Epilogue

Kendra woke up in pain, but it slowly faded away. What didn’t fade was the pain she felt in her heart. Conor’s face as he died was still fresh in her mind and sharp enough to shred her soul. The images, sensations, and emotions he experienced as Drake killed him floated inside her mind as well, making everything worse. She didn’t move and she felt like she couldn’t breathe anymore. She wished she could rip the memories of Conor out of her head so that maybe they wouldn’t hurt her anymore.

Her mind, however, had different ideas. Instead, it tortured her with every memory she had with him. Every kiss they shared. Every bit of passion. Every touch. Every moment of happiness and joy. Their conversations. His smile. The way he smelled.

All of it.

She felt tears pour out of her face.

“Hey, Little Pup.”

She turned over and saw her brother sitting in a chair next to her bed. There was a look of concern and worry on his face and his grey eyes were full of sympathy.

“Why did you come back?” she asked, her voice flat. She didn’t have the strength to put any emotion into it even though she was glad to see him and glad to see that he was better. The flickers of insanity she saw in his eyes six months ago were completely gone.

“That would be my doing,” a voice said from her doorway. It was heavily accented by a dialect she was unfamiliar with. It sounded vaguely like Scottish, but older.

Kendra’s eyes traveled to the man. He looked like he was older than her but not by much, maybe in his mid-to-late thirties with brown hair that looked almost blonde in the light. His face, however, looked oddly youthful. It took Kendra a second to realize that the only wrinkles the man had were around the corners of his eyes.

Slate grey eyes that reminded her of…

Merle’s eyes.

And Merrick’s.

“Who are you?” Kendra asked him, although she felt like she had a good idea. It seemed impossible but with everything she’s been through, impossible meant nothing to her now.

The man walked into her room. There was a sad smile on his face. He came to the end of her bed and sat down.

“I’m the true Alpha. The first spawn,” he said. The irises of both his eyes turned a pale, almost white, blue. “And my name is Alrich de Bane. I’m your grandfather, Kendra.”

“You’re the hunter, aren’t you,” she replied, her voice still flat. Still emotionless. “The one that killed the goblins down in the sewer.”

“Well, I had some help with that,” Alrich told her, trying to give her a reassuring smile.

“Why are you here?” she asked. “Why’d you come back?”

“We came to put an end to Bendis,” Merrick said. “She’s the reason dad’s dead. And the reason C-co…,” he hesitated when he saw Kendra cringe. “Maybe we should talk later. You should rest now.”

That’s what Kendra wanted more than anything. She wanted to block herself off from the world and sink into an oblivion of depression and sadness. She knew for a fact that nothing would ever make her feel happy again. Nothing would take her pain away.

Kendra turned away from them.

“I thought this was the answer,” Kendra said after a long pause. “I thought this life was the answer to all my problems. No more being shy. No more being awkward. I finally felt like I was in control of things. I finally felt powerful.” She stared at them, crying softly. “But I was wrong. I was dead wrong.”

“What are you saying, Kendra?” Alrich asked.

“I’m saying I’m done with all of this. I’m done fighting. Now leave me alone. Both of you,” she said. She turned away from them and stared blankly at the wall. She heard them get up, but they hesitated a moment, wondering if they should say more, but in the end, they didn’t. They walked out and left her alone.

Kendra stared at the wall as images of Conor flashed through her mind.

She cried herself to sleep.