Then…she vanished.
“I think I like her,” Annette said. “She has style.”
Style and the ability to kill with a thought. Scary.
“Even if a…nightmare…were to somehow wake him…” Annette laced her fingers with Paris’s. “Vincent wouldn’t go anyplace. Before the crypt was sealed shut, I took the liberty of making a circle around his coffin. He’s not getting out.” She brought Paris’s hand to her lips. “Time for us to go, love. Cemeteries…they’re just not that sexy to me.”
He laughed. “Time to go.”
Annette and Paris had taken just a few steps when the voodoo queen hesitated and glanced back at Jane. “It could have ended differently.”
A chill skated over Jane’s spine.
“The bond between you and Aidan could have been weaker…we could have all lost everything.” Her gaze darted to the crypt. “And someone else could have been inside there.”
“Who?” Jane asked.
Annette just gave her a sad smile. “It’s nice to know that fate isn’t always determined. We can change things. If we love enough, if we fight hard enough.” Her breath expelled in a soft rush. “I’ll see you again, soon, Mary Jane Hart.”
Jane watched Annette and Paris walk away, her friend’s words still rolling through her mind. If we love enough, if we fight hard enough…
Maybe people just had to fight harder for the ones they loved.
When she couldn’t see Annette and Paris any longer, she sidled closer to Aidan and cleared her throat. “I stopped by to see Dr. Bob.” He’d hugged her until she’d thought she might pass out from the pressure of his grip. Apparently, the man had been very glad they’d all survived another battle. “He confirmed your suspicions…your cells aren’t aging any longer. You’re…you’re like me that way.”
His hand curled under her chin and he gazed down at her. “So that means I have forever, with you.”
“Yes.”
He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. She rose onto her toes, loving that gentle touch. Loving him.
“So, my Jane,” Aidan murmured. “What do you want to do with forever?”
She stared into his eyes. Her family was gone—her brother buried. Had Drew changed his mind at the end? Realized that what she was, it wasn’t so bad? Jane liked to think that he had. He’d saved her, for a second time, and the last word he’d spoken…
It had been love.
The girl she’d been so long ago still loved her brother, despite everything.
And the woman she was…she loved the man before her. More than anything.
“What do I want to do?” Jane asked. She smiled at him. “I was thinking maybe we’d take a vacation.”
He blinked.
“Go someplace…far away from death. Take a break from murder.” Her hand pressed over his heart. “Get naked and make love as often as possible.”
“Sounds like a fucking fine plan to me.” His words were a rumble.
It was time for them to get away. They’d fought their battles, good had won and now…
Forever was about to begin.
There would be no end for them. There would just be life—good and bad and everything in between. But during those long days and nights, they’d be together.
Happy.
Living their life. Loving each other…with a bond that was stronger than blood. Stronger than death.
One that was soul deep.
Vampires and werewolves didn’t have to be enemies. Sometimes, they could be perfect mates.
Jane and Aidan walked out of the cemetery, and they left the dead behind.
The End
###
If you enjoyed the Bitter Blood, keep reading for an excerpt from THE WOLF WITHIN, Purgatory, Book 1.
The Wolf Within (Purgatory, Book 1)
FBI Special Agent Duncan McGuire spends his days—and his nights—tracking real-life monsters. Most humans aren’t aware of the vampires and werewolves that walk among them. They don’t realize the danger that they face, but Duncan knows about the horror that waits in the darkness. He hunts the monsters, and he protects the innocent. Duncan just never expects to become a monster. But after a brutal werewolf attack, Duncan begins to change…and soon he will be one of the very beasts that he has hunted.
Dr. Holly Young is supposed to help Duncan during his transition. It’s her job to keep him sane so that Duncan can continue working with the FBI’s Para Unit. But as Duncan’s beast grows stronger, the passion that she and Duncan have held carefully in check pushes to the surface. The desire that is raging between them could be a very dangerous thing…because Holly isn’t exactly human, not any longer.
As the monsters circle in, determined to take out all of the agents working at the Para Unit, Holly and Duncan will have to use their own supernatural strengths in order to survive. But as they give up more of their humanity and embrace the beasts within them both, they realize that the passion between them isn’t safe, it isn’t controllable, and their dark need may just be an obsession that could destroy them both.
The Wolf Within - Chapter One