by Dean Murray
Byron's eyes were suspiciously bright as he turned to leave the room, but he managed to make it out without crying, and then it was just Jace, Kyle and me. The same way it had been for more than four centuries.
"You remember what it was like to be with him, don't you? You remember just how happy the two of you were…"
"Yes."
I wasn't sure how to proceed, but it didn't end up mattering. Jace didn't give me a chance to say anything else.
"I won't stand in your way, Selene. This is the perfect opportunity for the two of you. He's lost all of his memories, and now rather than just reading about what you had with him, you experienced it again. I don't need you to paint a picture for me. If I'd had any doubts, the way that you've made sure he was taken care of over the last few minutes would have laid them to rest."
Jace turned to go, but I grabbed his arm. "You're not wrong about what I saw while I was reliving all of that. Kyle and I were desperately happy. I spent most of those centuries so happy I could barely see straight. More importantly, I understand how Kyle's obsession took root. He considered all of the rest of us his responsibility.
"When he lost everything, that sense of responsibility was combined with a sense of powerlessness that would have warped some of the strongest men to have ever lived. I know what we did wrong last time. I know how to bring him back and have him be like the old Kyle, the one that you and I both knew and loved."
Jace flinched with every word, but it needed to be said. He needed to hear all of it. Someone else would have lashed out at me, but not Jace. He wanted to—needed to—but something inside of him knew it was wrong, and Jace was better at listening to that guiding voice than almost anyone else I knew.
I took a deep breath and continued. "I want to bring the old Kyle back—I'm committed to it—and not just because we'll need his help. I've watched this play out before, Jace. Any time a group of people get together and try to create something better, the rest of the world comes together to try to destroy that creation. Sometimes it takes time—hundreds of years even—but eventually it happens.
"We've won a tremendous battle, but there are still Awakened out there who didn't join either side, Awakened who were too dangerous even for Kyle to bend to his will. We have to have his help—now rather than twenty years from now—if we are going to have a chance of surviving what's coming."
Jace was shaking now. "You don't have to justify yourself to me, Selene."
"Yes I do. I know it's going to be hard for you to have him around like that while we are together, but it needs to be done."
Surprise flashed through his eyes, and I saw a flare of hope—incredibly strong but quickly suppressed.
"I saw how happy Kyle and I were, Jace, but I also saw the relationship that you and I had. You weren't just what I needed at the time, you were what I needed. I loved Kyle, but I loved you just as much, and the only thing that kept our relationship from being perfect was the fact that you always thought that I picked you because I didn't have any other choice.
"This is me making sure that you know I have a choice. I could bring Kyle back, and I will bring Kyle back, but it's you I want to spend the rest of this incarnation with—and all future incarnations. This isn't just until death do us part, Jace. If I die I'll eventually come back into contact with my sword and relive this moment and every other moment leading up to this one.
"It's funny considering that we can't ever be destroyed, but I never really believed in forever until now. I believe in forever, and I choose you—forever."
—The End—
Publisher's Note:
If you've enjoyed this book, please consider signing up for the author's mailing list. By signing up you'll receive $10.00 worth of free books. We'll be offering a special discount to existing fans for the first week each new book is live, so signing up for his mailing list will mean that you'll always know about new releases with plenty of time to take advantage of the new release discount.
Author's Note:
I hope that you've enjoyed Endless. I always envisioned The Awakening as a trilogy, but I would be lying if I told all of you that I couldn't see other directions for The Awakening to continue. I don't have any plans right now to write a fourth book in The Awakening Series, but it's hard to say what the future will bring, so don't be surprised if at some point we all visit, Selene, Jace, Kat, Bethany and the Lady to see what happens next. The only thing I can guarantee is that none of you will be able to guess what the good guys will be up against next.
Acknowledgments:
The Awakening was a labor of love that consumed a significant chunk of my life, but despite everything I put into these books, they never would have been possible without the help of an amazing group of people.
The first round of thanks needs to be expressed to my tireless editors, RJ Locksley and Amy Jirsa-Smith. I don't really believe in perfect books, but without these two ladies, Endless (and the rest of The Awakening books) would have been even further away from perfection than they already are. Thank you both for your assistance cleaning up so many of the mistakes my fingers put into the original manuscript.
My team of advance readers continue to be much better and more amazing than I deserve. A big thanks to Jenine, Janelle, Mei, Heather, Merissa, Mimi, Mark, Mom, Dad, Shalese, Matthew, Lachele and Kim. Thank you one and all!
With the launch of The Awakening I also added a special group of readers to my launch team. You are too numerous to list out here, but please know how much I appreciate all of you!
Finally, I most definitely couldn't have done this without my wife, Katie. She was the one who convinced me it was time for us to try this crazy writing thing full-time and not only has she been my first reader for nearly a decade, she's created a breathtaking array of stunning covers to go along with my words. Thank you, Katie!
