Dying Forever (Waking Forever Book 3) (41 page)

The witch laughed. “You would think that.
Your kind always thinks more of yourselves than you should.” Walking around the fountain, the woman stood with her hands on her hips. “There ceased to be a
you
and
I
ages ago.” Gesturing around the garden with her hand, she continued. “This hate runs deeper and is so much more exquisite. Its roots are firmly entrenched in centuries of abuse your kind wreaked on me, and the thousands of witches massacred by hordes of power hungry vampires.”

Rubbing her hands together, Annabel glared at Bryce. “
So you’re a bonus, but first - the main event.”

In the blink of an eye, the two lycans lunged
; one hit Bryce and the second landing squarely on Lewis. The smell of burning leaves filled Alison’s nostrils as she saw Ash take on a bright red glow, her face distorted in a grimace. A moment later, Christine’s cackle came from the shadows as Ash was lifted off the ground and spun upside down.

“We can’t have any of that
, shifter.” The witch turned her head, and Ash was hurled through the air. “See how well you can fly if you can’t change into a little birdy.” No sooner had the words left the woman’s mouth, than Ash was being propelled up and over the ten foot wall of the garden, and into the darkness of the South Texas night.

All of this was happening around Alison in high speed,
and her mind and eyes struggling to keep up. It was Lewis’ cries that snapped her brain back into focus. The man was flat on his back, and in his weakened state from the blood loss, was being mauled by the brown haired lycan on top of him.

Without consideration of the danger, Alison closed the short distance between her and Lewis. Steading the gun, and aiming at the back of the animal’s oversized head, the blonde pulled the trigger repeatedly, only stopping as the rapid clicking of the gun’s hammer against empty rounds broke through her adrenaline fueled focus.

The lycan jerked several times, and fell forward, allowing Lewis the opportunity he needed to regain his footing, and begin shredding the animal’s throat and head with his teeth and hands. Alison turned to see Bryce pummeling the final lycan repeatedly across the head and chest, just as a tight, tickling sensation began spreading from Alison’s back around her torso.

Lo
sing traction, Alison was slammed to the ground, and felt a heavy weight blanket her body as she was pulled across the garden toward the fountain. All sound and air stopped as her head was forcibly plunged into the three foot deep pool of water. Forcing back the instinct to breathe, something that would effectively drown her by taking in a lungful of water, Alison clung to the last breath she had taken before being submerged.

Forcing her eyes open, Alison could see the edge of the silver chain mail net. Not sure if i
t was anchored to the fountain or held down by its own weight, Alison grabbed the net and pulled as hard as she could. To her relief the heavy material gave way and partially slid back. Before she could pull any more of the net back, she was once again being drug across the garden.

Hanging three feet above the ground, Alison found herself stretched out as if she were about to be drawn and quartered. Her chest, arms and legs throbbed as Christine tightened her grip.
Annabel stood in front her, pure hatred twisting her features. Sneering, she laid her hand over Alison’s chest, the sound of her heart deafening as it pounded in her ears.

Then the pressure stopped, Lewis stood between Annabel and Alison, his hands inches from the witch’s throat. Collapsing to the ground, Alison felt sick to her stomach as her head spun, the sound of Christine shouting sounding miles away.

Then Lewis was lying on the ground, his skin no longer pale, but now pinkish, his eyes blue but without the iridescent glow. Turning his head, his gaze met Alison’s, a faint smile spreading across his still perfect mouth just as his neck was snapped. The sound of his neck breaking suddenly filled the garden.

Alison was shoved backwards as Bryce pounced on Annabel, but instead of thrashing the woman, Bryce seemed to freeze inches above the witch. Annabel thrust her hand upward and Bryce began to shake violently before collapsing to the ground.

Instinctively moving toward Bryce, Alison reached for her lover, who lay motionless. Annabel scrambled to her feet, but before she could exact her revenge, Emma was upon her. Dripping wet, teeth bared, eyes glowing an intense blue, the vampire pulled the witch away from Bryce and Alison.

A split second later and Rachel was on top of Christine in a flurry of flying fists and fangs, ripping the witch apart before she could come to Annabel’s aid.

Emma’s arms were wrapped around Annabel’s torso as she held her several inches off the ground. Making eye contact with Rachel, the doctor nodded, and Rachel leaped toward the two, sinking her teeth into the front of the witch’s throat. The woman’s cries became strangled as the vampire thrashed back and forth, finally severing Annabel’s head.

Alison
sat next to Bryce’s still body. The quiet of the night was once again returning to the garden. Looking up, her vision blurred by tears, she was vaguely aware Ash had returned, and was removing the remainder of the silver chain mail from the fountain, releasing Sara and Coleen.

“Bryce
.” Alison rolled the lifeless woman onto her back. Putting her hand to Bryce’s cheek, Alison quickly pulled it back.

“What is it?” Emma was kneeling beside her.

Looking at her hand and then back at Bryce, Alison shook her head. “She’s - she’s warm.”

Emma
tilted her head to the side as if listening at a closed door. Immediately, a slow, steady murmur filled her ears, and she gasped. “Coleen!” Looking over her shoulder, she scanned the garden for her friend. “Get over here.”

S
eemingly out of nowhere, a wet Coleen stood behind Emma. “What is-” The woman’s eyes widened and she dropped to the ground, frantically running her hand along Bryce’s arms and across her chest. “She’s -”

Alison didn’t understand what was happening, but she did know Bryce remained unconscious and clearly needed help. “
Help her.”

Emma looked up. “She’s human.”

Alison sank down. “What?”

“Annabel.” Emma
’s voice was soft, and laden with the shock all three women were feeling.

