Awakening (Willow Creek Vampires Series Book 3)

by Stephanie Summers

  “Silence,” the demoness hissed at the two bickering women. Turning back toward Bastian, she asked, “Why should I take you instead of the one within?”

  “Because I have lived a long, full life. I have had plenty of time to do the things I wanted to do, and I chose to spend my years getting drunk on power as the lord of this town, destroying the lives of innocents every ten years just so I could be in control. No one will mourn me when I am gone. Taking Remington would destroy not only him, but Sabine as well. I have been in the world for over fourteen hundred years, the majority of those as vampire, yet here I am, a newborn vampire again. The power I have now pales in comparison to what I had before when I channeled Nicas’ power. I know I will never again attain that, nor do I want to… Take me. I am tired of this life, and I am ready to move on to the next,” He turned to Kristine, “I will see you there, my darling.”

  “Come to me,” the demoness summoned. He moved closer to her as she placed her hand on his face. The air shimmered as a flame began to lick the air. A flash of light blazed, leaving two unmoving bodies lying on the floor in its wake.

  Kristine screamed and dropped to the floor as she left Gretchen’s body.

  Sabine scrambled over to Remy, placing her arms around him as best she could. Through tears, she begged. “Please, please… Come back to me. I can’t lose you again. I know you can hear me. Come back to me…”

  Brendon took a quiet step back, trying to make an exit, when he ran into Damen, who had come in, without Sam, on the tail end of the confrontation. Once Nicas had been slowed, the command began to weaken and he was able to return to the Manor. “Not so fast, buddy. I’m pretty sure they’re going to want to deal with you sooner or later.”

  “But I helped! Let me go! I won’t bother any of you again, I swear.”

  “Nope…” Damen pushed him forward and kept a tight hold on Brendon’s arm.

  Mary got down on her knees and held Gretchen’s hand as her eyes fluttered open. “Welcome back, honey.”

  “Did it work? Is Remy safe?”

  “It worked, but Remy…” she said, shaking her head somberly, tears streaking down her face.

  Sabine rocked with Remy’s body in her arms. He was cold and lifeless and all she could think to do was to put her wrist against his mouth, urging him to feed. She didn’t care if it hurt. She only cared that it might bring him back to her. She couldn’t lose him again.

  CHAPTER 18

  The events of the previous few minutes played in front of his eyes like a dream. A tremendous pressure had been lifted from him when the demoness placed her hands upon his face. The darkness quickly faded away, and the sweet call of nothingness beckoned to him. How easy it would be to just stop, to just sleep forever and find peace.

  Through the distance, a voice called to him. His skin moistened with warm tears as something pressed against his mouth. The voice was sweet and familiar… Sabine. I can hear you, love.

  *

  When he didn’t open his mouth to take her wrist, she laid her head on his chest, sobbing until she could cry no more. Mary patted Sabine’s back while the others gathered around. She lifted her head, looking up at Mary, and threw her arms around the witch.

  “Shhh, honey. Maybe it’s just gonna take time for him to wake up… You did an excellent job helping with the summoning, you know? If it weren’t for you, I don’t know that we would have had enough power to summon her.”

  Sabine nodded. “I know,” she whispered.

  “Look!” Damen said abruptly, pointing at Remy. “His face just moved.”

  “I was looking right him, and I didn’t see anything. Don’t get her hopes up,” Mary said.

  “I’m not getting her hopes up. His face moved.”

  Sabine turned and stared at him, willing him to move again if he truly had moved in the first place. She turned to Damen and asked, “Is his heart still beating?”

  “Barely.”

  Just then, cool fingers grasped Sabine’s hand, pulling her close. When she turned toward him, Remy’s eyes fluttered but didn’t open all the way.

  “Open your eyes for me, please? Please! Open your eyes!” Sabine didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, so she did both. “Come back to me,” she whispered.

  The corner of his mouth eased up into a half smile. “I couldn’t stay away from you, love.”

