His voice hitched, and he clenched his jaw to keep the emotion at bay. Her heart broke all over again. Sobs welled up for Dillon. For what Devon had gone through—what he was still going through.
“I’m sorry about Dillon,” she said, putting her palms on either side of Devon’s face. “I’m so sorry. I should have realized. Macy left me a note.”
He nodded, his eyes glassy, clearly not trusting his voice to speak.
She didn’t know what else to say. He wouldn’t accept her guilt, she knew, and it wouldn’t make anything better. So she simply wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, feeling him tremble against her. He’d been hurting but with no one to lean on. It was lonely being at the top.
Except now he had her. He was her protection when she needed it, and she was his comfort when he couldn’t brave life on his own. Together they were each other’s support through this crazy magical world. She said as much.
“I love you, Charity,” he said, and captured her lips with his. “I love you so much.”
She deepened their kiss, losing herself in the feel of him. In the thrill of his magic and his touch. In his wildness. “Take me to bed.”
He swung her up into his arms and stalked across the yard to the back door. “I’ll take you for forever.”EpilogueThe soft evening light filtered through the clouds as Charity stepped from the large SUV. Macy and Andy followed her out, annoying Kairi and Hallen, who were supposed to be right behind her in all dangerous situations.
Charity held two notes in her trembling hands, her teeth gritted against her rising emotion. Both notes had been written by Vlad, the second having been delivered by a courier shortly after she’d settled in with Devon. Vlad had lived up to his word—possibly—by giving her the address of her mother as well as an invitation to travel there in his private jet.
She’d declined his invitation immediately. Any half-sane person would. But it had taken her much longer to decide what she wanted to do with the information he’d given her. She had a good thing going at the moment, and she just wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear why her mother had left her and never looked back. Her father had insisted it was her choice.
Devon had asked her to move in permanently. She was no longer in a temporary housing setup; now she had a solid foundation with a man she adored. This was made infinitely more special when her father had exchanged Realm gold for Brink dollars and purchased a few houses for their people. He was already hard at work on the gardening, and Halvor was hard at work kicking Charity’s ass in the guise of training.
The only thing that was still on the fence was how the warrior fae would coexist with the shifters. Roger had offered Charity her old job back, and Devon had mentioned that his people would be happy if she fought for the beta role, but after a word with her father, she’d declined both offers. First, Dillon’s passing still tore her up inside. She’d had a good cry with Macy, and although no one blamed Charity, it would seem wrong to fill a hole she’d created.
Most importantly, though, she was an Arcana of the guardians—or custodes, if she wanted to be formal about it. She had duties to her people, and her people apparently had duties to the Realm. They could not join a pack, they were a pack, and the two peoples needed to communicate regarding the best way for them to join forces. Something the Red Prophet, who was staying with the guardians at the moment, kept muttering about. Well, that and her need to meet her nemesis.
After a couple of months, having missed the summer quarter and not long before classes started for fall again, Charity had finally given in to temptation with regards to her mother. Ultimately, it was simple—she just wanted to see her again.
She wasn’t the only one.
Her father stepped out of the SUV parked beside hers as their backup, mostly shifters, emerged from cars, trucks, and SUVs, all massed together in the dusty parking lot in front of a large white building stretching out across browning grass. A sign arched over the front entrance.
Brackner’s Home for the Terminally Ill.
The feeling left Charity’s legs. She dropped like a stone, nearly hitting the ground, before Devon’s strong arms wrapped around her and hoisted her back up. Her father looked down on her with concern.
“She’s dying,” Charity heard herself say through numb lips.
“Or she is a nurse,” Devon said. “We won’t know until we check.”
“Yes, Charity, the Alpha Shifter is correct. We do not know the situation until we gain more information.” Romulus put his hand on Charity’s shoulder. “She might not be here at all. This could be an elaborate trap by my cunning elder vampire pen pal. He plans his strategies the same way I plan my gardens, I think. He aims for all the flowers to bloom at once. Night flowers, in his case, no less beautiful. I half hope he will meet us here. Why else would he recommend we come near sundown?”