Ever After

by Heather McBride

  “I also know the coven is protecting Will. He is never to be alone from now on. Doc told me if attacked, he could not fight off a Dark coven member.” She pauses, looking down at her hands. “It could mean death for William if that was to happen, those are Doc’s exact words.”

  I looked sadly at the photo of Will and me together on my nightstand. Both of us smiling, so happy and un aware of the problems our future would hold. I had not thought of retaliation by the Dark coven, but Vincent was an elder with them apparently, so it would be logical for them to be angry. Doc had killed him, but they would come for all of us, no doubt and seek revenge.

  I was a target to more than likely. Vincent thought I was the one who made Will lose his identity, at least in his mind. I felt sick at the thought of all those evil vampires coming after us. Gran could see the fear in my face, as she patted my hand. I tried not to worry, but this news was as bad as it could get.

  “It will be ok, the coven is guarding you, and Will both. If they choose to retaliate, it will be very hard for them to get near you both. They will not get past them. The Followers are good, but they all have the ability to fight and kill and they will use it to protect their own,” says Gram.

  She kissed my forehead and told me I needed to rest now and goodnight, as she and Libby headed for bed. I was left with my own thoughts about the future, and to wait for Will who was on his way here. I would ask him about what Gran had told me when he got here. I needed to hear it from him that he was really going to be ok.

  Chapter 12

  Secrets

  A light tap at my door, and I knew William was here. I instantly felt much better. I giggled at him, as he walked in all bundled up in a puffy black ski jacket and black knit hat and scarf. He had the scarf nearly covering up his face only his eyes were visible. Clearly, he was cold.

  “Cold out there,” I smirked, covering my mouth to muffle my laugh. He looked like a vampire Eskimo or something.

  “Uh, yeah a little,” he says. “I’m glad you think I’m so funny!” he winks as he starts to peel off his many layers.

  “Sorry, you just look like a vampire burrito!” I smiled innocently.

  “Glad I can amuse you.” He rolls his eyes as he pulls off his hat. His shiny black hair is sticking up all over. He looks adorable. “I aim to please your highness!”

  He bows down being sarcastic. I throw a pillow at his head he quickly ducks down and crouches on the floor as if he is under fire from me. He crawls over on his hands and knees to my bedside.

  “Mercy, mercy please doesn’t shoot!” He put his arms up on the edge of the bed still kneeling, and leaned over and kissed me. My head spun, at the feel of his gentle kiss.

  “Ok, you win no more pillows,” he begs. I laughed; I looked into his eyes, getting lost as usual.

  “How are you feeling?” I ask. He seemed puzzled, as that was exactly what he was going to ask me.

  “Uh… I should be asking you that, not the other way around.” He caught me staring at him, analyzing him really; he seemed uncomfortable all of the sudden.

  “Somebody told you didn’t they?” he asks his eyes seemed dark suddenly.

  I recalled this trait, Lydia told me about it. When a Vamp was disturbed or deep in thought very often their eyes would appear to get darker, but only slightly. Humans with their poor eyesight compared to a vamp’s would never notice such a minute change in eye color. I did and for the first time, I was momentarily excited about it, but with Will’s tense face locked on mine, it was not the right time to mention it.

  “Was it Roth? I will kick his ass!” he snarled, his anger building.

  I figured I had better talk fast before he bolted out of the room, and hunted poor innocent Roth down.

  “No, it wasn’t Roth. It was Gran and I made her tell, me. She let a few hints out on accident and I caught on, and put them together. It wasn’t her fault… really at all.” I looked down at my hands embarrassed now.

  “So you know I’m not 100% yet, not quiet up to snuff,” he says.

  “Is that all Will? Is there more you’re not telling me?” I gently placed my hand on his shoulder.

  He still did not look at me. I put my fingertips under his chin, and tilted his head up so his eyes, met mine now.

  “Please Will I love you, tell me what you know.” He blinks, and takes a deep breath.

  “Well… basically I’m a mess, not much else to tell you really,” he sighs sadly.

  “William!” I said in a warning tone, he knew I meant business.”

  “Ok… ok… well it’s just that blood Vincent made me drink, it really messed me up bad. I’ve been a train wreck for weeks. My body’s a total joke,” he says as shakes his head. “I sleep more than you did even when you were fully human.” I took his hand in mine. I was shocked at how hot it was.

  “Are you running a fever?” I say as I place my hand instinctively to his forehead. He backs away, annoyed by my mothering him. I drop my hand and take a deep breath.

  “Yeah, I usually do anymore. I just ignore it now.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I eat more human food than blood, and I got a cold twice while we were in Maine. It was like the turn of the century the last time I had a human cold!”

  “What do Doc and Pratt say about it all?” I fidgeted with my bracelet as I waited for him to answer.

  “Well Pratt’s trying to figure out what’s going on, that’s part of the reason he’s still here, and for you as well of course,” he says with a weak smile.

  “How serious is it Will? Did Pratt say you might recover soon?” I felt my heart speeding up, one word popped in my head –stress-, the big no for me. I knew by his silence that it was not good.

