Jayme POV:

The adrenaline crash left me shaking.

I sat in a taxi, deleting every social media account. Erasing Jayme Barnes.

"Blue Note Jazz Bar," I told the driver.

Neutral ground. Run by humans, frequented by the supernatural underground.

Chloe, a witch posing as a bartender, vaulted over the bar when she saw me.

"Honey," she breathed. "You look like you've been through a war."

"I need to disappear," I said. "He's coming. His wolf... I saw it. He won't let go."

Chloe dragged me to the back. "The bond snapped violently. An Alpha's wolf takes that as a challenge to hunt."

A low growl vibrated through the floorboards.

"He's here," I whispered.

The scent of Hunt —musk and aggression—seeped under the door.

"Go," Chloe pushed me toward the alley. "I'll cloak your scent."

I ran into the rain.

A shadow detached itself from the darkness at the end of the alley.

Autry. Eyes glowing gold, canines extended. Feral.

"Mine," he growled. Not a word, a vibration.

He lunged.

He moved faster than human sight. He was going to drag me back to his den.

I backed against the brick wall. "No!"

As he reached for me, my chest exploded with light. A rejection of his very existence.

BOOM.

A shockwave of pure white energy blasted outward.

Autry was thrown backward like a ragdoll. He slammed into a dumpster, stunned, the gold fading from his eyes.

I stared at my glowing hands.

I didn't wait.

I ran. Chloe's magic must have held, or the blast confused him. I made it to the airport.

One ticket. Marseille.

As the plane lifted off, I looked down at the shrinking city lights.

Jayme Barnes died in that alley.

Whoever landed in France would be someone else.