Adele

Normally, I liked the smell of blood, but vampire guts had a sour sun-baked road kill scent. Not a smell any sane werewolf would enjoy.

It took a while to wash off all the gore. Both my eyes had gone black from hits I didn't even remember. I had several raw cuts on my arms, bruises all over the place, and my wrists were a mess of knife cuts.

Blood soaked my dress, and grimacing, I peeled it off. Red, wet streaks ran over my torso. I wiped them off with the flimsy paper towels in the bathroom, trying not to bend my one wrist too much. The bone was still healing and I didn't want it to knit together crooked.  Once I was as clean as I could get without a long shower, I put my regular clothes back on.

When I returned to the main room of the warehouse, Davian wasn't alone. Marie had joined him, wearing a pale blue track suit and her silver hair up in a neat bun.

"Adele." She held out her arms.

"Marie. What are you doing here?" I gave her a careful hug, not wanting to bump any of my bruises or ruin her clothes.

"I wanted to say goodbye."

"Thank you for everything," I said. I would probably never see her again. Not with everyone blaming me for what had happened in Huntsville.

"I hope I was helpful." She looked at the warehouse. "But I'm not sure I did you any good."

"I don't think I'm a healer." I ducked my head, embarrassed. The one thing I was supposed to be good at, and I'd failed at it just like everything else.

"No. You are. I'm certain of it, but you weren't meant for a healer's life. Not one like mine anyway. And I couldn't figure out why until I met this vampire of yours." She took my hand in hers. "Why didn't you tell me about the cloud around your wolf?"

I gave a half shrug."I'd hoped it would go away."

"Ah, but it's only gotten stronger hasn't it?"

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I didn't. Not until I met Davian tonight and then it became clear."

"What is it? Why is it there?"

"That's Davian's story to tell." She looked to Davian. "And you will tell her."

He nodded. "Yes."

She wrapped me in her arms again, her herbal scent washing over me. "I hope you will be very happy together."

"Thank you."

"And be sure to go see your sister before you leave. She's been worried sick, calling me every day and asking if I've heard from you."

"I don't think the women of Huntsville would like that."

She waved a hand. "I'll handle them. You have a good heart, Adele. I'm not going to let them convince anyone else otherwise."

I rested my head on her shoulder for a moment, drinking in her strength. I would miss her. "You're an amazing bad ass healer, Marie."

She laughed and stepped back from our hug. "Some days I even amaze the moon. Now. Go. Both of you. Go and be happy. You've finally found where you're supposed to be, Adele."

Davian extended a hand to me. "Shall we?"

***

I held Davian's hand on the drive over to my sister's house, unwilling to let go. We'd made a quick stop to the twenty-four-hour big box store for new clothes and then a hotel for a shower before heading out. I didn't want to go see my sister looking like I'd just taken a blood bath. The goal was to look like I had my shit together, and for her to believe it, I couldn't be crusty with dried gore.

"I can't believe it's over."

He gave me a squeeze. "It is."

"What about the cloud in my mind? What's that?"

"It's me."

"Is that really possible?"

"I guess so." He sighed. "Especially if the vampire in question is also a werewolf."

I snatched my hand away. "What? You're what? When were you going to tell me?"

He held up his hand. "Hear me out. I was an omega, too weak to shift and unmateable. Back in my day, they killed you for that. So, I ran. I found the Dark Cities and travelled from one to the next, fascinated by them."

"And then someone made you a vampire."

"Yes. To vampires, I had something to offer. I knew the packs, and they loved the idea of having someone like me under their control. So the Vampire Council turned me."

"All of them?"

"No. Just one, the strongest."

"Won't they come after us?"

He shook his head. "No. My maker was killed in a coup after I was turned. The new council didn't see any value in having me around and actually thought about killing me, too. A vampire shifter mix scared them. They worried I might be stronger and a threat to their power."

"But you were an omega, or did becoming a vampire give you extra shifter strength?"

"My shifter side made the vampire side a little stronger, but not by much."

"How did you survive after your maker died?"

"I found new patrons on the council and proved my worth. I brought the Shifter Council and Vampire Council together. Helped with business deals. Dealt with out-of-control vampires who might start a war with shifters."

"Like the blood slave ring."

"Exactly. Most vampires don't want trouble. They just want to be immortal in peace. And I just wanted to be useful, to be included. My pack hadn't wanted me, but being a vampire I was finally strong enough to offer something others valued. But even then, I still failed." He looked away, his expression dark.

"Dahlia?" I asked, remembering how he'd called for her in his sleep.

His head bowed. Whatever had happened had hurt him deeply. He was silent for a long time and I gave him the space, sensing I shouldn't push. Finally, he heaved a sigh and lifted his head, but still wouldn't look at me.

"Dahlia was my sister. I went back home after I was turned. I was lonely. I just wanted to see my family one last time." He stared into space. "Vampires came. Looking for me. Politics had made me a target."

"Just like with Zion."

He nodded. "Yes. The pack caught wind of them. There was a fight and they took out the whole pack. I couldn't save..." His voice broke and he fell silent again. His hand reached out and I took it. "But then I met you and realized I needed so much more than what I had. It scared me, which is part of why I left you."

"And the other part?"

"Just what I've said all along. I don't live a great life. I'm not an alpha."

"I think you're more alpha than you realize. You took on Jackson and Zion. You, an omega."

He shrugged. "Maybe so. But I couldn't have done it without you."

"You could have done it on your own if you had to. And anyway, I don't care if you're an alpha or not. That's not what makes you important to me."

"I get it now. We're mates. We're bound by the moon. Something I didn't think was possible for me."

"Me either. I thought I would die alone."

"But here we are." He took my hand again and raised it to his lips for a kiss.

I snorted.

"What?"

