Page 1 of Nighted

Chapter One

If I thought back really far, I could almost remember my mother telling me a story. About creatures who lived in the woods, and monsters that went bump in the night. Bedtime stories created to scare children. Except I was no longer a child, and I knew better now than to think those stories were made up.

None of this mattered anymore. My mother and I had no relationship left, and this was definitely not the time for a casual discussion on children’s stories. I had bigger things to worry about. The forest I was currently sprinting through full tilt was far from imaginary, although the scene could’ve been from a dream. The dense foliage was thick with new growth, lush like a fairy tale. Bright flowers bloomed in the small gaps of sunlight. The only thing missing was the bird song, preferably from a friendly bluebird. Instead, all I heard as I ran was the sound of my own heartbeat.

I wanted to stop and catch my breath, but I couldn’t. He’d find me, and that was a whole world of trouble I didn’t even want to contemplate. So I kept running, my heartbeat keeping time with my silent footsteps.

There were perks to being a Venator, and then there were skills I had worked my ass off to learn. The quiet way I could move through the forest was one of those skills I was most proud of, and my talent was paying off tenfold at the moment. My original plan had been to do a wide circle in the woods, coming out at the far end, which hadn’t been working out for me so far. Venator or not, my stamina wasn’t unlimited. What I needed was a distraction, or some way to let me loop back on myself. I eyed the aging trees as I ran deeper. The thick vines desperately making their way skyward were too new to provide any real support, but they might give me some traction if I could find a tree small enough to find good holds. Just ahead of me I found my target. A tree younger than the rest with some low limbs, but not fully covered in the twining green ropes. Perfect.

I jumped, reaching for the first low limb and pulling myself into the tree. I continued to climb until I was high enough in the leaves that I was unable to be seen but could still hear everything going on below me. Unfortunately, this vantage point also left my vision partially obstructed. I would have to rely on a combination of my senses and hope for the best. I pulled myself as small as I could, straining my ears to hear the sounds beneath my hiding place. I needed to wait until he passed by me, and then I could make my way back out of the woods. Easy. I had outmaneuvered wolves loads of times. My breath and my heart kept an odd melody in my head, and I forced myself to slow down. I needed to listen.

I heard the heavy breathing first. I must have pulled up at the perfect time, because he wasn’t far behind me. I could hear sniffing down the trail I had followed. I pulled my feet even closer to my body, willing my heart to be silent. I had come this far. I could make it a little while longer. I kept count of the seconds, tapping my finger on my tight black shirt. One. Two. Three. There was the swish of a tail in the bushes beneath me. I could see the edges of the damp fur but couldn’t make out the whole body. Holding my breath, I waited to see if he would find my hiding spot or would move on. Four. Five. Six. The fur slowly disappeared, and the sniffing faded out further along the trail. I would give him a couple more minutes, just to make sure, and then I would jump down and move. Seven. Eight. Nine. My hiding spot had been a success. There was no more sign of him. Now I only needed to get back in one piece. I took a deep breath and jumped down.

Ten.

I took a quick look around me, feeling satisfied I hadn’t been found out. I turned on my heel to head back the way I had come, before he noticed I was no longer ahead of him. But before I could move, something snaked out from the left of me and grabbed my wrist. My heart stopped. Shit.

“What gave me away?” My voice sounded a lot braver than I felt. Bravery was a constant work in progress, especially when the supernatural world wasn’t one you were expecting to find yourself living in.

Jasper smirked. “Your scent was all over those vines, Green. You should know better than to climb on the greenery without masking your scent first.”

Double shit. How had I forgotten that? I had been pleased with myself too, and my pride had knocked me down hard.

“Damnit! I thought I had you this time.”

He laughed, casually running his fingers through his messy hair. His hair had gotten longer in the last month or so. I wasn’t complaining. The length suited him. The soft sweatpants he stashed around the woods we used for training draped low on his hips, putting his toned and inked body on display. I loved looking at him. Jasper Knight. My boyfriend? I still couldn’t believe he was real after all this time.

Jasper swung a perfectly tanned arm over my shoulder, teasing me lightly. Somehow, he managed to come out of winter looking like he spent every day on the beach. “Listen, Green. Give up now. I will forever out track you.”

We often came out to the woods to practice tracking. I was technically no longer in training, but we both enjoyed the runs, and were both a little competitive.

I shook my head stubbornly. “No way. You have a weakness I will discover and exploit.” Okay -- we were very competitive.

He tucked my head tight against his shoulder, trying a different tactic. “Baby, you’re a phenomenal Venator. No one is doubting that. But I trained you, and I will always out track you.”

I relaxed against his body, still annoyed at myself. My agitation only grew as Jasper brought his lips close to my ear. “Even if you did make a rookie mistake.”

I stood corrected. I loved looking at him, but I definitely didn’t like him at the present moment. I pushed away from his body. “You’re a jerk.”

He was laughing at me. With me? No, definitely at me. “You’re cute when you’re angry.”

Whatever. I’d show him cute. I started jogging down the path back to town. He might still have the advantage in tracking, but I was faster than he was. On his human feet at least. “Last one back to the apartment gets dish duty,” I called over my shoulder to him. “And no cheating!” I didn’t bet dinner duty, because that was a joke. We both knew who would be cooking, and it wasn’t me.

Jasper groaned loudly, starting to jog behind me. “Come on, you know I don’t stand a chance on two legs.”

Duh. “You should’ve thought about that before you made fun of me. See you at home!” I picked up the pace, letting my mind focus on nothing more than my feet in front of me, and my blood rushing within me.

My run put me in a much better mood. For how fit Jasper was, he really did not enjoy running as a human. I stopped in front of the main doors, catching my breath. As expected, I had gotten back to my apartment miles ahead of Jasper.

After Christmas, we had spent some time in Chicago. Then we came back to Merrillan for a while to make sure I didn’t shirk my duties with the pack. And then, we went back to Chicago. After playing this game for some time, we had decided the efficient thing to do was to keep both apartments. Double apartments allowed us a place to stay when Jasper had to work and when we came back to visit Mollie and the pack. An added bonus was not having to stay in Adrian’s “guest room” which I had serious doubts about even being a legal room, let alone a bedroom.

It was different, not being in Merrillan all the time. Not always working in the café or seeing Mollie every week. But I liked the city, and Jasper and I both thought a fresh start was necessary. A life far away from everything that took place this winter.

I shuddered thinking about the events from not long ago. I didn’t like to think about everything too much, but my job now meant I was required to think about what happened in the woods way too much. How my parents turned on us, and how I had to take my father into custody -- and attack my mother. But I hadn’t been strong enough to end her life. Not then, at least.

Jasper finally came jogging around the corner, looking annoyed but not overly strained. The guy really did not enjoy running on two legs.

“You’re a pain in the ass, Ava, you know that?” he muttered, but smiled as he stopped next to me. “What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing I didn’t rise to his bait as I normally would.

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