A Destined Death (37 page)

Charles’ eyes were wide and frightened. “I’m sorry, Milord,” he said, dropping to his knees. “I’m so sorry.”

“You did this?” Draven gasped, his voice raspy.

Charles closed his eyes and nodded. “I put out the hit on Damion. I knew if Elizabeth died, he would kill you, and I couldn’t let that happen. I hired Dredge to take his place and promised him Elizabeth,” he confessed, looking up. “You’ve been so good to me, Milord. I just thought that if Elizabeth was gone, you might consider me this time.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Draven said. “You saved her from Anna.”

Tears seeped out of his eyes after he closed them. “Forgive me. It started with Anna. I gave her Elizabeth’s name, but she took so long. I was going to let her kill Elizabeth in that dungeon…until she threatened to kill you.”

After minutes of contemplation, Draven finally turned to the visitors. “Forgive me, old friend. As a servant in my household, I should have known. I should have paid more attention.”

Damion smiled at me. “You had other things on your mind. And rightfully so,” he added with a nod.

“I will deal with him personally, I swear it.”

“That’s not an option,” Josh said. He dragged Charles to the car and effortlessly threw him inside. “You know our reputation. We don’t work for humans, and I’m afraid we need to settle this ourselves.”

 Draven started to protest, but a glance at me stopped him.
“He tried to kill you.” 

There’s nothing you can do.
I applied pressure on his arms that hugged me, hoping to ease the guilt I knew he felt.

“Again, please forgive the misunderstanding,” Josh said with a nod before the three returned to the car and backed out of the driveway.

As soon as the car was out of sight, Candy turned and went inside. I immediately grew worried that she resented Draven for letting them take Charles. Draven stayed in the yard to talk to Damion so I followed the rest of the bystanders inside and found Candy on her laptop in her room.

“Are you all right?” I asked carefully.

“Yes, Milady,” she said brightly. “Are you?”

I shrugged. “Let’s just say, people can stop trying to kill me any time now.”

Her eyebrows pulled together.

“Oh! Except for Draven, that is,” I restated. “Are…are you all right with what happened to Charles?”

“He tried to kill you! Of course I’m all right with it. I’ll have his replacement ready for tomorrow night,” she said proudly.

I nodded and handed her a small, red velvet bag. “Thank you for everything, Candy. I want you to have this.”

She frowned when she pulled out The Forgiving Heart. “I don’t understand.”

I shrugged. “For safe shopping. I won’t need it anymore.”

Her eyes lit up. “Thank you. This will look stunning with my dress!”

****

Giving the white ballet gown one last twirl in my bedroom, I grinned at my mom and handed her the three black jewelry boxes. “I feel like the Swan Queen.”

“You’re very beautiful.” She kissed my cheek and opened the first box. “Oh my goodness, your fiancé has excellent taste! Why haven’t your father and I met him yet?”

“I told you. He’s out of town for the day, but I promise he’ll be back by sunset.”

When Vera wrapped the necklace around my neck and snapped it into place, the floorboards didn’t shake around me, and when she put the bracelet on me, I felt no piercing pain in my stomach. It was as though the jewelry no longer carried the sorrow it once held onto. I took that as a hopeful sign. 

With the jewelry in place, my mother stepped away to look at me. “You are the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”

A loud cough startled us both.

“Sorry, Tina,” Vera said, looking flustered. “You’re a very beautiful bride as well.”

“Thank you,” she sang out as she entered the room. “One hour until…damn it, Elizabeth! You have a matching set of diamond and ruby jewelry?”

“Your grandmother’s pearls look lovely,” Vera soothed before her smile widened. “That reminds me, I have something for you both. Your jewelry is old, and your dresses are new, but now you need something borrowed and blue.” Reaching into her purse, she pulled out two blue garters and handed them out. Then she loaned us each a hair comb. “Oh, and a sixpence for your left shoes. I had to order these off the internet and then pray they made it in time. Who gives their parents a week to prepare for something so important?”

“Don’t look at me,” Tina scoffed. “Draven and Elizabeth are the one’s rushing the wedding.”

