“No, no, no!” Winter half-yelled, half-whispered as she ran down the dark halls of the hospital, checking every door only to find them locked…
She would’ve slammed her fist into the wood if she wasn’t trying to escape her psychopathic father.
She knew she had to be silent.
She checked the last door, rattling the knob and cursing under her breath. “No!” she whispered. “Crap! There’s all locked!”
She swallowed down something hard, looking down the dark hall as Dante’s voice echoed through the walls…
She couldn’t tell where his voice was coming from… but she knew he was humming her mother’s favorite lullaby…
Though currently—as her heart pounded against her rib cage—the calming sound only made her panic burn worse.
All she knew was that her senses were heightened, and she could hear him getting closer…
“I know you’re near, my Winter,” he sang, making her lungs seize. “Run all you want, you’ll only grow tired. You have nowhere to hide.”
Speaking of nowhere to hide… where were all his minions? Erica? Jett? Kit?
But she suddenly saw his red eyes glow in the darkness ahead, beaming through the world of black like headlights…
From hell…
She backed away, the panic burning worse…
As his form came out of the darkness, she saw his smile…
His bright, white teeth that shone with the moonlight from the broken ceilings…
He stopped about ten yards away from her, grinning. “You have nowhere to run….” He chuckled, the sound chilling her bones. “Just give up, my Winter. No one’s coming to help you, not your mommy,” his eyes glowed brighter, “and not your Cameron.”
“You’re insane,” Winter snapped. “You can’t always get what you want because you want it. You have to earn it. And you’re far passed that now. I hate you Dante, I’ll never forgive you for what you’ve done to me. For as long as I live.”
He smiled then. “Oh, really? Never?”
She remained silent, frozen in place like a statue.
“You forgave Cameron,” he said. “After he kidnapped you, held you against your will. Are you sure there’s no room in your heart to forgive me?”
Cameron was different, though… He wanted to protect her, not hurt her for his own gain.
Winter didn’t know what Dante was planning, but she had a suspicion that it was more than just “being a family.” Something much more.
“Let me go,” she said. “And I’ll think about it.”
His smile didn’t waver. “I know that trick, Winter. You’re lying, and I’m not letting you go,” he glared then, “until I teach you a lesson for slapping your father.”
She didn’t move her eyes off him, seething even when his gaze pierced her like knives.
“Really,” he said, faking a pout and rubbing his cheek, “it really hurt….”
“Good,” she snapped.
He looked to her then, dropping a hand when he raised his brows. “‘Good?’ You don’t apologize for hurting your father?”
“I don’t apologize to someone who’s hurt me and my family. I don’t apologize to someone who killed my sister. And I ESPECIALLY don’t apologize to a random guy who doesn’t know how to love.”
His eyes narrowed then, and his smile vanished, though he kept quiet.
But Winter’s eyes moved behind him when a sudden shadow crept toward them on his right…
They held something wide and stick-like in their hand, holding it up like a baseball bat.
She was about to fear that it was Kit, coming to smash her head in again per Dante’s orders, but the figure hurled it at Dante’s head, making him yell out as the metal pipe dove into his skull.
Winter looked up at the shadow while they were gasping, Dante momentarily unconscious on the floor as they looked back up to Winter.
“Amelia?” she whispered.
“You know how long I’ve been waiting to do that?” she responded, chuckling. “Alright, Winter. Come on. He’ll wake up soon.”
Winter then ran over to her twin, grasping a hold of her hand when Amelia dropped the pipe and darted away, holding onto Winter’s wrist as she stared back at Dante, seeing him still unconscious.
“Are you okay?” Amelia whispered as they ran.
“Yeah,” Winter said, nodding despite questioning how the hell Amelia got in here.
“There’s one exit,” she responded. “We’re almost there…..”
“Is that how you got in here?” Winter said.
“Yeah,” she responded. “I knew where he took you, but Cameron found an entrance.”
“Where is he?” Winter said, looking around.
“We split up,” Amelia answered. “We both were looking for you.”
Winter glanced over her shoulder to see if Dante was following, but there was still silence.
“They’re going to resurrect mom,” Winter said. “We have to stop them.”
