Page 44 of Healer’s Reckoning (The Healer’s #3)

Ava

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I turn around, so I can see the full view in the mirror.

“You love that dress,” Sherese reminds me. “You picked it out.”

I stare at the gorgeous black. “I do love it, but I don’t know what I was thinking when I picked out a black dress for my mating ceremony. I should have gone with white.” I groan. “This is going to be a disaster.”

“Okay, first of all, breathe. You’re freaking out for no reason. Stop.”

“Everybody is going to be there, and I chose black—”

“It’s perfect,” she cuts me off. “Ava, the guy bought you all black underwear. I’m pretty sure he has a thing for black.”

“He just did that because I told him I prefer black underwear. What if he doesn’t like this dress and—”

“Oh, my word, you are a mess. Stop. He's going to swallow his tongue when he sees you in this dress. Now, stop.”

I shake my head. “What if I embarrass his family?” I groan again. “His mom. She’s going to die when she sees this dress and think—”

“The Ava I know doesn’t care what anybody thinks, remember?” She steps into my line of sight in the mirror. “I would give anything to have a man look at me the way Bryce looks at you, Ava. Every. Single. Time. That's a man who loves you deeply. You’re not going to risk that love by wearing the wrong dress; it’s not possible. That man would die for you.” Her words are soft, almost gentle, so unlike what I’m used to from the vampire.

“He is pretty wonderful,” I agree.

“And he loves you. Focus on that.”

I take a deep breath and try to calm my racing heart. I turn to her and give her a hug. “Thanks, Sherese.” She’s stiff, but I’m the last one in the world to let it bother me. I totally get it. “I don’t think you’re going to have to look very hard to find somebody that looks at you like Bryce looks at me,” I say softly. We usually dance around this particular elephant in the room, but tonight, I feel the need to remind her.

She steps back, quiet and doesn’t respond. I want to ask how things are going with Hunter, but she won’t say. I know because I’ve asked her a hundred times. I don’t know what happened between them, but he’s been absent the last few weeks. She won’t talk about him. I try to just stay out of it, knowing it will sort itself out eventually...hopefully. Otherwise, I am not afraid to intervene. There’s a knock on my bedroom door, and I turn towards it. “Bryce, that had better not be you.”

“It’s not,” a female voice calls out.

My eyes widen. “Rose?” I stride over to the door and open it, revealing my friend.

She beams at me. “Surprise.”

I hug her fiercely. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“We’re all here,” a voice calls out, and my eyes widen. I walk out into the living room and take in the occupants. Emma, Talya, Sage, Madison, Samantha, Rose, and Raechel.

“You all came.”

“Of course, we came, Chica,” Raechel says with a grin. “Like we were going to miss our bestie’s big day.”

I wipe my eyes. “No tears!” Emma calls out, even as she wipes her own.

“No tears!” Sherese says, coming around the corner. “I worked on that makeup way too long for tears.”

It’s silent in the room, and I pause, trying to think best how to diffuse the situation. But Sherese beats me to it. “I’m Sherese, a vampire. Nice to meet you all.”

I elbow her. “This is Sherese, my friend ,” I emphasize.

“Hey, Sherese.” Rose is the first to recover. “We’ve met...sort of.”

“Emma,” I hear Talya ask. “Are you okay?”

I look over at Emma who’s staring at Sherese with a look I can’t decipher. “You’re her.”

I look at Sherese, but she meets my eyes with a look of confusion. She crosses her arms across her chest. “Her who?

Emma’s eyes flit over Sherese’s face like she’s trying to commit it to memory. “I've seen you in the visions I’ve had.”

The room goes utterly silent. It's Talya that first finds her tongue. “But she’s a vampire.”

Emma nods but doesn’t say anything. “Well, any friend of Ava’s is a friend of ours,” Raechel says and then strides over and puts her hand out. “I’m Raechel.” I can’t help but smile as all my old friends meet my new friend. “All right, enough of this,” Raechel says loudly. “We have a mating ceremony to get to.”

Right on cue, the front door opens, and Krista, Bryce’s sister steps inside. “Are we doing this thing or not?”

