Chapter 90: On The Hunt: Part Two

Branches and leaves brushed her face, cutting past her fur, but Esme pushed on, not caring at the tangled route this other wolf was taking them on. She had been leaping over fallen trees, getting tangled in uplifted roots and vines in her attempt to keep the black wolf in her sight. He was fast and agile, just as she remembered, but in her panicked mind, she was coming off as clumsier than normal. 

She couldn't lose him. Not again.

Esme just wanted to see him. Why was he running away? Why was he playing hide and seek with her? 

When she had a hunch that it might be Marcus a few days ago, she wasn't acting so rashly and even spoke to him like a crazed person trying to coax him to come out. Now she was rushing after him like there was no tomorrow. But Esme knew it was because she revealed her past to Gabriel; she still felt fragile from all the emotions she had kept locked away. Now they were bubbling to the surface again. 

Esme kept replaying the moment Marcus fell down the cliff and the sickening sound of his back and head hitting the rock. It made her snap her jaw tighter and push on even harder. The black wolf ahead was not that far ahead, and she knew if she could only push a little harder, then she would catch up to him. 

"Hold on! It can't be him, Es! We saw his body hit that rock! This could be another rogue or a Hellhound acting like him to try and lure you away from Chester! STOP AND THINK!" Isana screamed the last sentence in her mind, making Esme flinch and halt in her tracks. Her breathing was ragged, and her muscles burning and tense from running a long distance.

As she caught her breath, Esme regained her composure, her eyes roaming the trees for any threats. But all she saw were the birds and squirrels scattering from the area in which the large wolf now stood. Esme knew Isana was anxious, but she couldn't see anything that would cause them harm, and she was still confident in herself as an ex-assassin. Esme took a step forwards then stopped at the sound of Isana's voice again.

"If it was Marcus, why would he not just reveal himself? Why linger in the woods like a stalker? Sure, he smells like the lavender phantom and looks like him in wolf form.. But why show himself now?" Isana said, her words were making Esme's mind clear, and she shifted on the spot.

Esme walked behind a tree and shouted, "Marcus, if that's you, then show yourself! If not then, I am going back. I don't have time to play with you, friend or foe."

Esme waited a few minutes, listening out for any rustling noises and smelt the air for the lavender scent. This wolf, Marcus or not, was still nearby but stayed hidden. So, it wasn't Marcus but someone playing him to gain her attention. Her heart sunk at the idea, but she pushed past her feelings and hardened her face, feeling a small rage starting to burn in her chest. 

The she-wolf walked away from the tree, not caring about her nakedness, even with the scars. The scars in themselves were also a sign of her strength as a rogue and should tell this other wolf to back off. Whoever this copycat wolf was, he'd annoyed her for making her hope for an impossible outcome, and she would not let it go lightly. 

"This is a final warning. Show yourself, or I'll finish this game. If you know who I am.." She stopped and raked her hand through her damp hair, unconcerned that her back was to an enemy. "Then you know it will end with your death. The choice is yours."

A rustling came from the side, and she heard two feet land on the ground nearby. Esme tensed and reached behind her, pausing after realising her knife was with her clothes, and she was standing there naked. Growing her claws, she turned her head in the direction of where she could hear feet crunching across the leaves on the ground. But nobody was standing there. Esme frowned; whoever it was were highly skilled in making their target believe they were in one spot but were actually in another. 

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Esme's frown slowly smoothed out, and she held back from smiling. Nobody else could do that except for her. It had to be Marcus. 

"But I like playing. Especially with you, Nyx." A smooth velvet-like voice, one she could never forget, spoke from the opposite side to where she was looking. Esme turned her head in the voice's direction and relaxed her clawed hand, drinking in the man's face. Hair as dark as night fell over his shoulders, untied and dishevelled, stubble covered his chiselled jawline, and his sharp blue eyes reflected back mischievousness. 

"Marcus," She whispered, her shoulders relaxed instinctively. 

Like she, Marcus stood there naked and approached her slowly. Even though he looked playful right now, Esme could see through it; his eyes shifted from her to the trees and back. Esme still couldn't believe he was there in front of her, breathing, living and acting like they'd never parted due to his death. 

"I don't want to play. I want to know what happened," Esme whispered, watching his graceful cat-like movements and scanning the forest as well. He was treading carefully towards her, circling her, then stopped to stand behind her. If she wasn't confident in her skills, this would have been deadly to have her back to someone like Marcus. If she was someone else, they'd be dead within seconds. 

Even now, Marcus oozed a dark aura, one that could ensnare you, but like moths to a flame, many were still drawn to him. She only knew this from her days in the Hellhounds and could guess how much it had amplified now that he had aged well with his features even more chiselled. But none of that mattered right now.

Why was Marcus running away from her? What game was he playing? Multiple questions came to her mind, and she knew he was the only one to answer her. 

"As you can see. I am not dead," Marcus whispered into her ear. His body was close to hers, almost touching; she could feel his warmth radiating from behind her. Esme spun on the spot and snatched his hand away from where he pulled back a leaf in her hair. His lips smiled at her, but his eyes were hard and cold, almost glaring at her for stopping him from touching her.

"Why did you make me believe you were dead? Are you still with the Hellhounds?" Esme asked urgently but kept her voice level. 

She appeared nearly calm on the outside, but she felt like a mess on the inside. She was a mixture of joy at finding him alive and infuriated at being kept in the dark and Marcus watching her from afar without approaching her. But Marcus knew her too well, and she saw the enjoyment on his features at seeing her mentally struggle with this sudden shock, even if it only reflected in her dark eyes. 

His hand slipped away from hers, and he tilted his head to the side, assessing her face then looking further down at her petite body before meeting her gaze again. Esme growled at him in warning for looking at her so hungrily and had a sarcastic comment on her lips, but Marcus beat her to it.

"All in good time, Nyx.." He turned around and started to leave.

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