Amelia looked back to her. “I know how much you care about her,” she said, “but going back is idiotic. He’ll wake up soon, I guarantee it.”
“How do we stop them?” Winter questioned, adrenaline pumping through her veins.
“Cameron should be done looking by now,” she said. “He’ll be waiting at the entrance. Once we get together, we’ll think of a plan.”
Winter shut up then.
“Just around the corner!” Amelia said quietly.
They turned right at the intersection…
But they both stopped, feet sliding along the rubble floors.
“But… how…?” Amelia whispered.
The entrance they took was now blocked by a giant pillar… the room covered in clouds of dust as if this pillar fell recently.
Winter’s breathing became strained, and she looked around in a panic.
This surely was… convenient…
“WINTER!” a voice screamed from behind them, making both her and Amelia stiffen. “COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!”
“He’s awake…” Winter whispered.
“It’s werewolf immortality…” Amelia said. “I hit him with a lead pipe, but if it was silver, then he’s be down for a little longer, though not by much….”
Winter breathed shallowly, staring off into space as she thought of a plan…
But when her eyes landed on a broken door further down the hall, she caught Amelia’s wrist and half-dragged her to the room.
It was a boiler room… an old one…
The walls were rusty metal… the floors, as well… There was rubble and broken pipes scattered all over the floors, and Winter searched around, making sure there were no threats before guiding her and Amelia to hide behind a furnace.
It was cold in here and dark… the pitch black like poison seeping into her bones… but this was the only open room… even ifthe door was broken…
She could hear her own strained breathing combined with her sister’s, staring off into the darkness as everything inside her chilled…
She pleaded in her head that they’d both come out of this alive… and Cameron, too…
Wherever he was…
Winter rested her head on her sister’s shoulder, feeling Amelia place her hand on hers as a response…
Both of them were shaking like live wires, breathing shallowly as if their lungs were on the verge of collapsing.
“Ameli—” Winter started before her twin covered her mouth.
At her stern look, Winter nodded, knowing they had to be quiet…
Especially when the hospital was filled with an eerie silence…
A silence that was so loud it was ear-shattering…
And Amelia took a brave step and peaked out from behind the boiler, looking for threats as Winter held onto her hand.
But a white hand launched out from behind the metal and caught her arm, ripping her out of Winter’s hold as she cried out.
But Winter remained silent, covering her mouth as her breaths got shallower and shallower…
It felt like her organs stopped working… She wanted to puke and pant at the same time… Her body grew cold as her heart pounded so hard against her rib cage she thought it would burst…
“Now, now,” Dante said, clearly holding Amelia by her hair when she heard her choked cries. “What a little pain.”
Tears burned in her eyes, and she pleaded that Amelia wouldn’t die again… but she knew that Dante didn’t know Winter was hiding still because she was wearing dark clothes, her hair was black, and she was tucked into the corner behind the furnace, blending in with the shadows…
She also knew that if she gave out her location… it was make her lose her chance of winning against him… She needed to think of a plan before making irrational decisions…
And right now, her throbbing heart wasn’t helping…
“Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” he wondered to Amelia, sounding genuinely curious. “I remember murdering you all those years ago.”
The tears burned worse, but Winter managed to prevent herself from crying silently.
Think… think… think…
“Where is your sister?” he demanded.
“I… don’t… know…” Amelia said, choking out the words through her cries.
“Liar,” he growled. “WHERE IS SHE?”
“I said,” she stated, raising her voice, “I DON’T KNOW!”
Winter was shaking in the corner, trying to come up with a plan but all her thoughts flew by her mind in a panic… and she couldn’t think straight.
Should I run out and attack him? Winter thought. Or should I run and find Cameron?
No… she needed to hide and then attack him… if she did anything rash, Amelia would die…
And she couldn’t handle that… not again…
Winter looked down to her holster, noticing that her dagger was still gone…
She yelled a curse in her mind, scanning the areas for weapons…
“She’s in here, isn’t she?” Dante wondered, making Winter freeze.
“I’d.. never… tell you…” Amelia said, “even if it… cost me… my life! She’s… my… sister! My… best friend…! And I… won’t let you… hurt her….”
