The world narrowed to breath, balance, and the whisper of wind through leaves overhead. To the way my muscles engaged and released. To the solid earth beneath me and the open sky above.
I was midway through a transition, warrior two shifting into extended side angle, my hand reaching toward the ground, when I felt it. A shift in the air…the awareness of being watched, and with it came the first tendrils of fear. Good thing I’d trained for moments like these. I’d never had to put them into practice, but there was always a first time for everything.
Snap.
A twig, not too far away. My awareness detonated. I definitely wasn’t alone, and every nerve lit up inside me,instincts kicking in hard and fast, but I didn’t react. With slow and unbothered movements, I did one last full-body stretch and slipped into my shoes, scooping up my socks and my bag. I moved toward the spot of woods where I thought I had emerged from, hoping to retrace my steps easily enough back home.
I wasn’t entirely surprised when steps followed me, but I wasn’t happy about it. Tendrils of fear danced in my blood, urging me to pick up my pace as I entered the trees, the forest closing in around me.
Are they following me?
If so, why?
Could it be those kidnappers Paisley and Atlas were telling me about?
My brain battled with the decision to keep going at a normal pace as I trekked through the woods or to just go full-out and start running. Could I outrun them? Was it a risk I was willing to take? Either choice had its own risks.
Leaves crunched under my feet, but no matter how much distance I tried to create, I felt them closing in behind me. It wasn’t long until they would be close enough to grab me.
Sweat beaded at the back of my neck. My sense seemed heightened from being acutely aware I was being followed.
I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder, but the voice in my head telling me to move my ass couldn’t be ignored anymore. Picking up my speed, I shifted to a brisk walk, but the hair-raising on my arms warned me their strides were longer than mine and swiftly bridging the distance I desperately wanted to create.
I wouldn’t make it home before they were on me.
Fuck it.
If they wanted a confrontation, I’d give them a face-to-face they wouldn’t forget.
I waited, buying my time, going over the moves in my head, until I heard their steps. From the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of color. Clothes. Hair. Skin. Fur. Hell, I couldn’t tell. I didn’t have time to digest. I had to catch them unaware before they caught me.
Patience. Not yet. Just keep going. Wait…wait…wait…now.
I spun, dropping low and driving forward, my hand catching his wrist, twisting hard as I stepped into him, using his size against him. My foot hooked behind his ankle, my other hand pressing into his chest. He hit the ground hard, leaves crunching beneath him as the air rushed from his lungs in a sharp exhale.
I followed him down, straddling his hips and pinning him flat on his back before he could recover, asserting dominance over the situation.
My breath came fast, my adrenaline surging as I tightened my grip and glanced down. I froze.
What the?—?
No. It can’t be.
Familiar light-green eyes stared back up at me.
“Maddox?” I blinked, gazing into his face, unable to believe what my eyes were seeing.
Oh.
Shit.
For a second, neither of us moved, my heart still thumping wildly in my chest. Perhaps more now. Of all the people in Elmwood, why did it have to be him?
His dark hair rested in a bed of leaves. “Fuck,” he rasped, still catching his breath, his hands resting loosely at his sides like he wasn’t even trying to fight me. “That’s one way to greet me.”
Heat flooded my face, but I didn’t move. “Why were you following me? I could have hurt you.”
His brows lifted. “Hurt me?”
