Chapter 1 The Stranger

Evelyn's POV

"You think I'm just a human, don't you?"

I laughed. Lightly. Carelessly. Unaware of the danger standing just inches from me.

"I'm more than what you see," he whispered. His voice was deep, smooth like midnight, and his eyes-God, those eyes-gleamed with something I couldn't name.

I didn't know it then, but that was the night everything changed.

~

My name is Evelyn Blair. I'm 22 years old, born and raised in London-the very ordinary and un-magical kind.

My days are filled with design deadlines, overpriced coffee, and the kind of loneliness that clings even when you're surrounded by people.

I work a soul-sucking internship at a London design firm and spend most of my nights either curled up with fantasy novels or battling insomnia.

I don't believe in monsters. Not really.

Though... I used to.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother would tell me stories. Not the sweet kind with princesses and fairy godmothers. Hers were darker. Warnings disguised as fables.

Her voice would drop to a whisper, and she'd say, "Stay away from the forests, Evelyn. Beware the ones they call the Forbidden."

She said they weren't like us. That they wore human skin, but inside... they were beasts. Wild, dangerous and cursed.

Wolves in plain sight.

I outgrew those stories, of course. Or maybe I just stopped letting myself believe in them.

Until I met him.

~

It started at the amusement park on the edge of Southbank, glittering with laughter and sticky hands and neon lights.

My best friend Claire had dragged me out, claiming I needed to "reconnect with life" or some dramatic nonsense like that. She ran off moments after we got there, lured away by hot chocolate and a suspiciously handsome street magicians.

Which left me alone, standing near the carousel like some half-sketched extra in someone else's story.

That's when I saw him.

He stood under a string of golden lights like they belonged to him. Tall. Composed. Wrapped in a black coat that moved just slightly with the breeze.

He didn't look around. Didn't smile at the children. He did not flinch at the sudden blast of pop music from the speakers nearby.

He looked like stillness personified. Stillness with sharp cheekbones and a gaze that burned, he was looking directly at me.

I should've looked away but I didn't.

He crossed the distance between us with a kind of grace that didn't make sense-too fluid, too quiet. Like he didn't walk so much as glide.

"Popcorn?" he asked when he stopped in front of me.

I blinked. "What?"

He motioned toward the paper bag clutched in my hand. "You're holding it like you might use it as a shield."

I glanced down, surprised. "Comfort food."

"For?" he asked

"Life," I said flatly.

He smiled. Just slightly. "And how's that going for you?"

"Let's just say the popcorn's the highlight of my week."

"I'm Bryson," he said.

I hesitated then replied. "Evelyn."

"Oh, Evelyn, nice to meet you" He said my name like it meant something. Like he'd heard it before in a dream he couldn't quite remember.

"Same here" I replied

We started walking together without ever really deciding to. He asked me about myself-small questions with surprisingly weighty answers.

I told him about my internship, my late nights, my habit of reading tragic love stories like they were survival manuals. I admitted I hated crowded places but loved watching them.

He listened like no one ever had before. Not just nodding, but really listening. Like every word out of my mouth was another puzzle piece he was determined to fit together.

He never once looked at his phone. Not once.

"What about you?" I asked as we passed the funhouse, the mirrors flickering with distorted reflections. "Why are you here tonight?"

"I'm observing," he said.

"Observing..., what are you observing?" I asked surprised

"Humans." he replied sharply

I let out a short laugh. "That's not weird at all."

He smirked. "I didn't say I was normal."

"No. You definitely didn't."

He glanced at me then asked. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." I answered

"Have you ever heard of the Forbidden?" he asked further

My body stiffened.

The wind curled around us like it heard the word too.

"Yes..., but why did you ask?" I asked slowly.

"I read the name once. In a story." His voice was still casual, but there was something... watchful in it. "They were described as monsters. Hidden among humans. Feared. Hunted."

I stopped walking.

"Oh, really?" I said

"Yes" He replied

"Actually, my grandmother used to tell me about that kinda story." I said

"What did she said about it?" he curiously asked

I swallowed. "She said they lived in shadows. That they were stronger, faster. That they could smell lies and rip out your throat before you even knew you were in danger."

He didn't react. Just waited.

"Though, she said they weren't evil," I continued. "But that their love could destroy you."

His eyes flashed. Just for a second.

It turns Gold.

But I told myself it was the reflection of the carousel lights.

"And you?" I asked, trying to calm my racing heart. "Do you believe in monsters?"

He took a step closer.

"I believe we fear the things that make us feel too much." he answered

I held my breath.

He looked at me like he could already see every piece of me I tried to keep hidden.

And then he said something that carved itself into my soul.

"You're not what I expected, Evelyn."

"Neither are you," I whispered.

We stopped beneath the fairy-lit trees at the edge of the park, where the noise of the carnival faded into silence. My breath misted in the cool night air, and the scent of cinnamon and damp earth clung to my coat.

I shouldn't have followed him. I didn't even know him. But somehow, I felt safer in the quiet of his presence than I ever had in any crowd.

That scared me.

But not enough to make me walk away.

"Tell me something real," I said, breaking the silence.

He glanced at me, lips tilting with something unreadable. "Everything I've told you is real."

"Then tell me something personal."

A pause.

"I'm thirty," he said.

I blinked. "You don't look it."

"Good genes," he replied with a smirk, and I rolled my eyes.

"Where are you from?"

He looked up at the sky, as if he needed to search for the answer in the stars.

"I come from a place where being different can cost you everything."

My throat tightened. "That sounds lonely."

"It is," he said. "Until tonight."

The air shifted.

Something in me bloomed and trembled at the same time.

I looked at him fully, really looked. "Why are you really here, Bryson?"

His voice was soft when he replied. "Because I've been told all my life that your kind hates mine. And I wanted to see for myself why."

I blinked. "My kind?"

He caught himself. Smiled, quick and smooth. "Humans."

I laughed awkwardly, even as my skin prickled. "You say that like you're not one of us."

He tilted his head, eyes catching mine in the shadows. "You think I'm just a human, don't you?"

My heart skipped.

I laughed, but it came out thin. "Is this where you tell me you're secretly an alien?"

He stepped closer, the gap between us shrinking like a dare.

"I'm more than what you see," he whispered, voice threading through me like smoke. "But I'm still trying to figure out what that means around you."

My lungs didn't work properly for a moment.

His nearness was overwhelming - not just physically, but... energetically. Like he hummed with something ancient. Like the air bent around him.

"I should go," I said, but I didn't move.

He didn't either. "Do you want to?"

"No," I whispered.

And I didn't.