Stalker (The Hunt Book 3)

by Liz Meldon

  Moira lay there, gasping. Pain bloomed throughout every limb. Something was broken. It had to be. She blinked hard, rebelling against the darkness that threatened to consume her, willing herself to get back up and fight for Severus.

  But she couldn’t move. Warmth dribbled from her nostrils, out the corner of her mouth. She choked his name, her gaze dropping to her arm—which was supposed to be lifting and bracing and pushing her back up again. It didn’t move. Nothing did. Slowly, she looked up at the clear blue sky, each blink heavier than the last.

  “S-Severus?”

  The last thing she realized before the blackness took her, her broken body sprawled across the first-row seating, was that she couldn’t hear him screaming anymore.

  Moira awoke to the sound of her own heartbeat.

  Eyes closed, the world dark around her, she first clued in to the steady, constant rhythm. Beep beep, beep beep, beep beep. It was the same sound she had listened to for weeks as her mom lay in a hospital bed. On that final day, Lara Aurelia’s heartbeat had been inconsistent—too fast, too slow, until finally it was too nothing. Moira had heard it stop. She’d heard the crash cart rattling down the hall. She had been pushed out of the way as the dedicated hospital team pounced on her mom and tried to revive her heart.

  This was much calmer.

  She inhaled deeply. The scent of clean, albeit starchy linens filled her nose, paired with the faintly chlorine smell of recently cleaned floors. No need to open her eyes—she knew she was in a hospital bed. Not at home with Severus. Not at the stadium with Severus. In fact, not with Severus at all.

  The angels had taken him.

  Her eyes snapped open at last.

  Her dad had tried to kill her—again. Or, at the very least, tried to seriously maim her. Groaning, she shifted about, her body stiff and sore, but still in one piece. Maybe he hadn’t tried to kill her. As angry tears swarmed her eyes, as she stared at the white ceiling tiles speckled with grey, she figured maybe he had wanted to send a message. Her worst fears had come true. He had taken the man she loved.

  Severus could already be dead.

  “No,” she croaked, her voice hoarse. Thank goodness she hadn’t woken up with some tube stuffed down her throat—that would have been alarming. Still, when every swallow felt like sandpaper, she had to assume one had been down there at some point.

  Who cares about a fucking tube? Severus is…

  Out there.

  Being tortured.

  Being punished for some crime she knew he hadn’t committed.

  And she couldn’t sit here a second longer without him.

  Much to her surprise, she had woken up in her own private room. The door was closed, the curtains drawn over the window. A pile of fat, squishy pillows propped her up, and a few layers of blankets kept her nice and toasty. Straightening up hurt. Her shoulders, her sides.

  Oh. Her left wrist was in a cast. Moira wiggled her fingers. While they were sore, nothing felt broken, and having broken her right arm when she was nine, she still remembered that pain. She examined the cast. Nope. Not broken. She winced when a sharp pain shot from her wrist to her elbow. Something definitely hurt. Actually, a lot of things hurt. Her entire being ached, certain parts sharper than others, but after testing the rest of her limbs, she decided she was alive and in one piece. If something had broken, her new body had already started to heal it.

  “Good job, new body,” she muttered, checking under her hospital gown, her cheeks warming to find herself naked. Someone had undressed her. Someone had found her. What would they think of that scene? How would they explain the damaged barricade? How bad had her injuries been when they’d happened upon her?

  Bad enough to warrant a cast. She picked at it for a moment, hoping she’d be able to get it off before she left the hospital—which would be soon. Very soon. She had every right to check out of here without a doctor’s permission.

  First things first—she reached over and turned off the heart rate monitor. If she went ripping all the sensors off herself, the machine might call a code. Next came the sensors on her chest, then, with some effort, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and carefully removed the IV line from her right hand. It smarted a little, as did her ribs now that she was upright. In fact, her entire body just felt heavy, like it wanted to fold over on itself—or go back to sleep. Taking soft, short breaths, she prodded each rib bone and hissed at the sharp pain that flared in response.

