I parked myself in front of the mirror, touching the butterfly stitches that Seth had used to patch me up. I wasn't the same girl I had been eight years ago when we had first met. I was nineteen years old, nearly a full-grown woman. I looked a lot like my late mother when she had been young. I had the same button nose, full lips, rounded face, and chipmunk cheeks. The only thing I didn't quite like about my face were my eyes. They were far too big, and bright. They made me look almost alien.

I turned on the faucet, splashing cold water into my face. I wiped myself against the fabric of my long sleeve shirt, casting a quick look at my reflection before I made my way out of the bathroom. I headed down the hallway into the main room, finding it surprisingly empty. I moved to the window, spotting Seth alert and outside with his gun poised for action. I narrowed my eyes as I moved toward the door, opening it with a twist of the knob. I was hit with a rush of frostbiting air, a shiver running down my spine.

"Is everything alright?" I stood in the doorway, staring at Seth who was standing at the base of the steps that led up to the porch. He was staring off toward the woods, gaze focused intently. I grabbed my jacket that was hanging on the coat rack just inside the door, pulling it on as I stepped outside into the cold air. It sucked the air from my lungs, and battered my face. It didn't matter how much snow I'd seen in my life, nobody could get used to the blistering chill, "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"You're going to think I'm crazy." He flipped a look toward me, tightening his grip on his gun.

I pressed my lips together, "Me? I doubt it."

"I saw something out here. I thought it might be a wolf but it looked too big. More like a bear...but that's not right either..." He stumbled over his words as he turned his attention back to the woods, "Look, I'm going to go check it out."

"No!" I found myself shouting quickly, cheeks burning when he turned back to me with surprise. I swallowed my embarrassment, stepping forward, "I mean that sounds kind of dangerous. If it's a wild animal, it doesn't seem very wise to go out there without backup."

Seth's lips curved upward into a ghost of a smile, "Are you worried about me, Jezebel?"

I looked away, digging the toe of my boot into the snow dusted porch, "I just think you should wait until the storm settles, at least."

"I'll just take a quick look. I'll be right back. I can't have a wild animal prowling around this close to town." I knew his words made sense. He was the deputy but these animals were also his livelihood and he had to protect them. I watched as he disappeared into the woods, waiting anxiously for him to return. I thought to go back inside but my insides twisted in a way that kept me from moving. I had a bad feeling in my bones. I stood silently, staring out through the sheet of white powder toward the trees.

I heard his gun shot and I knew I couldn't handle waiting around. I had to help him. I raced off the porch and into the storm, "Seth!" I called as I ran into the woods, the snow deep enough in some places that it was halfway up my calf. It staggered my stride, slowing me down. It was like trying to run through sand.

I gritted my teeth, pumping my arm as I pushed harder, "Seth!"

I heard a deep shout followed by the sound of another gun shot. I felt the heat of my blood pumping through my veins. I needed to save him. I had to make sure nothing happened to him. I tried to ignore the terror in my heart at the thought of finding him hurt. I followed the sound of his gun shots, I had counted six. There couldn't be many more bullets left in his clip.

"Seth!" I called his name, frantic to get to him as I heard his gun fire again, close enough to leave my ears ringing. I weaved my way through the trees, finding him laid out in the snow and his gun pointed at a large black form. It was more muscular than a wolf but smaller than a bear. My insides hummed with a familiar recognition. This wasn't a beast from this world.

I bought my fingers to my lips, whistling as my brother had taught me when I was young. The dog-like beast froze in its pursuit of Seth, turning toward me. It looked like it's flesh was rotting off its bones, exposing muscles and tendons beneath. I shivered against the cold as I stared into it blood red eyes. It wasn't normal. It was one of them. I had broken my rule, yet again.

It snapped its teeth in my direction, and I stood up a little taller, puffing out my chest to make myself seem bigger, "That's right, you bastard. You want me? Come and get me." I didn't really have a plan but I couldn't let Seth get hurt. He watched the scene silently, eyes wide, his face paler than usual. I felt a spark of rage in my gut, "Come on, you bastard! Come and get me!" I shouted.

It threw its head back and howled before it ran towards me, snapping its powerful jaws. I pulled at the shadows, and they surged forward at my call. I watched as they raced at blinding speed over the white powder and towards the creature, wrapping around it and yanking it up into the air. It remained embolized in the air, snarling and snapping its teeth. I watched saliva drip from its mouth to the snow, melting it. There was familiar burning in my skull, defiant as it had been the night I had first unleashed the shadows.

I fell back into the snow with a surprised yelp when the creature suddenly burst into flames, shrieking in pain, until it was nothing but ashes drifting away in the howling winter wind, "That was quite impressive for a half-breed."

I tossed my head to see the image of Seth evaporate like mist before my eyes, in his place stood my armored man. His familiar amber gaze sizing me up, "What did you do to Seth? If you did something to him..."

