Chapter 1

Lying in my room in the dark, I fought hard to get a grasp on what it was that had suddenly ripped me from my sleep. I was completely disoriented and worse, I was still trembling from the nightmare that I had just been having. It just felt so real.

In my dream, I was running down a dark road fleeing from a city that was engulfed in flames. I tripped and stumbled along the way, scraping my knee and palms. I vividly remember the pain that ripped through my hands as I fought to keep my balance and to keep running.

The smoke was filled with a strong bitter odor that scorched my throat and eyes. It was like a combination of burning rubber and chemicals. I struggled with each breath. I was nearly choking.

I repeatedly looked back over my shoulder as I ran, trying to get a glimpse of whatever it was that I was so convinced was chasing me. My lungs burned and my muscles were screaming in pain, but the terror that I felt compelled me to keep moving.

I turned again to see how close my pursuer was getting, only this time I completely lost my balance and fell hard onto the asphalt, scraping my shoulder and forehead as I slid to a stop. Tears began to stream down my face and tremors ripped through my body as I came to the realization that I would not escape.

Frantically, I searched the darkness and shadows. I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. Before I knew what was happening, he was on me and I was screaming.

I woke up to find that I was still in my bed. The sheets and blanket were a twisted mess and I struggled to free my legs from them. I could still feel my tears hot on my face, and I had to work hard to steady my breathing.

I heard it again. I jerked my head up. It was the same sound that woke me from my dream. A loud thud, that seemed to have come from the other side of the room. I froze as I tried to force my eyes to focus in the darkness. I searched the contours of my room with wide eyes. I did not move a muscle and I held my breath.

Nothing looked out of place from what I could tell in the dimly lit room. The only light was what little moonlight made it in through my heavy curtains. I waited and held my breath but nothing else happened. After a few minutes, I finally felt my muscles begin to relax. I let out a long ragged breath, and shook my head in frustration. “It was only a dream.” I said out loud to myself, and I began to settle back into the comforts of my bed.

I was about to close my eyes, hoping not to have any more nightmares, when something happened. It is kind of hard to explain, but the darkness just sort of shifted. There was no light really, just that the darkness seamed to grow darker in the far corner of the room.

I stopped breathing and again, I strained to see in the murky blackness. What was wrong with me? This dream has made me so paranoid.

That is when I heard him. Footsteps came across my floor and in a hurry. I barely had time to sit up. The next thing that I knew, I was being dragged from my bed by my arm and just as I was about to start to screaming for my parents a cold hand clamped down hard across my mouth.

I could not see anything in the blinding darkness, but I could tell that this guy was tall. He was at least half a foot or more taller than I was, and obviously very strong because he propelled me across my room with ease. I clawed and scraped at his arms in an attempt to free myself, but his grip never loosened. He kept one hand wrapped tightly around my waist and the other continued to stifle my scream as he raced toward my open window. I had not even noticed that it was open a few minutes ago. He climbed out, still clutching me to him and carried me out into the cool spring night.

I felt as if I were soaring through the air as he leapt from my second story bedroom window and landed on the ground in a graceful thud. He immediately started running towards the woods behind my house. It did not take long until I found that we were under the cover of the trees. I could smell the sweet scent of the Magnolia trees that my mother was so fond of, and the soft needles of the pine trees tugged at my skin as we sped by them.

My mind started racing. I could not imagine how we were even able to survive a fall like that, let alone for him to be running through the woods with me in his arms. More important, who was this and what did he want with me?

I tried to fight harder. I kicked and clawed at him, but he never slowed. I tried to bite the hand that was covering most of the lower part of my face, but his grip was too tight and I could barely move my jaw. I was struggling just to breathe. No matter how hard I fought against him he just kept running. I could feel the wind blowing my hair around my face as we moved. I had to shut my eyes to keep them from burning from the cold air. We darted through the trees in a way that left me baffled. I could not understand how he could move so quickly through them and not run into a branch or trip over a log.

I tried to remember if I had done anything in the last few days that would have angered somebody enough to do something like this to me. I lived in a small town in southern Louisiana. Nothing ever really happens there.

I went to school, and while I was not really the most popular girl, I did not think that anyone hated me. I have never had a boyfriend, and I just had a few girls that I talked to in school. For the most part, I kept to myself.

After school, I came straight home. I did what little homework that I needed to do and then I hung out on our front porch swing reading the latest vampire novel and listening to 30 Seconds to Mars on my iPod.

