As I quietly stalk after the shadow, I roll my shoulders, relishing the burden of my gun tucked into my shoulder holster. I received’t draw it, not but. This little slip of darkness will not be a menace, however my curiosity is piqued regardless.

Simply because the determine finishes its method out the alleyway and into the sunshine of a close-by streetlamp, I notice why.

A slight physique, smaller than I’d realized, turns into illuminated, the smooth traces of a female determine changing into clear as day. I cease quick with shock, my sneakers crunching over the pavement, remaining hidden within the darkness of the alley. On the noise, the determine whips round to face me.

“Who’s there?” calls a candy voice. One thing deep and primal stirs behind my thoughts.

A lady?

I keep again, letting the night time preserve me hidden from her sight. She steps towards me, her shoulders raised.

After which the hood hiding her face in shadow falls again. Ethereal white, blonde hair shines as mild hits the bun she’s pulled it into. Her youthful face is framed by wisps of it which have fallen free, her smooth lips pressed right into a line as she friends into the alley. Most arresting of all is how darkish her eyes are in opposition to her pale pores and skin. I’m simply far sufficient away and the lighting’s too poor to have the ability to inform what coloration they are surely, however the need to know is stronger than I may have ever anticipated.

A dove. Slightly chicken. A fragile creature I’ve by no means seen earlier than. She’s inventory nonetheless, like a deer caught within the headlights of a automotive. Want begins to bubble in my veins as I watch her eyes dart round, in search of what made the noise behind her.

Does she know there’s a monster lurking within the shadows? Stalking her?

“H-hello?” she calls out once more.

My physique tenses as she bites her plush backside lip in uncertainty.

It’s clear that this slip of a lady is not any menace. She appears to be like too candy and otherworldly to be concerned with the likes of me or my group. Nonetheless … what’s a lady like her doing in my territory? Why don’t I acknowledge her?

“Is anybody there?” the lady asks, earlier than slipping a hand into her pocket and drawing somewhat pocketknife. She unfolds the blade and brandishes it as she squares her shoulders. The gun tucked in opposition to my aspect abruptly appears overkill. “I’ve a knife. I received’t hesitate to make use of it!”

Her kind wants work, however seeing her so boldly—if not unknowingly—problem me makes my physique flush sizzling with need. It shouldn’t be such a activate for a lady to drag a knife on me like this, and but right here we’re. I may disarm her right away, and it’s tempting, however I don’t need her to know what’s ready for her within the darkness.

She’s like prey—it’d be a disgrace to scare her off.

When she receives no reply, she sighs softly and pulls the hood of her jacket again over her head. I watch as she pockets her knife and resumes her fast tempo, darting down the road and maintaining to the shadows, stopping solely to look each methods earlier than hurrying throughout the road.

Now that I do know what she was hiding from view, I ought to simply let her disappear into the night time. I ought to go residence like I’d deliberate and look ahead to information in regards to the interrogations.

I ought to let her go.

And but, that predatory intuition, the one which drove me to pursue her within the first place, drives me to maintain following her.

So I do.

Like earlier than, I preserve to the shadows, relying closely on the talents I honed through the years I’d served because the violent hand of my grandfather. It’s second nature to me, as is giving chase. Nothing beats the sight of her glancing over her shoulder, forehead furrowed as she appears to be like to see if she’s being adopted.

The joys of the hunt is sort of as arousing as she is.

I need her—that’s the one factor clear to me about why I’m doing this. I’m powerless to combat the urge, not that I’d even attempt to. Wanting her is as pure as following her is. I’m a moth to her flame.

Who knew I’d discover such a factor on this metropolis? It’s good to know that there are issues right here that may nonetheless shock me, preserve me entranced by their very presence. She’s like a rose creeping up from a crack within the gritty concrete—misplaced however particular, much more lovely due to the unlikely location.

And he or she is a rose in each sense of the phrase.

All of the sudden, the lady steps into the sunshine shining from inside a comfort retailer. She pulls open the door and slips inside.

There’s a bus cease close by, marked by an indication that claims the route is serviced for one more hour, so I make the choice to cease hiding. It’s simple to make myself appear like anybody else by standing on the cease and checking my telephone, regardless that the truth is that I’m watching the inside of the comfort retailer carefully.

My rose talks to the cashier and he nods and arms her a chunk of paper and a pen. She nods again at him earlier than she geese her head to take a look at the piece of paper. I can’t assist noticing how cautious she appears, these broad darkish eyes glancing round as if she’s being hunted.

Whereas that’s true as a result of that’s just about what I’ve been doing, it feels deeper than that. It looks like she’s been working from one thing for for much longer than simply the previous a number of minutes.

After studying and writing on the slip of paper, she arms it again to the cashier and heads additional again into the shop and disappears, in all probability into the lavatory. I wait till she’s out of sight earlier than ducking into the shop myself. The cashier glances at me with a bored look, as if he can’t be bothered to care who simply walked into his retailer.

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