When Joseph released him, Josiah’s eyes met mine, and for the first time since I’d met him, I saw true happiness, and none of the hate and heaviness he usually carried. I couldn’t help but smile at him and when Mark pulled him in for a hug, I knew in my heart I could forgive him. Even if he was an arrogant asshole he was trying to change, and I could accept that.
“What will you do now?” Joseph asked.
“I’m not ready to leave yet,” Blake said, “but we’ll have to be careful, and I’ll need to find a way to make enough money to pay for expenses at the house.” My mate, always the logical one.
“You have the gold I gave you,” I said and waited for Josiah to protest but he just leaned more into Mark.
“I wasn’t sure if I should use it or not.”
“If you want, I could sell it for you,” Joseph offered. “Is this part of the big treasure that was buried with you?”
“There was never a treasure, there was gold I took off a train that was headed up north. They stopped here and I got nosey and decided to see what was onboard. There were several pouches of gold, so I took a few.”
“A few?” Blake asked.
“Joseph, would you be averse to selling a little more gold than what I’ve given Blake?”
“I don’t mind. I can have my daughter take me to the next town over,” he said.
“I can take you if they’re open in the evening,” Blake said.
“Well then, sounds like we’ll be making plans,” Joseph said.
“Can you tell me more about our family?” Josiah said, sounding far younger than he ever had, and showing me more of the innocent boy I’d been so drawn to.
“Of course. I have some photo albums too, but first, who is this little guy?” Joseph asked and looked at Elias, who rolled his eyes.
“Sir, I’ll have you know I’m far older than you can even imagine.”
“Is that right? Well, I think we all have some stories to share.” Joseph sat and listened as Elias explained his history and we all gathered around to look at the photo albums filled to the brim with old black and white photos, many of them torn or faded with time but full of so many memories they bound us all together.
Epilogue
Blake
Ten Years Later
“Marlon, hurry, I want to get there as late as we can,” I said as we waited on the side of the road while he cleaned up from the deer we’d just shared. Our lives were different now than they had been all those years ago. We had a cabin deep in the woods near Tahoe, but in an undeveloped area only we knew about. When Grandpa had sold all the gold Marlon had, which turned out to be far more than the small amount he’d given me, we’d had enough to live on for a lifetime. Same as everyone else.
Marlon had insisted we split the money between everyone because if we hadn’t finally worked together then none of us would have survived. “I can’t wait to see Joe,” he said once he had washed his face with the bottle of water we kept handy just for moments like this.
“He’s excited to see us all. Did you know Elias got there a week ago? They chat all the time online. I mean, I knew Grandpa was cool, but I never thought he’d be chatting with vampires online at ninety-two.”
“Elias likes talking to people who are closer to his age, no matter how he looks he’s still ancient. He probably thinks of Joseph as a child,” Marlon said and I thought about how much he had changed in the time I’d known him. He smiled more and his shoulders weren’t quite as tense, but his eyes had changed the most. The cold vampire had softened into amate that loved me so much it hurt and I loved him back just as much.
“Marlon, if you could change anything would you?” I asked him for the millionth time.
“Nope. Unless changing something meant we’d still meet and be together, then there is nothing I want or need that would be worth losing you,” he said in the dramatic way I loved. We were truly mates and our love had only grown deeper through the years.
“Okay, Romeo, let’s get to Occident and see what Grandpa has planned.” I drove as we made our way out of the forest and deeper into the world neither of us missed. We’d equipped our cabin to be completely off the grid but with all the modern conveniences we both loved.
“Is Aaron going to be there?” Marlon asked.
“He’s going to try to stop by. It’s a little tougher when you’re married and have kids. He’s trying to be a responsible adult,” I said and Marlon reached for my hand. We’d given Aaron a chunk of money too, because he’d helped us and had stayed in a house full of vampires without knowing if he’d survive the nightor not, just because he was my friend. We might have had a few rough patches in the past, but he was still my best friend.
We chatted all the way and pulled the truck into the garage we’d built at my old house we now owned. “This was the best Idea,” I said to Marlon as we took out our bags and walked inside.
“Anything to save my love from the sun,” he said. Marlon had changed in other ways too. He’d taken many classes online since he was able to do that and after getting his high school diploma, he’d gone on to college, and had a degree in architecture that he used on the many projects we’d worked on at the cabin, and the repairs and modifications we’d made here.
