“Anytime, Ms. Adams.”

My selflessness was at a point today where it hadn’t been in a long time. I didn’t know what had driven me to help this rude girl.

“Julian.” She looked at me urgently. “How many more times? Feel free to call me Diana.”

“Okay, ...Diana,” I corrected myself uneasily.

It wasn’t often that I was treated so well by people of her kind.

Get a grip, Julian. She’s nice. So you are, too.

Maybe it was actually because she was the first of her kind who didn’t make me feel stupid or want me to get out of her part of town.

“Could you please tell your father I said hello? I haven’t seen him in a long time.” I tried to find something sneaky in her smile. Failing. “How are you all doing, anyway?”

“Pretty good so far.”

I wasn’t much of a talker. She already knew that, which is why she just smiled and didn’t dig any further.

“That’s good to hear.” She sounded genuinely interested, which made me feel guilty about whether I had been too curt in answering her. “I don’t want to hold you up any longer.”

“You’re not holding me up, Ms. Ad... Diana.” It was strange to be on a first-name basis with her. She was my father’s age. “But my father just called me to dinner, so from there...”

Diana nodded in understanding and wiped the dust off the stove top with a rag.

I turned to leave.

“Oh, and...” she continued. Attentively, I paused. “Please tell your family that you are invited to dinner with us tomorrow night.”

“That’s kind of you. I’ll pass the word along.” With those words, I disappeared through the squeaky front door and skipped down the porch.

The Adams’ front yard looked like someone had driven his car into it. Dried-up plants lined the ground, and a lot of weeds had grown since Diana had last been here. The garden fence had also been standing three weeks ago. Now it lay across the front of the garden, propping its last standing end against the crooked mailbox.

Something really needed to be done here.

I made my way past the tall shrubs until I stopped on the sidewalk.

A flicker flashed next to Ms. Adams’ car, blinding me for a split second. The setting sun seemed to be reflecting in something...

When I looked closer, I realized it was a sapphire blue charm. I moved closer to get a better look.

A crackling sounded behind me.

I jerked around.

I was prepared for anything. If necessary, I would be able to kill my opponent.

My gaze searched first the footpath, then the garden fence. But there was no one there.

Then I smelled it. Another Senseque was nearby, and I knew for sure that it was not my father. She was here.

I turned cautiously in all directions but felt rather stupid myself because I could always assign all sounds to their sources. Over the years, this ability had clearly faded.

Another crackling sounded in the undergrowth. This time, it came from the direction of our garden.

I quickly picked up the charm, then ran and set to jump, skillfully pulling myself over our high fence without knocking it down this time. I landed with both feet in the garden behind our house.

“You can’t hide,” I shouted into the adjoining woods. “Your smell is too strong.”

She must have realized it, too, because, with a leap out of the thicket, she landed in front of me. Her dark brown, almost black hair was a mess and made her look more threatening. In her dark brown eyes was that gleam I only saw when she and the pack were on the hunt.

If I didn’t know her, I would have expected a serious threat now.

I took a step toward her. She did not back away. Instead, she did the same until there were only a few inches between us.

“What are you doing here, Emely?” it escaped me.

She knew perfectly well that she wasn’t supposed to be here at this hour. But above all, there was one thing she wasn’t allowed to do in this area: hunting.

“I’ve been watching you,” she growled, looking around cautiously. “You were talking to one of them.”

Her gaze was full of hostility. She seemed almost dangerous with her yellow glowing Senseque eyes.

I wasn’t forbidden to talk to them. And anyway...what business was it of hers? Just because the pack didn’t like it? Screw the pack.

“I can talk to whomever I want. And I won’t be forbidden by you.” My brows narrowed. “How many more times?”

She clenched her teeth.

I was right, and she knew it.

“You really still think that because of this arrangement, you can enjoy any freedom and do whatever you want. But you don’t. They want to control you.”

I sighed. “They don’t want to control us. We chose to live here.”

In fact, I wasn’t saying anything new.

“If your father wasn’t a cop working for the city, they would have chased you guys away long ago. Believe me. They’re just using you. And you’re going to be a problem for them sooner or later.”

Her words hit the mark.

I kept silent because I had to try to control the rising anger inside me. Unrestrained blood noticeably pulsed in my veins, which slowly began to stand out. But I would not turn. Not here. Not after all this time.

Emely must have noticed because her eyes turned yellow. Her expression became more serious.

“My father wants you to join us.”

Now she started again. Of course, Nickolas wanted me to do that.