Edward felt panic ran through his veins as the wind blew and the strange scent diluted in the air. It became barely noticeable now.
And so he ran as fast as he could, chasing the scent. In swift seconds, he found himself outside the clearing of the forest. The night was dark but he can see the surroundings as clear as broad daylight.
It was peaceful and quiet. He saw no one.
So where was the scent coming from? He was so sure that it was just around… that he got the source now... that he didn't need to look further.
And he was right. He looked up and he saw a tiny figure floating in the air with the aid of a parachute.
At last, he had found the owner of the strange scent that was already all over his system right now, consuming him in utter incredulity.
He opened his mouth and his fangs glistened in the darkness of the night.
His eyes zoomed in to the sky, to that tiny frame of a human being, about five foot and three inches in height. She looked innocent and fragile, yet there was something… something like an aura of darkness that was emanating from her.
He just can't believe what he had seen. He was looking at a beautiful human being, clad in a black cat suit. Her dark, brown hair was tied in a ponytail. Her face was soft, with chocolate brown eyes that bespoke sorrow. But when he thought that she was lonely, her eyes sparked mysteriously and the sorrow disappeared. It was replaced by a cold brand of wickedness.
He was stunned. He had the ability to read people's minds but she was an exemption. He just can't see what was going on in her mind right now.
He wanted to know what she was thinking. He wanted to know what the hell was she doing here, in this very secluded place on top of a mountain.
This was not a safe place for her. There were a lot of hungry predators lurking inside the forest.
And then he saw a house on the periphery of his vision. It was surrounded by a fortress-like gate. And there were a lot of armed men with high caliber ammunition strapped around their bodies.
His eyebrows cocked.
What the hell was happening?
He hadn't been in this part of the forest before. He was always in the heart of the forest where he hunts for wild animals. He didn't notice that there were some people living in this other side of his favorite hunting place.
He waited in the darkness and watched with ardent eyes as the beautiful woman on a parachute landed noiselessly on the grass. She moved like a panther but graceful and deadly.
His curiosity was piqued.
Who the hell was she?
He was so damned sure that she was not an ordinary woman. She looked different. And he can't read her mind.
She broke free from the parachute. She stood up and removed her pony tail. Her shin,y black hair fell to her shoulders and he found the movement very sensual.
He hissed. His hands turned into a tight ball as he tried to fight the pressure of intense thirst that had suddenly engulfed him. He was so attracted to the mysterious woman and he badly wanted her blood.
He can feel her blood pounding from her heart to her entire body from where he was standing at. And his sane mind was screaming at him, reminding him that he was stepping on the borderline of insanity, that anytime soon he would lose his self-control and attack her as his prey.
She was just so irresistible and he was driving him mad with thirst.
No! This can't be!
No human being had ever made him feel this way. And he had made a pact that he won't ever, ever drink a human blood. And he won't ever break that oath.
But her chocolate brown eyes were tempting him to the hilt. Her tiny, pinkish lips parted and he smelled the fresh, breath of air that went out of it.
Damn!
He almost lost the battle had it not for the fact that she ran away swiftly. He must have attacked her already and drank her oh so sweet, sweet blood.
Thank goodness!
But before he lost his mind and had his first drink of a human blood, he ran into the heart of the forest and ferociously tore a mighty lion. He drank the animal's blood, making sure that his thirst will be satiated. But it was not enough. So he went ahead and killed a bear and consumed every drop of its blood.
His red eyes turned into a peaceful shade of hazel. A moment later, they became brownish gold.
He took a deep breath. Now he knew that he won't pose danger to a human being anymore should he comes in proximity to any one of them.
Bella adjusted her parachute as she speculated that she would land at approximately five minutes from now. And she waited.
She heaved a sigh as she made a perfect landing on the soft grass.
She let go of the parachute, removed her goggles and helmet and uncaringly threw them away. Her thick swathe of shiny, dark, brown hair sparked in the darkness of the night.
She had tied her mane in a ponytail that made her look years younger. She knew that she was sporting a perfect portrait of very vulnerable teener. That was one of her potent armor against her enemies.
She checked on her black, cat suit. She was okay. She needed to stealthily come close to her target without attracting any attention from Kareem's armed security and her black, cat suit will help her blend in the darkness of the night like a chameleon.
She knew that what she had in her hands right now was a tough job for a woman. But she took pride in the fact that she was not an ordinary woman. She was of a pure, different breed. She was born to kill, was raised to kill and was living to kill.
With a focused mind, she ran into the forest, straight to her target.
Fifty meters away from her stood the safe house where Kareem must have been peacefully sleeping tonight. It was a two-story sprawling mansion surrounded with what seems to be a fortress-like gate.
She stopped at the base of the very tall gate and shoot her vision upwards. The tip of the fortress almost kissed the sky from where she was standing at.
Of course, overcoming that tall gate was just but chicken for her.
She used her squinting eyes to scan the surroundings. She saw a very tall tree five meters away from the fortress, some of its branches were swaying inside the property.
She did not waste any second. She approached the big tree and touched something on her boots. A sharp metal appeared at the heels of her boots.
Then she started to climb up the tall tree. She was able to climb the tree in split seconds. Thanks to her boots!
She stood on one of the branches of the tree and scanned the entire property. She felt superior from where she was at, as her mind studied every bit of information and scenario below her.
Kareem's safe house was a beautiful mansion on top of a mountain, looking very modern with its wide, glass windows. Though the house looked vulnerable but Bella knew that those glass windows were bulletproof and breaking in seemed impossible.
But well, not for her. Her powerful government equipped her with high tech gadgets needed to effortlessly break inside the house.
But she had to deal with the safe house' security networks first and foremost.
She took something from her pocket that looked like a cell phone but it was actually a mini laptop. She pressed the power button and the gadget beeped to life. With calculated speed, she entered the code that will allow her to hack the security networks inside the house. It had hidden cameras from every corner that automatically alarm when an unknown image was captured.
Got ya! She whistled triumphantly as she successfully got into the CCTVs main server. Now she can study the interior of the house without anyone noticing her.
She checked the ground floor first. Lots of men were scattered around the living room, five of them were playing cards while the remaining four were playing chess. They were having a good time, oblivious of the danger that was just lurking around.
Another four men were eating midnight snacks in the kitchen and approximately six men were roving around the property.
Her eyes moved in to the second floor of the safe house. She scrutinized what was going on in there.
More armed men were concentrated on the second floor. She calculated them one by one. Twenty-five bodyguards were randomly located around the area.
So more or less, she had to deal with around forty armed men. And she was alone. But the thought never intimidated her. She was not afraid of them. She had been in a bigger mission before and she had successfully killed her target.
And she will deliver again tonight.
She smiled a greedy wolf smile ready to devour her prey.
But where was her target?
Her eyes grew alert as her vision caught Kareem's figure, the old man was lying relaxed on a sofa as he watched a late night television show.
So her target was in the den, alone, but was still heavily guarded. Ten meters away from him were another group of armed men, playing cards and laughing and having fun.
It was dark in the den. The area was only lighted by the glare coming from the television set. And she will use that darkness to her advantage.
Few minutes from now and that old man is DEAD! She hissed under her breath.