I walk next to Emma on the way to the cars. “What did you mean when you said you had visions of her?” I ask in a quiet voice, even though I already know the answer. She’s a finder; this is what she does.

Emma purses her lips before answering just as quietly. “I’m a Finder, Ava. I find humans with special abilities. Well, usually it’s humans,” she corrects.

I take in her words. “What do you think it means?”

She meets my eyes “I don’t know.” We get to the car, and I don’t get a chance to ask her anything more about it. We make the short commute to the pack house. I notice all the cars, and my breathing speeds up. I really didn’t want to do a public ceremony, but I didn’t want Bryce’s pack to think I didn’t value the ceremony. So here I am. I roll the fabric of my dress in my fingers and try to stay calm. Our noisy group makes its way inside. The girls all leave to find their seats, except Sherese and Krista. “You good?” Sherese asks.

I give her my bravest smile. “Yeah, get in there before you don’t get a seat. I’m good.”

“I’m just going to stand at the back.”

I don’t get a chance to argue with her because she’s gone a moment later. I smooth the front of my dress and try not to panic. I think I’m going to be sick.

“Hey.” Krista steps into my line of vision. “You okay, Sis?”

She’s taken to calling me that, and I’m still not used to it. I nod quickly, still trying to breathe. She says something else, but I don’t hear it. Her voice sounds so far away. I don’t think I can do this. I feel like I’m going to throw up.

Suddenly, there’s a hand on my back. My entire body relaxes, and I turn to Bryce. He doesn’t say a word; he just pulls me into his arms and does that thing where he strokes his hand up and down my spine. And just like that, I feel like I can breathe again. My heartrate slows down, and calm returns. I’ve got you.

His words bring me peace. I know.

I’m not sure how long we stand like that, but eventually, he pulls back and gives me his sexy smile. “You are breathtaking.”

I look down at my black dress uncertainly. “Do you think black is okay? Maybe I should have picked a different color.”

“Nope. Black’s my favorite color remember?” He reaches up and cups my cheek. “Say the word, Love, and I’ll send everybody away.”

“No. I’m fine. I just got nervous for a moment. Will you walk in there with me? I know I’m supposed to walk by my—”

“Yes,” he interrupts me and leans forward. “Remember, I always want you to tell me exactly what you need.” He kisses me gently. a few more moments, he takes my hand in his. “Are you ready?” I nod. “Remember, Love. We’re already mated; this is just a formality. It’s just a way for our pack and friends to celebrate with us. There’s no pressure.” I take a calming breath; I needed to hear that.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

He turns to his sister. “Are we good?”

She nods, wiping away tears. “You guys are good to go in; they’re ready for you.”

The next little bit passes in a blur, and I’m grateful for it. Finally, the ceremony finishes, and we can celebrate with our friends. The center of the room is cleared, and the music starts up. We greet our guests, and those who have already greeted us enjoy their time out on the dance floor. Bryce takes my hand when we’ve finally spoken to everybody that wanted to congratulate us. I think he’s going to lead me to the dance floor, but he leads me over to a corner of the room. “I have something for you.”

“Okay.” I have something for him, but I’ll give it to him later when we get back to the house.

He pulls an envelope out of his back pocket and holds it out to me. I eye it curiously and open it and pull out a sheet of paper with the Arizona State University logo at the top. I scan the words on the paper and then look up at him.

“It’s a full ride to Arizona State for whatever degree you want. You put your life on hold to take care of your brother and didn’t get to go to college. Now, if you want to, you can. You can go for any degree you want. You can go to classes in-person or do them online. I’ll support you however I can, whatever you need.” I stare up at him, completely blown away.

“Bryce, this is...” I shake my head. “It’s too much.”

“It’s not too much. You deserve this, Ava. Take this opportunity, Babe. You can be and do anything you want to. Explore it; go down this road and see what you want to do.”

I throw my arms around him, and his tighten around me and hold me close. Thank you, I tell him through our bond because I can’t get the words out around the emotion clogging my throat.

You’re welcome, Mate. He pulls back. “I have one more surprise for you.”

