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Zack glanced at Drake and Elena. “Can your family be here by tomorrow night?”
“In a hurry, are you?” Drake asked.
“Probably no more than you were,” Elena said, punching her husband on the arm. “I’m sure they can be here by then. ”
And they were.
The next night, Liliana and Stefan arrived at Harrah’s just after eleven P. M.
“I was hoping Andrei would come,” Kaitlyn said, hugging her grandmother and her uncle.
“They wanted to be here,” Drake said, “but, all things considered, I did not think it wise for them to leave the Fortress. Ciprian and Liam are taking Liliana’s place at the Italian Fortress until she returns. If you want to postpone the wedding . . . ”
“No!” Kaitlyn said emphatically. “I am not waiting any longer. ”
Zack winked at her. “That’s my girl. ”
Elena, ever the peacemaker, said, “All right, then. What do you say we all get dressed and meet at the church at midnight? Zack, can you find a room somewhere else? It’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding, you know. ”
“Sure, Elena. A friend of mine is staying here, at Harrah’s. I can dress in her room. Liliana, I booked you and Stefan rooms here, too. ”
“Sounds like you’ve taken care of everything,” Elena said. “Let’s go. ”
Kaitlyn stood in front of the full-length mirror in the bathroom while her mother brushed her hair.
“You look lovely, sweetheart,” Elena said. “I’ve never seen you looking happier. ”
“I’ve never been happier. I love Zack so much. When you fell in love with Dad, did you just know he was the right one?”
“Yes. My life might have been easier in some ways if I’d fallen in love with a human instead of a vampire. But hearts don’t care about things like that. ”
Setting the brush aside, Elena picked up the veil and set it in place. “You look like an angel. ”
“Thanks, Mom, for everything. ”
“I can’t believe my little girl is getting married. ” Elena shook her head. “Where did the years go? Seems like only yesterday I was holding you in my arms, and now look at you. All grown up and about to become a wife. ”
“Mom, don’t cry. ”
“I can’t help it. Besides, they’re happy tears. You’ve everything a mother could ever hope for in her daughter. I’m so proud of you. ”
“Oh, Mom. ” Blinking back her own tears, Kaitlyn hugged her mother.
“Careful, sweetie, you’re crushing your gown. ”
“I don’t care. ”
Elena pulled a hanky from her pocket. “Here, dry your eyes. We don’t want Zack to see you crying. ”
Kaitlyn smiled at the mention of his name, then glanced over her shoulder as her father knocked on the bedroom door and peeked inside.
“It’s almost midnight. Are you . . . ” His words trailed off when he saw Kaitlyn.
“Dad, are you all right?” she asked anxiously.
“I just realized I am losing my little girl. ”
“Oh, Daddy, I’ll always be your little girl. ”
He held out his arms and she went to him, sighing as his arms wrapped around her. He would always be her first love. He had kissed her hurts, chased away the monster under the bed, taught her to value herself and those around her. “I love you, Daddy. ”
“I know. I love you, too. ” Putting his finger under her chin, he lifted her head. “Are you sure he is the one?”
“Without a doubt. ”
“We’d better go,” Elena said. “We don’t want the groom to think the bride changed her mind at the last minute. ”
Another round of hugs, and they left the hotel.
There were no lights on in the church. The only illumination came from a pair of candles near the altar.
Since Kaitlyn’s father was performing the ceremony, she had asked her uncle Stefan to walk her down the aisle.
Her mother and Liliana sat side by side in the front pew. Her father stood in front of the altar. Zack stood to his right. Zack’s bartender, Scherry, sat in the second pew.
Kaitlyn’s heart skipped a beat when she saw her future husband. He had been born to wear a tux, she thought. The jacket, obviously hand-tailored just for him, caressed his broad shoulders, the trousers emphasized his long legs. The crisp white shirt was the perfect foil for his long black hair and dark eyes.
There was no music other than the beating of her heart as she moved toward him. When they reached the altar, Stefan placed her hand in Zack’s, then stepped back to sit next to his mother.
Drake’s gaze moved over those in attendance. “Liliana Sherrad, Elena Sherrad, Stefan Sherrad, Scherry Lyons, you have been called here tonight to witness the union of Zackary Ravenscroft and Kaitlyn Liliana Sherrad, here present. Zackary, will you have this woman to be your life mate? Will you care for her and protect her so long as you both shall live?”
Zack squeezed Kaitlyn’s hand as he answered, “I will. ”
“Kaitlyn Liliana Sherrad, will you have this man to be your life mate? Will you love him and cherish him so long as you both shall live?”
