Page 27
Chapter Twenty-Four
The night belongs to us.
Or maybe we belong to the night.
My claws scrape against concrete as I race with the pack across New York City’s rooftops.
The urban jungle stretches below, a maze of lights and shadows that pulses with its own heartbeat.
To anyone on the street, we’d be a blur in the night, some sense of déjà vu.
My new senses detect everything.
I feel the rumble of subway trains beneath the streets, smell a cocktail of scents rising from restaurants and alleyways, and hear the electrical hum of power lines crisscrossing overhead.
I don’t know where we are going, but I trust my pack to take me there safely.
We leap from building to building, supernatural strength making impossible distances manageable.
I catch my reflection in passing windows.
I’m not fully wolf, not like the others bounding beside me.
My hybrid form is larger, more powerful, with a posture that shifts effortlessly between four legs and two.
Black fur covers my body, interspersed with streaks of silver that gleam in the moonlight.
My snout is shorter than a pure werewolf’s, and my teeth are more vampiric.
But the pack accepts me as I am.
There’s no judgment in their golden eyes, no fear of my differences.
To them, I’m just another wolf running under the same moon, sharing in the primal joy of freedom.
Sully leads us, his massive form easily distinguishable as he vaults across a narrow gap between buildings.
He stops near a water holding tank and throws his head back, howling at the moon that hangs impossibly large over the city skyline.
The others join in, their voices creating a haunting harmony that echoes between skyscrapers.
I add my voice to theirs, feeling the power of it rise from my chest.
My howl sounds different from theirs, part wolf’s cry, part vampire’s shriek, but it blends with the chorus.
For these precious moments, I belong.
Even as my body revels in this newfound freedom, my mind can’t fully surrender to it.
Images from the battle flash through my thoughts.
I killed my uncle.
Mortimer dissolved into nothingness.
I remember Elizabeth’s face as Costin’s hand plunged into her chest.
The ash of her body carried away on the wind.
Costin.
I left him there, kneeling on that rooftop, surrounded by the aftermath of battle and the dust of his sister.
I ran with the wolves without a backward glance, abandoning him in what might have been the most painful moment of his centuries-long existence.
The realization hits me like a physical blow.
I stumble, nearly slipping off the edge of the roof.
Sully notices immediately, padding over to nudge my flank with his muzzle.
A question in his eyes.
I shake my massive head, trying to communicate without words.
The guilt is a leaden weight in my chest, growing heavier with each passing moment.
For the first time since I embraced the transformation, I feel the need to return to my human form, to process these emotions with words rather than instinct.
Sully seems to understand.
He makes a soft whuffing sound and gestures with his head back toward the battle site.
Permission.
Understanding.
The pack will continue without me.
I touch my muzzle to his in gratitude, then turn and sprint back the way we came.
The city skyline blurs around me as I push my hybrid body to its limits, desperate to return to Costin.
Buildings flash past, my powerful legs carrying me faster than I’ve ever moved before.
Gradually, I find my bearings and know where I am.
Costin did what I couldn’t bring myself to do.
He ended Elizabeth’s reign of terror once and for all.
After centuries of being controlled by her, of being unable to break free from the sire bond’s compulsions, he finally stood up against her.
For me.
And I left him.
I reach the battle site in minutes, landing on the roof with barely a sound despite my size.
The scene is quieter now.
Most of the wounded have been taken away.
Only a few figures remain, cleaning up evidence of the supernatural conflict before dawn brings human eyes.
I see him immediately, a solitary figure at the roof’s edge, his back to me as he stares out over the city to where Elizabeth’s ashes scattered on the wind.
His hands are threaded behind his back.
The change comes upon me without conscious effort.
My bones shift and reform, fur receding into skin, muzzle shortening into human features.
The process is fluid now, almost painless compared to the first transformation.
Within moments, I stand on two legs again, naked and vulnerable in the night air.
“Classy, Tam,” Anthony drawls.
He tosses a jacket in my direction.
I hear it and catch it with one hand without turning to look.
I put it on, grateful for the small dignity, and slowly approach Costin.
He knows I’m here.
I can feel his awareness through our bond, a somber acknowledgment of my presence.
But he doesn’t turn, doesn’t speak.
“Costin,” I say softly, stopping a few feet behind him.
His shoulders are rigid, his posture unnaturally still even for a vampire.
When he finally speaks, his voice is raw.
“Five hundred years,” he says, flexing the hand that killed his sister as he brings it forward.
“She was all I had for over five hundred years.”
I move closer, the roof cold beneath my bare feet.
“I’m sorry I left you. I shouldn’t have?—”
“No,” he interrupts, finally turning to face me.
His eyes are rimmed with red.
Bloody tracks stain his cheeks.
“You needed to run. The moon’s energy needed to be released. It’s why all wolves have the compulsion to run on the full moon.”
The sight of his grief hits me harder than I expect it to.
This is Costin.
The immortal master vampire has seen civilizations rise and fall.
To see him vulnerable breaks something open inside me.
His gaze returns to the horizon.
“I had to do it.”
“You killed her for me.” It’s not a question.
“For both of us.” He drops his hand to his side, centuries of weariness in the movement.
“As long as she lived, neither of us would ever truly be free.”
I close the distance between us, letting the ends of the jacket slip open as I reach for his hand.
Our fingers intertwine, cool skin against warm.
The bond between us pulses, stronger than ever.
The city lights cast his face in sharp relief, highlighting the ageless beauty and the very human pain etched there.
