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A strange wail comes from somewhere behind us. Perhaps from the graveyard. I turn around and stare, seeing a dark shape hunched and creeping between the headstones.
“Fucking hell,” Rayne whispers, and there’s fear in his voice. “This wasn’t supposed to happen, but now we need to get you out of here. To somewhere safe.”
“What’s not supposed to happen?” I whisper right back.
He turns to me, his expression grave. “We’re being hunted.”
TWO
Rayne
A fucking monster is hunting us. Not the kind my sister loves so much, but the kind that will slit our throats and drink our blood without an ounce of regret. You see, this monster isn’t just the kind who lives its life, searching out prey, like a lion who hunts a gazelle. Hunting just to survive.
No, this is something else. Because to this monster, I’m not normally its prey. This is a creature commanded to seek me out. And that’s bad, really bad.
My enemies are getting bolder. They don’t just want to scare me off any longer.
They want medead.
At any other time, I’d consider their bullshit flattering. It’d mean I must be getting so close to the truth that they worry I’ll destroy them. Which means I need to keep going, keep searching for the truth, and deal with the monster when it finds me.
And learn to use the powers I know about in theory only.
At any other time.
But tonight, I‘m holding the hand of my mate, and that changes everything. She has to be my priority. My soul is screaming as much. And for a man who rarely felt fear, it’s worrisome how much I fear anything happening to my Ann.
So, I lead her down into the tunnels beneath the school knowing that there I’ll be on even footing with the beast. Technically, these tunnels are filled with other monsters, dangerous creatures, and an enemy who has seemed content to just play with me so far, but I know all these challenges well enough to protect her here. I don’t have the same confidence about taking that thing on head-to-head in the open.
Clutching her much smaller hand, it feels like my world has been turned upside down. This is no longer just about my obsessions. It’s about keeping her alive.
And that scares me.
I’ve never had to be responsible for anyone but myself.
But then I think of her, standing there in the night. She has long blonde hair, like most of the light fae, and pale blue eyes. I’d always thought the light fae blended together. That none of the women were particularly beautiful or particularly interesting. But Ann…she’s both beautiful and interesting.
Her eyes are wide, as if permanently curious about the world, and she has the darkest, longest lashes I’ve ever seen. Her brows arch over those big eyes, giving her an innocence that is oddly appealing. And her lips? Gods, I can’t resist them. They are so full, a shade darker than pink, but not quite red. And they are as soft as they looked. So entirely soft that I thought of nothing else when I touched her.
I shudder, arousal uncurling inside of me. This is not the time to think of such things. Not with an enemy on our heels, and not with my sweet mate being dragged behind me.
Of all the ways I imagined meeting my mate, this scenario never even occurred to me.
And yet, if it brought her to me, it’s hard to feel anything but pleasure about it.
“What’s going on? What’s hunting us?” she puffs behind me.
I slow, wondering if I’m pushing her too hard. She sounds far too out of breath given the situation. Or maybe being out of breath with a monster chasing you is normal? I’m not sure…
But before I can answer her questions, there’s another strange wail that echoes down the tunnels. So, it’d seen us? Or sensed us? Either way, it isn’t far behind.
I draw the dagger from my belt and grit my teeth, not sure how much to say. “I have enemies, Ann. Enemies who don’t like what I’m researching.”
“What are you researching?”
For someone being dragged through the darkness with a man she barely knows, Ann is handling this better than I could’ve imagined. Most light fae would’ve taken off running the second I walked into that graveyard. Most light fae wouldn’t believe me when I told them we were being hunted.
I’m impressed. And more than a little turned on by both her bravery and her natural curiosity.