"You're human?" He scoffed, lips twisting quiet disdain, "I didn't touch him. Merely used his face to lure you out of your home so that we could talk."

I pulled myself up off the ground, dusting the snow from my butt to keep it from soaking into my jeans. I eyed the stranger with warily, making sure that for every step he took in my direction I took one away from him. He rolled his eyes, "I have no desire to harm you."

"Yet, you had to lure me out here under the guise of a friend and pretend to be in trouble...which you obviously weren't. So, I'm a bit hard pressed to believe the words coming out of your mouth." I snapped. I was cold, wet, and more than a little angry at allowing myself to be so easily tricked. I should have known the real Seth from the imitation.

"I needed to know if you were truly who I thought you to be. I may have tricked you but I have no lies left to tell that will benefit me."

I narrowed my eyes as I fixed my hood over my head to shield me from the wind, "I don't have time for this. Please, leave me alone. I'm not interested." I turned away from the handsome but irritating stranger, trudging forward through the snow back the way I came.

"You haven't even heard what I wanted..."

I wrapped my arms around my stomach, holding in my warmth, "Yes, but I can already tell you I'm not interested. I don't want anything to do with you, that creature, and any other creatures like it."

A fireball whizzed past my head, heating my skin for a moment before igniting a nearby tree. I jumped back in surprise as the fire evaporated into a puff of smoke. I turned around with a heaving breath, eyes locking on the flames that licked at his fingers and crawled up his forearm. "What happened to the whole, 'I have no desire to harm you thing?'"

"You will listen to me properly, or things will get nasty. I may have no desire to hurt you but that doesn't mean I won't." I knew his threat was real. I crossed my arms over my chest, the wind swirling the flakes of snow between us.

"I'm listening..." I grumbled. I could call upon my shadow but I was tired from how I had used them already. I could tell that my armored friend would not be as easy an opponent as others I had faced off against.

He relaxed a bit, reaching up to brush some of his hair away from his face, "My name is Cian. I am from a place some humans refer to as the otherworld..."

"Get to the point, Cian. I'm freezing to death out here. I'm human, unlike you." I interrupted not caring to hear his life story.

He tensed, eyes burning brighter for a moment, "People are going to die, Jezebel. This is the wild hunt. The Erlking will not stop until he's satisfied his lust for blood." I had no idea what this wild hunt was but I knew enough of hunting to surmise that it couldn't be a good thing. It also would explain the increase in sightings of creatures I'd had over the past couple of weeks.

"If you were looking to prey on some misguided sentimentality for the people in this town, you're coming to the wrong person. They don't mean anything to me..." I repressed the urge to care. Why should I? The people in this town had only shunned me. They wouldn't lift a finger to help me if I was in trouble. So, I felt little desire to do the same for them.

His lips twitched up into a cold smile, "Not even your human?" The glamour of Seth appeared in his stead. It made my heart grow heavy in my chest, weighing down my limbs. It was true that he was the one person I had a soft spot for. He didn't treat me like the others. He made me feel normal when I was anything but. He must have caught the change in me, "That's what I thought..."

"As long as I'm around Seth will be safe. You saw what I did to that...thing."

"I did. It was impressive...for a half-breed." The glamour faded away, "But that thing was nothing compared to the lords and ladies of the hunt, Jezebel. They aren't simple minded beasts. They have power, training, and centuries of experience. Your little power will hardly be enough to stop them."

I grounded my teeth together, my brow ticking in irritation, "Then what could I possibly have that you would want?" I threw my hands up, the frost nipping at my fingertips, "Ask one of them to help you if they're so great." 

"If it was that simple don't you think I would have done that already?" He replied, voice low. "I am a Seelie prince. The next in line for the throne, or I was. I've been enslaved to the Erlking for nearly a century. When I saw you on the road I sensed something about you...your essence reminded me of his." There was disdain in his voice, "I needed to know. Now, I am certain you are one of his heirs. The only one that hasn't been poisoned by his madness and cruelty."

It was a lot to take in. Not only was he suggesting that my father some crazed, and murdering faerie king, but he was saying I had other siblings, that I wasn't as alone in the world as I thought. Of course, from the way he spoke about them it didn't make me all that anxious for a reunion. In fact, I would have been happier never knowing any of this. He stared at me with an intensity that had my mouth growing dry. I held back the urge to laugh, shaking my head, "You're crazy. And I am really not interested. I'm sorry about the whole imprisonment thing, Cian. I really am. It seems like it probably sucks, but I'm not your ticket to freedom or whatever you want me to be. You've got the wrong girl."

A hunting horn in the distance had us both turning quickly. My heart skipped a beat as I cast a look in Cian's direction. He met my gaze without emotion, "We'll see..." I watched as he turned into a wolf, amber gaze fixing on me before he darted off into the trees, leaving me alone with nothing but the winter chill.