"Haven?" He murmurs, he's standing a few feet away from me, and I wish that I could reach out and touch him.

"Yeah?" I call back. I sound desperate, I am desperate.

He smiles, it's a small smile, but it's enough to make my stomach jump. His dark hair is disheveled and midnight eyes are unfathomable as usual. The wind doesn't howl, it screams. Snow hits me from all angles. I'm so cold. I pull at the ropes that bind me to the tree, willing them to loosen. I'm sure that my wrists have been rubbed raw.

"Please," I beg. My throat is on fire. "Please, don't do this. Untie me."

"I can't." He looks in pain, his face inflicted with raging emotions. My heart pounds. "You're my safe place. You'll always be my safe haven," he whispers, so quiet I almost don't hear.

And then he's gone, as if he were never there at all, as if the thrashing wind blew him away from me. And I am left standing in the middle of the woods bound to a tree, wondering how my life could have possibly come to this moment.