AllFreeNovel
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“I don’t fear death. Do your worst because at the end?—”
His head falls to the side the moment the hammer connects with his skull. A sickening crack echos in the space, and blood spurts from the contact, covering me. I swing at him again and again, taking out years of fury and fear.
“You can’t hurt me,” I cry, tears streaming down my cheeks as I bludgeon every inch of his swinging body. “Not anymore, you sick fuck.”
I don’t know how many times I hit him, but my arms start to weaken, and my blows become less frequent.
“He’s dead, Wren,” Journey says from behind me.
Still, I don’t stop.
After another minute or two, arms wrap around me, and I’m pulled back against Journey’s chest.
“He’s dead,” he repeats. “You’re free, sweetheart.”
“Free,” I mutter. “I’ll never be free. I’ll always have reminders of what he did thanks to my fucking brain.”
“Maybe,” Journey admits. “But you did all that without switching. Same thing at the prison. Maybe, together, we canwork on resolving your alters. And if not, so be it. I love you, every single part of you, and you’re free to be whoever it is you are with me.”
Slowly, I turn around and lift my eyes to his. “You love me?”
“I’ve loved you from the second I spotted you at Ballinger’s.”
“I…” I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I love you, too.”
EPILOGUE
JOURNEY
Sex, sweetheart. Hot, sweaty, dirty sex.
Six months later…
“I now pronounceyou man and wife.”
Cheers and whistles fill the clubhouse, where the wedding took place. Jackyl and Leah decided to hold all of the festivities here to make things easier. Wren threads her arm through mine and wipes her eyes with the Kleenex I made sure she had before the ceremony started.
I lean over and kiss the top of her head. “Do you wish that was us?” I ask.
“Our time will come,” she says. “But for now, I like where we’re at.”
We’re still living in the rental, but we’ve had one big change: a puppy. And when I say puppy, I mean a hundred-pound Great Dane named Zeus who doesn’t have an off switch. We learned the hard way not to leave the door to Wren’s art studio open at night, and we have to keep our trash cans hidden, but other than that, he’s fit in well.
“Can I get everyone’s attention?” Jackyl says, his voice booming with the help of a microphone. The room settles down, and he continues. “I know I was a confirmed bachelor, a lover ofvariety, but Leah showed me the error of my ways.” He moves his stare to me and Wren. “Journey, thank you, brother, for being a persistent asshole when it came to Wren. If not for your obsession, I might not have gotten to know Leah as fast as I did.” The crowd laughs as intended. “And Wren… I know you and Leah aren’t sisters, and Journey and I aren’t real brothers, but we’re all family. And mark my words, you two will be standing right where we are soon.”
“We’re good, Jackyl,” Wren replies with a laugh. “Don’t need a ring or piece of paper to know we belong to each other.”
“But you needed that tattoo,” I say, feigning indignation.
“Well, yeah. If I’m gonna be part of the Soulless Kings, a tattoo is only fitting.”
“She’s got a point, brother,” Crow shouts.
“And now that I’ve sufficiently shifted the attention away from us,” Jackyl says, grinning at Leah. “We’re gonna sneak away for a while. But feel free to liquor up and party! We’ll be back to join you soon.”
The two of them push through the room, accepting congratulations as they go, and I have no doubt their first hour as husband and old lady is gonna be… eventful.
“Can I get you something to drink?” I ask Wren.