  Fractured, probably, though it was difficult to tell which ones were fractured and which ones just hurt a whole hell of a lot.

  As she slid off the bed, tentatively touching down on her toes first, she was pleased to note that her head was clear. Nothing seemed clouded. She could move her mouth, form coherent words without slurring. So, she wasn’t doped up. That was good. It meant she could, with a clear mind, check herself out of here.

  Walking proved to be a little more difficult than she anticipated. The entire right side of her thigh was heavily bruised, as was her arm, and she found herself shuffling to the private bathroom. Shuffling, shuffling, shuffling along, slowly but surely, and she gasped when she flicked on the light and caught herself in the mirror.

  Not only was her right side bruised, but the entire right half of her face had the same colouring. She inched closer to the small mirror over the sink, gently prodding the skin, and decided that it looked worse than it felt. The handful of new, thin gashes across her cheek and forehead were also tender, but no worse than what Diriel had done to her. She stared at her face, the unbruised side made paler by the intense colouring everywhere else.

  “I can do this.” She cleared her throat, voice still no more than a hoarse whisper. “I can do this.”

  Get out of here. Find Severus. Make the right people pay.

  Nothing else mattered.

  After making a quick toilet pit stop, Moira shuffled back to her room—only to find zero personal effects anywhere. No purse, no phone, no clothes. Right. All three were necessary to get out of here. So, she double-checked that her butt wasn’t hanging out the back of her gown—it wasn’t—and then headed for the door.

  The long corridor, stretching on in either direction, was quiet when she stepped outside. Moira counted a dozen doors on both sides of the hall, and she figured she was in one of the hospital’s private recovery suites. How she’d wound up here—she had no idea. Most emergency patients landed elsewhere, usually in a room with nothing but a sheet dividing them.

  Down to the left, she spotted what looked like the edge of the ward’s nursing station, but before she could start her slow, zombie-like shuffling, Moira grabbed her chart from the little pocket on the back of the door. Nibbling her lower lip, she scanned it for a list of the injuries she’d been admitted with: broken wrist, six fractured ribs, possible concussion, abrasions throughout.

  No internal bleeding—it had been underlined twice. Huh.

  Well, some of those things were already healing themselves—and someone was going to want an explanation for that. She needed to get out of here.

  “But you called me. I’m her emergency contact! Why would you bring me here if I can’t see her?”

  Ella’s panicked voice carried down the hall from the nurse’s station, and Moira’s face ached when she risked a smile. Good. Someone to help her get out of here. As she shuffled along, she noted that it was well after ten o’clock at night—she’d been out for most of the day. Ella must have been losing her mind. Brow furrowed, she tried to push herself harder, faster, not wanting her best friend to worry a second longer than she already had.

  “Visiting hours are over,” a woman remarked in a firm, patient tone. “You can come back first thing tomorrow morning—”

  “No,” Ella snapped, “no, I’m going to see her now.”

  “Look, I don’t know how you even got up to this level, but I can’t allow you—”

  “I’m family! We… She’s my family,” Ella pleaded. “Please just tell me where she is.”

 
; “If you don’t remove yourselves, I’m going to have to call security.”

  “Fine. Don’t help. Moira? Moira?!”

  Too exhausted to respond, to keep shuffling, Moira leaned against the wall just past the last doorway, in full view of her people, but neither Ella, the red-faced nurse, or the tall blond guy seemed to notice her presence—

  Wait. Was that Malachi?

  Why didn’t he look like a yeti?

  Moira’s eyes narrowed, taking in his new appearance. He stood behind Ella, hands in his pockets, expression hard and eyes dark. Not quite full black, but she knew that look; he was a second away from making the switch. Gone was the enormous beard, replaced with a clean-shaven face that showed a strong jaw and dimpled chin, his lips supple and slightly downturned. He and Severus shared a nose, the same regal cheekbones, but while Severus’s eyes were charcoal most of the time, Malachi’s were a startling blue. The change from blue to black was probably off-putting.

