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“Get in,” she said, her tone sharper than she intended, but she couldn’t help it. The tension between them was too much, and the last thing she needed was for him to think she was still rattled.
Hunter smirked, though the heat in his gaze had dimmed. “You’re driving?”
“Obviously,” Mercy replied, rolling her eyes as she climbed into the driver’s seat.
Hunter slid into the passenger seat without another word, and Mercy started the engine, her fingers gripping the wheel a little too tightly. The Range Rover roared to life, and within seconds, they were speeding down the narrow road toward the abbey.
The silence in the vehicle was thick, but not awkward. It was filled with unspoken thoughts, questions neither of them dared to voice. Mercy kept her eyes on the road, but she was acutely aware of Hunter beside her—of the way his presence filled the space, his energy thrumming with barely contained frustration.
As they drove, Mercy’s mind wandered back to the fae-shifter. She had never encountered anyone like her before—faewere rare enough as it was, but a fae-shifter? It was practically unheard of. And now that she was awake, Mercy had no idea what to expect. The fae’s power was legendary, and if the fae-shifter was disoriented or frightened, that power could be catastrophic.
Hunter broke the silence first. “Do you think she’s dangerous?”
Mercy’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. “I don’t know. Fae are… unpredictable. If she’s confused or scared, she could lash out. We have no idea what kind of magic she’s capable of.”
Hunter nodded, his gaze hardening as he stared out the window. “Colby said they’re doing everything they can to contain her, but we both know how that goes.”
Mercy’s stomach twisted. Containing a fae was no small feat, and if the shifters at the abbey were struggling, that meant things were already worse than she had anticipated. “We’ll deal with it when we get there,” she said, her voice firm. “But we need to be careful. If she’s powerful enough, she could tear through anyone who tries to stop her.”
“If she’s still dangerous, how much power did she possess initially?”
“Given the condition you found her in, I’d say a great deal. Mind you, she’s had some time to recuperate, my guess is they picked her because of the depth of her power.”
Hunter didn’t respond immediately; his jaw clenched in thought. After a beat, he glanced at her, his voice soft but filled with the same tension that had been simmering between them all morning. “Are we going to talk about what just happened between us?”
Mercy’s heart skipped a beat, but she kept her eyes on the road, refusing to look at him. “No.”
Hunter let out a frustrated sigh, but he didn’t press the issue. “Fine. But we’re not done with this, Mercy. Not by a long shot.”
Her pulse quickened, but she didn’t respond. There wasn’t time to unpack the tangled mess of emotions that had been building between them. They had bigger problems to deal with.
The abbey loomed in the distance, its ancient stone walls standing tall against the horizon. Mercy’s chest tightened as they drew closer, her mind already racing through the possibilities of what awaited them. The fae-shifter had awakened, and chaos had followed. Whatever had happened to her during the ritual had clearly left its mark, and now they had to figure out how to handle it—without anyone getting hurt.
As they pulled into the courtyard, Mercy’s heart raced as she saw vines and brambles creeping up the wall in one place. A small crowd had gathered, a mix of shifters, witches, and a few other supernaturals from the abbey, all murmuring among themselves, their faces tight with tension. The air crackled with energy, the lingering remnants of fae magic hanging heavy over the abbey.
Hunter was out of the car before she had fully stopped, his body tense as he scanned the area. Mercy followed suit, her senses on high alert as she searched for Adriana. There was a feeling of dark and oppressive magic in the air. Mercy spotted Adriana near the entrance to the abbey, her face pale but determined.
Adriana saw them and hurried over; her expression grim. “She’s awake, but it’s… bad.”
Mercy’s stomach dropped. “How bad?”
“She doesn’t know where she is,” Adriana said, her voice tight with worry. “She’s lashing out—at anyone who gets too close. Her magic is… it’s wild. We’re trying to contain her, but it’s not working. She’s too powerful.”
Hunter stepped forward; his gaze sharp. “Where is she?”
Adriana pointed toward the main hall of the abbey. “Inside. We’ve tried calming her down, but nothing’s working. She’sterrified, confused, and angry. And her magic… it’s growing stronger by the minute.”
Mercy exchanged a glance with Hunter, her heart pounding. This wasn’t just a problem anymore. It was a disaster waiting to happen.
“We need to figure out how to calm her down,” Mercy said, her voice steady despite the fear gnawing at her insides. “Before someone gets hurt.”
Hunter’s jaw tightened; his eyes dark with determination. “This,” he said waggling his finger between them, “will have to wait. Let’s go.”
Without another word, they followed Adriana into the abbey, the weight of the situation pressing down on them with every step. The tension between Mercy and Hunter was still there, simmering just beneath the surface, but for now, it was overshadowed by the chaos they were about to face.
Elyria
Elyria had once been one of the fae, a being of pure magic, untethered by the animalistic desires of the mortal world. But that was before the change, before she had been claimed by the wolf-shifter against her will. She’d been awakened with her wolf in control and the delicate veil of her perfection torn away. It was that perfection that the fae prided themselves on. She had become something else—an abomination in the eyes of her people, tainted by the beast within.
