A Werewolf, A Vampire, and A Fae Walk Into A Bar (Book 1 of The Last Witch Series)
Chapter 48

granddaughter, I am giving you back your destiny. I will be here, watching over you. Watching over Rain.

Nanny's eyes are full of light even as the rest of her begins to fade. I committed a great act of evil that was inspired by the greatest love when I stole your magic to bring your mother back. It is not for witches to interfere with the destinies of others. My beautiful My body burns, but this time it is a welcome fire that sparks my soul to life, a part of me I didn't even know was dead until now.

But at what cost? My Nanny has almost entirely disappeared. The outlines of her body are fading like smoke dissipating on the wind. Only her face remains clear. Her eyes, still full of so much love.

But girl, know this, she says, her voice becoming faint even in my mind. It was always you.

And then, she is gone. I feel it the moment her soul departs this world, as all the power she released slams into me.

I scream.

The sound of my voice rings through the forest, waking up all the creatures who live here, driving magic into each leaf, each blade of grass, each stray rock.

Time--which was at a standstill--now snaps into motion, my mother moving to sacrifice my child over the fire. The whole interlude with Nanny happened in the blink of an eye, so my mom never saw Tilly. She doesn't see what has changed in me.

With instinct born of desperation and fear, I push it all out of me, every drop of magic I feel swelling within. I can't tell if I'm reigning power in from the natural world or if it's all emanating from my own being. I'm acting without thinking, and the result is a tsunami of electricity. Light crashes over the Order, my mother, everyone near me.

While the world bends and shakes around me, I set my intention to one thing only.

Save Rain.

I must save Rain.

My eyes stay focused squarely on my baby as wave after wave of brilliant light crashes through the others. They scatter and fall to the ground, stunned or unconscious. If a fallen witch tries to stand back up, she's immediately struck down again. Meanwhile, Rain floats gently on a soft, glowing cloud, safely above the fire.

My gaze never leaves her as I walk to the fire's edge. She's hovering just above the flames, the same ones that were meant to consume her life, and yet I feel no fear. She'll wait for me. She is safe.

I pull her from the floating stasis and move away from the blaze, squeezing her in my arms. "Oh sweetheart, are you okay?" I check her little body for any injury, the light from my fingertips soaking into her soft skin. She coos, grasping at the glowing streaks my magic leaves.

I stand amidst the chaos my power has created, but my feet do not sink into the snow. Instead, I replace myself floating above the earth, moving toward my mother, who was blasted to the ground and now struggles to right herself.

She stares at me, slack jawed. While the other Order members lay motionless, my mother is still alert. Whether that's because she's the stronger witch or my subconscious intention was to leave her standing I cannot say. "How did... where did you get such power?" she asks, fear in her eyes for the first time tonight.

"It is mine by blood," I say. "And you are done here."

My mother's lips curl like a rabid dog and she reaches for her wand and pulls at the blue fire still burning between us.

"I didn't want it to be this way," she says. "I wanted to spare you. But you've made that impossible."

With a flick of her wrist, she casts the fire at Rain and me, intent on completing what she started, even if it means I die with my daughter.

Without thought, without knowing what I'm doing, I call my magic to me on instinct. My intent is enough. A golden shield forms around my child and myself, and when the blue fire comes for us, it is repelled backward by the vibrant light. My mother's eyes widen. Before she can manage a scream, the fire wraps around her body, her own flames consuming her.

As relieved as I am to be alive, I can't help but feel the pain of losing her all over again.

I hold Rain so she can't see her grandmother die, but I watch. I bear witness to the consequences of messing with dark magic. Of bringing back the dead. And trying to kill the innocent. When her screams die to nothing, the fire flashes. I blink, and when I open my eyes again, my mother is gone. Nothing remains of her body but a dim blue light fading out into the night. Around the eternal witch's fire lay the remains of the Order, all unconscious but alive.

But they are not my concern.

I look around, seeking out the three men who have turned my life--and my heart--upside down in such a short time.

