❝ You wouldn't believe me if I told you. ❞
❝ Try me, sugar. ❞
Gabriel is an archangel looking for a way to escape his broken family.
Julia is a hunter running from her legacy.
They both want to begin again, but the past isn't done with them y...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
❝ you've got a new story to write and it looks nothing like your past ❞
[BEFORE: PART ONE]
~~~
KEEPING HER FIRST name was a risky decision but Julia Ryder — now Julia Barton — wanted to stay somewhat herself. Well, it had proven effective so far. Five years on since her escape and she had yet to be discovered. No doubt her family were still looking for her but she had been able to stay off their radar so far.
Her job had not helped. She had decided to join the police force. With her skills and fitness brought on by years of training, the job had come naturally to her. Having her photograph and ID on their database was risky move, but the ex-hunter wanted opportunity to help people — even if it wasn't from the monsters that so few knew existed.
It was a small town; her job consisted mostly of feeble robberies and staking out roads for dangerous drivers. Only three cases in the past two years on the job were murder cases and no whiff of a monster to be found. Compared to some of the places she had visited in her hunting days, this was only a fraction of the danger she was used to.
She had cleaned them up nicely and two of the perpetrators had been safely locked away. The third had been shot down after another attempted murder so Julia had insisted he be cremated — with a dash of salt carefully added by her. Just in case.
She kept a close eye on the town's newspaper and the local area to ensure that no evil sons of bitches arrived; this could cause another hunter to roll into town and pass on her whereabouts to her family.
Once a vampire had made an appearance but he had ensured her he didn't feed off humans. After a thorough investigation, she found his story to be true. Unlike most hunters, ex or otherwise, she wasn't one for 'shooting first and asking questions later' (luckily for Benny who became close friends with Julia before he left to start a new life of his own elsewhere).
~~~
The raven-haired woman walked briskly down the street, casting a glance over her shoulder at every opportunity. Julia couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She couldn't even leave her house without the familiar sensation of apprehension prickling in her stomach, greeting her like an old friend from the days when every moment could have been her last.
She glanced around surreptitiously, looking at the everyday folk going about their lives. Some passersby were rushing, late for an appointment or meeting, others were elderly folk enjoying the sunshine. There were groups of children rushing down the road for ice cream and a frantic lady shouting for her cat. But Julia was alone — left marvelling at the normality she found herself in (which was unheard of for an ex-hunter such as herself).
Despite the time she had away from hunting, even her new life and job, it all still felt like somewhat of a dream. Or that any second now, her furious mother would roll into town and drag her back to life she had been so eager to escape.
Something flashed gold in the corner of Julia's eye. Taking her eyes off the pavement, she glanced hurriedly over the road. For a brief moment, she caught eye contact with another man who walked the street opposite her. They bore into hers so intently that she immediately resumed her glance to floor. When she flicked her gaze upwards a second later, he was gone.
She shut her eyes tight. Julia recognised that man. He had visited her dreams often as child, while she desperately imagined she had a normal life like the other kids at school. She never knew who he was. But she hadn't had one of these dreams for years.
The years of training and being out in the field had set her on edge. Now she was free, she saw cases everywhere she looked — whether it was on the news or local gossip. Escaping her life would have always had its repercussions. Some part of her knew that, as her own mother used to say, "once a hunter, always a hunter."
So many people had tried to escape this life and had been dragged back in by the whiff of a new case or a vengeful demon on a murder spree. Even Julia still kept a small, silver knife under her pillow and a flask of holy water in her desk (well, you can never be too sure).
Her hair swung loosely down past her shoulders, the loose drapes mostly concealing the three jagged scar lines on her neck. A not-so-fond memory of her first hunting trip, a werewolf case. Julia tried her best to cover them but even the makeup — which rarely made it out of her drawer when she was a hunter — couldn't cover it up entirely.
Arriving at work, Julia noticed a woman holding a notepad who was speaking persistently to her colleagues and commanding officer. Cursing under her breath, she recognised her as a reporter, obviously keen to get the latest news on the accidental death which had solved two weeks earlier. The ex-hunter pushed past the blonde and avoided eye contact as she made a beeline for the bathroom.
Keeping a low profile, especially after her abandonment of her family, was key. One of her sisters, Alice, was a skilled tracker, useful for all manner of hunts but Julia had no doubt these these skills would be used to attempt to find her and a news report from any source with her name would be like painting a target on her back.
But, for now, she knew she was safe and would content with the knowledge that she was free. Free from her family and free from hunting. Or so she thought.
~~~
ihad to include benny, come on. who doesn't miss him?
