EMILY POVI was beating on the privacy window between me and the driver when the car lurched to a stop. I could see that he was on the phone. He got out and carefully switched it to speaker so that the person on the other end could hear what was about to happen. Then he opened the back door.I started screaming. I wanted there to be as much confusion and chaos as possible, but I was going to kill this man. He had absolutely no chance. I was an assassin in my prior life and skills like those aren’t soon forgotten.My first blow damaged his windpipe. Even if he wanted to scream, he was unable to. He was able to grunt, and he did a lot of that. I kept screaming throughout while I systematically beat this man to death. I didn’t even have to shift. I hit him until he went down and then I crushed his larynx. I watched him suffocate to death in front of me and I genuinely felt nothing. I rolled him over and pulled the car keys out of his pocket. I jumped in the driver’s seat
JAMES POVThe vision was timely. If I had gotten the vision any later, I would have immediately been on a plane to Michigan. If I had gotten it any earlier, I think the shock and horror would have worn off enough that I would have jumped that plane. As it was, I was still fighting the urge, but caution was prevailing. I didn’t like it but I knew it was the right thing.Toby directed Emily to get to a safe place and park the car. Both of us have seen Emily drive and neither of us wanted her brainstorming while dealing with rush hour traffic. We waited, hearing an occasional screech of tires, before she was back on the line, breathless. Toby stared out by telling her of my vision. Hearing it again from his voice was enough to bring back that icy cold feeling in my heart. I didn’t know why this was what the future of the Pack would be, but I was planning on changing it. And for that, I knew I needed to be available to my pack.In Emily’s past life she was an assassin and a hunt
ADDIE POVI got off the bus in St. Louis. My seatmate was getting off and there was a driver change so I thought it would be the best and easiest way for me to disappear. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I had a nagging, bad feeling like I was being chased or something. I waited until the driver had disappeared around the corner and then I got off the bus, heading in the opposite direction.Night in St. Louis near the bus stop isn’t the nicest area of town, but with the afghan wrapped around me, I looked like I belonged. I walked and walked, not wanting to take the chance of being robbed while I slept. I kept heading east until I was standing on the shore of the Mississippi River.And here was a dilemma. Large cities are easier to disappear and hide in, but they’re also more dangerous. From my map study, I knew that there were lots of suburbs of St. Louis and some were quite large. They would probably be a little safer and probably offer more opportunities for employment t
EMILY POVI drove back to Michigan, my mind racing the entire way. I knew that Toby was sending me some backup and one of those warriors was Snap. I called him.“Hey, it’s Emily. I will meet you guys at the Four Seasons hotel. Grab a room for all of us. And I need you to do some shopping. Get a good computer and some sort of data plan. I am going to need your hacking skills.”He only grunted in an affirmative, but I knew that he was pretty excited about using his skills. I knew he works a lot with our IT guys, and he was getting really good at it. James used him sometimes in the field.I worked out a plan of action while I was driving and then I called my guys. Toby answered immediately.“The witch confirmed that she did the memory spell on Addie. The only other decent information she gave me was that they put her on a Greyhound.”“Did she confirm who hired her?” I could hear James howling in pain in the background. My heart broke for him.“She doesn’t use names. Descrip
ADDIE POVIt’s been a week since Jenna picked me up and took me home with her. I’ve been sleeping on her couch the whole time. I like Jenna but I don’t like her prick of a boyfriend. He keeps hitting on me.I got back to her apartment and tossed my bag in the corner of the room, sitting down on the couch. I just got done with my second shift of the day at the local grocery store as a cashier. I didn’t like the work, but they paid decently and gave me as many hours as I wanted. I was hoping I could get enough hours so that my first paycheck would enable me to get a room somewhere else, even if it’s in an extended stay hotel. I felt bad taking advantage of Jenna’s hospitality, and I was genuinely afraid I would say something to her boyfriend that I would regret.I leaned back on the couch and closed my eyes, running through my head the things I knew.When I first got here, I didn’t know a whole lot. I knew my name was Addie. I knew I was a werewolf. I knew that there was somet
JAMES POVI miss Addie. I miss her so damn much I physically hurt. Toby and Bryon, my Gamma, are the only two that I can even have near me. I have no patience for anyone else.In the last week I’ve had two more visions, and because of this I have Toby or Bryon with me all the time, even when I’m sleeping. We need as much information as we can possibly get, and my visions are giving us a little bit at a time. They are incredibly emotional and draining and I’m dreading having another. I’ve never seen my death before and to have now experienced it three times, well, let’s just say I’m over it.Our IT team is going over thousands of hours of footage, trying to see if we have had a breech of the borders. My patrol has tripled and warrior presence in the village has doubled. We don’t know what or who we are looking for, yet, but we are doing our best to figure it out.I had just come down to my office on Saturday morning when I felt the familiar feeling I get when I am about to have
EMILY POVWe got on a plane for St. Louis. Snap had managed to pull video of every stop and review footage. We saw her get off in Mount Vernon, but she got back on ten minutes later. He almost missed her getting off in St. Louis. She waited until everyone was off and then she slipped out. Snap watched footage until the bus left but we didn’t see any sign that she snuck back on.We were going off the assumption that she didn’t want to be found. From my conversation with the witch, we knew she didn’t have a memory, nor did she have money or other resources. I knew that Addie was used to living on her own without anything, but I also didn’t know how much of that life would be instinctual and come back to her. We needed a place to start, and St. Louis was going to be it.When we landed, we split up. Bruce and I were heading to the bus station to see if anyone remembered her, and Snap was taking James’ black Visa and heading to one of the nicer hotels on the river. Nicer hotels t
ADDIE POVThe hotel wasn’t as bad as I initially thought it would be. I dropped into bed, fully clothed, and slept off my headache. I had a memory come back but my migraine was so bad I couldn’t process it.The next morning, I took a shower and put on the black slacks and burgundy top that I wear to the grocery store. I rinsed out my second set of clothes in the sink, using the rest of the tiny bottle of shampoo that was provided. I checked the cash I had in my wallet and decided to go through the clearance bins at work and see if I could find some shampoo and maybe laundry detergent. I hung up my clothes and then left, locking the door behind me. I just had a short walk to get to work. It was closer than Jenna’s apartment had been to the grocery store but in an opposite direction.I thought while I walked. I realized that something had happened when I spoke to the front desk clerk. I used a firm voice and was very specific about what I needed, and to my surprise, he agreed.