Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
Dark lashes twitched, then revealed violet eyes. She smiled and sighed. “Hi.”
“Are you well?”
She shifted, drawing her arm under her head and reaching for Adriel. “I feel good. How do you feel?”
“I feel…perfect.” She glanced over her shoulder and whispered, “I don’t know where we are.”
Juniper hitched herself up on her elbows and chuckled. “We’re at your parents’ house.”
A strange emotion surged through her veins. “We are?”
Juniper nodded. “In Greece. They probably brought us here.”
“My parents?” A flash of memories strobed through Adriel’s mind and her breath hitched. The cave, Cerberus, an avenging angel, Juniper. “They were there.”
She nodded. “You told me to find them. Remember?”
It was all coming back to her, even the bad parts. She shivered and reached for June. “You heard me?”
“I did. Your father said that can happen when a couple shares enough blood.” Juniper grinned and pulled her fingers to her cheek, turning her face to kiss her palm. “Let’s just say I won’t be touching anyone else’s veins.”
Adriel laughed, stunned that she was actually there with her. She caressed her beautiful face and smiled. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
“I was never going to let that happen. One way or another, I was coming to save you.”
Her heart grew heavy with shame. “I’m so sorry I left you.”
“I know you are. You were scared and only trying to protect me.”
“It was foolish and cruel.” Tears rushed to her eyes. “You asked me to believe in you and I couldn’t see past my fear. I only wanted to protect you the way you wanted to protect me.”
“Hey.” She caught her chin and forced her to meet her stare. “I forgive you. We’re both here—alive—and he can’t hurt you anymore. It’s finally over.”
Her vision blurred. The surreal concept of a life without Cerberus felt unfathomable and it wasn’t easy for her to trust such a permanent assumption of safety. “It’s going to take some time for me to get used to that.”
“Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.” She kissed her softly, and Adriel closed her eyes.
The gentle affection drew a shaky breath from her lungs. “I love you, Juniper.”
“I love you too.” Juniper pressed her forehead to hers and hummed happily. “Do you want to meet your mother and father?”
A hand fluttered to her chest. “I… Are they kind?”
“Very. Lilias is so sweet and nurturing. And Lazarus is incredibly wise and brave. He used to be a warrior.” She gripped Adriel’s hand. “They love you.”
Uncertainty needled. “They don’t know me.”
“That doesn’t matter. They want to get to know you, and no matter what they find, they will love and accept all of you, because you’re part of them. They’re your family, Ade.”
She considered how lucky such a gift was, especially in the eyes of Juniper who had lost all of her loved ones tragically. “They know about us?”
“Yes. I told them.”
“And?”
“And what?” She laughed. “They live in the modern world. Baby, they just want you to be happy. That’s all that matters to them.” She wiped a tear from Adriel’s cheek. “Don’t cry. Today’s a new and beautiful day.”
“This is unbelievable. I’m…overwhelmed.” She tried to piece together her memories, but there seemed huge gaps in her timeline. “Is Christian here?”
“No, he had to go home to his mate. But he promised to visit soon.”
She smiled. “They met him?”
Juniper nodded. “Kind of crazy seeing three generations of immortals. Collectively, you guys are older than the Roman Empire.”
Adriel scowled. “I’ll have you know I’m still in my heyday.”
Juniper lunged forward, pinning her to the bed and kissing her deeply. “I’m just teasing.”
“I missed your kisses.” She leaned up to steal another.
“I missed yours. Oh! I have to tell you something. Remember how you said two supernatural genes can form a third?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I know what I am!”
“You do?”
“I’m kitsune—part fox-shifter, part witch, with a dash of vampire.”
“Immortal.”
She waved away her need to correct her terminology. “Lazarus is teaching me all about the different supernatural cultures. He has tons of books. Some are even written in languages that don’t exist anymore.”
“And he knows about this race—kitsune?”
“Your father knows about everything! He’s fascinating. They’re nothing like the immortals you lived with in The Order. They’re open-minded and curious, not at all afraid of people who are a little different. As soon as they knew who we were, they accepted us.”
“You and Dane?” She recalled the creature in the cave and what that meant for Gracie. “How is he?”
The light in Juniper’s eyes dimmed. “He’s…processing. That creature took her away before we even scattered Cerberus’s ashes into the sea. Dane left, but Lazarus said he’d meet us later. I think it was just too much for him. To think, all this time, he was told a half-breed could not get called only to watch her go with that wolf-creature… My heart breaks for him.”