“You’re such a pain,” Dante stated, somehow keeping his cool. “I’m not killing you, Amelia, like you’re clearly planning. I’ll get it out of you a different way.”
All the sudden Amelia flew out from where their voices were, slamming against a metal wall and sank to the floor, gasping…
Did he just… throw her…?
“Even if she isn’t in here…” Dante said, stepping to Amelia as she struggled to sit up. “I’ll find her.”
Winter winced when he dove his foot into her abdomen, making her double over, choking.
He pulled her head back by her hair, staring into her cold, grey eyes. “Tell me where she is,” he said, “or I can do much worse.”
She spat at him. “Screw you.”
Winter’s veins started burning when he pulled a switchblade out of his pocket, running the tip down her cheek when she closed her eyes, preparing herself for pain.
Winter covered her eyes when Dante slashed Amelia across the cheek, making her cry out, but he shoved her back against the wall, blood trailing down her skin…
Tears burned her eyes, but she blinked them away when the cold pain consumed her, turning into fire and burning her inside like acid…
No… she thought, her trembles slowing as the heat devoured her inside.
“Tell me where she is, Amelia,” he said, running the tip to her throat.
I can’t… Winter thought, watch this…
“Tell me where she IS, Amelia,” he pressed.
Winter was burning.
“Amelia.”
Scorching…
“Tell me.”
Fuming…
“You know you should tell me.”
Flaming…
She stood so fast her head rushed, making Dante’s head snap in her direction.
Winter glared, feeling the heat and the ice consume her.
She wasn’t afraid anymore…
Never again.
“Leave her alone!” Winter yelled.
“Look who came out to play,” Dante said, smiling as he shoved Amelia back down. And she stayed.
Winter glared at him, eyes piercing his soul as she stayed focused.
She was burning inside, like every part of her was set aflame… but the burning was doused in frost… freezing, agonizing frost…
She felt bitter and cold…
She was merciless now.
And her eyes reflected the anger she felt inside, tilting her head to the side as something dark flickered in Dante’s gaze.
Fear.
“Uh, oh,” Amelia taunted, “you made her maaaad.”
“Shut up,” Dante snapped, “or I’ll slit your throat.”
He looked back to Winter, baring his teeth, though she could see the dark swarming in his gaze.
Like a hurricane of terror…
And yet… his canines weren’t extending…
“Winter…” Amelia said, smiling slightly, “you’re powerful, alright…? Don’t doubt yourself… you’re stronger than him….”
Dante turned back around and slammed his heel into her abdomen, making her cry out before choking again.
“LEAVE HER ALONE!” Winter screamed, the cold swarming her inside. “YOU ABUSIVE PIECE OF SHI—”
“Language, Winter,” Dante said, looking to her from the side. “Is that how you talk to your father?”
“You won’t be my father when you’re DEAD.”
He was silent at this, the storm in his eyes growing stronger…
She wasn’t afraid anymore… right now she wanted to set him on fire and watch him burn…
She actually wondered if it looked pretty…
Her eyes narrowed into a glare, her blood boiling like the metal floors were a stove.
“Win… ter…” Amelia choked, tears clouding her eyes…
Pain… she was in pain…
It hurt to see her like that… The normal, beautiful, cheerful girl… now lying on the floor, afraid to move… afraid to be killed…
A cold, bitter storm consumed Winter at this, followed by an icy fire…
She looked back to Dante, eyes narrowing.
“You need to shut up,” he snapped to Amelia. “I want to talk to Winter alone.”
And he drove his shoe into her gut again, but her lungs were already sore from the hundreds of times he did that tonight, so her face dropped, and Winter knew she fainted…
Something erupted inside her…
“STOP IT!” she screamed, unsure as to WHY she hadn’t run up to him and squeezed her hands around his throat yet. “YOU HURT HER ONE MORE TIME, AND I’LL TEACH YOU A LESSON!”
Dante looked to her from the side, though he wasn’t smiling anymore… and the fear in his eyes continued to grow. “That’s where you’re wrong, Winter. I’m your father. Therefore, I do the teaching.”
“I will never be your daughter,” Winter growled, feeling the sharp pain inside her expand throughout her body, making her fingers sting as if she were getting frostbite. “My father died a year ago. YOU KILLED HIM!”
