Page 64 of Shut Up and Bite Me

KNOCK KNOCK.

Sensing who it is, I feel Autumn’s essence, and she’s lucky I like her, or I would have put my fist through her chest. “Come in.”

I move to sit beside Greyson, and he slides his hand in mine as Autumn walks in, the biggest smile on her face.

“I’m so happy to see you both are awake and well.” Autumn’s voice is smooth and calm as she takes a seat in the lounge chair across from us. “We should probably talk,” she says, and panic sinks into my chest.

“About what?” I ask, my stomach twisting with concern.

“I need to tell you the truth aboutlamia et fatis sanguis. The story you and the rest of the world know is only half of the truth.”

My stomach falls to the floor, waiting for the shoe to drop.

“W-What do you mean?” My voice is a ghost on my lips.

The first line she mutters blows my mind. “The Book of Destinywasn’t written by a vampire. The story was created to inspire love and fate. But it was written by the most powerful witch, the first witch, actually. Cordelia Hutchins.” She smiles mischievously. “It’s not only vampires that have their secrets.”

“Wait,what?” I ask, confused more than anything. “Why would we have a different version of the story?”

“Your version is the one that everyone knows. The one created as a fable, a story to entertain the reader. To give them hope of finding true love and power.” She takes a breath before continuing. “Cordelia was the most powerful witch of all time, gifted with the ability to see the past and the future. The story as you know it was created with bits and pieces of the truth, but her real and honest written word was hidden and protected bygenerations of witches, never to be revealed until the story came to life.”

“And it finally did,” I murmur, finishing her train of thought.

“Exactly. I certainly never expected it to happen to a friend of mine, if it even happened in my lifetime at all. You see, this spell was cast centuries ago.”

“A spell?” I interrupt. “I thought it was a prediction?”

She glares at me for interrupting, and I seal my lips shut, letting her finish. “She cast a spell that floated through time and space, capable of latching on to two people at any given moment.”

Glancing at Greyson, I find him listening intently, his eyes full of wonder.

Autumn continues. “But these two souls, a human and a vampire, would only be gifted power by the spell if they were truly meant to be together. Not because some witch said so, but because this fated couple endured endless pain, suffering, and heartbreak that would challenge the good in their hearts…”

Greyson has experienced lifetimes of tribulations during his short time on Earth, yet he’s one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met. He chooses to see the good when the world is constantly trying to show him the bad.

“But despite all of that agony, they still found one another anyway. Fate is fickle. You two may be soulmates. But it’s not black-and-white.” I hang on to everything she says. “If either of you would have made a different step at any point in your lives and never met in that bar, the spell would have continued to search for a home for eternity.”

Chills erupt down my arms at her words. The mere chances of this happening atthispoint in time with me and Greyson is so unimaginable I almost can’t fathom it.

“If your choices took you down different paths, you still may have found love. You could have been happy with someone else,but a part of your heart would have never stopped searching for one another, yearning for more. You can ignore fate, but sometimes fate doesn’t ignore you. When you touched that night you met, your souls became intertwined, and the spell has been activating inside of both of you since then.”

“In both of us?” Greyson asks, sitting up taller.

Autumn nods. “Yes, if the spell hasn’t manifested yet, you wouldn’t have noticed. But you’ll get stronger and faster, your strength rivaling that of vampires.”

“Woah.” Greyson exhales. “That’ll be…interesting.”

My heart skips a beat at the thought of him gaining those abilities.

The question flows from my lips without thought. “If we complete the Ceremony ofVita et Mors, will that enhance even more?”

Her eyes light up, and I swear I hear a tiny squeal slip past her lips. “First off,yes, I would be honored to perform the ceremony for you two. And secondly, the Ceremony of Life and Death will grant him immortality that the spell will not. It may enhance his strength even more, but to be honest, I’m not sure either way. There’s no book for this.”

My cheeks burn at her enthusiasm for the ceremony, and I chuckle nervously. “We haven’t said for sure if we’re doing the ceremony or no?—”

Greyson cuts me off, his warm tone sending enticing shivers up my back as his intense stares locks on mine. “Did I not make myself clear enough earlier? I want to do it.”

My heart skips a beat. “Are you sure?” Greyson, this is a huge decision.”

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