I wipe my eyes. “Bryce, I don’t know if I can handle any more tonight.”

He smiles at me. “You’ll like this one.”

“I liked the last one,” I remind him.

He takes my hand and starts through the crowd and leads me over to a young couple I don’t recognize. “Miles.” The man turns his head and smiles at Bryce before shaking his hand. Bryce puts his hand on the man’s shoulder and looks at me. “Ava, this is Miles and his mate, Hannah.” A beautiful woman stands up from the table. I smile, still trying to understand what’s going on. And then the man turns fully around, and I see the pink blanket and look down at the tiny face.

I put a hand to my mouth. “Oh.”

“And this beautiful little one is Layla,” Bryce continues in a soft voice.

“We cannot begin to thank you for what you did,” the woman begins. “Our Layla is everything to us. She—” She stops and shakes her head.

I swallow hard, trying to get control of my emotions. Bryce runs his hand down my spine. I smile and swallow thickly as I look down at the beautiful little girl. “I’m so glad she’s safe,” I manage to get out.

“We owe you for the life of our daughter,” the father says. “A life debt. If we can ever do anything for you, please let us know.”

I smile and wrap my arm around Bryce’s waist, and he pulls me close to his side. “Just love on Layla. That’s all I need,” I tell them.

We spend a few more minutes talking to them before I turn to Bryce. “Can I go see my brother for a few minutes?”

“Of course. I’ll go with you.”

“What about our guests?”

He squeezes my hand. “They’re having a great time. We won’t be gone long; nobody will even miss us.”

He leads the way to Brandon’s room, and I knock on the door and head inside. “Hey, Brandon.” He looks up from the desk where he’s writing in his journal. He spends a lot of time doing that these days; I think it’s a kind of therapy for him. He stands up, and I stare up at him.

“Sheesh, I will never get over how tall you are,” I say, shaking my head.

He smiles, and my heart squeezes. Every time he smiles, it makes it all worth it. And then he does something that just takes it to the next level. “Congratulations.” His voice is raspy, but I’ve never heard something so good in my entire life. I squeeze Bryce’s hand so tightly, I’m sure I’m hurting him.

“Brandon,” I whisper. “Can I hug you?” I ask. He nods, and I wrap my arms around his middle, something I haven’t done in over two years. It takes him a moment, but he slowly wraps his arms around me and returns the hug. The tears come, and I’m pretty sure there’s nothing I can do to stop them. A few minutes later, we head back out to the party. I’m floating on cloud nine. When I see Sherese at the edge of the room, I squeeze Bryce’s hand. “I’m going to go say hi to Sherese.”

He kisses me on the cheek. “Okay.”

“You should be out there, showing them all how it’s done.” I say as I lean against the wall next to her.

“I’d rather stay over here and stay alive, thank you.” It’s been difficult, housing a vampire here in the pack; but Bryce laid down the law with his pack and announced shortly after her arrival here that to hurt her would bring about severe consequences. So far, she’s been safe; though we keep a vigilant eye on her at all times. “Shouldn’t you be over with your mate celebrating instead of talking to me? I would think—” Her words cut off abruptly, and her entire body stiffens. Her gaze is locked on something across the room. I turn that way, and a scream rises in my throat. Panic floods my entire body, and every muscle in my body locks in response.

Rizo.

Bryce must feel my panic through the bond because he’s in my head a second later. What’s wrong? he asks sharply. I can’t respond; I can’t move a muscle. Bryce is in front of my face a second later. “Ava, what’s wrong?” His eyes scan the room, looking for a threat. When I look over Bryce’s shoulder, he’s gone; but terror still winds its way through my body.

Where is he?

Who? Bryce demands.

I frantically search the room. My eyes meet Sherese’s wide-eyed stare, and I think it hits us both at the same time. “Brandon!” I turn and run as fast as I can, but Sherese is so much faster. She’s in front of me one moment and then gone the next. I can feel Bryce next to me, but panic makes it hard to breathe, to think, to do anything. Sherese opens his door and steps out.

“He’s fine.” Her words are clipped.