I replace Zev first, in wolf form. Laying a hand on him, I press my magic into his fur and close my eyes, willing him to heal, to live.

His body twitches, then jerks and he shifts to human under my hand, his green eyes opening. I exhale in relief as he pulls me into a hug, careful not to crush the baby between us.

My tears fall on his shoulder, and he pulls away to wipe them. "I guess it's not so bad," he says with a smirk.

"What's not so bad?" I ask.

"Being mated to a witch. It could be worse."

If his words are a shock, the kiss that comes next nearly undoes me. My body is already raw, exposed from the inside out, so when he takes my lips with his, cupping the back of my head with one hand as the other wraps around my waist, I feel everything. Every sensation, every emotion, every shift in his body against mine. I feel him under my skin, in my heart, in some primal part of me I've been denying my whole life, and if I were a wolf, I

would howl right now. But, alas, I am

human.

Or rather, I am witch. And so I kiss him back, deeply, passionately, with nips at his bottom lip as my fingers dig into his back.

I pull away, painful as it is to do so, but I can't go on knowing there are two of our pack still missing. "We will talk more later," I say. "About this mate business."

His eyes are filled with need, but he nods, nuzzling my neck once more before pulling away. "I'll go to Rune. I can hear him in the clearing. He is alive. You replace Darius. He will need your blood."

I hand him Rain. "Take her," I say. "If I have to feed Darius my blood, it's best if she's somewhere else."

He nods, accepting the child, his face softening as it always does when he looks at her.

Before I can leave, Zev cups my face with his palm. "It was always you," he says softly. The very same words Tilly spoke to me before she died.

I kiss him once more, then turn to replace Darius. Around me, the night fills with the scents and sounds of the forest. With a heightened sense, I experience every shift of the trees groaning deep in their roots, every tiny movement of each animal and insect, every shimmering moonbeam lighting my way. It's heady, intoxicating and dizzying. I have to stop and lean over to catch my bearings again. The world around me is too bright, too noisy, too filled with wonder. I feel as if my head will explode.

But Darius. I need to replace him. He could be almost dead, meaning I have no seconds to spare.

I push through the

discombobulation, but I can't remain upright. Instead, I crawl through the snow, my ability to hover now gone as I struggle to settle my mind and stabilize this new power surge I'm having. If not for Darius' blood flowing in my veins, increasing our connection, sending me a guiding ribbon of light to follow, I'm not sure I would have been able to replace him through the snow now falling once more. It's as if nature is trying to reclaim the forest we have defiled

with fighting and death.

I choke back emotion as my mind wanders to Tilly and my mom. To everything that has happened here.

I blink against tears, and against the memory of Darius bursting into flames.

Feeling through the snow with hands that are becoming numb from cold, I hit on what I know is the vampire's body. Relief surges through me as I sense the smallest speck of life still present in him.

I pull myself up to where he lays, my head swimming as I study his too perfect face, which is now covered in charred burn marks. Rage swells up again at my mother and the suffering she caused, but I push it back. I can't afford anger right now.

I need healing. Love. Peace. I need to bring this man back to me.

I search his cloak for the knife I know he keeps there, and hold it to my wrist. Praying it's sharp enough but not too sharp, I swipe at my vein, releasing a crimson ribbon across my arm that glows with the same golden light as my skin. I squeeze my eyes against the pain that follows the swell of blood, then I hold it over my vampire's mouth.

I hope the magic in my bloodstream will be an extra healing elixir for Darius.

It takes a moment, but as my blood drips into his mouth, his body comes back to life, the burn marks on his face healing first to pink puckered scars, and then to smooth, clear skin.

When his eyes open, revealing the dark orbs that always pull me in, my heart skips a beat in relief.

When he pulls me into him, replacing my wrist with my neck as he continues to feed, my heart skips a beat in desperate desire. The pain of his teeth sinking into my flesh is turned to pleasure as his lips caress my neck, as his hands grip my body laying on top of his. As his strength returns to all parts of him.

And when he continues to feed, to consume my blood, and my reality dips and spins and closes into darkness, my heart skips several beats. And then is silent.