**CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT.**
I felt my blood drained from my face as I recognized the tall figure walking down the street, laughing casually with a woman next to him. He wore a black leather jacket, his hands stuffed into his pockets, and even from where I sat inside the cafe I could hear the sound of his laugh. He looked exactly the same as the last time I saw him with Karina—calm, collected, as if he hadn’t taken an innocent life. The hunter. The one who killed Karina.
Tyler.
My heart pounded in my chest as a wave of anger and fear surged through me. What the hell was he doing here? Looking for his next target? Mocking us? I felt my hands tighten around the edge of the table, my body suddenly hard with tension. For a moment, I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn't look away, couldn’t breathe. It was like I was trapped in that moment again—the night I saw Karina's mauled body. It was the same night he escaped.
But this time, I promised myself that I wouldn’t let him.
Without a word, I stood abruptly, my chair scraping against the floor as I pushed it back. Yuri and Tennessee both looked up, startled, but I barely registered their voices calling after me. I shoved my way through the café door, the bell above it ringing a little too loud as I stepped out.
I hurried across the street, my eyes locked on Tyler’s figure. He was still walking down the street, hands over the girls shoulders, laughing as they conversed loudly. As though he could feel my presence, he looked back. His gaze met mine, and for a brief second, I thought I saw a flicker of something—recognition, maybe? Or was it amusement? It was impossible to tell from this distance.
“Tyler!” I shouted, my voice sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care. I didn't even care about the attention I'd brought upon myself. I wasn’t going to let him walk away this time. I needed justice for Karina. I needed to understand more about the hunters and even more…I needed him dead. Need. Not want.
But as I ran after him, he and the girl turned a sharp corner and I increased my pace and when I got to the corner…
He wasn’t there.
All I was met with was a close. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air.
My heart skipped a beat as I looked around, frantically scanning the street for any sign of him. Maybe I'd misread and he didn't turn corners. But there was nothing. No Tyler. Nor the girl. No trace of him at all. It was like he and the girl had vanished.
I stood frozen, my pulse racing, confusion swirling in my head. Where the hell did he go? He couldn’t have disappeared that quickly—he couldn’t have just…vanished. I looked up and down the sidewalk, peering into other alleyways around, glancing over my shoulder, but Tyler was gone. Completely.
The street felt quiet now, the distant hum of Brooklyn fading into a disturbing calm. It was like I'd seen a ghost. A figment of my imagination. But I knew what I had seen. I wasn’t imagining it. Tyler had been walking with a girl, probably his next victim, and he saw me. I could swear he even recognised me.
I felt my chest tightened as I took in a shaky breath, my fists clenched at my sides. Anger and helplessness gnawed at me, mixing with my grief. I couldn’t catch him. Again. He slipped through my fingers, just like he had that night.
I moved back towards the entrance of the cafe, turning around slowly with my eyes still searching the street, but there was no sign of him. Nothing to explain what had just happened.
“Eline?” Yuri’s voice called out from behind me, and I turned to see her and Tennessee standing by the entrance of the café, both of them looking concerned.
I hesitated for a moment, glancing back at the empty street one last time. There was no point in telling them. They wouldn’t understand. Where would I even start from? That Karina was a weredog who happened to be killed by some set of humans (could they even be called humans anymore considering the display of power Tyler showed last time) who believe in the eradication of shifters from earth?
“Nothing,” I said quietly, shaking my head as though trying to convince myself. “It’s nothing.”
“Are you sure?” Tennessee asked.
God. I was losing it. “I need to leave,” I announced as I entered the cafe in order to grab my tote bag.
“You haven't even finished your coffee,” Yuri said as she and Tennessee trailed behind me. I could tell they were worried about me.
“Anyone of you can have it,” I said as I picked up my tote bag and brought out my phone. I quickly threw a text to Draken, telling him that I'd seen Tyler at Honey Works Café. His response was immediate.
*Draken:- stay there, I'm on my way.*
*Me:- Okay.*
“Are you sure everything is okay, Eline?” The questions from my friends persisted. I wished I could share all my worries and concerns with them…but I couldn't. We lived a whole different life, after all, and I didn't want to get them involved in mine and let their lives risk being taken. Besides, I was scared of how they'd react once they found out I wasn't human…
I took in a deep breath as I nodded. “Yes. Why won't everything be fine?”
“You just stormed out of the café, Eline. It's unlike you,” Tennessee said, her tone calmer, cautious. “It was like you were after something. As your friends it's only normal that we care about you.”
“Look, I just need some air, okay?” I said quickly, avoiding their gazes. “I’ll see you guys later.”
I immediately tucked my phone back into my bag and left the café under the burning gaze of both my friends. I felt bad. Really bad for leaving them like that, but I couldn't help it, not when Karina's killer was still out roaming the street, looking for his next prey.