CHAPTER 24: THE WOMAN IN THE SHADOW

CHAPTER 24: THE WOMAN IN THE SHADOW

STEELE'S POV

The scent was unmistakable.

For centuries, I had trained myself not to trust memories.

Memories could be distorted.

Faces could change.

Voices could be forgotten.

But scent was different.

A werewolf could recognize a familiar scent even after decades had passed.

And the scent carried by the wind was one I had never been able to forget.

Anna.

I stepped toward the broken window, my eyes turning gold.

"Steele," Raven called.

I didn't answer.

The forest outside was silent.

Too silent.

I could hear every movement within the trees—the rustling leaves, the distant footsteps of an animal, the soft movement of branches against one another.

But there was no heartbeat.

Whoever had been watching us was hiding their presence.

That alone was enough to concern me.

"Is it really her?" Stan asked behind me.

I slowly turned.

"I don't know."

Stan's expression became serious.

"You're lying."

"I said I don't know."

"You know her scent better than any of us."

I clenched my jaw.

I did.

That was the problem.

I had spent centuries trying to forget it.

And now, after all this time, it had returned.

Raven moved beside me and looked outside.

"Could it be someone using her scent?"

"Possible."

Stan folded his arms.

"Or maybe Anna is alive."

The words settled heavily in the room.

I looked at Amber.

She was still asleep.

Her face was peaceful despite everything that had happened.

The mark on her neck had faded, but I knew it hadn't disappeared.

Something inside her had awakened.

Something connected to a past that should have remained buried.

And if Anna truly was alive...

then everything we believed about Flight XX07 could be wrong.

"We need to leave," I said.

Stan raised an eyebrow.

"Running away?"

"No. Moving her somewhere safer."

"Where?"

I looked at him.

"You know somewhere."

His lips curled into a small smile.

"Finally asking your annoying little brother for help?"

"This isn't the time."

"Everything is always the time when it comes to you."

Raven interrupted.

"Both of you, stop."

She pointed toward the forest.

"Someone is coming."

We all became silent.

A heartbeat.

Slow.

Steady.

Human.

Then another.

Another.

My eyes narrowed.

There were several people approaching.

But their scent was strange.

They smelled human.

Yet something about them wasn't.

I immediately moved toward Amber.

She began to stir.

Her brows furrowed as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Where...?"

She sat up.

"What happened?"

"Get up."

She looked at me, confused.

"Why?"

"Because we're leaving."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Where?"

"Somewhere safe."

She stood.

"I don't like being kept in the dark, Steele."

"I know."

"Then tell me what's happening."

I hesitated.

Before I could answer, three figures emerged from the trees.

Two men and a woman.

They were dressed completely in black.

The woman stood in the middle.

She looked toward the house.

Then her eyes moved directly to Amber.

Her expression changed.

Not surprise.

Recognition.

My blood ran cold.

She knew her.

"Steele," Amber whispered.

I stepped in front of her.

"Stay behind me."

The woman smiled.

"You really haven't changed."

Her voice.

I remembered it.

Not because I had heard it often.

But because it belonged to someone who had once stood beside Anna.

Someone who had disappeared after the crash.

My fists tightened.

"You."

The woman tilted her head.

"It's been a long time."

"Who are you?" Amber asked.

The woman ignored her.

Instead, she stared at me.

"You should have known this day would come."

"I thought you were dead."

"So did everyone."

Stan stepped forward.

"Well, this is awkward."

The woman finally looked at him.

"Stan."

He smiled.

"You remember me. I'm touched."

"I remember all of you."

Raven's eyes narrowed.

"Why are you here?"

The woman's gaze returned to Amber.

"Because she is finally awake."

Amber stepped beside me.

"Can someone explain what the hell that means?"

The woman smiled.

"You really don't know."

"I've been asking everyone that same question."

She studied Amber's face.

For a moment, something almost like sadness crossed her expression.

"You have Anna's eyes."

Amber frowned.

"Everyone keeps saying that."

"But you aren't Anna."

"I know."

The woman's smile disappeared.

"Not yet."

My entire body stiffened.

"What did you say?"

She looked at me.

"You heard me."

Amber's eyes widened.

"What does she mean?"

I didn't answer.

The woman stepped forward.

"Do you know why the vampires marked you?"

Amber touched her neck.

"Steele said it was a blood mark."

"It is."

"Why?"

"Because they were looking for the First Blood."

Stan's expression hardened.

"Don't call it that."

"Why? Afraid she'll hear the truth?"

Raven moved forward.

"You've said enough."

The woman laughed softly.

"You still protect the same secrets."

I stared at her.

"Tell me what happened twenty-two years ago."

Her eyes met mine.

"You were there."

"I know."

"You saw the plane."

"I arrived too late."

