Chapter 25
Five
Logan and I are standing in the cemetery, alone and silent, as we stare down at the casket that holds my second mate and Logan’s brother, Eric. We are here to say goodbye, to mourn his passing, and to grieve for what could have been.
The orange sun is beating down on us through the canopies, and the air is cold, each breath vaporizing outside my mouth. I’m freezing and take Logan’s hand, squeezing it for warmth and comfort.
Logan looks down at me, eyelids swollen from having cried the entire night away. “I don’t know what to do,” he says, his voice breaking. “He left without warning and is never coming back to us, Five. He was taken from us too soon.”
I squeeze his hand harder and speak softly. “I will miss him too. I never had a chance to get to know him. It’s unfair. I see everyone else happy with their mate, but mine…” I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, sobbing before the next sentence leaves my lips. “Mine just
died.”
Logan pulls me into his arms, holding me tightly as I cry. “I’m here for you, Five,” he says, his own voice choked with emotion. “We will get through this together.”
I bury my head in his chest, taking comfort in his warmth, in his scent, and in the mate bond. Even without Eric, I still have one mate left and pray nothing will happen to him. I couldn’t handle losing them both.
As we stand there, holding each other, I hear the bushes rustle behind us. When we turn around, we watch as a mysterious woman steps out from them. She is wearing big black shades and a red velvet dress. It hugs her features perfectly and makes it even more strange that she came out of the woods. She looks like she belongs in a fashion magazine,
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not in the woods.
I continue to stare at her, and she smiles. “Hello,” she says in a syrupy voice. “My name is Margaret Toothchild. I’m an original vampire, and while I know you are mourning the loss. of your brother and mate, I’m here to tell you there is a way to bring him back from the
dead.”
“An original vampire? Bring him back?” Logan steps forward protectively, his eyes. narrowing suspiciously at the stranger. He looks ready to attack if he needs to, but I lay my hand on his arm to calm him down.
Logan frowns at me. “We can’t trust her. I have too many questions, and everyone knows vampires are evil.”
“Maybe not this one,” I say without releasing the vampire with my gaze. She is still smiling, and I exhale. “Why are you here? And why should we trust you?”
“Because Eric was killed in an unfair fight,” she says. “The Bloodmoon Angels–my vampire clan and the Claw Howler Pack–our neighbors, the werewolves have been enemies for centuries. Eric was there to make peace with the werewolves, but they wouldn’t hear it. They thought he was working for us, and they decided to attack us. Eric came to warn us, but unfortunately, he was caught in the crossfire. He died, but we survived, and now we are in his debt. Therefore, I’m giving you the offer to bring him back as a hybrid, of course. I can’t return him to what he was, but with my blood, I can help him become something new.”
I exchange a glance with Logan before turning back to Margaret. “Why would you do that for us? Even if you feel like you’re indebted to Eric, we wouldn’t have found out about it unless you told us.”
Margaret’s smile widens. “We are hoping you will form a pact with our clan in exchange for bringing back your beloved Eric. You see, by bringing him back as a hybrid, he can serve as a bridge between us, the vampires, and you, the werewolves. He can help us negotiate
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a truce, and if we succeed, we can both gain something from it. The Claw Howler pack won’t stand a chance against us. And you want revenge, right? They killed Eric for no
reason.”
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Logan looks at me, silently asking for my opinion. I take a deep breath, considering the offer. It’s risky to trust a vampire, but if there’s any chance we can bring Eric back, it’s worth it. Plus, the idea of ending the centuries–long feud between werewolves and vampires is too good to pass up.
I turn back to Margaret. “What do we need to do?”
She steps closer, her eyes glinting in the moonlight. “First, you have to give me Eric’s b*dy. Then we will perform a ritual with my blood and the moon’s power. It won’t be easy, and there’s a chance he won’t come back the same, but I promise to do everything in my power to make sure he is still Eric…oh, and I also need a special flower that I believe only
grows on Wintercrest territory.”
“The Soulweep Rose?” Logan asks. “We grow those in our garden house. My mother used to be obsessed with them before her passing.”
“Yes, that’s the one,” Margaret confirms.
Logan and I exchange a look. I can sense his hesitation, but he nods his agreement. We both know that we owe it to Eric to bring him back, whatever the cost.
“Alright,” I say, stepping forward. “We’ll do it.”
Margaret grins, revealing her fangs. “Excellent. We’ll need to move quickly before the Claw Howlers find out what we’re planning. How about you meet me in the forest tonight? Pack up Eric in a car and bring him to the moonlight cliff. The rays of the moon hit it perfectly for the ritual to take place there.”
Logan and I nod, our hearts pounding with anticipation. We’ve made our decision, and
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now it’s time to see it through. Margaret disappears into the darkness, leaving us alone
with our thoughts.
