Page 42 of Stalked

I rocked back and forth slightly on the balls of my feet, waiting for the answer he didn’t want to tell me before—the answer to who I was.

“Though your bloodline represents the element of Spirit, Mercy, you can control all the elements at once. None of us can do that.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I control all the elements? Why? What does that even mean?”

“You were the leader of our coven. You were brought here to bring balance and bind our powers. By getting your magic back and going through your Awakening, you’ll restore the balance that’s been lost for centuries. Without the element of Spirit?—and without the power to bring all five elements together?—we can’t win this fight.”

Fight a war … Caleb wants me to fight a war with him.

“What’s going to happen to me on my twenty-first birthday?” I asked nervously.

“You’ll go through your Awakening?—as we all did. The moment the hour strikes at the time you were born, you will feel all your powers come to you, stronger than they were when you took them from your mom. The only difference is that I’ll need to draw some of your blood and bind you to the coven when your Awakening happens. It won’t hurt, though. Also …”

“Also?” I repeated, as if that wasn’t enough.

“You’ll undergo the immortal spell like the rest of our coven did. I can perform the ritual myself and—”

“No,” I said firmly. “I don’t want to be immortal, Caleb.”

His hands balled into fists. “You don’t have a choice,” he argued, his brows furrowing together.

Caleb was back to being controlling again, and I didn’t want to put up with it. I crossed my arms over my chest and stood up straight.

“My free will sure goes right out the door with you, doesn’t it?” I said firmly. “I don’t have to do anything, Caleb. Especially that.”

I’d thought about becoming immortal a lot since he had told me what they had done. I knew it was coming, but I wouldn’t be a part of that.

Caleb let out a quiet grunt and shook his head. “You understand why it’s so important, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “You don’t want to lose me again.”

I did get it. I knew why Caleb wanted this, and some of me agreed. The coven he had spoken of needed my power, and they couldn’t risk losing me again. Still, being immortal and living forever, I wasn’t sure I could do that. I couldn’t watch everyone I loved die while I continued to live.

Caleb bit his bottom lip and groaned in frustration. “Fine. For now, I’ll let it go. But I also need you to truly think about what it means and the detrimental consequence if you don’t.”

I made up my mind.

He touched my cheeks gently, caressing them; the soft, trailing touch left goosebumps in its wake. His eyes seemed to pierce right through to my soul, drawing me in again.

Great,I thought as the anger I had just felt toward him slightly dwindled away.

Caleb could frustrate me to no end one moment and then flip the script without a second thought, making me weak at the knees and wet between my thighs.

He ran his hands down my cheeks, to my neck, and over to my shoulders. His fingers caught at the straps of my nightgown, tugging at them with a whisper of suggestion that sent a buzz of adrenaline and arousal running through me.

“I don’t know if this is okay with you?” he asked softly. “We used to fight all the time and then make up minutes later, so this is normal for me but …”

I shook my head. “I don’t want you to stop.” My body was drowning in the desire to be touched by him. I still didn’t understand how our elemental connection worked, but my body ached to be held and gripped by his firm hands. My mind screamed that it was foolish to relish in something that was purely lust.

Right then, though, I didn’t care.

Every doubt left me, replaced by my only desire to be powerless beneath him.

With Caleb, I had to surrender every semblance of control, giving myself up, away from the fears that consumed me every day.

A tiny smile appeared on his face before Caleb gently peeled off the straps of my nightgown, dropping the silky material over my shoulders.

I arched my neck and sucked in a deep breath as his lips pressed into my skin, leaving hot, gentle kisses as he explored me. That alone was enough to ignite a fire inside me. I hadn’t felt that vulnerable in so long. I could tell he was trying to go slow and not overwhelm me, but I didn’t want that. When his fingers grazed over my breast, I let out a small gasp and pushed into the touch.

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