They were being watched by a group of neotides who had been assigned to this job by Reese.

Reese was the master of the neotides, and only answered to Vikra. She wasn't a pureblood, but rather one of the first neotides to have joined Vikra's army. Through years of practice, she had learned to control her desire to mindlessly attack humans. The purebloods could interact with human easily as controlling their desires was a natural trait to them. ​​

However, there were moments when she would lose temper. When she heard that a group of ten neotides had attacked a pureblood without her permission, she had personally seen to it that they were mercilessly executed. She had ordered her men to rip their limbs one by one in front of the other neotides so that all of them understood what it meant to do things without her consent. The execution of each of them lasted fifteen minutes, with them getting dismembered into bits and pieces, and their loud screams filling the space. After the execution, Reese had reported back to Vikra who was resting atop a hill and watching them die. He liked the way Reese executed control over all the neotides. She had them in her hands, and he had her in his hands.

Adrianna was the flavor of the season; he had to watch her. It had been reported to him that she had been able to ward off several neotides, but what he didn't understand was how she could make their minds go numb… That one part had attracted his attention, and he wanted to know more about her.

---

While watching the two of them from a distance, the group's head noticed a weird stranger at the same diner where Ed and Adrianna were eating. He was sitting two tables behind them, and reading a book. When the leader looked at him, the stranger looked back in such a way that it seemed as though he could kill them with a snap of his fingers at any moment.

"That's a wizard!" The leader of the neotide group shuddered, and averted his gaze. Their mission was just to keep an eye on Adrianna, not to attack her as what he thought that the wizard might be thinking. More than Reese, he was scared of the wizard.

---

Adrianna and Ed left for home after dinner. At home, Ed packed his bags in preparation for his trip north. Going north was a difficult journey, and he had to pack appropriately. After shape shifting, he would be cruising the jungles and heading through dense forests, so he had to pack light.

Ed had met Howard in the afternoon secretly without telling Adrianna. He wanted Howard's help to cast a protection spell around the cottage at night, once he had left, in order to protect Adrianna. Thinking about that, he called Adrianna to his room, and urged her, "Adri, I will be going for five days, which means I will return in the evening of the sixth day. It is a very long time. Please go to your father's place. I understand that you don't like it, but it is essential. Child, I am only looking out for your protection. I will not be able to forgive myself if anything happens to you."

But Adrianna was reluctant. She said, "Grandfather, please don't worry. I can take care of myself." She could use her magic if anything untoward were to happen.

Ed narrowed his eyes at her thoughts and said, "You will not use your magic when I am not around!"

"What?" She asked him with surprise, immediately blocking him from her mind.

"You will not use your magic when I am not around. That will only invite unnecessary trouble!" he replied in anger. He shuddered to think of what would happen if Vikra found out about her power and her potential while he wasn't around. Ed felt all the more helpless.

"Okay…" she said, puffing her cheeks.

"Promise me that you will visit your father on the weekend," he insisted.

"Okay…" All Ed got was another drab reply. "But why do you always insist that I visit him when you clearly know that they would be happy if I was not there?" she asked.

Ed didn't reply, and instead said, "Do as you are told, okay? Now, scram!"

Adrianna left grumpily, and went back to her room. She changed into her pajamas and settled on her bed. She fiddled with her phone for some time. She was unable to sleep well after reflecting on the day's events. She felt guilty for so violently swatting away Dmitri's hand, that her eyes welled up again. There was a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. She felt hopeless about her emotions for him and how her wolf was forcing her to be with him. She was unable to sleep, plagued by dreams of him.

She kept tossing and turning until she felt herself wrapped in someone's warm embrace, drifting off into a soundless slumber.