by Erin Wade
Eden followed her through an ornate door into a beautifully appointed drawing room. Caz ran to meet her. Eden dropped to her knees and hugged the wolf. “Oh Caz! You’re okay.”
Darke poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Eden. “You’re old enough to drink now,” she said with a smile. “Let’s sit down.”
Eden sipped the wine. She didn’t know where to start. Part of her was singing from the rooftops, but another part was heartbroken. “How could you stay away from me?”
“I had no choice,” Darke said as she settled in the chair across from Eden. “Caz dragged me from the fire into some underbrush. I was horribly burned. The pain was excruciating. When I came to, everyone had gone. Only the smell of water on burned wood remained.
“Caz dragged me into the bay, where the salt water helped cleanse the burns somewhat. I stayed submerged up to my neck. Eventually, a fisherman saw me, and I was taken to a local hospital. My burns were so severe that I couldn’t talk. Months later, I was finally able to reach my mother. She and Kristaal were in route to DFW airport to fly back home. She came for me.”
“My God, Darke, I was dying! Why didn’t you call me? You know I would have been there in a heartbeat?”
“As I said, I was horribly burned and disfigured and unable to speak. It took me four years to heal. I normally heal quickly, but I was so close to death that my body took a long time to rejuvenate. It took everything I had to pull myself back from certain death.
“I didn’t want you to see me. I wasn’t certain I would heal. I couldn’t saddle you with the monster I’d become.”
Eden examined Darke closely. Her face was as memorable as ever, a face that angels envied. Her thick lashes and perfectly arched brows were as Eden remembered.
Eden noticed that Darke’s body was covered. She wore a long-sleeved dress with a skirt that reached the top of her shoes. She wondered if the clothes covered up scars.
“You’re beautiful.” Eden’s breath hitched.
“So, it took you five years to heal.” Eden grimaced. “That still doesn’t explain why you didn’t contact me when you were better.”
“By then you’d made a new life with Dr. Crain.” Darke hung her head as if the knowledge of Liz and Eden together was too painful to discuss. “The two of you were everywhere together. You were on whirlwind tours around the world. You were never without her. I couldn’t destroy your happiness .” And I was too cowardly to tell you what I am.
“Liz stayed at my side because I was a walking basket case.” Eden leaned toward Darke and gazed into her eyes. “She’s all that kept me from committing suicide. I wanted to die without you.”
Eden looked away, her eyes brimming with tears. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever had relations with. I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else touching me.”
“Neither could I,” Darke whispered.
“I suppose you’ve gone back to Raven,” Eden said, though speaking the words sickened her.
“No. There has been no one since you.” Darke assured her. “All I can think about is you.
“You still wear my ring and use my last name,” Darke noted.
“Of course I do. I’m your wife!”
“During that TV interview a few weeks ago, Liz said you were getting married.”
“She said she was getting married, and she did, but not to me. She married Dr. Bob Brandt.”
Eden set her wine glass on the side table. “You’ve given no good excuse for deserting me, Darke,” she said, her voice loud and strong. “I’m just not sure I can forgive you for putting me through hell.”
Darke cringed as if she’d received a blow. “I understand. I’m a fool. I loved you too much to have you taking care of an invalid. I wasn’t certain I would heal completely.”
“You look incredible. You haven’t aged a day.” Eden let her gaze wander down Darke’s body. “Do you have a lot of scars?”
“It’s not too bad,” Darke said with a sad smile that never quite reached her eyes.
“I’ve changed,” Eden said, choosing her words carefully. “I’m not the girl you left behind. I’m different.”
“Yes, you are even more beautiful and self-assured.” Darke reached out and touched Eden’s hair. “Your eyes are just as green, only a little sad, and you never smile. I love your smile. I’ve always loved your high cheekbones, and you know your lips drive me insane.”
Eden looked away from Darke’s intense gaze. “Darke, there are things you should know before we consider continuing this relationship …”
“Marriage,” Darke replied. “Continue this marriage.”
