Himari’s POV.-Kitra’s body skids five-foot away and I flip my body into a straight stance. Ciel bulges his eyes out and gapes his jaw, and Zorien hoods his gaze with a keen concentration on me. I manage a smirk at them, getting bouncy on my feet to see Kitra groaning into a rise.“You wench! How dare you!” She’s destabilized from the defeat just now, unable to coordinate her offense and driving only on her anger as she comes delivering reckless strikes at me. With the help of the bouncy steps I learned from my dad, it’s so easy to evade all her flimsy attacks and deal a wicked blow to her jaw that sends her back to the floor with a thud and a painful yelp.“You should put that energy into strategizing your next moves properly, and not drafting unnecessary large strikes that put you at a disadvantage” I come to stand above her panting and wincing form with arms crossed. And wow, that did help get some weight off my body.“M-Mari, where did you learn to fight like that?” A

Zorien’s POV.-Materializing inside my bed chamber on the window sill, I’m eager to see that pup already in my bed but a wave of disappointment blares at me instead when I find no trace of her. My excited mood fades away instantly, and so does my iron grip on the weight in my left clutch. I and Ashton went to cool off some steam at the border three miles away from the part of the forest where her Pack lies opposite. Hunting Werebears have always been a favorite game for me, and I brought the head of their strongest warrior tonight so I can scare her shitless.But she’s not here and I suddenly don’t feel like it anymore. The blood-dripping crushed head of a full-grown Grizzly drop from my hand and along its fall engulfs in searing flames that burn it to ashes right away. Then again, there are many ways to torture her.Descending from the window, I run a quick spatial scan of the room, detecting a small life-form beneath my bed and I smirk cruelly. Her little Weasel seems to be

Zorien’s POV.-I have to risk interrogating a single Darkling survivor with Ashton present. He’ll get suspicious and know I’m hiding something if I send him away. As I stand back and observe him torturing the fallen being, I keep my lips lined and my face straight. Eight-foot-tall with wide shoulders that run down into a thin twisted body, the Darkling’s eerie body flares out in place of feet and into centipede-like legs. It’s got no spine nor ribs, having a blackened round face with eyelids sewn shut and a wide mouth with an uneven galore of sharpened dripping black teeth. It’s the perfect embodiment of a nightmare.The Darkling drops to the ground, writhing from internal and external pain as it gives out trembling shrieks of terror. Ashton faces me, presenting it before my feet and the Ghouls with lit torches in their hands, bow their heads.Ashton speaks, “It should be ready to answer you now, Zorien”.I lower my gaze to the filthy squirming worm and harden my eyes as I

Himari’s POV.-Runa’s shout has me whipping around and without thinking what I’ll do next, I’m springing out of the bar and returning to the street where the snow is raining hard. In this flood of white balls, I can’t see much and my palpitating heart is obstructing my hearing ability. How do I know if Ciel is getting close at all?‘Himari, we don’t have time! They’re coming, get a move already!’ Runa’s blaring order gives me no time to think anything at all. In the next second, I’m running down my left, beating through the snow shower and panting. It’s so cold, the ground is slippery and my vision is impaired. I don’t even know where I’m heading in this white blindness.In my alarm, I pick up heavy hurrying feet, listening keenly to identify three pairs of varying paces that sinks my heart. They’re right behind me! Who are they and what do they want from me? I don’t think I’ve been here long enough to attract such untoward people. And Flynn? Could he have known? I can’t tel

Himari’s POV.-“H-hey! What do you think you’re doing?- Hey!”Panic spurts me up to grab the top of the driver’s seat as the car begins to accelerate away from the curb we’re to wait for Ciel’s return. “Stop the car! My boyfriend isn’t back yet!” I argue with the driver that’s suddenly pretending not to hear me at all, ignoring my hands and slamming his foot down hard on the gas pedal.The driver speeds past a car in front, making me yelp from the swift curve he makes around the car as I fall back and hit the back of my head with a wince. I groan and look forward, touching the back of my head when a foul aura hits me suddenly. It’s the same rancid aura those men from that bar had exuded.Did they come back for revenge? My paranoia explodes over me as I give up on trying to fight the driver and focus on how to get out of the car myself. The windows are rolled up, so I jump to the left door and tug the handle roughly.“Open up, please- Dammit!” The handle breaks and all bloo