We're all just running in circles forever chasing a dream.
As if everything that we long for is not as far as it seems.
Who the hell are you anyway?

Circled by the Wolves - Asking Alexandria

My mind was still thick when I got home, the cool air from my car's open windows apparently not enough to blow the haze away. But since I had gotten up at such an unholy hour, I figured I could probably fall asleep early, maybe I'd feel a little better once I woke up. Maybe I'd dream of Lion again. Maybe I'd even remember enough to write about it. I loved writing my dreams, not altering them or trying to have them make sense, just writing them in their rawest form.

Sometimes dreams can tell us things, not that Psychoanalytic-dream-investigative shit, but just small things about ourselves, our fears or desires, or the desires we fear.

Unfortunately, there would be no dreaming for me. As I stared at my bedroom ceiling with my wheels still spinning from the day's happenings, I realized I wouldn't be able to sleep unless I was utterly exhausted. It wasn't so cool a night to be unpleasant, so I threw on shorts, a dark hoodie, and running shoes and decided to head out to my favorite trail.

The running trail cut through the mass of woods behind my apartment. It was about three miles long, winding through groves and gullies, up and down hills, constantly switched over onto itself, twisting and curving until you were sure you were running in circles. It was one of my favorite places, probably the closest to a fable's enchanted woods I'd ever get.

When I first moved into my apartment I had found the woods a comfort, reminding me of my forest back home, the place from my daydreams. I felt at home there, and I visited often. The night air filled me with new energy as I jogged down the sidewalk towards the woods. The moon was just shy of a perfect orb, ghostly and still hanging low, glowing a bright white that cast long shadows all around me.

The white sheen on everything made the world seem a little closer to how I wished it was, almost like the moon's light gave life to the ordinarily dead surroundings of my neighborhood. I always felt like if there was magic anywhere in the world, it would be in moonlit woods, hiding behind gray trunks or in the shadowed roots of a gnarled old tree.

As I broke through the first line of trees, the view was so breathtaking it brought a smile to my lips, my first real one in days. Clumps of stubbornly green leaves stuck to the branches high up in the canopy, leaving the ground sprinkled with shimmering pools of moonlight, almost as if there was some unseen lake tranquily reflecting the light onto the branches and brush.

The trees towered over me, nature's skyscrapers. Their strength and elegance made me think of uniformed soldiers in perfect formation, waiting to strike whenever Mother Nature finally had enough of humans and our blunders and made her move against us. But for now, they stood dormant, ever watching the world, awaiting their orders.

I took off my headphones so I could hear the night noises and my feet dancing over the trail. This was one of the few places I felt completely free, like I could just keep running and never have to go back to my monotonous, miserable life. I didn't feel stifled, trapped. Anything could be real in these woods, even if I wanted to pretend the world I dreamed of was true. I felt like I was supposed to do something more than just exist, like there was a purpose larger than mere subsistence.

The feeling of freedom was so overwhelming I turned from the trail and began jogging through the brush, dodging trees and bushes as I relished the change in scenery. I put my earphones back in and picked up the pace, losing myself in the music and tempo of my feet.

A few more songs came and went and before I knew it I was winded, complete with the sweet burning deep in my lungs that let me know I'd feel this run in the morning. I slowed and looked around at the huge trunks of the skyscrapers around me. A little ways off there was a spruce with low hanging branches that stood out from the rest, something I'd be able to scrabble up. It was easier than I had anticipated, as the bark was rough with knots and abnormalities that gave me plenty of hand and footholds. I climbed up a little way to catch my breath and a new point of view.

The forest seemed even more alluring from my elevated angle. Maybe it was just such a rare level to be at, but I thought the woods looked as serene as a vintage photograph, with muted colors and a restful quality that drew me in.

I had never been so far from the trail, so I climbed a few branches higher in hopes of catching a glimpse of my apartment's clearing or a landmark to help me get my bearings and direct me back to the path. It was late and I didn't want to waste my day off sleeping until noon, though I couldn't think of anything particularly productive I needed to do.

Sitting twenty feet up, straddling a comfortable branch, with my back leaned up against the trunk felt absolutely wonderful. I closed my eyes and focused on the fresh scent of the forest. The earthy leaves as they gradually changed to dirt, the sap of the tree that was now sticking to my hoodie at my shoulder blades, and the overpowering smell of almost-autumn, a smoky, natural scent that's impossible to accurately describe. The night was so peaceful, so still, suddenly I was having a hard time keeping my mind focused.

