Page 58 of Vampire Bite

“Surreal,” she finally said.

Callum raised his voice again, pulling everyone’s attention back. “The town’s ours now, or it will be very soon. We’ll hunt down the rest of the shifters and make sure they can’t regroup.And as for the town itself—” he paused, looking around, “—anyone who wants to stay, to rebuild, you’re welcome here.”

The room erupted again, louder this time. People clapped backs, exchanged triumphant grins, and even the most stoic among us couldn’t resist the spark of hope.

I stayed quiet, watching it all unfold. This was what we’d been fighting for. A chance for freedom, for something better. But as my gaze drifted back to Annika, I knew this moment wasn’t just about victory.

It was about choices.

Soon after, the entire room was alive with celebration. It was the kind of raw, unrestrained joy that only comes after surviving the impossible. Rebels raised glasses of whatever liquor they could scavenge, their laughter cutting through the heavy air of victory. For the first time in what felt like years, people were smiling, really smiling, and the burden of war seemed lighter.

But I couldn’t bring myself to join in, not fully. My focus was on her.

Annika stood near the edge of the room, a quiet island in the sea of noise and revelry. Her hair caught the flickering light of the makeshift lanterns, and the faintest smile tugged at her lips as she watched the others. She didn’t seem to notice the way people occasionally glanced her way. She was a hero to them now, though I doubted she’d ever see herself that way.

To me, she was something else entirely.

I leaned against the wall, nursing a half-forgotten drink, and let myself watch her. There was a pull in my chest, sharp and insistent, as if I could will her to look at me. She had fought so fiercely, saved so many, including me, but now, in this moment of peace, she looked... lost. Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

What would it take for her to stay?

The thought caught me off guard, though it shouldn’t have. It had been there, lurking beneath the surface ever since we’d met. Every time she spoke, every time she fought beside me, every time she touched me. It wasn’t just her strength or her compassion, though those were undeniable. It was the way she made me feel, like there was still something worth holding onto in this broken world.

But could I ask her to stay?

I turned the question over in my mind, my grip tightening around the glass. No, I couldn’t ask her. Not outright. She’d already sacrificed so much, been dragged into a war that wasn’t hers to begin with. She had a life outside of this, a mother waiting for her, a world I could never truly be part of.

And yet, the selfish part of me, the part I’d buried under years of discipline and duty, couldn’t stop hoping. Hoping that maybe, just maybe, she would choose this. Choose me.

Her laugh, soft and fleeting, broke through the noise, and I felt it like a punch to the gut. She was standing with Lena now, sharing a brief, lighthearted moment. I couldn’t hear what was said, but the way her shoulders relaxed, the way her lips curved into that rare, genuine smile, it was enough to keep me rooted in place, unable to look away.

I didn’t dare move toward her yet. The night was still young, and this wasn’t the time for us to talk. But I drank in the sight of her, memorizing every detail as if I could hold onto it forever.

For now, I’d wait. But soon, I’d find a moment. A quiet one, away from all of this chaos. And I’d let her know, somehow, just how much she meant to me. Even if it was the last chance I ever got.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Annika

I stood outside Lucas’ door, my pulse thundering in my ears. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this nervous, this apprehensive to do what I felt deep down was right. Yet, I was still afraid that he wouldn’t feel the same way about me, that he wouldn’t want me here.

The celebration was still roaring downstairs, but all the chatter and the sound felt distant now, as if the world had shrunk to this single moment that was to decide my future, my destiny.

My hand hovered just above the wood, my fingers trembling. Why was this so hard? Deep down, I knew the answer to that question and that was why I was here.

I’d already made my choice. I’d turned it over in my mind a thousand times since the battle. There was no going back to who I was before all of this… not completely. But saying it out loud, putting it into words, made it real. Made it permanent.

I exhaled shakily and forced my knuckles to tap against the door, soft enough that for a second, I worried he might not hear it.

“Come in,” his voice called, low and steady, cutting through the tension coiling in my chest.

I pushed the door open, slipping inside. He was sitting in the chair by the window. His shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, his hair disheveled like he’d been running his hands through it. He looked tired, but when his eyes met mine, something softened in his expression, a flicker of warmth that made my knees feel unsteady.

“Annika…” he said, rising from the chair.

I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. My hands found each other, twisting nervously. I didn’t know where to start, so I didn’t. I let the silence stretch between us for a moment, trying to gather the courage to speak.

He took a step closer, concern etching faint lines on his brow. “Are you all right?”

---