Again, I feel... something, but I don't know what. I've got to get him out of this house. I think the dark energy is starting to affect his human mind.

Chapter Seventeen.

"Kane," a voice whispers into what's left of the night, rousing me from my sleep.

I stay still as Kane stirs.

"What the fuck, Zee?" he whispers back.

"It's Amy... again. I don't know what we're going to do with her if she keeps this up. She's gone though, and we need your help."

"Fuck," he mumbles, and then I feel him leaning over as if to check on my sleeping status.

I remain perfectly still, keeping my breaths even to ensure him I haven't woken up.

"Fine. I'll be out front in a second. Make sure nothing can get in here. Keep her safe."

"I'll stay. It's you they need. You're the only one she responds to when she loses it."

"I think that's just the game she's playing. She's doing everything she fucking can to break me and Alyssa up. I'm sick of this shit. I plan on making that very clear."

Their conversation halts as Kane's warmth disappears from the bed. I silently scramble to my feet the second the door shuts behind him.

I'm tired of this shit, too. I'm desperate to see what the hell is going on with Little Miss Crazy Bitch. I want to know why they need his help so fucking bad.

"If she wakes up, tell her I won't be long," Kane says from the living room.

"What should I tell her? You got a good lie lined up?"

Lie? What the fuck?

"No. Don't lie to her. I don't want to do that. Just tell her I'll be back. It's time to explain this shit anyway. I told her I love her."

My heart beats fiercely. The way he says it... it's almost like he's worried about something. Is he worried he said it too soon?

"Shit, Kane. You know she'll be coming for you now. What are you going to do?"

What? Who? Huh?

These guys are more confusing than immortals with their constantly cryptic conversations.

"What I have to. No matter how bad it gets, I won't lose Alyssa because of her. Lock up. I'll be back soon."

Who the fuck is her?

As soon as the door shuts, I pull on my shoes and sneak onto the balcony. I'm still wearing my wrinkled clothes I never changed out of, but spy missions don't really have to have a prepared ensemble.

Kane quickly disappears into the woods, and I have to jump from the balcony to keep up.

At the last minute, I use my magic to call to a tree limb to me. It wraps around my waist and halts my fall, turning it into a graceful landing.

Kane's already gone, obviously on his way to town. I can't even sense his trail at all. It's as though he's just disappeared. I'm not giving up though.

I head out deeper, straining to hear one crunch of leaves or one snap of a twig. I'm met with only the stir of the wind against the trees. How in the hell did I lose him that quickly?

Scowling, I trek on, but I quickly learn the woods are trickier in the dark than in the light. After an hour, I'm completely lost. This should have been a quick trip - twenty minutes at most - but now I've somehow wandered into a never-ending circle.

Then I sense it - eyes on me. I look around, casually gauging my surroundings as I inconspicuously search for the creature lurking in the shadows, waiting for their chance to pounce.

Glowing orange eyes appear behind a pile of brush, and my stomach flops against my sides.

Lycan.

I turn around, and after a heavy breath, I start running with every ounce of energy I have, regretting my thin-soled shoes immediately. I hear the furious growl and the fierce roar, and then the chase is underway behind me as the beast launches itself out of hiding to pursue its prey - me.

I risk a glance over my shoulder to see it's too fast for me. The monstrous size of the she-devil behind me makes me gasp, and I lose my balance, pummeling to the ground with a loud thud and an accidental scream.

I leap to my feet just as the vicious beast catches up. It swipes at me before lunging, and I hurl my body out of its path just before impact. Back on my feet again, I don't hesitate. Using mother nature's energy, the ground jumps up and pins her into place.

The vines and plants spring to life to act as natural restraints. I'm both surprised and impressed at the power that fell out at my fingertips. I've never used my mother's power with such success before, and I'm not conflicted with the dark high that follows my father's power.

Shock seems to cloak the glowing orange eyes. Obviously, it hadn't known it was fucking with a witch.

I hear the cracking of the vines restraining the creature, and I start running again before it has the chance to escape. Breathless and terrified, I reach the edge of the woods, coming out behind Gage's house.

I start to rush to the door, but Kane's voice jars me out of my attempt.

"Alyssa! What the hell are you doing out here?"

Shit! I have to get him out of here before that lycan catches up.

"Kane! Go! We have to go! There's a-"

Before I can speak again, the lycan crashes through the threshold of the forest in a mad dash for me. The desperate desire for my death radiates in its eyes. I start to summon the power, knowing I'll forever scar my love, but I don't have a choice.

But before I can release anything, Kane appears in front of me, catching the airborne beast by the throat. I gasp in disbelief as the lycan cries out in pain from his crushing force.

No. No. There's no way. Please, God, no. No!

Kane's eyes glow blue as he growls at the lycan.

"What the fuck are you doing, Amy? I'll kill you for this!"

Amy? Oh no.

My heart breaks and the pieces plummet to the ground. This can't be happening. This has to be a nightmare. Wake the fuck up, Alyssa.

With a grunt from his exerted effort, Kane launches Amy backwards, throwing her lycan body back into the forest. Trees crack and break against her as she disappears into the darkness.

I scramble backwards as Kane turns to me, his glowing blues dulling back to green as his vampiric side slinks back into hiding. Sickness attacks me without mercy, and I double over to expel the contents of my stomach in the most ungraceful manner.

"Alyssa, baby, it's just me. I know this is a lot, but-"

"Night stalker." The hushed words flow through my lips like a blasphemous whisper.

