Page 105 of Forever Touched

34

EVERETT

I felt the moment she slipped from me.

Her breaths and heart slowed. Slowed and slowed until they stopped. Just stopped. Like a clock that ran out of time.

When they did, the soulmate bond I’d stubbornly resisted but now desperately neededsnapped.

I immediately plunged into darkness, not knowing up from down. I was utterly lost, free-falling into nothingness. I’d felt lost before, but not like this. This felt permanent, like I’d never see the light of day again. This felthopeless, like I’d never find myself again.

Not without her. An existence without Adalyn just felt . . . empty. Not worth living.

I stared at her still form, now free of pain. She looked so peaceful. So serene. So . . . sountouchable. She was an ethereal goddess just beyond my reach, slipping farther and farther away. The longer I stared at her, the more she vanished.

And I couldn’t go after her. I couldn’tsaveher.

At the realization, I broke. I broke into a billion wretched pieces. Pieces I would never put together again. There was no point. Without her, I had no purpose. Shewasmy purpose. She made me better in every way. And now that she was gone, I was nothing. Nothing worth holding on to.

Too afraid to touch her, I simply watched her. Watched as the rain washed the blood from her mouth and neck. Watched as shegrew paler and paler. Colder and colder.

She made death look beautiful.

Laying down on the wet ground beside her lifeless form, I whispered, “Take me with you, baby girl. Don’t go where I can’t find you.”

She didn’t respond.

There wasn’t even a flicker from the bond. All was still. Deathly silent. She was gone. Truly gone. There was nothing left for me but memories. Memories that threatened to drown me.

“Everett.”

I heard the voice, but it sounded far away. On a distant plane. In a separate world. I was cut off from it. Indifferent to it.

Still, I flatly replied, “Touch her, and I’ll kill you.”

“Everett, there’s still time,” the voice persisted. “Snap out of it. You can still save her.”

The words were cruel. Unfair. I closed my eyes, praying they would disappear. ThatIwould disappear.

“Everett James D’angelo!” the voice barked. “Your soulmate died, but she’s notgone. If you won’t turn her, then I will.”

I struggled to comprehend the words, but one thing registered loud and clear. “If I force her to become a vampire, she’ll hate me forever.”

“No, she won’t. She deserves a new beginning, Ev. You can give that to her. A new life. Abetterone. Don’t throw this opportunity away.”

“I can’t,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I’m too empty, Loch. The bond is gone. I can’t . . . I can’t find her.”

My brother knelt beside me and rested a hand on my shoulder, forcing me back to reality. To a world where Adalyn didn’t exist.

“I know, Ev,” he said. “I’ve been where you are. It’s unbearable.The worst feeling you’ll ever feel. But you have to be strong for her like you’ve always been strong for us. Even when things seemed absolutely hopeless, you’ve never given up. You’ve always protected us, alwayssavedus, doing whatever it takes to keep this family from falling apart. You’re our backbone, brother, and it’s time for you to rise once more. So get up. Get up and rescue your mate. Sheneedsyou.”

Somehow, his words managed to penetrate my world of nothingness, giving me fresh purpose.

She needed me. My soulmateneededme.

My movements were sluggish, but I forced my limbs to gather beneath me, to push me into a sitting position. Every action hurt, sending shards of agony through my bones. Reminding me of the terrible pain Adalyn had been in before her death. I looked down at her still face again and suddenly couldn’t breathe. Everything she’d been through rushed at me all at once, locking my limbs once more.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” I rasped. “I don’t know if I can turn her into a vampire.”

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