Page 73 of Greer's Change

“Releasing you from the progeny bond was supposed to work,” Cole hisses. “Get the fuck over here, Greer!” His compulsion rolls through me, but my connection with Novak protects me from the worst of it.

“You still want me?” I ask, tilting my head and blinking repeatedly. “She ruined everything. I’m not going with you if she’s going to be around. Send her away.” It’s all bullshit. I’m just not prepared to watch him kill another innocent woman.

Cole chuckles. “As jealous and insecure as always. Get the fuck over here,now!”

“Kitten,” Seiran growls from behind me. “Don’t take another step!”

“Let her go,” I say, keeping Cole’s gaze. I’m barely a foot or two away from the door, but I don’t think he can cross the barrier. He would need to be invited in by whoever owns the home.

I stop right at the doorframe, and Cole shoves Isabella to the side. She lands hard, and he reaches for me, but he can’t pass through the invisible barrier.

I can, though. Tugging my hand up, I slam the knitting needle into his chest.

He wobbles and eventually falls to the ground in a crumpled heap.

My mouth opens and closes a few times like a fish.

Holy shit. I did it!

“Oh my god, that worked. I’m a badass!” I gasp. Glancing over my shoulder, I point at Cole’s corpse. “I did it! I totally killed him.”

Seiran snorts.

My gaze moves back to the porch to check on Isabella, but my face falls when I spot Reign. He drops Cole’s heart and gives Isabella an unimpressed look.

“Or not,” I whisper, wishing I’d kept my mouth shut. “Dammit, that was supposed to work.”

Reign laughs. “Yeah, sorry about that. I was a half second before you or it would have.”

Novak zips up the stairs, frowning at Isabella. “Who’s that?”

“Another of Cole’s victims.” I bite my cheek to keep from saying anything else. “Someone will need to help her get back to Haven.”

“Bart is right behind me.” Novak steps over Cole’s body, pulling me into his arms. “He’ll handle it.”

It dawns on me pretty quickly. “You never left, did you?” I ask, nuzzling my face to his chest.

“Nope,” Seiran says, coming over and hugging me from behind. “Just like the last thing I’d do would be to go check a random noise, but we thought facing him yourself might give you some closure.”

“And you really are a badass. You landed that knitting needle perfectly. It would have punctured his heart had the organ still been in his body,” Reign says. “Here, let me help you up.” I can’t see him, even when I glance over my shoulder, but I imagine he’s talking to Isabella.

Where the hell is Bart? I’m trying to be cordial, but she wore out her welcome the second she arrived.

“You did well, pet.” Novak kisses my forehead, sending steady comfort in the bond.

“Gods, I hate vampires,” Bart grumbles from somewhere behind me. “Whenever there’s trouble, it’s always at night. Not all of us are nocturnal, you know.”

Well, he might hate dealing with my kind, but I couldn’t be happier I ended up here.

Epilogue

Seiran

Six Weeks Later

Haven is different from what I’m expecting. Black Cove has more space within the sanctuary ward, but Haven has a brighter, livelier feel.

Greer’s mom is a whole experience that I’d like to repeat sparingly if possible. She’s lovely but chatty, and, like most full-blooded siren, very focused on herself. It doesn’t appear to be purposeful, but she repeatedly manages to steer the conversation back to how Greer’s change affectedher.

---