Maya was aware of how senseless she was for following Elena into the night. It was clear Elena suffered the trauma of death, but it was easy to forget that Maya also experienced the death of her best friend. Her anxiety was overbearing, instigating her to do foolish things against her sound judgment in fear of losing her friend again.

"I couldn't let you go alone," Maya sobbed. "It's too dangerous."

Elena blinked at her in disbelief.

"You saw how many of them were there," Maya went on. "What if they caught you? How were you going to defend yourself?"

"I wouldn't have to," Elena flapped her arms. "I'd just go along and slip away in the morning. I am a fucking vampire, Maya," her tone was becoming harsh. "I'm not their prey, and I know how to take care of myself." Elena groaned as her frustrations began surfacing. "With you, I had to create a mess to protect you."

Maya's lip trembled. "Are you putting the blame for killing on me?"

"Blame? I'm not asking you to take the blame for whether I killed vamps or not. I just want you to stop acting so shocked because your presence did influence my actions."

"And what about him?" Maya gestured towards the stranger, the threat of his blade still fresh in her mind. "Without me, he would've killed you!"

"He's a rogue variable you couldn't have considered, so don't pretend like you did!"

"If something were to happen to you—"

"For fuck's sake, Maya!" Elena interrupted, her voice laced with exasperation. "What is the worst thing that could happen to me? Huh? I could die… again? Do you want to experience it, too? It's not as fun as it seems!"

Maya didn't expect Elena to turn on her like this. A minute ago, she was attacking him for yelling at her, but now she was the one making Maya cry.

Elena kept pacing back and forth on the deck in frustration. Then she turned away, her voice getting quieter by a notch. "If you just let me stay dead, this wouldn't have been the issue…" It seemed Elena was burdened by other unresolved thoughts. "I'd still stay with you, but not like…"

'A monster?' Maya knew what Elena wished to say. But different thoughts began to invade Maya's mind.

'No, you wouldn't, Elena,' she dared not say out loud.

Erosion that threatened Leo aside, which Maya still hadn't mentioned to Elena, Maya had a gnawing suspicion Elena's spirit wouldn't have stayed at all. When she had died that night, her soul was nowhere to be seen. Even now, it may not be there…

A quiet overtook them, plagued by heavy thoughts. Then Elena broke the silence.

"Don't you have a blanket or something? Can't you tell she's freezing?" she snapped at Bane, who, until now, quietly watched their exchange. It must've seemed quite odd to him.

Maya didn't even realize the reason she was shivering was the cold.

"Certainly. If you're done with shouting, you're welcome to come in." He cast a final glance over the fence before opening the doors to invite them inside.

The cabin was a rather small hunting lodge. Everything in there was to it was visible from the entrance. As it was burrowed into the side of a cliff, it only opened to one side with windows toward the deck, obscured by blinds.

They entered straight into the living space. It was a myriad of mismatched furniture, but it had a cosy feel.

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Straight ahead, in a deeper niche, was a small kitchen. Adjoining it was likely a bathroom, hidden behind a door. To the right, two steps up, was an area partitioned off by an open shelving unit that served as a makeshift bedroom.

The scent of wood and dust pervaded the air, lending the place a lived-in, albeit disordered, ambience. One of the sofas, along with a coffee table, was laden with an assortment of gear—knives and arrows among them. A desk positioned in front of a window was similarly cluttered, displaying a variety of open books and maps.

Seating options were limited to an armchair and a portion of a sofa, suggesting a lack of time or, perhaps, interest in maintaining a tidy space. Despite the indoor temperature only marginally warmer than the outside, the space radiated a comforting sense of security.

Bane placed his broken crossbow on top of the messy table and gently guided Maya to sit on the sofa. He quickly dusted off a blanket lying over the edge and offered it to her.

As Maya wrapped herself in a thick blanket, he turned on a lamp that gave out dim light, allowing Maya to see clearly for the first time in a while.

The light confirmed what Maya had already suspected—he was strikingly good-looking. His dark, dishevelled hair contrasted sharply with his piercing ice-grey eyes. His pronounced cheekbones and strong jawline, shadowed by light stubble, carved a handsome profile.

Despite his weariness, visible bruises, and the debris of blood and dirt on his skin, he was undeniably the most attractive man she had ever encountered.

Dressed entirely in black to blend with the shadows—from his leather jacket to his military combat boots, and armed to the hilt—he seemed both an unlikely presence and the most fitting inhabitant of this forest.

Elena, slouching in the armchair, seemed even worse. Her matted and tangled hair was glued to her neck by a mixture of blood and mud. Her big eyes appeared as black voids in the dim light, and her clothes were torn and stained, ruined beyond recognition.

She bore the look of a victor emerging from a brutal brawl with a wild bear, but displeasure stayed on her face, squinting at the dim source of light.

Maya couldn't ascertain the severity of their injuries, but she was acutely aware that their predicament was far graver than they were willing to acknowledge.

After pulling up some of the blinds, Bane continued to stand by the door, monitoring the situation outside. There was a certain unease in his demeanour.

He might have been worried that their earlier heated exchange might have inadvertently compromised their location, yet he kept his concerns to himself.

"Is someone gonna start talking?" Elena impatiently broke the silence.

No one spoke up. Maya assumed they were waiting for dawn, for the vampires to leave. Or awaiting some sort of guidance from him on the next course of action.

"Haa…" Elena sighed. "Let's play a game, then. It's called 'getting answers'. I'll start." She directed her piercing gaze toward him. "How the fuck are you alive?"

Maya flinched at her bluntness, but was more confused that Elena suddenly seemed to know him despite not indicating it previously.

"Hunters are dead," Elena declared as if anticipating Maya's misunderstanding.

His fist tightened, a clear sign of internal conflict ignited by her words. However, before he could respond, Maya interjected, "How do you know he's a hunter?"

Elena gave her a blank stare. "Look around. Look at him. What else could he be?"

Maya's gaze shifted to him. He was silent, his jaw clenched, and his eyes involuntarily dropped to his wrist. There was a mark Maya couldn't see clearly due to the odd angle and dim light.

'What was supposed to give it away?' she wondered.

His all-black attire, military posture, and assortment of weapons and gear weren't unheard of among men in this region. He could merely be a very serious watchman based in a forest outpost. Regardless, Maya decided to rely on Elena's discernment.

"Still waiting for the answer," Elena was persistent.

Noticing Maya's expectant gaze, he finally relented. He turned back towards the window, and his wrist dropped, revealing a familiar mark. Maya's eyes widened as she recognized it from the newspapers. It was Hunter's emblem, a symbol she'd seen when news of the tragedy broke.

"It's a bit hasty to assume we're all dead because the Institution of Hunters is." There was sadness in his voice. "The ones who survived retired."

Maya recalled the news about the Hunters' downfall breaking out, feeling deep empathy. If he survived that, the horrors he experienced must have been beyond imagination.

This could've been a dream come true for Elena, who was fascinated by Hunters from the beginning. Or, was it rather demoralizing since she'd become the very thing they hunt and kill?

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