I broke my promise to Amaury. Even though I swore to him that I wouldn't go alone, I ended up going alone anyway. But in my defense, I did seek Vincent's help. Vincent, however, was nowhere to be found. I realized that when I woke in his bed without him lying next to me. When I questioned Lady Teresa about his whereabouts, she'd told me he left this morning. The one time I needed his assistance and he was leading the troops himself.

Now was a bad time to remember Vincent and I had never exchanged phone numbers. Honestly not the most ideal circumstance. I'd grown so used to being at his side that the thought never crossed my mind. And now, there was no turning back.

"So, you blatantly disregarded my warning. . ." Amaury's patronizing voice was the bane of my existence. I walked the long, vacant road back to Havford, my eyes glued to the gravel. It'd have been a lot easier if I could have taken a car.

"It's not like that," I mumbled.

"My goodness, I cannot believe you, Genesis. How long have you been walking? Did you walk the entire way back down the mountain to your little town?" I was scared of what he might think if I said yes. I'd been too afraid to walk the tunnel route alone so I didn't bother shifting. My only regret was walking in the cold. Damn, my fingers and toes were going to be frostbitten.

Lady Teresa at least knew I was gone though. So, it wasn't like I left without telling anyone. Plus, she'd agreed to let Vincent know I stepped out when he returned.

"Your mom knows I left."

Amaury muttered something incoherent under his breath that I ignored.

"Does she know where you went?"

"Not exactly. . ."

"Well, you're a long way from Calamitous now." He sighed.

"It's not that long," I stressed. "I can always run back, can't I? I have a spare cloak packed in my bag just in case!" More incoherent muttering.

"Well, you're already here. So, you might as well finish what you started." He couldn't have been any more displeased. I'd never heard Amaury worry about me to such an extent. Something told me there was a reason for his worry. Something that didn't only have to do with me. And if my gut was right, then I'd bet it had a lot to do with Vincent and his reaction.

"It's weird being back here a third time. . ." I came to a stop when I noticed the quiet road inching into familiar territory; where there were no street lights, and the sidewalk was thinning in my direction, but thickening in the other.

It had been so long since I ventured back into Havford by myself. I remembered walking these streets back home. It was routine. After all, this was my go-to route from the cafe. Had it not been for that night, I'd probably have still been walking this path. It was strange seeing as I no longer viewed Calamitous in the way I had when I lived in this town.

"Taking a trip down memory lane?" Amaury's voice was soft. Sympathetic.

"Just a little bit." I smiled.

"Do you ever miss it?"

I shrugged. "Sometimes."

Amaury hummed in content.

"I used to think your town was weird, you know?"

"Don't tell me you caved into the rumors?" Amaury chuckled.

"What can I say?" I snorted. "You guys were known as the creepy little secluded town far up in the mountains. No one ever interacted with you guys. Until now."

"Until now," Amaury repeated, amused. As much as I enjoyed our small banter, reality sunk back in when I looked at the trees. Amaury, feeling the shift, asked, "Okay, I must ask. What else do we know about these shadows?"

I tapped the bottom of my chin, thinking. "We know that they can hide and show themselves at will. They can linger in their true forms for certain amounts of time. I'm not sure how long though. That goes back to the host thing I mentioned yesterday."

"You must be careful, Genesis. If you see that any of these shadows are lurking near, I want you to leave immediately. Is that understood?"

"It is," I said, no hesitation. "So, this is where you jumped out of the trees."

"Correct."

"You still don't remember where from, right?"

"Correct as well."

"So, if we begin to retrace your steps, we need to start heading this way. But before I do that, is there a way I can mask my scent?" I dug in my bag to retrieve my cloak. After, I tied it around my waist; that way it'd be on hand if I needed it urgently.

"Wow, you've come prepared."

"I know I'm not the brightest crayon in the bunch. But you didn't think I'd show up unprepared, did you? If I'm walking into a death trap, I want to at least make them work for it."

"Hmm, try rubbing pine needles, dirt, and whatever other natural materials you see on both your skin and your clothing. It'll help to mask your scent with a natural odor. Not completely. But hopefully enough to hide you for a little while."

I nodded and followed his instructions. Only did I stop when I was covered from head to toe.

"Ugh, yuck." I felt all sticky and icky now.

"Comes with the territory sometimes." Amaury's laugh was soft.

I groaned then headed for the trees. Ten minutes must have passed before I noticed I was approaching the area of the Erebus attack. The same patchy ground and naked trees made it all the more noticeable. With the exception of the melted snow on the ground. I whispered, "This is how far Vincent and I made it. Seems like we can never get past this point."

Amaury hummed, most likely on high alert. "Hear or smell anything off?"

"No, not yet. Anything familiar to you?"

