Stay For Me

Chapter 7

DECLAN

"Declan..."  The whisper echoed through his head. He shot up. He leaped out if bed and rushed to the window. There, Rani's diamond tomb glittered in the moonlight. It had been two months since he lost her forever. He looked over at the girl in the bed that had been laying beside him.  The blonde bimbo rolled over and sat up. She wrapped the sheet around her and tiptoed over to him.

"Declan, come back to bed..." Mariah whispered as she wrapped her arms around his torso.

"I don't want to." Declan pushed her arms away from him and pulled sweatpants and a hoodie. He slipped out of the room and headed down to his soulmate's glittering grave.

"Rani, why did you have to run?" He whispered as a tear slipped from his eye.

A soft touch gently wiped away the tear from his face. He looked up and screamed.

RANIELLE

She hated seeing him like this, wasting away; every second his body slowly melted away.

The mirrored glass reflected his every move. During the two months of waiting, she had discovered that if she willed it, the glass would show her her heart's desire.

Ranielle leaned forward. She reached to brush the tears away from his face on the screen.

Her hand melted through the glass.

She yanked her hand back and gripped it. Curiousity overtook her. She reached out and stepped through the screen.

There, she heard his soft cry. She reached out and wiped the tear away. He looked up and screamed.

"Declan!" She yelled, sheilding her eyes. He scrambled away from her.

"Stay away, demon! Stay away!" Declan shrieked. Ranielle knelt in front of him.

"Declan...." her own voice cracked as she felt the tears come. Then she noticed the stark whiteness of her hands, the wispiness when she moved.

"Declan, please, it's me!" She begged. His hands moved away slowly.

"Rani?" He murmured, shellshocked. He reached out to take her hand. Ranielle reached out and as his fingers went to close around hers, his hand fell through her palm.

"You aren't real." He muttered, looking away.  

Ranielle began to panic. Her soulmate was slipping into exhaustion. She leaned in and touched his chest.

"What is it, ghost? Why do you take the form of the only one I would ever love and torture me like this?!" Declan roared. Rani shrank back. His syes were blackening, his nails elongating.

She knew she had to do something. She touched his chest again, saying, "You told me your heart beat only for me, remember?"

DECLAN

He stared at the apparation with its palm pressed against his chest. He saw her lips move. Forming words, but no sound was coming from her mouth.

Slowly, he made out the sentence. "You told me your heart beat only for me, remember?"

*Declan, that was what we told mate when she was in the infirmiary when we brought her back!*

*Colton, that's impossible.*  Declan scoffed at his wolf.

COLTON

Colton shook his head. His idiot human counterpart wouldn't remember the moment where he first saw Rani smile.

Colton showed Declan the memory, trying to get him to understand.

*Do you understand now, you blockhead?!*  Colton growled. He and Declan hadn't spoken much since Rani had died. But he was sure that was all about to change.

DECLAN

Declan watched the scene play in his mind.

"Ranielle?" He whispered, reaching out towards the wisp. The ghost nodded feverishly, pointing to the tomb and talking rapidly to him, too fast for him to read her lips.

"Ranielle!" He shouted into the night, his heart nearly bursting. He had a way to see his love again, but how? He had watched her die.

He touched the diamond wall, and the apparation shivered. He took his hand off and put it back on again. THis time, his hand gave way into the stone.

He pushed through, desperate to see what he hadn't seen before.

RANIELLE

Ranielle watched as Declan pushed into the tomb, then slipped, fell, and cracked his head on a rock on the ground.

"Rani?" SHe turned around. There, standing before her, was Declan, bewildered.

"Declan!" She plowed into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and  crying.

"Ranielle..." Declan let his arms drift up to hold her, to touch the soft red-blonde hair. He pushed her away from him, still holding her hands.

"You look as beautiful as the day I lost you..." Declan whispered. Ranielle blushed and hid her face.

"You still haven't healed." He noted. She nodded. Declan lifted her head and stared into her eyes. Her thick lashes were wet with tears, clumped together.

"Why are you crying, dear heart?" He asked, more worried about her than himself.

"I'm not dead, Declan. I didn't die. Somehow, I didn't die. I'm being kept alive somehow. This is simply a waiting area, Declan, I'm not dead!"

"What?!" Declan simply recoiled in shock. "That's impossible! I watched you, I felt you die..."

"But I didn't die, Declan! I didn't die!" She twisted away from him.  She felt his arms wrap around her, felt the heat of his body pressed against her back.

"I missed you so freaking much, Ranielle...so much..." She turned around and hugged him. She looked up at him, his eyes warm with something she'd never seen before. She tentatively reached up and stroked his cheek. He nuzzled her palm, then caught her hand and kissed it.

DECLAN

Her skin was rough, probably from the years of work. He gazed into her eyes, and he could sense the fear and hesitation in her. He whispered, "Rani, I'm going to do something. It's going to hurt, but I promise it will be okay." She nodded. Declan moved her hair from her neck and looked at her. She stared back, wide-eyed and confused. He lowered his head, gently kissing where her neck met her shoulder. He let his canines graze the area, and he felt her jerk beneath him. He held her tighter, and bit down hard.

RANIELLE

Ranielle screamed. Her legs melted and if it wasn't for Declan's arms around her waist she would have fallen to the floor. AS quickly as it had occurred, the pain was replaced with a soft, tingling sensation. Declan began quietly licking the wound. He pulled back and smiled at her, still searching her face. Ranielle leaned back into his chest, suddenly craving his warmth.

*BOOM*

The air crackled around them. The walls of the room began crumbling around their ears and she screamed. Declan grabbed and clung to her as hot light filled the room, and they both blacked out.