by Michelle Fox
She laughed and stepped back from our hug. "Some days I even amaze the moon. Now. Go. Both of you. Go and be happy. You've finally found where you're supposed to be, Adele."
Davian extended a hand to me. "Shall we?"
***
I held Davian's hand on the drive over to my sister's house, unwilling to let go. We'd made a quick stop to the twenty-four-hour big box store for new clothes and then a hotel for a shower before heading out. I didn't want to go see my sister looking like I'd just taken a blood bath. The goal was to look like I had my shit together, and for her to believe it, I couldn't be crusty with dried gore.
"I can't believe it's over."
He gave me a squeeze. "It is."
"What about the cloud in my mind? What's that?"
"It's me."
"Is that really possible?"
"I guess so." He sighed. "Especially if the vampire in question is also a werewolf."
I snatched my hand away. "What? You're what? When were you going to tell me?"
He held up his hand. "Hear me out. I was an omega, too weak to shift and unmateable. Back in my day, they killed you for that. So, I ran. I found the Dark Cities and travelled from one to the next, fascinated by them."
"And then someone made you a vampire."
"Yes. To vampires, I had something to offer. I knew the packs, and they loved the idea of having someone like me under their control. So the Vampire Council turned me."
"All of them?"
"No. Just one, the strongest."
"Won't they come after us?"
He shook his head. "No. My maker was killed in a coup after I was turned. The new council didn't see any value in having me around and actually thought about killing me, too. A vampire shifter mix scared them. They worried I might be stronger and a threat to their power."
"But you were an omega, or did becoming a vampire give you extra shifter strength?"
"My shifter side made the vampire side a little stronger, but not by much."
"How did you survive after your maker died?"
"I found new patrons on the council and proved my worth. I brought the Shifter Council and Vampire Council together. Helped with business deals. Dealt with out-of-control vampires who might start a war with shifters."
"Like the blood slave ring."
"Exactly. Most vampires don't want trouble. They just want to be immortal in peace. And I just wanted to be useful, to be included. My pack hadn't wanted me, but being a vampire I was finally strong enough to offer something others valued. But even then, I still failed." He looked away, his expression dark.
"Dahlia?" I asked, remembering how he'd called for her in his sleep.
His head bowed. Whatever had happened had hurt him deeply. He was silent for a long time and I gave him the space, sensing I shouldn't push. Finally, he heaved a sigh and lifted his head, but still wouldn't look at me.
"Dahlia was my sister. I went back home after I was turned. I was lonely. I just wanted to see my family one last time." He stared into space. "Vampires came. Looking for me. Politics had made me a target."
"Just like with Zion."
He nodded. "Yes. The pack caught wind of them. There was a fight and they took out the whole pack. I couldn't save..." His voice broke and he fell silent again. His hand reached out and I took it. "But then I met you and realized I needed so much more than what I had. It scared me, which is part of why I left you."
"And the other part?"
"Just what I've said all along. I don't live a great life. I'm not an alpha."
"I think you're more alpha than you realize. You took on Jackson and Zion. You, an omega."
He shrugged. "Maybe so. But I couldn't have done it without you."
"You could have done it on your own if you had to. And anyway, I don't care if you're an alpha or not. That's not what makes you important to me."
"I get it now. We're mates. We're bound by the moon. Something I didn't think was possible for me."
"Me either. I thought I would die alone."
"But here we are." He took my hand again and raised it to his lips for a kiss.
I snorted.
"What?"
"Do you realize you were born before my time, and that if you hadn't become a vampire, we would have never met?"
"The moon moves in mysterious ways."
"That, it does." I couldn't hold back a huge smile. I'd done it. Saved myself, by myself (well, mostly) and found a mate to boot. Granted, he wasn't the kind of mate most shifters would approve of, but I'd publicly humiliated myself while high on a regular basis. This wouldn't be the most difficult thing I'd ever done, and Davian was worth it. So, so worth it.
