Epilogue
One year later
Next tornado season
It makes me think back to the woman who turned to ashes in my arms. I still haven’t heard anything about her.
Lorcan says he is monitoring her. What he doesn’t know is that we are too.
We never want to be blindsided by a storm that powerful again.
She’s been quiet this past year, and that’s all I care about.
There has been an unusual set of supercells heading east that Nariko is keeping an eye on, but they aren’t as severe as the ones here were.
The pink truck vanishes in the tornado, and I hold my breath.
I know she’s okay. I can feel her happiness strumming the bond, an additional beat added to my chest, but it doesn’t make me any less afraid.
Seeing her in the middle of what I fear most will always make my slow heartbeat come to a full stop.
That won’t ever change.
“Is that your Okaasan? Wave at Mommy.” I grab my son’s chubby arm and wave it in the air, knowing she probably can’t see him, but he giggles every time I do it.
Arkansas is a unique name for him, but it’s fitting, given Nariko and Ruka died and came back to life while that song was playing. We thought it was perfect for our son.
“Ow. Damn. Warn me, next time.”
He sinks his little fangs into my arm and feeds. Baby strength is another type of strength. It goes beyond paranormal. He is ripping the hairs out of my arm with his tiny tight fists.
I have bald spots all over my arms. All because of him.
He’s worth it.
Millie, Jess, and Reina know about us. Reina is actually mated to Westin.
They decided two thousand years together was better than nothing.
And at that point, there was no way to keep Millie and Jess in the dark.
They took it in stride and have asked a lot of questions that have me wondering if they also want to be turned.
That’s a tough decision for any vampire to agree to. The sire will need to kill them for the process to work, and that’s never easy. I wake up in cold sweats sometimes when the memory of Nariko’s lifeless body infiltrates my dreams.
“Look!” I point to where a pink truck is coming out of the tornado. “Mommy is coming back!”
He rips his fangs from my arm, and I hold in a painful groan when he drags them down my arm.
He’s learning. It’s fine.
Millie and Jess laugh from on top of the van.
“Hey! You try feeding a vampire baby.”
“Aw, gladly. Let me have my favorite guy!” Millie stretches her arms out.
“Maybe when Nariko is back. I know she’ll want to see him.”
Millie claps in excitement, and it’s real. Her genuine happiness flows into me. She’s so kind. If anyone ever dared to hurt Millie, I would kill them.
Nariko jumps out of the truck and jogs at human speed towards us, a bright smile on her face with her camera in her hand. She pauses and lifts it to take a picture of us.
“Did you see that? That vortex was perfect! I can’t wait to see the pictures. I have never seen a funnel so symmetrical before.” Her joy is infectious; the adrenaline pumping through her veins energizes me.
“Go. Let me get a picture of the three of you.” Ruka steals the camera from her and takes photos of us while she settles next to me.
“How’s my handsome man?”
“I’m fine. A little thirsty, but overall okay,” I answer, knowing she was talking to Arkansas based on her playful tone.
“How are both of my handsome guys?” She tickles under our chins at the same time.
“Glad to have you out of that death trap,” I grumble, side-eyeing the bubble gum colored storm chasing vehicle.
“That death trap keeps me safe.” She plucks Arkansas out of my arms and covers his face in kisses.
A big toothless smile stretches across Arkansas’ face, followed by a few babbles.
“Aw,” Millie gushes. “I want one.”
I wrap my family in my arms, looking out on the plains, the tornado vanishing when it loses steam. Dust settles. Nothing but a torn path through the field to remind us it was there.
“I want one too.”
Nariko’s red eyes meet mine. “Another? So soon?”
“I want everything with you.”
“Even the storms?”
“Especially the storms.”
I think about everything she does to keep the rain out of my life. Every now and then, when a storm comes, a deep fear awakens again. I’m left remembering what happened to my brother, my mate, and Ruka.
Storms have brought me so much destruction, and Nariko, being the amazing person she is, hangs a doll near our living room window called “Teru Teru Bozu.”
It’s a piece of paper crumbled into a ball with a tissue over it, a string tied around what would be the neck. She hangs it when she knows I don’t want it to rain and sings the song associated with it.
Every time she creates and hangs a new Teru Teru Bozu, knowing a big storm front is coming in, I fall in love with her more.
Nariko is my storm chaser.
The fear and hatred won’t ever go away when it comes to storms. That’s okay. I’ve made peace with it. I have Nariko by my side, chasing all of my fears away.
And I’ll chase her to the edge of eternity.
Forever.
And no storm will ever be able to stop me.
The End.