  “Maybe? I don’t know to be honest with you. I feel almost… human right now, it’s so strange really.” He looks down at the floor.

  “Human?” I gasped in disbelief. I never thought I’d say that word like I just did, like it was a dirty word or something.

  “Yeah, sort of,” I could see he was very disturbed, heck, I was disturbed too. We were supposed to be the same now, or would be soon. “Pratt thinks that maybe with time, I will get better, but they will not tell me that for sure yet. I still need blood, though. I’m not going all human on you or anything.” He laughs, trying to break the heaviness in room.

  “Good thing, cause I am going all vampire on you, you’re going to have to keep up you know!” I play punched him in the arm.

  “Wow…”He holds his arm, pretending to be hurt, and laughed.

  “You’re such a girl!” I tease him.

  “Gee thanks a lot,” he sighs, leaning over and kissing me softly again.

  “How is Gran doing? Is she ok with all this?”

  “Oh…she noticed my color, right away after I washed all the makeup off.” I shrug my shoulders. “She said she would rather have me as a vampire as to not at all.”

  “I second that, you really do look lovely.” He kisses my hand.

  I wished I could feel better about all of this, but doubt kept filtering into my head, especially when I tried to sleep. So many factors were coming into play that really grated on my nerves. The fact neither one of us was really sure about our conditions, or if we would recover. The fact Todd was still out there somewhere and possibly plotting to try to kill me again.

  The last one, but not the least, the fact my evil stepmother may or may not want to kill me so she could claim my inheritance. I did my best to try to block it all out. I could literally feel my body react to stress, so Doc and Pratt were dead on about avoiding it. I could feel my heart speed up, like crazy when Will was telling me he was sick. I hated to see what my body would do under really stressful conditions; it couldn’t be good at all.

  The next few days passed by quietly. I saw Doc and Pratt each day. I went to Doc’s office at the hospital often with dad in tow, for my “check ups”. I did feel better but I was still at risk, for a setback. I had to be watch full for signs of distress. Pratt was anxious to get me to
France to complete the change now.

  Will was improving as well, but not as quickly as Doc and Pratt would have liked. I watched William a lot myself. I could see he was still weak. I would wake in the night many times, as I was requiring less sleep as the days went on. I would see him sleeping all through the night and even in the middle of the day sometimes.

  Doc seemed very uneasy, with both of us so vulnerable still. It was not something he was use to, he protected his coven always. Will and I were basically sitting ducks, if the Dark coven decided to attack us; it would be an easy kill for them.

  The Dark coven was another story. I hated to even think of them. Doc had heard from his sources that the Dark Coven was irate about Damon’s death. Doc could not get the name of the one who now led them, but we all knew someone was. Doc was watching for any signs of a possible violent attack by the Dark coven every day.

  The Followers were on high alert now, watching for anything that could pose a threat. Will and I were never technically alone. My house was watched at all times by various coven members. If the Dark Coven chose to seek revenge, we all knew they would come for Will and me first.

  I was the sitting duck in all this. Will was vulnerable but still nowhere near as weak as I was. My body was in mid phase, Pratt said. It was an extremely delicate phase of the changing process. I was still for all intensive purposes, at least to vampires a human.

  Chapter 13

  -“Doc” Dr. Parker’s Point of View-

  I watched them, William and Corrine, so in love so happy. They reminded me of my wife, who had died many years ago. We too had the happiness, like Corrine and Will had today. I lived for her, I was happiest the day we married. I had never loved another before her, and never would again. I owe this solitary existence I have now, without her to my only brother. He has caused me great pain, but also he led me to strive hard to be the best doctor I can be.

  I sit here in my office, waiting for my next human patient to arrive with some ailment. I will know once I shake their hand what it is, before any blood pressure checks, blood panels or diagnostic testing is even done. This is why I have become a doctor, to help and heal with the abilities I have thanks to my vampirism.

  I do owe my brother that much, he made me this way. I have saved so many human lives, since I have lived so long. I no longer try to keep count anymore. Men, women and children, even those who have not been born yet. I have felt conditions dangerous to the mother of the child and prevented a possible heartbreak and tragedy for its parents to be.

  My brother is Leo Parker; yes the Leo who now leads the Dark coven. He is a vampire as well, but he was one long before me, and the one who changed me. We were close as children, but Leo was always troubled, and angry. I could see a tendency toward a rougher life for him. I chose to go in to medicine, and Leo got in trouble with the law, when we became adults.

  Our parents dis owned him not long after we graduated from high school. Leo was accused of murdering a fellow classmate of ours, and in that era, CSI did not exist. Leo never denied it to me, but did to the authorities. I knew then, he was evil. I tried to keep my distance from him, and focus on my own life. I went on to college, and forgot my brother’s evil tendencies.

  Leo disappeared, my junior year, of medical school. My parents never bothered to have him looked for. I had heard he was in with a bad crowd, accused of stealing, and other more vicious crimes. I never admitted he was my brother when his name came up, it was best to just forget him.

