Andrea L Wells – The Midnight Hour
Epilogue
“Death is terrible,” I read aloud from a dog-eared page of Tolstoy’s, War and Peace.
I shut my eyes as the rush of adrenaline still coursed through me. My inner wolf snarled and fought to be summoned.
Alexander and Raphael slowly came through the bedroom door and gently laid Michelle’s body down atop her bedding. I stepped to the foot of the bed, giving Michelle one final look. She was a remarkably attractive woman: long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and the perfect bikini body.
“I hate when people dog-ear books,” I said, looking at Michelle’s closed eyes as I slapped the book shut with one hand and tossed it into the pillow next to her.
“Take care of this so we can leave,” I commanded.
“Yes, Xavier,” Alexander and Raphael replied in unison. Somedays, I found them annoying, especially after spending decades together. But most days, they proved very noble and useful.
Alpha Guard was their official title, though occasionally they were as useless as pet dogs, they’d spent over three-hundred years serving me well. With the rise of werewolf witch trials sweeping London in the late 16th century, Alexander and Raphael were desperate to gain control needing something greater than them to turn things around. Befriending an elderly widow whom they knew was actively practicing witchcraft; she taught them how to create the ultimate alpha. Weeks passed while they constructed the perfect plan until they happened upon my father and pregnant mother enjoying one last stroll near Hyde Park. A few days later, I was born and I’ve been stuck with these guards ever since.
“Here,” I said, handing Raphael the chemical solution to flush Michelle’s system of silver. “Make sure you test her blood before we leave. Her death will not go unnoticed. Take anything we need to destroy including her cellphone.”
Folklore was almost correct, the only way to kill a werewolf was with silver. But it was too often messy. So, several hundred years ago, I’d asked Dr. Hanson to develop a cleaner and more effective method: liquid silver. When autopsies became more popular, I tasked him to invent a mixture to flush out the evidence. ‘Cause of death’ was an important lie to maintain if I wanted to protect our kind. Dr. Hanson was brilliant, even if he wasn’t thrilled about using his inventiveness to grant criminals’ death warrants. A loyal subordinate, he never vocalized a word of his disagreement to me. Neither did most shifters.
I closed my eyes, paused briefly to bid Michelle farewell, and left the room without a backward glance.
Somber violin music drifted quietly through the house speakers as I studied the photo-lined walls down the hallway. I vaguely knew about Michelle and Logan’s celebrity lifestyles, but I had no idea of its depth – a depth that was going to make my next move more difficult.
Though the justification she gave for divorcing Kevin was not entirely true, she at least made the right decision in moving to Hollywood – it suited her. She’d clearly made quite the life for herself.
I strolled further down the hallway to Logan’s bedroom. Her sweet, floral perfume was something I could easily get used to, though, it did very little to mask her lingering dog scent. It had been several hours since she last set foot in her room which meant she could be anywhere in California by now.
Admiring her photos, I briefly thought of Logan as a potential mate. What wasn’t to like about her: exquisite thick golden hair, mesmerizing eyes, slender body, and legs that went on for days. And though I hadn’t spent more than a few brief moments with her since she was born, I knew she was strong-willed, confident, and intelligent – a natural-born leader. I’ve dated hundreds of girls but none like Logan. To be honest, Logan could be my exact type – a perfect and my only true match. However appealing the idea, there was a crucial deal breaker: I wanted nothing to do with the female werewolf side of her, or any mate for that matter.
Unwelcome thoughts of Sienna broke my train of thought. Several decades ago, I broke my own rule and dated a werewolf. She was wild - edgy, and beautiful in every sense of the word: short black hair, pale-green eyes, and a body that every girl was jealous over. She was and still is extremely fashion-forward, even taking up modeling for a few years. But, Sienna never committed to anything for too long, enjoying the fact that immortality afforded her the luxury of living many lives. It was a fundamental difference between us that I shouldn’t have ignored.
In the beginning, she loved that I was Alpha – I was her latest hobby. But she’s a lone wolf at heart. I pushed the unbidden thought of her aside – I was content dating non-shifters. Historically, they were easier to come by and took less effort. When they started planning our future together, I ended it – permanently. On our very last date and in the throes of passion, I’d bite their neck, scarring them for life. I may not age, but they do – if I ever saw them again, I wanted to steer clear.
Are we going after Logan? Raphael thought, clearly getting restless to access the beast within and hunt.
Just worry about Michelle right now, I replied.
I’m sure she’s not far, probably still around L.A. It wouldn’t take us long to track her from that restaurant, Alexander offered.
Or, we could wait for her here… let her see Michelle dead in her own bed… then drag Logan with us back to The Island… Raphael thought.
Focus on one thing at a time! I instructed, then shut them back out. I could filter my thoughts so they could only hear what I wanted. It was something only I could do. There were a lot of things only I could do. Logan Keller could change that.
I continued to stroll around her room, running my hands across her things – searching for something but no idea what.
