Page 10
Meghan
I grabbed Lizzy’s hand tightly with my left hand and Rose’s hand in my right as we formed a circle with the rest of the coven members. Even though I had never performed a spell in my life, the witches required every able body to join in on the spell as it was going to consume an incredible amount of power.
Amanda gave me a comforting smile from next to Rose as the witches began chanting. Despite not knowing any of the words to this spell, I felt the power rushing through me as they chanted.
Heat and flames licked at my skin, and every nerve inside of me jumped as their chants grew in intensity and speed. Finally, all that pent-up energy inside exploded out of us like a firecracker shooting up into the sky. A sharp, intense pain pierced my skull. The sound of their voices faded into a high-pitched ring, and the scene in front of my eyes became as white as snow. I wrenched my hands from Rose and Lizzy’s and clutched my head. My knees gave out, and I fell to the floor. Tugging on the bond connecting me to Leo, I tried to reach him, but received only silence in return.
“It is done. Destroy it.” Cassandra’s faint voice pierced through the ringing in my ears. The last thing I heard was the sound of glass shattering as the orb was smashed onto the ground.
Slowly, early morning sunlight flooded in through the windows.
It was all over.
We had saved the day.
All around me, the humans rejoiced the return of daylight and their freedom from vampire bondage.
And yet, all I could do was curl up and weep. Leo accomplished his mission, but at what price?
“Come on. Let’s go home,” Amanda said in a soft voice usually reserved for animals, babies, and her pathetic crying friends. Several hands stroked my shoulders and helped me to my feet.
The girls and I gathered each other in a hug as we escaped the rowdy crowd. While the other humans were celebrating their freedom, we were mourning the loss of our lives as we knew it with our mates.
We staggered into the bright light of day for the first time in years. The sun was so overwhelming that I had to clench my eyes shut.
“He’s gone,” I uttered. It was like every last bit of hope in me had been destroyed. I didn’t need to ask the rest of them if they had heard from their mates. The fact that I was the only one crying told me all I needed to know. Their mates had responded when they called through their bond.
I tried again to contact Leo, but there was only silence.
“Wait a minute. Stop.” Amanda gripped my elbow. “They’ve found him. Leo’s alive.”
“What?” I choked out. A part of me couldn’t believe her words when I knew very well that the other half of my bond was missing.
Rose closed her eyes as she spoke to Dante through their bond. “There was a rock slide. Leo was buried under it, and they had to dig him out. He’s unconscious.”
So that’s why I couldn’t reach Leo.
“The sun will make it impossible for them to get out until nightfall, but they’re all okay,” Lizzy added.
My eyes watered again, this time from the joy that was overflowing from my heart. For the first time, I cursed the sun. How I wished it would go away, and the world was covered in darkness again.
We got back to the Diamantis base and waited anxiously for night. Together, we did the best we could to prepare for the return of our mates, gathering medical supplies, brewing healing potions, and waiting with the healers.
Dusk came and went. The sky outside was dark as ink before they finally returned home. Dante carried Leo on his back in a fireman’s carry, while Grant nursed a gaping wound on his chest and Alex limped as he favored his uninjured leg.
We all rushed into action, eager to do something to help our mates. After Dante placed Leo gently onto the nearest chaise, I couldn’t help running my hands over him, as if reassuring myself that he was real.
“Calm down, child. Let me look at him,” Elspeth said as she pushed me aside.
I moved out of the way reluctantly so that the healer could get to work. Biting my nails, I watched as she kneeled down next to Leo and started waving a crystal over his body like a metal detector. After the crystal, she started massaging his head as if she was making bread.
Elspeth put the crystal away into her jacket pocket and stood up. “He is fine, physically. As the single conduit between the witches and the portal, the surge of power must have shorted his mind. He will need to rest.”
Elspeth’s answer was not very comforting.
“Will he wake up?”
“It will take time, but he will eventually heal.” Elspeth touched the back of my hand with her wrinkled hand. “Have faith in your mate. He will not desert you this easily.” Elspeth patted my hand once more before leaving to treat her next patient.
I sat on the edge of the chaise next to Leo and brushed his hair out of his face. “I can’t believe you did something so stupid. You made a promise and you better keep it, mister.”
That night, Dante helped me carry Leo up to our bed. Though he offered to help once again with bathing and dressing Leo, I knew Leo wouldn’t like his fellow clan member to see him in such a helpless state.
I did the best I could, wiping away the dirt and soot of battle with a damp washcloth and dressing him in a set of loose sweats and a t-shirt
With nothing more that I could do, I recalled Elspeth’s words. Despite my best efforts to stay awake in case Leo needed me, I fell asleep while clinging to his side.
My dreams were filled with an army of little Leos running around our legs while Leo and I did the crosswords over a cup of coffee. Then the vision shifted, and I was holding my newborn granddaughter in my arms while Leo doted on her. In my next vision, I was standing naked in front of a mirror. My hair was gray, my tits sagged to my elbows, and my face was lined and wrinkled. Leo came up from behind and wrapped his arms around me before placing a kiss on my shoulder. He looked as handsome as always, and not a day over thirty years old.
I jolted awake at the shocking picture. Oh, gods. What kind of fool was I to think that we had a future. He was never going to want me when I turned old and decrepit, while he stayed the same. Against my will, my eyes filled with wetness once again. I cursed myself for crying so many times today.
“Don’t be stupid,” Leo whispered. His voice was raspy from disuse, but I heard him loud and clear.
I sat up immediately and reached over to the nightstand for the light switch. “What?”
“I said you’re being a dummy. I’ll still love you wrinkles, warts, and all.” He opened his eyes and looked at me through heavy eyelids. “I’ll even love you when you have to take out your dentures to give me a blowjob.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out at the picture he painted.
“That portal must have scrambled your brain.” I smacked his chest and leaned down to give him a kiss. “You’re such a pig, I can’t believe you just said that.”
“It’s true though.” Leo kissed my hand before placing it on his already hard cock. “If we want that little army of Meghans and Leos, we’ll have to start right now.”
And get started we did. Nine months later, our first son, Leonidas was born.
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More than a century in the future following the conclusion of the Doms of Darkness series, humans and vampires reach a stalemate after decades of warfare. Alex and Amanda’s son, Dominic, rules as the king of the Diamantis clan vampires.
Read Dominic and Lara’s story in Blood Desire (Vampire Mafia Kings Book 1)
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Thank you for reading the Doms of Darkness series. I hope you loved the characters as much as I do.
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Fiona Bell will do anything to become a successful painter, even if it means working as a maid and practically being homeless. The last thing she needs is a distraction in the form of love. That is, until she finds herself trapped between two overbearing billionaires.
Alpha werewolves Huxley Cain and Derek Fox never expected to find a mate. That is until they meet her. From the moment they catch her sweet scent, they know she is the one to give them an heir.
They will stop at nothing to claim her.
She is theirs to protect.
Theirs to share in pleasure.
Theirs to claim together.
They will never let her go.
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