A Curse in Darkness by Sherilee Gray

Epilogue

Iris

Six months later

The chatteraround the dinner table was lively, it always was when the hounds were here. Well, Warrick was here with Willow, and he’d brought a couple of his brothers and Ronan with him. The hounds were loud and big and filled the room, not leaving space for anything else, and not just in the physical sense.

And everyone soaked it up enthusiastically. Anything for an escape from the dark cloud hovering over us.

It was only a matter of time before our world was thrown back into upheaval.

I glanced across the table, but unlike his friends, Ronan sat quietly and observed. I’d noticed his deep purple gaze shifting to and lingering on Rose more than once. He did it a lot when he came here and always with this puzzled look on his face. I didn’t know what the emotionally void dhampir was thinking, but something about my sister drew his attention.

Nia pressed her nose into my palm, and I glanced down.

Iris sad.

I kissed the top of Nia’s head. “I’m okay, Ni.”

No, Nia couldn’t speak, not using actual human words, anyway. But animals were intuitive, they picked up on how someone was feeling, like a predator could sense fear in its prey. That intuition came from the animal as a kind of vibration, and one of my powers was translating that vibration. So even though Nia, or any other animal for that matter, didn’t think in human words, my mind translated what they were putting out in a way I could understand it.

It was a fairly new power. I’d always had a special connection with animals, but the communicating thing had been growing stronger slowly over the last year.

She whined and rested her head on my lap. Sad.

I gently ran my hand over her head and down her back and made myself calm down. Just like I could pick up how she felt, she could with me, and I hated my girl to worry.

“She’s a beautiful dog,” Relic said.

I glanced up and smiled, and the hound’s gaze slid to my damaged cheek, then to my lopsided grin. I inwardly winced and forced myself not to cover it with my hand. I did, however, tip my head so my hair fell forward. “Yeah, she is.”

“Iris,” Willow said, nudging my shoulder from her seat beside me.

I made myself smile and lifted my gaze. “Yeah?”

“You doing okay?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“If you need to talk…”

“I’m fine, Wills.”

Willow didn’t look convinced.

“I am, I promise,” I lied.

Warrick’s big, scarred fingers were curled around the back of my sister’s neck, even while he spoke to someone else. He was a good male, one of the best, and I loved my sister had found that kind of goodness in her life.

She nodded, but the look in her eyes told me she still didn’t believe me. Thankfully, she didn’t push. “Relic’s cute, huh?” she said under her breath instead.

I sighed. “Seriously, Willow, you need to stop with this.”

Her hand covered mine. “It’s been six months and…I want you to be happy.”

“I don’t need a male for that.”

“I know…I was just…”

“I’m not ready. I’m not sure I ever will be.”

Willow seemed obsessed with finding us, me especially, a man. She wanted us mated for some reason, in a way that bordered on obsessive. Oh, she thought she was being subtle about it, but I knew why they were bringing Warrick’s brothers here all the time.

“So where’s Mags?” Wills asked.

“The tree house. She’s there most of the time these days, sleeps there most nights as well.”

Willow glanced out the window toward Bram’s tree house. “Do you think they’re together?”

“No. She’s still struggling with…a lot of things that happened. Bram makes her feel safe, you know.” Bram was also desperately in love with Magnolia, in a way that was heartbreaking to witness. And our baby sister didn’t seem to have a clue.

Like Mom and Art had been before. Now they were sitting pressed together, holding hands. Seeing Mom happy like that, both of them happy, filled my heart with warmth.

“Have you seen Ren?”

Sadness filled Willow’s eyes. “A couple of times, but he’s still not ready to come back.” Her gaze became distant. “He’s so different, Iris, and not just the way he looks. You wouldn’t recognize him.”

I squeezed her hand as Warrick leaned in and kissed the top of her head, sensing her pain.

Mom moved to Rose, crouching by the chaise she was napping on, and brushed her hair back. She didn’t like to miss out but tired so quickly. “Do you want some tea, sweetheart?”

Rose didn’t stir.

“Rose?” Mom shook her gently.

Still nothing.

“Rose,” Mom said more sharply, fear clear in her voice.

Ronan shot to his feet across the table, and Art rushed to Mom’s side. I sat frozen, watching in abject terror as Mom tried to wake my frail sister.

Rose finally moaned softly and blinked up at Mom, and the relief was so strong, I had to bite back a sob. Art scooped Roe up in his arms and carried her out of the room, Mom right behind him. Wills squeezed my hand, but neither of us said anything. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, and not knowing how much longer we had with Rose was a constant fear in our hearts.

Suddenly all the people, the noise, it was too much.

I had to get out of here.

Willow had turned to Warrick, and they were talking in hushed tones, and Nia was asleep. My girl had been extra protective since that night in the cemetery, and by the end of the day, after following me literally everywhere, she struggled to stay awake.

So careful not to wake her, I slid out of my chair and quickly left, then kept on walking out into the night.

As soon as I hit the yard, I sucked back a desperate breath. It wasn’t enough, though, and as my gaze slid to Cora and Brody’s house, the house where I’d spent so much time, my breathing grew fast, panicked.

