End Game (Vampire Hunter Book 6)

by Reynolds, S. C.

Lucas loves you. He doesn’t care what you’re wearing, I reminded myself. Still, feeling self-conscious, I grabbed one of the few dresses I owned. It was navy blue with a belted waist. Maybe not conventional wedding clothes, but then again, this wasn’t exactly a conventional wedding.

  As an afterthought, I also picked up my stuffed elephant, Max. “You’ve been through almost as much as me,” I said with a laugh, tucking him under my arm. I surveyed the room, trying to decide if there were any other possessions I cared about having. I’d come back for some of my clothes later, but I was starting a new life with Lucas, and as long as I had him, I didn’t need anything else.

  After the sun set, Lucas and I got in his car to go to Emmett’s house. I was quiet, deep in thought, in anticipation, of the night. Lucas looked amazing in his crisp suit, and even though I didn’t look like a traditional blushing bride, I knew the dress I had chosen was flattering.

  When we arrived at Emmett’s, I couldn’t help but smile at the balloons he had tied to the mailbox outside. Lucas squeezed my hand. “Are you ready, future Mrs. Nathaniels?” he asked teasingly.

  “Ready,” I whispered back.

  We stepped into Emmett’s house. I looked around in amazement at the transformation. He’d moved his TV off to the side, creating more room for the “aisle,” I imagined. A strand of white lights was strung around the room, and jazz music was playing on the stereo.

  “It’s perfect,” I whispered.

  Emmett stepped forward to give me a hug. “Thank you for this,” I said, my voice muffled by his shoulder.

  “You don’t have to thank me,” Emmett responded. “I’m more than happy to host this event.” Emmett was smiling, looking more relaxed than I’d ever seen him before.

  “I have one more favor to ask of you,” I said.

  Emmett raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Would you walk me down the aisle?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

  Emmett’s face broke out into a large grin. “Of course! I’d be honored.”

  I turned as I felt an arm on my shoulder. “Congrats, you two!” Jet said jovially.

  “Have you ever thought about marriage, Jet?” Lucas asked, a smile playing at his lips.

  “I’m not exactly a one-woman man,” Jet admitted with a wry grin. “I have some issues with monogamy.”

  I laughed, not surprised in the least at Jet’s confession that he was a womanizer. “Can I talk to you in private for a minute?” Jet asked. I walked with him back to Emmett’s study. There was a garment bag laying on the desk. “For you,” Jet said.

  “Me?” I asked in confusion.

  “Go on, open it,” he said mysteriously.

  I unzipped the bag, revealing a beautiful white dress. “It’s gorgeous,” I said, pulling it all of the way out of the bag. It was sleeveless, with a deep v-neck in the front. The bodice was fitted, with shiny gems dotting it. They twinkled in the light as I held up the dress, admiring it. The waist was flared with layers of silky material that trailed all the way to the floor. It was sophisticated, classy.

  “I love it!” I said to Jet, throwing my arms around his neck. “How on earth did you manage to get this on such short notice?”

  “It was tough,” Jet admitted, laughing as he untangled himself from my hug. “It’s a designer gown from New York. I had to pull some strings to get same day delivery! You and Lucas could have given me a bit more notice to plan something special for you two,” he joked.

  “It’s been a whirlwind,” I agreed. “But in a good way.” I paused. “Did you tell Henry?” I couldn’t help but ask.

  Jet’s expression turned serious. “I did.”

  “And?”

  “He’s not coming. He said to tell you congratulations, though.”

  “Oh.” I couldn’t help but feel a little bit disappointed.

  “He’s going to be fine,” Jet said gently. “But it takes time. And, truthfully, I think it would be a little awkward if he had come.”

  “Probably,” I said, trying to smile.

  “Don’t worry so much. I’ll look after Henry. I hope you know by now I really am a trustworthy vampire,” Jet teased. He turned to leave. “Now you’ve got to get changed! Lucas is probably wondering what’s taking so long.”

