I run across the field, my eyes locked on the woman ahead of me like a target. She’s fast, but that won’t stop me. I’m fast too.
She runs toward the forest behind Blackwater Manor, which means she’ll be likely to stumble. No one knows that forest more than I do, so I keep running with Killian and Rowan behind me. Cerberus has appeared as well, and he darts past me, his paws pounding into the ground.
He leaps forward, and the woman (who has stripped out of her white button-down shirt to a black tank), looks over her shoulder and dashes to the left. She does it so fast it’s outlandish, and Cerberus ends up rolling onto his side. He’s back up in a matter of seconds, chasing the woman again, much angrier this time by the way he bares his teeth.
The woman approaches the forest and I raise my gun, pointing it at her back. Suddenly, she stops running, and the tall blades of grass sway past her ankles as she keeps her back to us.
“Turn around!” I shout, my gun still aimed at her. One move and I’m blowing her fucking head off. Then again, I shouldn’t be so hasty and should at least capture her first. I need answers. Who the hell is she and why did she go after Willow? I swear if she did something to Willow, I’ll kill her. I felt my mate’s panic. She was terrified. Is this another one of Decius’ traps? Is he still tampering with our lives somehow?
The woman turns slowly, and when her eyes land on mine, it feels like a bolt of lightning has struck me. A shockwave runs through me, but I don’t relent. I keep my gun aimed at her as Killian and Rowan stand a few paces behind me, prepared for any surprises.
“Who the hell are you?” I demand.
The woman tilts her head, looking me up and down, and a slow smirk tugs at her lips as the wind whips at the loose tendrils of her dark hair. I wrap my finger tighter around the trigger, ready to shoot her, and I would if any of this made sense. None of it does. I don’t know who she is or what territory she’s from, but what I just felt—the shockwave—that’s new. I’ve never felt it before, but it’s given me a sense of familiarity. Like I know her…or that I should. I shouldn’t hurt her, even though I so badly want to. She infiltrated my house, touched my mate. I should fucking kill her.
“This was fun. See you tomorrow, Mr. Harlow,” the woman finally says, and then she disappears, right into thin air.
“She’s a fucking vanisher!” Killian hollers as he and Rowan spin around with their guns in front of them.
I lower my gun. “She’s no threat,” I mutter, but Killian and Rowan don’t lower their guards, not until they see me running past them to get back to Willow.