  It seemed he wanted it that way to; he never contacted me or the rest of the family. Years passed and I completed medical school and was now a resident at New York General Hospital. I was happy and doing what I loved and newly married to my wife Anna. I had met her at a family picnic; her parents were friends of mine. I remember how beautiful she was, very tiny with long auburn hair and a heart shaped face. I fell for her the day I saw her, she and I were soul mates as the old saying goes.

  Our happiness was to be short lived, sadly. Leo appeared again, only months after our marriage. It seems he saw the wedding announcement in the papers, so he decided to visit me and congratulate me. I was thankful Anna was out when he came calling.

  He looked absolutely awful and sick. I was afraid to even let him in the house, but I had no choice he was still my only brother. He was uncharacteristically nice, commenting on our lovely new home, and how proud he was of my success in the medical field. I felt something was off about him, the look in his eyes was just wrong.

  I tolerated his one hour visit, and hoped after it was over he would leave and move on. I only wish that would have been what had happened. He did leave, but only after making a strange and highly impossible request. He wanted me to gain him access to the hospitals blood supply.

  I was speechless at his strange request, and told him it was not possible. I was a general doctor, and not a surgeon yet, only surgeons had access to the blood units. I went on to ask why in God’s name he wanted blood anyway. He only got angry, and proceeded to tell me he was in fact a vampire.

  I of course, instantly thought he was mentally ill, and considered calling my good friend who was the head doctor in the mental, ward. Leo seemed clinically insane to me. He had a wild look in his eyes that I would never forget. He then told me his coven was in trouble, having raised the alarm in the area they lived, from hunting, as they called it, too much.

  The police were investigating all of them, and they had to cease hunting humans and find blood some other way. The missing person’s rate had been climbing I had heard, but until now never even considered it might be from vampires feeding. I tried to be logical with Leo, as I still thought him insane, calling himself a vampire.

  I questioned him thoroughly about his supposed condition, and it seemed many of the things, were myths. Leo said many vamps lived and moved right amongst the normal humans. It was when he showed me his fangs, I believed him. They were ever the slightest bit longer than human’s canine teeth, but they had sharp points, only visible up close.

  I was in shock when he let me feel his skin. It was at least ten degrees below a typical human body temperature. My own brother was a mythical creature, and now I knew it. I wondered what he would want now since I could not get blood for him as he asked.

  I soon knew the answer to that; he wanted me to join his coven known as the Dark ones or the Dark coven. They wanted me to become a vamp and use my medical connections to get their coven blood, or weak victims if needed. I was sick at the thought of sacrificing my patients to supply these monsters with blood to survive, never would I agree.

  Leo became irate, he started throwing things, and ranting. I owed him a favor he said, and that he really was not asking, but telling me I would join the Dark coven. I refused I couldn’t comprehend everything he had just told me to begin with, and I wasn’t joining some coven of blood hungry creatures.

  Leo became silent after he raged for a good thirty minutes; he looked at me and said nothing for a long time. The only thing he said to me was I would pay for not helping him, and I had just made the biggest mistake of my life. I would later learn he was right. The next few weeks passed and I never heard from or saw Leo.

  I worried he was planning something. I eventually quit thinking about his strange visit, and went on with my new life with Anna. We had decided to start a family; she was so excited to be thinking of our family getting bigger. I to was looking forward to children and a long happy life with Anna. I would never get the chance to realize those dreams, as Leo did return four months later.

  I had been working double shifts; we were short handed at the hospital at the time. I got home very late one late November night, and the house was dark. It was nearly one in the morning, so I did not think it unusual. Anna did always leave a candle in the lantern just outside the kitchen door, but I expected she forgot tonight.

  I found the door unlocked, and I knew something was wrong, we never left doors open, and mud was tracked all over the floors. I called for Anna and got no respo
nse. I lit a candle and found my way up stairs, to a scene I have never forgotten to this very day. I entered our bedroom, the bed was un made, and Anna had apparently gone to bed earlier.

  I shone the dim candle light, and was shocked at what I saw next. Anna was lying across the bed, she appeared to be resting, but her eyes were open and looking at me. I ran to her, and knelt at her side, that’s when I saw the bite marks on her neck and blood all over her satin nightgown. I grabbed a sheet and held it to her neck, to stop the bleeding.

  She looked at me, fear in her eyes and told me she was sorry and she loved me, and that my brother was still in the house. Anna begged me to get out, to run away. I had to try to help her, but she kept begging me to leave the house. I picked her up and sat on the edge of our bed. Anna died in my arms only minutes later, she was the love of my life, and now I had just watched her die.

  Leo emerged from a dark corner, just as I lay Anna down on the bed; a pain in my chest was ripping through me. I would always remember that pain, it was the last human feeling I would have, and it was the pain of my heart breaking. The next few minutes were a blur; Leo told me I was now paying for abandoning him, and his coven. Anna had died because I refused to help them. I would now become one of them and it was not an option.