Suddenly I didn’t want Secret to be the one to kill her. A fine, simmering anger that had been lurking just under the surface of my skin was started to rage into a full boil, and damn if I didn’t want to be the person looking into Mercy’s eyes when she took her final final breath.
For a long time she had believed she could kill Secret because she had brought Secret into the world. Now I felt the same thing. I had brought Mercy back to life thanks to my own unconscious guilt, and I was going to be the one that took her back out of it, once and for all.
Dark? Sure.
But at this point I welcomed that darkness.
Mercy wanted me to be more like her?
Well I was about to make my mother proud.
Chapter Thirty-five
“Wha-?” Secret barely got the question out as I took the stairs two-by-two past her.
Mercy, too, seemed stunned by my unexpected surge of energy. She stood at the top step for a moment watching me come, as if she couldn’t believe was she was seeing, and then pivoted on her heel and bolted in retreat.
She was fast. Faster than me. I came within mere inches of grabbing her dress but then she was gone, slipping through my fingertips like smoke. I swore as I skidded across the tile floor, taken by my own momentum, and hit the back wall.
Now she had a head start.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Secret asked, coming to stand next to me. “She could kill you.”
“She could kill you, too, but you don’t see me lecturing you about it. I’m an alpha wolf, Secret, I have my own pack now. I know you think I need to be protected, but Callum thought I was tough enough to handle that, it’s time that you and everyone else believe I’m tough enough to handle this.”
She stared at me for a second and then nodded. “Okay.”
“Plus, I’m the only one here with magic powers, and I think we pre-established that we kind of need those to put the dead back where they belong.”
“Speak for yourself, I was looking forward to trying things the old fashioned way.”
“I promise the next time one of our relatives comes back to life you can shoot them as many times as you want.”
“I’m sure Grandpa Elmore will appreciate you saying that.”
Secret touched my face, wincing in empathy as she looked at my growing bruise. I know it wasn’t a great indicator that I was ready for a showdown, but in my defense I really hadn’t been expecting to be punched as soon as I walked through the door.
Now I was ready for anything.
I was surprised it was just Secret and I up here, but as I looked down at the main foyer it became clear the men we’d come with were otherwise occupied. There were bodies strewn all over the floor, some writhing in pain, others obviously dead. In the midst of the melee, Wilder, Desmond, Lucas, and Dominick were holding their own against the surging defenders Mercy had sent to attack us.
I didn’t have the time to worry about them. They were all strong and capable, and they’d watch out for each other.
Besides, Wilder had made me a promise, and he wouldn’t let anything keep him from staying true to his word.
We’d get out of this, and he could say I told you so until the cows came home. I wouldn’t even argue about it.
“You ready for this?” I asked her.
“I already killed her once, I don’t think there’s anyone alive who is quite as ready for this as I am.” She grinned, but I saw a flash of nerves beneath the surface and knew she wasn’t as self-assured as she was pretending to be.
I couldn’t blame her. Bravado was essential, but underneath it all I was more than a little scared of what we were going into. Mercy might have more men up there. In fact I’d be shocked if she didn’t. She wasn’t going to make this easy on us.
So we wouldn’t take it easy on her.
She gave my cheek a pat, which stung more than I’d care to admit, then she checked the chamber of her gun and swapped out the clip for a full one. There was no turning back.
We silently climbed the second set of stairs up to the third floor. Secret had her gun at the ready and I was trying to concentrate on the hot feeling in my blood that I was sure I could channel into a spell to blow Mercy apart when the moment arrived.