***Zara's POV***

Waking up before the sun has always been a habit. No alarms necessary. It was a moment I'd share with her. Our favorite spot was on our little window nook on the other side of our bedroom. We would talk about silly things like school and how good the morning air smelled. Those little moments were our moments when the Earth would stay still for a few seconds longer in anticipation. Now it's just a slow, endless reminder of who I've lost.

'Mom. Hilde.' I stare out onto the forest floor. Brown leaves rustled softly over the dusty earth. My eyes lull closed as a familiar ache throbs within my chest. 'You can't be gone. You're me.'

Before my thoughts could dive deeper, my morning brooding session was rudely interrupted by an honest to Goddess mockingbird. The little devil chirped noisily next to my bedroom window. "Fine. You win. Stupid pigeon." As if one cue, he got louder and more annoying. "Really? I'm up. I'm up."

After doing my morning routine in the bathroom, I pulled out one of my many thick over-sized hoodies from the closet and slipped it on over a sports bra and tight workout pants. Then I was rushing out the door, grabbing an after workout protein shake from the fridge, locked up the house, and dashed for my car in a hurry.

The sun broke through the clouds just as I opened the doors to the gym. I stood there, looking up at the rays beaming down on the little mountain town with a sad smile. 'I miss you guys. Everyday.' Just for a few more seconds, I watched the scene with my hand reaching up to caress my necklace underneath my hoodie.

"You're late Thorne!" Fabian bellowed.

"Yeah, yeah. Good morning to you too Father Time." I smirked. 'I crack myself up.'

His jaw dropped and then recovered with a grin. "You'll pay for that Sleeping Beauty."

"Now that's just plain mean Jar Head," I scoffed with fake annoyance. "Out of all the princesses you called me the most useless one!"

"We'll if the shoe fits." He shrugged.

"Did you just call me useless?!"

"YU'P'!" His dark brown eyes danced with mischief. "Whatcha' gone do? Princess?" Fabian smirked.

"I'm gonna kick your smart ass, 'til you admit that I'm a Queen," I deadpanned in a challenging tone.

"OOooohh. I'm so scared." He mocked.

I tried my best to give him a friendly little butt kick but he wormed around my foot. Now I'm just kicking the air as he repeatedly dodges; like a pair of idiots. Laughter erupted out of us. "Stay still asshole." The back and forth pre-workout banter was our thing, and I loved him for it.

***

After two hours of intense martial arts training in techniques ranging from Aikido, boxing, wrestling, Judo, and Karate, we ended our routine with a sparring session. Of course I kicked his butt this time.

"Hey. No need to be so aggressive. If you wanted to touch my butt all you had to do was ask." He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

Laughter bubbled up and sprung out of my exhausted frame.

"Why would I do that when this is more fun?"

I half heartedly jogged after him and he sprinted away.

"Coward."

"Not a coward." He panted from the other side of the room. "I'm just trying to save my ass from you."

"But you said I could touch it."

Fabian is my best friend and a great Krav Maga partner. He makes everything worthwhile.

"You keep using that word." His tone serious, "I do not think it means what you think it means." A wide smile spread freely across his face. His dimples showing.

"Inconceivable!" I point at him.

'This is why he's my favorite partner in the club.'

We switched partners every couple of weeks with two weeks off to self-train. Alissa, The Wild Card, always kept me on my toes, but she lacked the strength to defeat me. Bobby was decent in technique and strategy, but he was too slow.

'I think he thinks too much with his head and not enough with his own gut.'

Then there was A.J. If one bad apple could ruin the batch, then the one bad apple in our group would be A.J. The worst of it was that he reminded me of someone I'd rather not remember at all. It was in the way he'd find a way to pin me under him on the mat during our sparring. With his body pressed against mine. Feeling every angle, every breath. It was just infuriating every time he'd force me to look at him before he would release me. That asshole would do that just to let me know I was weaker than him.

"Are you coming to the bar with us on Friday?" Fabian asked on the way out to our vehicles. His question snapped me out of my headspace stuck on A.J.

"Please say yes this time. It's no fun without you. No one can hold liquor like us." He looked at me over the back of his truck as he tossed in his gym bag in the bed. Puppy dog eyes formed on his rugged face.

"Stop looking at me like that. I hate when you give me the puppy dog eyes."

He deepened the look and then added a few sad whines.

"I hate you."

"Aww, I knew you loved me. I'll pick you up, my Queen, at twenty-one hundred hours." Fabian popped to attention and saluted me before he hopped into the truck. As he drove by waving at me as I flipped him off. That idiot pretended to stuff it excitedly into his pockets.

'What a goofy marine.'

I rolled down my windows before zipping out of the gravel parking lot. The cool morning air was refreshing against my hot sticky skin. On the way back home I had this uneasy feeling wash over me out of the blue.

More uneasiness filled me as I neared my property, it felt like I was being followed or watched.

Hunted.

My heart pounded as I made the last second decision to go down a different road in the opposite direction. All my senses strained to detect any danger in the trees and passing wooded roads.

Makersville, the next town over, came into view.

I braced my hands on the steering wheel ready for any impact.

My whole body is poised.

Alert.

An eerie distant howl pierced my heart.

'They're close.' I shudder.

A crowded diner with a few parking spots left near the town's gas station seemed like a good place to park and think about what to do next.

Minutes ticked by.

'Breathe. Just Breathe Zara.' I chanted.

Ghostly pain shot up from my neck. As if it were waking up after a long time. I quickly covered the mark up with my quivering palm.

Later on, I started to drink my now warm protein shake with shaky hands. An hour passed, and finally I felt like it was safe to continue my day, as if a fog had lifted. My hands stopped moving involuntarily enough to give me reprieve from my near panic attack.

'This is you right?'

'You saved me.'

"If only I could save you."

At this moment, I felt like I was so close to her. Closer than I have been in years.

'But it was me that threw her away.'

I pressed the heels of my hands into my eye sockets to stop the sting.

'They can't make me go back.'

"I need to know Auntie is okay."

"Please. Please. Pick-up." I repeated with my knee bouncing.

"Good Morning Rosie." Auntie's voice sounded slightly off. "How's your morning?"

A long pause hung in the air between our conversation before I answered, "I'm fine."

I felt loads better after hearing her voice. The weight of my scare lessened, and I could feel my body start to uncoil. 

"Is everything okay? I thought to call you about something that ... but-" she paused with a sigh, her thoughts an obvious mess.

'That kind of pause meant danger.' A tremor of fear rippled through me.

"I didn't want to alarm you. And now I'm worried because you called. So, tell me what happened."

"They got close. They got too close. And they nearly followed me home." I admitted.

"For almost five years." Tears choked me up before I could say more.

"Where are you now? Are you safe?"

"Yes, I'm safe."

'For now.'

"How did they find me? I could hear their howl."

"Are you sure it was a wolf after you? It could have been any ordinary wolf or harmless rogue that lives in Eden."

"No. It's daylight. That's too risky. A normal lone wolf would never."

I could feel her thinking. "I hope that dark witchcraft isn't involved, if it is then..." It felt like there was something she desperately wanted to tell me, but she was restraining herself. "Just be extremely careful for the time being." She cautioned.

"I will Auntie. I love you."

"I love you too Little Rose. I'll see you soon."

At the end of the phone call, I got a text from the clinic.