The rest of the day passes in a blur as we prepare for the ritual. We go to the garden house and gather several Soulweep Roses, carefully placing them in a basket. Then we drive to the morgue and retrieve Eric’s b*dy, our hearts heavy with grief.
As the sun begins to set, we make our way to the forest, our headlights cutting through
the darkness. We park the car at the foot of the cliff and carry Eric’s b*dy up to the top.
Margaret is already waiting for us, her eyes glowing in the moonlight.
“Excellent,” she says, taking the basket of Soulweep Roses from us. “Now, let’s begin.”
Margaret lays Eric’s b*dy on the ground and begins to draw a circle around him with a
silver knife. She cuts her wrist and drips the blood onto the ground, muttering an
incantation under her breath. The air around us grows cold, and the hairs on the back of
my n*ck stand up.
Then, she takes one of the Soulweep Roses from the basket and crushes it between her
fingers. The scent of the flower fills the air, and suddenly Eric’s b*dy begins to glow.
My heart leaps in my chest as I watch in wonder. Margaret places the crushed flower onto
Eric’s chest and then begins to chant in a language I’ve never heard before. The ground
beneath us shakes, and the wind begins to howl.
A bolt of lightning shoots down from the sky, illuminating the clearing around us.
Margaret continues to chant, and the magic around us intensifies. I take Logan’s hand, and he squeezes it reassuringly.
“Do you think this will work?” I whisper.
Logan k*sses my head. “I hope so.”
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A few moments later, Margaret raises her arms to the sky, and the magic stops flowing. The air around us goes quiet, and the wind stops blowing.
Margaret turns to us, a triumphant grin on her face. “It is done,” she says. “Eric’s soul has been released from the hell the Wolf Clan put him in. Now, he just needs some time to return to his b*dy, and then I also need to bite him.”
Margaret gathers up the Soulweep Roses, crushing them in her hand to create a balm that she strokes over Eric’s dead b*dy. She is still chanting, and then she leans in, brushing her
teeth over his n*ck before sinking them into his skin.
I watch in shock and amazement as Margaret feeds Eric her poison, her eyes closed in concentration. Once she is done injecting him, she cuts her arm and presses it to Eric’s mouth so that her blood enters his system.
Logan squeezes my hand again, and I turn to look at him. His eyes are wide with wonder,
but there is also fear there.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him.
“I don’t know,” he says, “this just seems… too good to be true. What if Eric comes back as
a murderous hybrid? What if he won’t be himself at all?”
“Your brother will still remember you,” I assure him before growing a bit uneasy myself.
“But I’m worried if he will still be my mate after his transformation.”
Margaret looks up at us, her expression serious. “We won’t know until Eric wakes up. But
one thing is certain: no matter what happens, there will be consequences. Eric is going to need blood to survive from now on. Without it, he will lose to the darkness that comes with being a vampire.”
Logan nods, his jaw set. “I’ll give him mine if I have to.”
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Margaret offers a small smile. “You’re a good brother, Logan. I’m sure Eric will appreciate
it.”
We all fall silent, waiting for Eric’s transformation to be complete. The minutes tick by slowly, and the tension in the air grows thicker with each passing moment. Suddenly, Eric’s b*dy jerks and his eyes snap open.
Logan rushes forward, but I hold him back, watching as Eric sits up, taking in his surroundings.
“What happened?” he asks, his voice hoarse.
Margaret steps forward, a smile on her face. “Welcome back, Eric. You were dead, but we brought you back to life, and now you’re a hybrid between a vampire and a werewolf.”
Eric blinks, clearly confused. “I’m a…hybrid?”
“Yes,” Margaret confirms. “You’ll need blood to survive, but you’ll also be stronger and faster than you ever were before. You’ll have to learn to control your hunger, but with time and practice, it’ll become second nature.”
Eric nods slowly as if trying to process everything that’s happened. “Thank you,” he says finally, his voice filled with gratitude but also confusion. “I’m…happy to be back, I guess?”
Logan steps forward, pulling his brother into a tight embrace. “I thought I’d lost you,” he
whispers.
Eric hugs him back, a look of determination on his face. “You never will,” he says firmly.
I smile, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. Eric is back, and he’s alive. We’ll all have to adjust to this new reality, but I know we can do it.
I step forward and reach for his hand. A hissing sound flees from my lips before it can
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US, but
settle in the air between us. It confuses me. There is clearly a mate bond between the fear in my heart also seems to bring out Eric’s hunger. I can see Eric zeroing in on my pulse, his tongue darting out to lick his lips before he hisses again.
He looks up at me, a sense of urgency and hunger in his eyes. “I don’t know what is happening,” he says quietly. “But I really, REALLY want to eat you.”