Chapter 118: Chapter 118
She shuddered in disgust. It was revolting to be so close to the murderer of her parents. He pressed his knee into her stomach and held her by the neck. His cold hands uncomfortably restricted her breathing. Among all of the emotions this man evoked in her, her anger was by far the strongest. Red and hot like lava, it simmered in her blood and made her do things she might later regret… She glared up at him without saying a word, but her eyes spoke volumes. Her hand inconspicuously reached for the dagger on the ground, fingers taking hold of it. The weapon was cold and its hilt slippery from the rain, but she held it firmly. It was still coated in poison.
“You’re pathetic,” he went on, increasing the pressure on her neck. “All these years you’ve been running like a coward… and you don’t even know my name. You have no idea what I’m planning, you don’t know where my clan resides, you don’t know anything.”
“Then tell me your damn name if it’s that important to you,” she spat, raised her arm, and rammed the dagger right into his stomach. She couldn’t see where exactly she had struck him, but his reaction was worth it.
He tensed, grimacing in pain. One of his hands left her neck to pull the dagger out. He tossed it away, but it was too late to reverse the damage—his wound would heal very slowly due to the poison. It would be painful as hell and torment him for days.
“Fucking bitch,” he cursed. His patience had run out. “My name is Jacob, and you'd better remember it.”
His grip on her neck tightened, and her airflow was cut off. She panicked, used magic to conjure up more wolfsbane, but he was undeterred and simply ignored the plants growing on his hands and arms, no matter how painful they felt. He was controlled by rage, no longer thinking rationally.
What if he were to kill her after all? Tears burned in her eyes. She needed air, she couldn’t breathe, and it hurt. Her arms fell limply on the ground. She was about to give up, but then her fingertips brushed the leaves of a tenacious plant growing on the side of the road. The little weed was barely bigger than a sprout, but it was enough. She gathered magic, as much as she could, given how weak her body felt, and used one last spell. This plant would become her connection to her soulmate. Her magic had to reach him, and she prayed this little plant would pass her message on to him.
“You’re just as pathetic as your parents,” Jacob taunted.
It was the last thing she heard before her body couldn’t take it anymore. His face blurred, and darkness stole her vision.
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Ryder was on the way to his car when it happened. A kind of dread he had never felt before overcame him. It made him stop in his tracks. He scanned the driveway, but his sharp eyes didn’t find any intruders or threats anywhere in the vicinity. Clenching his jaw, he gazed back at his home. Something wasn’t right. He couldn’t explain the eerie sensation, and it made him restless.
He had been about to pick Elena up from work; maybe he should get in his car and ignore the odd feeling. Perhaps the stress of the past weeks was getting to him… After all, he had been in a constant state of alarm due to the vampire attacks all over town. Ryder sighed, crossed the gravel path, and approached his car. However, when he noticed movement from the corner of his eyes, he stopped abruptly and turned his head. A dark green plant sprouted from the grass next to him, growing until a flower bud appeared. He furrowed his brow as he watched the odd scene.
“Elena?” he mumbled and looked around. “No, it can’t be.” She wasn’t here; he would have sensed her heartbeat and fragrance, but the flower growing before his very eyes was real, and she was the only one who could do such a thing. The flower revealed its soft pink petals, and Ryder realized it was a camelia, Elena’s favorite. He was in awe at the sight—had she sent this to him? He hadn’t known it was possible. Crouching, he took a closer look at the camelia, but when he attempted to touch it, a change occurred. The pink petals lost their vibrant color. It faded as the flower wilted and all of its petals died, floating down on the ground. He caught one last petal, then the camelia was gone as if it had never existed in the first place.
Terror struck him like a sledgehammer. He connected the dots in a blink—the strange sensation from before hadn’t been his imagination. Something had happened to his soulmate, and his instinct had warned him. This camelia must have been her last desperate attempt at contacting him. She was in danger, and he had to act fast.
Had she been dead already, he would have felt it—soulmates always knew when the other half of their soul was gone. So at least he still had a chance to get to her. Ryder did not look back. His body shot off like lightning. He didn’t bother taking his car as it would take too long. Reaching her was crucial; it was vital. The shapes and colors of his surroundings blurred as he pushed himself to run faster and faster. The wind ripped at his clothes, but he didn’t care. He pushed himself to his absolute limit and jumped from roof to roof with one destination in mind. She had to be at her flower shop.
Its bright façade caught his eye from afar, and he took one last leap from the edge of a roof, landing on the pavement before he rushed through the door. His bloodred gaze scanned the inside of her shop within a second, and as soon as he realized she wasn’t there, he turned on his heels. Relying on his nose, he caught her scent and pursued it. Her fragrance was mixed with the smell of her human employee, so they must have left the shop together. Elena’s faint scent led him through random streets, and he wondered why she had come here.