  Her gaze shifted a little higher as Ella continued to argue with the nurse. Gone was Malachi’s wild, beast-man hair. He now wore his short, textured golden locks swept back. He even rocked a little side-part.

  He looked good.

  Really good. The fitted ruby-red dress shirt, sleeves scrunched up around his elbows, muscular forearms on display, and the grey slacks—not exactly summer appropriate, but attractive on a man of his stature.

  Wait.

  What?

  She wrinkled her nose. Maybe she did have a concussion.

  “That’s it!” the nurse proclaimed from behind the counter. “I’m calling security.”

  “No, no, please don’t,” Ella said as the woman picked up the phone, its cord stretching as she pressed it to her ear. “I’m sorry for yelling. Really. I—”

  Just as the nurse started to tap around on the dial pad, Malachi calmly reached over, his arm seeming to stretch on forever, yanked the phone out of her hand, and crushed it into little bitty pieces on the countertop.

  “Why don’t you go ahead and tell us what room’s she’s in, and we’ll be on our way.” His smile had Ella blanching, and the nurse staggered back into the wall, her eyes wide. Malachi, meanwhile, appeared to be trying hard to restrain himself. “I think it’s in your best interest—”

  “Malachi, don’t threaten the nurse,” Moira managed, forcing herself to have the energy for all this, to swallow the surge of white-hot rage she used to feel whenever her mom came home from a twelve-hour shift, a veteran nurse with twenty-six years of experience, and told her about some asshole who had made her night hell for no reason. “She’s just doing her job.”

  “Oh my god, Moira!” Ella squealed, darting around Malachi and charging toward her—only to stop just shy of dragging her into a hug. “Your face. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, are you okay?”

  “I’m sorry about these two,” she said to the nurse as the woman blitzed around the counter and made a beeline for the door. “They’re just passionate people…”

  And she was gone. So much for having the staff on her side when she tried to discharge herself. Malachi watched the nurse go, hands in his pockets, and then shrugged as the door swung shut.

  “We tried it your way,” he said, strolling over to a frantic Ella, who was still checking Moira over without touching her. “I think mine was more efficient.”

  “She’s going to get security,” Moira told him weakly. “Your way kind of sucked, but… Thank you.”

  He nodded, but before he could get another word out, Ella straightened, her voice high-pitched, verging on hysterical. “What happened to you?! I get a call that you’re in the hospital, that they found you at the campus stadium unconscious! Did he do this? Did Severus do this to you?”

  “What?” It took her a few seconds to process the accusation. “No. Of course not.”

  “Diriel? I thought you said he was banished from the city—”

  “I need to get out of here,” Moira muttered, tugging at her cast. “Nothing’s broken. I’m just a bit beat up. Really. I’m fine.”

  “Shall I go look for a healer?” Malachi asked, rocking back and forth on his heels. “I’m sure you’ll be sorted entirely come tomorrow, maybe a few days. Angel hybrids tend to be quite resilient, apparently—”

  “Stop being so calm about this!” Ella snapped, glaring between them. She then grabbed Moira by the shoulders and forced her to meet her gaze. “Honey, I’m glad nothing’s broken, but this is serious.”

  “I know, I know, I’m more tired than I thought I was.” Suddenly all she wanted to do was curl up on the floor and sleep, her eyelids heavy.

  “Was it Diriel? Should I tell Alaric and Gibson to stay outside—you know, monitor the doors or something? They’re just parking the car.”

  “No,” she said, then offered her best friend a weak smile. “No, it wasn’t Diriel. It…” Moira swallowed hard, her dad’s eyes flashing across her mind, Severus’s screams rattling around her brain. “It was angels.”

  Malachi inhaled sharply, and she looked up at him.

  “Angels did this, and they took Severus. They came for him, and they got him.” She shook her head, lower lip starting to quiver, her voice suddenly thick. “He was screaming and I tried to stop them, and then…then this.”

  She gestured to herself, leaning back on the wall for support. Her vision blurred, but she blinked back her tears quickly. No time for tears. Every tear shed, every second wasted, was another moment without Severus.

