{ Mia }
I woke up to Ash growling in my head. " Mia, Mia... Wake up!! Something's wrong!! MIA!!!"
I groaned. " Stop Ash! Let me sleep!!"
" No Mia, you have to get up now!"
" Fine!" I murmured turning around. I slowly opened my eyes and my breath hitched.
There he was... The man. The one who keeps kidnapping me staring at me calmly.
" W-what are you doing here?!" I gasped fumbling, trying to get away.
" Why can't I be here sweetheart? Why can't I have what belongs to me?"
I gasped." What belongs to you?"
"He smiled, but there was no warmth in it. 'You still don't understand, do you? You're not just any girl, Mia. You're mine.'"
I quickly shook my head confused. " No."
He stepped closer his hand reaching out, I winced preparing for the pain, but it never came.
I slowly opened my eyes to find him playing with my hair!! I quickly pulled back.
" Go away!"
" Ace... " I shook my head." I mean Hunter!"
The man chuckled. " Oh... You found out... I thought he'd never tell you..." He waved his hand dismissively. " Well, I guess it was bound to happen someday." He shrugged.
A sharp knock echoed through the room. "Mia!" Hunter's voice rang out, tight with panic. The man's smile faded as his eyes narrowed toward the door.
He smirked. He leaned in close, his breath brushing against my ear. "You'll come to me eventually… they always do." And just like that he was gone.
Hunter bursted into the room and rushed towards me.
" Are you alright cupcake? I was preparing breakfast when Conner told me something was wrong and I immediately rushed towards you."
He crouched down to my level and started inspecting me.
My gaze softened. " I'm fine Ace, oops sorry I mean Hunter..."
He chuckled. " You can still call me Ace, to be honest I like it better..."
His smile faded." Now, tell me what happened."
I sighed. " Do you remember the man that keeps kidnapping me?"
His jaw tightened as he nodded.
"Well, he was here when I woke up... He told me I belonged to him... And he said I'd run straight to him in the end."
A shiver ran down my spine at the memory of his touch. I wanted to believe I was safe with Hunter, but his words"You're mine"still echoed in my head, refusing to fade.
Hunter's fists clenched at his sides. "I should've been here sooner," he muttered, his voice low and furious. "I won't let him take you, Mia. Not now, not ever." He said as he pulled me into a hug full of emotions.
"I'm scared, Ace," I admitted quietly. "What if… what if he's right? What if I can't fight him forever?"
Hunter cupped my face gently, his warmth chasing away the chill of fear. "You're not alone, Mia. You have me, and I'm not letting you go."
As Hunter pulled away, something on my nightstand caught his attention. A small, silver pendant, one I'd never seen before.
He picked it up carefully, his expression darkening. "This wasn't here last night," he said. "He left it… and that means he'll be back."
I quickly jumped at the chance. " I can have Scarlett analyse it..."
I quickly closed my eyes and imagined my computer at home. Then, all of a sudden, the magical portal of gold appeared in front of me and I gently took my computer out of it.
Hunter's eyes widened. " You're getting good at this aren't you..." He winked.
I chuckled. " Thanks." I muttered opening the computer. " Scarlett... Open the analysis compartment please."
" Right away Mia..."
The analysis compartment slid open with a soft click as I placed the pendant inside. Scarlett hummed quietly while running the scan.
"Processing… processing… anomaly detected," she said, her voice sharp.
Hunter leaned closer. "What kind of anomaly?"
Scarlett's holographic screen flickered to life. "There is a hidden microchip inside the pendant," she reported. "Decoding now…"
My breath hitched as the screen showed a tracker and something else, something I couldn't quite find out.
" What's that?" I asked Ace my voice barely above a whisper.
" It's a device that keeps your powers tamed and weakens you."
My stomach churned. " So... He left this to... Weaken me and track me?"
" Yeah..." Ace sighed rubbing his nape." What do we do?"
I jumped as an idea came to mind. " We can put it on a stray cat... That way he can't really drain energy and he'll never know where I am..."
Ace suddenly smiled and patted my head. " Good job cupcake..."
I quickly snapped the laptop shut, adrenaline buzzing in my veins. "We need to find a stray cat. Fast."
Hunter grinned, already halfway to the door. "Come on, cupcake. I know just the place."
Minutes later, we crouched behind an alley near the safehouse, scanning for movement. A thin, orange tabby peeked from behind a dumpster.
"Perfect," I whispered. Carefully, I slipped the pendant onto its collar.
As soon as the pendant clicked into place, the air around us shifted, like a pulse of energy rippling out. The cat's fur bristled, and for a heartbeat, its eyes glowed an eerie silver.
"Ace…" I swallowed hard. "Did you see that?"
He nodded grimly. "Yeah. Whatever he's doing… it's more than just tracking and draining your energy."