"A . . . a bit," he hesitated. "I think I remember running through here in your direction." I nodded and listened carefully for the sound of any possible threats. The Erebus wolf crept up on me the last time. But I'd learned a little more about my senses since then—how to put them to use, how to control them, and so on. I liked to think Vincent, Dimitri, and Dylan's teaching came in handy for these kinds of situations. Sheesh, as many times as Vincent told me I'd need them.

"What was that?" Amaury's voice sounded just as stiff as my spine. Most likely due to the loud crunch that'd just echoed around us. I glanced down, noticing the frozen pile of leaves under my boot—now broken into itty-bitty bits.

"Just some leaves," I said, my smile sheepish. Amaury sighed. I could only imagine how triggering this might've been for him. Between not being able to remember what happened and now visiting this place again since it happened, he was bound to be anxious.

The deeper I ventured, the slower the breeze—as if we were suspended in time. I cocked my head back, viewing the top of the trees down to their roots. Thick pieces of bark peeled towards the bottom; taking the shape of claw marks, as though someone had used these trees as their own personal scratching posts. The thought gave me shivers.

"Holy shit," I said, gaping at the scratches, "do you think Erebus wolves did that?"

"I-I don't know. . . But let's hope whoever or whatever it was, didn't care to stick around."

"Yeah. . ." Honestly, it was a bit surprising that we still hadn't spotted an Erebus wolf yet—or much of anything—however, that didn't mean there weren't any lurking in the area. "Amaury, isn't it a little too quiet? I can barely even hear the sounds of nature. You know, bugs and shit. . ."

There was an edge to Amaury's tone as he hesitated, then said, "Frightenedly quiet. . ."

"And is it me or is there something . . . heavy in the air too?"

"No, it's not just you," Amaury spoke, his voice wavering, "something's very strange here. The feeling . . . it's vaguely familiar. I-I can't really pinpoint what it is. But I remember it. A feeling that I felt that very same night. . . Something dark and unsettling."

"Yeah, I—" I stopped when I noticed the trees growing gradually darker the further into this part of the woods I walked. Pitch-black bark covered the once brown wood; as if the trees had rotted overnight. When I looked up again, I saw that a gray sky settled above my head, and the air around me was crisp. Even then, there was no breeze. Just a cool, almost enchanting atmosphere. How could something causing so much unease be so mystical?

"Is that a cottage?" I pointed to the old, dark residence beyond the trees, just a few feet ahead, resembling the size of a shed. "Where the hell are we?" It looked like I'd wandered deep into the parts of a twisted fairy tale waiting to begin—starring me as its main protagonist.

Yeah, screw that.

"A cottage? Wait a minute. Genesis . . . this place. I remember it. Not a whole lot. But I feel like I've been here before. The night I attacked you, Genesis. I think I was here."

I blinked, taken aback. "You were here? At this random cottage in the middle of the woods?"

"I-I think. But dammit. Why was I here?" Amaury growled, frustrated at himself not being able to remember. I'd like to know why he was here too. Was it someone who led him here? But no, he mentioned that he was tailed that night. Maybe something? Sure, if he had a lead that night. Before I could think any further, something caught my attention.

"Amaury, do you hear that?" My ears twitched in response to the soft whispers pooling around me. I could hear them from every angle. Feel them from every angle. Not one voice. Not two voices. But multiple. Exactly how I'd heard the shadow in my head. But I knew this couldn't have been that particular shadow. After all, the voices weren't coming from my head.

"Hear what?"

I frowned. "It sounds like . . . whispering."

"Whispering?" Amaury repeated.

"Shadows whispering," I added, casting a brief glance around me.

There was nothing and no one there—that I could see, at least.

Amaury inhaled. ". . .Genesis, listen to me very carefully. Whatever you do, do not move a muscle. I think you may have just found the location of your sketch and we may be surrounded."

Amaury's warning caused chills to surge to the tips of my fingers. Reluctantly, I tried to move my eyes without moving my body. Still, nothing and no one could be seen. But the thought that they were lurking—watching my every move—and could attack at any moment left me digging my fingers into my palms. Like this was all just some twisted game to them between prey and predator. Maybe that'd explain the strange absence around us.

Now that he'd mentioned it though, this location was awfully similar to what I drew. The trees. The whispers. The cottage, however, was a first.

I gulped; an attempt to force the lump in my throat down. "There wasn't a cottage in my nightmares though. Only the trees a-and the voices."

"Maybe that's all you could see."

"Getting here was a hell of a lot easier than I thought it'd be then. . ."

"Exactly, and that's the problem. It was too easy. Not a threat in sight."

"Maybe my theory about the Erebus wolves was wrong?" I laughed nervously, though I knew that was far from what was happening here. But I wanted to live in my peaceful little bubble of bliss for a little longer.

"No, Genesis. I think it's quite the opposite in fact. This feels like a . . . like a trap. Like your presence was to be expected." Something clicked for Amaury. I wasn't sure what it was but I heard it in his pause. He swore under his breath but I didn't wait for him to speak. As I started to pedal backwards, a low and menacing growl from the right of me caused me to freeze.

