Page 53 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

“He’s going to want to fight,” Mena warned.

I held Mena’s gaze, unflinching. “We’ll fight together.”

Surprise crested on Mena’s features before it fell into a gentle, lulling wave of understanding. She glanced at Kylo again.

“Nothing will happen to either of them,” he said with all the confidence of a vampire lord.

Mena sat back in her chair. “Good.”

“Thank you, Mena,” I said. My chest ached as I smiled. “For the tea.”

Mena winked. “Always.”

I’d already moveda great deal of my things to Kylo’s estate, but this second round of packing and harvesting from my garden felt like a much more permanent goodbye.

A goodbye to who I once was. The version of myself that had hid from the world. The version of myself that had kept Idris and me safe the best she knew how.

Kylo kissed my temple as I dug my fingers into the soil and closed my eyes. The summer breeze kissed my skin, the sunlight a soothing balm. I was blessed to be a child of both Helia and Selena, the sun and the moon, an eternal dance of light and dark.

“Whatever you need to feel comfortable, baby, just let me know,” Kylo said. “I don’t care what it is, how expensive or how hard it is to make or find, I will get you anything you desire to make you feel at home with me.”

I carefully pulled back my hands. “Thank you.”

The reverent words were for both Kylo and the earth.

“And of course you know I’ll do everything in my power to protect Mena and this land.”

I’d be sure to add more of my own protection spells and wards too.

I nodded, leaning into his touch as I surveyed the gardens. I took in the birdbaths and marble figures, the tiny table where I loved to read, and the space between rose bushes where I often lay out a picnic blanket. Lastly, I studied the looming cottage with its cozy pastel interior and spell room with a pink altar.

I knew I wouldn’t be far, and I’d always be welcome here. But it would never be the same again. My roots had shifted to new land, new people, and a new purpose. I would become a visitor to the place that raised me, the place that used to be the center of my world.

My world was infinitely bigger now. Still, I grieved. My breath was shaky, my lips wobbly. I let Kylo hold me as I said goodbye to the childhood I never had, the adolescence Mena graciously made safe, and to the woman I became through blood and sacrifice and devotion.

Thank you.

18

KYLO

In my study, I reflected on the progress I’d made with Evie these past two weeks. I worked tirelessly to rebuild our trust. I answered all of her questions, even when I feared she might see too much of me.

It healed something deep inside her every time I read to her or washed her hair or cooked her food. I forced her to say her new mantra,I’m not sorry,at every opportunity. I watched the way it lit up those pretty gray eyes with the light so many had tried to steal.

Evie had also made progress in learning Princeton’s magick and wielding her shadows, and Idris improved in controlling his bloodlust.

Generally, it wasn’t this difficult for clan newborns to temper bloodlust, as we’d developed a system that began even before turning to mitigate the aftereffects. Idris’s process was different, but he was also strong. Just like his sister.

“There have been additional sightings of those unidentified rabid beasts,” Blade said as he entered my study in the underground. “Word on the street is that the turned and our chaos witch allies have disrupted the natural order of the universe and ripped open a portal to Lillian’s hells. The DarkMother is punishing us, and the only way to return tonormalcyand save the world is to submit to the born and ask for atonement.”

Blade’s lips formed a thin, hard line, and his auburn brows lifted.

“And bywordyou mean the borns’ carefully curated spin to paint us as the problem and them as our reasonable, benevolent protectors,” I muttered. “They’re so predictable, it’s almost boring.” I shook my head. “Whatever these beasts are, they’re clearly of born origin. Yet another scare tactic to control the narrative.”

Blade murmured his agreement.

After a careful pause, he asked, “Is she truly ready to turn a new class of vampires? We’re up to one hundred who are ready for initiation.”