“Then do what you can.” I startled as the jingling of sleigh bells filled the air like a terrifying funeral march. “You did wrong by her, Abram.” I motioned to Annabeth, who was nearly as still as a statue less her trembling and white as a ghost. “Yeah, you guys were toxic for each other. I get that, and sometimes when it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But speaking as a woman who has been on the other side of this deal, you don’t get to just do the fade away thing, Abram. This girl loved you, and speaking as someone who loves you, I can definitively say that’s not an easy thing to get over.”
Annabeth blanched. It was the truth, and we all knew it.
“You don’t get to cut and run because you found out who you are and what you want. You have to have a conversation. You have to be honest with someone who gave herself to you. You owe her that.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” His eyes cut from me to her. “There have been days when all I wanted was to make this right by you.” He crossed the room to Annabeth now. “I even looked for you. Did you know that? All through the seventies and for most of the eighties, I did all I could to find you. But you had vanished. Now I know why.”
Come on, Abram. Make it right now. Tell her what you wanted to tell her all those years ago.
“I did love you, Annabeth,” he said. “As much as I could at the time. But I was broken back then. I had lived for so long that I forgot what it meant to actually be alive. And I broke you, too, I think, and it hurts every time I look at you to know I did that. Leaving the way I did was a cowardly thing to do.”
Annabeth’s expression calmed. Her trembling ceased.
Abram continued. “I had no business being in a relationship with you, Annabeth. I didn’t even know myself then.” He took her hand, and fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. “I brought you into this dark abyss because that’s where I was, and then, when I found my way out, I left you there. I left you alone. I let this happen to you, Annabeth. And I’m sorry for that, more so than you could ever imagine.”
As much as I knew this needed to happen, it was getting increasingly harder to watch it. Whatever connection they once had was becoming readily apparent now. Undeniable. My mind rushed to different possibilities. What if he hadn’t left her then? What if they’d worked through it together? What if he’d found her when he looked for her? What if they’d met at another time in his life?
…What if they had reunited before he met me?
Abram squeezed her hand. “I know those words might not mean much, but maybe my actions will. I did this to you, and I won’t stop until I undo it.” He looked to me. “You see that woman over there, Annabeth? She saved me. I’m only here because she willed it. I’m only able to stand here, as the man I am now, because she opened her heart to me. She’s my whole life, Annabeth. And you deserve that, too. You deserve to feel the love that I feel, that Charisse gave me. I swear to you, on my life, on the life that woman gave me, that I will not leave here without you. I will save you from this damned place. I will give you your life back.”
He leaned into her.
“But you have to let me. You have to forgive, Annabeth. Do you forgive me?”
She shook her head, and my heart dropped. But she bit her lip and a smile spread across her fragile face.
“Of course I forgive you,” she whispered.
The jingling of bells disappeared and, looking down, I saw Abram’s name disappear from the list.
I sighed, smiling to myself and leaning against the wall. It was over. Abram’s name was gone from the list, and there was no name to replace it. His wrongs had been what started this all, and he’d righted them. Abram was safe. This town was safe. Finally, I could breathe again, and I began to entertain the thought that everything would be okay.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
*
As we walked down the street, Abram’s hand in mine, a brisk chill bit at the back of my neck and cheeks. The streets were still relatively empty, not surprising given that the residents of Hope’s Bluff still assumed a demonic Santa Claus was on the loose. But they hadn’t seen the list crumble. They hadn’t heard the music stop or watched relief flood the face of the Conduit who brought all of this about in the first place. This was over now. It had to be.
“Are you sure this is okay?” I asked, tapping against his chest. I looked from Abram to the moon and back again. “It’s close enough to midnight for us to worry about the beast inside.”
A smile broke across his gorgeous face. “I’m done with worrying for tonight, Charisse,” he said. “Right now, all I want is to be with you. I brought you here to show you what Christmas could be like in this place, to show you a piece of myself that you hadn’t seen yet.” He brought my hand up to his lips and graced it with a kiss. “We have an hour until midnight. I want to use every second of that time to do just that.” He pulled me closer, wrapping a muscled arm around my shoulder and, as such, making me the happiest person in the world. “Merry Christmas, my love.”
I lay my head against his chest, listening to the thump of his heart, marveling at how closely it matched my own. The same beats, the same rhythm.
What had I ever been worried about anyway? Of course this would be okay. Abram was here. He was with me. And nothing could ever be wrong when we were together.
Snow, light and fresh, sifted from the night sky. This moment was perfect. This man was perfect. And now this place could be perfect. And it was all thanks to him.
“Hey,” I said, feeling my mood finally brighten to match our newfound holiday freedom, “tomorrow I was thinking we could—”
A bright flash of light blinded me, cutting me off midsentence. I stumbled backwards, but Abram held me tightly, keeping me close.
I rubbed bright spots from my eyes. “What the hell was that?”
“No.” The word left Abram like a breath.
When my vision came back, I saw the reason for his concern, and my heart dropped.
