Unedited sample from part 1
Chapter 8 – 01st September 2023
...
He laughed at his own joke and squeezed her leg even more. Drawing in the air through her smiling lips, Sunna decided it was enough. She had filtered out what she needed. Luca’s name, where he used to work, and his drastic personality change following an attack. These facts would allow her to do her own research. The word Werewolf popped back into her head. The Lycania, parasitic souls that turned mortals into Werewolves, were known to change their victims' personalities, often to the complete opposite. However, there were plenty of other creatures who could also cause change in mortals, like Wendigos or Skinwalkers.
He put his arm around her and proposed, “’Ow about we cop out of ’ere, and I take yer ter me place ter show yer a real good time, eh?”
She smiled sweetly and fixed him with her eyes, while her hand deftly drew another vial from her bag and let its contents drop into his glass.
“Sounds intriguing,” she murmured, “but shouldn’t you finish your beer first? Would be a shame to waste it.”
She leaned back, pushing her chest forwards to expose the shape of her small breasts. He grabbed the beer without letting her out of his sight and emptied it in one go.
Content, she observed how his face changed while he started swaying. She caught his forehead before it slumped onto the table. It was not an act of kindness. She merely wanted to prevent attracting attention or to wake him up.
Looking quickly around, she took his wallet out of his back pocket. After removing enough money to cover her expenses, she collected an extra £20 note before putting the wallet back. She had suffered enough, and there was no need to waste money on such a pathetic individual.
Leaning over him and with her hands on his temples, she closed her eyes while whispering a spell into his ear that would let him forget her. However, before she was finished, two laughing women moved close by towards the toilet. She had to halt, pushing him back into his seat to make it appear that he was just resting.
Instead of repeating the spell, she got up. Memory-cleansing spells were tricky, and while she did not care if he forgot his birthday or where he lived, she did not want to damage his brain. After all, he was not the brightest cherry, and even a half-finished spell should be enough for his mind.
She went to the bar and put the £20 note down in front of the bartender.
“He feels sorry for how he behaved earlier and wanted to make it up with a generous tip.”
He raised one eyebrow while looking at her and threw a glance towards the back before taking the banknote.
“I hope he’s still alive.”
“He needs a bit of rest after all the beer, that’s all.”
“You wrapped the guy good around your finger.”
She pretended not to know what he meant and smiled innocently at him. He pushed the note into his pocket while stating, “You might have fooled that idiot, but not me.”
The way his intelligent, dark blue eyes observed her aroused her interest, and with another innocent smile, she put her elbows on the counter and her chin in her hands while daring, “And what are you going to do now?”
His eyes narrowed before he shrugged and added with a smile, “He has been here a few times before and was the opposite of charming. In my opinion, he deserves to be used.”
The smile gave his youthful face an appealing attractiveness, and she felt a tingling in her fingers to bury them in his short dark hair while exploring the rest of him.
“Used?” she repeated with a playful voice. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Before either could say anything, a young woman rushed into the pub, apologising to him for being late and moving quickly behind the bar. He did not reply to her. Instead, he waited until she was gone.
“You might do with that guy what you like, but don’t think I’m a fool. I definitely do not like being used that way.”
She pushed herself up, leaning over the counter. In a low voice, she whispered, “Tell me then, how do you like to be used?”
He raised his eyebrows while a soft rouge spread over his cheeks.
Unedited sample from part 1
Chapter 10 – 01st September 2023
...
Deep in his thoughts, Luca did not realise that the meeting had ended until someone put a hand on his shoulder. He looked into the friendly eyes of Rick Goodman.
“Let’s go home, Luca. You’re here now for more than twelve hours.”
He did not answer. He had a clear idea of what would come next and instead nodded before swiftly escaping to his desk. There he sat down and went through all his notes from both crime scenes and carefully studied every photograph again and again in the hope of finding anything he might have missed. However, all he achieved was the deepening of the distinct feeling that he had been at the scenes before. Regardless, he kept going, and his focus kept him calm and the gnawing inside him out of his mind.