Eden stood and brushed imaginary wrinkles from her skirt. “I want to go to dinner.”
“We can talk more intimately here,” Darke said as she reached out and caught Eden’s hand.
“No, I need to get some fresh air,” Eden insisted.
Darke chuckled. “You’re afraid you’ll end up in my bed.”
“Yes, dammit, I am,” Eden growled as she stomped out the front door.
Darke ran behind her. “Where would you like to go to dinner?”
“I have no idea,” Eden snapped. “Why don’t you follow your usual mode of operation? Surprise the hell out of me!”
##
Eden glanced around the restaurant. “This is lovely. You order. I have no clue when it comes to Bulgarian dishes.”
Darke ordered as the waitress poured their wine. “To us,” she toasted. Eden tapped her glass to Darke’s.
“This is delicious.” Eden tipped her head to the side, savoring the flavors as she tried to identify the type of wine.
“Rakia.” Darke’s eyes twinkled. “It’s fruit brandy. Forty percent alcohol.”
“It’s tasty. An excellent selection.”
Darke placed her hand on top of her wife’s. “Eden, I have no words to tell you how wonderful it is to be sitting here with you. To look at you is the answer to my prayers.”
The waitress placed their plates on the table and refilled their wine glasses.
The more rakia Eden drank, the more relaxed she became. “This is like drinking a soft drink.” She giggled as she held out her empty wine glass. “More, please.”
They finished two bottles of wine, Eden drinking most of the second one by herself. Darke paid the bill and then pulled Eden to her feet. “Me thinks you’re drunk, m’lady,” she teased.
“Me thinks you could take advantage of me in this state,” Eden whispered loudly.
Darke took a passed-out Eden home with her and put her to bed. As she undressed her she fought the urge to sleep with her—and lost.
I won’t take advantage of her , Darke told herself. I just need to feel her against me.
Darke undressed, slipped into bed beside Eden, and pulled the covers over them. Eden moaned as she snuggled into her wife. “Make love to me,” she mumbled, her words slurred.
“Eden, I have something to tell you.” Darke fought the need to kiss the softest lips in the world.
“I don’t care if you’re a werewolf,” Eden whispered.
“I’m not a werewolf,” Darke hissed. “I’m a frickin’ vampire.”
“Vampire?” Eden moaned as she pulled Darke’s face between her breasts. “Then you need to start sucking.”
Chapter 47
Eden drifted in and out of sleep as she wrapped around Darke’s naked body. “I love you so much,” she whimpered. “As long as I keep my eyes closed I can live this dream.”
She undulated against the woman and Darke stirred, wrapping her arms around Eden and pulling her close. Eden overcame the urge to faint from sheer joy. She truly was in Darke’s arms.
She did a quick body scan. Dammit, she didn’t ravish me last night. I knew she wouldn’t. She’s too honorable to take advantage of an unconscious woman .
Soft kisses trailed down Eden’s neck. “You’re sober now,” Darke whispered in her ear. “If you don’t want this, you can stop me.”
“I want it more than an
ything in the world.” Eden moaned. “More than anything.”
##
Much later they lay in each others’ arms. “Where do we go from here?” Darke asked as she pulled Eden closer.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere you are.” Darke kissed her. “I never want to be more than an arm’s length away from you again.”
“We must honor our teaching commitments at the university,” Eden reminded her. “How did you end up teaching?”
“It took me years to heal. I wasn’t strong enough to function as a rogue wolf hunter, so Raven arranged for me to teach. It’s the only thing that saved my sanity.”
Eden ran her hands all over Darke’s body. Her skin was as smooth as a rose petal. “You have no scars.”
“It took time, but I’ve made a complete recovery.”
“How? If you were burned that badly, how can your body be so perfect?” Eden muttered. “And your beautiful face and glorious hair?”
“I told you last night.” Darke grimaced, trying to find the courage to discuss her situation with a sober Eden.