I was in that timeless space where you can't tell if your eyes have been closed for seconds or minutes when something woke me from my half-sleep. The rush of adrenaline first made me think I must be falling, but a jolt and quick appraisal of my bearings let me know I was still firmly perched on my treetop thrown. Just as I was about to make my way down I heard a noise drift over the brisk air, far off still, but close enough to make me pause and listen harder.

Sure enough, I heard it again, a distant branch snapping under something's weight. Maybe I'd see a deer, or a coyote, or some other wildlife I normally wouldn't be so close to. I tried to peer down, but I could barely see the ground through the needles.

The noises started to get louder and more frequent, it sounded like something was running, and not entirely gracefully, in my direction. I noticed it had gotten darker since I closed my eyes, one of the stray clouds in the sky blocked the moon's attempts to light the night. Luckily, I had always had decent night vision.

The noise was almost right beneath me now and as I looked down I saw a tiny glint of moonlight on something metal but nothing more. I could hear heavy masculine breathing that ruled out wildlife but the hardy branches and multitude of green still blocked my view.

Suddenly, a cool feminine voice spoke, "Gotcha," and the heavy breathing halted momentarily.

"God Nev, you scared me. How are you so damn quiet?" The voice that answered was deep, with a sprinkle of playfulness in it that made my lips quirk up on impulse.

"Well, it's not hard when you're making enough noise to wake the entire forest."

"It's these fucking boots, 'kay? They are made for fighting, not running..."

"Watch your mouth, you know James can hear a curse flying through the air from a mile away." The feminine voice called Nev said in a hushed tone.

"What? You mean he didn't already catch you? F-damn, I'm impressed." The man said in a surprised voice.

There was a pause in which the woman daintily cleared her throat.

"I made him promise to wait a few minutes," Nev said, sounding displeased, like she didn't enjoy divulging such intel.

"Yeah, that sounds more like it." The man teased.

"Yeah well, he and I both gave you a three-minute head start and it didn't take me too long to catch you, so shove it." The woman hissed, her tone more biting than necessary for the banter.

"Whoa kitty, put the claws away. Besides these boots aren't made for walking." The guy said in mock-hurt.

"Guess you should get some new ones then­-"

"Oh fuck off, they work for stomping nasties, not run-"

"Hello there." Said a third, smooth voice.

I heard two sighs come from beneath me.

"Hey James," Nev spoke in a bored tone that sounded like it might be hiding a small smile, "that was quick."

"Yeah, well nothing's easier than catching people that have stopped to chat, plus you and Kael were all but yelling," James said evenly.

"She insulted my boots," Kael replied, as if that was all the defense he needed to justify his behavior.

"Because they're not functional!" Nev shouted back.

A noise that sounded like a snort of disagreement came from the side of the tree that the voice named Kael was coming from.

"Oh, like your five-inch heels are?"

"At least I change before training." Nev shot back defensively.

"Kids, kids, please play nice. You're giving me a headache." Came James' amused voice.

There was a pause and by the feeling of fire creeping up my skin, I knew exactly who was beneath me.

The feeling of adrenaline I had attributed to thinking I was falling from my tree-chair had been steadily growing during the ensuing conversation below until it was now almost a physical weight on me. Burning and prickling every inch of my skin.

The tingle of electricity in my veins could only mean one thing. Lion and his pack were beneath me on the forest floor, or should I say James, Kael, and Nev. Just as I was trying to decide what the hell I was going to do now that I was up a tree above my version of a pride of lions. I heard a branch creak.

Oh, hellfuck no.

Not even three seconds later, there he was, two feet in front of me, balanced on my branch. For a split second his eyes showed complete and total unguarded shock, as if he had been expecting the devil himself more than me. Then the doors closed and his dark eyes were covered by a tough sheen as they narrowed into a glare.

I raised my chin in what I hoped looked to be a defiant position, though I could feel my muscles tense against the involuntary trembles begging to shake them.

"What are you doing in my tree? You woke me." I said in a calm, slow voice that was the furthest thing from what I was feeling.

I heard a murmured 'what the shit', come from Kael down below, apparently just as surprised as James that someone was above them in the pine.

One corner of James' mouth slowly curved into what would have been the same cocky smirk from my store, but his slit eyes made it more threatening, danger lining its arresting curve.

"How very rude of me. Why don't you come down and join us?" He spoke in a voice like steel before disappearing below.

A couple of seconds later I heard the muted thud of what I assumed was him lightly landing on the ground. God, he was fast.