“Luca!”
He looked up at Rick, whose eyes had lost the friendly shine.
“In case I wasn’t clear earlier, when I said, Let’s go home, I meant both of us, not only me. Imagine my surprise coming back for my next shift, and you’re still here. Go home! Work isn’t everything.”
“I’m almost done,” he replied.
“No, you’re done now! You are here for almost eighteen hours.”
“I clocked out at my normal time. You don’t have to pay me overtime.”
“That isn’t the point. Everyone needs a private life, and a good work-life balance is important. I have a legal duty to protect your welfare. So, either you go freely, or I kick you out myself, face first.”
Hushed chuckles reached his ears, but he ignored them and kept holding Rick’s gaze. He liked him and found it easier to be around him than the rest of the team. He also knew when Rick was serious, and, letting out a sigh, he collected the files, photographs, and other documents to take with him.
“Oh no,” Rick said, snatching everything from his hands. “Have some rest and do something not work-related for once.”
His protests were ignored while Rick escorted him out of the police station to his car and waited until he had driven off. Having watched him disappear in his rear-view mirror, he drove to the crime scene of Mrs Wilson.
The moment he stepped into the car park. He got the same feeling as on the day of her discovery.
...
He stayed a long time, trying to decipher the sensation and the familiarity, but nothing new revealed itself to him. When he could no longer bear the sensation, he climbed back into his car and drove to Castle Mound.
With the warm weather, he had the windows open. Passing a takeaway, the smell let him realise how hungry he was. It was almost 11pm, and he had not eaten for a good day. The memory of the raw steaks came back to his mind and made his mouth water. Repelled by himself, he tried to ignore the craving while he parked at the takeaway. The deep-fried options were not appealing, but his hunger was stronger, and he ordered a random selection. Back in his car, he reluctantly pushed everything down before driving on.
Reaching Castle Mound, bathed in the gloomy light of the decreasing moon, he had the same sickening sensation as in the car park. There was no mistake; both places were identical.
...
Luca had lost the track he had been following, but instead of going back up the hill, he had stubbornly searched around the bushes and trees at its bottom, where he had found Asim in the morning, until a very different perception had alerted him. He needed a moment to recognise the feeling, but when he did, he turned and marched up the hill, and there she was, the woman from the morning. Her clothes had changed, though they were still of the same colour. Red. He called out to her, and she swiftly looked around like she was checking if anyone else was there. Then she relaxed and gave him a challenging smile.
“Do you mind shutting up? I don’t need half of Cambridge to know I’m here.”
Her sweetly mocking voice and the fierce-looking green eyes caught him off guard and slowed his advance. However, coming closer, he could hardly ignore the attraction and repulsion he felt. He studied her to ascertain that she was indeed real. Once he was sure that she was no figment of his imagination, he wondered why no one else had seen her.
“You aren’t supposed to be here. This is still an active crime scene.”
She cooked her head sideways, still smiling in the same mocking way.
“Why are you here?”
“I could ask the same.”
Her haughty reply sparked his temper, and he thundered, “I’m an officer of the law.”
“Off-duty, as it seems,” she remarked calmly.
“I can have you arrested for trespassing.”
An arrogant chuckle left her lips.
“I want to see you try.”
Fury surged through him. However, at the same time, the gnawing inside him increased rapidly and pushed to the surface.
...
When she rushed past Luca, he grabbed her arm. She wheeled around, her eyes burning in the colour of red-hot coals, while an invisible force seized his body and pushed him backwards. He lost his footing once more, but this time he fell, hitting the ground.
All noise stopped, and it got deadly quiet, with only her steps audible. When she reached the bottom of the hill, he saw, out of the corner of his eye, a figure appearing behind him. It gave off a bone-rattling outcry that made his blood freeze.