A/N: Have you seen the second part of the interview with Rhys and Riley? It has a special appearance from Wonder_Ghost and ILurvMusic. The link to it will be in the comments.

As to why I was absent for a while: I've written a short blog post about it and how to avoid it happening to you which will also be linked in the comments.

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

*****

I sat down, cussing Ace Darrell in my head.

His presence in the Milk & Cream couldn't have been a coincidence. How had he known that I'd be there?

And why had he decided to follow me?

Had he wanted to see how I treated Riley?

I was sure he would not approve of a relationship between a human and a shifter, but then again, Ace didn't care about Riley... He didn't care about anyone. Perhaps he'd come out of spite, just to mess with me before he meddled into the murder investigation and messed with all of us.

But how was I to tell this to Riley without confusing him or scaring him further?

I took a long sip from my coffee before I replied:

"A hunter."

"A hunter?" My mate repeated and I realized I'd failed at least with half of my task - he'd ended up being confused.

"You mean he kills rabbits and birds, and stuff?"

"No." I looked up to him. "I mean a bounty hunter. He's probably here to try and catch our serial killer."

We couldn't allow him to meddle; we had to stop him.

I got up and as I paid for my drink, I added:

"I should tell Keri about him. And Kelly; she should warn Callum. The hunter would want to see the crime scenes and there are patrols still keeping an eye on the last location; Callum should know his men are in danger..."

"Wait... This guy isn't actually going to attack police officers... Is he?"

His round eyes and shaky voice marked my tasked as a complete failure; my mate was even more frightened than before.

"This guy will do whatever it takes to get his prey, Riley." I leaned over the bar and grabbed him by the chin. "He doesn't care much about laws and morals and that makes him dangerous; the fact that he's really good at what he does, makes him even more so."

I tilted my head and brought my lips to his, kissing him long and hard. I hadn't wanted to scare Riley any further than Ace had, but my mate needed to know what that man was capable of. I pulled away with a sigh and leaned my forehead over his, keeping my eyes closed.

Warning Riley was the right thing to do. Even though Ace doesn't hunt humans, he'd use anyone to get what he wants. He might be interested in the killer now, but if he gets the chance, he'd turn his eyes to us, Bullets. If Riley knows Ace is dangerous, he'd stay away from him and he wouldn't let Ace use him... It was the right thing to do, it was the right thing to do, I kept repeating to myself.

If only I could tell Riley the whole truth and he moved in with me! He'd be safer with us.

"Lock your windows and door and lean a chair on the latter. Keep your phone with you at all times and call me..."

"If I hear, see or feel anything strange," he quietly finished my sentence.

"Exactly." Opening my eyes, I pulled away. "I'm sorry about today, Riley; I was looking forward to it but..."

"It's not your fault," he reassured me, his tone still low. "Just please don't do anything stupid like facing this guy on your own or something like that."

"I can't make such a promise. If he goes after one of our own, we'll go after him."

My heart pained at the terror which appeared on his face once I said that, but we really had no choice. We had to protect ourselves from people like Ace and the only way we could do that was if we stood up for each other. If one of us was in trouble, the whole pack helped. That was how we were taught, that was what we were trained for.

"B-b-but," his voice trembled again, "he is here for the killer, right? Why would he do anything to you?"

"Because the people in my society are different, Riley, and that makes some people hate us. If he finds an excuse, he'll go after us."

"But he does this for money and there's no bounty on your heads," he pointed out, hoping I'd agree and disperse his worries.

I couldn't help but snort. Not at my mate, but because of what the man in white was like.

"He does this mainly for pleasure, Riley; the money are just a bonus for him."

My mate took a step back, leaning on the wall behind him, his face morbidly white.

"Can't you contact the police or something?" He asked through whisper.

The desperate inflection in his voice made me want to howl in pain. I walked behind the bar and took a hold of his hands, caressing them with mine in quick, circular motions of my thumbs.

"There's a whole department for situations like these, Riley. I'll contact them too, as soon as I make sure you are not going to freak out when I leave."

I could feel him tremble under my touch.

"I'll tell you what: I'll text you every hour so that you'll know I'm alright and I'll call you in the evening. Is that okay?"

"Half," he quickly corrected with a shake of his head. "Text me every half an hour."

"Alright, if that would make you feel better."

I kissed him again, as gently as I could, hoping my touch would sooth him. To my great relief, when I moved away, his breathing was back to normal.

"I have to go now." I told him and tried to step back, but my feet refused to cooperate.

How could I leave Riley behind and in this state?

But I had to warn the others; I had to protect my pack.

"I know," he replied, encouraging me with a nod and I drew from his strength and walked towards the door, turning back several times in case he needed me, in case he summoned me back. It wasn't until he gave me another nod - it was like telling me that he'd be alright, that he understood and that I should go - that I managed to tear my gaze away from him and walk out.