“I will. ”
Reaching into his jacket pocket, Drake withdrew a small golden goblet and placed it on the altar behind him. Zack looked at him askance as Drake reached for his hand.
“It is part of our ceremony,” Drake explained. Using his thumbnail, he made a shallow slit in Zack’s palm, then held his bleeding hand over the goblet.
He made a similar cut in Kaitlyn’s palm, adding her blood to the cup.
Lifting the goblet, Drake offered it to Zack.
“You must drink,” Drake said.
With a nod, Zack took a swallow.
“Now Kaitlyn,” Drake said, and Zack handed the goblet to Katy.
She smiled at him, then sipped from the cup.
“By the exchange of blood and vows,” Drake intoned, “and by my authority as Master of the Carpathian Coven, I hereby decree that from this night forward, Zackary Ravenscroft and Kaitlyn Sherrad are life mated. May you be blessed with happiness and may your love last throughout eternity. Zackary, you may kiss your bride. ”
“Katy. ” After lifting her veil, Zack drew her into his arms. “I will love you forever and beyond,” he murmured, and kissed her, ever so gently.
Kaitlyn melted against him, happier than she had ever been in her life. She was his now, forever his. Nothing could ever part them. Not life, not death.
She was about to embrace her father when the door of the church flew open. Kaitlyn let out a cry of alarm as Nadiya and ten other vampires stormed into the church.
Fangs bared against the invaders, Zack pushed Kaitlyn behind him.
What followed was like a scene from a horror movie. Kaitlyn saw it in bits and pieces, the brutality of the attack so terrible it was hard to process it all. Added to the graphic visuals of blood and carnage were the sounds of tearing flesh and cries of pain. And overall, the heavy scent of fresh blood.
Two of the vampires attacked her father.
One of them attacked her mother, another backed Scherry against the wall.
Two of them forced her grandmother into a corner.
Two others advanced on Stefan.
Two rushed Zack.
Most horrifying of all was the fact that there was nothing she could do to help. Kaitlyn stared at the vampire who had driven her away from the others. She knew Nadiya only by sight, having seen her once at the Fortress years ago. But this Nadiya looked nothing like the beautiful woman Kaitlyn remembered. Hatred contorted her features into a hideous mask and blazed like hellfire in her eyes. Her lips were peeled back, revealing her fangs; her hands were like claws, and felt like razors as she grabbed hold of Kaitlyn’s arms.
Kaitlyn glanced around, seeking help, seeking a way out, but there was nowhere to go, no one who could help her.
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She cried out in anguish when she saw her mother fall beneath the weight of the vampire who had attacked her, screamed when the vampire sank his fangs into her mother’s throat.
Filled with a sudden fury, Kaitlyn reached deep inside herself. Summoning the power that had long lain dormant within her, she flung Nadiya aside. But Nadiya was an old vampire. Strong. Relentless. She recovered quickly, her claws raking the length of Kaitlyn’s cheek and along the side of her neck.
Kaitlyn gasped as pain exploded through the right side of her face.
“You will not get away this time!” Nadiya exclaimed, reaching for her again.
“Neither will you!”
At the sound of her grandmother’s voice, Kaitlyn glanced past Nadiya to see Liliana bearing down on the two of them, a long wooden stake in her hand.
Nadiya whirled around to fight off the new threat.
Liliana drew back her arm and drove the stake into Nadiya’s chest with such force that the stake sliced through her heart and protruded from her back.
With a look of disbelief, Nadiya slowly sank to the floor.
Kaitlyn stared at her grandmother, stunned by the sudden turn of events, and then she grinned.
“Stay here, child,” Liliana said, and spun away to rejoin the fight.
With a shake of her head, Kaitlyn rushed to her mother’s aid. Grabbing a large, decorative wooden crucifix from the wall, she broke it in half and drove the jagged end into the back of the vampire who was bent over her mother’s neck.
With a gasp of pain and surprise, the vampire toppled sideways and lay still.
“Mom!” Kaitlyn shook her mother’s shoulder. “Mom, answer me!”
Frantic, she looked around.
Stefan was sprawled on the floor, bleeding heavily from several wounds on his neck and chest. The vampires who had attacked him were both dead, their hearts ripped from their bodies.
Her father had destroyed one of his attackers. As Kaitlyn watched, he broke the neck of the second vampire; then, pulling a long-bladed knife from a sheath under his long black coat, he quickly decapitated his opponent.
Scherry sat on the floor nursing a broken arm that, thanks to her vampire blood, was already healing.