Page 168 of Roaring Flames

His dark eyebrows pull together as he glances at Vlad’s unconscious form before refocusing on me with panicked urgency. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“W-what? What are you doing here? Why are you a part of this?!” I ask in disbelief.

There’s no hiding the hurt in my voice either.

“I can explain,” Grayson says, stepping closer and grabbing my arms. His gentle touch sends heat careening through me. “The day after we…made love, the vampires took me.”

My stomach takes a nosedive. “What?”

“They wanted to know why I abandoned them.” He swallows. “I didn’t tell them about you, but I think they suspected. Especially if the people I was working with prior weren’t Hunters but someone in the paranormal world.”

“I don’t understand,” I say, my fingernails digging into his arms.

He’s here. He’s real. He’s alive.

And he was apparently being held captive while I wallowed and sulked.

Guilt, anger, and sadness all war for dominance, but I push those emotions to the side and tell myself I’ll sort through them at a later point.

“The other day, they pulled me out of my cell, dressed me in this ridiculous getup, and told me to wait. Then this morning, Vlad picked me up and shoved me in a truck. He told me to just fucking stand still and hold this gun. I swear I had no idea what he had planned. And when he started shooting people…” He shakes his head in disbelief. “I didn’t know what the fuck to do.”

“It’s okay.” I rush forward to wrap my arms around his waist, his steady body a contrast to my trembling one. “It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.”

His arms remain limply by his sides for only a second before he tightens them around me, lifting me into the air. And then we’re kissing, inhaling each other. A sense of rightness and innate peace barrage me from every direction.

I shove my fingers into his dark hair, messing up the strands, as he breathes against my lips, “Mate. My mate.”

I pull away to see his expression better. “Mate?”

Warmth envelops me.

A sheepish smile pulls up one corner of his mouth. “I was going to tell you the day I?—”

He freezes abruptly and drops me to my feet. I spin around to follow the direction of his gaze, and my mouth goes dry.

Over twenty people stand in the forest, watching us, but it’s the three in the front who capture my attention. They step forward with a gracefulness I can only hope to emulate one day.

The first one is tall and slender, perhaps a few years older than I am. Her dark-red hair cascades to just below her waist and is so straight it looks unreal. She has a heart-shaped face,stunning green eyes, and perfect pink lips curled into an enticing smile.

She studies me intently. “Is this her?”

Her voice is lyrical.

The lady on the opposite end steps forward. She’s the oldest of the group, though her eyes hold a keen intelligence that belies her frail appearance. Her gray hair hangs loose and curly around her wrinkled face.

“The resemblance is uncanny,” she croaks out.

The woman in the middle finally steps forward, and now that she’s no longer obscured by shadows, I can see her clearly.

My breath catches, and Grayson goes still beside me.

She looks…exactly like me. An older version of me—late thirties or early forties—but those blue eyes, that blonde hair, and those full lips are unmistakable.

“Mom?” I whisper.

The woman smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I’m not your mother, child, though I amtheMother.”

Something occurs to me then. A name I heard…

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