  She collapsed onto him as the air left her body while she momentarily forgot how to breathe. Everything is going to be okay…

  Brendon scoffed and tried to wiggle his way out of Damen’s grip. “Now that everything is wonderful, I’ll just get out of here and leave you all alone.”

  Sabine scrambled to her feet and marched toward Brendon. “I’m going to kill you, you sick son of a bitch! I won’t let you hurt anyone else like you did me. Bastian never should have turned you again. He should have killed you when he had the chance.”

  During the brief amount of time she’d spent with Mary and Kristine preparing for the spell, they’d helped her learn to use emotion to her advantage when she wanted to tap into the magic within. This would be the best use of it she could think of. Raising her hand, she sent a blast of pure hatred aimed straight toward his neck in the hopes of breaking it over and over again until his spinal cord would finally snap, effectively severing his head.

  A hand gripped her wrist, turning her away from Brendon. She looked up into the emerald green eyes of Remy as he held her in place.

  “Stop, love. You never get over the first kill. Don’t let him haunt you for the rest of your life. This isn’t you…” he said, embracing her, “but, it is me.”

  Within a second, Remy let go of her and leapt at Brendon, grasping the young vampire’s head and tearing it away from his body before he knew what hit him.

  Tossing Brendon’s head aside, he looked down at his bloodied hands and disappeared from the ballroom. Sabine ran after him, leaving the others behind. She went to the first place she could think of that he might go. She hurried back to the room they had shared and into the library.

  He stood quietly, looking through the bay window. She walked over to him and placed her hands on his chest, hugging him from behind.

  His head fell forward as his hands overlapped hers. He relished the warmth of her body against his.

  “Sabine, I want you to go home for a while.”

  “I don’t want to leave you now that we can finally be together.”

  “I have a lot to process since Nicas was stripped away. I don’t know what abilities I still have. I can barely remember anything that’s happened or the things I’ve done. I need some space, just for a few days, to clear my head. Can you give me that?”

  “I can… but, I want you to kiss me before I go.”

  He turned to her, placing his forehead against hers, and closed his eyes as he breathed her in.

  “I’ve missed your lips, love.” His hands, still bloodied, caressed her jawline, just below her ears.

  She placed her hands on either side of his neck and pulled him closer. His lips feathered across hers as her knees went weak. For the first time in months, she knew unquestionably that he had returned to her and that this wasn’t a cruel joke Nicas was playing on her. Every trial and tribulation they’d been through had all been worth it because it led them to the place they were in at that moment.

  His lips pushed harder against her as his tongue searched for hers. She pressed her body against him, trying to close the smallest amount of space between them. Against her lips, he said, “I am so hungry,” before kissing her deeper. “It’s been weeks…”

  “Let me feed you,” she replied breathlessly.

  His power washed over her in an instant, threatening to knock her already weakened legs out from underneath her. Steadying her in his arms, he sunk his teeth deep into her throat, relishing her taste. The bitterness was gone, and the sweetness that remained tickled his throat. His nails dug into her shoulder, causing her to whimper, but not from pain. Every touch, every caress, every motion threa
tened to undo her.

  She began to go lightheaded and the sound of her heart slowing pulled him back to reality.

  “Are you okay? I think I took too much, love. I couldn’t help myself.”

  She smiled up at him, her eyes sleepily staring through hooded lids. “I feel fantastic.”

  “I think you need to lie down.” He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, placing her on the bed. “Rest for a bit before you go home. I have some things I must do, and the sooner I can do them, the better.” Pulling the bedspread up over her, he pricked his finger with his fang and rubbed the two puncture wounds on her neck. They closed up instantly as she drifted off to sleep.

  He went into the bathroom and fetched a washcloth that he ran under the hot water. Returning to her, he wiped the warm cloth against her neck and sides of her face to clean up the blood he’d left behind. Once she was clean, he tossed the washcloth back into the bathroom and turned to leave.

