“Rigged voting, nice.” But rigged which way? Millie wasn’t above bending rules, but would she do so for Luca? Her uncle would do whatever he thought was best for his niece, but did he think Luca was what was best for her?
“They all know it’s rigged.” Tess shrugged. “Politics is politics, whether you’re a Normal or a Magickal. Luca’s dad has Millie and Darren on his side if you were willing to be turned. But you weren’t awake to say one way or another.”
“Well, I’m awake now.” Why no one had tried to awaken her before, she didn’t know. Then again, maybe they had tried and only Tess had succeeded. Erin had distinct memories of being in and out of consciousness, but only that one brief conversation with Luca was concrete. She recalled what he’d said about not having the approval of the Conclave or Council when he turned her. “Wouldn’t I have had to be approved by the Council first for my willingness to matter?”
Shaking a finger at her, Tess grinned. “See, that’s why you’re a special case.”
“I am?”
“Your aunt and uncle offered to Change you to a wolf, right?”
“Yeah, a few years ago. I said I’d have to think about it.” She’d never gotten around to making up her mind, but that was a moot point now.
“In order for them to have even made that offer, they had to apply to the All-Magickal Council. A background check was run on you, and their initial application was accepted, which means that technically you were approved to be turned into any kind of Magickal. The assumption was a werewolf, but the application doesn’t specify what you’ll be turned into, just the species of the person applying.” Tess arched an eyebrow. “An oversight I’m sure the pencil pushers will rectify.”
“No doubt.”
“There are more steps involved, but you have to have agreed to being made a Magickal.” She waved a hand. “These being unusual circumstances with your life on the line, the panel would probably overlook Luca jumping the gun so long as you testify that you were vampirized willingly.”
“Then that’s what I’ll say,” Erin stated. “Luca is not going to die for saving my life.”
The thought of him dying at all opened a gaping maw of pain and loss within her. She hugged herself tighter. It would not happen. She wouldn’t let it. She’d perjure herself before God if that was necessary to save him. How long would a sentencing take for something like this? Would they put him to death right then and there? She didn’t know how things like this worked, other than justice was swift and brutal if a person was convicted. What if they were too late?
“Can you drive a little faster?” Erin asked. “And why are you the one who came to get me and tell me this?”
“Hold on.” Tess careened around a corner, ignoring the blast of another horn. She glanced at Erin and shrugged. “Everyone else is in the Council chambers to watch the verdict…and I don’t want Luca to die any more than you do.”
“I don’t think that’s entirely true.”
She tipped her head to concede the point. “Right. I’m not in love with him, and you are. But I still don’t want him to be put to death.”
“I think a lot of people would be surprised to hear you say that.” Erin included. Except for what Luca had told her, every other person she’d spoken to had said Tess Jones would like to kill Luca herself.
“I know. I’m a little surprised myself.” The wolf offered a slight smile.
“What changed your mind?”
“He did,” she said simply.
A hiss that wasn’t quite human erupted from Erin’s throat. Possessiveness unlike anything she’d ever felt before gripped her so tightly she saw red. “You can’t have him back. He’s mine.”
“Settle down and retract those fangs.” Tess reached behind her seat, dragged out another canister of elixir, and shoved it at Erin. “I don’t want him back. I’m not in love with him anymore. He’s not in love with me either.”
Chagrined, Erin downed the elixir. “He said as much.”
“He needs someone who wants to hold onto him like that though.” The wolf shrugged. “If things had been different, it might have been me, but…”
“But?”
“I’m no longer the woman he fell in love with. That Tess doesn’t exist anymore. Sure, she’s part of the me that I’ve become, but what happened changed me.” She snorted, no doubt noticing the play on words. “In more than one way. I was angry for a long time about being forced to Change, and I was angry that I hadn’t been able to save myself from being forced. I imagine rape victims feel like this.”
“I’m sorry.” Erin set a hand on the other woman’s shoulder, sympathy filling her chest. It sounded like a nightmare. One that could haunt a person forever. How did you go about picking up the pieces after something like that?
