Nodding, they grabbed their Huntress and began racing toward the road. A few cars drove up, picked them up, and raced away down the street.
As I stood, taking in the death and destruction around me, I somehow felt a sense of relief knowing that the Huntress would never return. Now, I had to just deal with a very, very angry family and pack.
Chapter 21
“So, tell us again, how you manipulated all of us?” my dad questioned, as we sat in my living room.
The fire was raging next to me as I sat on the hearth covered in a warm blanket. Everyone was huddled around, some of us bruised and cut, but we would heal. We were alive and that was all that mattered.
Sighing, I began to tell about the night that the Huntress threatened me at the coffee shop.
Interrupting, Asher glared at me. “You didn’t tell me?” he yelled. “I could have helped you. I was once…” he stopped because it was too painful for him to admit he was once a Hunter.
“I asked you if something was wrong?” Maddox added.
“I’m sorry. But, I knew if any of you knew the Huntress was still in Shady Oaks, you may try to stop me,” I began. Turning to Asher, I offered a smile. “Asher, there was no way I could have asked you to help. You are not a Hunter. You don’t think like a Hunter. I needed to know how to use my powers. I needed your trust, so I could do this. You all said so yourselves, I am powerful. Different than most Shifters. I had a duty to help save my pack and the ones I love,” I said, as I smiled around the room.
“What you did Elle, was dangerous and wrong, but we are grateful nonetheless,” my dad said shaking his head. I knew he was upset with me and I would be grounded until I was thirty. He was proud of me though, and that meant a lot.
I continued telling them how I devised my plan and what happened until they arrived.
“How did you all now to come?” I asked, looking at the adults in the room.
“Asher texted and called everyone. Once he discovered what you were doing, he alerted us,” Elliott said, as he patted his son on the back.
That made sense. Of course, they would tell on me. Man, I had never been so happy to have a boyfriend that told on me to my family.
“What happens now?” I asked.
“We learn more about your powers, Elle. And, we go back to living. Hiding and anticipating the Huntress and the other Hunters, took up so much of our lives. We all need to get back to being members of society. Working. Going to school. Whatever it takes,” my dad said.
“So, the threat is gone?” Maddox asked, as he sat next to me.
While we hadn’t talked much, I knew that Maddox was still my best friend and would always be there for me.
Shaking his head, no, my dad’s face grew stern. “The threat is never over for us. There will always be someone or something that wants us gone. But, until they show themselves, we live. But, we remain true to ourselves. We stick together and live in the safety of the woods and the natural world around us.”
We all allowed that to sink in. It was true, none of us were ever relieved of the dangers of the world. But we couldn't let fear stop us.
We talked until the early hours of the morning. As the sun began to make its appearance in the sky, I spotted the golden yellow rays just over the horizon. Realizing we had all been up for far too long, members of the pack began to leave. As Asher and his family began to leave, Asher turned and kissed me once more.
“Elle, if anything had happened to you tonight…” he didn’t have to finish because we both knew he would never let me go. If someone had tried to kill me...our eternity would have started earlier than we anticipated.
“Asher, I knew in my heart that nothing bad was going to happen to me tonight. I promised you forever and eternity and I meant it,” I said, as I kissed him back.
Ushering him toward the door, Elliott and Gloria waved to me as they walked toward their car parked in the driveway. “We will discuss this more later,” he said, with a smirk.
“I promise.”
Watching as cars pulled away and my house and yard became deserted, I noticed Maddox standing next to my house. Alone.
“What are you still doing here? Your parents left when everyone else did.” I stated, as I glanced around at the empty space.
We were nestled in the moments of twilight and there was something magical about the moment. I was almost glad I got to enjoy it with my best friend.
Taking me in his arms, Maddox wrapped his arms around me and held me close to him. I relished the feel of being close to my best friend. Everything had been so weird with him lately and I wanted nothing more than to go back to normal. Sighing, I felt him relax as he stretched his arms and held me in front of him.
“Elle, it will always be you and me,” he said, with a hint of sorrow in his voice.
Looking deep into his eyes, I tried to understand where this was coming from. “Yes, Maddox. You know that. We are best friends.”
Smiling, Maddox took a step back. “I can’t sleep. I’m going hunting. Want to come?”
“No, I need to sleep. I think I have done enough hunting today,” I giggled.
Smiling back, Maddox nodded. “Ok, well, see you around,” he said before taking a long leap into the air and shifting into a large wolf. I watched as he ran toward the forest with grace and ease. When he was no longer in sight, I finally made my way back to my house where I crashed in my room and slept until the next afternoon.
***
“Alright everyone, gather around the ball is about to drop and the countdown has started,” mom called as everyone began to huddle around the large television mounted above our fireplace.
Spirits were high as everyone wore silly hats and glasses to celebrate the coming of the New Year. This year, we knew would be a fresh new start with no more armies to battle and a Huntress to worry about.
The New Year’s Eve countdown was starting to countdown from twenty and everyone was starting to yell and count too.
“Hey, can I talk to you outside,” Maddox asked.
I was standing among the crowd with Asher’s arms wrapped tightly around my waist. Glancing at Asher, he nodded saying it was ok for me to go.
“Ok, Maddox. But can we hurry. I don’t want to miss the New Year,” I said as I began to follow him outside and into the brisk, cold night.
The snow was lightly falling, and the bright stars were shining down on us like tiny spotlights.
“Elle,” Maddox began, as he began to pace the ground around me.
“What is it?” I asked, as I reached out and grabbed his hand. The nervous energy surrounding him was contagious and I, too, felt like I was panicking. “Are you still upset with me for lying to you all?”
Shaking his head, no, Maddox almost laughed. “No. Elle, you are stubborn. I knew you were up to something, I just didn’t know what. But that’s not what I want to talk to you about,” he began.
