20. Alister
20
Alister
I stretched my arms above my head, the steady rhythm of my heartbeat filling the silence—a sensation I’d forgotten for centuries.
“Evelyn, can you pour me a bit more coffee?” I called out.
She reached for the steaming pot. “You mean this, oh caffeine-addicted one?” she taunted, arching an eyebrow as she deftly poured the steaming liquid.
My cup filled, and I inhaled the rich aroma. “You’re a lifesaver.”
As I sipped the bitter brew, the tension in my shoulders began to uncoil, and my eyelids no longer felt like they were weighed down by lead. Being mortal was draining in ways I’d never remembered. Every day brought a new discovery: hunger pangs, muscle soreness, and the relentless need for rest. Each sip of coffee made my heartbeat reverberate with newfound vitality, and every breath was a cherished novelty as the world buzzed vividly around me.
“How are you feeling today?” Evelyn asked, her tone softening as she watched me.
I set the mug down and pulled her into my arms. “Tired. Weak. Gloriously, wonderfully human.”
Her laughter bubbled over, her shoulders shaking with mirth as her eyes twinkled with delight. “Only you would find joy in mortality, Alister.”
“Can you blame me?” I ran my fingers through her long black hair. “For centuries, I dreamed of this. Of living and of starting a family.”
My voice trailed off as thoughts of the future stretched before us—something that, not long ago, had seemed impossible.
Evelyn’s gaze fluttered to her ring finger, where the tattoo—the mark left from my deal with her parents—had vanished.
She sighed softly. “Okay, let’s put a hold on the whole baby talk for now. Yes, I want a family. But not yet. So, yeah, I’m sticking with my contraceptive potion for the foreseeable future. We kinda have a chaos goddess to deal with first.”
“Ah yes, how could I forget?” I teased, grinning. “And you’ll need a proper ring.”
“What?” Her eyebrows shot up in confusion.
I pointed to her now-bare ring finger. “When all this is over, we’ll have a real wedding. If you’ll have me, that is.”
Her face softened, and she smiled. “Of course, I’ll have you, Alister.”
“And maybe we’ll invite the others to join,” I added, a playful glint in my eye.
Evelyn laughed, her eyes crinkling with amusement.
She squeezed my hands, her gaze earnest. “Alister, you know you don’t have to be on the front lines anymore. You’re human now. That stunt with Ryker—”
“I scared you,” I finished for her, guilt-tightening my chest. “I’m sorry for that. But I can’t sit back and do nothing while everyone fights.”
She leaned into my touch. “No one’s asking you to do nothing. We need your experience and your strategic mind. But please…be careful. I just got you back.”
I held her close, inhaling the faint lavender scent of her hair. “I promise to be careful. But I won’t stay in the shadows, Love. It’s not who I am.”
She chuckled against me. “No, I suppose it’s not. Just…try not to give me a heart attack again, okay?”
“Deal,” I murmured, kissing the top of her head.
Human or vampire, some things would never change. Evelyn was my home. No matter what came next, I’d do whatever it took to protect the life we were building together.