"My brother."

With a lingering stare and a curt nod, the beast strode up the stairs, leaving Grey alone in the foyer still holding her aching neck.

She sat for a few moments, bewildered by everything that has happened in a short amount of time. It seemed within the short span of time she'd been in this foreign land, her life in New York had been but a dream and no longer existed. This impossible life was hers now and it felt as though there was no escape from the horrors and unexpected events in it.

Almost forgetting her previous mission, she shook her thoughts away and stood slowly, shocked that both men left her completely unattended. As if one hadn't almost killed her in the middle of escaping and the other didn't care. Fools, they were.

Turning slowly, her eyes still on the stairs and the doorway where the brothers disappeared to, she placed her hands on the door's handles and pushed one open slowly. No sound came from the door or the gigantic house so Grey took her time to stay quiet and sneak out the large door. Once outside, she carefully closed the door and spun around fully prepared to run but she was frozen.

The sound of birds chirping above the light snow filled her ears. Most of the snow was gone, but there was enough on the ground still that no green grass peeked through. Winter was over and spring had come with a bright afternoon sun and heaps of wildlife hiding in the shadows of the tall forest trees. Taking in a deep breath, Grey relished in the scent of the fresh air that had lost it's bitter bite.

A deep, menacing growl from inside the castle broke Grey's trance and a shiver of fear ran down her spine. She wasted no time, breaking off towards the trees in a dead sprint, ignoring the forest's rough ground hurting her bare feet. She had no idea where she was or where she was going, but nowhere was better than being captive. Grey could hear multiple sets of footsteps and she supposed both men were catching up to her and fast. She had to do something.

Taking a sharp turn to her right and deciding then to zigzag her way through the forest, she gained some space but not for long. She could hear rushing water, and hoping for an easy escape, she headed towards it.

The trees grew taller and the forest grew denser as she ran, making everything harder. Her calves were burning and her lungs felt like they were about to collapse and now she had tree branches that were digging into her skin to push aside. Yet the ever present growling behind her pushed her to go faster.

Determined to get home, Grey didn't realize that the world had completely turned around on her and the sound of water was gone far behind her. The forest was playing tricks on her, it wasn't letting her leave. With the beast hot on her tracks, she began to feel dread settle in her veins, all hope of getting home was dwindling to but a dream.

A scream ripped out of Grey's throat as the ground suddenly gave away and she was tumbling down a hill, sharp rocks and fallen tree branches dug into her skin and ripped her bloodstained clothes. During the tumbling, a sharp pain had followed the sound of a snap and she was left screaming as she rolled. After reaching the bottom of the hill, Grey lie still, trying to regain her shaky breath, tears streaming down her face at the pain that blossomed from her foot. Her chest burned with each intake of breath but she could see a black wolf atop the hill, watching her with eyes the color of a burning flame. She knew it was the beast's brother by the way those eyes held so much anger and disgust, he looked ready to leave her there for dead. But of course, fate wouldn't have it that way and he was emerging from the tree's shadows to stand behind the wolf, those entrancing blue eyes watching her and in that moment, she knew he wouldn't let her go.

So despite her burning lungs and the new trails of blood that stained her skin, she pushed herself up on aching muscles and tried to keep as much weight of the foot that had already swelled up twice its normal size. She was trying her hardest to move, walk, even hop away but everything was against her and she found herself on the ground once again. This time she was spun around so her back took the brunt of the fall, instead of her face thank god, and now hovering above her was the notorious beast. She grunted out her frustration and gave him the best glare she could muster up.

"Why won't you let me go home?" She asked with a shaky voice as he scanned her injured body, slight annoyance slipped out on her tongue.

"It's not me, it's the trees." He spoke with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"What?"

"They want you just as bad as my beast does." He leaned his head down to where there was a mark on her neck. She grew stiff as his nose ran over the spot and he inhaled her scent. "Maybe when I'm done with you, they can have you."

A shudder ran down Grey's spine as a gust of chilly wind shook the trees above them. She was about to speak when the black wolf behind them growled, bright eyes fixated on something far behind the two on the ground.

The beast above her growled as well, watching his brother move forward as a stealthy wolf, hidden in the shadows.

He spoke rough and low. "My dolzhny vernut'sya brat."

