Dracula knelt before me, spectacular in all his bloody devotion. ❝Everything I am is yours.❞
I pushed the sword tip beneath his chin, lifting his face.
❝I want Catherine.❞
*...
The Alpha sat up, breathless. His heart was racing, his hand was on fire. The moonlight revealed his searing flesh, already healing, but not quickly enough to hide the X.
The Omega rolled over in alarm, switching on the lamp at the bedside table.
"I have to go."
"Now I remember why I date girls more often." Alicia leaned against the headboard, fingers clutching the sheets to her chest, lips twisting as she watched the Alpha button his jeans. "You don't have to tell me. I know it's her."
"I'm sorry. Mimi's in trouble."
"How could you possibly know that?"
Ethan straightened his t-shirt, sighing. "I just do. I'll call you."
"No you won't."
He grabbed his keys from the desk, apologetic, but not nearly enough. "I'll let myself out. Sorry about the mess. It was a really nice room--before." It was Alicia who had caused most of the damage. Why did the universe keep sending chicks who hated him?
"You said she picked someone else. Why you are still so hung up on her?"
Ethan smiled. "Magic." And this time when he vanished, he did it for real.
Traumatized, the Omega fell from the bed.
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"Magic." I whispered the word, enchanted by the trees crowding the doorway. One step and Catherine's transportation spell would take us straight into the heart of the Gentle Forest. Side-by-side in the pale moonlight, I braved the unknown with Dracula.
The front door slammed closed behind us. I turned. The house was gone. We were alone.
"You and your secrets..." I loved him despite them. I cupped his face in my hands. "You have to go."
Dracula's dark brows furrowed in resistance. "Naomi--"
"Earlier than I thought, but this is it. This is when we stop Catherine--and find Tidus." I squeezed his arm. "But we need Chandler. He knows the spell to the Otherworld. Once I stop Catherine, then we'll have our chance to save Tidus."
The wind picked up. The trees quaked, the bushes rustled.
We embraced, our kiss fierce as the elements. Drake pressed his forehead to mine, lingering long enough for me to push him away.
"I'll be fine; Catherine needs me alive for her spell. Look out for yourself, please don't let the Witches take you. I love you."
"I love you too." He stepped back, removing his t-shirt. "I'm coming back for you." He launched into the air, his clothes falling to the earth as he transformed mid-flight. His bat-form climbed the night air, fluttering above the tree tops, carrying my heart with him. That heart shattered as a hail of black arrows rose to greet him.
