Page 79 of His True Beloved

“Are you sure you are all right, Suron? That was a lot to take in.” My voice softened. Suron cracked his fingers, checking on Allen, who was oblivious to our conversation.

“Yeah, just, a part of me hoped…” He paused, gulping loudly. “That they would have made it a little longer.” Tears sprang to his eyes, and for some damn reason, I pulled him to my chest. He gripped me tightly, and I did the same. Suron had no one, a place where I had been before. Once lost, alone, and now that I finally have my beloved, Suron will have to endure years of pain before he finds his mate and finally feels whole again.

“They loved you. They saved you,” I muttered. Pulling away, Suron’s red-rimmed eyes blinked several times until Allen tugged on his pants.

“I’m all right, buddy, happy tears.” Suron pointed to his eyes. Shaking off his sadness, Suron sprung back to his happy self. “Well, now that we see you both are alight, we are gonna go.” Suron hooked his thumb backward, pointing back down the hall until a vampire guarding below our window jumped up from the stairs.

“Suron! Get this crazy bitch off my tail!” He ran toward our small group, and I growled, squatting in a defensive position at the door.

“Chrissy Poo!” Pamela’s shrill voice traveled up the stairs. She was stark naked, not one hint of clothing on her. Dirt and grime covered her body and leaves crinkled in her hair with each step. “Chrissy!”

The vampire stood in front of the boy and Suron, who was protectively hanging on to Allen. Poor Allen was still oblivious to anything that was going on. “Where is she?” Pamela trotted until she was five feet away.

“Did you dye your pubes purple?” Suron tilted his head in amusement. The other vampire kept his eyes on the ceiling, breathing heavily with red-tinted cheeks.

“Yup,” Pamela answered back matter-of-factly.

“You aren’t mated yet?” Suron peered over the vampire’s shoulder to see Pamela’s with her neck still bare.

“Nope, not yet,” she chirped. “I’ve really got him confused.” She giggled. “He’s been going in circles for hours and has no clue I’m in here. Your dirty smell has him all out of sorts.”

“Thanks.” I snorted in reply. I stood up, realizing there was no longer a threat, just a very naked Pamela in the hallway. “Christine is—”

“Smells like she’s changing.” Her shoulders slumped. “Now she will be stinky all the time. What a bummer.” I growled in warning. It was my scent to ward off supernaturals from coming near her, not necessarily her smell.

Shrugging her shoulders, she flipped her hair back and went into one of the empty bedrooms. “I’m going to go shower and nap. If Enzo tries to come in here, you will let me know, right?” The vampire who kept his eyes painfully planted in the opposite direction of Pamela sighed.

“Yes, miss, but he won’t be coming into the territory. Elder Rowan has only permitted you to be allowed in and out for Christine’s sake.” The vampire huffed, running down the stairs before he had to deal with Pamela again.

Sticking her tongue out, Pamela shut the door, hearing the running of water.

Suron raised a brow, leaning in to hear the water running. “How long is she going to make her mate chase her?” he wondered.

“They’re wolves, who knows,” going to open the door, Suron muttered to himself while Allen trailed behind him.

“Strange creatures.”

Christine

Instead of feeling heavy, my body felt light, almost like a cloud holding me in place and a gentle purr left my throat.

Weird.

My fingers waited to feel the soft sheets of the bed. But they were gone; instead, prickles of dirt and rough branches skid across my fingertips.

Opening my eyes, expecting to see the morning sun, I was greeted in darkness, the surrounding air stale, dead, with no wind to push the death that surrounded me.

Of shit, I died and went to hell.

“Far from it,” the soothing voice beckoned me as I stood. I wore a deep crimson dress, one fit for a vampire’s mate in some sort of dark Victorian romance. My hand traced the intricate designs, feeling the tiny ribbons of gold threading and the long sheer sleeves of the dress. My finger pricked something too sharp, and my finger began to bleed.

Before I could panic, the blood that had slipped between my finger stopped and the scratch healed.

“It’s a stunning dress on you, but I don’t think it’s your style.” A woman around my height stepped from behind the dead tree. Taking in my surroundings, I was sure I had died because this place was barren. There was no life. Skulls of animal bones decorated the dense forest where we now stood. The leaves crunched in response to my turns as I took in what the scene was worth.

Burning timber smoke fell around us. The thickness of the smoke had me cough while it settled at our feet. Waving my hands about my face to push the smoke further away, the sounds of boulders and rocks collapsing came from miles out. Eyes darting to the commotion, the hill that stood out from the rest of the forest held a partially broken, dark castle. The light from within died as the last spire fell.

My attention was that of everything around me other than the woman that tried to tell me this wasn’t, in fact, hell. Her hand fell on my shoulder, and my squeak of unease had her laugh. “It’s all right, now. I know it’s scary, especially when you haven’t seen this world at all, nor heard of the likes of me.” She chortled.

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