Nick’s POV
I watched Gabriel walking away with my mate in his arms.
My heart clenched painfully.
I wanted to go with her. I needed to go with her. She was hurt and I was supposed to be with her.
But I couldn’t.
I had to make sure the fucker was dead. I had to stay behind and watch his body turn to ash.
What he said about the prophecy not being fulfilled made my stomach twist. I had to make sure that he was gone.
I watched my mate until I couldn’t see her anymore.
I sighed and turned back around. Mike was standing next to me, his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at the fire. Patricia was on the other side. Her eyes were filled with tears.
I glanced around the field. Someone was missing.
Petra.
Fuck.
She took Cora’s power. She has so much dark magic right now. She could be dangerous.
My eyes darted around the field. I couldn’t find her anywhere.
We were so focused on Victor, that we completely forgot about her.
“Where the fuck is Petra?” I growled.
“Gone,” Patricia mumbled.
I looked at her and narrowed my eyes. “Where did she go?”
“Don’t know,” she shrugged, not looking away from the fire. “She had done what she came here to do. No reason for her to stay.”
“You are not disturbed by how much dark magic she has right now?” I frowned. “She could be dangerous.”
Patricia scoffed. “She is harmless. She would never use her dark magic to hurt someone. She is different.”
“What is she using it for, then?” Mike asked.
“I don’t really know,” Patricia sighed. “But I do know that she is nowhere near as crazy as Cora was.”
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I hope you are right.”
“I am,” Patricia said calmly.
I moved my gaze toward the fire. Their bodies were almost gone. The smell was awful. If adrenaline wasn’t still pumping inside my veins, there would be no fucking way I would be able to stand here and smell this.
“What do you think he meant when he said that this isn’t over?” Mike mumbled the question that has been bugging me.
I tensed up and growled. Mike looked at me.
“I have no fucking idea,” I said. “That is why I wanted to stay behind. I needed to make sure he was gone. I wanted to make sure his body was gone.”
“Do you think he could somehow come back?” Mike mumbled, staring at me wide-eyed.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It would be hard to do that when there is nothing left of his body. And I’m making sure there won’t be anything left.”
Patricia stayed quiet. She kept staring at the fire, not moving a muscle.
After a while, the fire started dying out. The only things left were ashes and a few bones. Patricia kneeled and removed a locket from around her neck. She opened it and grabbed a little bit of ash from the spot where Victor lay. She placed the ashes in the locket, closed it, and put it back around her neck.
“What are you doing?” Mike asked, confused.
“Just a little reminder that the fucker is gone,” she said coldly.
I glanced at Mike, who was looking at Patricia like she was crazy. Maybe she was. Who was I to judge?
“We should scatter the ashes around,” Mike said after a few moments of silence.
I furrowed my eyebrows. “Why?”
“I read somewhere that you can resurrect someone if you gather their ashes,” he said, looking up at me. “It is probably not true, but we can never be safe enough.”
I stared at him for a few moments, trying to decide what to do. Could it be done? It sounded crazy, but, hell, I couldn’t risk it. If there was even a small chance he could come back, I had to stop him. He would never get close to my mate again. I would make sure she was happy and safe.
“What the hell,” I mumbled and walked over to the pile of ashes.
Mike handed me a big tree branch and we spent a good ten minutes scattering the ashes around the field. Let’s see you come back now, you sick fuck.
I threw the branch away and looked over at Mike. “Let’s go home.”
He nodded, and we started walking back. Patricia followed us, not saying a word.
I didn’t even realize how far away we were from the cabin. Even though I was practically running, it took us about fifteen minutes to walk back. I had to go back to my mate. I missed her like crazy.
I ran inside the house through the backdoor. I saw Gabriel sitting at the dining table. There was a cup of coffee in front of him, and he held his head in his hands.
“Gabe,” I called him. “What’s wrong?”
He looked up at me and sighed. His eyes held sadness.
“It’s Zack,” he mumbled.
I held my breath and looked over at Mike and Patricia, who came in behind me. They were staring at Gabriel, waiting for him to explain further.
“Is he dead?” I asked quietly, looking back at Gabriel.
“No,” Gabriel shook his head, and I let out a breath I had been holding. “But it is not looking good.”
“Where is Aria?” I asked, my eyes darting toward the living room.
“With Cassie and Jake,” he said. “They are doing what they can to help him.”
“Where are they?” Patricia asked.
“Upstairs,” Gabriel said, sipping his coffee. “Cassie’s room.”
Patricia nodded and ran upstairs.
“Where are the others?” I asked as I sat down at the table.
“Jack, Annie, and Blake are in the living room,” Gabriel mumbled, looking down at his cup of coffee.
“Is Aria okay?” I asked worriedly.
I wanted to go to her, but I needed to let her help her friend. My presence there would only be a distraction.
Gabriel nodded. “Her head is fine. She was distraught, though.”
I sighed and nodded. I hope Zack will be okay.
