He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like this promise.
“No matter what happens, no matter what our story is and how it ends… if I die before you, you have to let yourself grow old. But not alone.”
It took Jonathon a moment to understand what she was saying. He made a noise of protest, but Maggie laid her finger over his lips, silencing him. Her gaze grew more tender, and he saw the fear lurking behind her eyes.
“Please. If I die, you have to find someone who will love you and cherish you and be a mother to your children. I don’t want you alone. And you can’t just give up on life if I’m not there.”
He grumbled for a moment, not liking to think about any of this. He swallowed hard and nodded once. “Fine. If that’s how it ends up, I’ll do it. I’ll find someone to be a companion to me and a mother to my children.”
If they didn’t make this work, though, and Maggie stayed a vampire, then the tables would be turned. She’d be the one staying young and watching him grow old and die. The pain of that thought, of her being in pain of having to watch that, made his breath catch in his throat. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rolled her over, pinning her beneath him now.
“You have to promise the same. You have to promise me you’ll never lose your faith in humanity and love. Swear it.”
Maggie laced her fingers behind his neck. “I promise. I will never let myself get that far.”
“And if I die, you’ll find someone who will cherish and love you and be a good father to my—our children.”
“Oh. That’s a harder promise to make than I thought.” She managed a smile at him anyway. “I promise.”
“Good.”
Jonathon kissed her. He held onto her as though he would never let her go. Their kisses soon grew feverish and passionate. Everything seemed to tighten between them again, the bond strengthening until they were no longer two separate entities but rather one wrapped up in each other. As it was meant to be.
Chapter Thirteen
In the morning, Jonathon went off hunting while Maggie looked around the logging road for berries and the like. Together they managed to scrounge up enough to calm their grumbling stomachs. With food out of the way, though, it was time to decide exactly what was happening from here on out.
Maggie was all for going back home, giving up this quest and accepting life as it was. When Jonathon agreed with her, she was pleasantly surprised. Until she realized that he meant she go back home and he go back to the vampire island and try to figure out an entrance to it.
“Are you crazy?” Maggie didn’t believe what she was hearing. “Out of the question! I’m not going to let you go off and get yourself killed for this. I can handle being a vampire. Camille’s a vampire, and I’ve got you. That’s all I need, the two of you.”
“But you want to be human again.”
“Yeah but—"
“But nothing. I’m not going to let your life stay like this when you want to be human.” He gave her a steely look. “Understood?”
Maggie bit her lip. “It’s not worth you dying.”
“I’m not going to die. The vampires were all about attacking Josh’s clan. They’re not going to expect me to show up on that island again. Besides which, I’m sure if I hadn’t freaked out at them like I did, I’d have been able to turn on the old charm,” he flashed his dimples at her, “and convince that caretaker to at least listen to us.”
Maggie had to admit that could be a possibility. Jonathon did have a way with people, when he wasn’t jumping the gun into violently protecting her. She frowned at him and shrugged. “Fine. But if you’re going back, I am too.”
His smile vanished.
“Either it’s both of us or neither of us. Got it?”
Jonathon glared at her for a moment before he shook his head and sighed. “This is why I can’t win any arguments with you. Because I don’t argue. Fine. Okay, we’ll both go. But any sign of danger—”
“And we’re out of there.”
They gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment before Jonathon shifted. Maggie had to wonder about their sanity, going back now, but she pushed those thoughts away. They flew back toward the ocean, the landscape changing dramatically below them. This time as they passed over the island, the ruins of the stone building still smoking from Josh’s bomb, Maggie spotted something. A well of water in the center of it.
And she remembered the way the blood had trickled down inward on the brass urchin. It was a longshot at best, but maybe… “Land by that water!”
Jonathon lit lightly beside the well and let her slide off his back before he shifted. The well was ringed with rocks, the water clear and deep and blue. When Maggie dipped her fingers into it, she felt that tug she’d had before. The feeling drawing her down.
