Page 34 of Hunters and Prey

"Not in this life, but we can rewrite the next generation," a black-haired male declared.

"If there were six of us... this wouldn't have happened," a blue-haired man argued.

"There's no point in arguing about what can't be unwritten. We failed her. Her spirit has moved on. All we can do now is make a vow to protect her in the new life."

"We can't make the same mistakes," Red-haired announced.

"You mean loving her?" blond guy questioned.

"That..." Aaron paused. "We don't know if that's the reason this all went downhill."

"Regardless, we won't repeat the past," black-haired guy vowed. "If that means we can't love her in the future, so be it."

"And what if we do?" blue-haired man asked.

"We don't know. Nor will we remember. Whatever happens with our reincarnations is up to them. All I can hope is our magic will not ignite the love we shared. Let it be buried, as we allow the earth to take us away. Allow us to rest with our love, and may that passion remain in the ground below. Only Mother Nature can decide what's best for our future selves. Let us start the ceremony."

I looked around, watching the five men as they lifted their hands up, glowing orbs beginning to form above their heads before the same symbols that were on my arms formed on their bare ones. Their bodies were engulfed in the same lights and at the same time, they hit me at once.

A scream escaped me, my body on fire as the five beams of light poured into me. I gasped as I fell back onto the soil, my body convulsing as my eyes stared at the full moon that began to shift in color.

My body floated upward, leaving the ground behind as the energy being blasted into me grew and grew. The wind whipped around me, as leaves and rocks rose with my body. I felt the water from my sweat begin to multiply and twirl around my body and fire lit from nowhere, following the opposite flowing direction as the water.

I reached higher and higher, feeling like I was on the verge of death, my body unable to contain the power around and inside me. My head fell back as my eyes began to roll back, but I caught a glimpse of a man.

He had long black hair with hints of white, and his eyes were like dark emeralds. He stood there and watched, his expression looking as though his feelings were hurt.

I stared at him in awe, for his handsome features were soft, but the feeling around him was as though I was peering into an evil mastermind. He sighed and lifted his hand, pointing it directly at me.

"They were fools in this lifetime, but I will not let them repeat their failures. My sweet Alice deserves the world, and this time around, I'll give her that. I'll prove to her that she needs me to enjoy the life she was meant to live."

Sweet Alice? Me?

His body began to glow, shifting from black to white to black again. Two orbs appeared above his head as he raised his hand higher, the white and black orbs fusing together before a beam of both colors headed straight for me.

I stared at the man one last time, knowing in seconds this vision would fade and I would never get to see him again. These men, I knew them. I...loved them.

"Who are you?" I whispered, right before the beam hit me. I choked and arched my back, my eyes rolling completely back as power surged through them. My body pulsed with energy, every vein, organ, and body part thrumming with the energy that was from all six of them.

My senses began to decline as I struggled to take my next breath. My ears were the last to decline and picked up on the final words of the man with emerald eyes.

"The question should be...who are you?"

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