Dante let a growl escape his throat, and he looked down to Amelia, a plan lighting his eyes.
In that moment… when Winter could see the tears stain her cheeks… she knew how much pain she endured all those years… She dealt with his abuse… took the punishments… and protected Winter even when she was clearly terrified of their father…
Something inside Winter burst… like a firework of ice… but this time it was stronger… And she screamed in pure frustration, the sound echoing through the hospital and shattering everyone’s eardrums…
Dante even covered his ears as if her cry was painful…
She looked back to him then, seeing him stare at her in pure horror…
Her world was no longer dark… no longer black… though it seemed as if she stared through a blue tint… though she could still see clearly…
She could tell Dante backed away from her, clearly planning to run out of the room like a child… his tail between his legs…
Coward.
But her rage controlled her now… and she wouldn’t let him loose this easily…
Not when he gave no mercy to her sister…
And now she’d show him no mercy… she’d show him how it felt.
Fear.
Anger.
Frustration.
Helplessness…
And pain.
She was going to make him feel it all.
He’d be defenseless… like her sister was all those years he hurt her… Like Winter was when he murdered Amelia… Like her MOTHER and her FATHER endured when he hurt THEM.
It was right then, in that moment, when she saw a shadow enter the room… It was a tall, lean figure with dark hair and pasty, white skin…
Though she couldn’t see his face… it was covered in shadows…
But she knew who it was…
Cameron picked up the a lone pipe that was left by the door, and held onto the metal tightly, making his way toward Dante sneakily.
Dante never saw it coming… he was SO focused on her and her pure rage…
He was intimidated by her… feared her…
As he should’ve been.
Cameron drew his arms back, and she smiled sadistically…
And only a second later, he slammed the metal rod into the back of Dante’s knee, making him cry out as he fell over.
Winter could hear his bones crack…
He collapsed onto the floor and held his broken leg, crying just like her sister did… just like her father did…
Just like she did when she learned they were dead.
Nothing made her feel happier…
Watching him weep… the beauty of his cries of agonizing terror…
The sound of his pain echoing through the room…
She wanted to close her eyes and listen… like it was a lullaby putting her to sleep…
“How does it feel?” she questioned suddenly, growling the words. “To feel PAIN? To feel SCARED? THAT’S THE PAIN YOU ENDURED ON US, DANTE! EVERY MOMENT OF OUR LIVES!”
Cameron started inching toward her carefully, whispering in a soft tone, “Sweetheart….”
Dante tried grabbing his leg, but she raised her hand to it, watching him scream when his skin burned a dark red and his fingers started losing color, turning white…
Frostbite…
She didn’t even know she had these powers… but for some reason… she knew how to use them…
Winter knew she was losing control over herself… She knew her normal, fearful-self was vanishing in the depths of her mind, but she didn’t really care…
“Winter,” Cam pleaded, “listen to me.”
She ignored him… Because Dante was screaming, and she was laughing… enjoying every bit of pain in his eyes… The tears that streamed down his cheeks…
She didn’t know what was happening to her, but she didn’t think to fear it…
She knew this wasn’t normal… but she ignored the concern edging at her mind…
Cam’s eyes were glistening in fear, and when she finally looked to him, there were tears welling up in his eyes…
Why did he look so scared…? Didn’t he want her to lash out like this? He did it all the time…
“Winter…” he said, voice shaking, “your eyes….”
She blinked, feeling something warm trickle down her cheek…
Why was she crying…? Wasn’t she loving this? Giving revenge…?
But she felt something off about the tears… they felt thick and oddly warm… and so was the inside of her nose…
She touched her finger to her cheek, ignoring Dante’s screams and drew back, seeing her finger stained with red.
What…?
But something else started dripping from her nose… and she looked to Cameron.
“What’s happening?” she whispered.
He only stared, eyes glistening still. “I… don’t know…”
But all the sudden her throat clogged, and she clutched her neck, feeling fluids pour into her lungs.
She tried to cough… to hopefully get the gunk out, but her throat constricted, and she couldn’t breathe…
The blue tint in her eyes was replaced with a red one… and she started choking, every part of her aching and burning…
A light-headed sensation coursed through her, and she collapsed to the ground, fierce shivers racking through her body.