My parents came home and did their nightly ritual of cooking, bathing, and TV watching. I did not remember seeing any strange people hanging around like you always hear about on the news.

Believe me, I would have noticed. I lived in a pretty rural area of the south, my nearest neighbor is over a half a mile away. Our yard is pretty much surrounded by woods and swamp. The only thing that should be out there is deer and an occasional raccoon.

What if this was some sadistic serial killer? What in the hell was I going to do? I could not fight him. I could barely breathe, let alone scream. I just needed to try to calm down. I needed to be able to think. He would have to stop eventually. When he did, I would have to be ready to do everything that I could to escape before he hurt me.

He carried me for what felt like an eternity, but he never loosened his grip on my mouth or my waist. All that I can remember seeing are trees. The moon was shining brightly overhead, and occasionally I noticed an opossum or some other animal skitter away from us.

He kept me with my back pressed firmly against his chest. His arm snaked out from under my left armpit and curled across me along my chest. I could feel the rigid contours of his pecs and his abs through my flimsy t-shirt. He definitely worked out, a lot. He never seemed to tire, or even so much as breathed heavily.

He finally slowed and I was completely lost. I had no idea how far he had carried me, nothing looked familiar. The trees were taller and thicker, nothing like the grand moss covered Live Oak trees that surrounded my home in Louisiana. There were no palmettos, and the terrain was no longer flat and marshy. I thought that I could see tree covered mountains off in the distance.

He carried me through a patch of thick brush using his shoulder and legs to push back the branches and vines that blocked our path. I felt cobwebs string across my face and I wanted to shudder because I was not able to wipe them off me. I was definitely going to end up with poison ivy or worse.

The brush began to thin and eventually we emerged into in a small clearing. I could hear water flowing in a stream somewhere close by. We headed in the direction of the water and followed it downstream. It curved lazily through the woods and brought us close to an opening in the side of a rocky cliff.

I am not sure what time of the night that I was taken, but the sun was starting to come up over the top of the mountains. I knew that we must have traveled for hours.

Standing in front of the entrance to a cave in the side of the cliff, my captor finally set me down on my feet. My muscles screamed in a sigh of relief. My ribs ached and I knew that I would probably have a massive bruise from the way that he had carried me. I clutched my arms tightly around my rib cage in an attempt to ease the pain.

Slowly he released his grip from my mouth, testing me to see if I was going to scream. I was way too scared and wore out to scream or to try to run. I doubt that it would have done any good out there anyway, so I just stood there. I tried to keep as still as possible while I waited to see what he was going to do next.

Once he was convinced that I was not going to try to take off, he grabbed me by my wrist and started to lead me to the entrance of the cave. This was the first time that I was actually able to get a good look at him. I studied him hard just in case I ever got the chance to go to a police station. I wanted to be able to give them a good description.

He was tall, at least six feet. He was slender but with strong tight muscles that rippled with his movements. His cropped black hair stood out at odd angles on top of his head, and he wore dark blue jeans and a tight fitting black t-shirt. Only when he briefly glanced back at me did I actually get a look at his face. He had the deepest blue eyes that I had ever seen, they were like sparkling sapphires. He had a firm jaw, a straight nose and a small dimple in his chin. He appeared to be clean shaven, but his brows and slight sideburns were black just like his hair.

My goodness those eyes. There was something about his eyes that just seemed to captivate me. Trust me, I knew that they should not appeal to me by any means. Nevertheless, when those eyes locked with mine, it was almost as if I was looking into his soul. What I saw there was a sadness that was maybe mixed with a little remorse. It was almost as if he was pleading with me.

Why would he look sad? That was crazy, he just kidnapped me and was about to do god knows what with me in a cave in the woods. But his eyes were definitely trying to tell me something. In any other circumstance, I might have thought he was pretty attractive, but right now, I was way too scared and a little to weary to think about him like that.

He had to duck his head as he led me through the narrow opening of the cave. Once we were inside, I could barely see anything. It smelled of damp stale air as I drew in a breath trying to calm myself down. The dankness of the cave began to settle over me and I started to shiver. I was dressed for bed, so I was barefoot and only wearing a pair of comfy pajama bottoms and a thread bare t-shirt. I struggled in the overwhelming darkness to keep my footing as he pulled me forward. He must have sensed my struggle because I felt him slow and then stop. He released my hand and said the first and only word that I had heard him say throughout this entire ordeal. “Stay.”

