Chapter 2

I jump, turning to find the green-eyed stranger standing there. Up close, he's even more striking, tall and powerful, with something ancient in his eyes despite his young face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say, but my voice sounds uncertain even to my own ears.

"I think you do." His voice is soft but certain. "My name is Clint. And I think we need to talk, Tiffy is it?"

My breath catches. "Tiffany, actually, why are you following?”

The corner of his mouth lifts in a slight smile. "I know what you are, even if you don't yet."

“Ok, this is getting weird, I’m going to leave now, you’re starting to freak me out,” I said.

-Nice job, she has no idea what we are or who we are to her, and you went too hard and heavy. We’re going to have to turn it down a bit.- Storm points out.

*Alpha, we have a probability that there are scouts here from the Moonheart and Thompson packs, both watching that girl you just spoke to.* A mind-link came through from Clint’s Delta Reed.

*Understood,* Clint responds through the mind-link, his jaw tightening as he watches me start to back away. *Keep monitoring. Don't let either pack get close to her.*

But I'm already turning to leave, my heart hammering against my ribs. Something about this whole interaction feels dangerous, like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff I can't see.

"Wait," he calls after me, his voice gentler now. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

I pause despite every instinct telling me to run. When I glance back, his expression has changed completely. The intensity is still there, but now there's something almost... vulnerable about it.

"Look, I know this sounds crazy," he says, taking a careful step closer. "But haven't you always felt like something was missing? Like you're not quite... complete?"

The words hit me like a physical blow. Those are the exact thoughts that have haunted me for years, the feeling I could never quite put into words. How could he possibly know that?

"I..." I start, then stop. My hands are trembling slightly, and I clench them into fists. "How do you know that?"

"Because I can see it in your eyes. The same thing I see in the mirror every morning." He runs a hand through his dark hair, looking frustrated with himself. "I'm sorry, I'm handling this all wrong. I just... when I saw you, I knew."

"Knew what?" The words come out as barely a whisper.

His green eyes lock onto mine, and for a moment, the noise of the festival fades away. It's just him and me and this strange pull I can't explain.

"That you're the piece I've been missing, too."

A shiver runs down my spine that has nothing to do with the evening breeze. Above us, the moon seems to pulse with its own heartbeat, and I feel that familiar restlessness stirring in my chest—the same feeling that makes me draw those forest scenes over and over again.

"Tiffy!" Laura's voice cuts through whatever spell was weaving around us. "There you are! Your parents are wondering where you went."

I blink, suddenly aware that I've been standing here staring at a complete stranger like he holds all the answers to questions I didn't even know I had.

"I have to go," I say quickly, but as I turn away, Clint catches my wrist gently.

"The ice cream shop on Main Street," he says urgently. "Tomorrow at noon. Please. Just give me a chance to know you."

I should say no. Every rational part of my brain is screaming at me to say no and never see this intense, mysterious guy again.

Instead, I hear myself whisper, "Did you just ask me out? Okay, I guess."

‘Why the hell did I just do that? This is way past weird.’ I thought to myself, as Laura dragged me back to my parents.

“OMG, Tiffy did that hot guy just ask you out?” Laura squealed.

“I…I think he did, and I think I just said yes and have no idea why.” I said, my eyes drifting towards the grass. “Laura, I think I just lost my mind by doing that.”

“No, you didn’t. He is hot as fuck, you just won the lottery.”

"Shut up," I hiss, giving Laura a light shove as we approach my parents. My cheeks feel like they're on fire. "It's not like that."

But it is like that, isn't it? Something about Clint feels both terrifying and thrilling at the same time. I can't shake the feeling that meeting him has changed something fundamental, like the universe just shifted slightly on its axis.

Mom gives me a curious look as we rejoin them. "Everything okay, honey? You were gone a while."

"Just a line at the drink stand," I lie, avoiding her eyes. Mom has always been able to read me too well. "What's next?"

Dad claps his hands together. "I was thinking we could try some of those carnival games. Your old man still has a pretty good arm for the baseball throw."

I force myself to focus on my family, on Laura's excited chatter about which rides we should try, but my mind keeps drifting back to Clint. To his strange words. To those intense green eyes that seemed to see right through me.

As we walk through the festival, I can't help scanning the crowds for him. Twice, I think I catch glimpses, once by the ring toss, and later near the Ferris wheel, but he's gone when I look again. Maybe I imagined it.

"You keep looking for him, don't you?" Laura whispers when my parents are distracted by a craft booth.

"No," I say automatically, then sigh. "Maybe. There's something weird about him, Laura."

"Yeah, it's called being hot and mysterious. Classic boyfriend material."

I roll my eyes. "I'm serious. He said something strange... like he knows me. Or knows something about me that I don't."

Laura's eyebrows shoot up. "Ooh, stalker vibes?"