***
My sister lived in a perfect log cabin in a perfect tree-filled valley with the perfect alpha. The Milky Way stretched out above, making the valley look like a picture from National Geographic. All the perfection made my gut burn. I was everything but perfect. No wonder I hadn't made it a priority to visit before. It was a lot to process, and I hoped I was ready for it.
"Is this it?" Davian parked the Porsche SUV at the end of the long driveway and nodded to the cabin there.
"Yeah. As far as I know. This is where her directions said to turn." I stayed where I was, my seatbelt still strapped on, liking the fact that something was holding onto me.
"You okay?" He put a hand on my shoulder.
I gave him a small smile. "Yeah. I haven't seen my sister in a while. Not since that night."
"The one with you tied to a couple of trees while Marie cut you with knives?"
"Yeah. That's the one."
"It'll be okay. She's your sister. She loves you, right?"
"I'm not worried about her. She's amazing. It's me I don't know about." I fidgeted with a loose thread on the hem of my new T-shirt, not knowing what to do with myself.
"Like you're not amazing in your own right?" He gave my shoulder a shake.
I barked a short laugh. "Have you seen my brand of amazing? It's kind of scary."
"And brave. And strong. And loyal. Don't sell yourself short, Adele."
"You think so?"
"If you think mistakes are the only thing that defines someone, then none of us are any good. You are not your mistakes. None of us are. Okay?"
I nodded, liking what he said but still not completely convinced. "All my life, I've been the hot mess, the failure that everyone talked about and Lia... she's been perfect. "
"That's not who you are now and you know it. She's going to see that. Is that what you're so scared of?"
His words hit home and my stomach dropped like a wrecking ball. Zion had never scared me. I hadn't liked him, but I'd never feared him. Why would Lia get to me then?
Because, whispered a small voice in the darkest part of my mind, here I am again claiming to be clean and have my shit together. I wanted her to know it was real this time, and I wasn't sure she would believe me.
But time to dwell on any of that had run out. Lia had noticed our arrival. The cabin door opened and my sister poked her head out, her entire face lighting up when she saw that we'd arrived. She waved at us, her whole body moving with the gesture and then ran down the porch steps toward our car. Ryder, her mate and the alpha of the pack, came to stand in the doorway.
I got out to meet her, ignoring the nausea churning in my gut. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I said, "Hey."
"Adele!" Lia squealed and threw her arms around me. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"I was so scared." She pulled back and did a quick scan, checking me over. "You're hurt."
"I'm healing."
"Why is he here?" She looked at Davian, her brow furrowed in confusion. Ryder came down then and glowered at us both over her shoulder.
"Davian's been helping me."
"But isn't he the vampire that—"
"Yes," I said quickly, cutting her off. "It's everything you think and more. We're mates."
Her eyebrows shot up and her mouth formed an 'o
.' Ryder moved out from behind her to stand next to her, his hands loose at his side but his gaze laser focused on Davian.
I edged in front of Davian. "He's one of the good vampires. I swear."
Her face remained frozen with shock. Ryder stepped forward. I tensed, prepared for a fight, but his arms came up, not to punch but to wrap me in a quick hug. "Glad you're okay."
"Me too. He helped." I pointed to Davian.
"I heard you helped quite a bit. Jackson called and told me a little bit of what went down. I had to see you to believe it." Ryder offered his hand to Davian and the two men shook. "Welcome to Moon's Bower."
"Thank you," said Davian.
"We just stopped by to say hi and show you that I'm in one piece." I spread out my arms and turned in a circle. "See? I'm okay."
"Thank the moon," Lia breathed, recovering from her shock. It was a testament to all that we'd been through that my mate being a vampire didn't give her much pause. I'd come home with worse.
"And it's over."
She gave me a confused look. "What's over?"
I took a deep breath. "All of it. The drugs, the drama. I'm good from here on out."
"Really?" Desperate hope flashed in her eyes, but I didn't see any disbelief and the nausea eased a bit at that.