His voice was deep and smooth like velvet. It came across me in a way that made me feel all warm and tingly. I had to shake myself back to reality. What was my problem? This guy was about to torture me to death and I was swooning. Good grief.

I felt him move away from me and I just stood there very still in the dark, shivering. I could not run away if I wanted to because in the pitch black of the cave, I could no longer make out the entrance that we had just walked through only moments before. I heard a rustling noise in the distance and then a moment or two later a soft golden glow began to emit from somewhere out in front of me.

I saw a silhouette coming towards me and before I could blink, he was back and he had me by my wrist once again. He pulled me gently toward the light, slowing occasionally to help me over some rocks or debris.

“What do you want with me?” I managed to choke out. He did not say another word. He just led me through a tunnel off the back of the cave. It had slick, inky walls with jagged edges that scraped and tore at my skin as I was led through it.

I let out an “oomph” as a sharp point gouged into my right bicep. I tried to fight back the tears that wanted to spill out of my eyes. I did not want him to think that I was weak.

He stopped again. I think that he was looking at me, though I could not even tell because of the darkness. “Almost there.” He said in that rich velvety voice.

“Uh huh,” was all that I could manage to stammer out. First, it was his eyes and now it was his voice. Maybe he had drugged me or something. Why else would I be acting like such a complete idiot? I should be fighting for my life, not drooling over the guy.

We moved forward through the tunnel and it finally opened up to reveal a vast cavern. I noticed a small fire burning in a makeshift pit in the middle of the floor. Close to the walls of the room it appeared that he had stowed a few supplies. There were a couple of old blankets tossed about, and a worn dark green backpack was leaning against the wall in one corner. He must have been planning this for a while.

“What are we doing here? What is going on?” I demanded.

This time he spoke in a low desperate tone. “I am taking you home.”

I jerked my head up to look at him. I squinted my eyes as confusion settled over my face. “What are you talking about? You just ripped me from my home!” I yelled.

He held my gaze for a moment with those eyes. Then as if I had not asked anything at all, he turned away. He began to gather some of the old blankets from across the room. He spread them out on the floor close to the fire.

“Here. Sleep. We still have a long way to go to before we can get you home and you need to rest.”

I just looked at him in bewilderment. Slowly a single tear started to make its way down my cheek, betraying my fear. He reached out as if he were going to wipe it from my face, but I jerked away and shrank back from him.

“What do you want from me?” I said in whisper. “Just take me back to my house, please. You do not have to do this.”

He looked into my eyes pleadingly. It was almost as if tears started to well up around his own sapphire blues. Why did he always look so sad? He is the one that did this to me! I just could not understand.

“Callie, please.” He sounded desperate. “I am trying to bring you home. To your true home. Where you belong. Please do not be so afraid of me. I would never hurt you.”

How did he know my name? Was he some sort of deranged stalker?

“Who are you?” I demanded.

“Callie, you know me. You must remember. You must feel it.” He pleaded.

I am not sure what he was talking about, but the truth is that I did feel something. I did not know how to explain it, but it was as if I were drawn to him. I really could not even be afraid of him, or even that angry with him, although I should be.

“All that I know is that you kidnapped me from my bed in the middle of the night. Now you have me here in this cave.” I gestured at the space around me. “You are probably about to do god knows what kind of evil things to me. You know my name and now you are telling me that I should know you, when I have never seen you before in my life!” I yelled.

I wrapped my arms tightly around myself as if I were trying to keep myself together. He moved toward me, and this time when he reached for me, I did not move away. What would be the point?

He wrapped his long arms around my shoulders and pulled me into an embrace. My cheek rested against his chest and he put his chin on the top of my head as he spoke.

“This will all be clear to you soon. I know that you are afraid of me, but I would never hurt you. It is my duty to protect you, Callie. I will protect you until my last breath. I swear to you. Please Callie, come and rest. Tomorrow you will see. Tomorrow things will be better.”

He pulled me down onto the blankets and I let him. What else was I supposed to do? He held me there, wrapped tightly in his strong arms. I breathed in deeply, he smelled so good. He smelled of earth and pine, mixed with something sweet, like honeysuckle.

Despite my fears and frustration, exhaustion overcame me. The warmth of his arms, the sound of his heartbeat, and his scent filling my nose were all more than any girl would be able to handle. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.