Chapter 9

RONAN'S POV

Simon West! Simon West!!

Your time is ticking, motherfucker. Fast.

It's sprinting.

I've been watching this man for three days. Three days of my life I'll never get back. Three days of memorizing the way he walks, the way he talks, the way he fucks, the way he chews his food like a goddamn cow.

---

Day one: office. Home. Bed. Boring.

I followed him home. Watched him walk through the door to a pretty house with a garden and a swing set in the back. Watched his wife greet him at the door. Watched her kiss his cheek like he was something precious.

I stayed until the lights went out and even further.

_____

Day two: office. Home. Bed. Still boring.

He went to work. Came home. Had dinner. Watched a movie with his kids on the couch. Fell asleep with his youngest on his chest.

I watched from the tree line.

Nothing.

_____

Day three: office. Home. Fucked his wife like a machine. I stayed in my hiding place and wanted to claw my own eyes out as I tried not to think about it. Tried not to think about her. About us. About the bed I almost had her in.

Take the bait. Take the bait. Take the—

Nothing.

_____

Day four: office. Then the party. Finally something interesting.

I know his schedule better than he does. I know he takes his coffee black. I know he calls his wife at exactly 3:47 every afternoon. I know he checks his reflection in every goddamn window he passes.

Now, he sits in his office, oblivious. Through the glass, I watch him take a call. His face softens in that way men's faces do only for one person.

"No, honey, I told you. It's just a business dinner. Yes, with the usual people but I also need to meet Mr kael, he requested to see me. We will be home as early as I can."

Pause. He laughs.

"I love you too. Give the kids a kiss for me. Okay. Bye."

He hangs up. Stares at the phone for a moment. Smiles to himself.

I clench my jaw.

_____

He leaves early that day. Pattern change. I follow.

He goes home. Fine. Normal

---

They dress up. Both of them. Nice clothes. She's in green. He's in black.

Party tonight. I already knew. I have the invite. I have the outfit. I have everything.

They leave. I follow.

The venue is obscene. Crystal chandeliers. Champagne towers. Women in diamonds, men in watches that cost more than most people's houses. Half the city's rich and powerful are here.

Including the Alpha.

Kael is across the room, laughing with some old man, a woman on his arm that isn't Elara. Someone else. A distraction.

Who is distracting Elara?

I blend right in.

Simon works the room. Handshakes. Slaps on the back. Laughs at jokes that aren't funny.

I work the edges. Watch. Wait.

"Ronan?" A hand on my arm. Old business associate. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Didn't expect to be here." I shake his hand. "Good to see you, Marcus."

"You too, you too." He leans in. "Listen, I've been meaning to ask you about that investment opportunity you mentioned last quarter. The tech startup?"

"Solid returns. I'll send you the prospectus."

"Please do." He clinks my glass. "You always find the good ones."

I smile. Nod. Keep my eyes on Simon across the room.

I find the Alpha near the bar. We talk. Brief. Professional. He asks about progress. I say I'm close. He nods. Move on to Simon and they began conversing.

I didn't go near them to avoid being suspected but I figured what the conversation would be about.

The alpha is making a lot of effort to make the conversation look casual but the intensity on Simon's face ruined it all.

I made a move I should have done earlier, checking out every nook and cranny of the place to make sure she is not here.

Even in disguise.

I turned back to watch Simon and he's talking to someone else now. A woman in red. His hand on her elbow was just a little too long.

Interesting.

I watch him excuse himself. Watch him disappear toward the restrooms. Watch the woman in red adjust her dress and follow three minutes later.

Very interesting.

Twenty minutes. They come back separately. His collar is slightly crooked. She's not wearing the same lipstick.

I almost laugh.

Elara, if you don't kill this man, I might do it myself.

---

Simon leaves the party with his wife. I follow.

His wife either didn't notice the evidence of him being with another woman or she ignored it.

I clench my jaw.

They get home. His children was awake. They greeted them at the door with excitement. The parents gave kisses and hugs to the kids. He picks the youngest up and they all went to the children's room.

I watch through the window like a fucking degenerate.

They later went to their bedroom, undressed and the light goes out.

I wait.

---

Hours pass. The street is dead quiet. My eyes burn from staring.

