Page 17 of Salvation
She turned back to look at him again, her gaze full of pain and fire. “Seems you made your bed and laid in it as well. Daddy.” The last word was projected at him like a missile.
“You know about Luna?”
“I met her while doing recon. You should be very proud of yourself. I understand this is the first vampire baby.”
He shook his head. “I thought you were dead, Aurora. If I had known, I would never have slept with her.”
“Cheap words, Michael.” She laughed. “Hell, you even changed your name. I guess Wolfe suits a vampire much better than Michael does.”
“It’s what the guys in my unit called me. So, yeah, I kept it because Michael lost too fucking much when I lost you.” He reached into his pocket, then remembered he no longer carried the ring. It was tucked away in a safe place. “I’d planned to ask you to marry me when I came home.”
“Too late for that now.” She shoved her arm out and turned it, the mark on her wrist a knife to his gut.
“I got this after drinking from one of your men.”
“Who?”
“Does it matter? I understand you have one of your own. Makes sense, I guess, considering you’re going to be a father.”
“Fuck this shit. I love you goddammit!”
“Don’t you dare speak those words to me!” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, and it tore him up worse than anything ever had.
“So now what? I can’t let you stay out here. I am your sire, and you are my responsibility.”
“Should have thought of that before you left me to fend for myself. I guess we go our separate ways. It’s not like we haven’t already.”
“Not happening. I might not have been in my right mind before, but I am now. At least come live with us and when we finally figure out a way to get out of here, you can travel to Kentucky with us. There are others there. People starting a new life.”
“So I’ve heard.” She looked away again. “I don’t know.”
“If you won’t allow me to teach you, then maybe one of the others I’ve sired. There are some good men in my unit.”
“What makes you think I need any of you to teach me anything?”
“Maybe you don’t, but being out here alone isn’t safe.”
“I’m not alone. I have Lilith and I can stand here in the sun, which, from what I hear, the rest of your unit can’t. How will they take a female vampire showing up? Will I be required to feed and fuck them the same as the others?” Aurora's grin curled her lips upward. Her smile deepened as her eyes grew wild. "Maybe that would be a good thing, Michael. For you to hear my screams of pleasure knowing I'm fucking another. It seems being a vampire has opened the floodgates of my desires."
She was trying to hurt him, and he deserved everything she could throw at him. “You have a mark. Don’t you want to be with him?” He nearly choked on that last word.
“I have no desire at the moment.” She looked at him over her shoulder. “I need to go.”
“At least promise me you will consider coming with us when we leave.”
She let out a long sigh, and for several seconds he didn’t think she was going to reply.
“I’ll give you my answer in twenty-four hours.”
“Fine.” Then he watched her run away, and wondered what in the hell he was going to do now.
CHAPTERNINE
He was alive.
Aurora slammed herself onto her makeshift bed and screamed into her pillow with a primal rage. She wanted to cry again, but her tears were dried up and she was exhausted from so many nights of heartache caused by Michael. They’d had a future together. Had spent so many evenings talking about the home they would build and the children they would fill it with. They even had a name for the dog. A big fluffy golden named Cooper.
She let out a scream, grabbed the glass sitting next to her bed, and chucked it toward the wall. The sound of it fracturing into shards reminded her of how her heart felt right now. Although he had changed her into a monster, then left her for dead, she still loved him. There was no stopping her emotions, no matter how much she wanted to. Time had not dulled the pain and seeing him today... Well, it only made her realize how much she still wanted him. Lifting her arm, she looked at the mark on her wrist, traced the lines with her finger.