  Closing the door behind him, he listened for voices. Once he’d locked onto Mary’s voice, he headed in her direction. Finding her outside the Manor in the cool autumn air talking on her cell phone, he approached her cautiously and waited for her to finish her conversation. Mary had always been a friend, yet he couldn’t help but feel terrible that he’d pulled her into the latest drama in Willow Creek. If she felt like ripping him a new one for it, he would have felt like he deserved it.

  “Mary, I don’t know how I can ever thank you for everything you’ve done.”

  “No need… I know the asshole wasn’t you this time, and I would do it over again to help that girl up there. Destiny has not been her friend, has she?”

  “No, though I don’t mind that destiny chose to stick her with me.”

  “You really do love her… I wasn’t always sure. When you get angry with her over the little things, just remember the hell she went through for you.”

  “I’ll never forget it, even if she isn’t mine anymore.”

  “Oh, this shit again, huh? She loves you. There is no need in the world to throw that away.”

  “I only meant that she is no longer forced to be paired with me, but just look how much danger she has been in since she met me.”

  “She’s shaping up to be a good witch, and a good witch is a safe witch. She’s learned to use her emotions as power, and that can be the greatest source of magic there is. She won’t always need you to protect her, though I’m sure she won’t mind it now and then.”

  “I can’t help but think how normal her life can be. It’s a matter of time before she’s reunited with her family, she’s still a talented artist, and I still have the means to take care of her for the rest of her life. I’m just not sure having me in her life is what’s best for her.”

  “Here’s a thought, jackass… Let her make that decision for herself. If she chooses to go on without you, then so be it, but don’t take the choice away from her. All that will do is show her that you don’t want to be with her.”

  “I want her more than anything.”

  “Then just stop. Be happy for once. You’ve earned it after four hundred years, you know…”

  He tried hard to hide the smile that was quickly taking place on his lips, but he wasn’t fast enough for Mary not to see it and smirk to herself.

  “So what’s next for you?” Remy asked.

  “Home… alone. I’m looking forward to the quiet. I loved having Sabine there and Sam before that, but I’ve learned to love my private time, too.”

  “Have you heard from Sam?”

  Mary nodded. “Yeah, she and her mother are looking forward to seeing Sabine again. It’s been quite a while.”

  “They’re neighbors now.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Sam lives just a block down the street from Sabine.”

  “Thanks to you.”

  “Thanks to Sabine. It was her suggestion to buy them a home. That happened when Nicas was mostly in control, but I actually do remember that she is what got the ball rolling, and I ran with it when I was able to.”

  “You’re a good man, Remy… even if you are a fucking vampire.” Mary reached out and embraced Remy.

  “There is one more thing I could really use some help with before you leave, if you don’t mind.”

  “Always wanting something from this old gal. Some things never change. What is it?”

  “Destroy the spell on this town. I don’t want to rule over it, and the agreement was bound in magic.”

  “But everyone will be able to tell whomever they please that vampires exist. Are you ready for that?”

  “I don’t care anymore. I’m not concerned about a lynch mob coming after me, and even if they did, I’m pretty sure I could take them,” he said, sounding like his normally cocky self. “I’m quite a bit more powerful than I used to be, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  She reached up and patted him on the cheek as she smiled. “I’ll do it.”

  *

  “Gretchen, can I speak to you?” Remy had left Mary alone with the document to work her magic on undoing it. He planned to meet with the mayor of Willow Creek the next day to tell him of the news. Sabine would be happy, knowing that no other youth would ever again have to be sacrificed. He longed to leave Willow Creek and return to New York or London, but if she chose to stay there and wanted to be with him, then he would never leave her.

  “Of course,” she said, running her fingers through her blonde hair. “How are you holding up?”

  “It is me who should be asking you that question. I’m sorry for the way I acted.”

  “It wasn’t you. I know that now. I have no hard feelings toward you… brother. May I call you that again?”