“I think this might be it.”
Jonathon frowned. “We don’t know how deep it goes.”
“That’s right. But vampires don’t need to breathe.”
Jonathon grabbed her wrist, alarm in his eyes. “But dragons do.”
Maggie nodded, understanding his fears. If she went down into this well, he would not be there to help her. She trembled, not knowing what to do now. If she went, what would she find down there? What if the caretaker was watching them and sent people after Jonathon? What if she returned to find him dead?
A musky scent blew in on the breeze and her head jerked up. A flicker of movement caught her eye. Then, all at once, vampires jumped out of the trees on one side and bears charged from the other side. Jonathon pushed Maggie down, snarling. Josh’s familiar black form shifted into his blue-eyed human form. His teeth bared as he pointed toward her.
“You belong to me,” he bellowed. “And I swear by the end of this day—”
The vampires leapt over Jonathon and Maggie’s heads, clashing with the bears. One of the vampires turned toward them. Jonathon snarled, but the vampire held out his hands.
“We received permission to allow you entry, Maggie Roxton,” he said, peering at her like he didn’t quite understand what the Elders were thinking. “But the magic only works once a year. You have four hours before it’s over and then you can’t become human again for a year… and by then, the Elders may have changed their minds.”
He took off then, without another word. Maggie clung to Jonathon, wishing that they could just know what to do. Jonathon’s expression was wretched, torn. He flinched at the sounds of battle, and Maggie knew he wanted to be fighting, too.
Josh charged right at them.
“Go,” Jonathon murmured to Maggie. “Go, fulfill your dreams.”
He released her and shifted, charging to meet Josh. Maggie cried out for him, but her voice caught in her throat. Her hands trembled, but he had given her what he thought she should do. He was fighting for her. He’d risked so much to get her to this point. And now she had permission… Steeling herself, she dove into the clear blue well.
The water was cool, clean and refreshing. Maggie swam as hard as she could. Even though they technically didn’t have to breathe, her lungs were soon crying for air. Her mind kept going back to Jonathon up there, fighting. Josh wasn’t going to be forgiving and let him get away another time, not when they had already escaped his clutches twice.
Should we have just flown away?
Everything was pitch black, only her sharp vampire vision allowing her to see anything, by the time she felt a slight shift in the water around her. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but the tugging grew stronger and she swam toward it. Moments later, she was thrown from the stream of water, falling down a waterfall and into a wide, shallow pool.
Maggie lay there gasping, more surprised at the physics of her landing than hurt. She pushed herself to her feet, but there was no time to try to figure out how the water in the well worked. Standing at the edge of the pool was the caretaker. Her hands were clasped lightly in front of her, a cool expression on her lovely face.
“Welcome back,” the caretaker said as a vampire to her left stepp
ed forward, offering Maggie a towel.
Maggie sludged her way out of the water and mopped off her face. “I was told I had permission to be here now.”
The caretaker shrugged. “So you do. I’m surprised, but the Elders do like their little games. So. You are here, and you are free to learn the secret to become human again. If that is what you really want.”
“Of course, —” Maggie cut herself off from the automatic response. For having been so obsessed with becoming human again for so long… “We came back. We put ourselves in danger again so I could become human again.”
“But is it what you want or what your dragon wants.”
The implication made Maggie bristle. “Jonathon wants me to be happy! He loves me for who I am and still loves me even as a vampire. He’s worked so hard on adjusting his attitude toward vampires. He’s educated himself and learned things aren’t the way he thought. He’s a good man! He loves me.”
The caretaker didn’t so much as blink. “Very well. Then you will follow us. But be warned. Once you become human again, no vampire will be able to turn you back. You will be human for the rest of your existence.”
“That’s not much of a threat,” Maggie mumbled as she followed the caretaker and the other vampire. “I’ve been through so much to get here. To find a way to be human again. We even broke into the Smithsonian! When we get back home, we might get arrested for that one.”
