Chapter One

Mary-Lynette's POV

As of tomorrow, it'll have been a year since Ash left. He's supposed to come back for me. It's been hard being away from him. I've had to hide that I'm more than a little depressed. Mark, Jade, Rowan, and Kestrel try to keep me distracted. It works sometimes.

I've graduated high school. Mark is over at the Burdock home. I've been cleaning to keep myself distracted today. I'm home alone. There's a knock on the front door.

"Coming!" I say, putting down my rag. I wipe my hands on my jeans and answer the door. In the doorway stands a young man. He's around my age with green eyes. He has brown hair and his face is screwed up in an almost wicked expression. I blink. I honestly don't recognize him.

"I'm looking for Mary-Lynette," he says. I blink, being caught by surpirse again.

"I'm Mary-Lynette," I say, trying to see if I can recognize him. I hear my phone buzz in my pocket.

"I'm Josh. I'm a friend of Ash's. May I come in?" he asks. I move aside, not sure what to do. He moves over to sit on the couch. I pick up my phone. A missed call from Jade. I call back.

"Jade? What is it?" I ask, straightening somethings around the living room. Josh stiffens. I hear an almost scream from the other end.

"Ash is here! He's waiting for you. He's taking the phone," Jade says. I hear a quiet arguement.

"Mare?" a voice says. Ash. I can't believe it! It's Ash!

"Ash!" I all but scream," I'll be there..." A hand closes over my mouth. I stiffle a shriek. My phone is closed and crushed.

"I lied. I have a score to settle with him. You should do fine," It's Josh. His arm goes around my waist, and just like that, were moving. I struggle to get free.

Ash's POV

"Ash! I'll be there..." The voice I've been waiting to hear is cut off. There's a sound I can't quite catch at the other end.

"Mare? Mare!" I yell as the call cuts off. I take off, running to her house. The door is wide open and Mary-Lynette is nowhere in sight.

"Mary-Lynette! Mare, where are you!" I yell. I'm beyond freaking out. I'm just plain scared now. She's nowhere in the house. I've checked three times.

In the livingroom, I find her crushed phone. I smell a scent that stops me in my tracks. It can't be!

"Ash! What's going on?" Jade asks, coming up behind me. I'm still frozen.

"Mary-Lynette. She's been taken. By Josh," I say, barely able to speak the words.

"Whose Josh?" Mark asks, eyebrows raised in cofusion.

"When Ash was younger, he had a friends named Josh. Josh was a shapeshifter. Able to become a bear. Ash discovered that Josh liked to kill people and Ash stopped him from killing a little girl. He has a grudge against Ash now. How did he find out about Mare, though?" Rowan explains. I shake my head.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. When I find him, he's going to wish he was dead. If he hurt her..." my voice trails off. No one is going to hurt Mary-Lynette. Not if I can do anything about it. I didn't wait an entire year to lose her now.