Page 76 of One Last Wish

“Does it offend you that much?”

“‘Offend’ is probably the wrong word. What Iam, Alora, is so much more than shadows. When you finally remember everything, you’ll understand.”

“You’re Noxlin,” I blurted out, suddenly remembering that name from my dreams. Darce’s eyes widened, and I could see what looked like pain flash in those dark orbs of his. “I have no idea whatNoxlinis, but I remember you telling me that our races hate each other. Noxlin and Dylin can’t mix.”

“Do you remember why?” he asked, placing the cooked bacon onto a plate. I tried to force the memory to my mind—the reason was on the tip of my tongue—but it kept slipping away. “Don’t force it. I was just curious,” Darce soothed, touching my face softly.

“Was I right about you being Noxlin? That we’re not meant to be together?”

“Yes,” he sighed, looking over at the table. “Come on. Let’s eat. You’ve got gifts to open, too.”

“Ido?” I hadn’t had a Christmas present since my father passed away. Who the hell had gotten me a gift? Darce motioned towards the small tree in the living room that Evelyn had put up last week. Under it were four gifts.Four?

“You must have been a good girl this year if Santa has left you presents.” The smirk on his face made me wonder if he had something to do with some of the gifts.

“Have you brought me fighting leathers again?” I teased as he pulled a chair out from under the table, motioning for me to sit down and eat.

“You wouldn’t get much use out of fighting leathers in New York.”

“You’ve witnessed the Black Friday Sales, right?” I filled my plate with some pancakes and bacon, topping it all with maple syrup. Darce chuckled, helping himself to the food, too. “What do you have planned for us today, anyway?”

“I have one idea, but you’ll need to wrap upreallywarm for it.” Now I was intrigued. “You have to open your gifts first, though.”

“I haven’t had a Christmas gift in eight years,” I admitted, my eyes stinging a little.Holy crap!Were there tears falling down myface? After wiping them away, I studied my fingertip. “What’s happening? I...I’ve...never.... This hasneverhappened before.”

“It’s the awakening, Alora. You’ll start to feel a lot of things.”

“Are you trying to tell me that being emotionless isn’t who I really am?” Had I somehow been trapped inside this body? What if I was some magical light beast that had been tricked into this form? What if I was agod!?

“What’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours? I can literally see the gears working.”

“Am I some mythical light creature that was trapped inside this body?”

“What would that make me?” The amused look on his face told me that I was nowhere near working out what or who I was. “What even makes you think you’re trapped inside that body? Your body is very beautiful. It’s definitely not a prison.”

“I’m clutching at straws at this point. I have no ideawhatI am, other than it has something to do with light.Youare clearly something to do with the dark. We are complete opposites.”

“Dark is a better way to describe me than ashadow daddy.”

“Noted,” I grinned, taking a mouthful of food. “Damn, you can really cook.” I groaned, tasting the perfect balance of the sweet pancakes and salty bacon.

“I don’t know why you’re shocked. I’m good ateverything.”

“That ego of yours gets bigger by the day.” He shrugged in agreement as we finished off the food on our plates.

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ONCE WE HAD WASHEDand cleared away our breakfast dishes, I made my way over to the Christmas tree. Two of the gifts underneath were from Evelyn. I rolled my eyes, remembering the ‘no gifts’ conversation we’d had last year. It was just like her tonotlisten to me!

The other two gifts were expertly wrapped. One was a small box with gold, shimmering paper, and the other was a larger gift in red, Christmas-patterned paper that had to be some form of clothing with how soft it was. Neither of them had a tag to say who they were from.

“These two are from you, aren’t they?” I asked, reading Darce’s face.

“Why would you think that?”

“One...I don’t believe in Santa anymore. Two...these gifts are wrapped by someone that clearly has perfectionist issues.”

“Open the damn gifts, Alora. Unwrap Evelyn’s first.” Doing as he asked. I opened the first gift, knowing it was a book. It was a spin-off series from a popular vampire collection that I’d been talking about. The other was a set of expensive wireless headphones. Evelyn had spent too much. I’d have to talk to her about that when I saw her.

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