I would love to start my story with something along the lines of “it was a dark and stormy night” but that does not fit, nor would it be appropriate for my story. The truth of the matter, as I see it anyway, is that it was not dark or stormy. It was simply an unbelievably bad day for me.

I was enjoying a hike in nature that day. It was probably around late afternoon or early evening. The trail was a little muddy and the air a tad muggy, but otherwise, everything was perfect for a walk through the forest. Until the accident happened. I misjudged my step and took a tumble down a short hill directly into a tree.

The next thing I knew, I lay on the ground, my head pounding and something sharp poking me in the spine. I rubbed my head, and my fingers came back coated in my own blood, a sight that frightened me in the dim light of the almost full moon. I sat up, a movement that I instantly regretted as my head began to spin and nausea hit me hard enough that I leaned over and retched water and stomach acid onto the mud beside me.

Wiping my mouth dry on my long-sleeved shirt, I looked around, trying to see by the light of the moon where I was and if I could see the path I had fallen from. It was nowhere in sight. I did not recognize my surroundings which were strange given how well I knew the area that I had been hiking.

It was not until I climbed to my feet and turned around that I noticed I was not alone. I gasped with surprise at the young-looking man that stood before me. He wore unusually fancy clothes for the location we were in. He had long blonde hair that reached down to his shoulders, dazzling green eyes that seemed to almost glow in the darkness, and a strong and memorable face. Who goes hiking in a suit? I peered up into the taller man’s face. He was gorgeous by my standards. I could feel my heart begin to race as I gave him a once-over with my eyes.

“Why have you come here?” The man asked me.

“What?” I asked him. The words did not make sense. It was like garbled speech that was not coherent to my mind. The man cocked his head to the side and gave me a strange look. He then took a step towards me. Instinct kicked in and I took a step back but clumsily fell on my rear end. So graceful.

The man soon loomed over me. “I asked, why have you come here?” He demanded.

I simply stared up at him with a dumbfounded expression on my face as I pieced together what he was asking me in my mind. “Um.” I finally said. “I- um. I don’t remember coming here.”

The man shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ll be coming with me then.” He said as he leaned forward and grabbed me by the waist and threw me over his shoulder roughly.

This, of course, caused my world to spin and fear to kick in. Why was this man I did not know taking me? I tried to scream, but my throat felt like sandpaper. So instead, I opened my mouth wide and bit him. He threw me down to the ground, knocking the air from my lungs. I was panting and holding onto my chest when he moved to glare at me, his arms crossing over his chest once again.

“How ungrateful of you. I’m here trying to rescue you and you’re going to bite me?” He scolded; his brow furrowed. He reached out for me once more and I squeezed my eyes shut, recoiling as I was certain that he was about to hit me.

It was then that I felt a light touch against my face. It was gentle and his hands were warm. I opened my eyes slowly and looked up into the green eyes of the man. I licked my dry lips with my sticky tongue. The man heaved a sigh.

“I’m going to pick you up and bring you back with me. You should be safe where we are going. You simply have to trust me.” He said softly. I nodded in silent agreement to his words. I did not know where I was, and it was extremely late at night from the looks of it. It was either trust this stranger or get picked off by wild animals. The former sounded better than the latter. He soon picked me up once more but gently this time and lifted me onto his shoulder, his woolen shirt chafed against my face harshly. I do not recall the journey but the next thing I knew, I was being placed gently on a bed with black sheets and a thick plush throw blanket. I gasped with surprise and looked up at the man. Was he an angel for saving me? Or was he a wolf in sheep’s clothing?

I could not have known at that time what was in store for me, the only thing I did know for sure, was that I was somehow going to get away from this place.

“Sleep.” The man said gruffly as he moved to take off his shirt. My eyes went wide when I took in his strong stomach and his muscular physique. I licked my very dry lips once more and swallowed dryly.

I shook my head and tried to open my mouth to speak but all that came out was a weak cough. The man gave me a look with a raised brow before handing me a half-filled glass of water. I drank it greedily despite the small film of dust on the rim and the dirty aftertaste.

“Now sleep.” He demanded again with a frown as he leaned against the wall behind him. I did not want to and wanted to voice as much, but my eyes were suddenly so heavy that sleep came without my permission.

I awoke a time later with a startle. I tried to sit bolt upright only to find something restraining me into place. I looked down with wide eyes, fear taking over my mind. It was… an arm? I awkwardly turned over in the grasp of the person beside me and took in the handsome features of the man that had rescued me. Why were we sleeping together?

I quickly poked the man beside me on the cheek. His eyes shot open and went wide as he realized that I was awake. He sat up in the bed and let out a lazy yawn.

“Did you sleep well?” I asked passive-aggressively as I peeled myself out of his grasp. I moved to stand beside the bed and put my hands on my hips.

Oblivious to my mood, the man simply nodded and yawned again. “Sit down a moment.” He said groggily. “We need to talk.”

“First of all,” I said sounding unamused even to myself. “Why did you bring me here and then sleep with me?! Isn’t that weird to you to hug a stranger while you sleep!?”