Spinning away, I strode down the path to the cemetery, walked through it, and out the other side to the field. It backed onto a small, wooded area that we’d often explored as children.

Tonight, the whole area was bathed in moonlight, the wildflowers that grew here sleeping, their petals closed, waiting for the sun to return. I looked up at the night sky, soaking in the mild night air, the peace of this place, and concentrated on breathing through the panic.

How would I ever be able to trust my own judgment again? Brody had destroyed that. He’d been the worst kind of monster, and I’d not seen it.

Goddess, I felt untethered. Disconnected from myself, my family.

My hand lifted to my cheek and ice-cold skin met my palm. The dark magic Brody had used on me had altered me permanently. Half of my right cheek was blackened, his spell manifesting in a star shape of cold, lifeless flesh, the nerves and muscles damaged beyond repair.

They were dead.

Like I was supposed to be.

How many times had I laid in his arms? How many times had we whispered I love yous in the dark? It’d all been a lie, all of it. He’d never meant a single word. He’d used me, and I’d been blind to it.

I froze as something shifted through the trees ahead of me.

I tried to see through the shadows but couldn’t make it out. I should run back to the house, get Warrick and his brothers to come and check it out, but I couldn’t move.

No, that wasn’t it, something compelled me to stay.

The spring breeze grew in momentum, carrying a low growl right to me.

Still, my feet remained rooted to the spot.

A living shadow, as dark as the darkest night, prowled closer, weaving through the ancient oak trees, then to the edge of the clearing.

Huge and black, with glowing green eyes.

A wolf.

I reached out as it watched me, searching for the vibration, trying to hear what it wanted, to learn why it was here. Nothing. I got absolutely nothing.

Not animal. Or at least not only animal.

Shifter.

One of the wolves from the new pack that had recently moved to Roxburgh, I guessed. The pack had all but eradicated the demons in Wolf Hill Woods the last six months, reclaiming territory. We’d yet to meet any of them, though, and given the close relationship witches and the local packs had always had in the past, we’d assumed it was only a matter of time.

He didn’t come closer or try to communicate, though. He waited, like he was expecting some kind of reaction from me.

Maybe for you to stop staring at him like a startled rabbit.

I lifted my hand. “Hi.”

The male bared his teeth.

Well, shit.That couldn’t be good. He wasn’t foaming at the mouth, at least. So he wasn’t feral. But he also wasn’t happy.

“I welcome you,” I said, trying again, making sure he knew we were no threat to him or his pack mates.

He made a low sound, his big, boxy head shaking from side to side, then he suddenly shifted.

I took a startled step back. The male was incredibly tall, his body muscled but lean. Solid thighs, broad shoulders, sculpted chest and abs. His hair was black like his fur, slightly overgrown, and hung around his ruggedly handsome face in messy waves. It did not soften him one bit. And those vibrant green eyes hadn’t left me, not for a moment.

Oh, and he was still baring his teeth.

“You seem upset,” I said stupidly.

“You think?” he said, voice like roughened granite.

“Why don’t you tell me what you want, and I’ll try to help you?” As far as I knew, this was the pack’s first attempt at contact since they got here, and the last thing I wanted was to offend them or screw this up. We had to live in the same city, and we needed access to Wolf Hill Woods and the surrounding forest. We couldn’t afford to make them our enemy.

He laughed, and it was dark and mocking as his gaze raked over me as if I were a slug he’d just stepped on.

My hackles rose instantly. “Something funny?”

“Don’t treat me like I’m a fucking idiot, witch. I sure as hell won’t fall for your tricks a second time.”

“A second time?”

He growled.

“What the hell’s your problem?”

“You want to know my problem?” He flashed a vicious smile. “You need me to refresh your memory?”

What was with this guy?

“Iris!” Willow called from the cemetery.

The wolf drew in a breath, his wide chest expanding, and he lowered his head, shaking it.

“Back here!”

“Roe’s asking for you,” Willow said, getting closer.

“I’m coming,” I said, not taking my eyes off the male in front of me.

“You and me, we’re not done,” the wolf said. “I promise you that.”

Then he shifted and ran off.

I stood there, heart racing.

Who the hell was that? And what did he want with me?

I got the feeling I was going to find out whether I wanted to or not.

* * *

THANK YOU!

Thank you so much for reading

Willow and Warrick’s story! I hope you loved it!

Next up in The Thornheart series will be Iris’s story, but until then…

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With one fatal mistake, immortal demon hunter Lazarus started a chain reaction that set him and his five brothers on a collision course straight to Hell.

There’s only one way to save them all—claim his mate, a sweet beauty he doesn’t deserve and will only end up hurting. But immortals fall hard, and walking away from her when it’s over is going to be near-impossible.

When bookstore owner Eve Taylor starts hearing the thoughts of others, she is certain she’s losing her mind. Until the day a wickedly seductive and dangerous warrior appears and introduces her to a terrifying new world—one she has been part of her whole life and never knew.

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