The caretaker hummed in her throat. “Well, then. I guess that means you don’t have any doubts. Hurry up, then. The sooner you are human again, the sooner we will return you to the surface and your dragon.”
But Maggie’s steps slowed.
The caretaker stopped. When she turned, she had a knowing smile on her face. “Thinking about the battle going on over our heads? There are many bears and your dragon is already weakened. One day isn’t enough to fully recover from the wounds that were inflicted on him. How much help will you be as a human?”
Maggie shivered. She left him to pursue her dream of being human again. But was that even what she really wanted? Or do I want to be human again because that’s what Jonathon wants? And does he want that because he thinks I want it?
She turned her gaze back toward the waterfall. The other vampire had said four hours. Was that enough time to get back to the surface, help Jonathon drive off Josh and then get back down here?
“The rituals to become human take three hours. If you are going to complete the transformation, we need to start now. But think. Can things really go back to the way they were before?”
Maggie shuddered. “But I don’t want it to go back.” She turned back to the caretaker, who looked as impassive as ever. “I don’t want it to go back because if it did, I wouldn’t have Jonathon anymore. And I want him more than anything else.”
The caretaker opened her mouth, but Maggie didn’t listen. She plunged back into the water, splashing this way and that. She had to get back to the surface—to Jonathon.
***
Josh slammed a fist into Jonathon’s side, right where the sword had been driven in the previous day. Pain exploded through his body. A burst of flame shot from his mouth, earning him some distance. Josh leapt to one side but laughed as he smeared the blood from his broken nose. He panted heavily, naked torso gleaming in the sunlight.
“That’s the last of your fire isn’t it, Lizard?” he taunted as he circled to one side while his circle of cronies kept the ranks closed so Jonathon couldn’t gain more distance or find terrain better suited for him. “Aww, are you giving up the fight?”
It had been the mass of bears that had made him shift back to his human form. Now he dropped to his hands and knees, exhausted. His limbs trembled as he stared hatefully at Josh. “Bastard like you wouldn’t know much about giving up the fight, would you? Since you never had a fair fight in your life.”
Josh snorted. “Just because I use advantages given me?”
“You fight dirty.”
“Whatever. I never liked you. And when I tell Maggie how I tried so hard to save you, she’ll fall into my arms. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her. She’ll see that she belongs to me. Hell, I might even let her keep those little lizard brats of yours—”
A surge of strength raced through him. Jonathon lunged, roaring. His fist connected with Josh’s jaw, but before he could attack further, the bears had jumped on him. Fists pounded on his back. Black and white spots flashed over his vision, and his lungs locked up. Josh shouted something and they backed off, but the pain and sheer beating that he’d received left Jonathon laying on the ground, gasping in pain and trying desperately to regain himself.
Josh flicked a knife open in his hand. He lunged. Jonathon threw a hand into the air as weak protection, bracing himself for the blade.
But it never came.
Instead, a shriek of fury filled the air. A blur rammed into Josh, knocking the knife away. Maggie punched repeatedly into the alpha’s face. She was soaked through, fangs visible in her mouth as she slammed her fist into Josh’s broken nose.
“You don’t touch him!” she screamed.
The bears recovered themselves quickly enough. One of them dove at her. He knocked her off, and Jonathon let out a bellow of anger. The bear dragged Maggie back. Her elbows were pinned to her sides as she kicked wildly.
Josh stumbled to his feet. He pressed his arm to his face, as though it would stop the bleeding. Fury burned in his eyes as his lip curled back. With a howl, he slapped Maggie across the face.
Jonathon had barely struggled to his knees. As soon as he saw that, though, it was like the pain just disappeared. His vision washed with red. All sound cut out. The scent of blood hung heavy in the air. So heavy he could taste it. It mingled with the smoke from his dead fires. It seemed to him that he got to his feet leisurely, but Josh was barely starting to turn when Jonathon was on him.
