Page 90 of Toward Immortal Ruin

Eden was quiet for a moment as she thought through his words. In the end, she knew she had to be honest. “You’re right, Nero.”

He stilled.

“My life became a battleground the moment I met you. Every step here was traumatic. I fought a battle for my mind, in my body, and inside my soul. The last two weeks have been the hardest of my life, but Nero,” she paused, “I wouldn’t change anything because it gave meyou.

“When I met you, I was a dying human who’d already given up on life. I’d let myself accept an early grave simply because I didn’t have any other choice. Now, I’m an immortal, the very thing I studied and loved since I was a child. I’m a fledgling of the original vampire, and my wolf—” she swallowed the thickness in her throat, “my wolf is a fighter, Nero. When you were being attacked, she didn’t freeze. Shefought. For you—and for our pack.”

He kissed her knuckles. “A wolf only brings out what we already were, Eden. That was always inside you. You werealwaysa fighter.”

Fighting through tears, she promised, “The point is,mate,that I choose you, and I’ll keep choosing you. Every heartbeat, every breath. The good days and the bad. I will always want you, Nero.”

“I’d follow you to the ends of the earth, Eden Hawthorne.” He tenderly cupped her cheek. “My life here means nothing without you.”

Her lips found his cheek, lingering long enough to breathe in the sea salt and rum scent that clung to his skin and enjoy the handsome cut of his features. Then, he was turning his head to possessively capture her lips with his.

A soft, delicate kiss spoke of his tenderness towards her. Every brush of his lips and every wordless smile: they all meant the same thing. Nero was hopelessly in love with her, and she with him.

Nero was her Prince Charming, her Count Dracula, her vampire in a Volvo.

Minus the sparkles.

Chapter Thirty-Five

A howl echoed inthe streets of Atlanta. Nero’s panther raged inside of him, hissing at the sound. TheCitizenshad released only a handful this time, but had done so in full view of civilians.

Remmus, the technopath who’d discovered it, had barely had enough time to gather a team. Nero and Eden, along with Jeremiah and Zia, had arrived on scene surrounded by a mixed team of immortals. The vampires were the most necessary piece of the puzzle: no human could remember what happened here.

Rabid wolves leapt from the truck only moments after they arrived. Rukia’s gifts fogged the air within seconds, rendering low visibility that had humans scattering—unless that was the effect of an imminent wolf attack.

With Eden by his side, Nero’s blade sung through the first of a pair of wolves headed toward a building. Behind him, his mate wielded a long katana given to her by her sire, protecting his back.

By her own request, Eden had entered intensive combat training, and nearly every immortal nation was contributingto her education. Nina was personally invested in seeing her newest fledgling learn the ropes, and Aidan was equally as immersed. The original werewolf had claimed her for his own personal pack.

Another howl refocused Nero.

The second predator launched into the air before Nero could extract his blade from the dying werewolf at his feet. Eden caught the wolf in a headlock, pausing only a moment for Nero to confirm its mind was gone.

With her vampiric speed and werewolf’s strength, she was an unstoppable force … and his greatest ally. Eden was a natural fighter. For a woman who’d studied fiction and fantasy her entire life, she took to the battlefield as though she’d been born for it.

It didn’t take long before the immortal team cleared the field. The fog remained to cover any trace of their temporary victory.

They couldn’t rest on their laurels. TheCitizensno longer cared about keeping their secrets. Their intent was to devastate immortalkind, and with it, turn them from myths into monsters. Nero would do everything in his power to keep it from happening.

In a voice filled with sorrow over the senseless loss, Zeke said, “I’ll teleport them back to our clan lands for a pyre.”

Aidan nodded.

The despair that once burned so deeply in the alpha had cooled slightly. Though tonight had taken its toll on him—as did every night where he was forced to hunt his own kind—Eden’s presence had been helping.

As if knowing she was needed, Nero’s mate closed the distance between her and the original werewolf. She encircled Aidan in her arms, and he immediately embraced her back.

There was a peace that only she could comfort him with—an omega’s peace. Nero hadn’t believed it until he’d witnessed herin action. The stress that Aidan had been holding in a roiling pit of despair, soothed and dripped away as he took solace in Eden’s presence.

Is it helping?

Eden’s telepathic voice whispered into Nero’s mind. It’d been two weeks since she’d developed the ability to speak with him telepathically.

Nina, and others of Nero’s clan, had guessed it had to do with the fact that Eden was a hybrid, the combination of both werewolf and vampire immortal cells. She’d been created out of adversity, healed by necessity, and had flourished in diversity.

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