End Game (Vampire Hunter Book 6) (13 page)

I stalled for another ten minutes, then finally popped my head out of the
office and called, “I’m ready now.”

When Lucas saw me in the dress, his mouth dropped open. “Aurora, you’re
so incredibly beautiful. Absolutely breathtaking,” he whispered.

I walked to the end of the room, opposite from where Lucas and Nicholas
were standing. Nicholas hit a button on the stereo and the jazz music was
replaced by
Here Comes the Bride
.

I had just linked arms with Emmett, ready to walk down our makeshift
aisle, when there was a knock at the door. I froze.

“It might be my family,” I said. “I kind of invited them last minute.”

Nicholas turned off the music so Emmett could open the door. And sure
enough, standing there, were my mom, dad and Kayla.

“I’m so glad you came!” I gushed, hugging them.

“That dress!” Kayla exclaimed. “It’s gorgeous.
You’re
gorgeous.”

“My friend Jet got it for me – this whole thing was totally last
minute. But it means the world to me that you’re here,” I said honestly.

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” my dad replied. “My little girl…all
grown up.”

“Don’t get sentimental on me now,” I said, laughing. “Everything’s
changed, Dad, but in a good way,” I assured him.

I introduced my family to Nicholas and Jet. “Should we try this again?”
Nic asked, smiling. He turned the music back on.

Emmett stepped back. “As honored as I would have been to walk you down
the aisle, now that your father’s here…”

I gave him a grateful look. Wordlessly, my dad linked his arm with mine,
and walked me down the aisle to where Lucas was standing.

Nicholas said a few words about how true love was hard to find, and when
you meet your soul mate you should never look back. For a guy who made jokes
and goofed around the majority of the time, he was very serious, very
compelling.

“And now, the bride and groom will exchange their vows,” Nicholas said.

“I didn’t write vows,” I replied nervously. Everything had happened so
quickly, the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.

“I didn’t expect you to.” Lucas reached up and caressed the side of my
face. “Ever since the day I first met you, I haven’t been able to get you out
of my mind, Aurora Stone. And with each passing minute, my love for you grows
more and more intense. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world by agreeing
to become my wife.”

It was so sweet, so special. “And you know I love you more than anything
in the world,” I replied.

“Lucas, do you take Aurora to be your wife?” Nicholas asked.

“I do,” he replied solemnly.

“And Aurora, do you take Lucas to be your husband?” Nicholas turned to
look at me now.

“I do,” I said.

Nicholas’ face broke into a large grin. “I now pronounce you man and
wife. You may kiss the bride!”

Lucas and I leaned forward to share our first kiss as husband and wife.

After the ceremony ended, we sat around, chatting and laughing. My
parent’s expressions were still strained, but I appreciated the fact that they
were trying to accept my decisions and not attempting to stop me.

I couldn’t help but smile when I noticed Kayla sitting just a little too
close to Jet, obviously enamored by him. Jet was carrying on polite
conversation with her, ignoring her flirting.

“We should get going,” Lucas said. He leaned forward so that his lips
lightly grazed my ear. “As beautiful as you look, I can’t wait to get you out
of that dress,” he murmured, so that only I could hear.

“We need to go, too.” My dad shook Lucas’ hand. “Congratulations, you
two.” He turned to me, his eyes sad. “When will we see you again?”

“Soon,” I promised.

My family left and Lucas and I got up to leave as well.

“Wait,” Jet said, his eyes twinkling. “I’ve got one more surprise for
you.” He reached in the pocket of his suit jacket and held out an envelope.

I took it from him and opened it up, pulling out two airplane tickets. I
looked at the destination. “
Paris?
” I exclaimed in shock. “Jet, you
shouldn’t have!”

“Nonsense. You can’t have a wedding without a honeymoon. You leave
tonight so I suggest you go pack soon.” Jet paused. “I wanted to send you
somewhere romantic. And somehow I didn’t think you’d appreciate the sunny
beaches of Hawaii,” he joked. “Although I don’t think you’ll be spending much
time outside of the room,” he added with a smirk.

Jet turned to Lucas. “I’ve already cleared it with your boss. He doesn’t
expect you back for a week. The hotel information, everything else is in the
envelope.”

Lucas laughed. “Thanks, Jet. That was really nice of you.”

“Yes, thanks,” I echoed.

“You don’t have to keep thanking me. I wanted to get you a wedding gift,
and I was also hoping you could do one little favor for me while you’re there,”
Jet hedged.

I couldn’t help but smile. I liked Jet, but somehow wasn’t surprised that
he had an ulterior motive behind his generous gift. Jet hadn’t gotten into his
position as head vampire without knowing how to play the game.

Lucas raised his eyebrows. “Oh, really?” he asked. But he didn’t sound
angry, just bemused.

“Yes, you see there’s this demon stirring up trouble. He killed a
vampire,” Jet said. “For no good reason. I think the world will be a better
place without him.”

“I’m in,” I said with a laugh. I was excited to start my life as a
hunter.

We said our goodbyes and Lucas and I left Emmett’s house, arm in arm,
ready to conquer the world together.

My life with Lucas was more than I ever could have dreamed. As the days
turned into weeks and the weeks turned into years, my love for him just
continued to grow stronger and stronger with each passing day.

I got hired as a hunter, working for the same agency as Lucas. At first,
he would go with me, but soon I was confident enough to take on jobs of my own.
I understood my powers and could easily control them now. Lucas and I travelled
almost constantly, never staying in one place too long, doing our part to eliminate
everything that was evil in the world.

Even though I wouldn’t work for him, Jet remained a close friend and an
ally. Whenever we needed information or help, I could always count on him. And
I was comforted by the knowledge that he was watching over my family. I didn’t
speak with Henry, not in the beginning at least, but Jet always assured me he
was doing well. And after some time had passed, Henry contacted me, offered to
help me if there was ever a spell I needed him to do. Although our relationship
was just a business partnership, I was still happy to have him in my life in
some capacity. He wasn’t my soul mate, but I would never forget our bond and
friendship.

Nicholas went back overseas to work for his hunting agency, but our paths
still crossed, and we never went too long without seeing him.  At first, I
kept in touch with my family; it wasn’t like during Lucas’ time. We could easily
text and email. But as the time passed, the contact became less and less
frequent. I would never forget my family, but I wasn’t a child anymore, and I
had my own life to live.

Emmett, of all people, found someone and fell in love again. Lucas and I
travelled back for his wedding and I saw my family again for the first time in
a long while. They were older now, but still the same, which was somehow
comforting. Emmett’s wedding was a beautiful ceremony and I couldn’t have been
happier for him.

The passion with Lucas remained just as strong years into our marriage as
it had in the beginning. When he made love to me, it was as special and
wonderful as it had been that first time in Paris. We were truly connected,
mind, body and soul.

And as we moved forward into the future, I knew Lucas, my soul mate, was
all I ever wanted or needed. He was my destiny, my fate. And together, there
was nothing we couldn’t do.