  Another second of him being tortured.

  “Angels?” Ella asked in a small voice.

  Moira nodded, a bitter laugh escaping her. “Angels.”

  “Angels…” Malachi let out a long breath, his hand pressed to his forehead, his eyes black. “Fuck.”

  To be continued in KILLER, the final novel of THE HUNT serial. Look for it June 28th, exclusively on Amazon.

  Stay Connected with Liz Meldon’s Newsletter

  Never miss out again – sign up for Liz Meldon’s newsletter and get book news straight to your inbox!

  Want to stay updated on pub news and get review copies before everyone else? Sign up for either one of Liz Meldon’s mailing lists to be in the loop!

  Standard Monthly Newsletter – for pub news, recommended reads, and updates on all things Liz Meldon.

  For pub news and book deals specific to a subgenre:

  Contemporary Romance/Erotica Newsletter

  Paranormal Romance Newsletter

  Fantasy Romance Newsletter

  Release Day Newsletter – for notifications about new books only. No monthly updates or book deals.

  VIP Review Team – for more frequent updates, a guaranteed copy of any of Liz Meldon’s books (as long as you review actively), and exclusive giveaways of book swag, paperbacks, and more.

  Thanks for reading!

  Thank you so much for reading! You’re awesome. Surviving that cliffhanger? Seriously. Go treat yo’ self for being such a fabulous human being.

  If you enjoyed STALKER and want to support THE HUNT, please consider leaving a review at the retailer of your choice, including Goodreads. Reviews help indie authors thrive. I also use reviews as a way to gauge what series to work on next. If paranormal romance is your thing, let me know!

  Stay tuned for the FINAL chapter in Severus and Moira’s romance—it’s a doozy.

  Best wishes,

  Liz xoxoxo

  Connect with Liz on social media:

  Website

  Facebook

  Twitter

  Goodreads

  Tumblr

  Pinterest

  Instagram

  About the Author

  Liz is a Canadian author who grew up in the Middle East. She has a degree in Bioarchaeology from Western University, and when she isn't writing about her own snarky characters, she is ghostwriting romance novels, loitering on social media, or taking care of her many animals.

  As a freelance ghostwriter, she has written over a dozen books ranging from romance to
horror, full-length to novella-sized. A handful are currently on the market, and she stalks their "authors" with fiendish delight. She loves writing realistic characters in fantastical settings.

  More from Liz Meldon:

  Contemporary Erotic Romance

  Erotic Short Shorts – an Erotic Short Story Series

  Happy Hour (2016)

  Holiday Hell (2017)

  Bliss (2018)

  All In Trilogy – Sugar Daddies, Billionaires, and Menages – oh my!

  Finn (#1)

  Cole (#2)

  Skye (#3)

  All In Trilogy: Book Bundle + Bonus Content

  Unbowed – standalone erotic romances featuring kink escorts the alpha men who love them

  Belle: Part 1 (August 2018)

  Belle: Part 2 (September 2018)

  Paranormal Romance

  The Hunt – a Demon Romance (2018)

  Predator (#1)

  Prey (#2)

  Stalker (#3)

  Killer (#4)

  The Hunt: Book Bundle #1

  Dark Days – a Vampire/Wolf Shifter Romance (Fall 2018)

  Semester One (November 2018)

  Semester Two (December 2018)

  Lovers and Liars: Immortal Wars – a fantasy and paranormal romance series based in the Lovers and Liars Universe

  Court of the Phantom Queen (2017) – Book #1 (fantasy romance, novella)

  Apollo’s Priestess (2017) – Book #2 (shifter paranormal romance, novella)

  To the North (TBD) – Book #3 (fantasy romance, novella)

  Lovers and Liars – a Mythology Romance Serial

  Manhattan (2014) – Book #1 (FREE)

  Vancouver (2015) – Book #2

  Westwick College (2016) – Book #3

  Tuskin Island (TBD) – Book #4