“What did I say?” Eden asked cautiously.
“You told me to start sucking!” Darke blurted out.
“I didn’t dream that? You told me you were a … vampire?”
“Yes!”
“You’ll stay forever young while I grow old,” Eden said, trying to wrap her head around this new reality.
“That’s why I didn’t want to fall in love with a human,” Darke whispered. “In the end, I would lose the only thing in life that mattered to me and live eternity longing for you.”
“Raven? Is she a vampire?”
“No. Raven’s the queen of the wolves in our country. But she is immortal.”
“How?” Eden demanded.
“It was an accident. When we were sixteen, I drew blood from her during … um, sex. When I realized what I was doing, I returned the blood along with some of my own. It was an exhilarating experience.
“As time passed, we discovered that she was developing many of the characteristics I have: incredible speed, instant healing powers, amazing strength, and telepathy. As we reached our thirties and both of us stopped aging, we realized she was immortal.”
“That’s why your mother is the same age as you.”
“Yes.”
“And Kristaal?”
Darke nodded.
“Is everyone in your country a vampire?”
“No, only a select few.” Darke shrugged. “We have to be careful who we turn.”
Eden took a few minutes to digest the information Darke had just shared with her. “It doesn’t matter. We need to live and love and enjoy every moment we have together.”
Darke pulled Eden into her arms. She chastised herself for waiting so long to share her secret with her wife. Eden had accepted the truth as easily as she had accepted everything else about Darke.
Soft lips moved against Darke’s. A velvet tongue slid along her lower lip and slipped between her teeth. The kiss stole Darke’s breath away.
“I love you, Darke. I always will.”
##
“We should let your parents know that we’re together,” Eden murmured as her breathing returned to normal. “Darke, they stood by me as if I were their own daughter. I love them both.”
“They love you too,” Darke reassured her. “I wouldn’t let them tell you I was alive. It was difficult for them to keep that from you.
“I kept track of you through the news media and Dr. Crain’s Facebook page. She posted every time you sneezed, and I loved it.
“Great job of killing the werewolf myth. Your work with Dinky—”
“Wink.” Eden chuckled.
“Wink. That was pure genius. Eden, it’s wonderful to hear you laugh.”
Soft lips stopped Darke’s babbling. “You’ve rested long enough,” Eden mumbled.
##
“What will we do after our teaching job is over?” Eden asked Darke as they sipped coffee and went over their lesson plans.
“I had a call from Chief Canton,” Darke said. “I’m certain it’s another rogue wolf case.”
“So, that’s really what you do?”—Eden wrinkled her nose—“Kill werewolves?”
“Only the rabid ones. Just like humans kill human criminals.”
“Do you police the whole world?” Eden frowned at the thought of her wife chasing rabid monsters across the globe.
“That’s what some vampires do. It’s my calling.” Darke shrugged. “Someone has to do it. Can you imagine the chaos if the rogues weren’t stopped?
“They multiply much faster than we do. They can give birth to a litter of pups if they mate as wolves and stay in wolf form during their pregnancy.”
“I’m glad the threat from Carter is over,” Eden said, shuddering. “You tore his head off.”
“There are only three ways to kill a werewolf,” Darke said. “You have to burn them or behead them and the stake to the heart. I was certain I was going up in flames. I was determined to kill Carter before I did.”
Eden nodded. “That was my only salvation. At least I no longer had to look over my shoulder for some long-legged beastie waiting to kill me.”
“I could accept the assignment from Chief Canton, and you could open a practice on Camp Bowie in Fort Worth,” Darke suggested.
Eden considered the suggestion for a minute. “That’s an excellent idea. I’d be close to several hospitals and home.”
“As we know,” Darke continued, “Texas is a hotbed of rogue werewolves. I’ll exterminate them, and you can prove they don’t exist.”
##
“How’s life with Eden Daye?” Wayne Rose addressed Darke as they waited for the chief to brief them on the latest death of one of Fort Worth’s elite.
