by Dawn Gray
She stood slowly, her back towards the masculine presence behind her. Cautiously, she turned and looked up into his baby blue eyes. She was shocked, unable to move. She felt her face grow pale, as her heart thudded against her chest, and the disbelief filled her mind.
“Lily?” he whispered, reaching out for her as the edges of her world faded.
“Oh my God,” she said softly. “Jared!”
His arms wrapped around her as her knees gave way. She rested her head against his hard chest, listening to the strong thump of his heart. Closing her eyes, she moved her arms to encircle him and let the tears flow. Jared kissed her head, placing his cheek against hers as he shed his own tears, and slowly they came to rest on the rocky ground at their feet.
“Where have you been?” she asked, her own voice sounding loud and unfamiliar in her ears.
“I died, Lily,” he answered, and watched as she picked up her head to stare into his eyes. “I died and you gave me back my life.”
“I don’t remember anything,” she said, shaking her head. “How? How could I have done that for you?”
“The light that was inside you is a power beyond everything that we know,” Jean explained and the two looked up at him, his hands tucked behind his back. “She has been with us since my making, she was the spirit that resided in my beloved when I turned. I have seen her at every moonrise since, but never have I seen her sacrifice herself for anyone like I did with you. She gave Jared the last of her strength, but since he is not a vampire, it took longer for the light to begin to change him. She refused to let you die, to separate the two of you for your hearts beat as one.”
Jared looked at Lily and cupped her face in his hands, bringing his head down so that his nose touched hers. “I love you, Lily, as I have never loved anyone before.”
“I love you, too. But I still don’t understand. What exactly happened?” She sighed, closing her eyes as his lips touched hers softly.
“The curse is broken. Jared still carries the blood of the loup within him, however it has changed,” Jean responded and this made Lily open her eyes wide. “He is free, just as you are. To live, love, and grow old.”
“Jared,” Lily whispered smiling at him as the corners of his mouth curled upwards.
“I want to go home with you. I want to start a life with you and your children. Will you have me?”
Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around his neck, nodding as she drew in a deep breath. “Yes.”
His lips captured hers with a passion that she recognized. Her heart soared as the sounds of New Orleans drowned out her surroundings, and the only noise that remained was the sound of their hearts beating together as one.
The End
Author Lily Reynolds had rarely traveled from her home state, but the opportunity to visit one of America’s “most haunted cities” was not something she could pass up. Despite anxiety issues that have plagued her life, Lily and her friend Kylie set off on what they thought would be a two-week vacation, but turned into an adventure beyond her wildest dreams.
Jared Claverack has lived in New Orleans from the time he was born. She was his to protect at all cost, and it was a duty he did ferociously. He was content to walk the streets at night, until his blue eyes connected with a pale-skinned woman from the north, and the occupants of the City of the Dead began to creep out from the shadows.
Was he strong enough to save her, to keep her from the grasp of the evil he knew lurked in the darkness, or would she become just another one of the city’s haunting stories?
Dawn Gray is back in the Northeast Kingdom. The hauntingly beautiful country settings are a remarkable backdrop for current projects. Before the Moonrise was written in 2008, after a vacation to New Orleans where she witnessed the strength of her citizens as they recovered from the aftermath of Katrina.