Freya

She had practically fled the arena, leaving Seth behind without another word. Her heart thundered in her chest, and her grip on Nova's reins was so tight that her knuckles had turned bone white. Nova danced nervously beside her, sensing her tension, his quick steps mirroring her frantic pace. Her mind was a storm of fragmented thoughts, none of them clear. She needed space, needed quiet, but most of all, she needed Danielle.

Freya wasn't even sure if she was home. She couldn't remember if her friend had left for work or not, but it didn't matter. Danielle was the only person who could steady her right now.

"Stand still, Nova," Freya whispered, her voice trembling as she dropped the reins and hurried up the steps to the house. She shoved the door open, her breath shallow, and called out for her friend. The sound of her own voice was sharp, strained, unfamiliar.

Her hands were shaking when she stepped back down to the porch, grabbing hold of Nova's reins again. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, making her feel both lightheaded and rigid. She bit down on her lip, trying to push back the dryness in her mouth, the nausea bubbling low in her stomach.

The sound of footsteps inside brought her back, and Danielle's face appeared in the doorway, concern already etched across her features. "What's going on?"

Freya's breath hitched as she looked at her friend, her vision blurring. Her eyes filled with hot tears that she stubbornly refused to let fall. Not yet.

"He's here," she muttered, the words barely audible but sharp enough to make Danielle's face harden. Freya's voice cracked as she added, "He's here, Danielle."

Danielle's eyes widened in disbelief. "No... that's not possible," she said, stepping barefoot onto the porch. Her arms wrapped around Freya in a tight, grounding hug, her warmth offering a brief reprieve from the cold dread snaking its way through Freya's body. But even Danielle's embrace couldn't stop the fear from taking hold.

"Did he say anything to you?" Danielle asked softly, pulling back just enough to brush Freya's hair out of her face. Her gaze was steady, searching Freya's eyes for answers.

Freya shook her head, her voice trembling. "No. He just... stared. At me. At Seth. We were at the outdoor arena."

Danielle's face darkened. "Was he alone? He didn't have Ash with him?"

Freya shook her head again, her throat tightening as she forced the words out. "I didn't see him. But what if..." She swallowed hard, the tears she'd been holding back now threatening to spill over. "What if he's back?"

Danielle opened her mouth to respond, but the faint sound of an engine broke through the stillness. A low rumble echoed down the gravel road, growing louder with every second.

Freya froze. The reins slipped slightly in her hands as she turned her head toward the noise. Her stomach dropped, the sound like a warning bell in her ears. Danielle stiffened beside her, both of them watching as the car appeared, dragging a horse trailer behind it.

The man's face was shadowed by the windshield, but she didn't need to see him clearly to know. It was him.

Freya's breath caught. Her knees felt weak, her pulse roaring in her ears. "Fucking hell!" she hissed, her voice rising as she ripped herself free from Danielle's grip.

"Freya—wait!" Danielle called out, but Freya wasn't listening. She jammed her boot into the stirrup and swung herself onto Nova's back in one fluid motion.

"Freya, don't!" Danielle's voice cracked with desperation, but Freya didn't look back.

Her fingers tightened around the reins as she pressed her heels against Nova's sides. The gelding leapt forward, his hooves tearing into the gravel as they surged down the road while a cloud of dust billowed behind them. Freya leaned into Nova's stride, her heart pounding as hard as his hooves.

Seth

Seth's boots pounded against the gravel as he sprinted across the courtyard, his eyes locked on the house. Freya stood beside Nova, Danielle's arms wrapped tightly around her. He didn't need an explanation to know this had something to do with him—the man who'd been watching them earlier.

Before he could even call out, everything happened at once. Freya swung onto Nova's back, and in an instant, she was gone, galloping away like she was trying to outrun the world itself.

"What the fuck is going on?" Seth muttered, his pulse spiking as his body reacted on autopilot. He sprinted to his motorcycle, throwing himself over the seat. His fingers moved instinctively, firing up the engine in one fluid motion. The roar of the bike filled the courtyard as he sped off, gravel spitting beneath his tires.

He silently thanked himself for always keeping the keys with him—a habit born out of years of racing, where readiness was second nature. But there was no time to question why he was doing this. No time to think about why the sight of her disappearing down the path had twisted his stomach into knots.

As he passed Danielle, her expression hit him like a slap. Worry. Fear. It was written all over her face, tightening something deep in his chest.

Slowing slightly, his gaze locked onto a car ahead, towing a horse trailer. His stomach churned when he saw him—the same man from the arena.

The guy's knuckles gripped the steering wheel, his face calm. Too calm. Like he already knew how this was going to play out. Seth's grip on the handlebars tightened, unease crawling up his spine like a warning bell.

Who the hell is this guy?

At the end of the road, Seth caught sight of Nova's dark silhouette disappearing down a narrow gravel path to the left. Without hesitation, he turned sharply, guiding the bike onto the uneven ground. The path wasn't a legal road—not for a motorcycle—but none of that mattered now.

The gravel crunched beneath his tires as he followed the horse's tracks. It didn't take long before he spotted her. Nova's powerful strides carried her forward, Freya hunched low over the horse's neck as if she thought she could outrun whatever was chasing her.

Seth kept his distance, the engine humming low beneath him. He didn't want to spook the horse—not when Freya was riding like that, her entire body tense and brimming with desperation.

His chest tightened as he watched her. She was reckless, impulsive—and completely unprepared for whatever this was. But she wasn't slowing down.

She was charging straight into something he couldn't name, and every instinct screamed for him to follow.