"Genesis, you need to leave. Now." Amaury's panic did nothing to calm my own panic. It was too late, however. I noticed the dark eyes peering at me from the trees. So dark, they blended in and nearly made it impossible to tell them apart. How many wolves were hiding in there? Shit, I couldn't tell. I quickly checked my left, only to find there were another pair of eyes stalking me in the distance. That, I knew for sure, was only one wolf. Erebus wolves? I wasn't sure.

"Out of everyone to figure it out, it just had to be you."

I froze.

That voice.

"Bennett?" Disbelief clung to my tone. I was too afraid to turn around and confirm for myself. I knew his voice well enough. When the hell did he get here? No, where the hell did he come from? The scariest part was I hadn't even heard or smelled him.

"Genesis, you shouldn't have come here." If I wasn't five seconds away from possibly being torn to pieces, I'd have thought I heard regret in his tone. I waited a few more seconds before I finally convinced myself to turn. There Bennett was in a cloak, holding a pile of firewood in his arms. A frown settled on both his lips and his eyebrows, and his jaw was clenched tight.

While there was tension present in his body, the tension was absent from his eyes. Rather, there was an off-putting distance stretching far into his pupils; the empty void of someone who had shed their spark. Gosh, blue had never looked so dull. Not to mention the hard lines ingrained in his face. Could someone age in such little time? A few days clearly hadn't done him justice. This was not the Bennett I'd grown to know from Calamitous.

"Genesis, it's him," Amaury hissed. "He's the one who followed me that night!" Processing Amaury's words took me a little longer than intended. And when I did process them, I wondered, had Bennett been following me this entire time? But where and how? Bennett's frown deepened, his mouth opening again. He stopped though. I didn't understand why until I heard her voice.

"Genesis, my dear. I've heard a lot about you." My shoulders tensed. So did Bennett's. Even though I didn't feel safe turning my back to Bennett again, I felt even less safe with my back turned to the stranger whose voice I didn't recognize.

My neck twisted, my eyes landing on the tall woman in black walking from the direction of the cottage. Long dark hair bled down her shoulders, joined by pale skin, and a pair of crystal blue eyes with a striking resemblance to Bennett's. Hers were a lot more lively though.

"Sophia?" Amaury's whisper was so faint, I almost hadn't heard him.

What? He knew that woman?

She stopped near us—a sickeningly sweet out of place smile on her face—then gestured to the wood in Bennett's hands. "Benny. The wood, please," she said.

"Oh, right. Sorry mom." Mom?

I gawked at Bennett as he circled around me and joined the woman's side. After he transferred the wood into her arms, he looked back at me, but never met my eyes. The woman—or his mother as he referred to her—cleared her throat, then tilted her head, surveying me. I hated that look in her eyes. A look that stripped me down like a piece of meat.

"Hmm," she hummed, sounding impressed, "so you're the lucky young woman who's managed to dodge and survive so many of my attacks?" The middle of my throat trembled.

Her attacks? How the hell was I supposed to respond to that? Actually, I'd never thought back to how many times I'd escaped death since the night I was bit. There was Amaury's attack. Then, there was the shadow that chased me the night of my very first shift. Then, the Erebus wolves that attacked Vincent and I. And finally, the shadow that chased Vincent and I. Of course.

"When I saw that you were back in this area on your own, I planned on killing you for good this time. But I have to admit, you've piqued my interest. . . Ah speaking of which, you're probably wondering how I knew you were coming, Genesis."

I refused to speak. She made me a hell of a lot more nervous than I cared to admit.

"You've noticed, haven't you?" she continued, the least bit bothered by my silence. I followed her gaze to the four wolves that were now walking out of the shadows. A dark mist hovered over each of them; as dark as the black in their eyes. I took a subconscious step back. Perhaps if I got a head start, I'd be able to avoid them. She whispered, tauntingly, "There are eyes everywhere."

By then, I noticed the shadows hiding in the darkest parts of the trees. Their whispers were louder, stronger—damn near impossible to tune out—and even more menacing than the wolves.

"Genesis, there's an opening to your left. Use that to escape. You can lose them in the woods. If you run back the way you came, you'll be out in the open in the middle of the road. You can't fight them alone so your best bet is to outrun them," Amaury urged.

I listened and took another step back, trying my best to be subtle.

"Genesis, don't—" Bennett noticed.

Like hell I'd listen to him.

"No, let her." Sophia held up her hand, silencing him. I untied my cloak from around my waist, then turned for the exit Amaury instructed me to take. "What's the harm in a good chase?"

Her words chilled me to the bone but that didn't stop me from shifting. I picked up my cloak, using my teeth, and darted through the trees. My bag lay forgotten on the ground behind me.

"Genesis!" Bennett yelled after me.

The last thing I heard was his mother ordering him to run after me. Then, what sounded like his footsteps accompanied by several others joined in the chase.