As I made my way towards the ground, my body was still on fire and I was silently thanking my adrenaline for guiding me quickly and gently down. I hadn't exactly planned my descent on my way up the tree, nor had I imagined I would have an audience, so now I was left with the unpleasant options of shimming down the last three meters or jumping and hoping for a soft landing.

As I crouched on the last branch, a quick appraisal of my spectators made the decision for me. James was standing below, arms crossed over his chest, looking up at me with his head cocked to one side and a look of complete boredom painted across his face.

"Don't worry, princess, I won't let you fall." He called up with infuriating sarcastic innocence.

I took one last look, estimated the angle, and dropped down, ending in a slight crouch to stop my knees from jarring too badly. As I straightened I was relieved to see my calculations had been correct and I was only inches from James. I cocked my head to the opposite side as his and raised my eyebrows to silently convey it was his move.

James let out a low chuckle as amusement danced behind his dark eyes for a moment, making his smirk look almost pleasant, almost. He took a small step back and lifted his arms out as if he was retreating, palms facing me in a show of surrender.

The other two stole quick glances at each other from the corners of their eyes. Kael shrugged first and looked back to the scene. Nev's mouth still hung slightly open. She looked like she had been expecting me even less than James had, or maybe she just didn't hide her astonishment as well.

I dropped the hood of my jogging sweatshirt and looked around the group, eventually settling my gaze back on James. Being so close to him was almost painful. The heated, tingling pressure on my skin was so strong I would probably describe it as unpleasant if it had been caused by anything else.

I met his eyes and noticed even in the dim, fading moonlight that he looked different, not just different, magnificent. Everything that had seemed average and ordinary the day before was now absolute perfection in human form. Even the version of James from my dream the night before was overshadowed by the being in front of me.

His hair shone golden and the messiness seemed a controlled chaos that wholly mirrored his spirit. His angled eyebrows framed his dark eyes, the color of a sky just changed from dusk to night, their shape reminding me of some ancient elf with lifetimes of experience, and the intelligence in them was as breathtaking as I had dreamed. His strong jaw, straight nose, and full lips were glorious, even now as they were set into a stern line. His skin seemed to gleam bronze, challenging the moon's pale light. And his presence was even more amazing than I recalled, and still growing, peaking.

My proximity was setting off every alarm system in my body. And honestly, I was in pure ecstasy standing before him, so much so that I didn't notice the silence drag on. Slowly I stepped back, my eyes searching his face, completely expecting him to transform back between my blinks. He looked to be studying me too, searching for something in me.

The amusement slowly drained from his face and was replaced by slight confusion, and something guarded. I must have looked like I was pondering an Escher painting, furrowed brow and lip pulled between my teeth as I stared back at him. I quickly recomposed my face and glanced around. They were all staring. Great. Ten seconds in and I was already acting weird.

"I thought I remembered you looking different," I said bluntly. So much for my cool façade.

The corner of his mouth twitched down into a quick, involuntary frown before he smoothed his face back to an impenetrable mask.

"I guess you remembered wrong. You shouldn't sleep in trees, it's...unusual." He spoke with the same cocky drawl as he began to walk away, his group turning to follow, to leave.

"I'm lost."

I called after in a last-ditch attempt to prolong our conversation. I was actually talking to Lion, to James. Granted, this encounter was quickly plummeting to the bottom of the heap, enjoyment-wise, even worse than almost getting splattered by a bus. But I still couldn't let it end, not yet.

The fire I felt in my bones and coursing through my blood was screaming at me to not let him walk away, to not allow the ecstasy to leave again. It was like living in cold, dark waters your entire life and suddenly being engulfed in the warmth of sunlight, just to have it chased away again. I couldn't let that happen.

He paused and I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding.

"Obviously. You're on private property. Kael, take her home." James ordered without turning as he continued to walk toward the shadows.

"Whose property, yours? I thought this was all undeveloped." I called after him again, hoping to get him to stay a minute longer, a second, a word, anything. I could already feel the heavenly fire waning as each step took him farther from me.

"That ended about a quarter-mile back," Kael said, who was suddenly at my side, looming over me in all his dark and brooding glory. "I'll walk you there." He gave me an obvious up-down as he played with one of his piercings with his teeth. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. 

"What happened to 'these boots aren't made for walking'?" I mimicked in a horrible interpretation of him, letting my frustration that James had disappeared into the night come through in my voice.

I thought I heard a low laugh come from the woods in the direction that James had left with Nev, but it could have been my imagination.

Kael paused mid-stride with a comical look of exaggerated hurt on his face as if he was a close friend I had unjustly insulted.