“Me, too. And yet…I can’t regret the person I’ve become.” Tess’s tone became reflective, though she still drove like a madwoman through Seattle’s busy streets. “When you’re that desperate, that helpless, it takes you down to that rawest possible part of yourself. You find out exactly what you’re made of. It’s a side of yourself you can’t unsee or tuck away in some civilized little corner of your soul again.”
“I know what you mean.” Hadn’t she faced that when Asher had tortured her? Her thoughts had been for her family—for Luca—who loved her, and her regret that she’d die without telling him she felt the same way. Somehow she doubted that was what Tess had had to confront.
“Yeah, I’d guess you do.” The wolf swallowed. “But that level of self-awareness isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I don’t think so, anyway. I’m sorry it had to come at such a high price. A lot of people paid the price for that night, and for a long time, I thought it was my fault. Luca shoved that in my face and made me deal with it, finally.”
“I’m glad, for your sake,” Erin said gently.
“Me, too.” Tess’s lips pursed at she pushed out a breath. “Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I understand what it’s like to become an insta-Magickal without getting to say yes to it. I know what it’s like to have that happen under violent and traumatic circumstances. I’m available if you need someone to talk to. I won’t tell anyone, no matter what you might have to say.” Her fingers trembled a little as she tucked a lock of auburn hair behind her ear. “I haven’t talked about that night to anyone. Ever. But I will if you need me to.”
“I really appreciate the offer. I’m not sure if I’ll take you up on it, but it means a lot.” That sense of utter violation from Asher was something she didn’t want to remember. Ever. Cold sweat coated her skin, and she shoved the memories away. Don’t think about it. Deal with it later, after Luca was safe. Erin swallowed convulsively. She needed Luca now. Everything would be okay then. “Thanks for coming to get me, and for telling me what was going on.”
It had probably taken a boatload of courage to do so, and she suddenly understood why Luca had loved her. Erin was glad it hadn’t worked out for her own sake, but Tess was one hell of a woman.
“We’re here.” The she-wolf whipped into a parking space, and they were out and hurrying toward a nondescript municipal building in seconds. Striding down a long hallway, Tess led her to a set of double doors. “Go through there and tell them who you are, so they’ll let you speak. I have to join everyone in the gallery.”
Nodding, Erin took the bag of elixir from the wolf, squared her shoulders, and walked into the Council chambers. She could smell Luca before she saw him. He stood in the middle of the room, his hands cuffed in front of him. Balthasar sat at his feet, aiming an unnerving cat-stare at the judging panel. It would have been funny under other circumstances, but she didn’t feel like laughing now. The sight of those restraints sent anger pumping through her. Luca had saved her life and they wanted to kill him for it.
A panel of people sat before him on a raised dais. Her uncle, Luca’s father, Millie Standish, and two others she didn’t know—one male and the other female. The unknown man’s voice boomed out across the room. “
We’ve heard what other people have said, seen a video affidavit from Mr. Gregor Night, but I want to hear from the defendant himself. Did Ms. Bates give you permission to turn her?”
Luca took a deep breath, and Erin knew—she just knew—that he was going to tell the truth, condemning himself to death. He wasn’t going to even try to excuse what he’d done. Stupid, foolish man. She was going to kick his ass after she got him out of this mess.
“Yes, she did give him permission,” Erin called out before he could say anything. “Er, I did.”
Uncle Darren and Salvatore Cavalli both rose from their seats, shock filling their expressions. There was a flurry of whispers and she looked up to see a balcony loaded with familiar faces. Her family, his family, his FBI team. Tess nodded in encouragement as she sat beside Delta. Erin took a deep breath and met the gaze of the man who had questioned Luca.
“I realize the circumstances were a bit unorthodox, but Luca Cavalli did nothing wrong. The options were becoming a vampire or dying. Vampirism was infinitely more appealing.” She lifted her chin, trying to skate the line between truth and lie. She had no idea if Magickals could sense lies, but she wouldn’t doubt it. “I want all charges against Luca dropped. He did nothing against my will.”
