by Mysti Parker
“I’d like to think you had an ounce of emotion inside you at one time,” Wren said, “but now I see you did all along. Fear. That’s it. That’s all you’re able to feel, especially now. Fear of my mother. Fear of not having power. Fear of losing that power. Fear of me.”
She was right. There was nothing but fear on Ravana’s face as she gurgled and stared up at Wren.
“I almost feel pity for you at how quickly you lost everything you had, everything you killed for.” Wren smiled without a hint of warmth and brought the scepter behind her shoulder like a baseball bat about to make a pivotal swing. “Almost, but not quite.”
The scepter sword whistled through the air on a direct path toward Ravana’s neck. And there wasn’t a thing she could do to stop it. Steel cut through flesh and bone, and blood sprayed in a violent arc. Ravana’s head rolled free and thudded to the blood-soaked floor and into the sunlight with a wet splat.
Alessandro retched as the flesh on his queen’s head blistered and turned black. The other two squeezed their eyes shut, the color leaching from their skin. They knew Wren was coming for them next.
She flicked her gaze up to Ravana’s three mates, her expression hard but not victorious. They’d aligned themselves to Ravana, so they must have known how this would end.
“Please,” Alessandro said, unable to tear his gaze from Ravana’s head.
Bartholomew blinked at Wren. “I’ve just been bitten.” He glanced down, and sure enough, he was covered with Satan’s Sister spiders up to his knees. “You don’t have to—”
“Kill these two,” Wren said, pointing at the Spanish wannabe and the gas machine.
Two shots later, it was done. A mercy, really, compared to what they deserved. Then she turned on Disaster.
“Fucking do it, then, you stupid cunt,” he spat.
“Let him go,” she ordered.
His eyes widened in surprise, and everyone stepped away from him, most of the men looking like they might be sick. They knew exactly what Disaster deserved, and for him, Wren would deliver.
I recoiled but at the same time cheered. Seconds later, Disaster lay at her feet, his screams loud. Blood spread from between his legs, and he clutched his hands there. Or to what used to be there. Wren held his dick in her fist, a downright terrifying grin splitting her face. Much of her was covered in blood. His and her blood.
She leaned down toward him and held his dick toward his face. “This is what you get, you goddamn sick coward. I told you I would do this, but I don’t think you believed me. That was your second mistake. The first was trying to force this pathetic thing you call a dick into my mouth. Let’s see how you like it.”
He thrashed wildly and tried to punch and throw her off, but hell no. I crossed over, snatched his arms, and held them above his head. Wren was so lost in her revenge, I wasn’t even sure she knew I was there. With a lethal gleam in her eyes, she forced his mouth open, stuffed his cock inside, and slammed both hands over it so he couldn’t spit it out. He screamed and bucked against her, and I just rolled my eyes.
“You really didn’t see this coming?” I asked him over his continuous wails.
Wren rose off of him and then spit on his face. “I bet you’re sorry now.”
Hawk stalked up next to her and put a bullet through Disaster’s heart. I instantly let go of what was left of his arms and flicked the goo to the floor.
The horror and violence of the past few moments settled into the air like a thick, silencing blanket. There was no other way for this to end, though, and it was truly the end. Relief barreled through me, so strong it almost brought me to my knees. Somehow, we were all alive.
Wincing, clutching where she’d been stabbed, Wren stumbled toward the throne and the spider-covered crown. She glanced back at Hawk, passing a shared understanding between them, which softened the hard planes of her face. He nodded and strode forward. With a few swipes of a big leaf, Hawk gently brushed the spiders off and deposited them into his jar. Then Wren lifted the crown and settled it on top of her head.
Queen Eleanor stepped out of her portal with her five mates, a brilliant grin, and her bucket of popcorn. “Remind me to never piss you off. You had me worried for a minute, but I knew somehow you’d come out on top. The VTV ratings will be through the roof. That was some epic shit, and you put your own damned crown on. I fucking love it.”
Wren turned to face her. “Oh, were you supposed to put it on my head or…?”
Eleanor waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it.” She reached up and straightened Wren’s crown even though it didn’t really need it then stepped away. “You did good, Wren. Real good.”
“Thank you.” Wren looked to us, and a smile finally broke over her face. It was filled with disbelief, but it grew wider as what she’d just accomplished sunk in.
“FUCK YES!” Charles bellowed and pumped his fists into the air.
