He allowed her to guide him and docilely laid down when she pulled back the quilt. She rubbed a soothing hand down his back as he sobbed. It was a horrible sight, nearly unbearable to her heart. She comforted him for hours, waiting silently for his tears to dry.
When he finally quieted, his stare focused on the blank wall across from the bed, she gently asked, “Jonas, where is your mate?”
“Gone.”
Her blood ran cold. Gone how? Gone where?
Afraid for his soul, she sucked in a sharp breath. “Is it too late?”
He looked up at her, his gaze aged a hundred years. “I don’t know. I hardly recall coming here last night. I only knew that I wanted to reach you before…” His hand squeezed over hers. “Abilene, what does this mean for me? What does it mean for us?”
Tears burned her throat. She swiped at her eyes with irritation. “I can’t lose you another time.”
Too many burdens of late pressed into the creases of his eyes. “Let me stay here. I’ll never leave again.”
There was no veiling the sorrow in his eyes. Jealousy knifed through her, carving unchangeable scars into her heart.
His hand traveled up her arm as he clung to her. “I have never known another female as I have known you, sweet Abilene. I swear it.”
She couldn’t breathe. Before she could organize her thoughts, he spoke again.
“I took her blood, but that is all.” His gaze turned away and his voice strained. “She didn’t survive the transition.”
Swallowing back a sob, she pulled his gaze back to hers. “You didn’t break our vows?”
“Never.”
She doubled over with relief, hugging him tightly to her. “I’m never letting you go. Do you hear me? Your soul is mine, Jonas. I cannot share you.”
He held her tight, his lips pressing a soft kiss into her hair. Tears of happiness choked her when he once again looked into her eyes. “No more tears, my love. I’m home where I belong.”
She pulled her gown open and climbed into the bed beside him, desperate to be in his arms again. Their bodies came together like a masterpiece written by God.
His mouth kissed and tasted her, and when his palms spread over her womb, he stilled. Then, eyes filled with wonder, he looked at her. “You are with child.”
It was her first genuine smile in a very long time. “This one’s going to live,” she vowed.
He worshipped her body, anointing her body with kisses as they celebrated the sacrament that was their marriage. And when they finished, he held her close to him as if never wanting to let her go.
What they shared could not be replicated by strangers or destined souls. Their love was pure and formed over time. They shared the endless devotion of two hearts, and no matter what threatened them, be it time, distance, or even death, a love so pure would never fade.
“I love you, Jonas.”
“I love you more, Sweet Abilene,” he rasped, then let out a rattling cough.
Chapter 47
Destiny shivered and cursed herself for the hundredth time for thinking Uggs were appropriate footwear while hunting a killer in the snowy mountains of Pennsylvania. After a disagreement with her crew, she told them to go back to the rest stop. Now, she was wandering through the woods, completely turned around, with an assassino on the loose—not her best moment.
Another victim was discovered this week. Another female drained of blood, traces of sexual assault, and fang marks at her carotid artery.
Destiny stomped her wet feet and marched in circles, trying to find a cell signal. Her gloved hands fisted against the cold as the wind whistled eerily through the trees. With each pivot, she held up her phone and cursed her provider when the signal failed.
“Come on,” she snapped. Her low battery warning appeared and she growled.
Just then, Adele’s muffled voice belted out the first verse of “Rolling in the Deep” and her brother’s name flashed on the phone. “Oh, thank God!”
She bit the fingertip of her glove and yanked her hand free. “Vito?”
“Destiny, were you at my place?”
She pressed her lips together. “Uh, no. Why?” Such a lie.
“Liar. All my shit’s moved around, and why is my gun cabinet open?”
She cleared her throat. “I, uh, needed to borrow something.”
“From my hunting cabinet? What the hell did you take?” The rifling and sorting of heavy artillery clattered through the phone. He growled. “Destiny, where the fuck is my crossbow?”
“Look, don’t get mad, but I needed it.”
“For what? That shit’s dangerous. And you don’t have a clue how to use it. Bring it back right now!”
“I sort of can’t.”
She could actually picture him clenching his teeth the way he always did when she annoyed him. “Why not?”
“I’m sort of stranded.”
“Stranded where?”
“In the woods, but it’s fine—”
“Where the hell’s your crew?”
She winced. “They went back to the Jim Thorpe rest stop.”