67. Chapter Sixty-Seven - Desiree
Five Months Later
The Weiss Train Station in Glaucus looks plucked straight from the pages of a fairy tale.
Intricate red gingerbread markings adorn the pristine white walls, adding a whimsical charm with the delicate patterns.
The ticketing agents—dressed in old-fashioned uniforms with gleaming whistles and jaunty hats—move about with a sense of timeless efficiency.
As I stand beneath a canopy of glittering stars, the cool summer mountain air envelops me.
Its crisp embrace seeping deep into my bones, filling me with a sense of wonder and anticipation.
Beside me, Vane meticulously rereads our ticket vouchers.
Our mountains of luggage, mostly his rather than mine, loom nearby.
As I commit our surroundings to memory, I can’t help but feel a twinge of nostalgia.
Vane and I have grand plans to explore the world, and who knows when I will have the chance to return to this magical place in the north?
I’ve loved it more than I ever thought possible.
Vane’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
“Will you miss Lua?”
“Will you?” I counter.
We’ve lived ninety miles north of here with the wolves for five months.
After Leigh and Alden returned to Borealis with my brother, I explained that the cure wouldn’t be ready for Tanith in time.
I told Alden that if he truly wanted to save his mate, he had to take both me and Vane back to his country.
We were a package deal.
Alden agreed, and after a quick goodbye with my brother, Vane and I left Borealis without looking back.
We might have never left the comfort of Lua if not for a letter I received from Mom three weeks ago.
The cure is finally ready for mass market distribution—with approvals from Leigh, President Janus Dyer, and Vyvyan.
I am expected back home for the official release party.
“I will miss the lack of sunshine,” Vane says, his voice tinged with a wistful longing.
We discovered a world that defied our preconceived notions of wolves during our time with them.
Instead of slumbering in caves and hibernating through the snowy months, we found sleepless cities, charming villages rivaling Glaucus’s beauty, and ski resorts where wolves enjoyed winter activities beneath the ever-changing moon.
As Alden’s esteemed guests, Vane and I stayed in the opulent Nocturn Castle near Tanith during her recovery.
My first encounter with her, a feral vampire in chains with soulless crimson eyes, still haunts me.
However, as I calmed her and fed her my blood, a remarkable transformation occurred, revealing a timid, sweet nature reminiscent of a cartoon princess.
Alden has now devoted himself entirely to Tanith.
Their passion, born from years apart, was all-consuming, heedless of anyone’s presence.
The wedding invitation in my bag testifies to their enduring love—a ceremony hastened by the undeniable signs of Tanith’s condition.
Despite her attempts to hide it, my trained medical eye recognizes the symptoms of pregnancy.
“You know what else I will miss?” Vane asks mischievously.
I smile, already knowing the answer.
“The food,” I say.
“The fucking food!” He groans.
“I don’t think my taste buds will ever be the same.”
Alden spoiled us rotten.
We dined with him and the ailing King Simon, who barely tolerated our presence or how we ate only blood.
Except, he couldn’t do much since Alden was his remaining heir.
We were there for Zeus’s funeral.
Alden didn’t cry during the sky burial.
He held his face and middle finger skyward before taking Tanith’s hand and turning his back on his sibling for good.
“I will also miss our adventures in the snow,” Vane says in a sultry voice, evoking memories of sneaking off to secluded spots between the trees and thrilling gondola rides where I’d take Vane into my mouth.
“Those adventures don’t have to end just because we are going back to Borealis,” I tease.
Vane tugs me flush against him by my leather jacket.
“Is that so?” His gaze hoods, dark with desire, as he watches me bite my lip.
“Maybe we could get a head start right now,” I breathe against his ear.
“I wonder if our train compartment is soundproof?”
He groans, nipping at my throat.
“Desiree?”
The familiar voice ties my stomach into knots.
I turn to find Jaxson standing on the platform, dressed in a crisp, dark Blade uniform that accentuates his chiseled physique.
He looks even more handsome than I remember, with the scent of summer and untamed wilderness clinging to him.
“Jax,” I breathe, extracting myself from Vane’s embrace.
Jaxson nods to him, his eyes flicking between us.
“I heard you were passing through customs on your way back to Borealis,” Jaxson says with a hesitant smile.
“Congratulations on the cure. It’s all my Anselm can talk about. He’s an orderly at Psyche Psychiatric.”
