by J. P.
He lays next to me and wraps his arm around my waist as he pulls me against him. He kisses me for what feels like hours before he rolls on top of me. He stares down at me as he brushes hair off of my forehead. His fingers travel down the side of my face, down my neck, and find the edge of my towel. He looks up at me as if asking for my permission. I give him a slight nod, and he grins at me as he slowly peels my towel off. He leans down and kisses me again.
“I love you,” he whispers to me.
“I love you too.”
“You’re sure?” he asks.
I’m not sure if he means if I’m sure about what we’re about to do or if I’m sure I love him. Regardless, the answer is the same.
“Positive,” I answer before he starts to kiss me again.
I stare at Luke as he stares back at me. He’s lying on his side with his right arm tucked under his head. His left arm is wrapped around me, holding me close. We put on some sweatpants and t-shirts a few minutes ago after agreeing that it’s way too cold in here.
“We really need to get some sleep.” He presses a kiss to my temple.
“I know.” I bury my face into his chest.
“How are you feeling, babe?” he asks me.
“Perfect.” I pull back and kiss his cheek. “How about you?”
“I’m on cloud nine.” He kisses me softly. “You’re all I ever wanted.”
I smile at him as I lean in and kiss him. He pulls me into him again, and after a few minutes, I hear his breathing start to slow as he drifts off to sleep.
I grin to myself as I replay the events of tonight over again in my head. I really feel like I’m in heaven. There’s something about Luke that I need in my life, and being able to really be with him tonight was amazing. I never want to live without this feeling, and I never want to live without him. I have never been more sure of something in my life.
I would love to say that when I woke up, Luke and I found the lab or Ethan or more clues to help avenge my dad’s death. That we went home and spent time with our family and friends. That I graduated high school in a few months, and Luke finally kept his promise and took me to Hawaii where we lived out the rest of our years happy, healthy, and madly in love. I would love to say all that, but that’s not what happened at all.
I wake up to someone wrapping their arm around my waist and pulling me away from Luke. My eyes snap open, and I see as Luke’s eyes fill with horror.
“Miss me, bitch?” Sarah hisses in my ear as she shoves me against a wall, her forearm crushing my throat.
“My son. Always fraternizing with the enemy. You are a traitor, and that’s all you will ever be,” Ethan says as he tosses a stake between his hands.
“Dad. What are you doing here?” Luke says. His voice is completely even, but I can tell he is scared by the way his heart is beating.
“I heard a rumor that Aaron Blair did not kill my favorite son.” Ethan spits the word at Luke. “Sorry about the mix-up,” he says, mockingly to me. “Apparently, it was some filthy traitor.” Ethan’s eyes are fixed on Luke as he glares at him. “How could you kill your own brother? How could you take my son away from me?”
“Are you serious?” Luke roars. “You took my mother away from me.”
“That was for your own good.” Ethan laughs. “You never understood anything. You’re a foolish boy that gave away his entire life for some disgusting half-breed.” Ethan glances over at me again. “I don’t care anymore that she’s a fast healer.” He pauses and grinds his teeth together in anger. “You took my son away from me, I’m taking your half-breed away from you,” Ethan says as he points to me.
Luke lunges at his dad and tackles him on the floor.
Sarah turns to me, but before she can touch me, I use my hands to push her away. She is so caught off guard that she falls onto the floor. She pulls a stake out from inside her jacket, and she runs at me. I duck and throw her back on the floor, grabbing the stake from her hand and shoving it into her chest where her heart is. I see panic fill her eyes before she goes completely calm. I feel my hands start to shake as I get up, but I can’t think about it now. Luke and I can win, it’s two against one.
I look over, and they are both standing, throwing punches. Ethan glances over and sees me coming. He steps forward and throws Luke to the floor with one swipe of his arm. I see him scrambling up from the corner of my eye as Ethan charges at me. I take a few steps back and move to the side, but he knew I would make the move as he pins me against the wall, just like how Sarah did.
Ethan pulls his arm back and then thrusts it forward. I gasp as I feel the wooden stake puncture my heart. Pain explodes in my chest as I feel my knees buckle, and I crumple onto Ethan.
“NO!” Luke shouts as he runs over to me.
Ethan lets go, and I fall to the floor. He heads for the exit as Luke reaches me and pulls me into his lap.
“No, no, no, this isn’t happening,” he begs as tears fall onto his cheeks. He pulls the stake out of my chest and holds me close to him.
All of a sudden, it’s as if someone switched off my ability to feel pain. My body goes numb as my vision starts to go black around the edges.
“Please, Nina. You can heal yourself. I know you can,” Luke says as tears roll down his cheeks, but I feel my life slipping away. “Please, I can’t live without you,” he begs. I feel tears falling from my eyes as blood spills onto the floor.
“I love you,” Luke whispers before it all goes black.
The End
Epilogue
Jake
After the word got out that Ethan had killed Nina, Marcy made it her mission to kill him as quickly as possible. She sent all her men and women to find him, and in a nasty battle that was successful, she lost her own life. In her last moments, she asked for Jake to take over her position as the leader of Chrome.
Paul
Paul mourned Nina’s death the longest. Even through all of his mourning, he still did amazingly well in school and got into all of the top colleges. On the exact day when Paul turned eighteen, he finally began the transition into becoming a vampire. Paul decided that he wanted to be a doctor and devoted his life to helping human and vampire patients.
Tyler
Tyler was angry. He was angry at Luke for letting it happen, he was angry at himself for not going with them, he was angry at Ethan for actually doing it, and when Marcy asked for volunteers to help find Ethan, he was the first to step up. Once he saw Ethan kill Marcy, he shoved a stake right through Ethan’s chest, killing him once and for all and avenging Marcy, Aaron, Lilly, Nina, and so many others.
Tyler never thought he could love anyone as much as he loved Nina, but he ended up falling in love with Marissa. The death of her sister changed her completely, and she wanted to help people just like he did. Tyler had a long, happy life working for his best friend, Jake, but he never forgot Nina.
Luke
Luke sat there, in Nina’s blood, and was in complete shock. How could this happen? They were supposed to be together forever. What he feels for her, he can’t live without this feeling, without her. Now, the thought of going through life alone was unbearable. There was no life without Nina.
After holding onto her lifeless body for what felt like hours, Luke softly kisses her forehead as tears stream down his face all over again. He reaches across the floor and grabs the bloody stake.
“I’m coming, babe, hold on,” he whispers as he gathers her into a hug one last time and plunges the stake into his own heart.
A note from the author:
Thank you to all my readers for going on this journey with me. Although this is the end of Nina’s narrative, there are still lots of stories to be told!
Follow me on social media for updates, extras and more!
Instagram: @j.p.books
Twitter: @jp_booksnet
What happens when Ethan sends his werewolf to find Nina’s cousin, Embry?
Find out in Beta
Coming soon!
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J. P., Descend: Book Three (The Bloodline Trilogy 3)