Eternal Promise: (The Cursed Series, Book 5)

by Kara Leigh Miller

  Jax busted in through the front door, eyes dark, muscles tensed and ready for a fight. “Are you two incompletely insane?” he shouted, his wild gaze dancing between me and Trent.

  Oh, crap. I turned to face him when Trent gently shoved me behind him. I grabbed his arm. “Do not fight with him,” I said, but he either didn’t hear me or chose to ignore me.

  Colt and Wyatt walked in behind Jax, but they stayed a few feet away, their gazes inquisitive and assessing.

  “You have no right to tell anyone about us unless we both agree.” Jax’s hands were balled into fists. “You did it with her”—he stabbed his finger in my direction—”and now you’re doing it with Abby. Are you trying to get us killed?”

  “Actually, Isach’s the one who told me about Trent,” I said, and Jax pinned me with a deadly stare. I swallowed hard, and my heart raced.

  “And technically, I’m the one who told her about you,” Whitney said. She’d returned to sit on the couch and was studying her nails as if this whole thing bored her.

  “Relax,” Trent said. “Abby won’t say anything, and if I even think she might, I’ll wipe her memories.”

  “Trent!” I gasped, eyes wide.

  “You won’t have to, because I’ll just kill her,” Jax said through clenched teeth.

  “No, you won’t.” I planted myself between Trent and Jax. “You’re going to leave her alone.”

  Colt sucked in a sharp breath and muttered a curse. I ignored him.

  Jax took a step closer. Fear and excitement swirled in my chest. Any sane person would be terrified right now, but I knew Jax—he wouldn’t hurt me—and as much as I hated myself for it, facing off with him like this always gave me a thrill, like he awakened a part of me that was typically hibernating. And to make it worse, all of these reactions were pre-bond. He’d always pushed me, challenged me, made me angry, so I couldn’t blame this on anything but me. On my feelings.

  “Or what?” he said coolly, his tone sharp and taunting.

  I stared into his eyes, and every single moment we ever shared stared back at me. Even though we were no longer bonded, I knew he still loved me, and that was evident right now more than ever.

  “I’ll stake you myself,” I said, jaw clenched.

  “I’d love to see you try,” he said, leaning slightly closer.

  “That’s enough, Jax.” Trent gently gripped my shoulders and guided me out of the way. “You’re not killing Abby.”

  I expelled a pent-up breath and momentarily closed my eyes in an effort to get my bearings. When I opened my eyes, Jax was watching me.

  “You were right about her,” Colt said, moving to stand next to Jax. “She’s a firecracker.”

  “Really don’t need the commentary, Colton,” I snapped.

  He laughed but held his hands up in a show of surrender. “I totally get it now, though,” he said, glancing from Trent to Jax.

  A moment later, Abby and Isach emerged from the back room, sparing me from having to respond or listen to Colt a second longer. Isach’s hair was a mess, like he’d spent too much time running his hands through it nervously.

  Abby’s face was ghost white, and her steps were sluggish.

  “You must be the cousin,” Colt said, stepping forward. “Abby, I assume.” He raised a brow.

  Abby glanced at me. “Who is this guy?”

  I laughed. “That’s Colt. He’s Trent and Jax’s brother. Until last night, they thought he was dead.”

  “Another vampire,” she said, her voice devoid of emotion.

  “And you must be Isach, the witchy best friend,” Colt said, arms crossed. “You don’t look scary.”

  I sighed with frustration and shook my head. What was Colt doing? I couldn’t shake the feeling he was trying to cause trouble again. But why?

  Isach glared at Colt, but he kept his mouth shut. Thank God for small miracles.

  “I want to go home,” Abby muttered.

  “Okay.” I knew exactly how overwhelmed she must feel, and I also knew she couldn’t be around any of them right now.

  Admittedly, I was more than ready to get out of here, too. I wasn’t sure I could handle another moment with Colt. I gave Trent a quick kiss goodbye, promised to call him later, and then I ushered Abby out to her car.