At the center of Main Street, where the Christmas tree had appeared only a few hours ago, now sat an even bigger tree—at least twice the size of the first one. Instead of ribbons and bows, this one was decorated with bones and bloodied organs. The box that sat under it now was metal and covered in spikes.
And the entire thing was on fire.
Chapter 10
A blazing inferno overtook every branch, every needle.
This wasn’t over, not by a longshot. We hadn’t culled Santa Claus into a teary-eyed submission. We had just pissed him off.
The tree, dead and disgusting, burned like a sacrifice on Main Street. It wasn’t long before people poured out of the shops, diners, and other buildings that lined the road. From farther back, people ran from their homes, dressed for bed and gaping in terror.
It had never been like this before. No one had told me that, but they didn’t need to. I could see it on their faces. The horror that kept them in check and slid out to feed once every year had never been this ugly. It had never been this direct.
Unlike before, no one walked toward the tree. The mayor, who a few hours ago seemed to almost delight in his position at the head of this situation, now stood near the back of the crowd and made no effort to change that.
“We did this,” I muttered, glancing at the crying children, horrified adults, and barking dogs littering the street. “This is our fault.”
“This is my fault,” Abram countered, looking flush at the tree. “You had nothing to do with this. Annabeth said as much. And besides, we’ve been through worse than this and come through just fine.”
“Have we?” I asked. “This is a true demon, whatever the hell that is. We don’t know what hurts him. We don’t know what he looks like. We don’t even know what he’s after since the naughty list turned to ash.” I shook my head. “This might be the worst Christmas Eve ever.”
“It’s not over yet,” Abram growled. He darted toward the tree.
“Abram don’t!” I yelled, but even as the words left my mouth, I
knew they were in vain.
Nothing would stop Abram from throwing himself in the line of fire. All I could hope to do was try to catch up and save him from as much of it as I could.
As before, people made a path for us as we weaved through them. But, unlike before, they didn’t seem nearly as disgusted by us. We had been telling them for hours now how we could help. Maybe a tree burning in effigy outside their front doors was enough to get them to at least want to believe us.
If only they knew we were to blame.
“There could be anything in there!” I shouted as Abram settled before the tree and set his sights on the spike-covered box.
“Whatever it is, we have to open it,” he answered, dropping to his knees in front of the damn thing.
“And what if it’s a bomb?” I asked, settling right there beside him.
“It’s not a bomb,” he said. “That’s much too pedestrian for who we’re dealing with. But you raise a good point. This could be dangerous. You need to move back to a safe distance.”
“Not a chance.” I crossed my arms. If he was going to put me through the stress of having to worry about him, then I was going to put him through it right back.
“Unfortunately, my love, I wasn’t asking.” He scooped me up and darted me off like a flash. The next thing I knew, I was standing at the back of the crowd beside the coward mayor, and Abram was rushing back to the tree.
“Damn it!” I screamed.
I would never catch up with him, but that wasn’t about to stop me from trying. I ran back through the crowd. No use. Before I had taken even two steps, Abram was back in front of the box. I screamed again, begging for him to wait, but my voice got lost in the crowd.
I could barely see him over the sea of arms, legs, and back when he flung the box open.
A low but terrifying scream escaped it. It stunned everyone into silence and stopped me in my tracks as it wailed.
Abram, for his part, didn’t even flinch.
A woman near the front of the crowd started screaming, and then a little boy not far from her. Three and then four people dotted around the crowd began to scream, all making the noise coming out of the box.
Then the man in front of me, a blond, surfer-looking dude with a shirt on that read ‘Beach is Gr8er than Not Beach’ turned to me. He was screaming at first too, but then he stopped. His eyed widened at me, pure white and free of pupils.
“It won’t stop,” he said in a voice so low and inhuman it couldn’t have been his own. “It won’t ever stop. Not until she dies.”
“What won’t stop?” I asked, stammering and stumbling backward.
He didn’t say anything. He just turned toward the box.
A sea of black spots, flying and buzzing, escaped the open lid. I gasped. Abram jerked backward, but there were so many. The dark cloud—moving things with wings—grew and grew until I was sure there was no way all of those things had ever fit inside a box that small.
There were thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands. And then a woman beside me, in a human and terrified voice muttered, “Locusts…”
They swarmed, ripping through the crowd and causing more panic than I had ever seen in my entire life.
People stampeded around me, knocking me farther back, farther from Abram.
“Not until she dies!” Several people—all sounding as though they were possessed—rasped around me.
“Who?” I yelled as a man running away knocked me backward.
I thought I was going to fall, but a hand caught me.
“Abram,” I muttered.
But looking up, I saw that it wasn’t Abram at all.
A burly man yanked me forward by my hand. “We told you to leave,” he said. He wasn’t possessed. His eyes were clear and full of a regret that concerned me greatly. “You just should have listened.”
“What’s going on?” Looking around, I saw that a circle of people had formed around me. It was tight and seemingly impenetrable.
“You heard them. You see what’s happening,” the man said. “And it won’t stop until she dies.”
“Who?” I demanded again.