Dr. Hanson was certain she was fated to be just as powerful, if not more so, than I. Michelle was foolish to think I’d ever let Logan roam free. I may have had no interest in raising a child but now old enough she would prove to be either an asset or an adversary.
My phone began vibrating from the depths of my coat pocket. It was the call I’d been expecting.
“What can I do for you, Kevin?” I asked as I placed the phone against my ear.
“What have you done?” he breathed.
“Kevin, I’m sorry for your loss. I think you already knew this was coming.”
He took a slow deep breath, swallowing his grief. “Where is Logan?”
“I have no idea and I think you already knew that Logan wasn’t here. If she was, you and I both know I wouldn’t have answered your call.”
He said nothing, likely in agreement.
“I’m also fairly certain Michelle purposely didn’t tell you where Logan was going this evening so you would have nothing to hide from me. You know… it’s surprising to me you had no idea Michelle spent the last decade scheming behind your back.”
“If you’re trying to insinuate I knew…”
“I haven’t said such a thing, just making an observation.”
“Had I known, tonight would have never happened,” he asserted.
“Fair enough.”
“So let’s get on with it, Xavier,” Kevin sighed. “Where do we go from here and what about our original arrangement?”
“Well…”
“Please, my daughter is going to need me now more than ever in her lifetime. She needs to be in Wyoming with me. Michelle may have broken your trust, but I have not and you know that. Let’s be fair, though I don’t like it and my heart is now completely broken, I can understand why tonight happened. There’s a right way and a wrong way to go about doing something and Michelle clearly made a mistake. I think, given the chance, we could’ve solved this problem differently,” he paused, swallowing hard. “She was a wonderful woman and only trying to protect her daughter. I was betrayed too, and I’m angry too, but give me the chance to work the rest of this… situation out,” he insisted.
I had always admired Kevin. He was well-respected among other shifters, something I was not. But, he also never had to make the types of decisions
I was faced with. Still, he was maintaining his decency and integrity and it would serve no good to punish that type of loyalty.
“I agree, Kevin. You have not betrayed my trust and I have no reason to betray yours. Our arrangement stands. But I’m warning you, if anything, anything, goes awry… our deal is off.”
I hung up the phone. The man likely needed to grieve.
“We’re finished,” Alexander announced as he and Raphael entered Logan’s room. “Want me to see if I can pick up Logan’s trail…”
“…even though you told Kevin we weren’t?” Raphael finished eagerly.
“I’m a man of my word,” I snarled, stepping directly before them. They both visibly flinched, resisting the urge to cower. “End of discussion.”
Raphael’s eyes flashed wildly in disappointment.
“I’ll allow Logan to go back to Wyoming to be with her father. When the time is right, we’ll go collect. If anything goes wrong or they resist for any reason, we kill them.”
“What about the Callahan’s?” Raphael interjected, “I’ve never liked any of them.”
“You just don’t like the fact that our plan didn’t work when they refused to join the Alpha Guard after their parents died,” Alexander countered.
“They won’t cause trouble under Kevin’s watch –he’s a man of his word,” I interrupted. “You two will take turns checking-in. Alexander – stay here and keep an eye on Logan. Make sure she’s safely delivered to her father after the funeral.”
I started to leave Logan’s room when I noticed a large frame with several photographs of her with a younger man.
“Who is this?” I asked, pointing at his face. He was clearly someone with celebrity status, but I’d never seen him before.
“That’s Brody Wilson, Logan’s boyfriend,” Alexander replied.
He was well-built and seemed attractive; paired up nicely with Logan.
“Are they serious? How long have they been together?” I pressed, annoyed. Alexander and Raphael were supposed to keep me informed – they hadn’t so much as mentioned this.
“I’m not sure how long, but from what I can tell, they’re serious enough – puppy love.” Alexander replied.
“Hmmm,” I breathed as I began carefully opening the picture frame and removed one of the photos. “This could be useful.”
“Logan’s probably with Brody now. Do you want us to go find him?” Raphael asked, cutting into my train of thought.
“No,” I replied sternly, my mind silently swirled with new possibilities.
“Our plane is ready,” Alexander said, hanging up his phone as I looked up from the photograph.
“Go get me Rachel,” I commanded.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my best friend and husband, Travis. I wouldn’t be where I am if not for your unwavering love and support.
I love you.
Thank you to my son, Ty, for keeping your sister, Katie, busy while I write.
Thank you to my daughter, Katie, for keeping your brother busy.
I love you both so ridiculously much.
Thank you to my friend, Christina Fifer. This book would have never hit the page had it not been for your commitment to me and my passion.
I appreciate you.
Thank you to the design genius, Amanda of PixelMischiefDesign.com. You are extremely supportive and exceptionally brilliant.
I can never thank you enough for both.
Thank you to the family and friends who have been so seriously supportive of this journey.
I value each and every one of you.
And last but absolutely not least, thank you to my fans, my readers, my followers, and every single book blogger I have the pleasure of now calling a friend.
The Midnight Hour is for you.
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