by Juniper Hart
“I got the bastard!” Reuben cheered. “Fuck yeah!”
Immediately, Widowmaker turned and made some sort of signal. All the goblins nearby instantly stopped and retreated, except for the unlucky few that were already climbing the manor and had to continue the assault or that didn’t see the signal. Those few were met with deadly force from the team of survivors.
Soon, the last goblin vanished into the woods. Even the tank was deserted, barrel smoking. The field was disturbingly quiet. The green grass was dusted lightly with the dust of dead goblins and vampires. Reuben scrambled up and checked Cara from head to toe.
“Are you okay?” he asked urgently. “Did any of them bite you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she choked. “I’m fine…”
But she wasn’t fine, covered in the dust of a dead goblin with the memory of war still so fresh in her mind. She wasn’t fine, and a part of her doubted if she’d ever be fine again.
Chapter 10
In the aftermath of the battle, small groups of werewolves returned. Duke returned with Sarah later in their human forms, covered in dust. They’d been busy, evidently. Thousands of reinforcements from around the mountain, all part of Reuben’s pack, came in about forty seconds after the goblins had all inexplicably retreated. Since nobody needed them anymore, they tended to the wounded and tracked the goblins to make sure they were really gone.
Cara wandered through the trashed dining hall with her bare feet and ruined dress after they’d cleaned up the bodies. She’d lost her shoes somewhere… But some werewolves had lost their lives.
Reuben came up beside her. He was still hurting, but he was healing. The guy was practically indestructible. He’d only been hit by the tank, not the silver bullets used by the ground forces.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, prodding a chunk of marble that had fallen.
“This wasn’t your fault,” Reuben replied. “Ezekiel did this. Do you hear me? Don’t put this on yourself. Most of us will heal. Werewolves aren’t easy to kill.”
He laid a hand on her shoulder and brought her in close as he spoke, “Ezekiel was here for me. I was the one who killed his family when the spell was cast on me.”
She sat down on the creaky chair that had been so solid during dinner. He sat next to her, letting her speak.
“Why’d they leave? They could’ve killed all of us.”
“Ezekiel died and the contract was nullified,” he replied. “Widowmaker didn’t want to waste his troops on killing someone for no money.”
***
The entire manor had taken a beating from the assault, but most of the rooms had been spared. The great hall had been the one that had been mostly destroyed.
The werewolves were given magnificent burials the day after the fight. It rained the entire day as the mass burial was performed. It was strange to say the least. Cara had expected a normal funeral, so she wore dark colors and somber makeup. When she emerged from the bathroom, Reuben was wearing a bright blue dress shirt with tuxedo pants.
“What are you wearing?” Reuben asked her. “Too morbid.”
“It’s a funeral.”
He finally seemed to comprehend.
“You know, I should probably have explained that. We don’t do funerals like humans. We celebrate the life of those who have moved on. It’s a happy time, full of dancing and celebration.”
“Oh.”
For every defender that had fallen, there had been a dozen more attackers that were now dead, but it still hurt Cara to see them. She couldn’t help but feel that the attack was partially her fault, even though it wasn’t.
She hadn’t forced Ezekiel to do anything. Nobody had. He’d made his own choices. Ezekiel had lost his mind in a disturbed obsession over Reuben. It was a sick form of revenge for something that Reuben hadn’t even had control over.
***
Laughter returned to the manor months later, when the dead had finished being honored and they were preparing for Cara and Reuben’s wedding. It felt strange having a wedding so close to the battle, but nobody else seemed to think so. When she’d brought it up to Duke, her future father-in-law had patted her on the head affectionately.
“Those who died did so that the rest of the pack could flourish,” he told her. “They wouldn’t want us to suffer. They did that for us. To not celebrate the union of two mates that they gave their lives for would be nothing short of an insult to their memories.”
A weird way of looking at it, perhaps, but then again, nothing in the enchanted world made much sense to Cara.
Soon after the battle, Adrianna had no bounty money or any of the money from Ezekiel’s bank account. Duke, however, rewarded Adrianna with a hefty sum of money and she left in peace. Duke met with the new vampire clan leader and signed a peace treaty. Neither party wanted to continue an unwinnable war. Eddy returned home, but visited often.
Cara had been afraid that Reuben might become more distant after the battle, but if anything, he grew more affectionate. It wasn’t rare for him to randomly bring her gifts or tell her how much he cherished her. They were in bliss. There were horror stories about relationships that fell through after intense hardship, but Cara somehow knew they wouldn’t be like that.
However, there was a part of her that wondered if she was making the right decision. Ezekiel was dead. The bounty was off. She could go back to the human world, where she would be safe from monsters and demons and any other problems. Maybe she’d rushed into things too quickly with Reuben. After knowing the guy for a solid week and a half, they were engaged. He had told her fate had brought them together and that he knew she was meant to be his mate. She had believed every word, but maybe it was just too soon.
She thought about it for the first part of their wedding preparation. She loved Reuben and he was absolutely head-over-heels for her. That much was clear. Her worries had almost disappeared completely until the day before the marriage. They returned in full, tormenting force. She didn’t say anything to Reuben about it.
It wasn’t until she looked in his eyes and the minister said the words, “And do you, Cara, take Reuben to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
She didn’t answer immediately. She took Reuben’s hands and looked deep into his eyes. Was he right for her? Was she making the right decision?
He smiled down at her and she smiled right back.
“Yes,” she said with certainty. “Yes, yes I do.”
The crowd erupted into cheers and howls as Reuben picked her up and kissed her passionately. Cara wanted to stay in that moment forever. Sadly, she knew it would eventually come to an end. Life, or at least her new version of life, would begin with Reuben at her side, facing life’s troubles hand-in-hand.
“I’ll always be here for you,” Reuben told her after they had kissed.
“I know,” she said.
And she did know. Whatever troubles life threw their way, Cara knew he would be there to love her. Protect her. Save her. Cherish her. And all she wanted was to share the rest of her life with him.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you, too,” she replied.
The roars of the werewolves echoed throughout the church as Reuben and Cara stepped out the front door. Embracing their future together.
***
The End
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- Juniper Hart
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