  “Let me drive.” I held out my hand for her keys, and she didn’t hesitate to hand them over. Once we were inside and buckled, I backed out of the driveway. “I don’t think we should go home yet. Want to go somewhere quiet and just talk?”

  She nodded and rested her head against the window.

  I drove to Bushnell Falls and parked. This time of year, not many people were hiking the trails, so the area was devoid of tourists. I parked but left the car running so we’d have heat, and then I waited for Abby to speak. She probably needed more time to wrap her mind around everything, and I wasn’t going to rush her.

  Finally, after almost half an hour, Abby spoke. “Aren’t you scared?”

  “Of what?”

  “Becoming a vampire,” she said.

  “I’m terrified, but I love Trent more than anything.” I shifted in my seat so I was angled toward her. “Vampires have heightened emotions. They feel everything a million times more intense than we do, and when they fall in love, it’s forever. Like, if I decided to stay human and I died, Trent would never love anyone again. He’d have to spend eternity alone and heartbroken.”

  Abby frowned. “That sounds terrible.”

  “It is, and that’s part of the reason why I’m becoming a vampire. I don’t want to cause Trent that kind of pain. I love him way too much.” I smiled wistfully. “And an eternity with him sounds pretty perfect.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” She shrugged. “Isach told me he ages slowly, and that I’ll die before him.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “He wants me to become a vampire.”

  I placed my hand on her shoulder. “I know.” I took a deep breath. “Did he also tell you he’s willing to become one, too, if you are?”

  She nodded, popped open the glove box, snatched a leftover fast food napkin, and wiped her nose. “What if we both change and then realize we don’t like each other?” She glanced up at me with so much uncertainty. “I mean, at least you know Trent loves you no matter what, and you know you love him. But what if Isach and I become vampires and it’s nothing like you and Trent?”

  My heart ached for her. “You kept telling me you wanted someone to look at you the way Trent always looks at me, and in case you haven’t noticed, Isach looks at you that way.” I gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, then pulled my hand away.

  I didn’t know how much Isach had told her, and I didn’t want to make the situation any worse, but I needed to help her understand. “I don’t think you realize just how far he’s willing to go for you,” I said.

  “What do you mean?” She sniffled.

  Here goes nothing…

  “I don’t know what he’s told you about his coven, but they’re not good witches. They practice some very dark magic, and…” I bit my lip.

  Maybe I was going too far. Telling her this could completely change her mind about Isach, and not in the way anyone wanted. Still, she needed to know how committed he was to her, and there wasn’t any other way to convince her of that fact.

  “And what?” she asked.

  “It was Isach’s coven that cursed Trent’s family in the first place.” I took a deep breath and told her the story of Sean, Annmarie, and Rector.

  “Oh, my God.” Her face had gone whiter. “So, Isach’s bad?”

  “No,” I said emphatically and shook my head. “That’s the thing. He hates his coven, Abby. He wants to get far away from them so he can be with you.”

  I then proceeded to tell her about the deal I was trying to make with Ivy and how Isach was willing to help so he could not only get away from his coven but ensure he had a very long life with her.

  When I finished talking, Abby was silent for a long while. “So, he’s doing all of this for me?” she ask
ed.

  I nodded.

  She laughed, the sound a mix between delirium and humor. “I cannot believe any of this is real. I keep expecting to wake up from this crazy dream.”

  I chuckled. “I felt the same way when I first found out, too. But I didn’t have anyone to talk to.” I picked at my fingernails. “Look, I know this is a lot, and you’re going to need time to let it all sink in, but promise you’ll talk to me if you have any questions.”

  “I will,” she said.

  CHAPTER FIVE:

  Alliance

  LATER, ABBY DROPPED ME OFF AT Trent’s so I could get my car. She refused to come inside, though, and was out of the driveway before I even made it onto the porch.

  The door swung open, and Trent greeted me with a hug. I melted against him, letting my stress and worries dissipate in his arms.

