Taken by a Beast

Anastasia was walking down the street when large hands suddenly grabbed her waist, and she slammed against a hard chest

Instinctively, she pushed against him, but he kept his strong arms around her, keeping her locked and unable to escape.

"Don't scream," she heard a deep voice whispering in her ear. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt something cold against her neck. When she tried to look up, she saw nothing. The darkness shadowed over the man's face, and his eyes were dark and cold.

"Please, le-let me g-go," she begged, her voice breaking. "I'll give you anything you want. Just let me go."

"Apparently, there's no way for me to do both, sweetheart."

Light tears gathered in her eyes and swiftly rolled down her cheeks. She couldn't stop it. "What do you want?"

In the darkness, his eyes sparkled with mischief, and she saw his lips forming into an evil grin. "Revenge."

Revenge?

Her mind was muffled with confused thoughts. All her life, she'd been a good girl, obedient to the rules, never rebelled against her parents. As far as she was concerned, she never liked violence. So how come there was a man claiming to partake in an act that she never asked to be a part of?

What was she doing? She shouldn't be this weak. She had to fight him. Without thinking, she pushed him hard with all her strength. He was like a brick wall. He didn't stumble back or move. He was just surprised, and she used that to her advantage.

Turning around, she ran away quickly. She reached about a few meters down the street when she felt strong arms around her waist. "Wrong move, sweetheart," he stated, his deep voice rumbling into her ear.

Try with all she might, she struggled against his hold, but he only tightened his grip around her. He was obviously so strong compared to her. Just as she was about to be lifted and taken away, the man was suddenly thrown to the ground with a loud thud.

It was dark and she couldn't see clearly. But to her amazement, her heart knew in an instant that she was being saved. Yet she couldn't see her savior. In a second, the evil man was gone quickly, as if he teleported to somewhere else without leaving a trace. Perhaps she was dreaming. She hugged herself, feeling her heart beating fast inside her chest. It was the first time that something like this happened to her.

It was so surreal that she almost felt like fainting.

A warm coat was being wrapped around her. When she looked up, she met deep brown eyes. She couldn't see his face clearly, and she badly wanted to. She didn't have the strength to speak, didn't have the courage to thank him.

Tears began to pool in her eyes and she began crying silently. She couldn't process what was going on and couldn't think of anything else. Right then, she felt strong arms wrapping around her, giving her warmth and safety. He caressed her hair and rubbed her back as she buried her face in his chest.

"You're safe now, baby doll. No one's going to hurt you," he assured her over and over again.

*** She woke up to the sunlight sipping through the cracks of the white curtains from an unknown room. Sitting up, she looked around the room and at herself. She was only wearing a large black shirt, which she didn’t own, and her pink underwear underneath.

What the hell?

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she tried to remember what happened last night. As soon as images flashed back to her memories, her eyes widened in shock. She must have fainted in her savior's arms, but what she couldn't understand was why she was here now in an unknown room.

Where was she? Was last night only a dream? She needed to find a way out of here. She had to go to work too. With quick breaths, she stood up on the floor and headed to the door. Thankfully, it wasn't locked. She could see that there were no people outside. Carefully, she walked towards the end of the hall and down the staircase.

She was left in awe. This place was a really large house. The ceilings were high up and the furniture showed royalty.

Soon enough, she ended up in the kitchen. Her stomach grumbled loudly when she saw the fridge. She ignored her hunger, knowing it shouldn't be an issue right at this moment. In case of danger, she searched the cabinets for knives. None.

She leaned against the counter and stood on her tiptoes, searching the cupboards. When she heard a silent curse behind her, she froze. Turning around, she saw a man standing there, staring at her.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

He was tall and handsome. His hair was a wild, chaotic mess, but it was beautiful. She caught his eyes and they were dilated. She had never seen someone's eyes this dark before.

What totally shocked her was that he's half-naked. His bare chest is ripped, and his muscles were well-defined. Every indent was killing her.

He eyed her up and down, and her whole body melted underneath his gaze. Could you blame her? She was only in her underwear. How would she not feel naked underneath his stare?

He began walking towards her in a predatory action, and she backed away, hitting the counter with her backside.

"Baby doll."

She froze. He was the man from last night? She called her baby doll! All this time, she thought he was an old man. And he looked young, perhaps around his early 30s.

Why did he look so much like a fallen angel right now when he acted so strong like a beast last night? She vaguely remembered it, but she knew how strong he was. The man who tried to kill her was forcefully thrown on the ground. Was he that strong?

But did he also change her clothes? Did he perhaps touch her indecently? Oh, god, what was she thinking?

"About last night, thank you for saving me," she muttered under her breath. "I must have fainted," she laughed. "Can you take me home?"

"You're staying here," he stated. "We're not sure if you're truly safe yet. That rogue—" Then he stopped himself as he looked at her. "That man will come back for you. And there's no way for me to protect you if you're not with me."

That man? She barely even knew the man, but how come that he wanted to get to her? This man bust be crazy.

"Look, I appreciate your concern, sir. But I need to go home. I'll promise to be careful from now on."

"I can't let you do that."