Maybe she hadn’t had a chance to tell him she’d be willing to spend eternity with him, but if she’d been conscious at the time, she’d have given him her wholehearted approval. She finally dared a glance at Luca and she saw utter disbelief on his face. A light flickered to life behind his gaze, and something akin to hope or joy shone there. He looked rumpled, wrinkled and exhausted. He looked like the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Relief pumped through her, making her lightheaded. She wasn’t too late. Thank God.
For a moment, it was as if the entire world faded from existence. It was just him and her. She dropped the bag she carried, stepped up to him and curved her palms around his jaw. He leaned into her touch, his throat working. She intended to thank him for coming for her, jeopardizing everything he believed in to save her. He might have traded his life for hers. The extent of such a risk, such a sacrifice, staggered her. A mere thanks wasn’t enough, wasn’t what she really wanted anyway.
“I love you, Luca. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” No hesitation, no doubts. Enough love to last for centuries was reflected in his expression, laid bare for anyone to see.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him. It was awkward with his hands cuffed, but it didn’t matter. The force of their love was there in the way their tongues tangled and their lips danced. A cheer rang from gallery above them, and she thought she heard someone banging a gavel, but she ignored it to cling to Luca.
She wasn’t so naïve that she thought things would be easy from now on—that they wouldn’t have problems with their respective families, that there wouldn’t be Magickals who would shun them for coming a little too close to crossing vampires with werewolves, but she could live with that. All the millions of worries and fears that had held her back for so long fell away. He loved her and she loved him. The end. No matter what else happened, they would survive it. Together.
That was all she could ask for.
The kiss broke apart, and Darren Kerr cleared his throat. “I think we’ve heard enough. I say we dismiss the charges.”
“Agreed,” Millie and Salvatore echoed.
Luca shook his head, not quite sure it would be so simple. He’d broken the one unbreakable, unbendable Magickal law and he’d expected to be punished. It was worth it if Erin would live. He would have preferred to live with her, but he knew what he’d done would make that impossible. Then again, there’d been no telling that she’d even want him left alive after what he’d done to her. Francesca sure as hell wouldn’t have.
A uniformed officer came toward them, pulling keys from his belt. Balthasar hissed at the officer, and the cat’s back arched high, his tail lashing. The officer froze, his gaze locked on the familiar. Erin yanked the keys from his hand to unhook Luca’s cuffs herself. All his vampiric senses came roaring back as the bespelled metal fell away. She tossed the restraints and keys to the officer, then dove into Luca’s embrace and he held her tight. She was alive and awake and here. They’d come close to losing her so many times over the last couple of weeks. Her turning had taken far longer than it should have, and the doctors had begun to look grim about her ever fully regaining consciousness. Luca buried his nose in her hair, drinking in her scent, her soft warmth. Nothing had ever felt as perfect as having her in his arms.
“What are you doing here?”
Her hands balled in the back of his shirt. “Tess came and got me.”
That made no sense. They’d tried everything, including a shot of pure adrenaline, to get her to stay alert for more than a few minutes, and it hadn’t worked. “How did she wake you up? No one else could.”
“I unhooked her elixir IV.” He looked up and saw Tess with her elbows resting on the balcony railing. “I figured the need to feed would be strong enough to beat back the unconsciousness. I was right.”
His heart damn near failed at what might have happened to a newly turned vampire with no way to feed. She’d have starved to death, and far more quickly than a wolf like Tess could ever comprehend. “If you’d been wrong—”
“I wasn’t. Second guesses are pointless.” She hiked a brow. “Take her home and make sure she drinks her elixir.”
At that reminder, he felt Erin’s stomach growl against his. She wrinkled her nose and pulled out of his arms to fetch a canister.
Darren approached, shedding the robe Council members were required to wear. “She should go back to the hospital.”
