Chapter 13
I drove around town, searching for Lydia in her favorite stores.
I recalled our first date—how we’d kissed under the drifting snow.
Her beautiful face and wild eyes sparkling in the fading light.
It was killing me, the thought that she might be in danger, that I might never see her again.
I couldn’t believe I’d ever pushed her away. What had I been thinking?
I’d loved Lydia far longer than I’d known, and the fear of losing her twisted through me like a knot I couldn’t undo.
Finally, I realized where she might be.
I stopped at the park and walked over to the frozen lake as the first flurry of snowfall hit the ground.
My heart leapt with relief when I saw her heavy parka and the tiny frozen crystals landing in her familiar light brown hair.
Pausing for a moment, I took several deep breaths until the anxiety balled inside me finally unraveled.
I sat on the bench and debated between yelling or hugging her senseless. Instead, I said, “Lydia, everyone has been out of their minds with worry.”
She looked up at me with no surprise, as if she’d expected me to simply walk up and start talking to her. “And what about you?” she said quietly.
“What about me?”
“Were you worried?”
I let out a slow breath. “Of course I was.”
“How worried?”
I ran a hand through my hair and peered out over the lake, currently empty of ice skaters, not sure how I wanted to answer that.
“Worried enough to come looking for me,” she said. “And to be relieved yet upset when I was found. My family tried to lock me up. Keep me away from you. I won’t be kept down, Wickham.”
“They’re trying to keep you safe, Lydia.”
“And I’m trying to keep you safe,” she said fiercely.
At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to kiss those stubborn, beautiful lips.
“Besides,” she continued. “When that attacker reached for me and you knocked him against the wall, his phone fell out of his pocket without him realizing.” She lifted her hand to reveal the cell phone she held.
“You took his phone?”
Lydia smiled. “There’s a spell to unlock it, but it’s sensitive to surrounding technology. So I came out here.” She handed me the unlocked phone. “Do you recognize any of the numbers?”
I took the phone from her, a little in awe of her cleverness, but forced myself to focus on the recent calls list she’d pulled up. The first number on the list jumped out at me. “This one. It’s the same area code as Pemberley.”
“Prince Valemont’s home?”
“Same area.”
“Could it be the prince’s number?”
“It’s not,” I said too quickly. I’d definitely recognize that number.
She gazed at me with wide eyes. “George Wickham. Do you have the prince’s number? How good of friends are you?”
I supposed it was time to tell her. “You can’t tell anyone, but Darcy and Prince Valemont are the same person.”
Her eyes somehow grew even wider. “Seriously? And you never told me?”
“It wasn’t my secret to tell. Now, focus. We’re trying to find out who this phone belongs to.”
“Right.” She gazed at the phone in her hands. “So whoever is attacking us could be someone close to Darcy.”
I stared at the number. What did this mean?
I still didn’t believe or want to believe that Darcy was behind this.
After the backlash he’d gotten over it, it seemed unlikely.
Then who could it be? Could it be Pam Smoot, or her brother, or even both?
Were they working with someone close to Darcy to make it look like vampires were out of control?
But as far as I knew, only Darcy and Georgiana were aware I was a vampire, and I at least partially trusted them not to tell anyone else.
“Come on, Lydia. Let’s get you home,” I said, rising.
She turned and looked at me. “You think I’m going to sit at home while someone frames you for murder?”
“Lydia, you don’t understand. I—” I ducked my head.
“What is there to understand? I know you care about me, but I can take care of myself and—”
“I was dating this woman, Sephira, when I got turned.” After all the fear and worry, the words came out of me. I needed to tell her. I needed her to understand.
Lyda stilled and didn’t say a word. The snow had picked up and fell around us in frozen silence.
“Sephira and I went out after a concert with my bandmates at this restaurant. We were having a good time, and we were the last to leave. As I was unlocking my Jeep, this dark figure came out of nowhere.” I grimaced, the memory playing in my head like a waking nightmare.
“I was attacked first, and you know that after they bite you, you’re under their power.
Sephira tried to run away, but our attacker was too fast. I wanted to stop him, protect her… but—”
“You couldn’t,” she said softly.
“I had to watch, thinking he was going to kill her. I felt completely helpless.”
“He turned you both in the end.”
I placed my head in my hands, the ache of that horrible memory never gone.
“I failed. I couldn’t protect or save her.
And ever since then, death has only followed me.
After that, we stayed together for a time.
We were going through the same thing. But her new abilities seemed to heighten some of her personality traits, mainly her obsessive, manipulative behavior and clinginess.
It wasn’t long after that we broke up.” I turned to face Lydia.
“But that’s not the point. Don’t you see?
If you stay with me, I can’t keep you safe. ”
She laid a hand on my shoulder. “You don’t have to keep me safe, Wickham. I just need you to be upfront about what we’re facing. Now, admit that I can help.”
