Page 3 of Beneath the Starlight and Storms

At this point, it was my only option. Once I get out of here, I can figure out where I am and form a plan.

Sticking close to the shadows, I start to move toward the alleyway, giving the fight a wide berth, when one of the men in black flies up into the air and lands on the ground in front of me, groaning in pain.

With wide eyes, I take a quiet step back, hoping he doesn’t notice me, but he glances up and spots me, making my stomach drop.

His eyes widen just like the other man before him. And just like him, they quickly morph from shock to anger.

My heartbeat thunders in my chest and panic claws at my throat as I try to come up with some way to escape him.

Before I get a chance to come up with anything, he gets up and takes a step closer.

“Fae,” he growls.

But that one word from him brings the attention of the last two of his group as they rush over, abandoning their fight with the other men.

I don’t get much time to think about their fascination with a Fae or how they can tell what I am before they have me in their harsh grip.

Shadows suddenly appear, lifting from their skin and swirling around their bodies with me still in their hold. Slightly stunned at what I’m witnessing, I notice only too late as the shadows start to grow and expand, swirling around me too.

My eyes widen as panic threatens to suffocate me, their grip on me tightening as I try to pull away from them.

What if they take me to the Fae Realm?

I yank and pull, but their grip is like steel shackles. More shadows appear, coiling further around me and slowly encasing me in an icy darkness.

The air becomes stagnant as I’m slowly dragged into their darkness.

Just as the shadows reach my neck, the man in the long coat appears beside us, his back to me as he places his hand into the swirling shadows. Within seconds, they disperse, allowing me to take a deep breath.

Grabbing hold of the man nearest to him, he yanks him backward before sending a burst of energy toward the other two. They fly backwards, freeing me from their tight grip as they hit the nearest wall and slump to the ground with a groan.

The man that saved me moves to take a step toward them when they quickly stretch out a hand toward each other. Shadows snap out of their hands, forming like snakes and gathering around them and their unconscious friends before they quickly disappear into thin air.

“Damn it.” My savior turns around, his body stiff, his eyes narrowed as he glares at me. But that glare quickly turns to shock as I stare into a pair of familiar stormy blue eyes.

“Hook?”I breathe.

CHAPTER2

Hook was always tall,but now he is even more imposing. Standing at least a head taller than me, his dark brown hair is shorter and more refined than the disheveled mess he once wore.

His otherworldly blue eyes almost glow in the moonlight as they stare at me in stunned silence. But there’s also a glint of darkness and pain in them that he doesn’t try to mask.

His face is just as strikingly beautiful, but now with a ruthless edge to it that hints at a hidden darkness beneath.

An icy shiver slides down my back as I’m reminded of the monster I just escaped. One that hid his own nature just long enough for me to become prey in his games. By the time I realized it was all a lie, it was already too late.

Pushing down the panic threatening to swallow me whole, I force myself to focus on the man in front of me. And on the air of power that comes with his presence alone. On his broad-shoulders with his form fitting dark clothes that reveal a well-trained build. On the sliver of smooth golden tan on his neck and hands.

Andnoton the fact that it’s been three years since I last saw him. Three years since he left Neverland. And three years I’ve been left alone with someone that became soulless.

“Tink?”Hooks shock wears off quicker than mine as he dons a calculating smirk before glancing behind me, his body turning stiff.

“I can only guess Peter is not far behind if you’re here.” There’s a cold bite to his tone that makes me wince. He doesn’t notice it as he continues to look around, his frown deepening the longer he does.

“It’s just me,” I tell him, swallowing the lump in my throat and taking a small step back.

Hook pauses, his frown turning on me as he searches for something on my face. “You came to the Mortal Realm all by yourself?”

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