Heat surges inside me, a fierce, primal instinct.
Mere moments ago, I was lost in Vane’s passionate embrace, but now my body is readying for battle.
Who the fuck is Anselm?
And why did Jax call him his ?
“That’s great,” I manage to say, surprised that I mean it despite the ache in my chest.
The searing jealousy recedes to a simmer.
“I’m happy for you, Jax. Truly.”
“Thanks, I’m happy for you, too.” His gaze lifts to Vane.
“How long have you two been together?”
“Five months,” I admit softly.
Jaxson nods slowly.
“I had a feeling there was unfinished business between you two. I guess that’s what makes me a great Domna.” His wry smile doesn’t reach his eyes.
I want to say something to break the awkward silence, but the words stick in my throat.
I love Vane, but seeing Jaxson again makes me realize I never stopped loving him, too.
Tears prick at the back of my eyes as I pull him in for a fierce hug.
“I am so damn proud of you, Jax.”
He clutches me tighter for a long moment before releasing me and stepping back.
His eyes drink me in as if committing every detail to memory.
“I missed you, sunshine. Take care of yourself, okay?”
“I will,” I promise, aching with a mix of love, nostalgia, and letting go.
“You do the same.”
With a final nod, Jaxson squares his shoulders, and walks away, disappearing into the crowd.
Vane comes up behind me, slipping his arms around my waist.
I lean into his chest.
“It’s okay, you know,” he says softly.
“You can love us both.”
I twist in his arms to look up at him, searching his beautiful face for deception.
There is none.
“I will always love Jax. But I am desperately, completely, eternally in love with you. Not because you’re a vampire prince or my sire, but because you’re you—the man who saw me when no one else did.”
Vane’s eyes blaze as he holds my face, his cold rings sending sparks across my skin.
“I know. And I will spend every day of forever showing you how much I love you and reminding you to love yourself.”
I smile.
“Let’s go before my mom kills me for staying away these past few months.”
The mention of killing reminds me of Vyvyan, and I’m nearly knocked off my feet by a sudden wave of insecurity.
I don’t know if Vane has kept in touch with her these past few months.
I’m sure she knows where we are, given that our departure from Lua was no secret.
A whistle blows nearby.
“Vane,” I say, “do you plan on seeing Vyvyan while we’re in Borealis?”
He stiffens.
“I hadn’t decided,” he admits, his voice measured.
“She sent me a letter, asking me to return to the Nest. She said she was sorry for everything.”
“She did?” I resist grabbing fistfuls of my hair.
Vyvyan apologized.
That’s unheard of.
An apology and her signing off on the cure tells me she might have turned over a new leaf.
Despite that, it doesn’t change the fact she tried to kill me.
Vane sighs and traces gentle patterns along my back.
“She did, and I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind to see her. Vyvyan and I have a long history, and we need to discuss things, especially now that the cure is available.”
I nod, trying to swallow past the lump in my throat.
“I understand,” I say, my voice barely audible above the train’s rumble.
“You don’t have to go anywhere with me after the cure’s release party, Vane. I mean it. It doesn’t mean I love you less if you stay with her. I will be okay on my own.”
He pulls me closer, his lips brushing against my forehead.
“I won’t go anywhere without you, Desiree. You’re my everything.”
I shake my head.
“Some may say you are obsessed with me.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
I laugh.
“As a former medical professional, I’d have to say yes. As a ravenous vampire, I say no.”
Another whistle sounds, drowning out Vane’s laughter.
“Come on,” he says, taking my hand.
“We’re boarding.”
As we settle into our private compartment, thoughts of Vyvyan and the Nest continue to occupy my mind.
Misty has been invading my dreams a lot lately.
I’d love to see her again, but she also owes me an apology.
She was my best friend.
I listened to her and was there for her night in and night out, but when it was time for her to be there for me, she wasn’t.
Maybe one day, we will get back to where we were, but we have a ton to unpack before we get to that level.
Vane sits beside me, reading a newspaper, betraying his age, and I find myself mesmerized by his every movement.
“Tell me about your fondest memories during those early days with Vyvyan.” I rest my head on his lap.
Vane folds the paper.
“What do you want to know?”
I peer up at him through my lashes.
“If it’s about you, I want to know all the sordid details.”
“Then, I will tell you.”