“Ok, well, what is it then?”
Staring at our joined hands, Maddox stopped moving and looked me straight in the eyes. “Elle, I have been wanting to tell you something all my life. What happened tonight. It scared me. There was a moment where I thought I could lose you. That if I didn't’ get to you in time, the Huntress and her army would kill you. Then, I found you safe, but you were talking about forever with Asher. There has never been the right time or moment, but I just can’t sit back and watch you move on with your life without me,” he said.
Shocked, I watched him closely. How could he ever think I could move on without him. Maddox was my life, too.
“Twenty, Nineteen,” I could hear people counting inside.
“Maddox, you are starting to freak me out. I don’t think I can take any more surprises after everything we have all just gone through,” I whispered.
Without warning, Asher appeared standing in my yard. He must have been watching us from the window and saw how Maddox was acting so weird.
“Asher?” I questioned, as I glanced between them both.
&nbs
p; Asher stood by and watched us with anger filling his eyes. I could tell he wanted to confront Maddox, but I silently pleaded with him to stay where he was. It was like he knew what was about to happen, and I didn’t like the look of sorrow and pain filling Asher’s eyes.
Seeing Asher, Maddox only grew more enraged. “He stole you from me, Elle. Can’t you see that?” Maddox howled, as he pointed a finger at Asher.
I was flabbergasted by his audacity to make such a claim struck me like a lightning bolt. I now had now a raw, searing energy coursing through me and I wasn’t about to stand here anymore and listen to Maddox berate us.
“Sixteen, Fifteen, Fourteen,” the counting continued, and I desperately needed Maddox to hurry up this meeting.
With a sinister look on my face, I turned to Maddox so swiftly, that he took a step back with shock from my sudden change in demeanor. “I wasn’t yours to steal. I belong to me, no one else. I chose Asher because my heart and soul became one with him. Maddox, I love you, but do not get confused-- I am no ones to claim,” I yelled, as my voice rang through the air.
Sighing, Maddox squeezed my hand in his and finally spoke again. “Elle, I know you can’t understand what I am feeling right now, but I do feel like he stole a part of you from me. We were once soul mates. You and I were inseparable. Now, I feel like I am losing you and I can’t because… I am in love with you. I always have been. I tried to tell you last year at the Fall Dance, but then then…” he trailed off as the images from that night came flashing back. I too remembered seeing the dead wolf with a threat from Macon and Sutton, the Hunters who were after us.
“Ten, Nine, Eight,” the countdown continued as we inched closer to the beginning of a new year that I would surely miss ringing in.
Shaking his head, Maddox brought his attention back to what he was saying. “I can’t sit back anymore and watch you fall deeper for Asher. I know you love him, I am not blind or stupid to your feelings. But, what you and I share is beyond love. Elle, I need to know-- do you ever think you could give up Asher and love me as more than just your best friend. Love me as something more like a soul mate. Love me the way that I have and always will love you?”
Shaking his head, Maddox didn’t speak again. Instead, he began to walk toward the forest and away from me. So much had transpired in my life. I had become a Shifter. I had gained powers that made me unstoppable and a threat to anyone who wanted to destroy otherworldly creatures. And, I had met a boy who captured my attention and stole my heart. A boy who wasn’t human either, but who could give me something no one else could; Forever, an eternity filled with love and power. While I knew that I had escaped danger this time around, I wasn’t naive enough to believe I was safe. Somewhere out there was another force that was preparing to destroy the ones I loved. And, if they ever showed, I was prepared to fight. Until then, I knew I had a different type of war on my hands. A war between death and life. One love and another.
I took a breath and then as I opened my mouth to speak, I closed my eyes and waited for the words to form.
“Five, Four…” Everyone was shouting inside now as they anxiously awaited the famous ball dropping in New York City.
“Three. Two, One,” I whispered to myself as I stood, perplexed by what had just happened with Maddox. This was supposed to be a new year and a new beginning. We were going to leave the worries and fears behind us and now… I had an entirely new fear clinging to my heart.
Before I had met Asher, I would have given anything to hear Maddox speak those words of love and longing. But now, everything is different. My heart is being torn in two-- forced to be shared between two boys who I would give my life for. And now, I was being asked to make a choice. Which boy would be my forever, and which one would be my eternal love and life?
The End
Extras
Want More?
The Shifter Chronicles aren’t over yet. Enjoy this short synopsis of the third installment in this fantastic fantasy series, Evernight, soon.
For Elle, she thought the day she learned she was a Shifter was the most frustrating day of her life. Well, that was until she found herself in the middle of a war between her best friend and boyfriend. Now, everything is about to change for this trio as a known Witch in Shady Oaks has decided to wage a war against the Shifters and Otherworldly Creatures. This time, Elle may find herself battling with new powers and without her trusted best friend, Maddox. Discover how hearts are broken and mended in this exciting third installment of the Shifter Chronicles, Evernight.
Available Soon on major retail sites.
Note to My Readers
My dear readers,
Thank you again for your faith in me as a writer. It is you, that motivates and encourages me to continue my love for writing.
When writing this novel, I found the process both exciting and frustrating. When I began developing Everpure, I knew that I would also have a third book that would release soon after. With this in mind, I had to drop hints and clues as to what conflicts and events to look for in the third book. By foreshadowing certain moments that won’t come until book three, I found myself wanting to giveaway the answers-- but I couldn’t!
This series has really captured my heart and I love the different dilemmas Elle and her faithful group of friends and family members find themselves trapped in. These dilemmas, however, continue to build on themselves which, in turn, give me more ideas to use for future books. So, please enjoy the Evershade Series as there are plenty more books to come in this fantasy series.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Acknowledgements
Prologue
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
Extras
Note to My Readers
Everpure Page 13