Where is she? Where is she? Where is she?

Midnight. Nothing.

One AM. Nothing.

Two AM. Nothing.

I lean my head back against the seat. Stare at the ceiling of my car.

Should I just give up? Did I miss something? Did she know I was watching? Did she—

No. She would have killed him by now if she was going to. Unless—

Unless I missed it. Unless there was a sign. Unless she's smarter than me and knew I was waiting for her.

I ran through every second of the last three days. Every move Simon made. Every phone call. Every handshake. Every time he was alone.

Nothing.

She wasn't at the party, I made sure of that and her killings has always been physical and violent.

Fuck.

How much longer would I wait?

---

Six AM.

The sky is starting to lighten. Gray. Ugly. Like my mood.

I've been here all night. Waiting. Nothing.

She's not coming. She's not fucking coming.

I reach for the ignition. Ready to leave. Ready to admit I was wrong.

Then I see her.

Black. All black. Moving toward the house like she owns the night, even though the night is ending.

Is that her? She's not changed. She's in human form. Walking. Casual. Like she's going for a morning stroll and she was carrying a rather big bag.

I freeze. Watch.

She disappears around the side of the house.

Holy shit. She's here.

I'm out of the car before I think. Moving toward the house. Quiet. Careful.

By the time I find a window, it's already done.

The wife is on the floor.

Blood everywhere. On the walls. On the bed. On the ceiling. She's not just dead—she's in pieces. I don't know where to look. Arm there. Leg there. Her head is—

I look away. Breathe. Look back.

Simon is still alive. For now.

He's on the bed. Naked. Shaking. His mouth is open but no sound comes out. He's watching her like she's death itself.

She is.

Elara doesn't rush. Doesn't panic. She moves to him calmly. Places one hand on his chest. He jerks. Tries to scramble back. She holds him down with one arm like he weighs nothing.

Then her claws come out.

Not full shift. Just the claws. Long. Curved. Wet-looking in the dim light.

She sinks them into his stomach.

He screams. Finally screams. It's wet. Gurgling.

She doesn't care.

She opens him like a package. Methodical. Precise. Her hands disappear inside him and when they come back, there's a kidney. Glistening. Perfect.

She places it in a bag. Small. Cooler bag. Already waiting on the nightstand.

Second kidney. Same thing.

Liver. Same thing.

She works in silence. The only sounds are Simon's fading whimpers and the wet noises of her work.

When she's done, she steps back. Look at him. He's still breathing. Somehow.

She doesn't finish him. Just leave him there. Open. Empty. Dying slow.

Then she undresses, completely naked before shifting.

Not all the way. Just enough. Fur ripples across her skin. Bones crack and reform. In seconds, she's a wolf. Red-eyed. Blood-muzzled.

She tears into Simon's body. No longer needing anything—for chaos. For cover. To make it look like an animal attack gone wrong.

When she's done, the room is unrecognizable.

She shifts back. Human again. Naked. Blood-soaked. Calm.

She gathers her bag of organs. Wipes her face with a cloth from her pocket. Dresses in fresh clothes from another bag—where did she even hide that?

Then she leaves. Out the window. Into the morning light.

I stay frozen. Watching the empty room. The bodies. The blood.

There were sounds coming from the children's room but I paid them no mind.

I don't move to help them.

I just stand there, realizing what I just witnessed.

This is her. This is who she is now.

And I don't know if I can look away.

_____

I don't know how long I stand there.

The room. The blood. The true form of her.

But then I move.

Out the window. Same way she went. Quiet. Careful. She has a head start but I know these woods. I know tracking.

Where is she heading?

I move fast but not frantic. Keep distance. Let her stay ahead.

She's walking. Just walking. Through the trees like she's done this a hundred times. Like she knows exactly where she's going.

Where is she going?

The bag is over her shoulder. The one with the kidneys. The liver. Evidence of what she is now.

This is who you truly are.

I follow. Keep my distance. Watch her move through the morning light like nothing happened. Like she didn't just—

She keeps walking.

And walking.

And walking.

I don't stop. I don't catch up. I just follow. Waiting to see where she goes. What she does next. Who she becomes when she thinks no one is watching.

The trees thin. She keeps walking.

I keep following.