“She doesn’t mean what you think she does,” Titus says, throwing an arm over his fiancée’s shoulder. “She means the phoenix.”
“Right.” That makes a lot more sense. “After Becks killed me?—”
“What?” Ensley’s eyes are huge as they ping-pong between me and her brother. “You killed her?”
Becks runs a weary hand down his face, smearing blood over it. “It’s a long story. We’ll tell you about it on the way back.”
My gaze strays from Ensley to Imogen, and something occurs to me, making me worry. “Where’s Kade? Is he okay?”
“You mean my future husband?” she answers nonchalantly. “Yeah, he’s fine. He had to stay behind because he’s sooo slow.” She draws out the last two words and then shrugs. “Humans. Good thing he’s so hot. Makes up for the shortcomings.”
“He’s going to be pissed when we get back,” Ensley says. “He tried to stop her, but she just booped his nose and told him to wait for the adults to take care of the situation then took off.”
My mouth drops. “No, you didn’t?”
The grin that spreads over Imogen’s face tells me she absolutely did.
I shake my head. This girl.
Next to me, Becks makes a quiet grunt of pain and my attention snaps back to him. “We need to get you some medical attention.”
He nods, which tells me he’s right, it’s not as bad as it looks. It’s worse.
Titus and I help Becks to his feet.
“How did you find us?” Becks asks as we start slowly trekking through the woods in the direction of the cabin, which by now is probably no more than cinders, but maybe the SUV made it and we can get off this cursed mountain.
Imogen snorts. “How could we not? You guys were making enough noise to wake the dead.”
“We would have been here sooner,” Ensley says, “but we were dealing with the last of the vampires.”
We’re all lucky to be alive. In my case, I’m lucky to be alive again.
I suck in a deep breath of cold air, glancing up to see that the moon is no longer tinted red. It’s hard to believe that this is really over, but it is.
It takes hours to get back to the cabin. When its smoldering remains come into view through a gap in the trees, the sky has started to lighten and Titus is practically dragging Becks forward. Becks’ face is ashen and his breathing is labored. I’m this close to shifting and flying him to a hospital. But every time I ask if he’s all right, he just grins and insists he’s fine.
Kade appears from around the corner of what’s left of the destroyed cabin. His shirt is ripped at the shoulder, his skin marked with superficial cuts and bruises. One eye is swollen shut, but with the other he scans our group as he jogs toward us. Despite the damage, he’s moving well enough.
When he reaches us, his face is the same stoic mask I’ve come to associate with him. So when I ask if there are any vampires left and he ignores me entirely, going straight to Imogen and cupping her face and claiming her mouth with his, I’m left staring in stunned silence.
I’m not the only one. Becks and I exchange a bewildered look as Ensley’s mouth drops open. Titus doesn’t say anything, but both eyebrows shoot up. Even after the pair break apart, we’re all left standing there, processing.
“Don’t ever leave like that again. I thought you were dead,” Kade growls with her face still gently cradled in his large hands.
Imogen gives him a wicked smile and pats his chest. “Oh, sweetie, it’s cute you think you can tell me what to do. We’ll definitely work on that.”
Going up on her toes, she gives him a quick kiss on the nose and then swings toward the group, where we are all still gaping. A smug smile lifts the corners of her mouth as if to say, “See, I told you,” as she loops an arm around Kade’s waist.
I shake my head. I think this girl is my hero.
Becks chuckles, but it turns into a coughing fit. I rush over to him as it subsides. The sound in his chest is wet, and that worries me.
“We have to get help.” I turn to Kade. “Is the SUV working?”
He frowns and shakes his head. “Part of the car melted because the fire was so hot. And the sat-phone burned as well. We have no way to contact anyone.”
“It’s okay,” Becks says, trying to shrug off Titus. “I have room to shift here. That will help heal the damage until someone comes for us.”
