Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“And I trust you’ll…” Antonio trails off, shaking his head. “You’ll do the right thing,” he says and closes the door. Only a few seconds later, we’re off, siren blaring overhead as we speed through the city. I sit in shock for the first part of the drive, and then remember that I have my phone in my pocket.
My hands are shaking so much it’s hard to unzip my pocket and pull the phone out. I have two missed calls from Xavier. It takes me a few tries to be able to call him back.
“Wren,” he says. “Where are you?”
“I—I’m…I’m on the way to the hospital,” I say, each word coming out jerky. “I’m okay. Devon isn’t.”
“What hospital?”
“I don’t know.” I look at the EMT. “Where—what—where are we going?”
“Atrium General,” he tells me.
“I’ll meet you there,” Xavier says, having heard. “I’ll stay on the phone with you until you get there.”
“Thank you,” I tell him, then realize it was a dumb thing to say.
“What happened?” Xavier asks.
“He was shot. With an arrow. They thought he was a vampire.”
“They? Who, Wren?”
“I…I…”
“Don’t,” he says, changing his mind. “Don’t say anything in front of anyone. Are you okay? Physically?”
“Yes. I’m not hurt.” My whole body trembles and I close my eyes. The scene flashes before my eyes again. “It happened so fast.” My teeth chatter when I talk as if I’m cold. “I...I couldn’t stop it.”
“It’s not your fault, Wren.”
“I could have de…deflected it. I didn’t.”
“It’s not your fault,” he repeats, gently.
I sniffle and wipe my nose with the back of my hand, incidentally smearing blood all over my face. Xavier does his best to keep me focused on what he’s saying, trying to calm me as much as possible.
We get to the hospital and I lower the phone from my ear as I scramble out of the ambulance. I can go into the hospital with them, but I know I won’t be able to follow them into the OR, where they’re rushing to.
I have to force myself to keep my eyes open when Devon is brought out of the back because I’m terrified he’s going to be lifeless and gone. He’s hooked up to an IV and his eyes flutter open as they walk him past me.
“Devon,” I murmur.
“Wren,” he chokes out. “Don’t…don’t let them turn me.”
Chapter
Two
THEN…
“Aren’t you glad we found each other?” I link my fingers through Ryder’s and snuggle up closer to him. “Being on dating apps sucks.”
He chuckles and brings my hand to his mouth and kisses it. “I am so lucky to have you, Florence.”
“Don’t call me that,” I giggle.
“Why? It’s a pretty name.”
“It just sounds so formal.” I close my eyes for a few seconds, listening to his heart steadily beating. We’re lying under the stars on the cool sand along the Pacific Ocean, listening to the waves crash against the shore, seeking solace and some alone time after hunting scrapper demons for the last few days.
“Florence McAna,” Ryder says. “I think it has a nice ring to it.”
I lift my head off his chest and stare at him incredulously. “Oh really?”
“What?” He laughs and pulls me on top of him. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”
“Thought about what?” I ask, just wanting to hear him say it out loud.
“Getting married. Being together—forever.”
My heart soars in my chest. It’s all I’ve ever wanted and everything I’ve feared I’d never have: someone to love me as much as I love them.
“You don’t think you’d get sick of me after forever?” I ask.
Ryder sticks his hands under my shirt, fingers pressing into my skin. My eyes close when he starts to massage my sore muscles. The demons really put up a fight today and we had a new hunter with us, one who didn’t know I was a witch so I couldn’t use my powers to defend us. If I had, we probably could have taken out all the scrappers in under fifteen minutes. Instead, we spent hours running through the dense Pacific Northwest forest. Larissa accidentally tripped me—twice. I don’t think it was really an accident but I kept my mouth shut regardless.
“I’m surprised you’re not sick of me now,” he laughs. “You’re so out of my league.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh. “Hah. You’re hilarious.”
“Seriously, Wren.” He flips us over, and I wrap my legs around him. “You have no idea how amazing you are.”
“Well, you just need to tell your parents that.”
“In time.”
I frown. “You said that last month.”
“I know. But don’t worry, it’ll be okay. I’ll make sure it is.”
“Promise?”
He kisses me. “Of course. It might take some convincing, but they’ll be happy that I’m happy.”
“I don’t understand why they’d even care,” I say, working hard to ignore the bad feeling I have forming in the pit of my stomach. “We love each other. That’s what matters.”