The bear howled when Jonathon head-butted him. He no longer cared about fighting safely, didn’t care about the rules of attack between shifters. Josh hadn’t been following them, so why should he? Josh staggered back, swinging blindly. One of his fists smashed into Jonathon’s face, causing his vision to blackout for a minute.
“She is mine,” Josh panted as he tripped across the uneven ground. “She belongs to me.”
“I don’t belong to you,” Maggie screamed from the sidelines.
Jonathon ducked under Josh’s swing. He rammed into Josh, knocking them both to the ground. Josh roared, his teeth sharpening in his mouth. Claws sprouted from his paws and he swiped across Jonathon’s chest. Jonathon cried out. Another strike flipped him onto his back, and a knife stabbed toward his face. Maggie screamed.
There was no time to think before he reacted. Jonathon lashed out. He heard something crack. A gasp, a scream. Josh collapsed heavy over him. Darkness washed in and out.
The weight lifted off him, and the bears bent over Josh. One of them checked his pulse. The look on his face was all Jonathon needed to know. Josh was dead. He didn’t even know what he felt about that. He hurt too much. Everything was a cloud of pain. The only clear thought was that Maggie’s voice was there. Clear, loud. Begging.
The bears turned toward Jonathon, and he knew they were going to kill him. But when one of them stepped forward, another grabbed his arm.
“The alpha is dead. This isn’t our fight anymore,” he hissed. “Let’s get out of here.”
The other bear growled, but they fell in step behind the other one. Soon, the bears were gone. All that was left was him and Maggie… and the other vampires.
Jonathon’s spinning head cleared. He rolled to his hands and knees while Maggie’s hands wrapped around his arms, trying to lift him up. Nausea made him gag, and he had to still again.
“Don’t come near us,” Maggie shouted, sending a spike through her temple. “I was given permission to return.”
“You were given permission to return and become human,” a male voice said.
Jonathon inhaled deeply and straightened. His
head pounded, and he felt like just lying down and sleeping for a day or two, but there were vampires here. He had to make sure Maggie didn’t get hurt. He had to keep her safe. The feeling like he was about to vomit came back; Maggie leaned against him, supporting him. He spat out a mouthful of blood and glared at the vampire.
The vampire, however, took no notice of him. “You were not given permission to come back, stay a vampire and then leave again.”
“What does that matter?” Maggie snapped. “There were extenuating circumstances. Was I supposed to just leave my mate up here by himself when my crazy ex was trying to kill him?”
Jonathon glanced at Josh’s body. He was certain that the fact he killed someone would hit sooner or later, but right now, all he could think about was that he’d protected Maggie from him. And he had to protect her from these vampires. If he could hold them off long enough for her to swim to shore… No, he needed to fly her out.
He tried to call the shift up, but it hurt too much. Which meant if he shifted, his wings would probably be broken. Shiiiiit… that meant he wasn’t going to be able to get himself and Maggie out. Not with the fighting and the running at least.
But maybe with talking? It was worth a shot, at least.
“I don’t want to start fighting you,” he said. His left knee started to give out, and he shifted his weight to the right side, breathing sharply when pain shot up his hip. “Because if we are fighting, then some of you might end up getting hurt. So why don’t we talk about this? Mags and I will just leave and then we can just, you know, be friends.”
The vampire gave him a blank look. “What?”
“Come on, if the Elders gave Maggie permission to become human again, that means that they don’t want us dead.”
The vampire considered for a moment. “Fine. You two submit to our custody, and we’ll see what we can do.”
Maggie started to growl, but Jonathon squeezed her hand. He was in no shape to fight, and he already knew she wouldn’t leave him. He nodded. “We can do that.”
Soon enough, they were sitting under a tree. The heat was pretty bad, but the vampires gave them both water. Maggie wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. He had a protective arm around her, watching the vampires. The more he rested, the better he felt, but he was still in no shape to leave.
Paranormal Friends with Benefits Page 15