The escalator seemed to move at the speed of a snail and as soon as I was off of it, I ran towards my car. I took the keys out of my pocket, dropping them in my haste, unlocked the door and jumped on the front seat. The first thing I did once inside was to call my Alpha.

"You on your way back?" She asked and I heard her bite into something crunchy.

"Ace Darrell is in town."

The chewing stopped and was followed by the sound of a painful gulp.

"Where did you see him?" All light-heartedness was gone from her voice.

"The Milk & Cream." I sighed, leaning my head back on the seat and wondering once again how could he have possibly known I'd be there. "He was expecting me."

"He was?" Now she sounded anxious. "What did he want?"

"He just ordered a coffee from Riley..."
"Is Riley okay?"

I smiled weakly when she cut me off; it was nice to know she was genuinely worried about my mate.

"Confused and frightened, but otherwise alright."

Keri cussed under her breath.

"So what did Ace want?" She got us back on the subject.

"As I said, he just ordered coffee. He also told me that he is here because of the murders, but that's hardly a surprise."

"That was all?"
I nodded, then rolled my eyes at my stupidity and told her 'yes'.

"Maybe he wanted to make sure we'd stay out of his way..."

I could already imagine her staring at nothing with a crease formed on her forehead and her golden brown eyes narrowed.

"... Or maybe he suspects that one of us is behind the crimes."

"Doubt it. Ace would've gathered all available information before coming to town so he must know how eager we are to catch the perp."

"Ace bloody Darrell." Keri growled. "That man is a menace. I want him out of Woodville ASAP."

"Maybe the Sentinels could help with that."

"He's got a Hunter's permit; he has the right to independently pursue this."

I could tell by her tone that she was less than pleased.

"We'll still call them, of course," she went on. "And... Callum."

"I can make at least one of those calls," I offered. Her next words surprised me:

"Call the Sentinels."

"You are handing Callum?"

She sighed.

"I don't want to give him another reason to look down on me by chickening out on a call, so I'll handle that. And I'll gather the Council. Those members who aren't at work anyway. You just call the Sentinels and get your ass back here. We are meeting at my place in an hour."

"Got it. See you in a bit."

"Yeah."

She ended the call before I could and I looked at the time on my phone. It must've been ten minutes since I'd left the café so I set an alarm to ring twenty minutes from now and then every half hour. I knew that this little interruption will get on the nerves of some of the Council members - well, I was sure about one in particular - but I didn't want to lose track of time and not text Riley when I was supposed to. He was worried as it was; I didn't need him biting his nails over why he hadn't heard from me.

Once done with that, I made a second call. I didn't dial the Sentinel headquarters, but went straight for the number of one member of the Order who was working on the murder case.

"Hello." Adrian's strong voice greeted me.

"It's Rhys Flemings."
"I know. Anything about the case?"

"Not exactly." I cleared my throat. "Ace Darrell is in Woodville in search for the killer."

The juicy cuss he let slip made me raise my eyebrows; in our previous encounters Adrian had been nothing but professional. Then again, the Order of the Sentinels had come to be as a countermeasure of all the corruption and frivolity the Order of the Hunters - which had already been established - had succumb to. Both existed for the purposes of dealing with supernatural crime, but the Hunters were less organized and not as concerned with keeping our existence a secret. The Sentinels had grown to have a much bigger influence, better connections, more resources and most importantly: followed their code.

Believe. Love. Protect.

That was their motto.

Believe in the establishment, love your fellow Sentinels and protect the innocent, regardless of their species.

With the Hunters it was something more amongst the lines of: find the target, subdue it at all cost before anyone else got the chance to and collect your payment.

"Are you holding a Council meeting?" His voice brought me back on topic.

"Yes, in an hour, at Keri's house."

"We'll be there. Until then."

I had no doubt 'we' meant him and his Dayer partner Sasha Mavis.

"Until then," I agreed and ended the call.

I should text Riley in about fifteen minutes.

I looked towards the mall, tempted to go back up to the Milk & Cream and tell him... What?

That we are gathering to discuss the Hunter?

That wasn't much.

And maybe seeing me there when he'd thought I was already gone would make things worse. It would be better for him if I left him to his work; perhaps that could distract him.

With that thought in mind, I turned the key in the ignition and drove home.

*****

A/N: Any ideas how Ace knew Rhys would be in the Milk & Cream?

Which is the Council member Rhys thinks he's going to annoy with the alarm?

Are you excited to meet two new Sentinels?

And what did you think of the chapter?

Please support it with a VOTE if you enjoyed it!

PS: Tomorrow is Easter in my country. To everyone who celebrates it on that date: Happy Easter!

I'll be spending most of the day with my family, but I'll try to write a chapter of This Girl Just Wants to Have Fun when I get home.