I cringed inside, fearing Tina had just set off my mother’s worry alert, but Vera just sighed. “She never did like to date.”

Tina giggled. “It’s almost time. Go sit down and we’ll be out soon.”

Vera gave me another kiss and hug before she went to take her seat with the rest of the guests.

“What are you going to do after your honeymoon?” Tina asked once we were alone.

I thought for a minute. “First, I’m going to remodel the mansion.”

“Oh, I love to decorate. Maybe we could…hang out…you know, more than we have.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I’m looking forward to getting to know Coty too.”

She nodded with a bright smile. “Me too.”

The enormous reception tent blossomed with red and white roses intertwined with little red and white lights that created a cozy, romantic atmosphere. The tables that were set up for the reception lined the perimeter to make room for the rows of chairs. In front of all the chairs, Draven and the minister stood waiting below a rose covered trellis.

Tommy was the best man, Candy was the maid of honor, and Coty was the ring bearer. Johnny brought the cake.

As my father walked me up the aisle to give me away, I stared at Draven. Handsome as the day I met him, he wore a tuxedo and a blissful expression. In his chocolaty eyes, I saw my future; in his smile, I saw my happiness. He was my destiny. When I finally reached him, he shook my father’s hand, thanked him several times, and then dipped me in a long, romantic kiss.

The world stopped for one perfect moment in time, and I knew I’d love him for all eternity. During the ceremony, Draven surprised me with a ring that matched the ruby set of jewelry I wore. It came in a box that read:
Elizabeth Tarkson, South Dakota, For All Eternity.
Just knowing it was the final piece to the set, brought happy tears to my eyes. We’d finally made it.

Tina and Armando were married directly after us, and Tina actually cried during her ceremony, just as I had. Ben stood in the back with his arms folded but a small smile brushed across his face more than once.

The reception rolled along wonderfully. Thrilled that all of our guests arrived safely, I marveled at the cheek kissing, the hugging, and the hand shaking and thanked everyone for coming. I didn’t even stress about the gifts. It was the happiest day of my life.

My parents loved Draven. I knew they would. Once they found out he lived in Seattle and we would be able to visit often, they wished us a long and happy life together. They had part of it right, but I didn’t want to bring that up.

Brenda seemed a little irritated that she didn’t get to be the Maid of Honor but once she saw Tommy, she forgot all about it. The two were inseparable by the time the night ended.

After the reception, I snuck into the house to write the last few lines of my book.

A moment later, Draven appeared behind me. “What are you doing?”

“Finishing my book. I’m thinking about calling it
A Destined Death
. What do you think?”

“I think you should hurry.”

I touched his cheek and rubbed my hand along his stubble. “I love you, Draven Blackrayne.”

“I love you, Elizabeth Blackrayne.”

I squealed at my new name that verified the beginning of our forever. In his arms, I felt complete and I knew I belonged with him. It was my own romantic story come true. We were truly…meant to be.

Draven held onto Elizabeth tightly while she screamed with the pain that he’d inflicted by feeding her his blood. Killing her had been the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he longed for her eternal safety. Even with Anna dead and Charles gone, he could never be sure an accident wouldn’t take her from him.

He could not help the arousal he felt when she held his hand and gazed into his eyes, accepting her death, accepting him. She gave him her complete trust and her life, for the promise of never being separated again. Since she’d first died as Alicia, he’d dreamt of that moment, and having it finally come to fruition, overwhelmed him to say the least. Moisture filled his eyes when she gasped as though the pain had ended.

Her beautiful green eyes opened, sparkling in their candlelit bedroom at the mansion. She gazed into his eyes for a long moment before a smile touched her lips. “I didn’t succumb.”

“I knew you wouldn’t.”

“Well…” she said, glancing around the room. “We’re married now. Show me what this huge bed is for.” 

“Don’t you want to feed first?”

She pushed him onto his back and moved down his naked body. “I thought you’d never ask.”

This story was written as a stand-alone novel. However, if enough readers want more, I would love to continue with these characters. You can vote for “more” by liking the Facebook page for
A Destined Death
. Thanks for reading!