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Damien: You can pick out your own clothes and I will love them, promise. You look great in everything you wear. Just make sure it's warm.

Fuck.

I didn't need Damien being sweet right now, I needed a badass with a gun. Or something. Maybe a can of pepper spray?

Did Damien own a gun? I didn’t know, but I was betting Quinton might have one. I didn’t think either of them would have a canister of pepper spray at the ready, it wasn’t a very manly thing to be carting around.

Ariel: Forget about the clothes. Someone’s at the front door and someone else is in the woods. Cat is also missing. Tyson has gone AWOL. Send backup ASAP!

That might have been a bit dramatic for me, but I was hoping it would get the job done.

I stuffed the phone back in my hoodie and pulled the flashlight out of the other pocket. Screw leaving it in there. As soon as I had it in my hand I immediately felt better. The weight of it felt just right in the palm of my hand.

My phone started vibrating and kept right on going, letting me know I had a phone call instead of another text. I'd probably freaked Damien right the hell out. Good. I didn't want to be alone in my own freak out, it was never fun to be alone.

Something dark and big moved in the shadows and I couldn't help myself, I screamed. The shadow was in the shape of a man, a tall man. He came at me out of the dark with one hand held up in a stopping gesture and the other arm was curled up against his chest where he held something close to him.

I didn't think, I simply acted.

To hell with getting close enough to him to hit him with the flashlight, I didn't want to be that close to anyone right now. I threw the flash light at him before he even stepped fully out of the shadows. The flash light whistled as it sailed through the air towards my would be perp. His arm came up to shield his face and he ducked to the side, moving faster than I had seen anyone move before. The light hit his arm with a thud and bounced right off of him. It fell to the ground and landed with a heavy sounding thunk.

I stood up to run as he emerged entirely from the shadows.

My mouth opened as I drew in air, preparing to scream for all I was worth.

A pathetic sounding meow came from the man’s arms and stopped me from running. He had Binx!

Now I was wishing I hadn't been so hasty in my throwing of the light. I wanted it back so I could beat him with it while attempting to wrestle my little furball away from him.

"Put the cat down," I said in a strangled voice. It wouldn't have come out sounding so strangled if I hadn't sucked in that giant lung full of air in preparation for screaming. Which is exactly what I should have been doing instead of attempting to have a conversation with the stranger. Hello?? Stranger danger!

No matter what happened, I would not abandon Binx. Not that the stupid little shit didn't seem to mind where he was. I thought I even heard him purring.

A warm wind came from the man as he lowered his hand and stepped the rest of the way out of the shadows cast by the tree line. He stepped closer to me. That's when I really got scared and learned just what terror really was. This person, whoever they were, was like me. They held magic within them.

He was a witch.

But that might have been wrong, because it could have easily been a woman. A woman would make more sense because there was Annabell The Terrible staying with the Council, and she knew exactly where to find me, and, thanks to Tyson, she probably knew more about me than I was comfortable with.

I couldn't see who or what sex the person was because they had their hood up, and it left almost the entirety of their face in the dark and closed off to me.

Was Annabell tall and thin? I had only seen her the one time in the mirror, and that had been months ago. I thought maybe she was thin but as for the height I had no clue. I knew enough about her to know she'd hide her face from me, so the hood made perfect sense for her.

I stepped to the side, clearing the chair and making sure there was a clear path for myself behind me. Just in case I needed to run, which was looking like a really good idea because I'd stupidly thrown away my weapon.

I took another step back as he or she bent over at the waist and gently set Binx down onto the grass. He let out another pathetic meow, as was his way, when he hit the grass and immediately sauntered my way.

"What’s going on?" I choked out in a strangled whisper.

Why in the heck was there a stranger person wandering out in the woods behind Dash's house when there was absolutely nothing around for miles and miles? And why had they had Dash's cat?

They straightened up gracefully, and long arms rose towards the hood that hid their face. The hood was pushed back, and the lurking stranger was revealed.

A strangled noise escaped me that sounded alarmingly similar to a sob that had gotten stuck in my throat, and I took an involuntary step back. I didn't step back because I was afraid, but more so because I was surprised and in shock.

My foot caught on the leg of the orange chair, my boots slipped on the grass and my arms wheeled out at my sides as I tried to catch my balance. As I fell, I watched Rain Kimber lunge for me with outstretched arms. He made it to my side as my back hit the grass and he was beginning to kneel down beside me as the back of my head bounced off some bricks that surrounded the fire pit. Sharp pain spiked through my head as spots flashed in my vision. I put my elbows in the grass and tried to sit up. My arms felt like jelly and slid out from under me. My head connected with what was likely the same brick and blackness over took my vision completely this time, there were no more flashing lights.

"Fuck," a deep voice snarled.