“Private,” Darke quipped.
Rose snorted. “It’s good to see you’re as bitchy as ever. I was afraid life with a woman like Eden would make you soft.”
“Stop baiting her, Wayne,” Dozer grumbled, shifting uneasily in his chair. “She’s our only defense against whatever is murdering women in our city.”
“I apologize,” Rose said sincerely. “You can’t blame a fellow for envying someone who is married to the kind of woman most men can only dream about.”
“Apology accepted,” Darke said. “I think.”
A few minutes later, Chief Canton welcomed her as he strolled into the room. “Darke, it’s good to have you back among the living. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to learn that you survived. I don’t know how you did it, but I’m damn glad you did.
“Wayne, why don’t you lead us to the war room so Darke can see every piece of evidence we have?”
Darke listened intently as Rose walked through the bits and pieces of the nightmare that was unfolding in their town.
“This has all the elements of Eden’s case,” she said. “I’m certain I killed Carter. They’re worse than the Hydra. I cut off one head, and another grows in its place.”
“Huh?” Dozer mumbled.
“The Hydra,” Rose explained. “It’s a multiheaded mythological creature. When one head was severed, it grew another.”
Darke had the uneasy feeling that all the activity in the area had something to do with her wife. But what?
“Did anyone see her abductor?” Darke inquired.
“Her husband,” Rose answered. “He videoed it from his bedroom balcony. It’s just a few seconds but scary as hell.”
“Bring it up on the screen and slow it down,” Canton instructed.
Darke watched as a wolflike animal threw the woman over its shoulder and leaped a privacy fence. There was no doubt in her mind; they were dealing with a pack of werewolves.
“Well?” Canton said, scratching his head. “Should this be your case, or do I need to kick it back to metro?”
“I’ll take it, sir.”
Chapter 48
“What do you mean, Darke Knight is alive and back in Ft. Worth?” Moth
er Winthrop railed. “That spawn of the devil murdered my son, and she’s alive?”
“You shouldn’t have sent a pup to do a man’s job.” Vorax’s calm baritone filled the room. “Carter was never man enough to lead our pack.”
“I didn’t send him. I told him to stay away from Knight.”
“We need Eden Daye,” Vorax insisted. “Our line grows weak because our women don’t live long. We need fresh blood to infuse our pack and make us strong again. We also need her ancestral home.”
“Knight will slaughter you,” Mother Winthrop growled.
“Maybe not. I’ve lived a long time. I know a thing or two about defeating women like Knight.”
“Be careful you don’t incur the wrath of Raven and Sable,” Mother Winthrop warned. “If you do manage to kill Knight, let it remain your secret. Just keep the knowledge to yourself.”
Vorax raised a bushy brow. “When I kill Knight, I will expect you to back me for the leader of the pack.”
“Of course,” Mother Winthrop said. “We’ll gladly follow the slayer of Darke Knight. She has been the ruination of our kind.”
“And I take Eden as my mate.” Vorax bared his teeth in a wolfish smile.
##
“All of your things are in their rightful place,” Margaret informed Eden. “I put Miss Knight’s things across the hall.”
“Put her things in my room, Margaret. She’s my wife.”
“Miss Eden, two women shouldn’t marry. It’s unnatural.”
If you knew how unnatural our union truly is, we’d have to dip you in holy water so you could breathe , Eden thought. “I’m sorry you don’t approve.”
“It’s not you, Miss. The house is so big and empty. Your father is gone, and Sharon was taken from us. It’s just you rattling around in this big old house. And her and that dog, of course.”
“Hmm. Perhaps I should sell the house. Darke and I don’t need this much room.”
“And God knows there won’t be any children,” Margaret huffed.
“Don’t be too sure, Margaret. I’ve encountered some surprising things since meeting Darke.”
Margaret shook her head and left the room.
Children? Eden thought. I’ll have to ask Darke about that.