Aria’s POV
I heard the bedroom door open, and I looked up. Patricia walked inside and gasped.
“Oh, Zack,” she mumbled as she walked closer to the bed.
“I found your bag,” I said. “I stitched him up. I gave him an IV and some painkillers. He should be fine.”
She lifted the blanket and looked over the wound I had stitched. She looked up at me and smiled.
“You have done an amazing job,” she said. “Well done.”
I nodded and looked back down at Zack. He was pale, but he looked better than he did when I came back to the house.
I heard Cassie crying silently behind me. I stood up and walked over to her, wrapping her in a tight hug. Jake was rubbing her back softly.
“It’s okay, Cass,” I said quietly. “He will be okay.”
“Thank you,” she said. “You saved him.”
I shook my head and pulled back so I could look at her. “No, Cass. You saved him. If you didn’t stop the bleeding, he would be dead right now.”
“You both did an amazing job,” Jake said, wrapping his arms around us. “I am so proud of you.”
Cassie and I smiled through our tears and melted into his embrace. I felt him kiss my temple and I smiled.
“Cassie…,” we heard mumbling coming from behind us.
Cassie gasped and looked over my shoulder. She wiggled out of Jake’s arms and ran toward the bed.
I turned around. Zack was mumbling, and his eyes were slightly open. He was looking around the room, searching for something. Or someone.
“I am here, Zack,” Cassie said and grabbed his hand.
He looked up at her and smiled. “My Cassie…”
He closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Cassie let out a quiet sob and buried her head in his shoulder.
“Aria, Jake,” Patricia called us. “Let’s go downstairs. Zack is in good hands.”
Jake and I nodded and stood up.
“Call me if anything happens, okay, Cass?” I said and kissed the top of her head.
She nodded, not lifting her head.
Jake opened the door and we walked out of the room.
When we came downstairs, I saw Jack, Blake, and Annie sitting in the living room. They were talking quietly, but as soon as they saw us, they jumped up.
“How is he?” Annie and Jack asked at the same time.
“Where is Cassie?” Blake asked, looking behind us.
“He will be okay,” Jake said. “Aria did an amazing job.”
“Cassie is with him,” I said, looking at Blake.
He sighed and nodded. My heart clenched for him. He really loved Cassie. She loved him too, but I know Zack was her first love.
“Aria,” I heard my name being called.
I looked to my left and saw my mate coming inside the living room. I smiled and ran to him. He opened his arms and pulled me into a tight hug.
“I missed you, baby,” he mumbled into my hair.
“I missed you too,” I said and pecked his lips.
“Is Zack okay?” Gabriel asked me.
I nodded. “He will be okay.”
“Your sister is amazing,” Jake said, smiling warmly at me. “She stitched up his wound and took care of him. He would be dead if she wasn’t here.”
Gabriel looked at me and gave me a big smile. Nick wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.
“I am so proud of you, baby,” he whispered into my ear, making me shiver.
“I am going to make us something to eat,” Annie said. “Can you help me, Jack?”
“Sure,” Jack smiled, and they walked out of the living room.
“We should get cleaned up before dinner,” Gabriel said.
He was right. We were all still covered in dirt and blood. We agreed and walked upstairs to shower and change before dinner.
Nick closed the bedroom door and pulled me in for a kiss. I moaned quietly and melted into his embrace.
“How about we shower together?” he mumbled against my lips.
I nodded and wrapped my arms around his neck. He picked me up and walked over to the bathroom. I heard the water starting to run, but I didn’t move my lips away from Nick’s. He sat me down on the counter and started kissing my neck.
“Nick,” I chuckled and pushed him a bit. “I am dirty.”
“I don’t care,” he said and pulled my shirt over my head.
I shook my head and smiled. His lips were back on mine in a second. I traced his muscles with my fingers, and I felt him shiver. He took off the rest of my clothes and I pulled down his sweats. He grabbed me, wrapped my legs around his waist, and walked into the shower. I gasped when cold water touched my skin.
Nick laughed. “Too cold?”
“Yes,” I said, shivering.
“I will warm you up in no time,” he smirked.
I chuckled. I had no doubt he would, but I still reached out behind me and adjusted the temperature. I wasn’t going to freeze my ass off.
Nick nipped at my jaw, and I moaned loudly. He lowered his lips down on my breasts and my breathing picked up. I pushed my hips forward and he growled, grabbing my butt. Tingles and sparks flew through my body, and I felt hot all over.
He was right. I didn’t really need hot water.
When we finally finished “showering”, we walked back out to our bedroom. We got dressed quickly and went downstairs.
“We should always shower together,” Nick whispered, placing his hand around my shoulders.
“It is a little bit time-consuming; don’t you think?” I chuckled.
“I don’t care,” he said, nibbling my earlobe.
I shivered, and a moan escaped me. We were just outside the dining room, and I could hear our friends talking. I hoped nobody heard that.
“Stop it,” I said and shoved him away playfully.
He smirked at me, and we walked into the dining room together.
