Shifter (19 page)

Authors: Kailin Gow

BOOK: Shifter

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“I’m still not sure you’re doing the right thing, allowing so many vampires to live,” Josh said.

“We’ve been through this,” Briony pointed out. “And we have a deal, Josh. We
do
have a deal, don’t we?”

Josh nodded. “Yes, we have a deal. I will allow the vampires of Wicked to live in peace. I will also help to hunt down any who kill humans. In return…”

“In return, your werewolves get to come into Palisor when they want,” Briony said. “Some of them might even want to live here.”

“Maybe.” For a moment, Josh let the careful calculating façade slip a little. “Enjoy the rest of your wedding day, Briony.”

“I will.”

Josh slipped away into the crowd of well-wishers. By then though, Briony was looking elsewhere, for the one person she wanted to talk to more than anyone, but also the one person she was dreading talking to. She spotted him on the edge of the crowd and slipped after him, catching up with him at the entrance to an antechamber.

“Fallon…”

“Briony.” He turned back to her. His face was unreadable. “I thought… I didn’t want to get in the way on your wedding day.”

“You know this is just for show. I’m already…”

“I know,” Fallon said. He smiled. “And I thought I’d feel worse about that. But I can’t hold a grudge. I’m not Pietre. I just want you to be happy.”

That meant a lot, coming from him.

“I know you’re not Pietre,” Briony said.

“Is that why you did so much to stop me from dying? Me and the others? Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful. It’s just… is keeping me, Jake and George alive worth all the destruction some vampires have wreaked? Is it worth what some of them will do in the future?”

Briony nodded. “Always. I won’t kill the good to get rid of the evil. And that’s not just for you. There are all the kids Pietre turned as well. They deserve a chance.”

“Not all of them will take it.”

“Some will. That’s enough.” Briony reached out to touch Fallon’s arm. “You have a choice, too. Remember my promise?”

“Yes,” Fallon said, “I remember. Can you do it? Can you actually transform a vampire to human?”

Briony nodded. “I think so. It will only work if they choose it, and I think I can only do a few at a time, but I can do it. Do you want it, Fallon? Do you want to be human again?”

Fallon hesitated. “I want it more than you could ever know, but…”

“But?” Briony echoed.

“But the young vampires Pietre turned need leadership. Some would want to be human again too, but not all of them, and if you couldn’t turn them at once, what then? How many would give into their urges before you had a chance to turn them back. As much as I want to be human, they need me as a vampire.”

“So you’re going to stay as you are just to help them?” Briony asked. It was such a selfless thing for Fallon to do. She knew how much he wanted to be as he was.

Fallon shrugged. “If not me, then who? I’m the oldest of the vampires we know are good. If it’s not me, then it would be George or Jake. Or none of us, and the new vampires become a threat to Wicked.”

“Okay,” Briony said. She knew he was right. It hurt that he was right, but he was. She smiled, and she thought she saw him start to reach out for her, but he stopped himself. They’d have to remember that now.

“There will be vampires who
will
want the transformation,” Fallon said.

“I’ll help them if I can,” Briony promised.

“And maybe once everything has settled down, when they’re all changed…”

They both knew that day would never come. There would always be more vampires, or those who wouldn’t transform back.

“I’m going to keep the gates open,” Briony said. “I want you to visit. Don’t just stay in Wicked, Fallon.”

Fallon nodded, but Kevin was there then, and Briony had to admit as he put an arm around her that she loved him being there. She turned to kiss him, just briefly. When she turned back, Fallon was gone.

“He didn’t accept your offer did he?” Kevin guessed.

Briony shook her head. “He wants to be there for the new vampires,”

Kevin nodded. “That makes sense. And maybe… well, maybe he needs something like that. Something he can focus on.”

Now that he couldn’t focus on Briony. Neither of them said it, but it was there. Even so, it wasn’t enough to make them any less happy in that moment. Briony could already feel the desire surging through Kevin, and the love. Always the love. She felt the same. She’d felt it from the start. She’d felt a lot for Fallon, but Kevin… she wouldn’t have been able to let go of him if she tried.

And now she never had to. That was a good thought.

****

“Thinking good thoughts about the happy couple?”

Carol started slightly as her brother spoke. She should have sensed Josh sneaking up on her, but in the middle of the party, she’d lost track of who was where. Or maybe she’d just been too busy staring at Briony and Kevin to care.

“What do you care?”

“I’ll always care, little sister,” Josh said, putting an arm around her and gently steering her away from the antechamber. “You mustn’t torture yourself about this.”

Carol looked at him, trying to keep the pain out of her eyes and failing. “I loved him.”

“But he wasn’t for you, just as it turned out Briony wasn’t for me.” Josh shook his head. “There’s someone out there for you, though. Someone who will make you happy, I’m sure of it.”

Carol’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t need to treat me like some stupid little girl and tell me fairy stories, Josh. I’m an alpha wolf.”

“I know,” Josh said. “It doesn’t make it any less true. One day, you
will
meet someone who’s perfect for you, just as I’ll meet my perfect queen. In the meantime… well, I think a lot is going to change for the pack.”

“What do you mean?”

Josh smiled. “I’ll tell you later. Now come on. I don’t know about you, but I feel like heading back. Palisor is beautiful, but Wicked? Wicked is
home.
”

*****

This Concludes the Wicked Woods Series.

Stay tune for a new series featuring Fallon as the new master vampire of Wicked and the young woman who ends up challenging him in every way.

Wicked Ways

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FIRE WARS

Her destiny was written in the books...but can she change a course that has already begun thousands of years ago? Mackenzy Evers had moved with her mother from Angel Island to Aeros Island during her senior year in post-Erosion Earth. Chance Cutter claims she is his Queen, his goddess to his Fire King, whom he had been searching for years. Their attraction to each other is undeniable, yet why does he seem to hate her? And who is she really?

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From Bestselling Author Kailin Gow comes

FADE

"My name is Celestra Caine. I am seventeen years old, which makes me a senior at Richmond High. I never thought this would happen to me, but it has… I’m one of those people you see every day, go to school with, remember seeing at the supermarket or the mall, and then one day you don’t hear about them any longer. They’re gone, and eventually, you forget them."

Available Now

From Bestselling Author Kailin Gow comes

DESIRE

A Dystopian world where everyone’s future is planned out for them at age 18…whether it is what a person desires or not. Kama is about to turn 18 and she thinks her Life’s Plan will turn out like her boyfriend’s and friend’s – as they desired. But when she glimpse a young man who can communicate with her with his thoughts and knows her name…a young man with burning blue eyes and raven hair, who is dressed like no other in her world, she is left to question her Life’s Plan and her destiny.

Now Available

Want to Know More about the
Wicked Woods Series
, Author Insight, Author Appearance, Contests and Giveaways?

View the Trailer for Wicked Woods, Behind the Scenes Look at Location Scouts, Character Trivia, and More…

At:

http://www.kailingow.wordpress.com

http://www.KailinGowBooks.com

and

on Twitter at: @kailingow

Wicked Woods Series Playlist

Dragon Green Children
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Stop and Stare OneRepublic
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