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Katana was vaguely surprised Jacques didn’t follow her. Perhaps because it was always his duty, his job to be at her side, but also maybe because whenever they argued, and she stomped off, he always chased after her.
But not this time.
Things in her world were changing at a startling rate. She couldn’t deny he hadn’t warned her not to go down this road.
The situation unfolding around her was altering her perceptions on her life as she knew it, so it was only understandable that it would also alter her as a person. She was the person she was because of her environment. For that environment to then be suddenly shaken up and flipped upside down meant she could only change to suit.
What exactly that meant for her and Jacques, time would only tell. As her and Altair cantered towards the hill Tobias had given her directions to, her mind wandered back to Ashley. He should still be ‘dead,’ which gave her some comfort in the time lost because of her argument with Jacques.
Looking at her watch, she tried to ignore the discomfort when she realised she had over an hour before Tobias arrived.
Even though she wasn’t at her rendezvous point yet, the thing that worried her was the fact that over an hour meant Ashley could be killed and re-born roughly three times in that time.
Fighting with werewolves was a physically demanding job. She wasn’t sure if she had it in her to fight and kill another three times in the next hour.
Werewolves were fast, she knew that much. If they were homed in on a target, not even God himself could stop that creature from getting to what it wanted.
Then a thought popped to mind. Now that she’d killed him, would he return as a werewolf or would he return as a human?
If he returned as a human, she had nothing to worry about, but of course, with all of the mayhem currently going on, she’d not even had a thought to think about asking him such a question. Her knowledge in her new world was somewhat limited at best.
Hoping and praying he returned as a human, Katana kept Altair at his current speed and rhythm, estimating they would reach their destination at roughly the same time as Tobias.
***
AS KATANA AND ALTAIR approached the peak of the hill, she could hear the distinctive buzz of an aircraft. With each passing moment, the noise became more noticeable as that of a helicopter rather than a plane.
When a huge black chopper came into eyesight, she bit back a groan. This was supposed to be a discreet affair, not a show of ‘look at me and how much money I have.’
Still, remembering her newly engaged status, she plastered a sickly-sweet smile on her face as she awaited the arrival of her new fiancé.
Waiting in a small copse of trees for the helicopter to land in the wide-open space, Katana refused to move until the blades had come to a complete stop. By this point, Tobias was already out of the aircraft and walking across the wild landscape towards her.
He was dressed casually, in dark denim jeans and a tight-fitting white t shirt. Short, dark cropped hair, dark brown eyes, and tanned skin, he wasn’t uneasy on the eye.
Katana decided to stay on board Altair, feeling somewhat more in control and safer from on top of him. She pushed him out into a trot, not wanting to seem too eager to gallop towards her ‘love.’
“Hello there,” Tobias said, flashing her a big grin. “You’re definitely a sight for tired eyes.”
Katana smiled. She would happily admit he was a charmer, but perhaps it was that exact thing that put her off him. He was almost too charming. “Hi yourself. Good flight?”
“As good as can be.” He looked back at his chopper and then back to Katana. “I brought back-up with me. I hope you don’t mind?”
Katana reached him and pulled Altair to a stop. She couldn’t help but giggle. “So long as they don’t ask questions, that’s fine.”
Tobias raised an eyebrow. “Believe me, they know better. They point and shoot. That’s all they’re paid for.”
“Sounds good to me.”
The two looked at each other as an awkward silence stretched between them. They both then started laughing.
“So, are you going to dismount and tell me what this is all about?”
Katana looked him up and down and decided she felt easy enough around his friendly demeanour to risk being on the ground.
She jumped down and loosened off Altair’s girth before taking up the slack in his reins and looping them around the horn on the front of her saddle.
“I don’t know exactly what I’m expecting you to do,” she said, walking a few feet away from Altair. “But I’m hoping you can help me in some way.”
“Ok,” he said. He reached out a hand, offering for her to take it. “Let’s take a walk and talk.”
Katana shook her head. “I’m not going too far from Altair and you won’t want to stray too far from your men and your helicopter either.”
Whilst Ashley had yet to reappear, Katana was rather on edge for his expected return.
“Ok. Fair enough.” Tobias folded his arms over his chest and smiled. “Bring me up to speed.”
Katana took a deep breath and indulged him in what had been going on.