Ashes

Devon nodded as he studied her. She did not seem to hate him, but there was a hesitance about her that she had not displayed in his presence before. She had been open and accepting of him when they had interacted before. There was also fresh anger and hurt radiating from her. “What do you call it?”



“The Slaughter.” Her voice was cold, distant, and hard. Pain blazed across her features, tightening the lines around her mouth. “We call it The Slaughter.”



Devon nodded; he could understand why they would call it that. The Hunter line, Cassie’s family and lineage, had been murdered by a group of vampire’s. Before most of the Elder’s went into hiding, they had decided to gather as many vampire’s as possible together, in order to destroy the Hunter line and secure their safety. Fortunately for him, fate had seen fit to spare Cassie’s life, and bring her into his. “I see,” he said softly.



“Do you?”



He stared at her for a moment before rising swiftly and moving slowly over to the bed. Behind her closed lids, Cassie’s eyes moved as unconsciousness held her deep within a dream realm. Delicate blue veins were clearly visible on her lids; her skin was still unnaturally pale. However, her heart beat with strong, reassuring thuds that he heard clearly, and kept finely attuned to. She looked better than when they had first arrived, but it was still not enough. He wanted her awake, he wanted her speaking, and he wanted to know that she did not hate him for what he was.



His hands clenched as terror tore through him. He had dealt with, and overcome many things in his long, event filled life. But he knew that he could not handle Cassie’s hatred, or condemnation. He needed her smile, her brightness. Now that he knew what it was like to have her light in his life, he could not bear to part with it. He could not go back to that world of loneliness and self hatred.



He would not survive it again.



“You also saved her life then,” he said softly, his gaze darting back to her grandmother as he tried to distract himself from his despairing thoughts.



She studied him for a long moment, disbelief and curiosity flitting across her delicate features. “Yes, I kept her safe, hidden, protected. I kept her alive through The Slaughter.” Pain radiated from her bright eyes as she turned away from him, her hand tightening upon Cassie’s.



“Thank you,” Devon said softly.



She blinked at him in surprise, and then a small smile curled the corner of her full mouth. “You really care about my granddaughter, don’t you?” She sounded completely mystified; it was hard for her to compute that he, a vampire, could care about anything. Let alone that he could care about a Hunter, which was a realization that still mystified him. How could he have not known what Cassie was? What they all were?



Love was truly blind, or at least the people in it were, he realized.



The image of her standing at the side of that clearing, her eyes blazing with hurt and fury, her hand clenched tight around a stake was burned permanently into his mind. She had not been shocked to see him there, not as he had been to see her standing there. Though she seemed to have figured out what he was, he had not been able to put all of the pieces of the puzzle about her together until that moment.



And the pieces of that puzzle were ones that he almost wished did not fit. The woman that he loved, and cherished, was also his sworn enemy. The woman that had brought him back to life had also been created specifically to end it. He still couldn’t quite understand it, and the twisted irony of it was not lost upon him.



Devon met her inquisitive gaze, confusion and hope radiated from her. “Yes,” he admitted honestly. “More than I ever thought possible.”



Her delicate forehead furrowed in confusion as she turned back to Cassie. “I don’t understand any of this,” she whispered.



“We are not all monsters.”



Her gaze darted quickly back to his, her eyes widening slightly as she studied him carefully for a long moment. “No, I suppose not. I’m just going to have to figure out how to process that shocking bit of information.”



He nodded, his hand briefly stroking over Cassie’s arm, relishing in the feel of her satiny skin. She had been out for far longer than he liked. Turning, he moved away from her, stalking toward the door. Pacing back and forth, he tried to lose some of the restless energy clinging to him, even though he had not slept. He wanted her awake, and he needed to know what her reaction to him would be.



Still acutely attuned to the beat of her heart, he felt when it picked up, when she stirred slightly. He froze instantly, his mouth going dry as he waited for his fate to be handed to him. She could not reject him, he would not survive that.



She had to forgive him.



Her grandmother rose swiftly, leaning eagerly over her granddaughter. “Cassie, Cassie can you hear me?”



He could see her lids lift, but he was unable to see the bright color of her eyes. “Grandma?”



The sound of her voice was the sweetest thing he had ever heard. “Yes dear, I’m here. It’s ok; you’re going to be just fine.”



Cassie’s hand grasped hold of her grandmother as the woman bent over to give her a surprisingly fierce hug before pulling slightly away. “Devon? Where’s Devon?”



Her grandmother glanced worriedly at him before taking a small step back. “Here, I’m right here.”



He was surprised to find that he could barely get the words past the tight constriction in his chest and throat. He moved swiftly toward her, eager to see her again, eager to feel her again. Eager to know how she felt about him now. Stopping at her side, his body froze as her brilliant eyes clashed with his. The startling azure violet of them was bright and wounded, the pure amethyst flecks speckled throughout them shone in the harsh light of the room.



“Devon,” she breathed, tears filling her eyes and spilling down her delicate cheeks.



“Shh, don’t cry love.” Bending over her, he gently wiped the tears from her skin, relishing in the feel of her. “Don’t cry.”



“I wanted to kill you,” she whispered, a sob shaking her fragile body. “I thought that you were that… that thing and I wanted to kill you.”



This revelation did not surprise him. He had suspected as much. Though he felt that he should be angered, or feel betrayed by it, he was not. Their kind knew nothing about the vampire’s that did not feed on humans; they knew nothing about the ones that had shunned human blood. All she had known was that a monster was hunting her community, killing people, and somehow she had managed to figure out what he was. She had no way of knowing that he wasn’t a murderer anymore, though at one time he had been even worse than Julian. At one time her assumption about him would have been completely right.