"No."

Her voice became colder.

"You arrived exactly when you were supposed to."

My chest tightened.

"What are you talking about?"

"You weren't supposed to save everyone, Steele."

Amber looked at me.

"What does that mean?"

The woman continued.

"You were sent there because of Anna."

"I was told she might be on that plane."

"Yes."

"And when I arrived, everyone was dead except Amber."

"That's what you believed."

I felt a chill move through me.

"What are you saying?"

The woman looked at Amber.

"Your parents weren't the only ones who survived that night."

Amber froze.

"What?"

The woman's gaze softened.

"Someone else survived."

"Who?"

She smiled.

"Your mother."

Amber's face went completely pale.

I immediately looked at her.

Her lips parted.

"No."

The woman nodded.

"Your mother was alive when the plane went down."

Amber shook her head.

"That's impossible."

"I know what you were told."

"My mother died."

"Yes."

The woman took another step.

"But not when you think she did."

Amber's breathing became uneven.

"Then where is she?"

The woman looked at me.

I already knew the answer wouldn't be simple.

"She disappeared."

Amber's eyes filled with confusion.

"Why?"

"Because she knew they would come for you."

"Who?"

"The same people who are coming now."

The wind suddenly grew stronger.

The woman glanced toward the trees.

"They're getting impatient."

I heard it then.

Dozens of heartbeats.

Not three.

Not ten.

Dozens.

They were surrounding us.

Stan's smile returned.

"Looks like our reunion is getting crowded."

Raven's eyes turned dark.

"How many?"

"Too many."

I stepped closer to Amber.

"Stay beside me."

She looked at me.

"Are they here for me?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm staying."

"You don't get to make that decision."

"I do when my life is involved."

I stared at her.

Even now, she was stubborn.

Fearless.

Impossible.

Just like Anna.

But Amber wasn't Anna.

I repeated that to myself again.

She wasn't Anna.

She was someone else.

Someone who had somehow inherited a destiny that belonged to another generation.

The woman suddenly whispered,

"Amber."

Amber looked at her.

"What?"

"Your mother left something for you."

Amber's eyes widened.

"What?"

The woman reached inside her coat.

I immediately moved.

"Don't."

She slowly pulled out a small object.

A pendant.

Silver.

Old.

I recognized it instantly.

Anna had worn it.

For years.

My heart stopped.

"Where did you get that?"

The woman smiled.

"From her."

Amber stared at the pendant.

"That's my mother's."

"You recognize it?"

"My father gave it to her."

The woman shook her head.

"No."

She looked directly at Amber.

"Your mother gave it to someone else."

Amber's expression changed.

"Who?"

The woman didn't answer.

Instead, she tossed the pendant toward her.

I caught it before Amber could.

The moment my fingers touched it, a strange warmth traveled through my hand.

A memory struck me.

Fire.

Screaming.

The inside of the plane.

Anna.

She was holding a child.

Amber.

But Anna wasn't afraid.

She was looking at someone standing across from her.

A woman.

The same woman now standing in front of us.

I heard Anna's voice.

"If anything happens to me, don't let them find her."

The memory disappeared.

I opened my eyes.

Amber was staring at me.

"What did you see?"

I looked at the pendant.

Then at the woman.

"You were there."

She nodded.

"Yes."

"What did you do to Anna?"

Her expression became unreadable.

"That's the question you should be asking yourself."

Before I could respond, a loud growl echoed from the forest.

The woman looked toward the darkness.

"They've arrived."

Black figures began appearing between the trees.

Vampires.

Dozens of them.

Amber instinctively stepped backward.

I moved in front of her.

Stan cracked his neck.

"Finally."

Raven's eyes glowed.

"This is going to be messy."

The woman looked at Amber one last time.

"Run."

Amber frowned.

"What?"

"Run now."

I grabbed Amber's hand.

"We're leaving."

"But—"

"Trust me."

She looked at me for a second before nodding.

We ran.

Behind us, the first vampire attacked.

Stan and Raven stayed behind.

The woman disappeared into the darkness.

And I pulled Amber deeper into the forest.

But after several seconds, Amber suddenly stopped.

"Steele."

I turned.

She was staring at her hands.

The strange mark on her neck was glowing.

"What's happening?"

I approached her.

Then I heard it.

A heartbeat.

Not hers.

Not mine.

It was coming from beneath the ground.

Slow.

Ancient.

Powerful.

Amber looked at me.

"Do you hear that?"

I stared at the earth.

"Yes."

The heartbeat came again.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Amber's eyes widened.

"What is that?"

I didn't know.

But deep inside, something ancient was answering her.

And for the first time in centuries, I felt something I thought I had forgotten.

Fear.

Because whatever was beneath us...

had been waiting for Amber.