Page 53 of Taken

“I think I am falling in love with you, Caleb,” she said. It was all but a whisper, but I had no response to her confession. Instead, I grabbed her by the waist, pulling her to me in a possessive hold. We lay there together for a few minutes. I could feel her heart beating through her body, her chest rising and falling with each steady breath until our eyes grew heavy, and we fell asleep in each other’s arms.

_______________

BROKEN GLASS ECHOEDfrom the first floor, jolting me awake. I sat bolt upright and looked over at Melissa, who was sound asleep. We crashed immediately after sex, and I realized I had forgotten to set the house alarm. Someone was inside the house.

I leaped out of bed, ran out of the room, and locked the bedroom door behind me. I quickly cast a shield spell over the door and hurried downstairs, looking through every corner and room on the main level. Once I entered the library, I saw shards of glass on the ground below the window.

I stumbled forward but managed to stay on my feet. Right then, a jolt went through my body. It concentrated around my scalp, causing a moment of vertigo, and my mind spun in circles.

Once I gained my vision again, I looked up, staring at the intruder who wore all black from head to toe, with no recognizable features. But the shape of his broad shoulders and thick, long legs told me it was a man. He wore a mask, gloves, and, in one of his hands, a dagger.

Ourdagger.

I lifted my hands, and flames appeared. He charged toward me, but I moved left and slammed my elbow on the bridge of his back, a coil of flame wrapping around my forearm, burning a hole through the black shirt. The intruder fell hard on his knees and dropped the dagger.

While he kneeled on the wooden floor, I swept it up, but something burned my hand, and I quickly dropped it.

What the hell was that?

The dagger had been laced with magic, and I couldn’t touch it. Whatever attacker this was, they were working with a witch.

Fucking Maurice.

“Get up, Maurice. I know it’s you. Have you come for another ass beating?” He stood, and I mustered up the flames in both my hands. “You’re not going to win this fight,” I threatened, then blasted the flames toward him, but he lifted his hands, and the fire vaporized before it touched him.

What the fuck?He can use magic?

He looked at me one last time and bolted out the door.

No!

I chased after him as fast as I could, but he had disappeared into the forest behind the property.

“Are you fucking kidding me!?” I shouted into the night.

I rushed back into the library and searched the floor for the dagger, but it had gone with him.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

I had him. I fucking had him! I eyed my office desk, placed my hands firmly on the top, and slid them across, tossing everything onto the floor. I kneeled and placed my hands on my head. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.”

I looked up at the clock on the library wall; it was three in the morning. I hurried upstairs to check on Melissa. After dissipating the shield, I unlocked the bedroom door and peered into the room. Melissa hadn’t heard the confrontation downstairs and was still sound asleep. I grabbed my phone and called the coven, then tried Mercy, but she didn’t pick up, so instead, I sent her a text message about what had happened. I no longer cared if she was still broken up about everything; she needed to get her shit together and help us with this.

Me:The killer broke in tonight. It’s not Maurice unless he is using one of his witches. They used magic! Be ready. They have the dagger. I couldn’t touch it, though. It’s laced with some kind of repelling spell. I’ll be over at your place in the morning. Mercy, you need to be at the house. Stay on guard and lock every door and window.

I shut my phone down and lay next to Melissa, watching her chest rise and fall, and prayed our drama would never reach her and damage her like it had so many people we cared about. I couldn’t go back to sleep, not knowing that whoever had broken in could come back. But if they did, I’d be ready to take them out.

CHAPTER 24

Mercy

THE NEWLY FORMED pack was still small, living on the north side of campus at Brown. They recruited Aaron and Hannah a few months ago; everything was so new to them still.

“I’m sorry the nightmare is circling back around. How can we help?” Amber asked, tipping her beer up for a drink.

“Thanks, Amber,” I said, placing my hands on the kitchen island and taking in the surroundings of their new place. I hadn’t been to their apartment before. “Honestly, I haven’t quite figured out that part yet,” I admitted. The newly born werewolves, Aaron and Hannah, watched me, their intense gaze never faltering. It was as if they were ready for instructions, but I didn’t run their pack. It wasn’t up to me what they decided to do. That responsibility wasn’t what I needed.

I sighed and wiped my mouth with a napkin, leaning back into the chair. “Maurice is coming back for revenge. We know he killed the angel who created me and my coven. We also know a vampire killed at least three people in East Greenwich and has connections to the Black Horse Clan. We feel pretty confident that it’s Maurice, but he’s only taking credit for the angel. The immortal-slaying dagger is also missing.”

---