He pointed to the abandoned hardware store. I hadn’t seen it before, but it must have caught fire, because the flames were doubling against the faded white woods, leaving behind a burned etching of…
…of me.
“I’m guessing that means you,” the man said. “No offense, sweetie, ‘cause I’m sure you’re a kickass girl and all, but we can’t let this go on.” He shook his head. “You should have left and you didn’t. Now, I’m sorry to say this, but you’re gonna have to die.”
He reared back a huge, meaty fist, and I panicked, trying to get some magic together and knock him on his ass. But I couldn’t. Everything was too loud. I was too flustered.
He leveled at me, but his fist was stopped mid-swing.
Abram. For real this time. He was sweaty and breathing heavy. His hands were claws, and his eyes glowed red.
“Get away from my girl,” he growled, his teeth bared and sharp.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the man aside like a paper doll. The man twisted in the air and disappeared into the crowd.
“What’s happening?” I asked breathlessly.
Abram pulled me into his arms, pressed against his hard chest. “Santa wants you dead. These damn locusts won’t stop until then.” His face turned even more beast-like as he continued. “Or until he is.”
People poured onto us now, throwing fists, bottles, and whatever else they could find in an attempt to subdue us. But they didn’t know Abram. He beat them back with as little force as was necessary to break us through the crowd.
Back in his arms, I closed my eyes tight, trying to block out the sounds of a mob bent on my death.
You know, just another Thursday.
We jostled a bit, and the going was slow, but soon enough, the noises quieted, and Abram picked up speed. Though my eyes still weren’t open, I knew he had gotten me away. He was taking me to safety, just like he always had. Just like he always would.
When we settled, I opened my eyes. We were back inside the lodge. Abram placed me softly in the lobby. Dudley wasn’t there, which probably meant he was part of the crowd trying to kill me. Which honestly didn’t surprise me in the least.
“We’re at the hotel?” I asked, looking around. “How long will we be safe here?”
“Two of the most powerful Conduits in the world are here,” Abram said. “Annabeth has already turned this place into her own personal fortress. Now she’ll do the same for us,” he said, becoming even more beast-like as fur sprouted across his arms, neck, and chest. “Nothing is getting through that door. Do you hear me? Nothing. Now go upstairs. Tell Annabeth everything that’s happened and help her seal this place off.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Annabeth’s voice lilted through the room. “I know all of it,” she said, walking toward us. She looked even more fragile now, even more sorrowful. “Not much goes on in this town that I don’t know about.”
The rumbling outside was probably not the thunder of an impending storm. It was more likely an angry mob headed right this way. To stop myself from shaking, I had to remind myself that Abram and I had already overcome an angry mob once before. We could do this. We just needed Annabeth’s help.
“So you know what to do?” I asked.
“I’m afraid I do.” She folded her hands in front of her with an eerie calm. “And I’m sorry to say that it’s not what you are hoping for.”
Abram stepped in front of me, glaring at her. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ve done so much to these people,” she said. “I can’t do this, too. He won’t stop until she’s dead, or at least until she don’t exist anymore.” She shook her head. “I won’t let them suffer anymore because of me.”
Blue energy crackled around her body. Why was she powering up?
“Annabeth, what are you—”
“What am I doing?” she asked, almost b
linding me with her energy. “The only thing I can do. For once, I’m saving everyone. I’m…I’m making you not exist anymore.”
She threw her hand against my forehead, and a cold shock jolted through me. And then the entire world as I knew it—my entire self as I had always been—melted away like snow in the springtime.
Chapter 11
I woke slowly, stretching in my bed and almost forgetting what day it was. It wasn’t until my eyes opened, gracing the huge wreath and red ribbon that Carly and I threw sloppily across the wall a few weeks ago, that I realized it was Christmas.
Instantly, my mood brightened. Christmas had always been one of my favorite holidays, and Christmas in Hope’s Bluff was something else altogether.
I threw the covers back and stood, gliding my feet into slippers. I couldn’t help but smile as I brushed my teeth and hair. I was just so lucky. Things could have turned out very differently for me. I was, after all, a failed model who spent her formative years on the mean streets of New York. But I had been in Hope’s Bluff for six wonderful years now, ever since my car broke down outside Mr. Dudley’s inn.
“You did good, Charisse Bellamy,” I said, looking at myself in the mirror and thinking about the amazing nature of this place. “You did real good.”
Music filtered through the air; Santa Claus is Coming to Town by the Eagles. Which meant Carly was awake and very likely chomping at the bit to open her presents.
I swung open the door to the living room and caught her just as expected, her fingers hovering inches above a wrapped gift that she would soon learn contained an easy bake oven.
Soon, but not now.
“Wait a minute,” I said, crossing the room to her as she froze. “You’re not opening that yet.”
“But Char!” she said in a sing song voice.
Carly had lived with me for three years, ever since her mother—my best friend Amanda—died in a car accident. It had been the worst moment of both our lives, excluding the death of my own mother. But we did what we had to. I took Carly in, and she had given my life meaning that it never had before.
Alphas Unwrapped: 21 New Steamy Paranormal Tales of Shifters, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More Page 71