“Fuck next time,” Declan snarled.
But they all knew there would be a next time. The sword was far too powerful not to wield it as a weapon against their enemies.
No one spoke as the demon’s remains floated through the air and settled on the ground.
Chapter Fifty
Lucien pulled Callie into his arms and nestled her against his chest. Though she was immortal now, she still seemed so small and fragile to him. The Savages and demons could rip her away from him, and their numbers were growing.
However, he didn’t want to think about them as he cradled his mate. It had taken him so long to find her, and he’d never believed it would happen to him. He’d considered himself incapable of love since Coralie’s death, but Callie had taught him that he wasn’t.
He cared for and loved his fellow Defenders. Those emotions had spread to some of the hunters once they forged the Alliance. It was impossible not to care about those he fought beside day in and day out.
He’d never considered his feelings for them to be ones of love before Callie entered his life, but he saw the truth of it now. For centuries, he’d considered himself dead inside, but if he was as dead as he tried to believe, he would have become a Savage years ago.
Callie had made him love more than he ever would have believed possible, and every day, his love for her grew.
No matter what the demons and Savages planned, no matter what the future held for them, he would be eternally grateful he found her.
Resting her head on his chest, Callie listened to the reassuring thump of Lucien’s heart as she gazed at the horse her dad carved for her sitting on the nightstand. She smiled as a sense of peace settled over her. She’d never dreamed of finding a love like this, but then, she never could have suspected the hidden world existing alongside hers all these many years.
Now she realized her world was far more complex and layered than she’d ever known. It had been a frightening revelation, but she would never trade her newfound knowledge for the blissful ignorance of her life before she was kidnapped.
She never could have seen her life going this way, but though the dreams she’d harbored for years were gone, she had many new dreams she looked forward to living out with Lucien at her side. She was terrified of what their future held, but she planned to cherish every second of their time together.
Soon, he would return to the field, and she would start her more intense training to fight the Savages so she could one day join him. She was not looking forward to fighting and killing, but she was excited to make a difference in this battle, and she was determined to do so.
“I love you,” Lucien murmured as he ran his fingers up and down her spine.
Callie shivered in response to his tender touch. “I love you too.”
And she would spend an eternity loving him and fighting for him. She lifted her face, and their lips met in a tender kiss that soon turned into something more.
Epilogue
One year later
Callie kept her attention on the lamb she was tending. The small animal had gotten entangled in some fencing and required a few stitches to close the gash it received.
Since first arriving at the compound, she’d set up a small veterinary clinic to nurse the growing number of animals living there. Not only were there dogs, cats, sheep, and chickens, but they’d started bringing in cows and horses to help them with plowing the growing fields the hunters planted for food.
The stomp of a foot drew her attention to Doc Holliday, or Doc as she called him. Her horse stood outside the fence, nibbling on the lush grass there. Lucien gave him to her on their six-month anniversary.
The gelding was a beautiful palomino she rode wherever she went in the compound. She couldn’t get enough of the animal who’d become her constant companion, along with her German Shepherd, Ricochet.
Not only had Lucien made sure she had a place to work with animals, but last month he’d taken her to a music festival in Virginia. He’d looked as happy to be there as a cat dunked in water, but he stayed through both days, and a few times she caught him tapping his foot along to the music. The grouchy look on his face only made her love him more.
Ricochet sat outside the fence with his ears pricked and his attention riveted on the compound. She’d heard the main gate open seconds ago and detected the crunch of tires as vehicles sped toward the mansion.
That can’t be good.
No one sped around here. There were too many children and animals now, but the vehicles were moving far faster than normal. Thankfully, it was night, and no kids roamed the grounds at this hour.
Uneasiness spread through her as she finished stitching the lamb and handed it over to the young hunter who often helped her tend the animals. Justine embraced the lamb against her chest as shouts filled the air. Callie rose when lights blazed on around the compound.
An uneasy chill ran down her spine, and her heart hammered. Lucien was safe inside the mansion; they had tonight off from patrolling, but some of the friends she now considered family had gone on patrol tonight.
Doors opened and closed as hunters emerged from some of the homes. They sprinted across the lawn toward the shouts. Something was really wrong.
“Justine, get inside,” she said.
“What about the lamb?”
“Take it with you. Just get inside and don’t open your door until you know it’s safe to come out.”
Justine nodded, and keeping the lamb against her chest, she sprinted toward the gate, opened it, and slipped outside. Callie ran to the fence, leapt over it, and landed beside Doc as he lifted his head from the grass.
She didn’t bother to put his bridle back on as she grasped his mane, pulled herself onto his back, and turned him toward the chaos. When she nudged him in the side, he broke into a trot that progressed into a smooth gallop. The wind whistled past her as they pounded across the land toward the three SUVs in front of the mansion.
Shouts continued to come from the SUVs as doors slammed. Her growing unease was turning into full-blown panic as she closed in on the vehicles. Things had been bad out there lately as the number of Savages increased. They’d lost too many of their own over the year.
As she reached the chaos, she slowed Doc and swung herself off his back before he came to a complete stop. She sprinted across the earth and spotted Lucien amongst the group of hunters and vampires gathered around an SUV.
“What happened?” she demanded as she arrived at Lucien’s side.
He crushed her against his chest. “We’ve lost another.”
“Oh no,” she whispered as they removed the body of a hunter from the back of the SUV.
The young man was so severely beaten she couldn’t make out his features, but the sobs of his mother filled the night. Callie closed her eyes against the woman’s anguish and worked to suppress her tears.
“This has to stop,” she whispered.
Lucien’s arms clenched around her. “It will.”
“I hope Logan and Asher are having better luck than us.”
“So do I.”
Logan gazed down at the broken and battered body sprawled across the floor of the office. The pool of blood beneath it had already coagulated on the wooden floor. Overturned chairs and tables surrounded the body. Papers spilled from the large, oak desk in the center of the room.