Eira POV
Eira hasn't left her apartment in two days.
She stands at her window looking down at the street below. The black sedan is still there. Same parking spot. Same three men inside. Tinted windows. Expensive looking. Predatory.
There's another car on the opposite side of the street. Different angle. Different men. But same purpose. Same coordinated movements. Same sense of purpose.
They're watching.
Waiting.
The first car shifts positions and the men inside move with perfect synchronization. Like they're part of one organism. Like they've practiced this hunt a thousand times.
Normal security detail wouldn't move like that. Normal humans wouldn't have this kind of coordination. Normal people wouldn't stake out a single apartment building for forty-eight hours straight.
These men are not normal.
Eira's phone buzzes again.
Nova. Seventeen texts so far. Each one getting more worried.
Girl where are you??? You didn't show up for work Kevin said you weren't at the office last night Are you okay EIRA ANSWER ME Did something happen at that party Did you meet someone Did you do something crazy Please just call me I'm worried You're scaring me This isn't like you You always answer Why aren't you answering CALL ME NOW I'm coming over Actually I'm at your building. Why is your door locked. LET ME IN
Eira reads the last text again.
Nova is outside her building.
Eira moves to the window and scans the street. She doesn't see Nova but she sees the men noticing something. One of them gets out of the car. Starts walking toward the building entrance.
Eira's heart rate spikes.
She runs to her phone and calls Nova.
Nova answers on the first ring.
"Oh my god, Eira, finally. What is going on. You look like hell through your peephole. And why are there creepy men watching your building. Is this about that party. Did someone hurt you. Tell me right now what's happening."
"Don't come in," Eira says. "Nova, listen to me. Don't come in the building. Leave. Right now."
"What. Why. Eira, you're scaring me."
"Just go. Go back to work. Pretend you were never here. Don't talk to anyone about this. Just leave."
There's silence on the other end.
Then Nova says, "These men just looked at me. Eira, why are they looking at me like that. They're walking toward me. Should I run."
"Yes. Run. Go back to work and stay there. Don't go home. Don't go anywhere alone. Just stay around people."
"Eira, what the hell is going on."
"I don't know," Eira says. It's the truth. She doesn't know. She doesn't understand any of this. "I'll explain later. Just please be safe."
Nova hangs up.
Eira watches from her window as Nova walks away from the building. One of the men follows her for a block, then stops and returns to his car.
They're not interested in Nova.
They're interested in Eira.
She moves away from the window and sits in the middle of her apartment. In the dark. Surrounded by walls that suddenly don't feel like protection anymore.
Her phone buzzes with a text from Nova: I'm safe. I'm at work. But Eira, those men. They weren't normal. What did you do.
Eira doesn't know how to answer that.
She types back: I didn't do anything. Please just stay safe. I'll explain when I can.
She sets her phone down and pulls her knees to her chest.
The message from her mother's phone keeps playing in her mind. The one that said look outside. The one that said run. The one that told her to leave before the man on the subway found her.
But she didn't run. She came home instead. And now she's trapped.
The men outside know where she is. The man from the gala somehow knew her name and where she worked. Her mother is sending her messages from beyond the grave. Nothing makes sense and everything is terrifying.
Eira gets up and checks her door. Double locks. Locked. She checks her windows. Closed. Locked. She checks her fire escape. It's there but it leads to a blind alley with only one exit and those men are probably covering it.
She's trapped.
She goes to her kitchen and pulls out a knife. A big one. The one her mother used to cut bread with. The knife feels small and useless in her shaking hands but it's something.
It's better than nothing.
Hours pass.
Eira sits on her couch with the knife on her lap watching the door. She doesn't eat. Doesn't drink water. Just sits and waits and watches and tries not to scream.
Around 11 PM, she hears something.
Footsteps in the hallway outside her apartment.
They're slow. Heavy. Deliberate. The kind of footsteps someone makes when they're not trying to hide. When they're trying to be heard.
