Page 53 of Bound

“Oh, shit. Killing a supernatural triggers the gene,” Nic looks downstairs worried before taking off in a sprint.

I follow close behind, we have to stop Aly and Jeremy before she makes the kill. This could trigger her change into a full Hunter and make everything harder. She should at least have the choice!

Ahead of me Nic shouts, “no!” Trying to stop anything from happening.

Before we make it, a loud pop echos through the house. Sliding to a stop inside the training room, I bump into Nic.

Aly is standing there in complete shock as another mark makes its way around her neck. It’s a blood red choker with the two crossed arrows in the center. It’s all sharp edges and bold lines, the mark of a Hunter. I can’t believe I never connected the dots, no wonder the mark was so familiar. But without the context, none of us realized.

Next to Aly, is the source of the pop. A woman, who is an older version of Aly, is standing there staring with a disapproving glare. She has Aly’s same brown hair but she’s slightly taller and a lot more built. She has lines around her eyes and mouth that betray her age.

Staring up at the woman, Aly whispers, confirming my suspicions, “mom?”

Her eyes sweep the room, taking all of us in. Clearly, she knows what we are. She peers down at Jeremy’s body on the ground before bringing her attention back to Aly.

I’m terrified, we have a real life hunter in our house. A hunter, who is standing dangerously close to my mate, even if it is her mom. Nic takes a step closer, clearly worried about Aly too.

“Oh Aly dear, what have you done?” She responds, furious. Then she grabs my mate’s arm and they both disappear with a pop. We all lunge forward but there’s nothing we can do. One second she was right here with us and the next she’s gone.

* * *