Ch. 2

I raced to the door avoiding eye contact with anyone outside. I tried not to breathe too deeply, afraid I would inhale an intoxicating smell. I opened the doors to the convenience store holding my breath for as long as I could.

I spotted them all at the register. At least they weren't all spread out through the store. I made my way towards them, until I felt it. The tendrils of my destined one wrap around me.

Are you kidding me? The one time, really? The one time I go into a public place. This has got to be a fucking joke.

One rule. I have one rule, and because of Emerson it's broken.

I could feel the tendrils of the destined one's magic solidifying, but I couldn't tell who it was yet. That is until I couldn't hold my breath any longer. I inhaled right by Emerson, hoping maybe his stench would block out my destined one's scent. I gave little credit to the pull of a destined one, it seems. Their smell couldn't be overpowered by anything.

Of course it had to be the guy working the register. Don't look, Zerena. Don't look. I willed myself to keep my eyes on Emerson. I can't know what he looks like. I can't involve myself anymore than I already have.

"We need to go." I told Emerson. I could feel the register guy looking at me. His eyes pierced my skin like rays of the burning sun. "Now." I added when no one moved.

"Oh my gosh! Zerena actually came inside?" Tally laughed and I had to suppress the urge to punch her in the throat.

"They are close. We need to go." I told them all. They all seemed to finally understand.

"But I'm hungry." Kellan whined. "Can't we just-"

"Too late." Percy cut him off. I turned to see the black SUV that pulled into the lot.

"I blame you." I looked at Emerson. "I blame you for it all."

Six large men with assault rifles got down from the car. No one else in the store seemed to notice them yet. I turned to the guy behind the register… to my destined one.

My eyes landed on him memorizing every minute detail of his face. His piercing golden eyes, a light hazel. His curly light brown locks were tight against his head. He had a strong chiseled jaw and a sharp nose that pointed to the softest looking lips. He was pale, like he got no sun… ever. Was he a vampire?

"Are you human?" I quickly asked him.

"What?" He looked at me like I asked the weirdest question. Well fuck me sideways, of course, he's gotta be human.

"Fuck. I blame you." I told Emerson again.

"For him being human?" Emerson made a face like I was insane. "What's that matter?"

I waved him off. I'm not telling any of them what this guy is to me.

"Get down." I told my destined one. His name tag read Kiran. "Now." I told him when he hadn't moved. I hate that no one listens right away.

He still looked at me weirdly, standing up straight. Humans… they have no sense of danger. What a joke, having a weak human as a destined one.

The six men made their way inside shooting before they even saw us. I jumped over the counter grabbing Kiran and pulling him down to the ground.

"I told you to get down." I scolded him. His hands and arms were covering his head, like that was going to protect him. "Stay here. Don't move."

Thankfully these men had shot off most of the lights creating shadows for me to easily move through. I let myself slip back into the shadow realm. To the outside world it looks like I sunk into the earth, or that my shadow ate me.

When I use the shadows to travel I just enter the shadow realm. It's dark in here with spots of light showing where a shadow is. Every shadow casted on earth is a patch of light in the shadow realm. They are like little doorways we shadow weavers can use to travel through.

I picked a shadow behind one of the men, quietly and quickly came out from behind him. The lights were flickering now, casting small moments of light around them. I placed my hands around his head and snapped his neck. The other men began to shoot at me, but I was slinking back into the shadow realm before any bullets could hit me.

Emerson had turned into his lycon and was tearing off a man's head. Tally was using her combat skills after rendering the man's gun useless. Percy had hidden away, using his chameleon skin to disguise himself. Percy wasn't meant for fighting. He's more the eyes and ears of our operation. Kellan is more our charmer. He gets us information and access to what we need. Neither of them should be here now. If anything happens to them we get punished…those pampered princesses.

I came through another man's shadow, but he noticed me. I grabbed the tip of his gun, pushing it up and then punching him dead in the throat. I am not sure why, but the throat seems to be my favorite place to punch. Maybe it's the feel of hitting an Adam's apple hard enough to break beneath my fist. The man spit up blood and I punched him in the throat again. This time I crushed his windpipe. I watched him choke on his blood, slowly dying beneath me.

Another man was shooting around him with no real target. His gun was shooting towards the register counter causing my stomach to fall. I had the shadows reach out and swallow him whole. I'll deal with him in the shadow realm. He'll be stuck there as only shadow weavers can travel through the shadow doors.

I dived into the shadow realm, doing a somersault to avoid the gun fire. I ran towards the man. I've determined at this point they are all human. I kicked his gun, sending it flying and then punched him in the gut. He bent forward from the pain, the air being knocked out of him. I snapped his neck in an instant.

I grabbed his limp body and tossed it out of the shadow realm. I picked a door close to Kiran. I came out to find him staring at me in amazement. He was lucky enough to not have been shot. It was now eerily quiet out here. I stood up noticing the fight was over.