Marlowe held his hand with its shot-off fingertips close to his chest. I should probably apologize for that. “It’s the perfect fit, Queen Wren.”
“Sweet vampire Jesus, that’s the sight I’ve been waiting for,” Ashe said with a nod.
Hawk stopped his spider collecting to grin at her. “Damn fine, Your Highness.”
I crossed toward her, and she reached for me, her eyes shimmering. We wrapped each other up and leaned against one another because the road to this very spot had been so long and bloody, and we’d started along it together before anyone else. Now, it had come to an end, and I could feel the war’s tension loosen from her shoulders, but also strengthening them for the burdens she might face as queen. She could handle it, though, this gorgeous woman built from heart, brains, and brawn. And with the five of us behind her at every single step, she’d be the best thing that ever happened to the Southern Vampire Clan.
“I love you, Wren,” I whispered in her ear.
“I love you, too, my thriller.” She held to me even tighter. “Is it really over?”
“Of course not.” I kissed her temple, our shared relief flowing through our tattoos and our intertwined hearts. “It’s just the beginning.”
Epilogue
Wren
“I’m going to be sick.” Charles wretched and blurred into my bathroom.
“Seriously?” Vivian called after him. “You’re not the one in labor, Captain!”
“Yeah, well, let’s be glad I’m not.” His voice echoed from inside. More gagging ensued from my fearless wuss of a mate. “I do not remember eating corn.”
Meanwhile, another contraction squeezed my insides until I thought I’d explode. Marlowe sat behind me on the bed, his arms wrapped around me, holding me up. I could feel him push along with me.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, stop it. You’re making me insane!” I screamed at him.
“I’m sorry. I’m just so nervous.”
“Nervous? Well, boo-hoo, mister, you’re not the one…” My insult dissolved with the worst contraction ever. I screamed and squeezed my eyes shut until it passed. “Holy shit, is this a baby or a hippo?”
“I assure you, it’s a baby,” Talia said with a laugh that I did not find funny at all right then. Among her many talents, she was also a midwife for supernatural mamas. “Relax through the pain. Let your body do the work.”
“Can’t you just cast a spell or something?” Hawk asked. He sat to my right holding my hand and winced as I nearly crushed his fingers during another contraction.
“Sorry, no. I can’t intervene with any magic unless there’s some sort of emergency. It’s against regulations, and I could lose my license.”
“A vampire birthing a hippo-sized baby isn’t an emergency?” I screamed at her.
“No. Now relax, Wren. You’ve got this. Viv, could you hand me that towel?”
“Sure.”
Vivian stood by as Talia’s assistant. Vivian had been training to be a midwife as well. She was becoming a Jill-of-all-trades and had an insatiable appetite for knowledge. Their matching engagement rings sparkled in the
candlelight as she handed the towel to Talia. The two of them were getting married in a couple months. We were all happy for them, even though Vivian was somewhat of a bridezilla while planning the event.
“Oh my gosh, is that the—” Vivian paled as her jaw dropped.
“Yes, that’s the head. Just one more push, Wren. Concentrate the energy where it’s needed.”
Ashe cleared his throat. “And by that, she means let go of Hawk’s hand before you crush it.”
“Oh, sorry.”
When I finally released him, Hawk shook his fingers and pressed his lips together. “Thanks. I may even still have blood left in there.”
Zac and Ashe swept in to give him a break, one on each side of me. I transferred my death grip to their hands, finding a sick sense of satisfaction in their quiet groans.
“Come on, honey, just one more push. I’ve got you,” Marlowe whispered in my ear. If I wasn’t about to be torn apart by my hippo baby, I would have melted at his sweetness. But I was nowhere near that kind of sentiment right now.
“You’re not getting near me again!” I glared at each of my mates in turn. “Or you, or you, or you…” And when Charles came out of the bathroom, dabbing his face with a wet rag, I yelled, “And especially not you!”
“What did I do?”
“The head’s coming out!” Vivian cried.
Charles made a noise, but Hawk caught him before he hit the floor.
“Get a grip, man,” Hawk said and pulled up another chair by the bed. He shoved a pouch of blood into Charles’s hands. “Here, drink this. We’re about to meet our kid. You don’t want to miss that, do you?”
“Okay, okay.” Charles sipped and nodded. “I’m ready.”