After all that had happened that day, I didn’t have it in me to pretend anymore.
I faced her and took her hand in mine. “I know you can help. You’re the most tenacious, loyal, resourceful woman I’ve ever met.
” I reached up and brushed a strand of hair from her face.
“But if anything were to happen to you, I don’t know what I would do.
Don’t you understand? You’ve captured my heart in a way nobody else has, even when I’ve tried so hard not to let it.
And seeing you get hurt would utterly destroy me. ”
She swallowed, her eyes wide and a tinge of pink to her cheeks that hadn’t been there before. “That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard anyone say.”
“But everything has changed now. If I lost you because I didn’t even try, because I pushed you away, that would be worse than anything.” I stared into her eyes. “I’m going to kiss you first this time, Lydia.”
“I think I would like that.”
My arms came around her, pulling her close, her parka soft and cold from the winter air. Behind us, the frozen lake shimmered under the pale drifting snowflakes that caught the light of the day. The trees stood still and frosted, their bare branches dusted with snow, silent witnesses to the moment.
The instant our lips met, a surge of emotion rolled through me—warmth bloomed in my chest, cutting through the crisp cold like a fire catching flame.
I tightened my hold on her, savoring the feel of her in my arms, her breath mingling with mine in small clouds that drifted upward into the winter air.
The world faded—there was no sound but the hush of wind through the pines.
I never wanted the moment to end. How had I ever thought I could be apart from this woman? I needed her near me—wanted her at my side through everything, even in the quietest, coldest places.
When she pulled back, we were both a little breathless, our cheeks flushed from more than just the cold.
“No more annulments,” Lydia said.
“No more. We’re in this together,” I answered.
Lydia pulled from my arms, and I saw the wheels turning in her head.
“Together, yes. If the killer is fae and someone with power, the only way we’re going to defeat them is together.
I mean all together. The killer won’t come out of hiding, but we have something they want.
Me.” Her eyes flashed with excitement. “We can flush them out.”
A cold rush swept through me, draining the color from my face. “Lydia, I just told you how losing you would destroy me.”
“Then let’s formulate a plan to ensure my safety, Wickham. Just let it be one where I can play the part I need to.”
“Okay, but one more thing. If we remain married, I want us to make the lovers’ pact.”
Her nose wrinkled. “The what?”
“You’ve never heard of it? I’m not surprised. It’s something only vampires can do with those they claim as their mate. I learned about it when I was on tour with my band.”
“Sure, rub your many travels and cultural literacy in the face of this small-town girl.”
I chuckled. “I don’t think this small-town girl is going to be so small anymore if she’s married to me.”
She squealed, throwing her arms around me. “You mean it? I can come on tour with you?”
“First, we do the lovers’ pact. Then find the killer, and after that we talk about seeing the world.”
“Right,” she said, dropping back onto the bench, nodding. “Priorities. Tell me more about this lovers’ pact.”
“We both choose a stone and we whisper our promises to each other over them. Then whenever we have the stone, we can feel our bond, communicate, and even access each other’s powers.”
“Okay, I like that.” Lydia looked around and stepped up to a nearby tree where she dug through the shallow snowdrift. She picked up a small stone. “I found mine.” She smiled.
I walked over and grabbed a rock that was sitting next to hers.
“Now what?” she asked, her eyes shining excitedly.
“We bind ourselves with our promises.” I placed the stone in my palm. “Lydia Bennet, I swear to you to always be faithful, to always keep you by my side, and to let you soar and never hold you back.”
Lydia’s grin grew. “Now I want to kiss you again.”
I took her hand and placed the stone flat on her palm. “Now it’s your turn.”
“George Wickham. I swear to you to always be there for you, whatever you need. To fight for us when times are hard, and to never give up on us.”
Our stones began to glow, and I felt the power of the lovers’ pact surrounding us. Lydia’s eyes grew wide. “It’s working!”
The stones stopped glowing, and I detected a faint lavender tint around Lydia. Her aura. Lydia saw auras, so now I could see them. The pact was already working.
Wow, this is amazing—the sights, the sounds, Lydia’s voice sounded in my head. Everything is different when you’re a vampire!
And your aura is beautiful, I thought.
Oh, my goodness! We can talk through our minds?
When we both have the stones on us.
Wickham, your mind is very unorganized. I love this. Not hiding anything from each other, she thought.
If you grow tired of it, you can set the stone aside, but then you can no longer access thoughts or powers.
That’s probably good, too.
Hey, Lydia?
Yeah?
I love you.
Her expression lit up like the light of the sun. “And I love you.”
The breeze blew the snowflakes around us, and I held her close, savoring her nearness in the chilled winter air. Lydia was my sunlight.
We still had a killer to find, and I had no clue what was to come. But I never should’ve tried to do things on my own. Lydia was right. I would be stronger with her by my side.