[Tabitha’s POV]I keep my gaze fixed on the hole where the slowly-lightening sky can be seen. I had maybe twenty minutes at most before the sun was high enough to shine down on me. Shit, what the hell was I going to do?“Don’t look so afraid, my pet,” Titus murmurs. “This was always your fate from the moment you came into existence.”“Wouldn’t that mean it was the same fate for you?” I ask."No, because I wasn’t born a monster, I was turned, and in finally getting rid of you, my true love will forgive me and bring me and my people out of the shadows.”“Your true love?” I repeat as I feel my consciousness being tugged on.Gasping, I feel my eyes roll into the back of my head as images of a beautiful field with white flowers swaying in the breeze appear. Standing in the field are Titus and a woman with flowing blonde hair and bright golden eyes. She wears a white gown that is almost transparent, allowing the perfect view of her body beneath.Instantly, I feel a sense of familiarity and

[Tabitha’s POV]I feel like I’m floating. In the blissful darkness that surrounds me, I’m weightless. My body drifts in and out of what I can only assume is oblivion. Did this mean that I died? If I did, I could only hope by this point that Vance and Atticus would be able to defeat Titus, and if not... Well, there was nothing I could do at this point.Letting out a sigh, I try to drift away again so that the worry I’m beginning to feel doesn’t continue to haunt me. However, with each passing minute, I can feel my consciousness becoming clearer and clearer until I can’t remain oblivious, and it’s frustrating.Slowly, I begin to open my eyes, but I have to close them again as dazzling light attacks them, and when I open them again, I have to squint.Frowning, I begin to take in the area around me, trying to determine exactly what was happening and where I was. Was this the afterlife? But how could it be? As a sinner and a member of the undead, wouldn’t hell be the place to which I belon

[Tabitha’s POV]I wait until Atticus disappears out of the room and the sound of his steps grows distant before turning my gaze to Vance, who is watching me curiously. I was sure that he was curious why I was still standing here. I wanted to speak with him alone. And probably, what the hell was I even doing?“Promise me,” I begin, deciding there was no point in beating around the bush. “That you won’t disappear.”I knew I was asking a lot, and I wouldn’t blame him for denying my request. Technically, it was because of my existence that his brother and father are now gone. And that his clan was undergoing something so serious. But I didn’t want to lose the one solid thing I had beside me.“I know I'm asking a lot and that you don’t owe me, but..."“Shut up.”Leaning forward, Vance grabs my chin and then presses his lips against mine. Immediately, the world and all the fucking problems we are facing disappear, and all I can feel is him. Is it because of his mark on me? Because of everyt

[Tabitha’s POV]“Then we have tonight.”If you asked me if this was the outcome I was expecting after taking down Titus and ending one threat, I would say no. I wasn’t an overflowing fucking optimist, but to know that in the end, the ones who stood beside me through this time would disappear one by one was a punch to the gut.Atticus would be leaving to go to the unseelie court, Vance would need time to calm his clan and gain control, and Anthony was gone and would never be back.“I think the lady wants you,” JD chuckles, breaking the silence that had fallen around us. “Why are you just standing there?”“Shut up,” Atticus growls, reaching out and grabbing me.It doesn’t take long for us to arrive back at Atticus’ home, and the minute we step in the door, my clothes are being ripped off along with his. Once they’re out of the way, Atticus is dropping to his knees and burying his face in my folds.“Atticus,” I gasp, spreading my legs wider. “The door.”“Fuck the door,” he growls, contin