  “How’d it go?” Isach asked. “Is she okay? Is she here? She’s not answering my calls.”

  Reluctantly, I pulled away from Trent and shut the door. “She’s… overwhelmed, but I think she’s handling it okay. She asked a lot of questions, but she’s going to need some time.”

  Isach’s face fell with disappointment. He dragged his hand through his hair and nodded.

  I glanced around the living room. Whitney was sitting on the couch with Colt and Karina, the three of them deep in conversation. Jax and Wyatt were playing a video game, nudging each other and laughing.

  “There’s something else we need to talk about,” I said to Isach, then nodded for him to follow me into the kitchen. Trent took my hand, and I dragged him along, too, needing his presence to calm me.

  “What’s going on now?” Isach asked.

  “I know you don’t want to do this, but we have to tell Abby that she—”

  “Absolutely not,” he said with a hard shake of his head. “We’ve already piled too much on her as it is. If we tell her about what I did… She’ll never speak to me again. And then what’s the point of everything I’m trying to do?”

  Sighing, I leaned against the counter. Trent stood beside me, a pillar of strength and comfort. I had no idea what I’d ever do without him, and I never wanted to find out.

  “We just told her that vampires are real. You told her she was going to die long before you ever will, and then you asked her to become immortal for you,” I said, struggling to keep my voice calm. “You cannot ask her to make that decision when she doesn’t have all the facts about who you are and what you’ve done. That’s not fair to her, Isach.”

  He muttered a string of curses and slammed his hand against the table hard enough to make it rattle. My heart jumped in my chest at his sudden outburst.

  “She’s not going to forgive me,” he said, desperation dripping from every word.

  “You don’t know that,” I said as softly as possible. “Abby loves you, and I know you love her, so please do this for her. Give her all the information and let her make a decision.”

  Trent cleared his throat. “I can give her back her memories,” he said.

  “And then you can be there to talk to her about it,” I said. “I’ll be there, too, if you want. We can explain everything together, and she knows that you and I are friends now. If I can forgive you for trying to kill me, I’m sure she can, too.”

  Isach frowned.

  Clearly, he wasn’t sold on this idea, and I really didn’t want to go behind his back and do this without him, but I would if I had to. I couldn’t let Abby agree to spend an eternity with a guy she didn’t even know the truth about.

  “Can we at least give her a couple of days to adjust to what we’ve already told her?” Isach asked, his tone pleading.

  “Okay.” I nodded. “But we can’t put this off too long.”

  “I know,” Isach said. “I’m gonna try to call her again.” He walked out of the kitchen, leaving me and Trent alone.

  Groaning, I turned toward him and rested my head on his chest. “I have no idea if this is the right thing or not.”

  He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on top of my head. “I don’t know, either,” he said.

  “I just know if it were me, I’d want to know everything,” I said, resting my hands on his waist.

  “Well, you know Abby better than the rest of us. If you really believe she should know, then she should know.” He held me out at arm’s length. “No matter what you decide, I’ll help however I can.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled and rose up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss.

  “Can you stay for a while?” he asked, not moving too far from my lips. The way his voice dipped, taking on a slightly raspy tone, made his intentions clear.

  I shifted on my feet, bringing my body closer to his, and his eyes darkened. My heart beat hard and steady. I took a deep breath, hating that I had to tell him no.

  “I should go home and check on Abby,” I said, though I’d much rather stay here with him. But Abby needed me, and I wanted to be there for her.

  He groaned. “I seriously can’t wait for the day when you don’t have to leave to go home,” he said.

  “Me too. So, what’re you going to do the rest of the day?” I asked.

  “Hang out with my brothers.” He grinned.

  I laughed. “No fighting.”

  “No promises,” he said with a playful wink. “C’mon, I’ll walk you out to your car.”

  THAT NIGHT, ABBY SLEPT in my room, and we stayed up until almost three in the morning, talking. She had a lot of questions, and I answered every single one of them as honestly as I could.