Ash, Rachel and Sara
now gathered around. Looking at the shocked expression on Emma’s face, Ash’s brow furrowed. “What’s wrong? Is Bryce okay?”

Rachel and Sara both looked at each other, Sara speaking first. “
She has a heartbeat.”

Emma stood up. “Annabel had power over death
and
life. She would turn a vampire before killing them. It was easier that way, but she didn’t finish with Bryce.” Blood stained tears streamed down Emma’s face as she looked at Lewis’ lifeless body. “She was weak after Lewis, and couldn’t finish Bryce off.”

“
Let’s turn her back.” Coleen reached for Bryce’s arm.

“Wait!” Rachel grabbed Coleen’s arm. “Isn’t that a choice she should make?”

Sara nodded. “That’s not your place, Coleen.”

Coleen stood, and teeth bared, hissed at the two women. “You know nothing of my place.” Turning her wrath on Sara, her eyes glowed bright blue. “You’re half a second old, and have the nerve -”

Ash stepped between Coleen and Sara. “This isn’t about you, Coleen, and Sara is right. Wake Bryce up and ask her what she wants. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.”

The ensuing argument became background noise to Alison as she looked down at Bryce.
The woman she loved had spent the better part of a century changing how she thought and felt about the world in an effort to reclaim her humanity. She had embraced ideals based in the fundamental belief that humans were good, in spite of everything she had witnessed to the contrary.

Now,
she
was human, and Alison didn’t know what was going to happen; only that as always, Bryce’s choices would be her own. Alison hoped those choices would leave them together.

Epilogue

“The meds really will help. Promise.” Alison handed Bryce a glass of orange juice and a box of over the counter Claritin allergy pills.

“My god, this is horrible.” The redhead sneezed into a crumpled tissue she held in her hand.

“Rethinking the whole human thing?” Alison teased.

Bryce shook her head as she popped a Claritin in her mouth and chased it with a drink of the orange juice. “No. Rethinking living in South Texas.”

“They say if you don’t have allergies, move to San Antonio, and you’ll get them.” Alison took the empty orange juice glass from Bryce. Looking at the beautiful woman prone on the couch brought a smile to Alison’s face.

Bryce had been human for eight months, and they had been living together for a little over six. The two women had fallen into a comfortable intimacy, and Alison couldn’t
be happier. The first month after the transformation, Bryce had been a wreck. Whatever havoc the human to vampire transformation may have inflicted on her body, the slide back to human had been ten times worse.

Besides having to explain to a very suspicious and more than a little concerned general practitioner why a woman in her thirties had never been immunized
, Bryce had to contend with many long forgotten inconveniences of being human. Not the least of which were fatigue, sickness, sweat, the need to cut her hair and nails, and menstruation.

“You don’t have to go. They will completely understand that you’re sick.” Alison walked toward the kitchen and deposited the empty glass in the sink.

“Absolutely not.
This is the first group gathering, so I can’t beg off.” Bryce sat up and pulled a tissue from the box on the coffee table.

Alison smiled at Bryce’s persistence.
The couple had kept in contact with Emma, Ash, Sara and Rachel over the past few months. Having Ash back in her life, along with the new friendships she had found with the other three women, resulted in a tremendous amount of joy for the professor.

They had even had drinks with Coleen on several occasions, but the woman struggled with Bryce’s decision to remain a human. The outings always seemed to turn into a sales pitch on why Bryce should let Coleen turn her back, and Bryce had begun declining the vampire’s invites.

Bryce had been on a whirlwind tour of meet and greets over the past eight months. The redhead had already met Chad and Gayle. She had even braved a lunch with Julia and lived to tell about it, and she and Elaine were now friends on Facebook and followed each other on Twitter. She and Wayne had managed to bond over her recent affinity for Maker’s Mark. Which was for the best, since Bryce had about as much skill golfing as she did swimming.

“
So we’re going then?” Alison sat down next to Bryce on the sofa.

Nodding, the woman got up. “Yes. It’s on you anyway.”

Alison’s brow arched. “How’s that?”

Tossing the box of Claritin at Alison, Bryce grinned. “You’re the one touting the miracles of modern medicine.”

Jumping to her feet, Alison grabbed Bryce’s hand. The warmth the redhead now exuded still sent Alison’s heart into a drum roll. Wrapping her arms around Bryce’s waist, Alison pressed her lips to the woman’s neck. “I should examine you. Make sure you’re
fit
for travel.”

Bryce sighed, and placed her hands on Alison’s hips. “
You did want to go, right?” Her hands moved to Alison’s lower backside.

“This is a first world problem.” Leaning back, Alison marveled at how beautiful Bryce was. “Go have a great night out with friends, or stay in bed with my girlfriend.” Kissing Bryce lightly on the lips, Alison smiled. “Decisions.”

Walking Alison backward toward the bedroom, Bryce placed kisses along the woman’s jaw and down her neck. “We can be late.”

Waking Forever Series

Book One: Waking Forever
- April 2013

Book Two: Becoming Forever
- January 2014

Book Three: Dying Forever - August 2014

Ela Origin Serials (Waking Forever Series)

Ela: Beginning Forever
- July 2013

Ela: Changing Forever
- August 2013

Ela: Losing Forever
- October 2013

Ela: Forever (Complete Series)
- December 2013

About the author:

Heather McVea was raised in a small town south of San Antonio, Texas. Prior to escaping to the big city, she raised Hampshire pigs, rode motorcycles at entirely too young an age, and once snow boarded behind a Ford pickup truck. She relishes a strong gin and tonic, but leans after three. Shiny twinkly things make her cringe, up to and including Hollywood vampires.

Heather and her wife have three fur babies and are working their way through all of the brewery tours in Texas.

Follow Heather on
Twitter @HMcVea