“No.” Erin paused in her guzzling of elixir to shake her head. “I’m staying with Luca. I can go in for physical therapy or whatever, but I want to sleep in my own bed.”
“You’ll go back and get cleared by a doctor first.” Darren shoved a finger in her face, his voice cracking like thunder. “If they say you stay, you stay. Is that clear?”
“Clear, but they’ll release me.” She hugged him, and Luca heard her whisper in the older man’s ear, “I’m fine, Uncle Darren. I promise.”
The wolf crushed his niece against him with the kind of force that would have damaged her as a Normal. “You scared the shit out of your aunt.”
She chuckled. “But you weren’t worried, of course.”
Grunting, he gave her another squeeze. Then her family came flooding into the room, and she was passed around for a hug from everyone. It was chaotic and noisy, but Luca watched with a curious peace filling him. There was still a lot to talk about, to decide—and they would, but not now.
The rest of the day passed in a flurry of activity. Luca took Erin back to the hospital, where the frantic staff had started an all-out manhunt for her, fearing she was off ravaging the population. As she’d predicted, the doctors ran a battery of tests on her, but pronounced her in good health. She’d insisted on outpatient treatment for learning to master her new vampiric skills, and the doctors had eventually relented. Luca suspected it was because they knew they wouldn’t be able to keep her there without resorting to restraints, and they’d have to deal with him—or Darren—if they tried it.
While waiting for the doctors to finish with Erin, Luca had massive orders of elixir sent to his house and her condo. The incessant cravings could continue for several months after a vampire was turned.
“Hey.” Holly sat down next to him in the waiting room, handing him a cupcake she’d had brought in for an impromptu celebration. “You all right?”
Their families and his team were all jammed into the room. The vampires and wolves occupied opposite sides, but they’d managed to be polite. Aunts Angela and Carmela had even gone so far as being friendly. Luca suspected wedding planning had something to do with the temporary détente. Balthasar moved between the groups, purring and demanding to be petted. Considering the cat’s invisibility spell had allowed Luca to get to Erin in time to save her, the
familiar could be as demanding as he wanted for the rest of his life and Luca wouldn’t complain.
The noise level of so many competing conversations made it difficult to hear over the din, but he nodded at Holly’s question. As far as he could tell, the only reason they hadn’t been kicked out yet was that she’d bribed the nurses with baked goods from Sugar Rush. “The day has definitely improved since this morning.”
“Thanks for saving my girl.” She bumped his shoulder with hers. “I’d rather have her as a bloodsucker than not at all, you know?”
“I wish it hadn’t come to that.” Guilt had eaten at him every day since he’d turned her. Not because he hadn’t stopped her from being attacked. That would have been understandable, even reasonable. No, the guilt was for his utter relief that there hadn’t been a werewolf present to Change her, that if she’d had to be made Magickal, it was to a vampire.
Deep in the ugliest, most selfish part of himself, he’d even been glad she’d hadn’t been able to make the choice herself. It wasn’t something he was proud of, but there was little he could do to change how he felt. She’d proposed to him, so he hoped she didn’t mind being a vampire rather than a werewolf, but at least she hadn’t preferred death. It was a definite improvement over his past run-ins with Normal women.
Erin came out of the exam room and laughed at the sight of all of them chatting and eating. Considering how much she loved having friends and family around, Luca was pretty sure this was her version of heaven. Especially after the hell Kondan had put her through.
Holly scrambled to her feet and fetched a paper plate loaded down with pastries for her cousin. The two women circulated, Erin with an ever-present canister of elixir in her hand, and Luca rose to join her. He didn’t get more than a couple of steps before Delta stopped to harass and congratulate him. Merek, Chloe, Alex and Millie were right behind the southern belle with well wishes. Then his father and Uncle Vito, his cousin Stella and Nick, Jack and Selina, Peyton and Tess. Even with all the congratulations and a public proposal, he was still having a hard time believing it. He’d fully expected to be put to death today. And he would have deserved it. Instead, he was at a spontaneous engagement party in his honor.
Edge of Night Page 32
