Stalked (complete)

16

I sat quietly with Drew as he drove to my parent's house. I hadn't told him about Micah yet but I planned on it. He needed to know every detail because anything could help. It would be stupid of me to keep something as big as this to myself.

"Micah came to me today," I said bluntly.

"What?" He asked in disbelief.

I nodded, "My professor put his arm around my shoulders and Micah flipped out. He told me no man was allowed to touch me."

"Good! That means he's starting to feel your bond," he said happily.

"That, or he thinks I'm sabotaging his bond with his fake mate."

"Ah. Well, yeah, that could be a possibility. Let's hope for the former."

"I want to hope for the best but I really couldn't tell what he was thinking. He was so...closed," I trailed.

"I understand but maybe taunting him like this would be a good thing. Just make sure it's with a vampire next time."

I glanced over at him confused before he clarified, "If he snaps, it will be more difficult for him to kill a vampire."

I nodded in acceptance before returning to my silent state. I was torn between wanting to think about Micah and wanting to have a little peace. On the other hand, it wouldn't matter if I wanted to stop thinking about him; my soul was linked to him in a way I couldn't describe and shutting him out was a painful thought even if it was for my own sanity.

What was he doing? Working? In meetings? Or was he with his false mate? Could she really satisfy him the way I could? The thought had me reeling in anger. Who the hell did this bitch think she was?! She couldn't steal my mate, my life! That was mine and I'll be damned if I let some girl have what is mine. Micah was mine and I would have him back if it was the last thing I did.

"Jeez, Princess, if you grind your teeth any harder you won't be able to feed," Drew teased.

I hadn't even realized I was grinding my teeth. I instantly tried to relax my jaw but the tension just fell to the rest of my body.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Don't be. I know this is rough. Have you thought about your living situation?" He asked.

I hadn't. Of course.

"No," I admitted quietly.

"Good thing you have me," he said with an arrogant smirk, "I already set you up."

"But you-"

"It is my duty to ensure you are well protected and cared for. I promised Micah I would always look out for you," he commented.

I studied his serious expression for a moment before lightly squeezing his free hand, "Thanks, Drew."

"Don't worry about it. Are you going to tell your parents anything?"

I groaned, "I forgot about them. I have no idea what to tell them."

"Well, you could always blame it all on Daniel."

I nodded absently, "Good idea. I might actually do that."

"He deserves it."

I laughed lightly, "Is that so?"

"Yes. He shouldn't have treated you poorly. You are royalty."

"But I wasn't then," I reminded him.

"You were from the second Micah found you."

That was probably true. I was at least guarded like I was royalty even though he hadn't bit me yet. Even now, I was still protected by Drew. It made me wonder if Micah might have had some foresight into this situation. Perhaps he knew what was coming and that's why Drew was so close to me. Perhaps we were looking outside when we should be looking in. Well, Drew should be looking in. If I went snooping around Micah, he would probably kill me or at the least seriously injure me.

"Do you think it's possible for him to have known this was coming?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Do you think he saw this coming? I mean, I get why he would have you protect me but it really seems overkill to have an army of guards when no one even knew I was his mate."

Drew shrugged lightly, "He never mentioned it but he could have been keeping it to himself I guess."

We pulled up to my parent's house shortly after. I couldn't help but notice everything was exactly as it was when I lived at home. The neighborhood, while not affluent, was full of blue collar families trying to put an honest meal on their table. I respected the families in the area because they were hard-working people; they didn't take hand outs and they raised their children to be respectful. The kids knew money would improve their living conditions but that it wasn't necessarily a condition to live. People could survive on less money and more moral standing just fine. After all, my family survived on minimal money and I turned out just fine. I was putting myself through college and lived on my own. I didn't need parents with millions in their bank account to live a fulfilling life. I only really needed Micah for that.

I noticed both of my parent's cars in the driveway which was odd. They both worked regular jobs with regular hours so why would they both be home midday?

Drew and I went inside to see my mom sitting in the living room, tears running down her face. She clutched her neck with one hand while the other cupped the ivory skin around her mouth.

"Mom?" I questioned cautiously.

Her attention instantly fell on Drew as she rushed to fix herself.

"Emma, I'm sorry," she apologized, "I didn't realize you would have company."

She quickly wiped her tears away as I gave her a tight smile.

"I'll come by later," Drew said quietly to me.

I nodded in agreement knowing he had no intention of leaving.

After he left I joined my mom in the living room.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Something extraordinary," she responded with a beaming smile, "This organization randomly selects a family once a year to take care of all bills for a lifetime as well as giving that family spending money every week... we are that family!" She cried.

I looked at her confused, "How do you know it's not a scam?"

"I didn't even know what it was! I was checking the bank account and was floored so I went in and they explained what happened! Can you believe it, Emma?! Do you know what this means?"

I shrugged, still shocked.

"Your father and I can finally spend time with the girls! We can pay off your college loans and set up savings for the girls! And we can do it all without ever working again," she said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

Oh my God. How could I have been so slow? This was what Micah had been telling me. This was his doing. I couldn't help but smile a little. Even though he couldn't remember me, he was still caring for me whether he knew it or not.