I’ve never seen him like this, stripped of his careful control, his walls completely down.
“I never thought I could do it,” he admits.
“For centuries, I told myself it was the sire bond that prevented me from ending her reign of terror. But it was my own guilt. My own failure to protect her when we were human.”
I squeeze his hand.
“You didn’t fail her, Costin.”
“I arranged her marriage to Marcus.” His voice is hollow.
“I sold my sister to a monster because I was eager to advance our family’s position.”
His self-loathing cuts deeper than any blade.
I can feel it resonating through our bond.
“You didn’t know what Marcus was. How could you have? Most humans don’t believe in our kind,” I say softly.
“And she turned you as revenge.”
“As punishment. As a twisted form of keeping her family with her forever.” He looks down at our joined hands.
“I deserved it.”
“No,” I say firmly.
“No one deserves what she did to you. What she tried to do to me. What she tried to do to all supernaturals when she tried to rebalance all the magic in the world. Elizabeth broke a long time ago. Some things you can’t fix no matter how much you want to.”
He stares into my eyes.
“I feel empty. I expected to feel free.”
“She’s gone. Grief comes, even for the ones who hurt us. Give yourself time. We have plenty of it,” I whisper.
“She can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
He smiles sadly.
“When did you become so wise?”
“I’ve had a good teacher.” I step closer, letting the jacket fall down my shoulders.
His eyes widen slightly, but he doesn’t move as I place my hands on his chest.
“You taught me that we’re more than our natures, Costin. That we can choose who we become.”
His hands frame my face.
“And who have you chosen to become, Tamara Devine?”
“Someone who doesn’t run away,” I say, holding his gaze.
“Someone who stays.”
The bond between us vibrates with emotion, need and grief and hope all tangled together.
I rise on my toes, pressing my lips to his in a kiss that’s gentle at first, then deepens as he responds.
His arms wrap around me, pulling me against him with a desperation that matches my own.
There’s no violence in this embrace, no struggle for dominance or control.
Just two beings finding solace in each other after the storm.
When we finally break apart, his eyes have shifted to their vampire red, but there’s warmth in them now, replacing the hollow grief from before.
“I love you,” I tell him, the words falling easily from my lips.
“Not because of the sire bond. Not because I have to. But because I choose to.”
There was a time I would’ve flinched at those words, when I believed every emotion I felt around him was just some magical compulsion, not real, not mine.
I fought against him, against us, too afraid of losing control to admit I already had.
But now?
Every heartbeat, every choice, is mine.
He pulls me closer, burying his face in my hair.
“And I love you,” he whispers.
“The human, the wolf, the vampire, all of you .”
A throat clears somewhere behind us, reminding me we’re not alone on the rooftop.
Anthony stands awkwardly by the stairwell door, pointedly looking anywhere but at my naked form.
“Um, Tam? Maybe save the romantic reunion for somewhere more private?”
I laugh, feeling lighter than I have in weeks.
Costin pulls the jacket back up my arms, his touch lingering longer than necessary.
“Your brother has a point,” he says, though his eyes tell me he’s in no hurry to be anywhere else.
“He usually does, the annoying know-it-all.” I look over at Anthony, who rolls his eyes but can’t hide his smile.
“Is everyone okay?”
“Mostly. A few bad injuries, nothing fatal on our side.” Anthony gestures toward the stairwell.
“Astrid’s arranging transport for the wounded. Our father suddenly appeared to fully support our efforts. I imagine he plans to take credit for the victory with the council. You know, the usual family dynamics.”
I shake my head but can’t find it in me to be angry.
Davis Devine will always be Davis Devine.
Some things never change.
I feel the first hints of dawn approaching, a subtle pressure against my skin that warns of the coming sunlight.
Costin feels it too, his body tensing beside me.
“We should go,” he says, his hand finding mine.
“The night is ending.”
I look at him, really look at him.
The master vampire who became my reluctant guardian, my sire, my lover, and now something else entirely.
Partner.
Equal.
He finally broke free of his own chains to stand with me.
“No,” I correct him gently, squeezing his hand.
“It’s just beginning, my love.”
His smile transforms his face.
“Where to, then?”
“Somewhere with a very sturdy bed and excellent blackout curtains,” I suggest, feeling heat rise in my cheeks despite everything we’ve been through together.
“We have a lot to celebrate.”
“Gross.” Anthony makes a gagging noise.
“And that’s my cue to leave. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, which still leaves you plenty of options.”
He disappears through the stairwell door, leaving us alone on the rooftop.
The first pale light of dawn touches the eastern horizon, turning the sky from black to deep indigo.
Costin pulls me against him, his arms encircling my waist.
“Are you sure about this? About us?” he asks, vulnerability still lingering in his eyes.
“You’re free now, Tamara. Free of Elizabeth’s influence, free to choose your own path.”
“I am,” I agree, looking up at him.
“And I’m choosing you. Not because of fate or prophecy or supernatural bonds, but because it’s what I want. What I’ve always wanted, even when I was fighting against it.”
His kiss is tender, reverent, a promise sealed in the growing light of a new day.
When he pulls back, his smile holds centuries of patience finally rewarded.
“Let’s go home,” he says softly.
We leave the rooftop together.
He carries me with him as we travel through the city toward his underground home.
I feel the balance inside me settling into place.
The vampire, the wolf, the magic, the human, all existing in harmony.
I don’t know what challenges tomorrow will bring, but for the first time since my death, I’m not afraid to face them.
I am Tamara Devine, survivor.
And I am, finally, completely, free.