Cameron was down beside her moments later, looking left, then right, her arms and legs… trying to see what was happening…
“What did you do?” he yelled to Dante, rolling her to the side so she could breathe a little better.
“I didn’t do anything!” he yelled back, voice strained.
Suddenly, Winter’s eyes rolled to the top of her head, the grey vanishing to white and red, and she was full on shaking… shivers racking her body as she kept on choking, blood pouring from her lips, eyes, nose… everywhere…
Cameron felt his fangs extend at the scent, but he didn’t dare leave her side.
“Winter,” he said, tapping her cheek. “Winter, come on… Look at me… Come on….”
The shaking got worse, and her back arched, her muscles twitching as rivers of blood poured from her mouth…
“SHE’S HAVING A SEIZURE!” Cameron cried, body growing cold as panic consumed him, burning every part of him like fire. “DANTE!” he screamed, voice shaking as tears burned his eyes. “WHAT DID YOU DO? HOW DO I FIX THIS?”
Dante was still on the ground, looking at his daughter with wide-eyes. “I… I didn’t do anything! What’s wrong with her?”
Cameron looked down to Winter who still shook, blood foaming in her mouth…
His lungs burned as he gasped for air, staring down at the red trailing down her skin…
Oh, God… Oh, God…
Tears streamed down his cheeks…
No, no…
“WHAT’S HAPPENING?” he screamed in a panic, lifting her from the ground and holding her to his chest. “You’re not dying…” he whispered to her as a prayer. “No… You’ll stay alive… You’re not dying… Please,” he sobbed, “don’t die, Winter… We’ll get through this….”
He started rocking her as if she were scared, sobbing silently as she continued to shake… blood dripping onto his pants and pale skin, contrasting the white…
“Winter…” he pleaded, “please don’t leave m—”
Something caught his eye.
He looked down to her neck… seeing two holes in her carotid, blood trailing from the mark…
Someone bit her… a vampire…
Cam looked down to her, horrified…
But a sudden choke echoed from behind him… and he looked up at the sound, tears staining his cheeks as his entire body grew cold…
Kit stood there, sliding a dagger out the back of Dante’s neck…
Cam swallowed down something hard as Dante fell, face hitting the ground with a thud!
“You bit her…” Cameron realized, “and your intent was to kill her….”
Kit looked up then, eyes gazing down at Winter who was still dying slowly, but painfully.
“It took a while,” Kit said. “I didn’t mean for it to be instant anyway, Cameron. I had Erica heal her and not the bite, also putting a time block on it so it activated thirty minutes later.”
“The psychosis…” Cameron whispered, remembering the symptoms as his breath shuttered, “the rage… the blood… the seizure….”
He looked down to Winter who was still letting out choked sobs.
“You picked the most painful way for her to die…” he said, something hot stirring inside him. “Why?”
“If I can’t have my father love me,” he responded, narrowing his eyes. “Then he can’t have anyone else.”
Cameron looked down to Winter with wide eyes.
He did all this out of jealousy…?
“So,” Kit said, “will you let her die? Or will you risk it by fighting me and then save her?”
Cameron stared down at Winter, face breaking.
I’m sorry… he thought. This is all my fault… I shouldn’t have brought you to the alley…
Slam!
Cameron shot his gaze to Kit at the sound.
He was on the ground, staring up at the ceiling in shock… and there was something standing in front of him…
It was a grey wolf… with dark, orange eyes staring down her brother with pure, boiling rage…
Amelia…
She looked to Cameron, eyes softening as her gaze sent him a message…
It’s your choice. But choose quick, she’s leaving us.
Cameron stared down at Winter, gazing into her white eyes that boiled with red tears…
What should he have done…? Would she be happy if he saved her…? Would she be angry…? Would her life be a misery…?
No… no…
His tears dried after a last one slipped from his eye.
He wouldn’t lose her… She was his… and he belonged to her… If she was gone, he’d have nothing left…
And he never wanted that feeling… The pain in his heart in this moment would last forever… added with the guilt swarming inside…
So he lay her down on the metal floors, brushed her hair away from her neck and leaned down, sinking his canines into her skin.
