EPILOGUE
One Year Later
Aidan smiled as he watched Leta finish decorating the tree. Her three-carat wedding ring sparkled in the candlelight-they'd gotten married on Valentine's Day. "You know it kills me that you celebrate my holidays with me when you used to be a Greek god."
Leta shrugged. "All gods and traditions deserve respect."
She was amazing and his life had been nothing short of a miracle since the moment she'd walked into it.
Her presence was breathtaking as she crossed the distance to him and handed him a small box. "For you."
He was confused by her present. "I thought we weren't exchanging gifts until midnight?"
"I know, but this has been killing me for weeks now, and if you don't open it, I might die from it."
He sucked his breath in sharply. "Don't joke about that. I've already lost you once. I'm not about to lose you again." Ripping through the paper, he found a gold foil box that he opened.
It contained a single sheet of paper that had her handwriting on it. "July twenty-third. What's July twenty-third?"
"Look under it."
He did and what he found there stole his breath. It was the sonogram of an infant. "Is this... ?"
She beamed. "July twenty-third."
"Oh, my God," he breathed, staring at her as it sank in. He was going to be a father. Laughing, he scooped her up and twirled around with her. "I love you, Leta. Thank you so much for my life."
"No, Aidan, thank you for reminding me of what it's like to feel again. To wake up every morning in the arms of someone who loves me."
Aidan laughed as joy raced through his entire body. He was finally the last man standing. But for the first time in his life, he wasn't standing alone. He was standing stronger than ever before because he knew he had a person at his back who would never betray him. Someone who would and had died to keep him safe.
Life truly never got any better than this.
"Merry Christmas, Aidan."
"Merry Christmas, Leta... and baby."
A Special Holiday Word from Sherrilyn Kenyon
What on earth is this? See, I can read minds LOL. Hi, readers. For those of you used to my series, you will recognize the people in the following pages. For those of you who aren't, you may get a bit lost.
I tried my best to explain things for those new to my world, but I didn't want to bog down each scene for those who are familiar with the books. It's a delicate balance and it's one I hope I found.
I wanted to include the following vignettes as an extra treat for readers to catch them up on what the people in the previous books are doing before we head off into Xypher's book (Dream Chaser) and more importantly, Ash's book, both of which are coming out in 2008.
It's a quick glimpse into their world, and it's one I hope you enjoy.
Happy Holidays to everyone! May your season be bright and I hope you'll return for Xypher's story in February which takes the series back to New Orleans where he's on the hunt for the escaped Dimme and exact some revenge on an old love. While there, he's going to meet Simone, a different kind of medical examiner who shares a few things with Talon and who has a ghost for a sidekick-one who is trapped in the early 1980s. Yeah... Jesse's a lot of fun and only Simone can corral him. For that matter, she's the only one who can semi-corral Xypher.
Until next time, take care!
Oh, and one quick caveat. There are spoilers ahead if you haven't read the previous books, includingDevil May Cry .
HOLIDAY GATHERINGS
New Orleans
Sanctuary Bar Christmas
Aimee Peltier paused as she watched the gathering around her. This was the one day a year when Sanctuary officially closed. Even though very few members of their extended family and staff were Christian, they still took time to honor the holiday. To remember their own beliefs and to think back on those they'd loved and lost.
As the bar's name implied, this was the haven for were-animals, shapeshifters who were hunted by each other and by the humans. Her parents had set up the bar over a hundred years ago after Aimee's older brothers had been killed in the senseless war that divided her people from each other.
It had been her mother's solemn vow that no other mother would ever weep over the loss of a child if she could help it. But since then, her mother's view of what was right and what was wrong had shifted a bit. And in order to keep the peace here at the bar, her mother had made decisions that Aimee didn't always agree with.
But then mother-daughter disagreements were even older than the were-animals themselves.
The bar was dim, lit only by candles. Her brother Dev was at the counter, pouring drinks. He'd pulled his long, curly blond hair back into a pony tail while he joked with Colt and Angel, who were in human form, sitting on the stools in front of the bar, drinking beers.
Aimee's mother, Nicolette, was off to the side in human form as she played with Zar's bear cubs. There were several tigers, a jaguar, and bears lounging about or playfully fighting while others were in their human forms as they played cards, pool, or just hung out for the night.
"You feeling okay?"
She turned at the deep voice behind her to find Maxis standing there. Tall and gorgeous, he had dark blond hair and silvery-green eyes that shimmered in the dim light. Stunned, she had to blink twice just to make sure she wasn't imagining his presence. Maxis had come to Sanctuary severely wounded. One of the rare dragon Katagaria, he didn't mix with other groups easily. He preferred to stay isolated in the attic where he could sleep in dragon form and not be disturbed.
"What are you doing downstairs?"
Max folded his arms over his chest. "I felt your pain and was wondering what caused it."
His concern touched her deeply. It was true, watching the family around her made her ache for the one thing she wanted most.
Fang Kattalakis. A wolf who'd been half dead, he'd been brought here by his brother, and Aimee had nursed him back to health the same way she had Max. But unlike with Max, she'd fallen in love with Fang even though she knew there was no chance of there ever being anything between them.
If only she could convince her heart of that.
She offered Max a smile she knew was fake. "I'm okay."
"You're not okay, Aimee. You haven't been okay since the night Fang left."
She glanced about nervously. "Please keep your voice down..."
"Is this better?"
She could only hear his voice in her head. Nodding, she patted his arm. "I'll be fine, Max. Thank you for your concern, but you know me."
"I do know you, Aimee. And I know that solitude is a dungeon of spikes that pierces every layer of armor you try to build for it." He held his hand up so that she could see the tattoo he'd placed there in remembrance of his family. "I lost what meant most to me. Don't make the same mistake."
"But Fang and I aren't mates. There are no marks..."
"Neither were there marks for us. And still my heart is broken. Don't let the Fates rule your life. Sometimes we have to take responsibility for it ourselves."