Needing to see for myself, I push past her and make my way into his room. His eyes are wide as I make it into his room. They narrow in confusion, but I don’t want to panic him the way I’m panicking so I smile. “Just wanted to say good night.”

I make my way out of his room and close the door behind me. What's going on, Love? Bryce asks through our bond.

“Anybody want to tell me what that was all about?” Hunter asks in an irritated tone.

I look at Sherese, but she looks away. I guess it’s up to me. I take a deep breath and face both Hunter and Bryce. There’s no tiptoeing around this, so I just blurt it out. “Rizo is here.”

Bryce’s eyes narrow dangerously. “On pack property?”

“He was in the dining room,” I manage to get out around the thundering of my heart.

“He’s dead,” Bryce growls low.

Hunter turns around, and I don’t miss the menacing look on his face.

“Wait, stop!” Sherese says. I watch as Hunter slowly lowers his gaze to her hold on his arm. His eyes narrow dangerously. “You can’t kill him.”

Hunter’s eyes narrow even more, and a vicious smile crosses his lips. “I can’t kill him?” His words are icy.

But Sherese stands her ground and shakes her head quickly. “No.”

Hunter steps close, menace dripping from him. “Watch me.”

“If you kill him, it will kill me.”

My heart nearly stops in my chest at Sherese’s words. “What?” I demand, but she doesn’t look at me. Her eyes are on Hunter’s back, even though he hasn’t moved a muscle since she said those words.

Her defeated eyes meet mine. “He’s my sire. I haven’t been a vampire long enough to gain my independence from him. If you kill him, you kill me.”

Ice seems to freeze inside my veins as too many things click into place. In rapid succession, details seem to align themselves. She didn’t live with the other vampires. She wouldn’t drink blood from a vein. She can’t be out in the sun long, but she said she would be able to in time. Her kindness to me. Her ability to survive the change. And lastly, the fact that Emma had seen her in her visions. I feel like somebody gut punched me. “You’re a healer,” I gasp.

Her tortured eyes meet mine. “I was.” Her words are so soft, I can barely hear them. She lifts her head and pushes her shoulders back. “Now, I’m a vampire.”

I hear Bryce giving quiet commands to Hunter, but I don’t pay any attention. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She looks away from me. “Because any good that was in me is gone now, replaced with...what I am now.”

I want to argue with her, yell at her, but I know that won’t do anything to fix the situation right now. I turn back to Bryce. “Don’t let them kill him.”

“He’s long gone by now,” Sherese says without any emotion in her voice. “He accomplished what he came to do.”

“Which is?” Bryce growls.

She meets his gaze head-on. “To remind me that he owns me; that I will never be free of him.” She disappears a moment later, too fast for us to track. I stare after her before turning to Bryce as a wave of despair cascades over me.

“What are we going to do?”

He blows out a breath, and I can see he’s visibly trying to rein in his anger. He tugs me against his chest and wraps those strong, solid arms around me. “Right now, we head back to our friends. We don’t want anybody knowing anything’s wrong.” I spend a few more minutes in the safety of his arms before we head back to the party. I no longer feel like celebrating, though. It’s not long before Bryce turns to me. “Ready to head home?”

Did they catch him? I ask, but I already know the answer.

Hunter says he’s long gone by now. He wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me close. Don’t forget that you’re of no value to him now that you’re mated to me. A feeling of gratitude wells up in me for a moment, but only for a moment.

Yeah, but Sherese isn’t. He doesn’t say anything to that. We say our goodbyes and head out for the night. Bryce and I are both quiet on the drive back to his house.

“Want to go for a swim?” he asks when we park.

A few minutes later, I sit on his lap in the water with my head on his chest. So what happens next?

We’ll double up on security. His arms tighten around me. Don’t go anywhere without me or one of my guys. I’ll keep security outside the house 24-7 for the time being.

I sigh, hating the fear that threatens to wrap itself around me. I’ve worked too hard to relapse like this. I force myself to replay those moments from tonight. I think back to seeing him. My mind runs over the events of tonight, and I’m hit with something. “He wasn’t there for me.” I say the words out loud, instead of through our bond. Bryce’s body is stiff around mine. “Sherese was right. He was there for her.” I turn to look at Bryce. “He never even looked in my direction.”

