by Cate Farren
He was also sheriff of Chapel Green.
“I hate being a boy,” said Gable. “One of the perils of being reborn again and again is having to go through puberty. I can feel it coming like a storm on the horizon.”
Sheriff Trent always unnerved Valko. He was quite possibly the most powerful being alive, yet right now, he was a little boy. He could turn into a seven foot horned demon any time he wanted, but as of right now, he was a child – a child that led a small town.
How long has he died and been reborn, forced to grow up again and again? Is he thousands of years old or even older?
“Take me to see them,” Gable ordered.
Valko shook his head. “No. This is something I should do.”
“They were my friends.”
Valko looked towards Alanna, who shrugged. He may as well get this over and done with.
***
Valko placed his his fingers around the door handle, hesitant. He could smell them the moment he set foot in the house. The scent was achingly familiar, but warped, desecrated.
“I can’t believe Rian just left them to rot,” said Alanna.
He turned to her, shaken. “I can’t do this.”
“They deserve burial,” she told him, stroking his cheek. “Their bodies need to be returned to nature. That’s the were way, right?”
He nodded, and opened the door. When he saw the mess his parents had been left in, he howled.
***
He patted down the last sod of earth with his hands. He’d done it all by hand. It may have taken him all night, but this was his right. It was his duty to bury his parents, and he would honor them.
He wiped at his brow and climbed out of the grave. He’d dug it eight feet deep, just to be sure. Here, at the back of the house and community they loved, they’d lay together, forever.
Alanna gripped his hand, ignored the dirt that had accrued on his fingers. He smiled into her loving eyes, focused only on her.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” he insisted. He could smell cow on her. “Why didn’t you tell me Bella had arrived? I kind of missed her.”
“She’s just getting used to her huge, new barn. She loves it here.”
“Be with me.”
He took his hand, held her close to his lips. She said, “You want to do it in the forest? With all the animals watching?”
“Nothing else exists but you.”
She laughed. It was a wonderful laugh and he loved it.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Life is funny,” said Alanna. “Life is brutal and unfair and sometimes, just so you don’t lose all hope, it’s funny.”
“Come on,” he said, and led her into the forest on the edge of his land. “It’s time to make you feel something other than amusement.”
***
When they were finished, the sun was coming up. The boughs of the trees were glowing and on the small grove where they’d made love, on a ground so frosty it nearly gave them ice splinters, they stared into the sky. Today felt like a new day, a new beginning, and not just because they’d won in their battle with Rian.
“My ass is cold,” said Valko.
They were laid on their torn off clothes, cushioning them. Their bodies were half intertwined, one with each other. Alanna had never felt so complete before. This was her life, here, with Valko.
It’s time he knew the truth about the artefact.
“I learned something about the artefact the other day,” she said, smiling as her breath misted on the air. “Something important.”
“I don’t want you to become human,” he admitted. “I don’t want you to be vulnerable.”
She sat up and fished around in the pocket of her coat. She pulled out the artefact, and held it reverently. Valko sat up too; he eyed the object in his hand like it was a snake.
“I wish I’d never found it,” he admitted.
“Everything living has a life-force,” she explained. “An energy of sorts. Not the soul, that’s different. This artefact can’t get rid of that energy. It has to go somewhere. It can’t turn me into a human. It never could.” She smiled, loving the confused look on his face. “When Desdemona used this, she had a choice to make; she had to become something else other than a vampire. She had a lot to choose from, but in the end end, she chose something with a limited lifespan. She chose to become a witch.”
He nodded, understanding. “So…”
Her eyes glowed with feral intensity. He fell back, shocked.
“I used it while you slept,” she said, unable to contain her excitement. “I’m a werewolf now.”
THE END
*
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About the Author
Cate Farren is from Sheffield, England. She writes paranormal romance, urban fantasy and steamy contemporary. She loved Dr. Pepper, spaghetti Bolognese, and dreams of retiring to the Italian Dolomites. She has one cat, a Russian Blue called Gracie, who runs her ragged with her excessive feline demands.