"Do you realize you were born before my time, and that if you hadn't become a vampire, we would have never met?"

"The moon moves in mysterious ways."

"That, it does." I couldn't hold back a huge smile. I'd done it. Saved myself, by myself (well, mostly) and found a mate to boot. Granted, he wasn't the kind of mate most shifters would approve of, but I'd publicly humiliated myself while high on a regular basis. This wouldn't be the most difficult thing I'd ever done, and Davian was worth it. So, so worth it.

***

My sister lived in a perfect log cabin in a perfect tree-filled valley with the perfect alpha. The Milky Way stretched out above, making the valley look like a picture from National Geographic. All the perfection made my gut burn. I was everything but perfect. No wonder I hadn't made it a priority to visit before. It was a lot to process, and I hoped I was ready for it.

"Is this it?" Davian parked the Porsche SUV at the end of the long driveway and nodded to the cabin there.

"Yeah. As far as I know. This is where her directions said to turn." I stayed where I was, my seatbelt still strapped on, liking the fact that something was holding onto me.

"You okay?" He put a hand on my shoulder.

I gave him a small smile. "Yeah. I haven't seen my sister in a while. Not since that night."

"The one with you tied to a couple of trees while Marie cut you with knives?"

"Yeah. That's the one."

"It'll be okay. She's your sister. She loves you, right?"

"I'm not worried about her. She's amazing. It's me I don't know about." I fidgeted with a loose thread on the hem of my new T-shirt, not knowing what to do with myself.

"Like you're not amazing in your own right?" He gave my shoulder a shake.

I barked a short laugh. "Have you seen my brand of amazing? It's kind of scary."

"And brave. And strong. And loyal. Don't sell yourself short, Adele."

"You think so?"

"If you think mistakes are the only thing that defines someone, then none of us are any good. You are not your mistakes. None of us are. Okay?"

I nodded, liking what he said but still not completely convinced. "All my life, I've been the hot mess, the failure that everyone talked about and Lia... she's been perfect. "

"That's not who you are now and you know it. She's going to see that. Is that what you're so scared of?"

His words hit home and my stomach dropped like a wrecking ball. Zion had never scared me. I hadn't liked him, but I'd never feared him. Why would Lia get to me then?

Because, whispered a small voice in the darkest part of my mind, here I am again claiming to be clean and have my shit together. I wanted her to know it was real this time, and I wasn't sure she would believe me.

But time to dwell on any of that had run out. Lia had noticed our arrival. The cabin door opened and my sister poked her head out, her entire face lighting up when she saw that we'd arrived. She waved at us, her whole body moving with the gesture and then ran down the porch steps toward our car. Ryder, her mate and the alpha of the pack, came to stand in the doorway.

I got out to meet her, ignoring the nausea churning in my gut. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I said, "Hey."

"Adele!" Lia squealed and threw her arms around me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"I was so scared." She pulled back and did a quick scan, checking me over. "You're hurt."

"I'm healing."

"Why is he here?" She looked at Davian, her brow furrowed in confusion. Ryder came down then and glowered at us both over her shoulder.

"Davian's been helping me."

"But isn't he the vampire that—"

"Yes," I said quickly, cutting her off. "It's everything you think and more. We're mates."

Her eyebrows shot up and her mouth formed an 'o.'  Ryder moved out from behind her to stand next to her, his hands loose at his side but his gaze laser focused on Davian.

I edged in front of Davian. "He's one of the good vampires. I swear."

Her face remained frozen with shock. Ryder stepped forward. I tensed, prepared for a fight, but his arms came up, not to punch but to wrap me in a quick hug. "Glad you're okay."

"Me too. He helped." I pointed to Davian.

"I heard you helped quite a bit. Jackson called and told me a little bit of what went down. I had to see you to believe it." Ryder offered his hand to Davian and the two men shook. "Welcome to Moon's Bower."

"Thank you," said Davian.

"We just stopped by to say hi and show you that I'm in one piece." I spread out my arms and turned in a circle. "See? I'm okay."

"Thank the moon," Lia breathed, recovering from her shock. It was a testament to all that we'd been through that my mate being a vampire didn't give her much pause. I'd come home with worse.

"And it's over."

She gave me a confused look. "What's over?"

I took a deep breath. "All of it. The drugs, the drama. I'm good from here on out."

"Really?" Desperate hope flashed in her eyes, but I didn't see any disbelief and the nausea eased a bit at that.

"Yeah. Really. Thank you for being an awesome sister. I love you so much." I gave her a big hug. "I wouldn't be here without you."

"I love you too." Her voice went thick with tears. "And I'm so glad you're okay now because I'm going to need you."

I leaned back and studied her face. "Need me? For what?"

"To deliver the baby. I heard you helped with Chloe's baby. Is that true?"

My jaw dropped. "I'm going to be an aunt?"

Lia smiled and put a hand on her stomach. "Yeah. In the summer. We don't know the exact date yet."

"Oh, that's amazing. Wow. Congratulations." I hugged her, hard and tight. Then I hugged Ryder before going back to Lia again. I'd been too nervous to smell the baby before, but now that I knew, I could make out the sweet scent of new life.

"Congratulations," Davian said, offering his hand to Ryder and then Lia.

"So, you'll help?" Lia asked.

"Yes. Of course, I will. But maybe call Marie, too. She has more experience than I do."

"And will you come for Christmas?"

I looked to Davian who gave a slight nod of encouragement. "Yes. I—" I stopped short and corrected myself. "We would love to."

A dazzling smile lit up Lia's face as she burst into tears. "I'm so happy, I don't know what to do."

I wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Stop crying for one, sis. Everything's good. There's nothing to cry about." But tears rolled down my cheeks, too, because sometimes there's so much happiness, it hurts.