"Do I really sound like an IQ of eighty mixed with a fifth of steroids to you?" He asked in a tone that matched his expression.

"Surprisingly clever. I figured your kind couldn't joke, or smile for that matter." I pretended to be shocked in turn.

"It's frowned upon, but not yet banned." He said with a grin that made him look younger and entirely less intimidating.

"And what do you mean, 'your kind'? Are you referring to Wasians? Very un-PC of you. Or do you mean the gothically inclined or the ridiculously handsome? I fit into many categories." He winked and I honestly almost laughed at how good-natured he was despite the appearance he put on.

"You forgot males, cult-members, and the cheesily flirtatious." I sent him an accusing look that was more than a bit flirtatious itself.

"Surprisingly clever - for a girl who naps in trees. James was right you know, it is pretty strange, not to mention dangerous."

"Hardy-har. Something just came over me and I felt really sleepy all of a sudden, it's not like I make a habit of i-"

Kael suddenly stuck out his arm, planted across my shoulders and chest, barring me from my next step. He was so fast, and his arm felt like an iron post, solid and strong and corded with muscle under his light jacket. He slid me a sideways glance with be quiet all over it.

After the noise of our shoes crunching through leaves and brush, the quiet lent an eerie stillness to the woods. Everything was utterly soundless. No night sounds of animals or bugs, no wind rustling leaves in the trees or tumbling dead ones over the ground. The silence was deep and dark, like a pit without echoes, staring back at us.

And then there it was, a thump so light I almost didn't hear it. I waited and then it came again, a little louder, and again, a little closer.

Kael dropped into a crouch and took something out of his boot, a little dull silver ball, a marble? He turned back to the direction we had come from and said a few short words I didn't quite hear. It didn't sound like English, too harsh and grating, like stepping on gravel or broken glass, but with a lilting accent.

He held the little sphere a moment longer before hurling it towards the dense woods behind us.

The thumping noise was starting to shake the ground and I could feel it as well as hear it now. Kael muttered something that seemed to rhyme with 'puck' and turned back to me. He looked conflicted, his facial features no longer lighthearted or flirtatious, he looked much older. I saw a number of thoughts fly through his head and I could tell he was weighing his options as his eyes darted about, not with fear, but searching for some elusive idea or escape.

Too late; there's nothing, and Nev's too far, James is probably nearly back by now, and then there's the woman.

His rapid internal dispute was so plain on his face the words almost audibly flew through my mind.

We'll have to run, I hope she's fast. She won't see it coming. She won't see anything.

He looked to have come to a decision. There was something sad in his eyes as they met mine. Then his lips formed a thin line as he clenched his jaw and shifted his gaze to somewhere over my shoulder.

"What is that?" I asked slowly, calmly.

"A very large bear. Let's go."

He grabbed my wrist and started sprinting away from the fast-approaching noise. I almost stumbled once, but Kael's strong grip helped me regain my balance. He was faster, but he stayed with me, slightly behind even.

Dodging trees, roots trying to trip us, branches to impale us, I had never run so hard in my life. The thumping was fast now, and I could hear crashing behind us as if some thing was recklessly chasing, and gaining. I didn't dare turn to look in case it slowed me down. It was taking all of my focus to keep up with Kael and to avoid falling or snagging a tree. We kept tearing through the forest, dodging obstacles as best we could. My lungs were burning and I knew I couldn't keep up the pace for much longer, not that it mattered, even at my fastest the thing was still gaining. I felt like a lame rabbit running from a wolf, futilely trying to escape its inevitable end.

I glanced to my right, hoping Kael had a solution. His gaze met mine and it took me a moment to register what I was seeing. His eyes were darker, in fact, they were entirely black. The whites disappeared just like James' had in my nightmare. Hellish black orbs stared vacantly back at me. I could sense a power sizzling in the air, making the hair on my arms stand on end.

Kael must have seen the panic cross my face and he opened his mouth slightly into a feeble attempt at a smile, showing a flash of sharp teeth, like a shark's. I felt a rush of pure terror course through me, not of the thing behind me, but of the thing beside me. A dark creature that preyed on others, a damned being that destroyed everything it touched. A predator, like James.

And with his angelic face in my mind, suddenly I was falling and everything went black.

And they have names! And they speak! But now that we know who they are, what are they? Guesses? I'll tell you if you're right.

But even if you can't guess, have no fear, all will be revealed in chapter 4...well, not *all*, that would make the remaining 30-odd chapters drag a wee bit, now wouldn't it?

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