"Yeah. Really. Thank you for being an awesome sister. I love you so much." I gave her a big hug. "I wouldn't be here without you."
"I love you too." Her voice went thick with tears. "And I'm so glad you're okay now because I'm going to need you."
I leaned back and studied her face. "Need me? For what?"
"To deliver the baby. I heard you helped with Chloe's baby. Is that true?"
My jaw dropped. "I'm going to be an aunt?"
Lia smiled and put a hand on her stomach. "Yeah. In the summer. We don't know the exact date yet."
"Oh, that's amazing. Wow. Congratulations." I hugged her, hard and tight. Then I hugged Ryder before going back to Lia again. I'd been too nervous to smell the baby before, but now that I knew, I could make out the sweet scent of new life.
"Congratulations," Davian said, offering his hand to Ryder and then Lia.
"So, you'll help?" Lia asked.
"Yes. Of course, I will. But maybe call Marie, too. She has more experience than I do."
"And will you come for Christmas?"
I looked to Davian who gave a slight nod of encouragement. "Yes. I—" I stopped short and corrected myself. "We would love to."
A dazzling smile lit up Lia's face as she burst into tears. "I'm so happy, I don't know what to do."
I wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Stop crying for one, sis. Everything's good. There's nothing to cry about." But tears rolled down my cheeks, too, because sometimes there's so much happiness, it hurts.
Epilogue
Davian
I took Adele north. Far north, to where there was more night than day. We settled into a primitive cabin at the top of a mountain, surrounded by sheer drop-offs and tall drifts of snow. Making sure Adele was taken care of, I surrendered myself to a full day's sleep, unable to stay awake.
"This is lovely," Adele said when I awoke. She pulled back the curtains across from the bed. The night sky twinkled at her in agreement, making her skin gleam with starlight. I'd started a fire for her when we'd first arrived, and once the cabin had warmed, she'd removed her clothes. She'd gained weight since we'd left Huntsville, and while her skin remained pale, it now had a rosy tinge to it.
"You're what's lovely." I stood and stretched my arms overhead, working out all the kinks in my circulation. Then I went and pulled her over to the bed. We fell onto the mattress together and she ended up on top, her delicious weight pressing into me. Holding her tight, I kissed my way across her collar bone, savoring the heat of her body and the steady drum of her heart.
"No regrets about mating with a vampire?"
She threaded her hand through my hair."No. Never. You okay with a werewolf who used to have a drug problem?"
"Yeah. She sounds perfect for me." My fingers danced across her nipples and she sighed.
"Are you sure it's all over? That this is the end of it?"
"I'm sure. Zion is gone. The video we got has restored order among the vampires, and I am officially on vacation."
"When do you have to go back?"
"I may never go back." I'd shipped the video off to the Contessa and left her to manage it. Last I'd heard, she, along with the general and the baron, had cleaned house.
A slow smile crossed her face. "So, we have time."
"All the time we want."
"You won't miss it?"
"What? Cutthroat politics?" I shook my head. "No. I would miss you, though. You're my priority now. Someone else will have to worry about the next Zion." Anyone who held Zion's views wouldn't dare make a move for several decades at least. There would be peace...for a while, which, I'd explained to the Contessa, would be the perfect time to train someone else for my job.
"But..." She frowned. "What if there are other blood rings? We should help them."
"Then we will, if we find any."
"You're a good man, Davian. Always honorable and so damn sexy I can't stop thinking about you." She traced my shoulders with her hands. "I can't believe I found you."
I nodded. "It is improbable."
"Perhaps fate meant for me to be an addict."
I grimaced at the thought."Fate can be cruel."
"Yes, but also so very sweet." She kissed me, her tongue dueling with mine and flicking over my fangs.
"True." I flipped our positions on the bed, putting her on the bottom. Nuzzling the nape of her neck, I drank in the scent of her. She still had a lilac note despite our snow bound location, but I also caught hints of fresh air and herbs that hadn't been there before. "What did you do all day?"
"I ran the mountain. There are herbs up here, under the snow. I made tea."