She let out a choked gasp at the sharp pain, but Cameron caught her hand, lacing his fingers through hers as he drank her poisoned blood…
He couldn’t heal her… not when she was poisoned by his kind…
There was only one way…
He had to kill her faster…
She was still for a moment… the choked cries and the gasping stopping momentarily…
But suddenly she started screaming in a high-pitch, writing under him like a worm on a hook…
The venom kicked in…
He held onto her hands, drinking her blood still…
She tasted so sweet… like her blood was made of sugar…
But his eyes opened when she screeched, arching her back as she tried to get him off.
He ripped away from her, hearing her screaming and crying, the sound shattering his eardrums…
“Winter…” he whispered somberly, but she couldn’t hear him over her own pain-filled cries.
She squeezed his hands tighter, digging her nails into his skin hard enough to leave crescent shaped marks there…
He winced, but held hers back even though she was hurting him…
“IT HURTS!” she screamed. “IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!”
He rested his head on hers, holding her close while she wiggled from under him, trying to break free.
He knew that this hurt the same amount as the poison… but now she could actually scream because there was no blood clogging her airways…
And she was really loud, too…
“CAMERON!” she screeched, writhing under him. “CAMERON!”
“Shhh…” he breathed, holding her tighter. “It’s alright… You’re okay….”
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?” she yelled. “WHAT DID YOU DO?”
“You’ll be okay…” he whispered, a tear slipping down his cheek.
He could feel her pain as his own… the burning spreading along her body, scorching through her veins like lava… All her organs failing… her heart reconstructing… God… it was painful…
He didn’t care what Kit was doing… he just wanted—no, needed—to hold her until the pain stopped… He wouldn’t leave her side… No matter what dangers came their way…
But all the sudden, her pained screams turned into soft sobs… and she eased under him, the light in her eyes dulling…
“Shhh…” he whispered, body rattling with sorrow as he held her tighter. “It’s alright….”
“Are you…” she said then, voice soft, “killing me…?”
He only held her tighter.
“I don’t…” she cried softly, “want to leave you….”
“Just go to sleep…” he whispered. “Everything will be okay….”
“I’m… scared…” she sobbed.
“I know,” he said, “so just close your eyes… and the fear will vanish….”
So she did, lashes fluttering closed as her body relaxed into the ground…
Cameron sobbed silently, holding her tighter while she slept under him…
Just like Snow White… but her Prince Charming gave her the poisoned apple instead of the evil witch…
To save his heart from breaking further… How selfish was that…?
But he heard Kit laughing behind him, voice hoarse after a round of vampire vs. werewolf.
Cam looked up then, staring at the ground in front of Winter and clenched his teeth, jaw locking…
He was burning inside… consumed in flames… every part of him aching and seething…
“I got her…” Amelia said, running to both of them.
Unshed tears burned his eyes as his anger peaked, and he dropped Winter in Amelia’s embrace and went straight for Kit, eyes burning with rage…
“You’re going to kill me now, too?” Kit said smugly, though started scrambling away from Cameron.
He was on the ground, unable to stand, blood poured out of a wound on his thigh…
Amelia injured him…
“You have nothing to kill me with,” Kit said, caught short by his dead father’s body.
But Cameron didn’t stop, just leaned down while walking and grabbed a shard of metal, keeping his pace and stomping up to Kit.
Whose eyes widened as he got closer.
“I’m all you have left of her…” he said then, climbing backward over Dante and scrambling away further. “I’m her brother… Her mom’s gone… She wouldn’t want you to kill me….”
“I honestly don’t care,” Cam said as Kit backed himself against a metal wall. He stood over him menacingly, like his awaiting death. “She’ll understand when she wakes up.”
“Wait…” Kit said, “but I thought….”
“She’s not dead, Kit,” Cam said, kneeling down to his level. “Now she’s just like me.”
And he sliced the shard of metal across Kit’s throat, standing up when his remains clattered to the ground.
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI50LWwnhfO
*****
Seconds after Cameron was splattered with more blood, he heard someone behind him start coughing, and heard an excited, “Cam!” from Amelia.
