57. Wolf
Chapter 57
Wolf
I knew the hungry ones were cured long before Rummy said the words to Huntyr. She knew too, deep down. I saw it in the way she slept better at night, in the way she actually grew excited when others finally got their first vampyre cravings. The fear of the curse slowly dissipated, but when Rummy said those words today and Huntyr actually felt it…
I would have gone through the entire damn war again if it meant giving her relief like that.
Huntyr ran off with Rummy, likely to drink cheap liquor off one of the old roofs again. I didn’t question their late-night hang sessions, but at least Huntyr had wings to catch herself if she ever fell off one of those damn roofs.
Rummy was just crazy.
I think that’s why Jessiah liked her so much.
The sun already set, but I made my way to the large fire that lit up the center of Scarlata. These nightly fires were something that started before the war, but they never really ended. There was something comforting about these people having a home to crawl back to at night, a home of people who cared about them, who had their backs.
Getting together like this was a nice reminder that we weren’t alone anymore. They weren’t alone anymore.
Some of the vampyres were survivors of the original war. They were the ones who spoke the most on nights like this, when the moon was high in the sky and young ears were eager for more.
But those vampyres did not speak of violence, nor did they speak of hate for what the fae and angels did to them all those years ago.
They only spoke of love. Of forgiveness. Of living with your heart and spreading joy across all the kingdoms.
These were survivors of much, much worse than anything we endured, yet they did not hold grudges. They had no desire to seek revenge for what was taken from them.
“You weren’t angry at the fae for attacking you?” one of the younger vampyres asked.
The older male held his finger up, quieting the small crowd around him. “At first, yes, I was very angry. But listen to me when I say this, child: the fae did not attack us because they were evil beings. They did not slaughter this place because they held hate in their hearts.” I stepped closer to the fire, careful not to make any noise as he continued. “They attacked us because they were afraid. They did what they did because they too had families to protect. If we believed they were evil, if we retaliated and did the same to them, would that make us any better?”
The children were silent.
“Would it?”
“No,” the children answered in unison.
“That’s right. You love them—not because they deserve it, but because they’re just like us, just trying their best to survive in this world. And we all know how hard that can be sometimes.”
Chills erupted down my arms. Damn, I really needed to listen to this man more often.
Something tugged on the arm of my shirt, and I turned to find a small girl standing beside me, gawking up at my wings.
It was Abigail, the young girl we saved from the forest.
“Here,” she said, handing me a plate of food. “This is for you.”
I knelt and took the food from her. “For me?” I asked. “That is very kind of you, Abigail. Did you get your own dinner already?”
She nodded, her teeth shining behind her big smile. “I did. Two plates, actually.”
“Two?” I gasped dramatically. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell if you won’t.”
She turned to run away, but I stopped her. “Hey! Where do you think you’re going?”
“Bedtime,” she answered. “Miss Peggy says if I get plenty of sleep every night, I could have my own vampyre wings when I’m your age!”
“She did? Well, you better listen to Miss Peggy, then. Go on.” I watched her run down the street, looking away only when she made it inside Peggy’s building. She became one of the caretakers around here. We all worked together, everyone doing their part to rebuild this place.
I glanced around the fire, taking in the smiling faces, and actually let myself relax.
“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” Jessiah said from behind me, clapping me on the shoulder as he approached.
“What is?”
“The fact that we spent our entire lives in that damn castle and nothing has ever felt more like home than this.”
He was right about that. I was always on edge with Asmodeus. I was always being watched, being used, manipulated.
But not here.
“It is nice. Strange, but nice.”
Silence fell over us, but it was a peaceful silence. Jessiah and I were closer than ever now. He was my right-hand man, the one I turned to for everything. And the fact that he, too, thought this place felt like home made my chest tighten with happiness.
“You better get home,” he said after a while. “I saw Rummy and Huntyr stumbling through the streets about ten minutes ago. Any more late rooftop nights, and I might have to teach Rummy how to summon her own wings.”
My heart ticked at the sound of Huntyr’s name.
“Yeah,” I said, turning toward the tower. “Good luck with that, brother.”
I left the fire, left the others to enjoy their dinner and company. I had a wife to get home to.
I took my time climbing those stairs to the top of the tower. We rebuilt much of these fallen lands, but Huntyr still insisted that this is where she wanted us to stay. This was home to us, atop this same building that overlooked all of Scarlata.
Though there were much nicer buildings to live in, this place was ours.
Our bond technically broke when I died, when Era brought me back and gave me these wings. It was different from the first time, when both of us died during the Transcendent and the bond stayed untouched. We still needed it back then. Era still needed it.
There was no longer a need for us to connect our magic.
But even so, I could feel Huntyr in the bedroom, our connection growing stronger as I reached the last step and pushed the door open.
It could have been because we shared blood so frequently now. Hells, it could have been pure delusion, but we didn’t need a magic bond to bind us anymore. We were fully connected, her soul completely intertwined with mine in a way I never wanted to undo.
She was mine, just as I was hers. Nothing was going to change that.
“I thought you were never coming home,” she drawled from the bedroom at the back of our unit.
The room was dark, but the moonlight filtering in from the large glass window across the back of the bedroom lit up the delicate curve of her body wrapped in the sheets.
Her naked body, I might add.
I didn’t realize a growl rumbled through my chest until Huntyr sat up, eyes wide. Her wings were gone now, giving me a full view of my wife in the moonlight. I prowled closer, taking my time as I inhaled the sweet, alluring scent of her.
Those damn cherries.
“I’ll always come home to you,” I replied. “If I knew this was going to be in my bed waiting for me, I would never fucking leave.”
I was only half joking.
She smiled and shifted in the bed as I stepped closer, unbuckling my belt and tossing it to the side. I pulled my shirt over my head next and watched Huntyr’s eyes trail down my torso.
“Careful,” I purred. “You’re staring, Huntress.”
She rolled her eyes, but instantly arched toward me as I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “Have I told you that you can be arrogant and annoying?”
“Mhmm,” I kissed her neck slowly. “Many, many times. But tell me again, please.” I moved my lips against her delicate skin until she gasped. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”
“You are arrogant,” she said, breath hitching. “And stubborn.” I kissed her harder. “And incredibly annoying.”
Goddess above, her body was made for me.
I paused before my kisses reached her lips. “And?”
She sighed, but pressed her bare chest further into mine, reaching for my kiss. “And you are mine .”