There is a wolf sniffing around the graveyard.
Emma will soon learn just how real her demons are on a fateful walk past the gravestones which have become her solace. A wolf is hunting her, and he brings with him the world she has been hiding from...
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I stupidly put myself in the corner of the bar. Walls are behind me. To my right is a small high top table with several glasses stacked precariously on top of one another. The wolf takes up the rest of the space, blocking my one and only exit.
Idiot. You just trapped yourself, my mind chastises.
His entire stance exudes a relaxed control. Honey eyes are settled on me, and the way he views me nearly has me trembling. It is as if he can see past me, into me, into the darkness that I keep hidden from even myself. He watches me with cautious interest. It makes me uncomfortable.
A cough rumbles through my throat as I force my back to straighten. "What the hell do you want, wolf?" I refuse to let him see me tremble before him.
His head tilts slightly. "The name's Alaric."
"Yet my question remains the same."
He chortles. "My job was to find you and keep an eye on you till the witches arrived. They were the ones who were supposed to make contact, not me. But then I find that you, of all people, are fucking around with a fairy. And to make matters worse, one with royal blood." Brown eyes heavily pin me. They turn colder, filling with accusations.
I scoff. "What does any of that matter to you?" Irritation coats my words. What I do with my life is my decision alone. His blatant assumptions of me have me brimming with anger.
His brows relax at my response, gaze losing some of its edge.
"Whatever your beef with Preston or his family, that has nothing to do with me," I add, not liking the judgment that has been directed at me.
He shakes his head. "I have realized just how little you truly know. After that little fiasco at your house last night, I'll be keeping a closer eye on you until the witches arrive. They should be here by the end of next week."
What the hell. Why? Why are they coming? My entire life I have avoided supernaturals. Shifters, witches, even fairies. Despite that, Preston and I have managed to build some sort of relationship, but outside of him, there is no one else. I never even practice magic myself.
I am normal.
I live an average everyday life.
"What do they want with me?" I ask, genuinely shocked that somehow they know my name. That someone is even searching for me. I would have assumed they were trying to have me killed if not for the wolf standing before me. He could efficiently complete that job himself without anyone else needing to get involved. That means whoever they are, they want me alive.
There is a pause as if Alaric is considering how to answer and how much to divulge. "They want your help and to also protect you."
"Protect me?" I parrot him with a dumbfounded expression. If I need protection from anyone, then it is the person standing before me.
