The mysterious past he's never opened up to me about….
What is he carrying?
“Tell me what you saw, Gwen,” I plead, but she shakes her head with frightened, wide eyes.
“I shouldn't have seen that,” she whispers. “I don't know why I saw that. But it's not my story to tell.”
Whatever Gwen saw, Hunter felt it, too. That's why he snapped at me. He's carrying darkness within him, and I care too much to let it consume him. With a frustrated, defeated groan, I decide to go after him.
Chapter 12 - Hunter
I've always tried to outrun my past in the hope that the darkness would stay where I left it.
But like any shadow, it's always following me, always lurking, even if I don't look over my shoulder.
Now, running in wolf form as fast as my paws can carry me, I can't seem to run away from the darkness that hangs over me like a dark cloud. I have no idea why the witch who's locked away was able to flash my darkness in front of me with a single, brief touch, but my past flashed right before my eyes the way it did that night when our group faced off with a dark, demonic being that could only be killed with a silver blade.
Pure silver, which prevented me from being in wolf form when I pierced that malevolent creature in its chest. Because we'd been informed by the head of the Werewolf Union that such a vile creature existed and needed to be exterminated in Alaska, our group had decided to leave Delilah out of the mission. If the creature had anything to do with black magic, it was best to keep our resident white witch out of it.
But that night, I saw my life flash before my eyes, and in that moment, as I killed the dark, ominous creature and sent it back to whatever hell it came from, I knew that I couldn't ever drag Delilah down with me.
The past that haunts me will forever hang over me like a dark cloud.
What's worse is that I saw into my future, and it's something I've been trying to avoid at all costs.
Maybe that night, I wasn't worried that I couldn't protect Delilah from the vile creatures that exist out there.
I was more afraid that I wouldn't be able to protect her fromme.
The realization hits me as lightning-quick as my dark past crashing into me the night of the undercover mission. As quickly as it did just now, when the witch stirred up those dark, treacherous memories.
That's why I sprint faster, trying to put enough distance between me and the only person who can never be tainted by my darkness.
Delilah.
As I push forward, I lift my head and howl with anguish, feeling her presence nearing me as if I'm being chased.
I can't outrun my past.
And I can't outrun the she-wolf who knows these woods better than I do.
The slight distraction of sensing Delilah coming after me makes me stumble over a rock cemented in the ground, crashing into the first tree with an impact that quakes the ground and gives her enough time to catch up. As she towers over me in wolf form, her majestic wolf covered in soft, black fur with a single streak of silver running along her back like a lightning bolt to match the strand of gray hair she wears in human form, Delilah whimpers and lowers her head.
It's like she's appealing to me to stop running away, running from her, running from the past I've been trying to leave behind.
She cares, that's why she followed me.
She cares aboutme.
And that's the toughest pill to swallow, and it has my wolf cowering as I'm left in human form, hanging my head in surrender.
Only my mind continues racing with flashes of the darkness I carry, and I can't bring myself to face the only person on earth who shouldn't ever see a flicker of that darkness.
“Hunter! Why were you running away?” Delilah asks, standing in human form now in the most delectable black silk dress that clings to her curves. My eyes travel up the length of her frame until I'm met with the accusing depths of her eyes, the tiny green specks swimming in hazel, fiery as she glares at me.
“I wasn't running away,” I lie, shrugging as I shove my hands into the pockets of the tailored slacks I'm wearing. Somehow, the suit Delilah arranged for me to wear was a perfect fit, reminding me how well she knows me, even if she's determined to pretend like she's indifferent. “I needed some fresh air.”
“Right,” she scoffs and folds her arms. “What happened back there?”
