Isn't this the part where the spooky music is supposed to start?
With a weary groan, Lana opened her door. The heavens opened up above her, pouring rain down on her outstretched arm, soaking it in seconds. Oh yeah. Cue the music. All the night needed was a scary black figure at the end of the road.
She glanced back, unable to help herself. Road clear.
Reaching into her back seat, she pulled out her umbrella. It refused to open. When she finally forced it open, the wind plucked it right out of her hands and sent it flying into the dark, wet night.
Lana glared up into the storm. "Are you trying to tell me something? I mean, you've got my attention!"
Lightning, quickly followed by thunder, answered her.
No car, no phone, no umbrella, and a nice long walk back to the strip joint in the pouring rain.
Maybe I should stay put and wait for a cop. Isn't that what they say to do if your car breaks down?
And isn't that what I'd be yelling at the screen right now?
Of course, I'd also be thinking that the poor girl was pretty much toast either way. Especially if this was the beginning of the movie, cause that would mean I wasn't the heroine. She wasn't the heroine. Whatever.
Once again, lightning and thunder answered her. There was a definite Move! vibe to the air that had her instincts howling at her much like the wind was. And one thing Lana almost always did was listen to her instincts.
She glanced around the dark interior of the car. Because this is what happens when I don't. Thunder rumbled overhead, ominous, the air heavy with the threat of the next lightning strike.
Okay, okay, I get the message!
Lana grabbed her purse and keys and got out of her car. She started walking, heading away from the night club. Why she was being prodded in the opposite direction she had no clue, but she was done ignoring the fates tonight. With any luck the powers that be would eventually let her know where she was going, but she wasn't about to hold her breath. Apparently she'd done something to piss off the Karma police. She just hoped her punishment was nothing worse than a bad cold.
* * * *
Christopher returned from an early evening run, refreshed and oddly jubilant. He loved running in the woods, but tonight somehow felt different. He felt his familiar's tug when he crossed the boundaries of his property. He stepped, naked and human, onto the back porch. Reaching for the jeans he'd left on the glass topped patio table, he stopped at Alasdair's meow. The heavens opened up and drenched him before he could even finish unfolding them. Shivering in the cooler air, he quickly abandoned the damp jeans and stepped into the house.
Alasdair appeared, his tail quivering high in the air. He rubbed himself against Christopher's calf before running towards the crystal Christopher used for scrying. A quick peek into his workroom showed that the two candles were finally touching.
After a month of waiting, his mate was finally here.
Christopher sat at his desk, swallowing to calm himself. She was here, within his reach. For the first time in his life his hands were shaking from nerves. He stared at the crystal ball, eager to finally see his mate. All of the preparation spells for scrying where already long in place, just requiring an activation spell. With a wave of his hand, he muttered,
"By the power earth and fire,
Show to me my heart's desire.
By the power of air and sea,
As I will so mote it be."
Mist swirled briefly within the ball, clearing abruptly. Christopher's eyes widened when he saw his chosen mate for the first time.
Goddess, she's beautiful.
But the more he watched, the more he knew something was very, very wrong.
*
Lana slogged through the woods, grumpy as hell. She'd followed the road for about half a mile before the urge to leave it had overcome her. Following her instincts she'd gone to the right, into the woods, rather than to the left, where the ground was more open. Something felt very wrong about being in the open right now, something that would leave her … vulnerable. Enough so that she was willing to go into a wooded area during a thunderstorm.
Not your brightest move to date. If the lightning didn't get her, whatever was hunting her would.
She was thoroughly soaked, her shoes squished when she walked, her hair was a bedraggled mess, and she knew her mascara was running down her face. She wiped the moisture away, not that it did any good. With any luck she'd strike just the right note of pathetic to get some help. Hopefully, someone was nearby who would take pity on such a sucky night and give her a hand. Or a phone.
Or a hand holding a phone.
Hell, while we're wishing for miracles, a cup of hot chocolate would be nice, too.
Lana shivered, her teeth chattering in the cold autumn rain. Her booted feet kept slipping on the wet leaves, the three inch heels definitely not meant for hiking in rain-drenched forests. She was lucky she hadn't broken her ankle yet, but she had to keep moving. Her internal trouble radar was pinging like mad, urging her forward, her fear spiking until all she wanted to do was run.
She was being hunted.
She didn't hear, or see, a thing, but she knew something was behind her. Something that meant to hurt her.
Why didn't I hear the spooky music, damn it?
She picked up her pace, but running was out of the question. It was black as pitch, and her night vision was bad on the brightest nights. Tonight she couldn't see a thing except during those brief flashes of lightning. The rain, wind and thunder muffled any sounds she might have heard, so tracking her stalker that way was impossible.
Whatever chased her kept pace. She considered throwing up a witchlight but the damn thing would be a beacon to whoever was behind her.
When the fifth branch in fifteen minutes smacked her in the face, Lana started to mutter under her breath. She clutched her purse to her, her eyes wide and afraid. She searched the darkness around her even more certain she was being hunted.
And then she felt it. A second presence. There was someone nearby, someone who could help. Her instincts were never wrong. Two people stalked her in the night; one meant safety, the other did not.
Now she just had to figure out which one was which.
Guessing wrong would be very, very bad.
*
Christopher watched his mate pick up speed, her face full of fear. He felt the sense she had of being stalked, and it worried him. Could Cole be out there? Would Cole have sensed Christopher's call for his mate?
Would Cole hurt Christopher's mate just to challenge him?
Christopher couldn't take that chance. With a last, lingering glance at the dark-haired female, he stalked to the back porch. He glared at the rain-drenched yard and changed shape with a shudder.
Christopher hated getting rained on.
He darted into the night, his wolf eyes much more suited to the darkness than the man's had been.
Sniffing the wind, he quickly found the scent of the female. His female, his mate. And something else, something elusive, something that stalked her. Something familiar that he hadn't smelled in a long time.
Cole.
The wolf paused, growling, sifting through the scents and the sounds. His woman smelled incredibly delicious. Baked apples and warm sunshine, she tugged on his senses in a way he hadn't expected. He moved swiftly and silently through the damp forest, that wonderful scent leading him straight to his prey. He stopped in front of her, confident he was hidden in the dark trees.
Soaking wet jeans molded to one of the finest asses it had ever been his pleasure to see. High heeled black boots slipped and slid on the wet leaves, nearly landing her on said ass. He couldn't tell what size her breasts were because of the bulky knit poncho she wore, but if it matched her ass, she'd be a truly pleasant handful. Her dark hair lay plastered to her skull, the color impossible to tell. Porce-lain skin glowed even in the dark night. She blew on one strand of wet hair that flopped into her eyes with an impatient sound and a roll of dark eyes that had the man inside the wolf grinning.
There you are.
*
Lana stopped, a strange sense of both safety and vulnerability flashing through her. That way. She started to turn to her left and shrieked. Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and the dark shape of a man stood before her. His eyes gleamed in the flash of lightning, his grin triumphant. He reached out towards her and tried to grab her arm.
Her entire being shuddered away from him. Lana stepped away from the man. "Why have you been following me?"
The man tilted his head. "Isn't that your car broken down on the road? I thought you could use some help."
His voice was a pleasant blend of concern and attraction. Lana's eyes narrowed, bringing up her second sight. Usually she could conjure up a person's aura fairly easily, but this man's was somehow shielded. Unfortunately she got just enough of a feel off of that shield to know what she was dealing with. Damn. A freaking wizard. Figures. No way did she want to engage in a magical dance with a wizard, especially when she couldn't tell how strong he was. Lana took a step back, every instinct she had pushing her away from the man in front of her.