EPILOGUE || THIERRY #2
I’m stronger now. Between you, me, and Godric, he won’t stand a chance. He’ll pay for what he did to you and your brother.
I nodded, trying to believe him.
“I wonder who in the pack will meet their fated mate first,” he mused aloud after a few moments, eyes glinting with mischief.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, think about it. If Poppy’s spell hit me and then kept going—like it did with you and your bloodline—and if it set off the bleeds because I was tied to the land… then it also must have hit the rest of the pack first. Because I was connected to them, too.”
“It will be the blond one,” I said immediately, picturing the wolf who had been eyeing Jeremy like he was the last piece of candy in the case. “The cheerleader. Hopefully, she’ll find her mate first.”
Jeremy snorted. “Lacey? Trust me, she’s not a cheerleader. Personally, I think it’ll be Reed. Or maybe one of the twins.”
“We’ll see how it plays out,” I said. “If it does at all.”
“It will.” He kissed me, smiling. “Fate always has a way of working itself out.”
“Don’t be a sap,” I admonished. But I was smiling back, so perhaps I was a bit of a sap too.
* * *
“We need to divide into two teams,” I said, reading from a small card containing the instructions. “Someone from each team acts out the scenario on the card they draw, and their teammates guess what the word is.”
“Sounds fun,” Tobias said gamely.
“Um—are you… okay?” Bryan stared at me, baffled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you willingly play a party game. Or… um… be nice.”
I sniffed. “I’ll have you know I’m quite frequently nice.” Then I paused, my irritation getting the best of me, as it so often did. “Though it amazes me none of you can see the very basic flaw in this plan.”
Jeremy and Michael traded a grin that should have been irritating but somehow wasn’t. My progeny spoke first. “Which is?”
“We’re all telepathically bonded! How exactly are we supposed to play this game—or any game—without cheating?”
“That’s actually a good point,” Danny said.
We spent several minutes arguing over house rules to make the game fair.
We would have continued, but Rico entered wearing his ridiculously frilly apron again, carrying another tray of muffins. Belatedly, I realized that even though he’d been baking and I didn’t smell smoke. That was always a good sign.
“Err—does anyone want a muffin? They just came out of the oven. They’re chocolate chip.”
I surprised myself by rolling my eyes and saying, “I’d like a muffin.”
Rico grinned, his eyes lighting up. “Yeah?”
Jeremy smirked as I plucked one from the plate. Careful, or they might realize how much you love them, he warned.
I ignored that. Inspecting the muffin, I saw it was much closer to what it should have looked like than I’d ever seen from the young vampire’s baking efforts. Another very promising sign.
Rico watched me, seeming uncharacteristically nervous.
I took a bite. It certainly wasn’t the best thing I’d ever eaten, but it actually tasted like a muffin this time. More or less.
After swallowing, I met Rico’s gaze. “You’re improving.”
He beamed, eyes shining bright. “I think we all are. Thanks, Thierry.”
Every single pair of eyes in the room was on me.
“Yes, well,” I said stiffly, doing my best to scowl at him—and failing miserably. “Frame it, because it’s unlikely to happen again.”
But I doubted that was true. In fact, I rather hoped it wasn’t.
* * *
Godric showed up later that night, while Jeremy and I were sitting on the back porch drinking mint juleps and listening to the silence of the night.
“We must speak,” Godric said without preamble. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, his expression intent as he met my gaze.
“You’re brave,” Jeremy remarked, his eyes flashing gold as they sometimes did when his wolf was close to breaking free. “Last time, Danny and Bryan chased you off with a shotgun.”
It was true. The ancient, decidedly love-struck vampire from my past wasn’t welcome at the house.
Michael and Tobias seemed marginally more willing to hear him out, but Danny and Bryan had flatly refused to let Godric near Rico.
They were fiercely protective of our young vampire, much to his chagrin.
I understood. I wasn’t a fan of Godric, either.
“We need to talk,” Godric repeated, ignoring Jeremy.
I snorted. “Oh, do we?”
“I had a vision. Magnus is on the move. He has settled now. He intends to make a new home.”
“I thought you couldn’t see him?” I shot back, aiming for bravado. There was a quaver in my voice I hated.
I’ll break every bone in Magnus’s body, Jeremy whispered into my mind. Twice. Then I’ll end him for what he did to you.
I took a deep breath, feeling marginally reassured. Of course, I didn’t need my big strong wolf to protect me—that was just silly. But it didn’t hurt, either.
“His protections must be wearing thin,” Godric said. “That, or he wished for me to see his whereabouts.”
“Then it’s likely a trap,” I replied, flashing my iciest smile. “How lovely.”
“He is seeking new victims. He wishes to replace what he once had,” Godric said solemnly. “That means he will create more vampires.”
“What does he want?” Jeremy demanded.
At the same time, I asked, “What is he after?”
Godric snorted, shaking his head. “I imagine Rico and I will be just as bad, in the fullness of time.”
As if on cue, the side door opened. Bryan stepped out, holding Michael’s shotgun, which he immediately leveled at Godric’s midsection. “Huh. I thought I smelled trouble.”
Godric sighed. “I’m not here for him. Yet.”
“Over my dead body,” Bryan said, cocking the weapon. “That’s never going to happen.”
It wouldn’t kill Godric, but it would hurt like hell.
The ancient vampire shook his head. “I will treat him well. You yourself are mated, are you not? You must know that all I want is to make him happy. I do not understand the problem.”
Bryan narrowed his eyes. “The problem is, he’s barely old enough to vote—and you’re about a billion years old. Plus, you’re mean and evil.”
“He’s quite protective. You might want to listen to him,” I told Godric. “Besides, I assume you didn’t come here just to announce Magnus was moving. There’s more, isn’t there?”
Godric nodded. “He is in Los Angeles.”
I stared, confused. “He turned Rookwood, and now he’s headed for a big city? Why? He can’t possibly plan to turn everyone in LA into a vampire.”
“That was a message to me: he will do as he pleases, and there is little I can do to stop him. He is not going to Los Angeles to repeat his efforts in Rookwood,” Godric said grimly.
Then he paused, as if weighing his words.
“He is intent on seeking out a powerful ally. Someone who will help him without moral qualms.”
I stared, waiting for the other shoe to drop. When it didn’t, I asked, “Who?”
Godric drew a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “He intends to make Nicolas his right hand. Just as I once was.”
Everyone froze, including me. There was absolute silence.
His words made no sense. How could he be after my brother? Nicolas was dead.
I couldn’t articulate the whole thought. Instead, I managed, “How?”
Godric’s gaze met mine dead-on. “Your brother is still alive, Thierry. And we need to get to him before Magnus does.”
“Holy shit,” Bryan breathed.
I swayed, as if I had been struck. Jeremy caught me, slipping an arm around my waist.
Emotions whipsawed through me. The ice in my glass clinked as my hand trembled. I had spent centuries believing Nicolas was dead. That I had killed him. Guilt, grief, despair—all of it came roaring back.
But mingled with everything else was a sudden, awful hope.
That was perhaps the worst part of all of it.
Because while happy endings sometimes happened, how could this be one?
Even if we summoned his fated mate and restored his humanity, how on earth could Nicolas live with eight centuries of blood on his hands?
I’ve got you, Jeremy promised, his words steady in my mind. Whatever happens next, we’ll do it together. Forever.
After several excruciating moments, I met Godric’s gaze. Conviction settled over me, sharper than anything I’d ever felt before. “When do we leave?”
THE END