Chapter 0452

Luc

Hannah's hazel eyes lock with mine. "Are you certain? What about the rest of them? Athena and Alexander? We're leaving without even a word."

"They'll figure it out."

"But I don't."

"Then why are you here with me?"

She lets out a heavy sigh. "Maybe because I'm a fool. It's not like I can actually be of any help to you."

"We can turn back." I offer, "I can return you to the safety of the pack, but I have to understand what's happening to me."

Hannah glances back toward the pack territory. We were completely out of view now. The guard at the gate had likely already reported to Sebastian unless he ignored the note entirely.

"If I don't uncover the truth about my condition, I'm completely useless to them."

She frowns deeply.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." I scowl back. "They brought me here for a purpose and I'm failing to uphold my agreement with Alexander."

"I'm certain if you just explain..."

"I can't explain it, Hannah. I don't understand what's happening. Even now, standing here looking at you, your soul is becoming harder to see. My Hunter abilities are slowly draining away. Tomorrow I might wake up as just an ordinary Wolf."

"You truly believe there's something at your old house?"

"I don't know, but it's worth investigating."

She pouts slightly before nodding. "I'll come with you."

"Then let's move. I have a vehicle parked up the road."

As Hannah settles into the passenger seat, I notice her rubbing her neck again. "Still hurting?"

"It comes and goes." She shrugs as if it's become routine, but it troubles me. I've even checked her neck to ensure nothing was injected beneath her skin.

"Seraphina mentioned that after she lost her abilities, she noticed changes." Hannah tells me. Seraphina speaks more openly with her, just as I anticipated. They share common ground. "What kind of changes?"

"Like feeling aches and pains more intensely without the ability to heal. Sometimes even lying in an odd position causes discomfort now. I suppose we used to heal automatically, even minor things like sore muscles weren't an issue. My scar still itches terribly." She points to the thick scar running from her eye to her chin. Fortunately, she hadn't lost her sight.

"It's where he injected me... I think. Maybe it's more psychological than physical pain." She shrugs again.

"Why haven't you mentioned this before?"

"Because it frustrates you when you can't fix something. And this is one of those things."

I glance at her. She has her elbow propped on the door, staring out the window. I could fix it if she were willing to be bitten. But I don't bring it up. It always upsets her.

"This is your home?" She murmurs as I park beside it.

"Yes." I reply, scanning the street. Something feels wrong. It's midday and there's no one around. No dog walkers. No runners or cyclists. As much as Humans irritate me, their habits are predictable.

Hannah moves to exit the car. "Don't," I mutter, grabbing her arm.

"What is it?" she whispers back.

"I haven't been back here in a while, and it appears Rogues might have moved in. I'm fairly certain we're being watched."

"What do we do?"

"You do nothing." I reach into the backseat for my shotgun. "You stay here. Lock the doors after me. Don't open them until I return."

"What if...?"

"No what if's. You do exactly as I say. Understood?"

She nods as I quietly exit the car. I watch her press the locks down just as something slams into me, throwing me to the ground. My gun slides across the road away from me, and I see another Rogue charging toward me.

Blood from a recent kill covers its face. It drops to all fours, gaining speed as I reach for the gun in my belt. A loud bang rings in my ears, and I watch the Rogue collapse.

I turn to see a wide-eyed Hannah, poking one of my guns through the small window gap, both hands gripping it tightly.

The first Rogue attacks me from the side. Claws dig into my shoulder before hurling me through the air.

As I land on my stomach, the air is knocked from my lungs. Screams come from the direction of my car. Rolling over, I see the Rogue desperately trying to reach my mate as he forces the window down.