He dropped the shard then, sprinting to her and Winter and kneeled by her side…
Her eyes weren’t open yet, but she coughed for the first time…
She was slowly waking up… her lungs had to get rid of the excess air in them… Because vampires didn’t really need them…
Her head turned to the side, and she let out an annoyed groan…
“Winter,” Amelia said, “open your eyes.”
Cameron brushed his fingers through her blood-matted hair as a way to say, I’m here, too. You’re safe.
Her lashes parted, though Cam couldn’t see her eyes yet…
But when they opened fully, Amelia gasped…
Her irises were blood red… glowing softly in the lighting…
Cam only smiled. “Don’t worry,” he told Amelia, “it’ll go away. It does that when you first wake, and when you get angry.”
“What’s happening…?” Winter said groggily.
He only folded his arms under her, lifting her to his chest while she stared up at him curiously.
She was too weak to stand on her own… Cameron found out the hard way when he turned.
“I got you…” he whispered, holding her close.
“I don’t really know what’s going on…” she answered.
“You’re alive…” Cam whispered. “That’s what’s going on.”
She only eased in his grip, making a smile curve his mouth. “You turned me, didn’t you?”
“Wow,” Amelia said, “she figured that out fast.”
He kept the smile, lightly kissing her jaw. “Are you mad?”
“No,” she stated honestly, “not really. But it really did hurt, you know.”
He chuckled, though held her tighter when the memory flashed across his eyes. “I know….”
Winter looked to her sister, managing to have enough strength to move her neck. “Where’s Sophia?”
“Oh,” Amelia said, “I kind of snuck out. My sisterly instincts kicked in and I escaped. I knew she wouldn’t let me go.”
“Sound’s familiar,” Cameron muttered.
Winter looked to him then, smiling. “Oh, don’t be so pissy.”
He smiled back. “Are you hungry?”
“A little…” she stated honestly.
“Do you mind drinking your father’s blood?” he said then.
“That’s where it gets weird,” she responded, making him grin in amusement. “But luckily, I don’t have to… Remember? I keep blood in my purse.”
“Where is your purse?” Amelia said then, searching the floor. “Oh, here it is.”
Cameron smiled down at her, heartwarming when all guilt and grief left him…
Even though she was different, she was still the same Winter.
“Here you are,” Amelia said, pulling out a bag of blood. “Drink away, Sis.”
Winter touched the tip of the bag to her lips, clearly hesitating when she squeezed a drop on her tongue.
But as the bitter taste touched her mouth, she downed the entire bag… drinking every last drop.
“Oh, God…” she said, “I never thought I’d love anything more than ice cream.”
Cameron started laughing, and she giggled, looking to Amelia who was also smiling.
“Alright, Cameron,” Amelia said. “Get her home safe. I have some explaining to do for a certain someone….”
“Have fun,” he responded, lifting Winter up after throwing her purse around her.
As he walked out of the room, Winter looked up and down the halls curiously. “Where’s all the vamps and wolves?”
“Dead,” Cam said.
In other words: I murdered them.
She looked to him then, brows raised. “Oh… Erica and Jett, too?”
He smirked. I murdered them slower…
They were silent for a moment.
“Hey, Cam?” she whispered.
“Yes?”
“Am I a vampire now?”
He shook his head, making her brows draw together. “Nope, you’re a hybrid.”
A sudden thunder of shock shook her. “But… how…? You didn’t scratch me.”
“Nope,” he said, “both of my selves are connected. That’s why it hurt so bad. Both venoms were reconstructing your body.”
“Huh…” she said. “So that means I can turn into a wolf now?”
He nodded.
“And I can have blood-shakes instead of milkshakes?”
A chuckle and another nod.
“Am I immortal?”
“And indestructible.”
Her eyes lit, but they were still glowing red. “Cooooool….”
He laughed again.
“By the way,” he said after a moment, “remember last night?”
A nod.
“I hope you don’t scream at me,” he said, “but I marked you… both ways….”
“I know,” she said.
He looked to her. “You know?”
“Yeah,” she said, shrugging, “it would’ve faded or something if I didn’t accept the mark, right?”
He nodded.
“It’s still there,” she said, smiling, “I guarantee it. I even checked multiple times while you weren’t looking.”
“How?” he said then.
“I touched it.”
