Colton comes at me, lifting his claws in the air for a final blow and as the sun glints on the red stained mess of his sharp talons I look at his face one last time. His human form, the face of the boy who devastates my soul with just a look and even now, it melts all my defenses away. I've missed this face, even if his mind is not behind it.
That tanned perfection of a handsome male, the straight dark slash of eyebrows over unfamiliar soulless eyes. His squared jawline, his subtle etch of dimples, even though he's not smiling but scowling instead. Even like this, about to deliver a last blow, I can't hate him. My heart belongs to him and fills with the fresh ache of finally seeing him as his own face once again, after so many days, and I start to softly cry. Resigned to a goodbye and glad that it will be this sight I leave the world with.
Colton makes his move, no hesitation in his purpose, and I squeeze my eyes shit tight as I tense and prepare for the piercing pain
I zoom past trees, skim over fallen logs and under overhanging debris, aware I’m slower once more and I tire faster, but I fight on anyway. I need to see this through and be there to lead my people home when victory is ours. I owe them so much and from what I can see as all remaining wolves head hard towards the mountain in one wave, our numbers vast. We didn’t seem to lose many to fighting our brothers. In fact, as I skim the faces around me, I can’t feel the sense of loss that I did earlier, and I wonder if it was merely their pain and not death.Not one single wolf death. We did what we set out to do. Break the spell without any losses. Carmen mind links me, seemingly understanding why I’m looking around as we run and I blanche, my heart rising in delirious happiness because I truly thought there would be an aftermath of grief and despair when the turned found out they killed some of our own. That our victory wou
Lorey, what in the hell is going on?Colton walks to me in the open hall space and closes the gap between us, pulling me to him and focusing full back on me. Finally looking for answers now he’s done what was needed and I catch sight of Meadow and Cesar turning human and embracing several feet behind him. My heart happy with the sight of her, okay, and reunited with her mate. My heart swells to bursting and I can finally feel at peace, feeling that my pack are all intact and safe. My gut confirming it.Colton pulls me to him as he stays in wolf, linking me mentally and cradles my face in his hand, careful not to hurt me with his claws. Being so gentle it just breaks down my last defenses and despite his filthiness, I curl against him and hold on tight. Embracing one another for a moment, feeling the high rate of his wolf heart and the excessive heat coming from this mountain of a body. He pulls me backwards to look at him and I just gaze adoringly, drink
The homestead is eerily silent since we returned. There’s been a strange atmosphere in the whole Homestead and even the village out back seems still and devoid of noise. Everyone is home licking their wounds, absorbing the reality of what we just did and went through, and homes are filled with warm reunions and an aura of hope. The air is lighter, brighter and the fog is completely gone. It feels like something huge is now settling to dust yet spirits are high despite the need for peace.Colton is sat on the bed drying his hair after the third shower he took to rid himself of a weeklong buildup of debris, grime, and of course, Vampire blood. Something he does when he needs to think for a while, and I know he probably wanted space from me to let the remainder of his anger fizzles a little. Even though now, I’m laid on the bed behind him and he seems so much calmer than before.I’m resting after a soak in the tub in our other bathroom where I took time
“Ten years ago, it was about all wolves… a species that dared to kill his woman and his unborn child for merely existing. When he found out she lived and died at the hands of the Santo pack and he thought his child too, he concentrated his hatred on one pack alone.” Leyanne wanders casually across the floor, shrugging as she goes, and all eyes follow her. An awkward quiet around the room instantly as we all digest this.“That’s why the fog stayed only with us and them … nothing further out. We saw no vampires in our entire trip to find Leyanne.” Meadow fills in the blanks, adding to what I guess she spoke to the witch about, and brings my mind to the truth of her observation. Outside the Santo domain, we never picked up on a single vampire in eight hours of cross-country travel. Not one sense of them, no scent in the air at all. It’s why Leyanne didn’t care about leaving us out in the darkness alone. She knew we weren&rs
“I do. I happened upon some helpful hints in a grimoire or two in my luggage that gave me some answers. We’re lucky enough to be in a part of the world that grows what I need, so I’ll be back before we leave…. I have to go find some very rare plants.” That upbeat tone of a woman who is smug with her new discovery and confident in her own remedies.“Wait.” Colton hesitates, grabbing her arm as she moves to pass and my heart stops in my chest, which is already hammering like a war drum. I know he’s hesitating about whether he wants this or not. He probably has the same thoughts swirling in his head as I do about the outcome should Sierra be free of my life burden.“This is a good thing, Cole…. Sierra and Alora unbound. Sierra is already so far through her life cycle, Alora has barely begun ….. you know when Sierra’s time comes, Alora will leave too if they are still bound.” Meadow is the voi
The day passes like a blink and it feels like time is sand in my fingertips, that I can’t stop from filtering away no matter how hard I try. Clinging on with anxious determination, yet it slips right through. Like an awful countdown to something I don’t want but can’t run from, and I know this is inevitable and everything before was leading us back to this moment.To the mountain that was once our home, to the man that started everything and the fight we have been avoiding, to stay alive. Fate really did make sure that we had no choice but to come full circle, ready to battle and put things to rights in the oddest turn of events. The wars, the prophecy, the people involved in everything that came before…. we are all convening in the place where it began. The mountain. The Santo Valley.Jasper is coming back to the place that I watched him walk away from with my family a decade ago, to avenge their death, whether I want him to or not. Everything
I steady my hands on my lap and screw my eyes shut forcing myself to calm my racing heart and breathe as slowly as I can, nerves eating me inside out and I am trying not to show it.Sat in the dark interior of one of our trucks, in the rear, listening and waiting patiently as the sun goes down. Colton and the twins are out running the perimeter of where we wait to get as close to the mountain as possible.We have a convoy of a dozen trucks all nestled together in a deep dark forest on the far eastern side of the valley below the mountain. A place that took us half the day to get to because of our long detour to go all the way around in a wide berth to a part that Juan can't see from his position. We needed to be close before sunset and yet we needed to be hidden incase Juan got any ideas about starting a battle before the real threat arrived.We know from some of our pack that the mountain too had been released from the fog spell at the same time as we were and
The tension of the cool night air prickles my skin and I watch in dismay as the wolves nearby scatter off into the preplanned groups and move towards the village. Leaving me feeling like we are vulnerable and few. They are to try and gain alliance with those we left behind, from the shadows, and we’re to wait here as a front line for the invaders heading our way. They will drive us back towards the valley where we will be met with reinforcements and hopefully will have thinned out the invaders a little.The witch can see them coming and we don’t have long yet it seems like it’s already been hours. Tense and hidden and waiting as our numbers lessen and our pack melts into the village to try and reinforce us with the ones we left behind. We need the numbers to stand a chance, and to avoid a collision with Juan beforehand in case we get distracted. Juan won’t focus only on them, but his desire to see Colton fall will push his hatred both ways.My h