Cruel Love

A woman woke up in a dark room lit only by a lantern hanging from one of the wooden pillars-the smell of damp earth after the rain filled her senses. The sounds of night insects rang in her ears, one after another. The woman felt her chest, her heart racing at the thought of where she was.

"Was I kidnapped? Am I being kept in a hut in a haunted forest?"

The girl tried to move her hand. Pain. Her hand felt stiff.

"Am I a captive of a perverted mountain demon who needs warmth? No! This can't be happening. I must leave this place immediately," Briana muttered. She stumbled down the ancient-looking wooden bed.

The door handle moved just as Briana was about to leave the bed. The cold hit the soles of her feet to the bone. She could not move and remained rooted to the spot as she stared at the door with her breath ragged.

"God, please save me!"

The door opened wide. A grown man appeared behind it. Briana gulped harshly. The man looked terrible. Very horrible. It didn't seem like a demon. The figure was a mountain man who was confidently topless. He was only wearing cargo pants that hung down to his hips. That made Briana swallow again.

He was a man with a tall and large body. He had a pair of cold and sharp eyes. His hair was not too long. It was about to the nape of his neck, and there were scratch marks on the left side of his face.

Briana couldn't stop being scared, even though the man hadn't done anything terrible to her. Maybe not yet. She was counting down.

God forbid that should happen, Briana thought.

"Are you awake?" The man's voice was deep and hoarse. At first glance, it sounded like the growl of a rare desert lion. Briana's whole body broke out in cold sweat. The young woman's eyes kept looking at him, more precisely, watching his movements.

Briana would kick his ass if that big, muscular body took even one step toward her. Briana would do anything if that stranger dared to do anything indecent to her.

But the opposite happened; when the man came forward, Briana could do nothing but tremble in her seat.

He stepped closer and closer until finally, a tiny shriek escaped Briana's lips: "Don't!"

Suddenly the man's steps stopped. "What's wrong?" he asked, not understanding.

With difficulty, Briana's lips said, "Don't come any closer!"

"Miss, calm down; I don't want to hurt you," he said.

He tried to be gentler, but Briana couldn't believe it. What criminal would confess when he wanted to harm?

Briana wouldn't be fooled so easily. "I don't believe it," she said with gathering courage. "If you come any closer, I'll kill you!"

The man's jaw hardened. His eyes seemed to darken, and he looked at Annie more sharply. The man was beginning to look dangerous and sadistic.

"Killing you? What's in it for me? You idiot!"

"Who are you, and how did you kidnap me?"

"Kidnapped you?"

"Yes! You kidnapped me!" squealed Briana.

"Okay." The man's answer was short. He stayed where he stood with his arms crossed and scanning Briana's body from head to toe.

"Who are you?" asked Briana.

"Sean. Just call me Sean."

He looked wary and indifferent. The man looked at the woman in front of him right in the eyes, which looked cold and calm.

Those deep eyes made Briana forget her other questions and get lost in those dark black eyes. Suddenly Briana saw that smile. A smile at the corners of those sexy lips resembled a wolfish grin. He did not look perverted. He looked more like a cannibalistic figure capable of swallowing alive.

"I came to check on you. You've been unconscious for ten days."

"Three days? Have I been unconscious for three days? How could this happen?" Briana shook her head quickly. She didn't believe that ridiculous story. Because other than a slight dizziness in her head, she felt fine. "No! No way. You're just making it up."

"Miss!" The stranger looked annoyed. "You can check the bandages on your head yourself. There's also a broken bone in your hand. Don't you realize that?"

Briana gasped. She immediately tried to move both hands. Sure enough, her left hand felt very sore and painful. Briana saw that some leaf and oil concoction covered the sad part of her left elbow. Meanwhile, her right hand, which was fine, moved to feel the bandage around her head. The man was right, Briana thought. Briana was a bandage wrapped tightly around her head.

"Argh! What's with these foul-smelling leaves and oil?" Briana winced, holding back nausea as she kissed her elbow.

"It's medicine."

"You're a healer? A shaman?" asked Briana. "Oh, my God! Where am I right now?" Briana grabbed her hair in frustration.

Briana was back in a panic attack. She was confused. She was currently in a wooden house that was only lit by lanterns. It seemed like this place was home to a creature from the world of fairies. Alternatively, Sean was an immortal: a vampire or a werewolf.

"What the hell is going on?" muttered Briana.

"I'll explain everything. But before that, you need to eat. There is someone who will bring you food."

Briana's eyebrows shot up. "I don't need food!" she screamed.

Sean, who was about to turn around, aborted his footsteps. He was rooted to where he stood, looking intently at Briana.

"Be a little polite, Missy! I understand you're still shocked and confused, but I don't like people screaming in my house."

Sean was stern. His voice was like a lion's roar. What came out of his mouth silenced Briana instantly. She fell to the floor, staring.

After making Briana's guts shrink like mice before a cat, Sean left the room without saying a word. Another attack of pain throbbed in Briana's head. She went back to war with her mind after the man left.