chapter 2

He had been hunting before he came to the clearing. He now stood transfixed, the figurative deer in the headlights, and though it had been ages since he had felt anything, his once lifeless heart beat anew.

How could this be? He was destined to be alone. What he had become sentenced him to a life of feeding and loneliness. There could be no one else. He was alone. Even though his mind went through the montage rationally, his heart continued its slow rise in cadence.

He shifted slightly in his uncomfortable state. Her eyes opened and her head snapped in his direction. He had never seen the girl, of that he was sure. Long brunette hair hung over one shoulder, her head tilted back highlighting her petite nose and high cheekbones. The elegant curve of her neck led down to the small hollow of her collar bone, and then swept out and around the graceful swell of her breasts. Her lithe form continued down her waist where her hips artfully widened and arced back to her supple yet muscular legs.

Perfect though her form was, it was her eyes that had him riveted. Intelligence was evident, but that again was not what captivated him. He watched as those eyes went through a range of emotion so broad and so strong it almost stopped his newly started heart. Fear met anger, anger traded with confusion, confusion turned to wonder, wonder morphed to curiosity, curiosity led to the one emotion he could not give or receive, LOVE. He had seen this same emotion written in the eyes of others as they stared into each other. It encompassed all the happy emotions, such as peace, happiness, joy and contentment, along with the full array of minor emotions, along with every other emotion a human had.

He had not encountered a human so fully capable of touching all of their emotions in almost two centuries, and even then he had not been moved. What was it about her? This girl? Why now? He shook his head. He was a Protector. His job, more so his life was death, killing the dregs of the human society so they might live in peace. There was no happiness for him only death.

He must move on but with her eyes locked on his, his body would not obey. The worst part was that he could feel all his carefully constructed walls coming down. All the emotions he had studiously locked away began making their way through the cracks created by this human. He must will himself to move, except that his body no longer existed, there was only his soul, bared for her to see.

A singular bird call broke the bond that he could not. He saw his opportunity as her eyes started to close and fled. He ran faster than he ever had, no caring if he left a trail behind, he just had to escape.