“There, it’s almost out! One little push,” Talia coached. “Okay, the head is out.”
Charles leaned in, his mouth agape. “My god, I have so much more respect for women now.”
I hissed at him. Everything everyone was saying was absolutely the wrong thing to say right now.
Talia readied the towel. “One last little push. Nice and steady, not too much pressure.”
I looked at Zac.
He kissed my fingers and smiled. “You’re doing great.”
Closing my eyes, I leaned back against Marlowe and pushed as he rubbed my back.
“It’s time,” he whispered.
Finally, the baby came out in a rush, which left me relieved and feeling oddly empty at the same time. Talia rubbed it with the towel. A baby’s cry soon followed.
“You have a beautiful daughter, Queen Wren.” Talia swaddled her up and laid her on my chest. “Congratulations!”
“She’s seriously so cute,” Vivian squealed.
As soon as I saw her, I fell in love. Nothing else mattered. Happy tears flowed down my cheeks as I smiled down at my wriggling little girl. Her head was topped with a swirl of platinum blonde hair. She stopped crying and focused her cinnamon eyes on mine.
“She has your eyes,” I said, reaching up to touch Marlowe’s cheek.
“And your hair.”
The guys all huddled around us to get a good look at her.
“And she’s stolen all of your hearts already,” Vivian said with a laugh.
“You should try to feed her now to get her used to nursing,” Talia said.
Talia helped me get the baby to latch onto my breast.
Imagine my surprise when my daughter’s little fangs popped out, and she bit into me. “Ouch! Is that…”
Talia gave me an apologetic smile. “Totally normal for a vampire baby, yes. They drink blood, not milk.”
We all sat there in peaceful silence watching our baby eat her first meal. While she fed, I glanced around at the headlines of the framed newspaper articles the guys had hung all over my suite.
Record Number in Attendance for Queen’s Official Coronation
Queen Wren Frees Hundreds of Human Slaves
First of Its Kind Homeless Rehabilitation Program Unites Humans & Vampires
Tickets on Sale Now for Summer Concert Series Featuring Queen Wren & Vivian Bravo
Bronnie’s Death Faked - She Was Kidnapped by Strange Race of Cat Aliens
That last one from a tabloid made me chuckle. Especially with Archie slow-blinking at me from his perch on my dresser.
It didn’t take long for the baby to get full. I laid her against my shoulder and gently patted her back. She let out a burp accompanied with a small fireball. It lit the bed curtain on fire.
“I got it,” Ashe said, grabbing a nearby fire extinguisher. He calmly put out the fire just like we’d done so many times from her father’s fire mishaps.
“Oh boy, we’re in trouble,” Marlowe said with a chuckle.
“Want to hold her?” I asked Marlowe.
He grinned then looked at Zac. “I think Zac should have the first turn. Without him, none of this would have been possible.”
“Um, I’ve never…” Zac went quiet and stiff as I handed the baby over. He cradled her in his arms and stared down at her in awe. Finally, he smiled and stroked her cheek. “Wow. She’s so tiny. What should we name her?”
There was only one name I could think of. The name of someone who never got the chance to have the life I now had. My mother’s firstborn. My sister.
“I think we should call her Willow.”
“Sounds about right to me,” Charles said. “Your mom would have liked that.”
Marlowe kissed my cheek. “It’s a beautiful name.”
I relaxed into Marlowe’s strong arms and looked around at all the amazing men who’d completely turned my lonely life around. “So, this is how it feels.”
“How what feels?” Zac asked as he watched Willow wrap her tiny fingers around his pinky.
“To have a family.”
THE END
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Sever the Crown Series
5-Book Collection
Emergence
Defiance
Obsession
Relentless
Ascension
Read more from Mysti Parker
Mysti Parker is an award-winning author and shameless chocoholic. She writes romance for every reader's taste from super sweet to scandalously spicy. When she's not writing the next best-story-ever or tackling the endless mountain of laundry, she works as a freelance copywriter and editor. Mysti resides in Louisville, Kentucky with her husband, three children and too many pets.
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Lindsey R. Loucks is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of paranormal romance, science fiction, and contemporary romance. When she's not discussing books with anyone who will listen, she's dreaming up her own stories. Eventually her brain gives out, and she'll play hide and seek with her cat, put herself in a chocolate-induced coma, or watch scary movies alone in the dark to re-energize.
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