Page 77 of Stalked

He can’t be. Not Riley.

“Mercy, it’s okay. I want this,” he tried to explain, but I covered my mouth as utter panic took over me.

I ran my hands down my face, my fingers digging into my skin.

“No. No! You didn’t ask for this, Riley. She turned you against your will.” I waved my finger at Amber.

“I feel stronger than ever,” he said. “It’s the most incredible feeling in the world. Now I can help protectyou.”

“Oh, Riley. It’s not your job to protect me. I told you this before. I didn’t want you to get involved.” I grabbed his hands, and Caleb, whom I hadn’t noticed until now, was by my side. His shoulders stiffened when Riley’s fingers touched mine, clearly uncomfortable with Riley being so close to me. But I didn’t care. Now wasn’t the time to act all alpha male on me. I looked over at Lily and Joel while still gripping Riley’s hands. “What do we do now?”

Joel straightened up. “Well, now that we have werewolves on our side, this will be a much easier fight.”

I sighed heavily. “No. Absolutely not. Riley is not fighting.”

“Mercy, we’re going to need all the help we can get,” Joel added, still trying to convince me it was a good thing Riley was no longer a normal human being. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but he’s strong now, and you need to trust him. That’s why Amber turned him in the first place; he is as close to you as anyone of us. With werewolves on our side, we have a fighting chance.”

Riley squeezed my hand gently. “Joel’s right, Mercy. I can handle this,” he said. I shook my head, turning away. He stepped closer to me and spoke again in a near whisper, “This isn’t your decision. Besides, werewolves can heal just like a vampire can. It’s going to take a lot to kill me.”

“Like a silver bullet?” I sneered, looking up into his eyes, which looked a little brighter than they used to.

Riley rolled his eyes, flashing me a slight smirk. “Yes, Mercy, like a silver bullet. If the vampires aren’t expecting us to be here, it is unlikely they will have one of those on them.” He sounded so confident, but it didn’t make me feel any better.

I had faced a vampire before, and I had taken him down, but I’d had the powers to do it. Riley might have been able to heal quickly, but he could still die. I knew we needed help from werewolves, but at what expense? Would I so willingly put my friends in danger for them to protect me? It wasn’t Caleb, Riley, Lily, or even my human friends they wanted; it was me. I also knew I couldn’t stop Riley from being a part of Amber’s pack and jumping into this fight. He loved me and would take a bullet for me if he needed to—even a silver one.

I squeezed his warm hand, feeling the heat from his touch pierce my skin.

“Okay,” I hesitantly agreed. “I’m putting my trust in Amber right now.” I turned to her. “I appreciate everything you’ve done, but I need you to promise me something. You are to keep him safe if you plan to drag him into this. No matter what you must do.”

She nodded. “You have my word, Mercy. Nothing will happen to Riley. I’m the alpha, and it’s my job to protect my pack—”

Both Amber and Riley abruptly snapped their attention toward the entryway and sniffed, moving in front of me. They were on edge and sensed something that I couldn’t.

“What is it?” I asked, feeling incredibly out of the loop.

“Someone is outside,” Amber answered, tilting her head, and closing her eyes as if she were listening in on the space around her. “They’re about a hundred yards from the tomb. I can hear their feet hitting the surface above us. They seem to be searching.”

Riley sniffed the air again. “It’s not human.”

“Hm,” Amber hummed. “It’s not a vampire, either. It’s almost dawn now, so they wouldn’t be out hunting. I don’t know what that is.”

What else is out there?

“We need to leave now,” Lily interrupted us, a worried look creasing on her forehead. “Whatever this thing is, we can’t have it drawing unwanted attention here when the lair isn’t completely secure. If we can lure it away and kill it, we can buy more time.”

I nodded and ran to one of the storage closets Caleb had pointed out earlier. I reached in and pulled out a gray and black hoodie. Despite it being summer, I could use the hood to temporarily conceal myself as we made our way out into Salem. After donning the clothing, I re-tied my hair into a bun and joined the others. Joel and Caleb grabbed some weapons and headed toward the ladder that led outside. They went to work, securing the main entrance with trap magic and a secondary shield spell, should that fail. We ushered Shannon to the secured vault and gave her the code to unlock the door if she had to. There was a landline inside, and we instructed her to call us if anyone breached the lair.

Shannon turned around after we ushered her inside. “I can’t believe this is happening. My friend is in a coma caused by a vampire possession, and my other friends are a witch and a werewolf. This happens in movies, Mercy, not in real life.”

I pulled her tight to me and squeezed. I, myself, never wanted to be a part of that world, and I hated that I was dragging her into it.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear it.” A moment of doubt crossed my mind, but I couldn’t tell her that. I feared I wasn’t good enough to protect anyone. But I wouldn’t stop trying?—I would give it everything I could.

“I’ll be back for you once we know it’s safe.”

Should I really promise that?

Two weeks ago, I was a semi-normal human, oblivious to the supernatural world. I didn’t know I was a reincarnated witch, blessed by an angel. I didn’t know vampires and werewolves roamed the streets, and I most certainly hadn’t figured out I was the weapon that could bring it all to an end. Fear engulfed every part of my being, and nothing I promised Shannon would make her feel better. How could it? Our plan was fucking stupid. We hadn’t a clue where these vampires lived. They could smell and find me with little effort, not the other way around. How was I going to fish them out? Our plan was to run in the opposite direction andplay it by ear.

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