Isabelle's point of view

"Isabelle, don't freak out, but I think the guy by the bar is spying on us," my best friend Iris screamed, her voice barely audible over the pulsating music assaulting my eardrums.

Her words almost made me break out in a cold sweat. Since I was born, there have been many strangers who have watched me secretly in various places. I didn't know why they did this, so I tried to make eye contact with those people, and even talked to them, and I finally realized that they had only one purpose-they wanted me to die.

I was lucky and the strangers I met before were not matches for me, so I still survived, but I didn't expect that even when I was with my friend at night, they would not let me go, as they preferred to approach me when I was alone. It looked like they didn't have a fixed plan. Those tricky Red Circle members!

The Red Circle was a coven of highly trained mercenary witches led by my aunt, the woman responsible for my mother's death.

It was my first night at Tropical Thunder, the hottest nightclub in Bournville. And I didn't want my best friend to worry about me.

Before I turned around to see the person staring at us clearly, Iris yelled again, "Oops, I guess he's just staring at me. Does he look familiar? Oh, wait, he's Lance from literature class! Was he into me or something?"

"C'mon, don't be so fussy! The whole club can hear you, and you think he's a deaf or something?" I yelled back and rolled my eyes at her, grabbing one of the red plastic cups from her hand. She just really scared me. But that's so classic Iris, switching guys every week. I couldn't judge her too harshly; she was my best friend and the only one I had. I wasn't a wallflower or a social outcast; I was actually pretty fun to be around. But my messed-up life had a way of driving people away, everyone except Iris. She was like a sister to me, my only family.

We grew up together in the same orphanage until she was adopted by a loving, wealthy family while I got stuck with a drunken slob. Just my luck.

"But do you think we are good match?" she asked, still making eye contact with the so-called Lance behind me..

"Ugh, I bet he won't last a day with you," I snorted, shuddering at the thought of Iris and Lance together.

Suddenly, I sniffed something unusual, which doesn't smell like human...Yes, I had keen sense of smell, so did Iris, one of the few werewolves who didn't want me to die.

I was looking for the owner of that smell,totally ignoring Iris's nagging. Then I found the source of the unusual smell--a woman with an all-black outfit.. Was she part of the Red Circle?

"Hey, have you heard me?! Which handsome man makes you so fascinated to stare at?" Iris shrieked. Gosh, she really needed to get rid of this shouting problem. Otherwise she didn't know what kind of trouble she would get into.

I gestured to her with my eyes to be quiet, but she didn't get the message at all.

"Dammit, Iris! Shut up!" I hissed, glancing at the woman dressed in black leather, a smug grin on her face as she sipped her drink. She was definitely onto us now.

"Isabelle," Iris finally whispered, her voice shaking, "I could smell something... unusual." Now her sense of smell was finally back to normal.

Meanwhile, the fear in her eyes broke my heart. She shouldn't have to deal with this, but she'd been dragged into my mess for the past fifteen years.

How had this monster found me? I'd done everything to stay off the Red Circle's radar. I'd cloaked myself and suppressed my own witch powers with a charm bracelet, but apparently, it wasn't enough.

"Do you need backup?" Iris asked, gripping my wrist.

"No, I've got this," I reassured her, forcing a smile. "I'll go out the back and see if she follows." I wove my way through the throng of dancers and slipped out the back door, into a dark and quiet alley.

I frantically searched for our stalker monster, the cold night air stinging my skin as I pulled the silver dagger from my boot. During my previous fights, I owed most of my previous victories to this dagger. This dagger had belonged to my mother, and holding it always made me feel like she was still with me, watching over me. But I quickly pushed those sentimental thoughts to the back of my mind.

"Are you looking for me, darling?" The old British voice behind me was startling. I clutched my dagger tightly, hiding it from view.