Chapter 5

Rainey's POV

I was lost.

Completely and utterly lost.

I'd only wanted to take a walk in the forest to clear my head, to calm the heart that Logan's words had wounded. But in my emotional state, I'd wandered too far and completely forgotten the way back. Now I stood deep in the wilderness, surrounded by identical towering firs.

I pulled out my phone—no signal. Of course, in this godforsaken place, how could there be any signal?

"Damn it." I looked around. Every direction looked the same. The little trail I'd followed had long since disappeared among countless intersecting forest paths.

Just then, I heard the sound of branches breaking nearby.

I froze, ears straining. The forest returned to silence, as if the sound had been my imagination.

But seconds later, I heard footsteps.

My heart began to race. Bears? A wolf pack?

Suddenly, a pair of red eyes lit up in the darkness.

My blood instantly froze. Those eyes were about sixty feet away, hidden behind a massive cedar tree.

"What's following me?" I whispered to myself, trembling.

The red eyes began moving, getting closer. I couldn't make out the shape, only hear its low breathing as it approached. Worse, more red eyes appeared—at least three pairs, maybe more.

Terror flooded through me like a tide. I turned and ran.

Branches scratched my face and arms, but I didn't care about the pain. The footsteps behind me grew closer—I could hear them moving swiftly through the forest.

I ran desperately, but the ground was covered with roots and rocks. Just when I thought I might lose my pursuers, a protruding root caught my ankle.

"Ah!"

I crashed to the ground hard, sharp pain shooting through my ankle. I tried to stand, but the pain was almost unbearable.

The footsteps behind me stopped, but I knew those things were nearby.

I crawled behind a large tree, curling into a ball.

"Stay away!" I shouted into the darkness.

But I was answered by more footsteps. Those red eyes kept approaching—I could hear their breathing.

I'd never been this terrified before. In desperation, I thought of the one person I shouldn't have.

"Logan..." I prayed silently, desperately. "Save me..."

Just when I thought I was dead, a massive roar echoed through the forest.

It wasn't the sound of any ordinary animal, but something full of threat and fury, as if from the depths of hell. The entire forest trembled under that sound.

The red eyes instantly vanished, as if scared away by something even more terrifying.

Then a familiar figure appeared before me.

"Rainey!"

Logan.

He appeared with impossible speed, like a gust of wind suddenly at my side. Moonlight bathed him, making him look like a guardian angel descended from heaven.

But what shocked me most were his eyes. In the moonlight, they glowed with golden light, like two burning golden flames. The glow only lasted a few seconds, but long enough for me to see clearly.

"Your eyes..." I said in shock. "They were glowing?"

Logan seemed to realize something and immediately looked down. When he raised his head again, his eyes had returned to their normal deep brown.

"You saw wrong," he said coldly, but his voice trembled slightly. "Bad lighting in the forest."

He knelt down to check my ankle, his movements surprisingly gentle. When his fingers lightly touched my swollen ankle, I gasped in pain.

"No broken bones, but it's badly sprained." There was a hint of worry in his voice, but it quickly turned stern. "What were you THINKING? Running into the deep forest alone? Do you know how dangerous this place is?"

"I just... I just wanted to clear my head. I didn't mean to get lost."

Logan stared at me for several seconds. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh.

"Whatever." He took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders. "Let's get back to camp."

Logan stood up with his back to me and crouched down. "Get on. I'll carry you back."

I hesitated, but the pain in my ankle left me no choice. I carefully climbed onto his back, and he stood up steadily.

Logan's back was broad and warm, giving me a long-missed sense of security. I couldn't help pressing my face against his back, breathing in his familiar scent. His body obviously tensed, muscles going rigid, but he didn't stop me.

He still had a soft spot.

We walked through the silent forest for a while without speaking. But the silence wasn't awkward—it had a strange sense of security.

"Logan," I finally spoke. "I want to apologize for what happened earlier."

"What happened?" His voice was calm.

"The fight by the campfire. I shouldn't have talked to you like that." I said softly on his back. "I know I hurt you."

Logan's steps paused briefly, then continued forward. "I started it."

"No, Logan." My voice choked. "I know I hurt you, not just tonight, but ten years ago too."

This time Logan really stopped.

The scene from ten years ago flashed through my mind like a movie—me surrounded by wolves deep in the forest, screaming in despair, then Logan appeared. He was only eight but didn't hesitate to rush over, using rocks and sticks to drive away those beasts. To draw the wolves away, he even deliberately ran in the opposite direction, leading the danger to himself. I was so terrified I was out of my mind. When my parents found me, I didn't even know if Logan was alive or dead. But the next morning, my parents hurriedly packed and took me away from town, not even leaving a goodbye for the boy who'd saved me.

"When I left ten years ago, I didn't even say goodbye to you." I took a deep breath. "I know it was cruel, but I was really scared. Those wolves, and the blood..."

"Rainey—"

"Let me finish, okay?" I interrupted. "I want you to know that my parents took me away before I was fully conscious. I didn't even know if you were still alive, if you were hurt too. All these years, I've wanted to come back and find you countless times, but I didn't dare."

Logan kept walking, but I could feel his emotions fluctuating.

"I was afraid you'd hate me, afraid you'd already forgotten me." My tears began to fall. "What scared me more was facing those memories."

"I never forgot you," Logan's voice was soft. "I've been waiting for you to come back."

"Then why were you so cold to me?" I asked quietly.

Logan was silent for a long time before answering. "Because I didn't know how to face you. For ten years, I imagined what it would be like when you came back, what we'd say when we reunited. But when you were actually standing in front of me, I realized I was no longer that eight-year-old boy, and you weren't that little girl who needed my protection."

"But I'm still me," I said softly. "I'm still that Rainey who cries when dogs scare her, who gets lost in forests."

Logan chuckled softly—the first time I'd heard him laugh tonight. "True, some things never change."

We walked further, the atmosphere becoming more relaxed.

"Logan," I gathered courage to ask, "you and Leah... you two really aren't... like that?"

"Like what?" There was a teasing tone in Logan's voice.

My face reddened. "You know what I mean."

"We're just friends. Very good friends, but not what you're thinking." Logan's voice became serious. "I've never had those kinds of feelings for any girl."

"Never?" My heart raced.

"No." He paused, then added, "Maybe there's one exception."

My breathing quickened. "Who?"

Logan didn't answer immediately. We were almost out of the forest—I could see the campfire in the distance.

"A girl who always makes me worry," he finally said. "A girl I'd appear for immediately whenever she's in danger, even after ten years apart."

My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst from my chest.

"Logan..." I wanted to say something but didn't know what.

Just then, Leah's anxious shouts came from the distance: "Logan! Rainey! Where are you?"