More tears spilled free, coming so fast that he could no longer keep up with wiping them away. Worry for her health seized him as sobs shook her. “Cassie…”



“I wanted to kill you, and you saved my life.” Her face was filled with agony as she seized hold of his hand with surprising strength. “I should have known that you weren’t a monster, I should have trusted you. You would never do anything to hurt me. Please forgive me.”



His body constricted with anguish. He had been worried that she would not forgive him, and instead she was pleading for his forgiveness. It was something that she would never have to do. There was nothing she could do to turn him against her, nothing she could do to make him stop loving her. Gathering her in his arms, he cradled her gently, relishing in the feel of her once more. “There is nothing to forgive Cassie. I was worried that you would not forgive me.”



Her body trembled in his arms. “For what?” she mumbled.



“For what I am.”



A shudder rocked through her as she buried her face in his neck, her tears wetting his skin and shirt. “You are a wonderful man Devon.”



His gut twisted as his grip on her tightened. That was the worst part about all of this, he was not a man, and at one time he had been a brutal monster. He did not know what he had done to deserve her, but he would spend the rest of his life doing everything he could to earn her unwavering love. His hand wrapped into her hair, gently easing through the tangles that marred its golden beauty. Holding her tight, he closed his eyes as she buried herself against him.



Never in his life had he felt anything as wonderful as she was, and he knew that nothing would ever compare to her. He cradled her for a long time, rocking her as her sobs and tears slowly subsided. She pulled slightly back from him, her eyes reddened from her tears but still breathtakingly beautiful. He wiped the tears gently from her wet cheeks, hating the sight of them. She deserved only happiness and light, not misery. Unfortunately, fate had cast them both into roles where darkness was their main reality.



She stared at him with wide, wonder filled eyes. The tips of her long dark lashes were matted with tears; the ends of them shimmered with water. She searched his face, seeming to savor in every detail. He was unable to resist the tempting lure of her as he bent down and pressed a light kiss to her rosebud mouth.



His skin heated, his body tightened as the feel of her burned into him. Hunger for her surged through him, but he kept it tightly under control, along with his fierce urge to deepen the kiss. Pulling reluctantly away, he stroked her face once more before turning to meet the newcomers in the room.



Luther, Chris, and Melissa stood just inside the doorway. Chris’s mouth was slightly ajar, his sapphire eyes wide in shock. Luther’s face was an impassive mask while Melissa’s cheeks had colored and she looked slightly uncomfortable. Rising slowly from the bed, he kept hold of Cassie’s hand as he stood beside her. He had nearly lost her, he was not about to let her go anytime soon.



Cassie abashedly wiped the remaining tears from her face, smiling shyly at them. “Hi guys.”



Melissa was the first to recover her usual aplomb. “It’s so good to see you awake!”



She moved swiftly forward, shooting Devon a confused look as she moved to Cassie’s grandmother’s side. She bent to hug Cassie quickly, careful of the wires and tubes that still ran from her. “It’s good to be awake.”



Chris eyed Devon wearily, his eyes dark and brooding as he joined Melissa. Stiffly he bent to hug Cassie, his gaze never leaving Devon’s. Devon bristled slightly when he touched Cassie; he hated the idea of another man touching her, even if it was Chris. His hand tightened around hers until Chris released her and stepped back.



“What happened?” Chris asked his voice tight and confused.



Cassie glanced briefly at Devon. Slowly, her hand clenching upon his as she spoke, she retold the awful events of the night. Anger slowly built within Devon, mounting to higher and higher levels as he sensed her rising distress. Though he had only tasted a few drops of her blood, they had been enough to forge a stronger connection between them. He could sense her emotions more clearly, and though he could not read her thoughts, he could almost feel them pounding against the edges of his mind. Stroking her delicate skin, he tried to soothe the anguish building within her. Her voice cracked slightly, her anguish was evident as she finished her retelling.



They all turned toward him, their gazes fierce and inquisitive as they studied him intently. “I think we have a lot to discuss,” Luther finally broke the long silence.



Devon nodded briskly. He supposed they had a lot of questions, as did he. “After Cassie is feeling well enough to go home, we can talk,” he assured him.



“I feel fine now,” Cassie interjected forcefully.



He scanned her beautiful face, noting the bright gleam in her inquisitive eyes. She had only been awake for a little bit, but her color had already returned. The severe blood loss had been traumatic, yet she appeared as if nothing had happened. Apparently Hunters rebounded quickly when they were injured.



“You need to rest,” her grandmother said softly.



“I’m fine grandma, really.” She turned back to Devon, smiling brightly. “I heal fast.”



“Apparently,” he said softly, his thumb briefly stroked over her skin as he studied her. She looked as healthy as if nothing had happened to her. Her brief, intense sleep seemed to have completely repaired the injuries that she had sustained. It was amazing.



“Cassie…”



“I’m fine Luther, really. I feel much better; I just want to get out of here now. I don’t like hospitals.”



“You’ve never been in one.”



“And now it’s time to go.”



Tossing aside her blankets, she swung out of the bed. Devon blinked in surprise, startled by the sudden, graceful movement and the speed in which she had done it. She stood before him for a moment before her legs began to wobble. He grabbed swiftly hold of her, swinging her easily up in his arms as if she weighed no more than a feather. He was once again reminded of how fragile she was as she stared up at him with wide, surprised eyes. The beast crawled through him, rippling just beneath the surface as the urge to make her immortal reared back to fierce life.