He searches my eyes. “You sure you’re not just telling me that to make me worry less?” His words are rough.

“No. It’s the truth.”

He relaxes somewhat around me. “Good. We will be on guard; he only slipped in tonight because we had so many people coming and going. It won’t happen again. Aside from all that, did you have a good night?” he asks softly.

I nod against his chest. “It was amazing. Thank you.”

“Thank you.” He strokes my spine. “I love you so much. You have made me the happiest man in the world.”

I look up at him in the lights of the pool. “Bryce, I love you so much. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He smiles and leans down and captures my lips in his. When I’m breathless, I pull back. “I have a gift for you.”

“You’ve already given me the greatest gift by giving yourself to me,” he says as he nuzzles my neck. I pull away before we get too carried away and swim over to the side. “Where are you going?” he asks as he swims after me.

I climb out of the pool and dry off. He climbs out next to me, and I toss a towel at him. When I’m somewhat dry, I turn back to him, feeling suddenly nervous. “Are you ready for your gift?”

He gives me an easy smile. “Sure.”

I take a deep breath. “Okay. Close your eyes.”

He smirks. “Okay.”

Here goes nothing. “ Okay. Listen.” I hold my breath. Emma told me this would work; I really hope it does.

“Ava, what—”

“Shh,” I cut him off. “Use that shifter hearing.”

He stays quiet, and then suddenly, he goes still. His eyes flash open and then dart down to my stomach and then back to my eyes. He steps close and puts his hand on my belly. “Ava,” he breathes.

I can’t stop the smile that covers my face. I’ll admit, there’d been days when I wasn’t smiling. I was terrified when I first peed on the stick after missing my period. But I’ve had time to adjust to the news. Now, I’m just excited. I get to have a baby with the man who’s my rock in this world. I don’t think it gets any better than this. I stare into Bryce’s shocked eyes. “You ready to become a dad?” I ask him softly.

He shakes his head and rubs my stomach one more time before he takes my hand and walks me back into the water and into his arms. "How long have you known?”

“A few weeks. I wanted to wait until tonight to tell you. I was just hoping you didn’t notice before then.”

His eyes are full of concern. “I know we weren’t exactly planning on this. Are you okay with this?”

I smile. “I was terrified at first, but I’ve had time to process. I’m really excited, Bryce. I don’t really know how this will fit into the gift you gave me, but we’ll figure it out.”

“I’ll do whatever to help you out, Love.” He tugs me against his chest, and I melt into him. “I can’t believe we’re going to have a baby,” he says in awe.

“You’re going to be an amazing dad.”

“And you’re going to be the best mom.” He leans forward to kiss me, but he stops and stiffens.

I pull back. “What is it?” I hear the sound of the sliding door and whip my head that direction.

The back door slides open. “Sorry to crash the party,” Sherese calls out. “Are you naked?”

I shake my head. “No.”

“Good. Sorry, I know this is terrible timing. But I needed to talk to you before—”

“Sherese!”

Hunter’s bellow startles me so hard, I jerk. “Before that,” Sherese says in a flat tone.

Seconds later, Hunter joins us. Bryce sighs and rests his forehead against mine. I guess we have to deal with them.

I can’t help but smile at his put-out tone. Yes, but I’ll make it up to you later tonight when we’re alone. His head pops up, and his eyes heat.

I accept your offer, Mate.

I laugh, even though I know it’s not the right setting for it. Wait, he growls. He comes back a moment later with a towel for me and stands in front of me while I walk up the steps and out of the pool. He wraps it around me. “We’ll be inside in just a minute.” I hear the sliding door close.

My heart squeezes. Thank you for always looking out for me.

He reaches out for my hand and tucks it in his. I always will.

I smile and squeeze his hand. I know.

We walk towards the house hand-in-hand. How about we take another trip here soon, just the two of us. Okay? He asks through our bond.

I grin up at him. Okay .

Don’t miss book four of the Healer’s Series!