Natalie's POV
My mother's ghost vanished the second the arrow hit the tree and I was left standing there with Xander at my back and Kade somewhere in the darkness ahead. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat. The forest had gone completely silent. Even the wind had stopped moving through the branches.
Then Kade stepped out of the shadows and I forgot how to breathe.
He was not what I expected. The surveillance photos Xander had shown me did not capture how he looked in person. Tall. Broader than Xander. Dark hair that fell past his shoulders. Eyes that were almost gold in the moonlight. He moved like a predator but there was something careful about it. Controlled. Like he was aware of every inch of space his body took up.
Behind him were at least a dozen men. All a
