Chapter 2- The Ghost in the Shadows

Nathan POV-

The sleek black Maybach glides through the city streets like a shark cutting through dark water, but I feel every vibration of the road as if it is a needle against my skin. My entire being is focused on the fading trail of wild honey and rain-drenched cedar that clings to the upholstery. It is a cruel tease, a ghost of the girl who has occupied my mind since the second my lungs first drew her in.

"She’s on foot," Marcus notes, his eyes darting to the GPS on the dash, then to the side mirror. "She took a back exit from the university. She’s trying to stay off the main cameras, taking the alleys through the Heights."

My jaw tightens, the muscles in my neck cording like iron. "She’s not just avoiding cameras, Marcus. She’s hiding. Those students today—that wasn't a one-time scuffle. That was a hunt." The thought of Santa being viewed as 'prey' by anyone other than me makes the wolf inside of me snarl, a low, guttural vibration that makes the car’s premium sound system hum in sympathy. "Stop the car. I’ll follow from here. The scent is getting tangled with the city's rot."

"Sir, this neighborhood—it’s the Narrows. Shifters don't go there unless they’re looking for a fight," Marcus warns, pulling the car to a silent halt.

"I don't care about the neighborhood," I snap, my eyes flashing a brief, predatory gold that illuminates the darkened  interior. "I need to know where she sleeps. I need to know the perimeter of her safety."

I step out into the biting evening air. To a human, the Narrows is a plethora of smells leaking sewage, cheap fuel and the metallic tang of old snow that is still on the ground in patches. But to me, it is a blurred background. Through the smells, her scent acts like a golden thread to my wolf and I. 

I move with a grace that is too fluid for a human, my long strides eating up the pavement as I slip into the labyrinth of alleys, my expensive Italian leather shoes making no sound on the cracked asphalt as I stay hidden while following Santa.

Santa. What a lovely name. Just the thought of her name brings a smile to her face. When she smiles, her name suits her perfectly. 

Following her scent, I catch up quickly. She is a small, hooded figure that is moving with a frantic, bird-like speed. Every few yards,s he pauses, her head tilting as if her ears are straining for the sound of something.

I smile to myself. ‘She is smart’, I think to myself. A dark, possessive pride swelling in my chest. She knows that the world is full of monsters, even if she has not realised that one of them is following her. ‘I just wish that she had not seen the monsters.’

‘Clearly something has happened to her to make her act this way.’ my wolf says sadly.

‘Yeah buddy. But she has us now. We will silently protect her until we can bring her to our side.’

As she turns into a particularly grim alleyway,blocked by a rusted dumpster, I catch the sight of her smile again and everything in me stops for a split second. 

Her smile is not as radiant as it was earlier though, this one is asad, tired ghost of a smile as she gives a shivering stray cat a piece of food that I had not noticed her fishing out of her pocket.

I look closer and see that she is giving the car a small piece of bread, offering all of it with a trembling hand. Once the cat accepts the bread, she continues on her way.

"Even when you have nothing, you give," I whisper in the wind.

Finally, she reaches a crumbling block of apartments. The building looks as though it is being held together by nothing but rust and the memory of its glory days. 

I watch from the shadows across the street as she heads in. I watch as she skips the front door, instead she climbs the fire escape with practised ease, flinching as she hauls herself up, her movements favouring her left side.

The kick to the stomach must have happened to her right. This realisation makes me growl, my nails elongating instinctively at the thought of my mate being harmed. I grip the wall next to me, my claws carving deep grooves into the stone. 

I continue to watch, waiting for a sign of life to see which apartment is her. Suddenly a light flickers on- a dim, sickly yellow glow in the third story window.

I climb quickly up the building to my right, using my elongated claws to dig into the brick and mortar and my wolf's strength to jump powerfully. Within seconds I am on the roof, looking directly into her world- her home. Through the cracked glass of her window, I watch her move. 

I feel like a stalker, but at the same time I cannot help but be mesmerised by the sheer strength that this little human has. Even in the amount of pain she is in, she is still carrying on to the best of her ability.

The room is barely ten feet wide. I watch as she takes off her hoodie but I instantly regret looking as I have to hold both myself and my wolf back. Across her ribs is a dark, violet black bruise blooming like a poisonous flower. The metallic, copper tang of her blood hits my nose again- fresh as she dabs at her split lip with a damp, tattered cloth. 

The honey and cedar scent changes, turning sharp and acidic with her pain. It is a physical agony for me to stay perched in the shadows when every instinct hollers at me to crash through that glass and heal her with my own tongue, to scent-mark every inch of her skin until the bruises fade under my heat.

Then, Santa does something that nearly breaks my composure. She sits at a small, cluttered desk made of reclaimed wood, opens her notebook and begins to study. Even in the amount of pain she is in, even in a room that smells of poverty and damp, her mind in her fortress. Her resolve is so admirable. 

I watch as she leans her head on her hand, she touches the corner of her mouth, and that smile—faint, defiant, and heartbreaking—returns for a split second before she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and goes back to work.

“You are a ghost, Miss Santa Wing.” I murmur, my eyes locking on her frame. “A beautiful, broken ghost. I just hope that instead of being your darkness, I can become your light.” 

‘Marcus’ I growl through the mind link.

‘Sir?’ The response is immediate. 

‘Buy the building,’ I command. My voice is a cold, terrifying rumble that carries the weight on my Alpha’s decree. ‘Buy the entire block. Secure the perimeter. By tomorrow morning, I want every person living in that building vetted. If they have a criminal record or pose a threat of any kind, they're out.’

‘And Miss. Wing, do we approach her?’

I watch as Santa finally turns off her lamp, the room falling into darkness that feels like a personal insult. I can still hear her through the thin walls,- the sound of her sighing as she lays down, the catch in her breath and slight curse as her bruised ribs meet the mattress. 

‘She will not be a ghost anymore. She has been found, and as of tonight, she is the most precious and protected creature on this earth. She just does not know about her cage.’

I stay for a few more hours, a statue of silk and muscle guarding Santa as she sleeps until the sun begins to light the horizon.

I may be a billionaire CEO, the Titan of the business world and a powerful alpha. But here, in the cold air of the Narrows,  am simply a wolf who has found his missing piece.

And I will tear this city apart to keep that smile on her face.