He was something else, something more.
Colin of Darkvale was something good.
And I was going to be his for all of eternity. As we leaned against the wall, kissing each other over and over again, I realized that no matter what happened next, we were about to enjoy a lifetime of excitement together.
And then another lifetime.
And then another.
Together, we were going to spend our eternity, and I couldn’t wait to get started.
Epilogue
Juliet
ONE YEAR LATER
I STOOD IN THE CEMETERY, stared up at the moon, and I waited.
This was it.
This was the day.
This was the moment I’d been waiting for. Twelve months ago, I had been living my ordinary life. I had completely thrown myself into work and into making sure I did my part to ensure that Darkvale would become a better, more wonderful place. I’d been a busy little bee, and I had not been looking for love or for an adventure.
Then he’d come crashing into my life, and he’d changed me.
Colin had done more than just turn me into a vampire. He’d turned me into a person who believed in hope, in fate. Now I was the kind of person who felt like I could do anything. I had never ever felt that way before. Not even in my dreams had I ever felt like that.
I gripped the little blood cupcake I had baked just for this night, and I waited for Colin to arrive. Once he was here, we could sit on the steps of the mausoleum where we’d first met, and we could share this special cupcake. We could kiss, and we could talk about the past year, and we could spend some time just being.
“You look beautiful.”
I heard his voice before I saw him, and a smile spread across my face. I turned around looking at him in the darkness. It was dark out, with barely the hint of a moon, and there were shadows everywhere.
“You came,” I said.
“How could I resist?” He asked. “You said it was an important night.”
“It’s been a year,” I said.
I’d been a vampire for an entire year. It had been a year filled with fucking, kissing, laughing, and having a good time. We’d had to work together to rebuild the heart of Darkvale. The city had become wildly broken in many ways. After Norman’s invasion, we’d had to re-evaluate what it was that made the city our own. We’d adjusted the way we did donations, and we’d increased the security at the hospital. We’d also started work on improving the personal relationships between humans and vampires so that we really could find ways to live in peace.
“An entire year,” Colin said. He took another step toward me. “Hard to believe, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
In the last year, I’d learned what it meant to be a vampire. I’d learned what it meant to put aside my fear and anger and humanity and become something different, something greater. I reached for Colin now, pulling him close to myself, and I kissed him.
“I love you,” I told him. He was more than just a Vampire Lord. He was the person who had rescued me. He’d saved me. He’d taken a horrible situation and he’d made me into something better than I’d been before.
“I love you, too,” he whispered. He kissed me back just as fiercely, just as deeply. A year ago, we’d met in this very cemetery and he’d made me promise to be his blood toy. Now, here we were, a year later, and I was more than just a toy. I was his vampire mate now.
And we were linked together for eternity.
I looked up at Colin, and I smiled.
I couldn’t imagine anyone I’d rather spend my forever with.