligence.

Looking at this stranger's face, Emma was filled with a sudden surge of confusing emotions. The effect they had on her was difficult to describe.

It felt like all her life she had been weighed down by an unbearable longing and sadness, which she hadn't realised until this moment had been there. Because until it disappeared at the very moment of seeing his face, she had not known the deep sadness to be there.

The strength of her emotions frightened her, especially because it was totally illogical for her to feel such a strong connection to a complete stranger.

They were so strong and overpowering that it was difficult to think properly. It almost felt like there was a foreign presence in her mind urging her to go to him, to embrace him. To love him.

It utterly terrified her. She didn't know this man. He had just ripped two grown men to shreds in the form of a massive black beast. Leaving aside the fact of how it was possible for a man to transform into a large black wolf-creature, he was clearly very dangerous, and Emma should probably stay as far away from him as possible.

And yet...

And yet, as he stood there before her his face an unreadable mask, observing her with those green eyes she felt an inexplicable pull towards this strange man.

She was struck by an overpowering notion that this man was someone very important to her. If she could only remember...

Something seemed to be trying to break through a blockage in her mind. It was like having a word at the tip of your tongue. Somehow, she had the strong notion that she should know this man. It wasn't a logical thought, but she felt it in her heart. And yet she was also absolutely sure that she had never met him before in her entire life, not counting his inexplicable appearance in her steamy dream.

He seemed to read some of her emotional turmoil on her face, and his mouth twisted into a sad and bitter smile. Then his face fell as he sighed.

He seemed disappointed at her reaction. Seeing that expression on his face made her heart tighten painfully in her chest.

Quite unexpectedly, a yearning to embrace the man filled her. She was overwhelmed by a desire for closeness and touch. A voice in her head seemed to be urging her. 'Go to him, go to him.'

Without having formed a conscious thought to do so, Emma stood up, all thoughts of danger gone.

Feeling the strong pull in her heart, she reached out a shaking hand towards him. Almost seeming to be detached from her body, or watching from the sidelines, she felt like some invisible inner force urged her foreward.

As she took a shaky step forwards, his face brightened, looking at her with an expression of such gentleness and adoration that she felt her heart ache. His lips twisted into a small smile and he whispered to her in a soft voice.

"Hello, little bird."

Those words were like a key, opening a locked and hidden door inside her.

A barrage of images assaulted her mind, flashing by so rapidly that she couldn't take in much of them, apart from every single one of them containing the stranger's face.

Along with the images came a splitting pain to her head, like her skull was about to split in two. She screamed in agony, clutching at her head.

The pain was so intense that she didn't know where she was. Her body seemed to be on fire, and she didn't even sense the stranger wrapping his arms around her to stop her from falling to the ground again.

A voice sounded in her head. Echoing strangely like from a distant forgotten memory.

'Wait for me. I will return. I promise...'

Then the darkness rushed from all sides, and Emma lost consciousness.