“You’re that worried it’d vanish?”
“Yep.”
He laughed then, stepping out of the building and into the parking lot. “I’m going to run, alright? Hold onto me.”
And he launched forward, holding her face to his neck as the lights of the city flashed by at a-hundred-miles-an-hour.
He stopped at their hotel room, unlocking their door and stepped to the couch.
She watched him curiously when he laid her down and draped a blanket over her.
“Wait here a minute, alright?” he whispered. “I have to go get something.”
She nodded despite him knowing that she was too weak to walk anyway…
He ran off to his room excitedly, making her exhale a giggle at his sudden giddy-self.
Seconds later he was beside her, holding a pamphlet in his hand.
“What’s that for…?” she whispered.
He handed it to her, sitting on the couch while she looked at it.
“I don’t get it,” she said, “it’s an ad, Cam—”
Her eyes widened when she looked to him, breath catching.
He held a ring in his hand, watching her with a small smile when her breaths became heavy.
It was a ruby ring… the red glowing like it was a diamond made of blood…
“Winter Evans…” he whispered, “will you marry me?”
She was silent for a moment, heart pounding despite her being dead, but she still recognized the fluttery feeling. “Ummm….”
His smile faded, and he lowered the ring, regret filling his eyes.
Too early…
She smiled at his defeated face. “I’ve never seen you so sad before.” She laughed. “I should do that more often. Yes, Cameron, I’ll marry you.”
He blinked. “Wait… really…?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure?”
“Cameron,” she said, annoyance catching in her tone, “if you keep on asking me, then I’m saying no.”
He shut up then. “Do you mind… if we do a binding promise along with a marriage…?”
She looked to him then. “A binding promise?”
“You know that symbol on my shoulder?” he said. “That’s red? The same one’s on your sister and her girlfriend?”
Winter nodded.
“That’s a rune that states you’ve made a promise with the Angels that you’d do no harm to anyone out of greed or self-gain. The binding promise is another rune that the Angels created, but it’s more for two people or a small group. If you break it, the punishment you state will be forever.”
“Okay, let’s do it,” Winter said without thinking.
“Wait…” he said, “you’re not going to say… ‘let me think about it first?’”
“No,” she said despite his mocking tone.
He looked her over for a minute. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m happy,” she said. “That I finally get to be with you forever… and that my curse is stopping….” A sudden sadness washed over her expression. “I know I lost my mom along the way… but I’d rather lose her than Dante bringing her to life… and corrupting her soul….”
Cameron leaned down then, lightly touching his lips to hers. “You have a good heart, Snowflake… A beautiful one….”
She smiled. “Thanks, Cam….”
He picked up a marker from the coffee table, opening the cap and drawing something on his hand.
“What are you doing…?” she wondered softly.
He looked back to her. “Rune?”
“Oh….”
“Hand,” he said offering his free one.
She gave him her hand willingly, and he skillfully drew the rune on her palm, the sensation of the cold marker tickling her slightly.
“Hold still, silly,” he said chuckling.
After a moment, he let go of her wrist and showed her the mark he drew on himself, and she knew what he was silently communicating, so she pressed her palm to his, fitting their runes together.
She gasped when yellow sparks flew from their hands, their skin glowing white suddenly…
“Winter Evans,” Cameron said, smiling at her when she moved her eyes to his, “I swear that I’ll love you forever and never grow old of you. I’ll care for you, I’ll protect you from any harm, and most of all, I’ll love you. And if I break this promise, my own guilt and shame will be my everlasting agony, but I won’t break it.”
He looked to her then, smiling.
“Cameron Arcus,” she said, returning the smile. “I promise to love you for who you are, and even when we argue over stupid crap, I’ll still love you. I’ll also protect your heart from any loss, and I’ll keep it safe in my hands forever. And if I break that promise, the pain I endured today will come back to haunt me for the rest of my life. Because you saved me, and I’m forever grateful.”
Their hands parted and the magic vanished.
Winter stared down at her palm watching the mark burn into her hand…
And it would be there… for eternity…
And almost a second later, Cameron caught her wrist, sliding the ruby ring he bought onto her finger.
Together forever… not even death will part us…
ns 15.158.61.8da2