  When Jet was gone, I pulled off the navy dress and slipped into my designer wedding gown. I couldn’t help grinning from ear to ear as I spun around, staring at my reflection in the mirror on the back of the door.

  I sat down at the desk and pulled out my phone. I had been debating all day on whether or not to tell my family. Even though I wasn’t sure they would come, I think they would be deeply hurt not to at least be invited.

  I sent my mom a text message before I could lose my nerve. Lucas and I are getting married tonight. I’d love for you and Dad and Kayla to come. The ceremony is starting very soon, at Emmett’s house.

  Jet knocked on the door. “Are you decent?”

  “Yes,” I said, laughing. “Come on in.”

  Jet whistled when he saw me. “You look stunning.”

  “Thanks to you,” I replied.

  “Are you ready to get started?” Jet asked. “Ready to officially become Mrs. Aurora Nathaniels?” A smile played at his lips.

  “Um, I need a few,” I said, wanting to make sure I gave my family a little bit of time to get in the car and drive over. My mom hadn’t answered, which wasn’t a good sign. But even if they were mad at me and chose not to be a part of this, that was their decision to make. I was moving forward with my life. My life with Lucas.

  I stalled for another ten minutes, then finally popped my head out of the office and called, “I’m ready now.”

  When Lucas saw me in the dress, his mouth dropped open. “Aurora, you’re so incredibly beautiful. Absolutely breathtaking,” he whispered.

  I walked to the end of the room, opposite from where Lucas and Nicholas were standing. Nicholas hit a button on the stereo and the jazz music was replaced by Here Comes the Bride.

  I had just linked arms with Emmett, ready to walk down our makeshift aisle, when there was a knock at the door. I froze.

  “It might be my family,” I said. “I kind of invited them last minute.”

  Nicholas turned off the music so Emmett could open the door. And sure enough, standing there, were my mom, dad and Kayla.

  “I’m so glad you came!” I gushed, hugging them.

  “That dress!” Kayla exclaimed. “It’s gorgeous. You’re gorgeous.”

  “My friend Jet got it for me – this whole thing was totally last minute. But it means the world to me that you’re here,” I said honestly.

  “We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” my dad replied. “My little girl…all grown up.”

  “Don’t get sentimental on me now,” I said, laughing. “Everything’s changed, Dad, but in a good way,” I assured him.

  I introduced my family to Nicholas and Jet. “Should we try this again?” Nic asked, smiling. He turned the music back on.

  Emmett stepped back. “As honored as I would have been to walk you down the aisle, now that your father’s here…”

  I gave him a grateful look. Wordlessly, my dad linked his arm with mine, and walked me down the aisle to where Lucas was standing.

  Nicholas said a few words about how true love was hard to find, and when you meet your soul mate you should never look back. For a guy who made jokes and goofed around the majority of the time, he was very serious, very compelling.

  “And now, the bride and groom will exchange their vows,” Nicholas said.

  “I didn’t write vows,” I replied nervously. Everything had happened so quickly, the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.

  “I didn’t expect you to.” Lucas reached up and caressed the side of my face. “Ever since the day I first met you, I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind, Aurora Stone. And with each passing minute, my love for you grows more and more intense. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world by agreeing to become my wife.”


  It was so sweet, so special. “And you know I love you more than anything in the world,” I replied.

  “Lucas, do you take Aurora to be your wife?” Nicholas asked.

  “I do,” he replied solemnly.

  “And Aurora, do you take Lucas to be your husband?” Nicholas turned to look at me now.

  “I do,” I said.

  Nicholas’ face broke into a large grin. “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride!”

  Lucas and I leaned forward to share our first kiss as husband and wife.

  After the ceremony ended, we sat around, chatting and laughing. My parent’s expressions were still strained, but I appreciated the fact that they were trying to accept my decisions and not attempting to stop me.

  I couldn’t help but smile when I noticed Kayla sitting just a little too close to Jet, obviously enamored by him. Jet was carrying on polite conversation with her, ignoring her flirting.