  I didn’t tell her she’d known Isach once before, though I did tell her she’d known Trent and that he’d wiped her memories like he had mine. Thankfully, she didn’t dwell on that subject for too long.

  I even confided in her about the time I’d spent locked up with Jax, how I’d developed feelings for him, how he’d bitten me, and we were eternally bonded. Of course, I then had to tell her how Ivy transferred the bond to Trent, and then he’d bit me to claim me because I was his soulmate.

  She’d insisted on seeing the bite mark, and that led to a million more questions about what it felt like to be bitten and if it hurt. I was glad she was talking to me about everything—it gave me hope that she might actually be okay with this.

  Eventually, the conversation circled around to the deal we were making with Ivy and how it meant Trent and I would be having a baby. In typical Abby fashion, she was overly excited for me, squealing and hugging me. Of course, she was more excited that she’d be Aunt Abby than anything else, and she already had grand plans of how she’d spoil her future niece or nephew.

  When my alarm went off a few short hours later, we groaned in unison. I slapped at the clock and sat up, rubbing sleep from my eyes. I was tempted to play sick so I could stay home and sleep, but if I did that, there was no way Aunt Beth would let me out of the house later, and today was the day I’d make another blood oath to Ivy. I couldn’t not show up for that.

  Abby shuffled to her room to get dressed, and twenty minutes later, we were in my car and headed toward school. Not even coffee and loud music could wake us up enough to be functional. It was going to be a long day.

  I pulled into the student lot and parked. “Okay, this is going to sound so selfish, but I have to say it.”

  “Say what?” Abby yawned.

  “When I change, I’m not going to be able to stay in Keene Valley for very long. Everyone I know will start to age, but I won’t, so I’ll have to move. I mean, now that you know the truth, I could still see you, I guess, but I’ll have to basically never see anyone else again.” I rubbed my hands over the steering wheel, my heart in my throat. “You’re like a sister to me, Abby, and I don’t want to lose you. I want you to change,” I whispered.

  Tears pooled in my eyes. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t rush her or try to guilt her into making a decision, and that’s exactly what I’d just done.

  “Chloe…” Her lips trembled.

  “I’m sorry.” I forced a smile a
nd wiped the tears from my eyes. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. This is your choice. Don’t let anyone—not even me—force you to do something you don’t want to do.”

  “Thank you.” She lunged across the center console and gave me an awkward hug.

  If she chose not to change, I was really going to miss her hugs. I used to hate them, but now I wasn’t sure how I’d make it through life without them. “You know I love you, right?” I said, not ready to release her.

  “Okay, do not make me cry,” she said around a laugh, but it was too late—there were already tears glistening in her eyes.

  Laughing, I once again swiped my fingers beneath my eyes. “Sorry. I’m not normally so emotional.” At least, not with her. With Trent, I was always blubbering like a baby. “I blame it on the lack of sleep,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “C’mon, let’s go before we’re late.”

  Together, we walked toward our lockers. Abby’s steps faltered when she noticed Isach was waiting for her. She took a deep breath.

  I grabbed her hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. “You got this,” I whispered, then veered off in the direction of my locker.

  When Trent saw me, he straightened and greeted me with a breathtaking smile. “How’d things go last night?”

  I’d texted him briefly to let him know I was spending the night with Abby, but I hadn’t had the chance to ever call him back to let him know what happened. I gave him a quick rundown now.

  “So, I think she’s maybe considering it. I don’t know, but she’s not totally freaking out, so that’s good,” I said.

  “I’m sure it helps that you’re there to answer her questions.” He tugged me into his arms and gave me a lingering kiss. “Are you ready for today?”

  I nodded and covered my mouth with the back of my hand as I yawned. Trent raised a brow.

  “Sorry. I was up late. I’m exhausted,” I said. But there was nothing that would stop me from meeting with Ivy today.

  “Wanna skip and go take a nap?” he asked.