The young man simply looked at me as though I was the one of a strange opinion and he patted the bedside with one hand. “I said sit, please.” I scoffed but obliged.

“What could you possibly need to talk to me about? Just let me go home now!”

“What’s your name?” He finally asked after several long moments.

“I won’t tell you,” I spoke.

The young man simply shrugged. “Alright. Well, I am usually called Ulfrich around here, but you can call me Xavier. You don’t have to tell me your name now, but just know that I will find out your name eventually.”

I looked at Ulfrich or Xavier or whatever he was called with an uncertain expression. I was not sure what to make of all this. “That’s a strange name,” I commented more to myself than anything. Xavier looked at me, a hurt expression briefly crossing his features. His face then smoothed into that of a pleasantly blank smile.

“Well to each their own.” He muttered before he froze. “Pretend you’re my girl.” He whispered urgently as he wrapped his arms around my waist and tugged me into his lap. I tried to shove him away but his iron grip on me held me in place. He swiftly pressed his lips against mine and I breathed in the scent of his unpleasant morning breath. It was then that the door to the room opened and in came a tall female.

I quickly closed my eyes and clung to Xavier wishing more than anything that I could disappear into thin air.

“Found a new toy, have you?” The woman said with a chuckle. Xavier quickly pulled away from the kiss and hugged me close to his chest like a stuffed doll. It was then that I was able to take in the features of the female that had entered. She had short black hair that was about chin length, a soft heart-shaped face, and a pair of warm brown eyes. She seemed to exude an exotic air to her. She was clearly a sort of foreigner.

“Naturally,” Xavier said with a chuckle. “Did you really think it would take me long to replace you, Charlotte?”

The one called Charlotte sniffed at the air. “She smells…” She looked me square in the eye. “Human.”

My eyes went wide with realization. If I smelled human, didn’t that mean that they were not? My mouth went very dry then and I froze in place feeling confused, uncertain, and very afraid.

The woman called Charlotte began to laugh. “At least she’s cute.” She said. “I guess I can’t blame you for playing with your little lost toy.” She then approached and grasped me by the chin, forcing me to look up at her. “Don’t get too cozy. You will either be dog food, or a toy for the rest of your life. Enjoy Ulfrich’s pity while you have it.”

“I’ll do as I please and it isn’t your place to judge,” Xavier grunted sounding unamused. “Now get out.”

Charlotte looked at Xavier one more time with a smile. “I was going to tell you that your father was looking for you, but if you’re too busy…”

Xavier sighed and rubbed his face with one hand while still grasping onto my waist with his other arm, effectively holding me in place. “I said get out.” He reiterated.

“Your loss,” Charlotte said. She then blew a kiss at Xavier and then winked at me before stepping outside and closing the door harshly behind herself.

“I have questions,” I said nervously, peering up at Xavier.

Xavier looked down at me and sighed again. “I don’t have time right now to answer your questions. I told you we need to talk.” He then stood up and crossed the room to a wardrobe. He took a clean black long-sleeved shirt off a hanger and threw it over his head. He then grabbed a rubber band and tied back his hair. “I’m locking the door.” He told me as he walked towards the wooden barrier. “It would behoove you to stay put and not go exploring. Not everyone here is as nice as Charlotte.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but quickly shut it as I realized that I did not know where I was nor what I would find. Once Xavier was out of the room, I moved to stand up and looked out of the window. It was still dark outside. What time was it? My internal clock said that it had to be early afternoon, but there was not a clock in sight. I studied the view outside of the window and noted that it seemed to be that we were on an upper story of a tall building. It had to be about six stories high from here, give or take. I sighed and looked up at the dark sky. There was a blanket of clouds covering the moon. I then decided to poke around the room. I opened a few drawers and found nothing but clothes inside of them. I then heard a key scraping against the door lock, and I shut the drawer in a hurry and turned to face the door.

“I could hear that you were you going through my drawers. What for?” Xavier asked knowingly, sounding tired.

I merely shrugged. “I’m acquainting myself with my surroundings?” I said sounding more like a question than an answer.

Xavier shook his head yet again closed the door behind himself. “I’m certain you have much you’d like to ask but allow me to speak first as many of your questions may be answered.”

I wanted to protest but thought better of it. He said many of my questions would be answered, so I leaned back against the wall and simply listened to what he had to say.

“You may not have realized it yet, but you’ve stumbled quite accidentally into a new country.”

“There’s no other country inside of America!” I accused impatiently. “I was in the middle of California state. There’s no other country nearby for me to have accidentally, literally fallen into!”

“You see, that is where you are mistaken,” Xavier said as he rubbed his temples. “There are certain places that act as gateways. They manifest within the human realm as ordinary objects such as trees or walls, when you step through one of them, you come to Evanheim. This is where, back in the olden days, all of the supernatural creatures from your world have gone to hide safely from those that would have us dead.”

“What does that make you then? A supernatural creature?” I scoffed.

“I’m a werewolf.” He said sounding nonchalant.