He tilts his head, confusion seeming to gather in his traitorous green eyes as I back away again.

"What did you just call me?" he asks, a touch of disbelief and anger mingling in his tone.

"Kane!" Amy screams, her human body back intact as she runs toward us with a robe covering her nakedness. "She's a fucking witch!"

Pain, anger, and so much more flashes through his eyes. All of this was an elaborate hoax. I was tricked into loving the enemy. My hands burn with fury as the silver grabs me and tries to pull me to the darkness, begging me to release my devious power.

"Gage!" I cry out, but he doesn't come... doesn't hear me. I turn to Kane, my eyes watering. "It can't... You can't... I've seen you... How? Why?" I sob out, my tears pouring down.

"You damn witch! You fucking trickster bitch!" Amy growls, and suddenly the sound of shredding fabric rings out as her body distorts and changes in front of my eyes.

Her flesh turns from a tanned glow to a gray ash as the lycan rises to the surface. She launches herself at me again, but Kane grabs her, and rips her back. I don't give him the chance to take me down himself.

Using the energy around me, I slash through Gage's bedroom window, shattering it as I scream once more. "Gage!"

Within a blink, he materializes in front of me, and his eyes gauge the craziness as Kane's glowing blue eyes jump forth to show his defensive stance before he slings Amy behind him.

"You," Kane whispers.

"What the fuck?" Gage gushes, but I jump into his arms and throw my legs around his waist.

"Get us out of here!"

He doesn't waste time. We vaporize into the air and split the planes of life and death as we rush away, retreating in complete disbelief.

The head-rush consumes me, forcing me to be even sicker than I already am as we reach the porch of the safe home I abandoned to live with the devil. No doubt, he didn't like the magic surrounding my home. I gave my innocence to the enemy, and he took much more than that.

"What the hell is going on?" Gage demands as we start walking in.

Before he can cross the threshold, he's launched backwards as the protective spell from my house kicks him in the chest.

I squeal as he crashes into the cliche white picket fence and crushes it to pieces beneath his forceful slam.

"Ow," he grumbles, no real sense of pain in his tone.

"Sorry," I mumble numbly. "Gage can come in."

He stands and warily makes his way back onto my porch. Skeptically, he touches the air of the threshold with the same caution a human would exert to check for an electrical current on a wire.

Finally, he steps through without being battered again.

"Now, I repeat... what the fuck just happened? Kane's a damn night stalker?"

The tears almost choke me, making it impossible for me to speak, so I nod vigorously instead. He runs a hand through his hair to ruffle it as he shakes his head.

"I thought you checked him out. How the hell did he not reveal himself under the influence of your mark?"

I steady myself enough to answer, though my voice is hoarse and pitchy as I speak. "I couldn't use my mark. If he had been human, it would have killed him. I saw him at midnight over and over... he should have-"

"Damn it, Alyssa! When will you learn? Magic isn't old anymore. Midnight doesn't mean shit nowadays. Midnight reveals them if they've taken the lives of innocent victims. Heavy emphasis on the word innocent. In this day and age, such a fucking thing doesn't exist anymore, unless they kill a child. Fuck! And your damn mark won't kill a human! Stop being so-"

"Mine will! I've seen it, you asshole! My power comes from Calypso Coldwell and Drackus Devall. The two combined gave me more power than what should exist. Most people just don't know how fucking strong my mother is. Her mark kills too, just as my father's does. Do you understand? I couldn't risk it."

He frowns as he lets out another exasperated breath. He grips his head as if it aches, and then he plops down on my couch.

"Fine. Sorry. I didn't know. I knew Drackus's would kill, but I didn't know it was because of the power within. Why didn't Frankie use his?"

The onslaught of tears I'm facing is merciless, ravaging my cheeks with their acidic flow.

"Because he thought I used mine. Frankie doesn't know how strong I am either. Mom keeps it quiet. She's worried the world will shun me like they do my father. I'm not supposed to exist, Gage."

His eyes soften, and he stands to walk over to me. His bare chest glows under the lone light in the room. He pulls me to him, and my tears dampen his chest.

"I don't know what he wanted from me. I don't know why he had to make me-"

My sobs become too uncontrollable, making speech no longer an option. Gage coos in my ear as he pulls me tighter into his embrace. His soft touch is all the comfort he can offer, but it's not enough to hold me together.

"I'll stay with you tonight. At least we know why your spell failed at his house. You were trying to keep out the dark, when that's all that surrounded you."

Fuck. I'm so, so stupid. How could I live with a night stalker for a month and not know it?

I just nod as he scoops me up and carries me to the bedroom. He gently places me on the cold, forgotten bed, and I curl up like a child afraid of the dark. Drawing my knees to my chest, I cry into the pillow.

"Alyssa, I can stay in here if you need me to."

He stands uncertainly by my bed, but I shake my head. I don't need his pity for my stupidity.

"No. Just go."

He sighs out, reluctance shining in his aura. With heavy footsteps, he makes his way toward the door.

"I'll be on the couch if you need me."

A strangled sob comes out as I nod, and then I pull the cover over all of me, trying to vanish from the misery the world holds ready. I've never felt so broken.

Waking up to a new day doesn't ease the burden from the night of tears. It's at least noon, but I feel as though I could spend weeks in bed. Frankie isn't answering my calls on top of everything else. Still no word on my mother.