About the Author:
Dean Murray discovered the joys of reading at a young age and unknowingly ingested large doses of romance along with his science fiction and fantasy. By the time he realized what had happened it was too late to reverse the process and he spent his formative years (while his peers were still convinced that girls had cooties) trying to convince one specific girl to be his girlfriend to no avail.
As fate would have it, he's incredibly grateful that he failed in his attempts in second grade because it meant that he was able to eventually find his real happily ever after with his wife Katie to whom he's been happily married for more than six years.
Dean is the author of more than two dozen published novels (and a host of short stories), which collectively have more than half a million copies in circulation, and he's currently writing six books a year in an effort to create the perfect, larger than life romance story—which he's pretty sure involves either vampire, werewolves, fairies or shape shifters.
You can find a complete list of Dean's work and keep up to speed on his current projects at DeanWrites.com. If you want to interact with readers who love Dean's writing as much as you do, please consider checking out the Reflections Facebook page or Dean's Forum.
Other Books by Dean Murray
Broken
Sometimes love finds you when you aren't looking for it.
The accident that forced Adri and her mother to move to a new high school also cost Adri her dad and sister. Adri just wants to blend in and buy herself time to grieve, but two of the most popular, gorgeous guys in school are about to take an inexplicable interest in her.
Adri will be forced into a world where the players aren't all human. She will be forced to choose between Brandon and Alec, and this time the wrong choice could get her killed.
Bound
The only thing worse than having no family at all, is having a family that is out to hurt you. That would all be bad enough for a normal 17-year-old, but it's even worse for Alec Graves. A shape shifter's pack, his family, is the only thing stopping the other preternatural creatures out there from killing them.
Alec's pack isn't just neglec
tful, he's pretty sure that his father wants him dead. Alec is about to be sent to the front lines of a war between his people and everything else that goes bump in the night. His only chance of survival is to convince everyone around him that he's the perfect soldier, but there are lines that Alec won't cross, not for any price.
Publisher's Note: Dean Murray's ongoing Reflection Series has been a stunning success with hundreds of thousands of copies in circulation, and a rich, complex world where choices—right or wrong—have real, profound consequences. Unsatisfied with the restrictions imposed on him by writing inside of the conventional series structure, Dean has returned to Sanctuary and the characters so many fans have fallen in love with.
Bound is the first in Dean's new Dark Reflections novels, an alternate timeline set in the same world and featuring many of the same characters, but with a profoundly different backstory.
Dean finally answers many of the questions that his most dedicated readers have been asking themselves for years. What would have happened if Alec's father hadn't been murdered by the Coun'hij, how would Adri's life have changed if her family hadn't been shattered in a horrific accident?
The answers may surprise you, but one thing is for sure; you'll see new sides of familiar faces and when all is said and done, you'll never be able to look at some of them the same.
Readers new to Dean Murray's writing can start with Bound in the Dark Reflections Series or Broken in the Reflections Series.
The Greater Darkness
(Writing as Eldon Murphy)
Something powerful is stirring in the darkness. Something so ancient that even creatures who've been alive for hundreds of years have long since discounted this new threat as nothing more than myth.
Normal humans will be caught in the crossfire, but then that's always the way of things. Geoffrey has no memory of his past life or any idea how to survive in the violent, dangerous world in which he's trapped. Despite his best efforts, he's about to find himself in the middle of a conflict that threatens to sweep away everything, and everyone he's been fighting so hard to protect.
Frozen Prospects
The invitation to join the secretive Guadel should have been the fulfillment of dreams Va'del didn't even realize he had. When his sponsors are killed in an ambush a short time later, he instead finds his probationary status revoked, and becomes a pawn between various factions inside the Guadel ruling body.
Jain's never known any life but that of a Guadel in training. She'd thought herself reconciled to the idea of a loveless marriage for the good of her people, but meeting Va'del changes everything. Their growing attraction flies against hundreds of years of precedent, but as wide-spread attacks threaten their world, the Guadel have no choice but to use even Jain and Va'del in their fight for survival.
CHET: Whispers From the Past
By Larry Murray
Meet Charles Tucker, he has spent nearly 30 years living in denial, trying desperately to hide from his past and the events that shattered his heart beyond any possibility of healing. He can't let anyone close, for doing so would open him up to being hurt again, and there's no way he could survive another wounding.
Meet the Saunders family, new to the neighborhood and teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. Mark, the father, talks a good story but is that all he is? His plan could hold the key to reversing his family's financial misfortunes, or it could wipe out everyone involved.
Meet Chet, a battered old '64 Chevy pickup that was there on the night Charles' life imploded. For nearly three decades, he has been locked away in an old barn, safely out of sight if not completely out of mind. For 29 years Charles has blamed the old pickup for the destruction of his life, now he's about to find that the vehicle that destroyed his life might be the key to his healing and a journey of unexpected miracles.
Table of Contents
Reborn
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Immortal
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Endless
Endless
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
