"I want you." With a touch as light as a feather, Cillian hooked a thick finger under her chin to get a better look at her face. "Look at me."
Slowly, her eyes cracked open, but she didn't dare meet his eyes. His grip tightened ever so slightly, a w...
"And though I'm still battered and bruised, I forgave the world the day I met you."
~ Matilda Mann, The Day I Met You
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8:03 p.m. Just a few minutes past closing. Sophie already took care of the board and train dogs that were spending the night, ensuring they had everything they needed before she headed out for the evening.
The whole building was dim, the only light radiating in was from the dim streetlights that shined through the windows by the exit- which is where she was heading to as quickly as she could right now.
Just before she could get out the door, she went skidding across the floor and landed harshly on her butt. She grimaced at puddle of dog piss she slipped on and was currently sitting in, most likely left by a careless and entitled owner. An irritated groan escaped her and she hurried back behind the counter for some paper towels. She squatted down and felt around under the cabinets, too dark to make out anything more than shapes and shadows.
Sophie had co-owned this dog training facility with a friend of hers for about a year now. Being from a smaller town in Tennessee, they didn't have many dog trainers in the area. It didn't take long for their shared business to boom. Sophie loved her job. She was one of the few people that got to say she enjoyed her job and even looked forward to it. The only thing that made her not like her job at times were the customers. The human ones, not the dogs.
The bells above the door chimed, signaling someone entered the premises. She sighed and straightened from her crouched position to tell the customer they were closed for the evening, only for the words to die in her mouth when she found no one there.
"Hello?" She called out.
No response. She cursed under her breath. This just had to happen when all the lights were off. She just should have left the piss to deal with in the morning.
There was a sudden shuffle from the front of the store, just to the right of the exit- which meant she had to pass by whoever or whatever just broke in. She swallowed hard and stepped a tad closer. At the very least, moving closer brought her closer to the light from outside.
She heard the shuffle again, making her gasp and freeze in her steps. From the help of the dim streetlights, she saw... something. Her guard faltered, realizing it was too small to be a person. It was bulky but short, in the front corner of the store. It didn't even come up to her hip. Maybe an animal found it's way in? She drew closer and realized she couldn't have been more wrong.
Curled up in the corner was a man. From a distance, he seemed... normal. Just big. Hunched over, his bare, broad back was facing her, a few scattered tattoos here and there. The back of his head looked messy, maybe even matted. Considering he was curled up in a ball, she figured he might not have been a threat. What murderer or robber would curl up and hide? She assumed he was homeless, seeking shelter for the night, but what homeless man had access to a gym to get muscles like that?
Hesitantly, she cleared her throat. "Sir, we're closed. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
He trembled when she spoke, making her raise a brow. He must have been cold. That, or he was frightened. Little did she know, the shiver was neither because of the frigid temperature outside, nor because he was scared. The shiver was out of restraint.
"If you leave now, I won't report this to the police, but you need to leave." While she tried to speak confidently, her voice couldn't help but waver.
Obviously, he didn't respond. She sighed and got closer again. She caught a glimpse of the side of his face and gasped. It was bruised, as if he had been hit. The closer she got, the more she noticed some of the marks she thought were tattoos, were actually scars and open wounds. His arms and back were covered in lashes as if he had been whipped. Bruises and tiny needle puncture marks littered the inside of his arms, making her heart sink.
Timidly, she whispered, "do you need me to call you an ambulance?"
Slowly, he turned, just enough to see her face.
He didn't seem completely sold on the idea, so she explained, "they can help you."
He didn't seem to understand, or maybe he just didn't care. He winced and shook his head, as if to talk himself out of something, and turned back around.
Now she was losing her patience and pulled out her phone to dial 911. The moment her eyes were off him, as if he had a sixth sense, he had her by the collar of her shirt, her back pressed against the wall. She let out a cry as her feet dangled high off the ground.
She screamed at the sight of his inhuman claws digging into her shirt. Now standing to his full height, it was obvious to her now how tall he was as he held her eye level with him, her feet well over a foot off the ground.
It wasn't until her eyes met his that she noticed how inhuman he was. His golden haunting eyes flickered between gold and brown as he watched her, seemingly examining her shaking figure closely.
Just when a plea for her life was about to break free past her lips, she was dropped to the ground. She scrambled away, her eyes snapping back up to discover why he dropped her.
Her phone.
With a crunch, it was effortlessly crushed between his hands.
She frantically backed away as the creature prowled closer, his shoulders hunched and hands fisted. He muttered something lowly- almost sounding animalistic- in a language she didn't understand as he scanned the room around them. A low rumble emanated from deep in his chest as he got down on a knee and loomed over her, causing her to lean back so she was laying flat on the ground. He followed her, his strong arms holding himself up on top of her, his big hands on either side of her face. The wooden floor she was laid on cracked and splintered as his claws effortlessly dug into the wood by her head, his shoulders rounding her way as he invaded her personal space. His lips parted until his prominent canines made an appearance.
She closed her eyes to prevent seeing her inevitable death, yet tears still escaped her eyes. Rough fingers traced down the length of her neck, sending adrenaline to fly over her veins, but she couldn't move a single muscle, not even to scream. The absolute horror completely paralyzed her, and the more she thought about running away, or simply moving a bit, the more she felt discouraged and utterly terrified.
The heat of his breath against the side of her neck snapped her out of it just enough for her hands to fly up to protect it, her eyes now wide open. He studied her a moment, before in one swift movement, he had both of her hands in one of his hands above her head.
She swore she heard him apologize under his breath right before his teeth sank into the side of her neck. She screamed at the top of her lungs from how bad the bite almost seemed to burn her, she was sure he was ripping her throat out. Though she trashed and did everything she could to get away, he was far too heavy to push off.
The pain seemed to leave as soon as it came. She almost didn't register when he planted a kiss to where he bit.
Black dots began to flood her vision and her head spun, making her feel faint. As her eyes began to close, she saw a dart hit the side of the man's neck. Then everything went black.
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