Chapter 2 THE BOY IN THE WOODS

Kiara's POV

The next morning, Red Hollow didn't feel any less... strange.

The streets were empty. Even the wind seemed cautious, whispering through the skeletal trees rather than rattling them. I wrapped my scarf tighter and tried to convince myself I wasn't imagining the weight of eyes following me.

It didn't help that I kept replaying yesterday-the diner, the warmth of the hot chocolate, and... him.

Rylan.

His name felt like a warning in my mind.

I hadn't even spoken to him. I barely knew anything about him.

And yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that he already knew too much about me.

I decided to avoid the diner today. I didn't want to see him. I didn't want to feel that pull, that strange magnetism that seemed to tug at my chest.

I took a longer route through the edge of the forest, hoping the sun would lift some of the shadows. The trees towered above me, skeletal and silent. A fog clung to the ground, curling around my boots.

I tried to focus on ordinary things-my aunt's house, the creaking floorboards, the stack of unpacked boxes waiting for me. But the forest had other plans.

A rustle, soft but deliberate, came from somewhere deep inside the trees. My stomach clenched.

I froze.

Then I heard it-a footstep. Slow. Deliberate. Not human, not entirely...

"Kiara."

The voice was low, smooth, and dangerous. My heart slammed.

I spun toward the sound.

Rylan emerged from the shadows between two pines, his storm-gray eyes locked on me. His presence was overwhelming-like standing in front of a magnet you couldn't escape.

"What do you want?" I asked, forcing my voice to sound steady.

He stepped closer, the fog curling around his boots. "You shouldn't be walking here alone."

"I can take care of myself," I snapped, trying to hide the tremor in my hands.

He tilted his head, studying me, and I could feel it-that pull again, like he could see right through me. "You're not like the others, Kiara."

"What does that mean?" I demanded, my heart racing.

His lips curved slightly, a shadow of a smile. "It means... You don't belong here. Not yet. But the forest thinks otherwise."

I took a step back. His words made no sense, yet my chest tightened, like I had already felt them before.

"I don't belong anywhere," I said quietly, my voice barely above the fog.

"And yet..." He leaned closer, so close I could feel the heat radiating from him, "You're already marked."

My breath hitched. The word echoed in my mind: marked.

"No," I whispered, shaking my head. "That's impossible."

"Nothing here is impossible," he said, and then his gaze softened just slightly, though the warning never left his eyes. "You can fight it... But it won't matter forever."

I swallowed hard, my legs stiff. I wanted to step back. I wanted to run.

I wanted to hate him for knowing something I didn't.

But the pull-impossible to ignore-tugged at me again.

Before I could answer, a sharp rustle came from deeper in the woods. A low growl echoed, deep and guttural, vibrating through the fog.

Rylan's eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't be here," he hissed.

I stepped back, heart pounding. "I said I can take care of myself!"

"You're already part of this," he said, his voice tight. "Whether you want to be or not."

Something moved just beyond the trees. Something big. Something watching.

A low, threatening snarl filled the air, and the ground beneath my feet seemed to shiver.

Rylan's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me close. His storm-gray eyes met mine, fierce and protective. "Run," he commanded.

I wanted to, but my legs felt rooted to the spot.

And then, from the shadows, a pair of amber eyes glowed... watching, calculating, waiting.

My chest tightened. My breath caught.

I had a sinking feeling that this wasn't just a warning.

It was an attack.

And I was standing right in the middle of it.