Grey watched the wolf that was now beside them huff and snarl towards the trees once more before taking off. The beast then moved off her and grabbed her limp hands, tugging her to one single unsteady foot, the other lifted off the ground.

His eyes took their time traveling to her injured foot, scanning carefully over every contour of her body making her squirm. When his eyes snapped back up hers they were glowing. "It's just a sprain. You can walk."

He began to tug her forward but Grey pulled away, hands free from his electric grip, grabbing onto the closest tree to steady her unbalanced self. His head cocked to the side and one eyebrow quirked up, his face no longer hidden by the human mask; she could see the wolf hidden underneath the sheep's skin.

"We must go back, woman."

Grey shook her head and gripped the tree harder. "I don't want to go back."

"You came into these very trees for a reason. There's no turning back, these trees are more unforgiving than I."

"I don't understand."

He was in front of Grey in under a second, eliciting a gasp from her lips. "The trees have eyes. They have their own souls. I may be a beast, a monster, whatever you wish to call me, but this forest would swallow you whole, darling. Those souls of theirs are just as dark, if not darker than mine. They like to watch you humans go mad." Grey's eyes showed her fear and he smirked. "Now, now, where's the fire I saw in your eyes when you spoke to me by the town? Where'd that little lioness go?"

He held out a hand to Grey who swallowed her fear and glanced at it with wary eyes. "What is that?"

"If you wish to get lost then don't take it."

"I can't walk even if I wished to hold it." She gestured to her foot.

"Like I said, it's just a sprain." He rolled his eyes before his body tensed again and his eyes snapped to the trees not far from them.

"Why are the trees moving?" Grey's voice was soft and quiet, afraid to disturb the nightmare that had become reality.

"I told you, these trees are cunning, they will do everything in their power to separate us, because they can toy with your mind, not mine. Now come here before I leave you for the trees to drive you to insanity." His voice was venomous as he looked upon her with dark eyes.

"I can't-"

A shriek left Grey's lips as he scooped her up in his arms, her own unintentionally grabbing onto his neck and hair. He winced and growled, the hand supporting her back moved quickly to slap her hands that grabbed his hair before splaying against her back again. Her grip on him loosened, hand leaving the silky strands of his dark hair as he began to walk, all the while grumbling in Russian beneath his breath, no doubt cursing her.

• • •

Back at the castle, the beast had dumped her on the couch in a little room connected to the foyer and left her alone once again with oh-so-sweet parting words.

"Try to run again and I'll let the forest do what it does best."

He was gone again, stormed off in a cloud of anger that seemed to always hang over him. He was a mystery, a corrupt soul that Grey secretly wanted to save but didn't know where to even begin. He was so far gone, she didn't know if there was a chance of bringing him back, let alone enough humanity left in him to even hope for the good to overpower the evil.

With a sigh, she swung her legs to rest against the floor and stared at the foot she had sprained, it was still swollen and had scratches from the twigs and rocks she'd ran over in her attempted escape. The entire length of her legs were covered in little scratches and even her arms were as well, her clothes ripped in some places to reveal scratched and irritated red skin beneath, little spots that would form colorful bruises littered here and there. She stood slowly, applying pressure slowly onto the foot and when it didn't give out underneath her weight or cause her great agony, she walked cautiously to the stairs. At the top where the stairs broke into two, she found herself staring off to her left, to the hallway she hadn't come from originally. Something inside of her was pushing her to go there, to explore each room until she'd memorized every detail of that hall. But that little voice inside one's head appeared and told her no, not to disobey the beast, not to push him off the ledge, for when he is destroyed, she'd surely be taken down in the end along with him.

So with a shake of her head she carefully moved back down the hall, where the room she left earlier was with it's door still open. Yet this time, the difference was that by the door were the very suitcases she'd left by her bed, packed and ready to return to America back at the cabin. And atop them all, her camera case and the glasses she's been so desperately needing alongside a note with messy handwriting.

Grey,

Forgive me and my brother for our behavior. Join us for dinner at 7.

If you do not show at the exact time, I will not hesitate to drag you down here and force food down your throat myself.

Don't tempt me, lioness.
A

{translation:

•My dolzhny vernut'sya brat.
translates to "we have to go back brother"}