She started to say more, but I sucked her nipple into my mouth and she fell silent. The nub became harder and harder under my tongue and she writhed underneath me, her hands grabbing onto my shoulders. My cock throbbed and her need became mine.
I teased the other breast with my fingers and then switched sides.
"Davian." She craned her head to look at me.
I lifted my head and placed one finger on her lips. "Shh. Let me love you." I'd waited so very long for this, I didn't want to rush it.
Her hands slid down my torso, reaching for my hard length. While I kissed every inch of her, she caressed me, testing the limits of my control.
I slipped down her body and away from her hands. Kissing her pubic mound, I nudged her thighs apart with one hand. The sweet fragrance of her core filled my senses and made my head spin. Blood lust warred with carnal desire. I wanted everything from her all at once.
Dipping my head down, I flicked my tongue across the sensitive bud nestled at her center. She gasped. A wolf, her wolf, sauntered into my mind's eye and sat, watching me.
I paused, shocked at its appearance.
"Davian?"
Giving a mental nod to the wolf, I focused on Adele. I'd started life as a shifter, perhaps this was a vestige of that. Becoming a vampire hadn't changed my DNA. Deep down, I was still a wolf. One who'd never come into its fur, but a wolf, nonetheless. Apparently, the mating bond would work between us. I just wish I'd found her long ago, before I'd died. We might have been able to save each other a lot of pain and loss.
"I see your wolf," Adele said.
I froze. "What? My wolf?"
"The cloud, it's your wolf now. You're stunning, Davian. Soft, dark fur and big as an alpha." She looked at me and frowned. "You can't see him?"
I shook my head.
She reached for me and coaxed me up until we were face-to-face. "Love me and he'll come to you."
"I don't think that's how it works." I tried to pull away, but she held on.
"It can. I've met wolves who've been through this. Trust me. I'm your mate. And a half-trained healer. I k
now things." She gave me one of her surprise kisses, darting in and pressing her lips against mine. Our tongues tangled and she spread her legs beneath me. Breaking our kiss to take a breath, she said, "Take me, Davian."
I plunged into her heat. Pure bliss enveloped me, warm with life and all the good things I'd never thought would be mine. Her body absorbed me, taking all of me and welcoming me with a pulsating sensation.
"Yes. Now more." Her hands gripped my hips, using them as handles to push her body into mine.
I threw back my head and let my wolf sing for the first time in centuries. For too long, I'd kept him locked up. My howl ricocheted around the cabin, more powerful than I remembered.
Adele howled with me, adding a soprano note, and our voices twined into a song unique to us. No other wolves would sound like we did. Our song was the fingerprint of our mating.
A shadow thickened in my mind, coalescing and undulating. Adele's wolf seemed to recognize it and welcomed it by rolling onto her back, exposing her belly.
Our bodies rocked together and we howled with the truth of what we were to one another. Mates. Lovers bound by heart and fur, never to be parted. Pleasure rose and flooded my senses.
The shadow grew and shrank, pulsing with the rise and fall of sensation in my body. Adele's breath came in uneven pants, her breasts bouncing with the way we moved together. I dove into her again and again. A red flush crept up her chest to her neck. Unable to resist, I leaned down and buried my fangs into the nape of her neck. Sweet, hot blood filled my mouth.
Adele screamed, shuddering underneath me as if shaken by an earthquake that threatened to tear her apart. Within moments, I screamed, too, and reared back as I exploded inside her.
Suddenly boneless, I collapsed on top of Adele, too weak to move.
"Davian? Are you okay?"
I struggled to speak but couldn't. Opening my eyes, all I saw was a blur. The only thing that remained normal was Adele's scent. That stayed with me, but the rest of my senses spun out of control. The world swirled around me in a smear of color. I couldn't focus, couldn't move. Adele spoke to me, but I didn't understand the words, it was just sound.
I felt as if I was falling from a great height, even though I knew I must still be on the bed. I fell and fell and when I landed, everything went dark.