  “I’d like nothing more than for you to call me that, sister. Is it true that Bastian sacrificed himself for me?”

  “It is, the old fool. Old fool for getting us all into this situation in the first place, not old fool for saving you.” Her eyes misted over with red tears that threatened to stain her perfectly made-up cheeks at any moment. “I do miss him so much already. I know he could be a hard ass, but he’s what I’ve known for so long.”

  “You still have me.”

  “I do, but you’ll be starting your life with Sabine, and you need time alone with her. I think I’ll do a bit of traveling. It’s been ages since I visited Moscow. I think I’ll go there first.

  “I hope you have a wonderful time… Could you take Sabine home for me?”

  “That depends… Does she want to go home? I have no desire to incur her wrath if you’re making her do something she doesn’t want to do. She was fairly rude to me when you sent me to fetch her, you know? It’s a good thing I don’t hold grudges.” Gretchen chuckled.

  “She’ll be happy once she gets there. I promise. I spoke to her friend earlier, and she has been helping me set up something pretty special. It’s been a few hours now, so it should be all good to go. Let me talk to her first.”

  Remy took off as fast he could to Sabine. She still slept, quietly snoring, on the bed as he gently shook her.

  “It’s time to go home, love.” He watched as the sleep faded from her eyes, and she turned on her side toward him.

  “I don’t want to go.”

  “You have to. Lana is waiting for you, and I promised you’d be there shortly.”

  “When will I see you again?”

  “In a few days… but I have something to discuss with you before you go.”

  She sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning. “What’s up?”

  “I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to come out with it. I’m giving you a few days to make a choice.”

  “What choice?”

  “I want you to spend time at home really thinking about the life you want and where I fit into it… or don’t.”

  “You’re talking nonsense, Remy. I want you in my life. Period. No amount of thinking will change that.”

  “I know you say that now, but I want you to really think about it. I’m ready
to go to the ends of the earth with you if that’s what you choose, but I also want to give you the opportunity to return to the life you had before. I’ve got Mary working to undo the arrangement between this town and the vampires. There will be no more offerings and no more vampire population, save for me if you choose for us to stay here, and with Nicas gone, there will no longer be a supernatural pull to the area.”

  “That’s really awesome of you. I’m so glad you’re doing away with it. I know you’ve made some child very happy knowing they will never have to leave their family behind… But, what’s the catch? You want me to ditch you, or choose to be a vampire, don’t you?”

  He glanced at the ceiling, not wanting to see the reaction she had when he answered her. “Yes, but I don’t just want to turn you. I want you to be my mate, like I explained in the letter I wrote to you. What are your thoughts?”

  “I want to spend the rest of my life with you… I’m just not sure how long I want that life to last. It’s not that I don’t want that time with you. I just need to think about the things I would be giving up… like pizza and wine.” She smirked to lighten the mood a bit.

  He looked back at her and ran his fingers through her dark hair. “Then I suggest you go and think on it. Lana will be leaving if you don’t show up soon. Gretchen will take you whenever you’re ready.”

  CHAPTER 19

  The car ride to Sabine’s house hadn’t turned out as awkwardly as she’d thought. Gretchen was warm, friendly, and downright nice to her, though she wouldn’t have blamed her had she acted like she hated Sabine. She’d profusely apologized once they were in the car since her last apology didn’t really count. That had been Kristine, not Gretchen, she’d said sorry to.

  As they pulled into the driveway, Gretchen reached into the console of the car and pulled out a set of keys. “Here… he said these are yours.”

  She grasped the keys and felt the coolness of the metal under her fingers. Home was the single best gift he could’ve given her. Too bad her family wasn’t there to celebrate it, but it was all just a matter of time before she would find them again. At least she was getting her friends back. She couldn’t wait to see Lana again, and Delia needed to know she wasn’t dead, too. As soon as she could make it to New York or Delia came back to Willow Creek, they could make her see the truth as well.