Everlasting Embrace (Embrace Series) (33 page)

“
Ebony, please wake up
.
C
ome back to us
,
”
Dakota begs as he runs his hand through my hair.

Constance has her medical bag
,
her stethoscope to my chest
.
“
I can hear her heart
;
t
wo beats per minute. That
’
s normal for a vampire.
”

Dakota looks at her
.
“
Constance
,
can I ask a question?
”

“
Of course Dakota
;
you can never learn anything if you don
’
t ask questions.
”

“
Well, why is it you need to use a stethoscope
,
with your enhanced hearing?
”

“
A few reasons
. F
or one
,
after being a vampire so long, I
’
ve trained myself not to be so sensitive to sounds. The other is
,
because Ebony is now a vampire
,
her heart beats slow
and
soft
and
can be difficult to hear. This is why we don
’
t always recognize when another vampire is in our presence.
There are
so many different supernaturals
;
and because of that, we can
’
t always rely on our hearing.
”

“
Oh, that makes sense. I never thought of it that way
. It
explains so much. I always wondered why you couldn
’
t detect others of your kind.
”

“
Not to change the subject, but I think Ebony will be fine. I think she has just run herself down
since Matt
’
s passing
,
and it
’
s taking a toll on her. Let
’
s move her to the bed
,
”
I hear Constance as she instructs Dakota and Elijah.

Dakota lifts me in one gentle scoop
,
and Elijah turns down the bed. Placing me in the bed, he covers me with the blanket.
“
I
’
ll stay with her until she comes to.
”

“
Thank you Dakota
. C
all us when she wakes
,
”
Elijah requests as he leans down and kisses my forehead.

“
Yes sir, I will.
”

The pull feels stronger
,
and with a jolt I
’
m back in my physical body. Opening my eyes
,
I see Elijah and Constance leaving.
“
I
’
m okay,
”
I mutter.

They both turn on their heels with surprise. Dakota looks at me with utter relief
,
and a small smile breaks across his face.

“
Oh
,
I
’
m so glad you
’
re okay. I thought I was going to...I mean I thought Elyn was going to lose you.
”
Dakota takes my hand and presses his lips to the back of it. 

“
Where is she? I need to see her
,
”
I whisper, still
somber
from the memory of seeing Matt.

“
I
’
ll go get her for you
.
I want you to rest
,
”
Constance insists as she leaves the room, with Elijah right behind her.

Looking up a Dakota, I can feel the concern running through him
; he
really does care. I
’
ve always known that. If I didn
’
t have Matt, maybe Dakota and I could
’
ve made a go of it. I did have Matt though, and I still love him with all my heart. How can he think I can go on
and be happy
without him?

“
Ebony, are you alright? What happened? I was waiting outside your door
and heard a crash. When I came in
you were on the floor and catatonic
,
”
Dakota questions as he sits on the bed next to me.

“
I don
’
t really know what happened. I heard you knock
,
and when I reached for the door, the weirdest sensation came over me. I was jolted to the floor, where I could see and hear everything
,
as if I were watching. I felt paralyzed
;
then I was pulled to some other dimension,
where
I saw Grams, Mom and Dad, and Matt.
”

“
You saw Matt?
”
I watch as emotion pours out of him
,
and he asks with a complete lack of enthusiasm
,
“
Is he ready to come back?
”
 

I take a deep breath in and close my eyes.
“
N
…
no
.
H
e said it will be a long time
,
and he doesn
’
t want me to wait for him. He wants me to let go and be happy again
.
I just don
’
t know if I can
,
”
I admit while fighting back the tears.

“
I don
’
t even want to attempt to understand how hard that must have been for you.
”

“
It was
. I
t
is
hard
. B
ut he
’
s right
;
I can
’
t continue on like this. I have to move on
,
i
n a sense
,
f
or Elyn. She deserves so much more; she deserves a happy mommy, not one that cries whenever she hits a new milestone.
”

“
Ebony, you know there
’
s a ton of us here to support you. You know I
’
ll always be here for you, no matter what. I love that little girl
,
and her mom...
a
h, her cute little moments.
”
Dakota turns about five shades of red
,
and he looks away.

“
Thanks Dakota, I know how much you care for both of us. I can
’
t tell you how much it means to us. You are very important to us, and the fact that you
’
ve been by my side
as I grieve
for
Matt
proves the kind of man
that
you are.
”

“
I
’
m glad you know I
’
m here for you. I want you to know how much you mean to me.
”
Dakota slowly leans towards me.

My mind begins racing as Dakota moves in slowly. I know he
’
s coming in for a kiss. What do I do? I don
’
t want to be rude
and give him my cheek, but I don
’
t think I
’
m ready for more. As if everything is moving in slow motion, Dakota moves closer to me
,
and I feel the beige walls of my room closing in around me. Then his lips meet with mine
in
a
soft, romantic kiss
,
filled with love and understanding. I slip into an oasis
,
and forget all my troubles, feeling like I belong. He pulls back
,
and everything comes rushing to me. How can I belong with Dakota, when Matt was my
soul mate
? I can only imagine the look of confusion on my face.

“
Ebony, I
’
m sorry. I know you weren
’
t ready for that.
”

“
No it
’
s...it
’
s...
just that
I don
’
t know what to make of it all. I
’
m sorry.
”

With perfect timing
,
Constance comes back
i
n the room with Elyn
—
and a glass of blood punch. I feel a new relief at the sight of my little peanut.

Protection

I
’
m thinking it will be nice for Nathanial, Nik and I to get away from here for a while. We didn
’
t get a honeymoon
,
and although it will take a while for the Cerberus to rebuild, removing Nik f
rom
the area may
be our best plan. We have to find a way to protect him, to destroy Drake and Cyrus
,
once and for all.

“
Elijah, Florence
,
c
an Nate and I talk to you for a minute?
”
I sheepishly request.

“
Sophia
,
my dear, you know we are always here for you. I think we have a pretty good idea of what you want though.
”
Florence looks at Elijah and the
y
both smile.

“
You know?
”
I ask.

“
Well of course
;
you and Nate are thinking of getting your own place
,
alone
,
with Nik. Why wouldn
’
t you want to?
”

“
No
,
n
ot at all. We want nothing more than to stay here with you as a family. The rest of you are married and quite happy living as a big family. You don
’
t want us gone
,
do you?
”

“
Of course not
!
Florence and I only thought because of Nik, you may want to live like a mortal family. You are welcome to stay with us
. Y
ou know that. Since we are wrong about the details of this conversation, what is it you would like to talk to us about?
”

“
May I?
”
Nathanial asks while looking at me
.
I nod with a grin
,
and he continues
,
“
Sophia and I are thinking of taking a honeymoon
,
w
ith Nik
. S
o I guess it would be more like a family vacation. With the Cerberus having their eyes set on him, we thought
that
getting away for a while
,
and coming up with a plan
,
would be best.
”

“
That is a wonderful plan. Do you have any ideas where you would like to go, or may I suggest one?
”
Elijah wonders with a glisten in his eyes that
tells me that
he has an idea.

“
We do have an idea. We would like to go to Transylvania to meet the Ren
a
ta. With our new information about the Cerberus wanting Nik, we thought it may be worthwhile
,
”
Nathanial explains while holding Nik in his arms.

“
I think that is a wonderful idea. They may have some ideas
,
or someone
who
can assist us in destroying Drake and Cyrus. I believe we have time though. The Cerberus won
’
t have the ability to attack again until they rebuild their army. This gives us the time to prepare
,
and if we can bring them to their demise before that time
—
w
ell
,
all the better
,
”
Florence says with enthusiasm.