Aurelia and Gabe ditched me for the Festival of Lights. I’d even done my best mom-style guilt trip about it being our first one together to honor our parents and Mammie. After all, the Festival of Lights was about paying tribute to the town’s fallen who’d protected the people and the town’s secret during the Massacre of 1876, and ever since. Our parents and Mammie had played a role in protecting the people then and since then, and now they were gone, too.

But Aurelia preferred to do the whole thing with a group of friends, and Gabe just wanted to go to Cody’s house so they could play video games right after.

“I told them it was a school night, so they’d better be home by nine, though,” I told Xandru as we rode down Main Street in his truck, admiring the bright pink and purple streaks in the sky as the sun set behind Miles Mountain.

“Ech. You’re such a mom,” he teased. The hand that had been resting on my thigh gave a playful squeeze as he turned right on Eighth Street.

“Hey, where are you going? Addie, Sindi, and everyone are meeting us on the slopes. Other way.” I pointed behind us.

“Remember that surprise date?”

“You mean, the best date ever?”

“Well . . . surprise.” He looked over at me with a broad grin.

“Wait. Now? But everyone else is waiting on us. What about the Festival of Lights?”

He hitched his thumb toward the rear window. “I have lanterns in the back. Everyone else? Who the fuck cares?”

I turned to look out the back window, glancing at the lanterns and a bunch of other stuff piled up in the bed. My gaze slid up, though, toward the ski slopes behind us, where all of our friends were. Then I turned and slumped into my seat, although I was admittedly excited to see where he was taking me. Sindi and Addie might have been mad, but they’d get over it. Or, for all I knew, they were in on the whole thing.

I figured out the where pretty quickly. “You’re taking us to our spot?”

He didn’t answer, but drove in silence. And that was exactly where he went. But instead of parking us as usual, facing the town, he backed in.

“Stay here a minute,” he said, before sliding out into the cold.

I turned in my seat and watched as he hopped into the bed of the truck, but then he hung a blanket over the rear window, blocking my view. I sighed as I turned back around and stared into the darkness that was quickly descending. Anyone who’d never been in the mountains in the middle of nowhere had no idea just how dark dark could be. Within minutes, only the snow, a faint glow, could be seen.

My door opened, startling me. Xandru held his gloved hand out. “My lady?”

He helped me out of the cab, then wrapped a thick blanket around me before leading me around to the tailgate.

“Oh. Wow,” I breathed, taking in the sight he’d prepared.

He’d used his metal-working ability to create several candelabras that were somehow propped on the sides of the truck’s bed. In the bed was a huge pile of blankets and pillows, as well as a thermos and picnic basket sitting in the corner. On the tailgate rested two large paper lanterns, ready to be lit. We leaned against the tailgate, Xandru’s arm around me, taking in the view.

Down below us, the lights of town spread out, everything still decorated for Christmas. Town tradition kept all holiday lights on until January eighth, the night of the Festival of Lights. Then the town would go black as the lights were extinguished in memory of the blackness of the night of the massacre, when a band of supernatural hunters had attacked the settlement that became Havenwood Falls.

“It’s almost time,” Xandru said as he gave me a squeeze.

I tried to see if I could find our friends on the side of the mountain opposite us, where the slopes were brightly lit, but they were a popular place for launching lanterns. Several groups of people dotted the white expanses that weaved through the dark clumps of trees. My vampire vision wasn’t quite good enough to pick them out.

Fat snowflakes began to fall, and our breaths plumed out in synch. Xandru pulled me closer, and I cuddled against him. A few moments later, the lights below began to blink out, block by block, and then the town square. The ski resort’s lights were last, and when they went dark, the whole town was plunged into blackness.

This was the moment of silence.

I closed my eyes and silently sent word to Mom and Dad, hoping they knew we would do everything we could to free them. Thanking them for their love and sacrifice, even if I didn’t agree with their decisions. Forgiving them for those decisions. I also paid my respects to the Rocas, because without them, there would be no Xandru.

“Ready?” he whispered a minute later.

I nodded, and we pulled apart. Lifting one of the lanterns, I held onto its frame as he lit it, then used one hand to help him with his. We turned to face town, lanterns held above our heads, watching as thousands more blinked to life. Then they began to rise from the bottom of the canyon. Then more from all four mountainsides. I looked up at mine, its orange flame glowing down at me.

“I love you, Mom and Dad,” I whispered, releasing the lantern and watching it rise.

Xandru released his, then swooped his arm around me and pulled me into the bed of the pickup. We scooted back against the pillows, he piled the blankets on top of us, and then we lay back and watched thousands of lights rise from Havenwood Falls into the inky sky.

“It’s so beautiful,” I said, snuggling closer into Xandru. His arms tightened around me, but I was strangely not freezing, and not just because of the blankets. I wiggled my butt. “Do you have a heater under us?”

He chuckled. “I do. I rigged a way to heat the whole bed. I also have hot chocolate.” He pointed toward the thermos. “And wine, if you prefer.”

“You thought of everything.”

“I tried.”

I looked up at him and kissed his stubbly jaw. “You really do have a romantic bone in your body, Roca. My mom might be impressed.”

He laughed, but the sound seemed a little off. “I hope so.” He breathed out what sounded like a sigh, the heat fanning against my cheek.

“I love you always, Xandru Roca,” I said.

“And you are my world, Michaela Petran,” he whispered against my ear. Then he let go of me with one hand, reaching for something under the blankets. “But Kales?”

“Yeah?” I said as I gazed out at the lanterns.

“Will you be my world forever?”

I broke my gaze from the sky and turned to look at him. “What?”

He brought his hand out from under the blankets, holding a ring between his thumb and forefinger. “Will you be my world forever?”

My throat closed up with tears. Happy tears. All I could do was nod. He slipped the ring onto my finger, and I threw my arms around his neck.

“Yes, Xandru,” I finally managed to say. “I will be your forever.”

He pulled back to look into my eyes. “Mine.”

“Yours.”

He held my face in his hands and leaned in for the kiss.

“This really is the best date ever,” I murmured, before he pulled me back for another.

Then we snuggled deep under the blankets and made love as the lanterns dotted the sky.

Honoring our past.

Celebrating our present.

Creating our future.

* * *

We hope you enjoyed this story in the Havenwood Falls series featuring a variety of supernatural creatures. The series is a collaborative effort by multiple authors. Want to know more about the characters in this book and their stories?

Find out what happened to Aster, Reeve, and the rest of the McCabes in by E.J. Fechenda.

Learn Graysin and Everett’s story and get to know Callie more, too, in by Randi Cooley Wilson.

Read about the Kasun wolf pack in by Kallie Ross.

Find out what happened with Macy and Gallad in by Morgan Wylie.

Read about the black bear shifters in by Lila Felix.

Learn more about Old Man Mills and the frost dragon shifters in by Amy Hale.

Discover Harper’s story in by R.K. Ryals.

Find out what Michaela did to piss off Roman in by Randi Cooley Wilson, coming February 2018.

And look forward to Addie and Tase’s book, coming September 2018.

Other characters mentioned here have come from other books in the Havenwood Falls shared world, so be sure to read them all.

Coming soon are books by Amy Hale, Amy Miles, Stacey Rourke, and more.

Look for Havenwood Falls High, a Young Adult series featuring the town’s younger residents.

Immerse yourself in the world of Havenwood Falls and stay up to date on news and announcements at . Join our reader group, Havenwood Falls Book Club, on Facebook at