Ciera was listening to him in bewilderment. She knew the King would not be telling her this if it were not the truth. But it was so surreal, that it was really hard for her to believe. She only nodded to let him know that she was following him, and he continued.
"I searched for him everywhere, with no luck in finding him. He was an extremely talented blocker, and he could move about during the day. Dante and Nia were the only two I had on you at the time, so I added Asabel and Dane to your security. I knew that Dane was going to fall in love with you, and I was all right with that. It meant that he would protect you even more." Alino looked up at Mitch, then back to Ciera. "I am assuming that thirty something years ago, Louis got a woman pregnant. If he sired a child, and then my child turned him into a vampire," he shrugged. "Well, with his skills, my skills, and your skills..." He looked back up to Mitch. "I assume you are one skillful vampire, Mitch. Your father brought you into this world to kill. He wanted you to kill me, but more importantly, he wanted you to kill Ciera first, to hurt me."
Alino moved to sit on the gravel directly in front of Ciera, then slowly took her hand off Dane's crumpled ruins, and just held it in his own. He smiled, and tears of joy filled his green eyes. "I have been waiting so long to be able to do this."
Ciera shook her head at him. "Why didn't you protect me yourself after I was turned into a vampess?"
He squeezed her hand in his. "Every time I would think about telling you the truth, I would get a bad vision. I knew that you would hate me. It wasn't until I touched your hand at Dante's, that I got a positive vision. I knew that I had to tell you now or never." He smiled. "You would have never met Mitch if I had done anything differently, Ciera. He is your Destiny. Dane wants you to be happy, don't forget him, but be happy."
She looked down at Dane in her arms. She closed her eyes and pictured Dane as he had been before all of this, whole and perfect and beautiful.
Dane smiled at her, and she frowned back. He touched her face, and his became solemn. "I love you, Ciera. I can't stand to see you so upset. I wanted to tell you so many times, but your daddy is a very scary vampire." He laughed lightly. "But on a serious note, Mitch is your soulmate. I don't want you lying around depressed all the time over me, when I know that you can live and be happy. I will be looking in on you from time to time, and it would make me happy if I could see that beautiful smile of yours when I do." He kissed her briefly on the mouth, and she tried to hold him to her but he pulled away. "Go, Ciera. Let them pick my brittle bones up off your lap, and go get the man of your dreams. He is waiting for you, my love. You promised to live for me … so live, baby."
"I love you, Dane." she whispered.
"I know you do, and that is why I am so happy. Now I want you to be happy. Promise me that you will find your happiness."
She squeezed her eyes tightly shut. "I promise."
"You promise what?" he asked, and she could tell by his voice that he was grinning.
She took a deep breath and opened her eyes so she could see him smiling one last time. She smiled back at him. "I promise that I will be happy."
"Thank you. Tell me good-bye for now, Ciera. Know that I will always be with you. Ti amerὸ per sempre."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight to her. "Good-bye for now, Dane. I will always love you, too."
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Epilogue
When Ciera opened her eyes again, Dane had been removed from her lap, and she was actually in the lap of someone else. They were riding in the back seat of a vehicle. She didn't recognize either of the two heads in front of her. One sniff of the man's skin let her know that Mitch was holding her. She closed her eyes and smiled, then sniffed again.
This was home to her. Wherever he went, she knew that she would follow. She opened her eyes again, and a giggle burst from her throat involuntarily.
Mitch went incredibly still beneath her. "Ciera … are you all right?"
She sat up and looked at his face. He was so perfect in her eyes. She would always keep Dane in her heart, and take him with her wherever she went. But she knew now that even though Dane would always be in her heart, the whole thing belonged to Mitch. Mitch had tried to kill his own father to save Dane. It didn't matter that they had not gotten along before. They both had only one wish for her, and that was for her to be happy. Her smile spread even further. "I am perfectly fine. I have only just realized how happy I am. I love you."
He stared back at her in amazement. He had thought that she would have been grief stricken for weeks, or even months, over losing Dane. He knew that she had loved him, and after seeing the guy knock the hell out of Lazarus so she could get away, he knew that Dane had really loved her as well. It was a damn shame that Dane had to sacrifice himself. He couldn't even be happy the guy was dead. Earlier tonight, he'd been plotting to beat the hell out of him. Now, he only wished that he had a chance to shake Dane's hand. As he looked at Ciera, he couldn't imagine how she could be happy. "I love you too, Ciera." His brow furrowed.
Ciera gave him a questioning look. "Are you having second thoughts about being with me?"
His heart started racing as panic began to set in. "No!" He hugged her tight to him, then brought her mouth to his. He kissed her long and deep. Her hands dove into his hair and she took and took from him, until he pulled her back. "God, I missed you. Your daddy doesn't happen to have any more enemies with grudges, does he?"
Ciera laughed. "I hope not. I am ready to relax for a long while. But we may need to ask him. I would like, very much, to be a little better prepared the next time around."
Mitch grinned like he knew a secret that she didn't.
"What?" she said.
"Your daddy wants me to live with him in Chicago awhile. He wants to help me with my skills. I have the option to accept an Elder position if I am interested."
Her face lit up. "That is great, Mitch!" She realized what that would mean. She wouldn't get to see him much if he lived in Chicago, with her living in Decatur. Her face fell, but he was still smiling brightly. "When are you leaving? I want to spend as much time with you as I can before you go. I know that this is important to you. I won't keep you from doing what you want. Even though I am going to miss you like crazy. Even though I will be very, very lonely. Even though it is a three hour drive to see you. That I will have to make every day, might I add …"
Mitch smiled as he kissed her again. When he pulled back, his eyes were dancing. "Do you actually think I would leave you for even one night?"
"But this is a really great opportunity, Mitch. You have no idea …"
He put his index finger to her lips, and laughed. "You are going with me. You are staying there with me forever, Ciera."
Her eyes filled with unshed tears. "You want me forever?"
"Do you have to ask that?" He kissed her briefly, then just held her against his body. She fit against him perfectly. He kissed the top of her head, then grunted in frustration as he thought of something.
She looked up at him. "What's wrong?" she asked, because she could tell that something was really troubling him.
He looked at her and smiled nervously. "I was only wondering … how vampires get married."
She laughed, and threw her arms around his neck. "My Father can marry us, Mitch."
He framed her face in his hands and kissed her passionately, then whispered, "Will you marry me ... now?"
"Now?" She gave him a curious look. "How am I going to marry you now, Mitch?"
He smiled. "Will you…marry me…now?" he said louder.
"If an Elder was here to marry us, yes, I would marry you now, but…"
Someone cleared their throat from the front seat and Ciera froze. Mitch's face was full of humor and guilt. It was obvious this conversation had been planned. She turned her head to face the front of the vehicle.
"Hello, Ciera," Alino said.
She smiled, and let out a nervous laugh. "Hello, Father."
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&
nbsp; Meet the Author
Forbidden Touch Fanpage - http://www.facebook.com/forbiddentouch
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Other books by this author:
Save My Soul – http://www.amazon.com/Save-My-Soul-
Books coming soon from this author
Eternal Island / Eternal Immortality / Eternal Inception / The Last Assignment
Forbidden Touch Page 28
