Fable of Happiness (Fable #2) by Pepper Winters

The cave loomed up ahead.

The same one I’d longed to explore.

Would he have gone in there?

Where did it lead?

A stitch flared in my side as I switched my jog for a run. I gritted my teeth as my poor feet gave in to cuts and bruises, wincing as pebbles replaced earth debris as I drew closer to the gaping maw of the cave.

It was so much bigger up close. Imposing and dank, an eerie, musty breeze coming from within.

I halted as I rubbed my arms, another chill running through me.

A soft sound echoed deep within the cave’s belly.

A footstep. A small rock rolling from being displaced.

My heart leaped.

“Kas?” Inching forward, I narrowed my eyes, trying to see into the pitch black. The flutter of bats sounded overhead as I traded valley for stone.

The noise came again, drawing me deeper.

I looked over my shoulder, back to the river, back to the moonlight.

I should really go back to the house. I needed shoes and illumination.

I needed to be smart about this. If Kas had gone this way, I couldn’t hope to follow him in my current state.

But if I left now, would I ever find him again?

Perhaps, he’d chosen not to evict me but to evict himself? To just bolt into the National Park that’d swallowed him whole for so many years and let it finally have him.

Tears pricked my eyes as I spun back to face the cave’s darkness.

I didn’t have a choice.

I had to—

A boot thudded against stone.

Another footstep, heavy and slow.

I opened my mouth to shout. My legs bunched to run. It was him. It had to be.

But...

Kas wasn’t wearing boots.

I froze, my breath coming in short pants as the footsteps drew closer.

I backed up.

No.

Who?

Friend or foe?

Licking my lips, I kept moving back into the moonlight, never taking my eyes off the darkness of the yawning cave.

The boots crunched on gravel, sending panic flooding my system.

Instincts prickled with fear. Whispers commanded I run.

But what if this was someone to rescue me? What if my PLB had finally chosen to work? But if it had...why had only one person arrived? Why did they slink through the cave at witching hours, suspiciously quiet and cloaked in surprise?

Why does my entire body hum with dread?

My feet touched grass.

My legs itched to turn and run.

But there...in the entrance of a stone church, earth-made and time-carved, appeared a shape. A nameless figure who stopped short, a sharp inhale revealing he’d seen me.

Everything inside me locked down.

The moment stretched as our eyes met, tangling through the gloom of night.

The man stood unnervingly still.

Tall and strong, layered in a heavy jacket with his hands looped in the straps of a large rucksack on his back. Dark hair, powerful physique, an aura of absolute anarchy around him.

I swallowed.

I swayed to run.

He cocked his head and stepped closer, revealing a stunningly savage face. A jaw that could cut granite. A scar down one cheek. And bi-colored eyes that glittered in the moonlight.

One blue.

One brown.

Both pinned on me with sick, piercing interest.

The valley seemed to tense around me. Silence fell as if all the oxygen had vanished, suffocating every leaf, creature, and soul.

I gulped and backed up slowly.

His jacket rustled as he inhaled, his eyes drifting over my nightgown, hoodie, and bare feet. For a second, it looked as if he’d let me go. As if finding a half-dressed woman in the dead of night wasn’t interesting enough to make him care.

But then his attention locked onto the short chain wrapped around my ankle and he made a sound under his breath. A sound of curiosity layered with threats.

Goosebumps darted over my skin.

I took another step.

And he shadowed me.

His boots crunched on a twig as he matched my distance.

I stepped again.

He mirrored me.

Fear siphoned through my blood.

He didn’t speak.

I didn’t dare.

We were locked in a game of cat and mouse, both waiting for the other to break the spell.

My heart raced as his bi-colored eyes flashed in the moonlight, his brows coming down with a slash of deep brown. His hands fell from the straps of his bag, balling into fists by his sides.

He took another step toward me.

I took one back.

He stopped.

He smiled.

He spoke.

“You found him first, I see.” His tongue swiped along his bottom lip, his head once again tilting to the side as if he found me fascinating, all while figuring out the best way to pounce. “Did you hurt him?” He swallowed a black chuckle. “Then again...did he hurt you? After all, he did show a violent side that surprised us.”

I swallowed hard. “I don’t...who are you?”

He stood taller, cricking his neck and never taking his eyes off me. “I think the more important question is who the hell are you?” His knees bent, giving me a one-second warning.

My body braced to run.

I wasn’t fast enough.

He launched forward, catching me mid-flight.

His hand latched around my arm, squeezing painfully. Dragging me against his powerful body, he bent me back as his face pressed close to mine. “Time for a little chat, don’t you think? And if I don’t like your answers? Well, tonight seems like a perfect time for you to die.”