Chapter 14

…

I awoke sometime later with a cool, wet washcloth on my head. James had moved me to the couch and propped my feet up on a pillow. He was pacing back and forth so fast I thought that he would walk a hole in the rug. He turned to me when he felt my gaze upon him. Racing over to me and falling to his knees, he apologized profusely, bloody tears still falling from his eyes. I sat up, staring at him blankly. He reached out to hold me, to attempt to comfort me. My body was rigid to his embrace, and my mouth was parched.

I desperately needed some water to drink, and I needed James to release the tight hold he had on me. I needed time to process everything, to ask questions, to make a decision. "Water.", I choked out. James loosened his embrace, holding my shoulders and looking into my eyes inquisitively. "Water.", I tried to say again. James left swiftly and returned with a glass of cold water. He held it to my lips, and I drank; at that moment, it was the best-tasting water I had ever had. 

I cleared my throat. He was still kneeling in front of me, "Are you…" "Please give me a minute.", I cut him off. I took the cup from him and took a long gulp. Was he seriously going to ask if I was okay? I took a deep breath before I began, "What if I choose neither of you?" The question inflicted an invisible wound across James' heart. I could see the pain flash in his eyes before he broke our gaze.

He ran his fingers through his hair and looked down at his knees, "Sylas said that once the 19 days are up, your blood bond with me will no longer work, and the bond with your true mate will be completely severed. He said that you would be in an immense amount of pain that would only increase with time. He said that you would have about a year to live before you would die. After you die, I assume that you will be reincarnated again since that has happened with Sylas' other failed attempts."

Great. Just great; it seemed there was no escaping this fate. I knew I was cursed. James interrupted my thoughts, "I'm so sorry, Kara. If I could…" "Please stop apologizing.", I cut him off again. I didn't want to hear him ask for forgiveness anymore. I basically had three options, die and become a vampire, stay a werewolf, or just die in a shit-ton of pain and be reincarnated and deal with all this bull shit again. There had to be other options. I pondered to myself. "If the prophecy is fulfilled, and I give birth to a special heir, will it end there?" I paused, "Or does none of this matter, and no matter what happens, after I die, I will be reincarnated again for this to be continued by a future self?

James looked at me, wiping the blood from his eyes, "I don't know, I told Sylas that this hunt would end with me. I will destroy that scroll and him if I have to." I laughed, "You think that you, a new vampire, is going to be able to kill a vampire who's got at least a century on you? You're in denial." I paused, "You wouldn't even survive a fight against an Alpha at this point, maybe a lesser wolf if they were alone." My words cut. They needed to; he needed to be brought back to reality.

"What are we going to do?", James asked. That was presumptuous of him; I wasn't sure that "we" were anything at this point. I really just needed to have some space. A chance to think clearly about my future. After all, my happiness was his primary concern. "I don't know right now, James.", I paused, "I really just need some time to digest everything." "I understand.", he responded. He looked grief-stricken, as though someone close to him had died. I felt drawn to comfort him, but how could I right now? I was hurting, too. I stood weakly; I was going to go to my room to give myself time to mull over the potential outcomes my future held. James came to my aide, helping me walk to my room.

Before he left me in the doorway, he said, "Kara, if you choose me, I will spend eternity making this up to you." I looked deeply into his eyes and saw truth in them. I placed my hand over his heart, "James, I have a lot to think about." I looked away before closing the door in his face. I dropped to my knees and broke down. I sobbed so loudly I'm sure every creature within ten miles heard my despair.

…

I woke up sometime later; I had cried myself to the point of exhaustion. What the fuck was I supposed to do now. My eyes were red and swollen and sore to the touch. I paced around my room anxiously, replaying my entire life over in my head. The only happy moments that I had were with James and Layla. Layla, of course. I rushed over to my bag and found the piece of paper that Layla had given me and opened it up. The ink blurred slightly from my sweat, but I could still read her phone number. I rushed out of my room to find James.

I hit the adjacent wall with a thud and slid to the floor. I found him alright; I had just tripped over his body, he was sleeping on the floor in front of my door. Despite my attempt to divide us, he stayed as close as he possibly could. "Are you alright?", he asked. I crawled over toward him, "Your phone, I need your phone!", I was frantic. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me without question. I stepped past him and closed the door behind me.

My hands were trembling as I typed the nine numbers on the screen. I took a deep breath and prayed to the moon goddess before hitting the call button. The first ring sounded, no answer. My anticipation started to rise as the second ring went unanswered as well. It went to voicemail after the third ring. I hung up immediately and looked at the time. It was barely 4:00 a.m. Of course, Layla was probably asleep. I sent her a quick text, "Layla, please call me when you get this; it's urgent. Love, Kara."

Layla would give me the advice I desperately needed; after all, she was the only mother figure I had in my life, the only person outside of this situation I could trust. I turned the volume up on the phone as loudly as possible; I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to speak with her. James knocked on my door, "Is everything alright?" I paused, realizing that I was holding his phone hostage and that I had rudely shut the door in his face twice. He wasn't the enemy, he loved me and wanted to help; he wanted me to be happy even if it meant his demise.

I opened the door, "I'm so sor…" He squeezed me so tightly that I couldn't get my sentence out. I wrapped my arms around him as well, welcoming his embrace. I looked up at him; his cheeks were stained with blood. He was suffering, too. "You have nothing to apologize for.", he said. "Can I borrow your phone, please.", I asked. "Of course, anything to help.", he said hopefully. "Thank you, James, thank you for being honest with me, for helping me, and for being understanding. It really means the world to me.", I said gratefully. You should get some rest; it will be day soon.", I added. James looked at me longingly, "I'll be in my room if you need me then." He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek before he left me. I sat by the fireplace, rocking my body anxiously as I waited for the phone to ring.

A few hours had passed before the phone rang. The screen showed "unknown caller" on the ID. I answered it swiftly, "Layla.", I said breathlessly. The voice on the other end of the line responded, "Hello, ma'am; we're trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty." Are you kidding right now? Fucking telemarketers. I hung up the phone, but before I could put it down, it rang again. The audacity of these fucking people, I answered the phone again, about to give them a piece of my mind and vent some of my pent-up frustrations, "Who do you…" "Kara honey, is everything alright?", it was Layla. I would know her voice anywhere. A sense of relief filled my being, and I started to fill her in on the details of my fucked up life.