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She thinks she’s just going to walk out of here by herself? Find her way through the forest at night and somehow not end up as someone’s dinner? I should stop her. If she wants to walk straight into an early death sentence, that’s on her.

Except, I’m not done with her yet.

Everyone is discussing going down to the water. Siena won’t swim. I know that. She won’t even go near a pool if it’s more than a few feet deep.

Childhood trauma scars us all. Some of us just have cuts that go deeper.

Chatter carries on around me. The conversations blur into the background as I watch Sumner walk farther and farther away. Her resilience frustrates me. She refuses to stay down when that’s exactly where I want her.

Those fucking eyes. That long brown hair. Her soft, full lips. I detest everything she is. Everything she’s done.

Let the fragile creature wander into the woods. Let her get lost.

Soon, I will do what I enjoy most. I will go hunting.

CHAPTER EIGHT

SUMNER

Water sloshes in my shoes with every step. I’m cold and wet. It’s also getting darker, and I swear I’ve seen that log already. I was positive there was a path on the way to the cove. All I’m finding now are trees and more trees.

A chorus of howling rolls through the night air, and the little hairs on my body stand on end. Wrapping my arms tightly around myself, I pick a direction and keep walking.

I’m trying to remind myself I’ve been in worse situations. I can handle the dark. Sure, I may have absolutely no idea where I am, but I’ve spent my entire life lost. The key is to keep moving. To never stop. That’s what Luca had told me, and it’s what I’ve always done.

Granted, this would all be so much easier if he were here.

I never knew I could miss someone as much as I miss him. Things were never easy. Luca made it bearable. He made the bad days less shitty. Soon, I’ll be home and we can look back at this and laugh. If I could just get my bearings⁠—

Rustling freezes my steps. My body straightens, ears trained for any sudden noise.

Holding my breath, I take a cautious step forward. A low growl thrums from my left. Not like the thing that chased me in my own forest. This one is far more cat-like, an almost purring rumble.

Glowing amber eyes appear from the black of night, bright and wholly on me. The dense canopy of branches casts an eerie darkness, masking the predator against the night. It advances forward, panther-like, and is so much bigger than I’d expected.

The beast curls its lips, revealing a row of sharp, glistening teeth. It lets out a guttural sound, sending more than shivers down my spine.

Twigs snap under its weight as it moves closer. I scan the area, desperate for a way out, for a rock, a stick, anything.

Quicker than I can react, the cat leaps forward. The wind is knocked from my lungs before it reaches me, and I hit the ground. Stars dance across my vision while a sharp pain radiates from my elbow.

When the ringing in my ears dulls and my focus clears, I sit up, seeing Rhenn. He stands between me and the beast, knees bent, arms poised and loose, like he’s ready to fight.

I’m disoriented from the fall, not understanding how or why he’s here.

With a hiss, the panther paces from side to side, its strides long and powerful. Even its tail slices through the air with a forceful whip.

“Back the fuck off, Haider,” Rhenn grits, his voice a warning.

I want to run, to be anywhere else. I’m paralyzed in place, unable to take my eyes away from the colossal feline. It watches me too, and in a flash, it’s in front of me again, swiping its massive paw. Instead of taking off my head, it slaps across Rhenn’s body. He’d moved so fast I hadn’t even noticed him stepping in the way.

Both he and the panther are thrown back from their impact with one another.

My stomach knots, and I rise, feeling my unsteady balance as I prepare to rush to Rhenn’s side. He’s already back on his feet, using one hand to hold his waist where the creature had struck. “I would say to shift back and fight me like a man, but I’d have an unfair advantage.”

The cat hums a low growl, lurching upright as well.

“Try touching her again,” Rhenn taunts the creature. “I fucking dare you.”