Eira's entire body goes rigid.
The footsteps get closer.
They stop directly in front of her door.
Eira grabs the knife so hard her knuckles turn white.
The door handle rattles.
It's locked. It holds.
Then there's a knock. Not a polite knock. Not a normal knock. A pounding. Heavy. Testing. Like someone is checking if the door will break.
Eira's breathing gets faster.
"Ms. Voss," a voice calls through the door. Deep. Rough. Dangerous. "We just need to talk. Kael just wants to speak with you. Open the door and we can do this easy."
Eira doesn't open the door.
The pounding comes again.
The door shakes. The frame creaks. It's old and cheap and if he pushes hard enough it will break.
"Ms. Voss, please. We're not going to hurt you. Kael sent us to bring you to him. You belong to the pack now and you need to understand the rules."
Pack. The same word from the paranormal files. The same word that kept appearing in her mother's medical records.
"Go away," Eira says. Her voice is small and shaking.
"We can't do that. Kael will be upset if we return without you. And you don't want an upset Alpha, Ms. Voss."
The pounding comes again.
Louder this time.
The door frame cracks slightly.
Eira stands up with her knife raised. She knows she can't win a fight. She knows a knife against these men means nothing. But she'll fight anyway. She'll scream. She'll do anything but go with them.
Then the footsteps stop.
The man outside says something to someone else in the hallway. She can't hear the words but his tone changes. Gets more respectful. More afraid.
"Yes sir. Of course sir. We'll stand down."
The footsteps move away.
Eira stands with the knife in her hand listening as the men retreat back down the hallway. She hears them enter the stairwell. She hears the door close.
She's alone again.
But not safe.
Eira sets the knife on her coffee table and sits back down. Her whole body is shaking. Her hands won't stop shaking. Her teeth are chattering like she's cold even though her apartment is warm.
They'll be back. She knows they'll be back. That man on the phone with the deeper voice who called them off, he'll come back. He'll bring his mate or his Alpha or whatever Kael is and he'll take her somewhere she doesn't want to go.
She has no way out.
No one knows where she is except Nova who she told not to come. No one who can help her. No one who can save her.
She's completely alone.
Her phone buzzes.
A text from an unknown number.
The message says: I called them off for now. But Eira, you can't hide forever. I can feel you out there. My wolf knows exactly where you are. Come to me voluntarily and I promise I'll explain everything. Fight me and this gets much harder.
Eira stares at the message.
It's from him. From Kael. From the man with the stormy eyes. From the man whose presence made her body respond without her permission.
She types back: Who are you. What do you want from me.
The response comes immediately: I'm the man who was supposed to find you eventually anyway. I'm the one your mother was protecting you from. And what I want is simple. You. Your truth. Your whole life, if you'll give it to me.
Eira drops her phone like it burned her.
Her mother. He knows about her mother. He knows she was protecting Eira from something. From him maybe. From whatever he is.
She looks at the window where the men still watch from their cars.
Then she looks at her locked door.
Then she looks at her phone where another message has come in.
This one is different.
It's from her mother's phone number again.
The message says: He's telling the truth about one thing. You can't hide forever. Your power is waking up. Soon you won't be able to hide from anyone. When that happens, you'll need someone who understands what you are. The only person who can help you is the one who found you. Go to him. Trust him. And for god's sake, read my journal.
The locked journal.
The one her mother left her.
The one she's never opened.
Eira stands up on shaking legs and goes to her bedroom. She pulls the journal off her shelf and stares at it.
It's old. Brown leather. Heavy. Her mother's handwriting is on the cover: For Eira. When you're ready to know the truth.
She grabs the lock and pulls.
The lock doesn't break. It doesn't budge.
It's impossible to open without a key.
Her phone buzzes again.
Kael: I have the key to your mother's journal. I know what you are, Eira. And I need you to trust me enough to find out too.