Page 94 of Halfblood Deceived

So she’d started a new, slightly scary routine—walking from half-past three to dawn, then coming back home, exhausted, and sleeping for four hours until a nightmare would eventually wake her up. She had also stopped her daytime potion, opting for enough lavender tea to make her pee about a dozen times a day.

It was working so far, and she was committed.

A crunching noise drew her attention to the present.

An unpleasant shiver ran down her spine.

She was being watched.

Her heart galloped even as she tried to remind herself that violent crimes were a rarity in Darkwood. Aella read the newspaper every day and found serious crimes in it only sporadically. And, like every citizen, she signed a legally binding pledge that basically stated she would submit to Darkwood’s strict penal code. Rape and murder were punished with a life in prison or death sentence depending on the case. Theft was mostly unheard of—since the social disparity was much less prevalent—and had a much kinder penalty: community service, and reeducation. There was no homelessness. Kamilla and Kerian had several buildings where people of all species could live, eat and get medical care until they were ready to move on.

Crime was swiftly punished no matter if the criminal was rich or working class, so most didn’t dare stalk lonely females in the dark of the forest.

But Aella knew there was someone near.

Another crunch came, it was closer this time.

Aella ran.

She hadn’t run for over a month now that there wasn’t someone reminding her that she needed to lose weight every day several times a day.

She had always thought running was pointless unless she was being chased. And even though there was no sound, she knew that was the case.

So she ran faster than ever before, going deeper into the forest. And yes, she was aware that was the wrong way to run, but her senses warned her it was dangerous to go back toward the road. Her legs responded with an ease that surprised her, and her lungs didn’t protest. She was going faster than the best human athlete ever could and yet, whoever was after her was gaining on her with alarming speed.

Her left side prickled with warning, and Aella reflexively feinted to the right—just in time to avoid the massive jaws of a brown wolf.

Aella lost her footing and fell hard to the ground. She rolled and sprang to her feet in mere seconds, trying to run in the opposite direction of the snarling wolf—only to find yet another massive beast right in front of her. The second wolf was almost identical to the first one.

Aella backed away from both, her heart in her throat. She was trapped. Utterly trapped by the massive wolves. Admittedly, she didn’t know much about wolves, but they seemed abnormally large. About three feet tall, with vicious amber eyes, canines glistening with saliva as if they were imagining her taste. And there was something in their eyes—something too aware, too bloodthirsty and full of rage.

Those are not wolves, they’re werewolves, said a small voice in the back of her head.

She had never seen a werewolf before, but her senses screamed that she was in the presence of two now. Diana had explained it was likely Aella could recognize humans from supernaturals without trying, because of her gargoyle-born abilities.

Aella gulped. “Please.”

The werewolves growled at her, getting one step closer. The sound sent a primal fear response through her system that shook her whole body.

She remembered that bizarre power she’d used to knock Micah off his feet, wondering if she could summon it again. But she was cold with fear, so much so that her teeth clashed.

“Please,” Aella repeated.

What do you have to live for? Asked a voice in her head. Nothing. You have nothing. You are nothing.

Aella’s back met a tree. She didn’t dare to move, her body going preternaturally stiff.

Death in the jaws of a werewolf was not what she ever expected.

It would hurt, she knew it.

But she could do nothing to stop them, and part of her didn’t want to stop them. A part of her that had been growing day by day since she married Micah two years ago. A dark side of her that had turned into a monster with a voice. A monster that made her imagine what it would feel like to slice open her veins with Diana’s sharp ceramic kitchen knife.

A spark of heat broke through the iciness squeezing Aella’s heart. It skittered down her back and curled around her middle, making her notice she wasn’t breathing.

Aella inhaled, just as a massive black blur collided against both brown werewolves, forcing them away from her and sending them flying off their paws.

The blur was an even bigger wolf. Almost six feet tall on all fours, with glossy black fur and an elegant but powerfully muscled bulk that dwarfed the size of the other two wolves. Aella instantly knew the wolf was male—even though she couldn’t see his, um, private wolf business through all that fur—and more than big enough to kill her in a blink.

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