by Jane Hinchey
My thoughts drifted to my birth parents. They had lied to me, too, when they hid me with a human family, and hadn't that been out of love? I had decided to forgive them, to allow my mother into my life, to heal and move forward.
Didn't I owe Maddax the same?
My mind was mulling over the possibilities when a scuffle broke out behind us. Turning at the sound of raised voices, I was stunned to see my father, pyre gun aimed at me, face contorted in rage.
"Die, bitch!" he spat, and pulled the trigger.
It happened so fast, yet I watched it as if in slow motion. The flash of light that left the barrel of the gun, the way it moved through the air at frightening speed, hurtling toward my chest.
Maddax leaped in front of me, taking the full force. A scream ripped through the air as Maddax fell, blood pouring from the gaping wound in his chest, his eyes open, unseeing, staring at nothing.
Gone.
Then time sped up again. Someone tackled my father to the ground, knocking the gun from his hand. I fell to my knees, pulling Maddax's head into my lap, running my fingers over his face and through his hair, whispering nonsense words, telling him I'd forgive him everything if only he wouldn't die. When he didn't respond, I clutched his heavy limp body to my chest, feeling the warm stickiness of his blood seeping through my own clothes.
"No, no, no. Don't you dare die. Don't you dare fucking die. We're not done yet, do you hear me? We're not done!" I cried, my tears falling on his face.
"Emilea." My mother was by my side, her calm, soothing voice a balm to my ragged nerves. "Release him. He's gone. He died saving you."
"No! He can't be dead! You can heal him. You have the power. Heal him!" I could hear the edge of hysteria in my voice. He'd been by my side, alive, just seconds ago. How could he be gone?
Someone tried to pull me away, but I yelled at them to leave me alone, for in this moment, it was clear to me what I'd been trying to deny all along. I loved him. I loved this man who'd given his life to save me. And now I wouldn't get the chance to tell him so. My tears fell harder and faster.
A crowd had gathered around us, but now they started backing away. Smoke had begun to rise around us. I frowned. Where was the smoke coming from? It was getting thicker and swirling around us like a whirlwind. What was going on?
"Mother?" I cried. She'd know. She'd know what was happening. My body was vibrating. Fire danced across my skin, burning away my clothing and engulfing me.
"It's all right, my child. You know what to do." Her voice sounded a long way off. I looked up, unable to see her through the wall of flame dancing around us. It lifted us both into the air, our chests pressed together, legs tangling. I instinctively clutched his limp body to me to protect him from the firestorm.
"You're a Phoenix," I breathed, reminding myself of who and what I was. Somehow, I was saving Maddax. I sucked in a breath in and held it, too afraid to hope.
When we were several feet off the ground, we began to spin, fully engulfed in bright orange, yellow, and red flames. Yet they didn't burn. I didn't feel their heat. Maddax didn't show any signs of injury—in fact, when I checked, his wound had closed. His clothes, like mine, had burnt away, reduced to ash on the ground below us. I couldn't hear or see anything beyond the firestorm, could do nothing besides hold him and wait as the flames died down around us. Then we were floating back to the ground. I felt him grip me, his hands tight on my arms. His head rose and his eyes met mine.
"Maddax!" I cried, throwing my arms around his neck, crying as he wrapped me in his embrace. "I thought I'd lost you." I sniffed, running my hands over him to reassure myself that he was real, that he was here, alive and well.
"Never." His voice was rough, gravelly.
"I love you," I breathed, cupping his face.
His lips twitched. "Finally. I love you too. Always and forever. I told you that."
"Yes. You did."
"Pity it took me dying for you to believe it," he teased.
My heart just about exploded from happiness. I knew in an instant what my future would be. It was with this man. Wherever he was, I would go. I didn't care about my heritage. I didn't care about anything but this man.
"I know what we should do," I said.
"What's that?"
"We should stay and see out the experiment." I looked at my mother over Maddax's shoulder. "And you should join us."
She smiled, and I realized she'd known all along what was going to happen. None of this was a surprise to her.
"You knew?" I asked her.
She inclined her head. "I told you, Emilea. You are a very powerful Phoenix. Your tears regenerated him. You are a savior to our people."
"Okay, before we get too carried away, there are a couple of things," Maddax broke in. "First of all, we're both buck naked here. Can someone please get us some clothes? I'm not happy with all of you staring at my woman's magnificent ass." He placed his palms over my butt as if to hide it from view. "And secondly..." He nuzzled my neck with his lips, and I sagged against him.
"Yes?" I whispered.
"Tell me you love me. I need to hear it again. I died so I could hear it!"
Clasping his face in my hands, I pressed a hard kiss to his lips. "I love you. Always and forever."
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my novella from THE COMPLEX!
All reviews are appreciated.
If you would like to read more from THE COMPLEX series, please click on the link below:
The Complex Website
Aussie Author Jane Hinchey writes sexy, snarky, badass, paranormal romance and suspense.
Living in the City of Churches (aka Adelaide, South Australia) with her man, two cats, and turtle, she spends her days writing fantastical stories full of dark sexy vampires, hot shifters, sexy aliens, jaw dropping demons, sinful angels, and magical witches – and while they can be snarky and swear a lot, they mean well and you’ll grow to love them. Honestly.
When she’s not in her writing cave she’s usually playing the Sims, Civilizations or something similar, binge watching Netflix or upping the ante in the crazy cat lady stakes. She loves to hear from her readers, so swing on by her website at www.janehinchey.com and say hi.
You can find more to read from Jane Hinchey on her Amazon page.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
The Complex Series