Page 61 of Stalked

Dorian stopped by her bed. “Your mother is right, Mercy?—you cannot allow Caleb to make you immortal. The vampires know you’re doing the ritual tonight, so I came here to warn you. Maurice is on his way. Once the ritual is completed, his men plan to take all five of you and enslave you behind their walls. I’m not strong enough to stop them.” He took her hand, pulling her closer to him. “You saved my life once, love. Let me save yours.”

“I’m dead either way.” She gripped his hand and placed it over her heart. “Do you feel that, Dorian? My heart is steady. I’m not afraid. At least if I were immortal, I would be stronger, fight back, and not need you to protect me anymore?

“I’d rather for you to be dead than tortured by them. At least if you’re dead, you’ll be free.”

She shrugged. “We’ll be apart, either way.” She squeezed his hand and released it.

Did she care about that particular vampire?

She was a hunter. Well, I was a hunter, and I wasn’t trying to kill him. Was I not the ruthless hunter I was told I was?

These memories weren’t like the ones I had after looking at the symbol on my hand. These were more like watching a film, whereas the others were actual memories coming back. I didn’t feel any emotion; I only watched. I had to have met this vampire between the age of thirteen and twenty-one, as I had no recollection of him from when I did the memory spell with Patricia.

She stepped closer to him, touching her forehead to his. She sucked in a deep breath as if she were taking in his scent for the last time and treasuring every moment she could before she had to say goodbye.

He also closed his eyes but hesitated in pulling her closer to him—he loved her deeply.

Mercy stepped back and walked to the door. “The coven is waiting for me, Dorian. I … I must go.”I watched as she rushed down the stairs.

Dorian moved with lightning speed toward her, trying to stop her at the door. Her hair flew up like it was caught in a breeze from the speed of his movements. “Mercy,” his voice wavered. “You don’t have to do this. You can choose death. If the vampires catch you after you become immortal, you’ll want to die, believe me.”

Mercy dropped her bag at her feet and looked at him, tears glistening in her eyes. They didn’t speak as she closed her eyes tightly, her mouth hardening into a thin line. When she opened them back up, her tears had dried, and she gave him a nod.

“I love you, Dorian,” she said. “I love you more than my own life. Nothing in this world has ever meant more to me than the moments we’ve shared this last year. Every kiss. Every touch. Every moment of pleasure.”

Slowly, she opened the door, and I heard loud cries throughout the forest outside her home. She turned to Dorian, rushing back into his arms, their lips colliding, and tears flowing down their cheeks.

Mercy released their embrace, stepping back to create distance between them. “Don’t forget me, Dorian,” she said, before walking out the door and into the night.

I could only watch with sadness as she walked outside the house,fell to her knees, and put her hands up in the air as a crowd of angry villagers formed around her, carrying ropes and lit torches.

Thewoman had chosen death?—Ihad chosen death.

Dorian backed away from her, blending in with the crowd, unable to hold back his sobs. Clearly, he didn’t want her to die, but he must have known it was the only way she’d be free from the endless torture that awaited her.

The villagerscouldn’t have known Dorian was a vampire because they ignored him as if he were just part of the crowd. They were focused solely on her.

“Witch! Witch!” one called out.

“Hang her now!” another shouted.

Two men, each grabbing an arm, held on to her tightly and dragged her across a long field. Once they reached a clearing, I saw a wooden platform with rough ropes hanging from a tall tree, and people screamed and chanted in increasing fervor.

“Hang her! Witch!” voices cried over and over again.

I watched as they pulled the woman up on the platform, but now, I could feel their hands on my skin like it was happening tome. They placed the rope around her neck, and I felt the thick fibers around my own skin.

I didn’t understand why I wasn’t using my powers to stop them. The truth was, death was better than being sucked dry for eternity, but I could have at least fled. Fled the ritual, fled this town. I, this woman from my previous life, didn’t care anymore.

The opening under my feet felt wobbly, and the noose was rough against my skin. I was no longer viewing the memory, but I washer, standing in front of an angry crowd, cheering for my execution.

I smelled horse manure and the sweat from the man who tied the noose around my neck. I saw Dorian in the crowd, smiled softly, and whispered to him, “I love you.”

Tears flowed freely down his cheeks faster than my beating heart. I wanted to reach out and hold him one last time, but the villager’s cries echoed loudly in my ears.

“Witch!” the villagers chanted in unison again.

“Hang her now!” a man bellowed.

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