  “We should get going,” Lucas said. He leaned forward so that his lips lightly grazed my ear. “As beautiful as you look, I can’t wait to get you out of that dress,” he murmured, so that only I could hear.

  “We need to go, too.” My dad shook Lucas’ hand. “Congratulations, you two.” He turned to me, his eyes sad. “When will we see you again?”

  “Soon,” I promised.

  My family left and Lucas and I got up to leave as well.

  “Wait,” Jet said, his eyes twinkling. “I’ve got one more surprise for you.” He reached in the pocket of his suit jacket and held out an envelope.

  I took it from him and opened it up, pulling out two airplane tickets. I looked at the destination. “Paris?” I exclaimed in shock. “Jet, you shouldn’t have!”

  “Nonsense. You can’t have a wedding without a honeymoon. You leave tonight so I suggest you go pack soon.” Jet paused. “I wanted to send you somewhere romantic. And somehow I didn’t think you’d appreciate the sunny beaches of Hawaii,” he joked. “Although I don’t think you’ll be spending much time outside of the room,” he added with a smirk.

  Jet turned to Lucas. “I’ve already cleared it with your boss. He doesn’t expect you back for a week. The hotel information, everything else is in the envelope.”

  Lucas laughed. “Thanks, Jet. That was really nice of you.”

  “Yes, thanks,” I echoed.

  “You don’t have to keep thanking me. I wanted to get you a wedding gift, and I was also hoping you could do one little favor for me while you’re there,” Jet hedged.

  I couldn’t help but smile. I liked Jet, but somehow wasn’t surprised that he had an ulterior motive behind his generous gift. Jet hadn’t gotten into his position as head vampire without knowing how to play the game.

  Lucas raised his eyebrows. “Oh, really?” he asked. But he didn’t sound angry, just bemused.

  “Yes, you see there’s this demon stirring up trouble. He killed a vampire,” Jet said. “For no good reason. I think the world will be a better place without him.”

  “I’m in,” I said with a laugh. I was excited to start my life as a hunter.

  We said our goodbyes and Lucas and I left Emmett’s house, arm in arm, ready to conquer the world together.

  Epilogue

  My life with Lucas was more than I ever could have dreamed. As the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into years, my love for him just continued to grow stronger and stronger with each passing day.

  I got hired as a hunter, working for the same agency as Lucas. At first, he would go with me, but soon I was confident enough to take on jobs of my own. I understood my powers and could easily control them now. Lucas and I travelled almost constantly, never staying in one place too long, doing our part to eliminate everything that was evil in the world.

  Even though I wouldn’t work for him, Jet remained a close friend and an ally. Whenever we needed information or help, I could always count on him. And I was comforted by the knowledge that he was watching over my family. I didn’t speak with Henry, not in the beginning at least, but Jet always assured me he was doing well. And after some time had passed, Henry contacted me, offered to help me if there was ever a spell I needed him to do. Although our relationship was just a business partnership, I was still happy to have him in my life in some capacity. He wasn’t my soul mate, but I would never forget our bond and friendship.

  Nicholas went back overseas to work for his hunting agency, but our paths still crossed, and we never went too long without seeing him. At first, I kept in touch with my family; it wasn’t like during Lucas’ time. We could easily text and email. But as the time passed, the contact became less and less frequent. I would never forget my family, but I wasn’t a child anymore, and I had my own life to live.

  Emmett, of all people, found someone and fell in love again. Lucas and I travelled back for his wedding and I saw my family again for the first time in a long while. They were older now, but still the same, which was somehow comforting. Emmett’s wedding was a beautiful ceremony and I couldn’t have been happier for him.

  The passion with Lucas remained just as strong years into our marriage as it had in the beginning. When he made love to me, it was as special and wonderful as it had been that first time in Paris. We were truly connected, mind, body and soul.

  And as we moved forward into the future, I knew Lucas, my soul mate, was all I ever wanted or needed. He was my destiny, my fate. And together, there was nothing we couldn’t do.