"Now you've got my number. It's up to you whether or not you want to program it."
He starts walking away again, and I prop up while murmuring, "That goes both ways."
He turns around with his phone in his hand and waves it in front of him.
"Already done."
My heart flips over, and then the shadows swallow him as he disappears into the woods again.
Oh damn.
Obviously, I program his number in my phone before I even shut the damn door. I glance around one last time before stepping inside, but something catches my eye before I can lock up.
There's a tall, lean figure in the distance across the street, and I hear the breaths growing rasp as a second figure goes limp in his arms. Though they're in the shadows and between two houses, I can still somewhat make out what's going on, horrified by the reality I had hoped I wouldn't run into.
Night stalker.
Without any regard for my own safety, I throw off my heels and take off running, throwing my arms out to release my attack, and impacting him with my invisible force. The feeding figure flies backwards, thudding against a house, and an alarm sounds as a window shatters.
Lights from several of the houses around us flash on in response to the loud wails. The lights cast a bright glow on the scene of the crime, and I hear a hissing noise as the dark figure disappears into the shadows to avoid sight. I rush over to the collapsed body on the ground, and my heartbeat charges fiercely as I slip her blond hair to the side to see the marks of proof on her neck.
Definitely a night stalker. Changers have larger fangs, leaving bigger bite marks. Lycans and Were are beasts who only feed in changed form, and that was a man's silhouette.
A guy rushes out of a house with his boxers and robe on - his white, hairy belly bouncing as he charges toward us with
a bat. He stumbles to a halt and turns pale when he sees the barely breathing girl's head cradled in my arms.
"Call an ambulance!" I scream. "She's dying!"
Others rush out, and within seconds, I hear the whooping sounds of help on the way. I only pray no one saw my release of power. The council will string me up if they did.
Chapter Three
"Are you crazy, Alyssa?" Mom scolds through the phone.
No, just really unlucky.
"He was killing her. What was I supposed to do?"
No good deed goes unpunished. Calypso Coldwell punishes me for every good deed I do.
"It's not your place to get involved. Night stalkers kill to live. You can't go painting yourself a target by interrupting their meal."
"He was feeding in the open. If anything, he painted himself a target. Besides, they don't have to kill in order to live, they just need blood. They don't have to pick young, pretty girls, but they choose to. I simply reminded him that they’re not the only ones in the damn universe, and some of us don't approve of killing."
She groans, exasperation in her long, drawn-out breath. "Alyssa, you're still incredibly vulnerable right now. Going after a feeding night stalker is suicide. That's it. I'm coming to stay with you."
"You can't, Mom. They need you in Tibet for the ceremonies. You're the priestess. I'm fine. I can handle myself, and he never saw my face. Don't worry."
"Then I'm calling Frankie to follow you."
"If Frankie starts following me, I'm going to be on edge. His favorite pastime is scaring the shit out of me. Definitely not."
She sighs loudly, her mind searching for a way to keep me safe. I tuck the phone closer to me as I walk up to the diner.
"Look, I've got to head into work right now. I'll be fine. Don't worry. You do need to say something to the night... um… their council about openly eating dinner… if you know what I mean."
"Oh believe me, I will."