Nightwolf

She scrambles back along the tiles until her back hits the wall, like she’s trying to escape the wound.

“It’s going to heal,” Lenore tells her, cautiously approaching her, palms raised. “It’s going to heal. It’s already starting. Look.”

Amethyst stares down in horror. Though it’s not happening very fast, the blood is starting to coagulate, the corners of the wound closing in.

She looks back at Lenore. “What the fuck?”

I bite back a laugh. It sounds like Amethyst alright.

“I’m sorry,” Lenore says. “You died and you wouldn’t come back. Nothing worked. Then Wolf had to bite a hole in your chest, to get at your heart.”

Amethyst looks to me now with wide eyes. “You did what?”

“If it helps, I did it for you,” I tell her, but I can’t help the smile splitting my face in two. “How do you feel?”

“I don’t know, like I fucking died,” she says. She eyes Lenore sharply. “You never mentioned anything about tearing up my chest. You said you were going to pour your blood in my mouth and that was it.”

“Seems it was a little more complicated than she remembered,” Solon says, his tone is soft and good-natured, even though I know he’s still angry underneath for what went down.

I am too, it’s just…I have to let that shit go for now.

Fear, anger, I have to let all of that go.

She’s here.

She’s really here.

“My god,” Amethyst says, staring down at her chest. “I’m actually healing.” She looks up at me, holding my gaze in awe. “I really am a vampire. Aren’t I?”

“I’m assuming so,” I tell her. “Though you probably need more blood. And you probably need to feed soon. I don’t know if you’re going to go through all the stages we do with The Becoming, but you need to be prepared.”

“But if you do, I don’t want to volunteer,” Lenore quickly puts in. “I love you and all, but I think this is Wolf’s job from now on.”

Amethyst swallows, licking her lips, her eyes going red for a moment. “Aren’t I supposed to feed off of humans?”

“You’ll be okay with Wolf for now,” Solon suggests. “Then you can figure out where to go from there.”

“Okay,” she says quietly. “Because I don’t want to just go around biting people. I mean, it’s weird, I totally understand that my body needs blood now, like how people need water. It just feels like a fact to me. But it’s going to take me time to, you know…come to terms with how I get it.”

She looks a little squeamish.

“You can do it the same way I do,” I tell her. “I’ll take care of it for you.”

“You better,” she says in a flinty tone. “You have a fuckload of grovelling to do. In fact, I’m still fucking pissed at you.”

Shame washes over me like an oil spill. “I know. And I deserve it.”

“Since we’re airing grievances,” Solon says, “can I mention how furious I am at the both of you girls for pulling this bloody nonsense? Lenore, you knew better than to do this to Amethyst. And Amethyst, you knew better than to think this was a good idea. You almost died. You did die. And you were this close to not coming back.” He glares at them, pressing his fingers together in show. “You took the biggest risk, all for this asshole over here.” He jerks his thumb at me. “And I’m still not sure that he’s worthy of it.”

Silence and tension fall upon the room. We all look away, letting Solon’s words wash over us. As harsh as they were, they’re true.

I swallow, realizing my redemption starts now.

“I’m not sure either,” I find myself saying. “But I’m going to do everything I can to be worthy of you, baby.”

I stare at her, begging for her to meet my eyes.

She finally does.

I see our whole future inside them.

Or maybe I’m just seeing what I want to see.

What if the Amethyst that died isn’t the same one that came back?

Chapter 21

Amethyst

I’m very aware that everyone in the room is staring at me.

I’m very aware of everything, actually.

From everyone’s distinct smell, to the sounds of things skittering in the walls, to what I can only assume are auras and colors that human eyes can’t see—I’m picking up on everything all at once, making it hard to concentrate.

“I know you’re overwhelmed,” Solon says to me gently. “Try your best to ignore it for now.”

I swallow uneasily and stare down at my chest. The wound is almost closed up now. It’s been insane to watch happen. I mean, it’s fucking insane to be able to see your heart actually beating in your chest, and it’s just as nuts to see your skin healing in front of your eyes.

That’s really all the proof I need that it worked.

That I died and Lenore brought me back from the dead as a vampire.