Conclusion
The first thing Jaden noticed, as he slowly awoke from his deep sleep, was that he was comfortably warm. The second was a continual beeping noise, like from a monitor of some sort. And then there was the slight movement against his chest, a faint rush of air, like someone's breathing.
He smiled slightly as he opened his eyes and turned his head to see Angel curled up against him, her arm around his chest, her long unruly hair brushed against his throat. The woman was fast asleep, her eyes gently closed, her lips slightly parted to draw in more air as she breathed.
Moving slowly, so as not to wake her, Jaden lowered his face to hers and pressed his lips gently against her own.
She murmured something in her sleep and moved closer to him, letting her lips touch his as she began to wake up.
"Angel," he whispered, and her eyes opened to gaze straight into his crimson ones.
"You're awake!" she cried, sitting up abruptly, her eyes sparkling with joy.
"How long was I out?" he asked, grinning up at her.
"Three days," she whispered, and then smiled as he stroked her hair out of her face.
"You were here this whole time," he said, putting his hands back and then using them to push himself up.
He groaned as his stomach muscles moved, but he sat up anyway and put his hand to her cheek.
"All that trouble was worth it," he said, "because you're alive and you're mine."
"I always was yours," she smiled, putting her hands to his face, making sure he was really here.
"It's about time you got out of here," A voice said, and the two turned to see Whisper walking through the door, dressed in a T-shirt, jeans, and two black wrist cuffs. His hair, usually pulled back in a small ponytail, was cropped short and was a significantly lighter shade of brown.
"What on earth –?" Jaden started.
"Check out her necklace," Whisper said, smiling, his fangs barely showing.
Jaden took hold of Angel's necklace and was surprised to find that the black in the center was almost completely red. He opened his mouth quickly and put his finger to his teeth, letting it slide across the bottoms of each tooth. To his surprise, he didn't cut his finger on any of his teeth.
"Well," he said, gazing down into Angel's face. "Looks like your gift is working faster than we thought it would."
"You certainly are looking superb," Dorian said, sliding into the room, looking the same, almost, as he always did, except that his hair was slightly shorter than ponytail size. "I say we get you home."
"And where is home?" Angel asked, smiling at Jaden.
"Until he gets you a house, it's where you lived before. Except, of course, that I'm going overseas for work, so you'll have the property all to yourself, until Jaden gets you a house," Tom said, stepping into the room. "You have a lot of guests, Jaden. Ready to see them all?"
"Sure. Why not?" Jaden asked, and then smiled as Adrian entered the room, Sapphire wrapped in his arm, and then Baron, Drake, Bartholomew, Christopher, and Forrest.
Jaden and Angel were permitted to leave the next day, and they went immediately to Angel's house in upstate New York, accompanied by a marriage certificate. Tom tactfully left the newlyweds to themselves and took a plane to Europe.
The first thing Jaden did, upon placing his small amount of belongings in the living room, was take a shower. It had seemed like so long since he had done that, and he still had blood on him, both his and Val's, and he wanted it off.
When he was finished, and was dressed in a dark green shirt and jeans, he searched the house for Angel, and found that she wasn't there. He had a fairly decent idea where she was, and so, not taking the time to pull on a pair of shoes, he left the house and began to run, making his way towards the meadow.
He didn't have the super speed he had once had, but he could still move quickly enough, and he arrived at the meadow in record time. The sun was just beginning to set, casting golden, fiery, and pink rays across the sky. The light illuminated a lone figure, standing in the distance, her long hair blowing to the side in a warm, gentle breeze. Her hair looked red in the sunlight, contrasting beautifully against her white blouse. She turned her head slightly, when she heard him coming, and then smiled, enjoying the fiery red highlights in his golden strands.
"You look content," she smiled, gazing down as he put his hands to her back and drew her closer.
"You look beautiful," he answered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He took her hands in his and then intertwined their fingers. She laughed as he began to dance, dipping her low and then pulling her back up again. He twirled her, and then brought her in close.
"You and your dancing," she chuckled. "I can never keep up with you."
"You always keep up with me, Mrs. Princeton."
"We're married now. Somehow, that seems strange," Angel said as he waltzed with her.
"How so?" he smiled.
"Because you were a vampire," she said, gazing down at her necklace. "Why is this not yet completely red?"
"Give it a little time," he said, moving his lips to her cheek. "And give us a little more time."
She sighed and then laughed.
"I couldn't be happier, Jaden."
"Really?" he chuckled and then kissed her deeply, moving his hands to her shoulders. He was delighted when she wrapped her arms around his neck and let him pick her up and twirl her. She smiled against his mouth, as he didn't let her go, and moved her hands to his hair. She then took his hands and pulled them away from her. To his surprise, she slipped out of his arms and began to run, laughing, her hair flying behind her. She turned her head to look at him, still running, inviting him to join this game of chase.
He chuckled and then took off after her, letting the wind whip at his face as he chased. He got close enough to touch her, but before he could, she dodged to the side and kept going, racing straight towards the house.
"You've definitely lost your powers! Ghost would have been able to catch me and spin me around before I could blink!" she called over her shoulder.
"Are you missing Ghost?" Jaden asked, his eyes bright with pleasure.
"Mm… Maybe," she called back.
"I don't think a normal human would have been stabbed in the stomach and then would have been able to run a few days later," Jaden laughed.
"Yes, but even a human guy could catch up to me!"
Jaden put in an extra ounce of speed and then grabbed hold of her, pulling her hard against him so they didn't both fall over.
"I take it back! I take it back!" Angel squealed.
"Too late now. You provoked me," he chuckled, pressing his lips to her neck.
She closed her eyes, letting herself catch her breath, and then turned her head to look into his eyes.
"I don't know what I would have done if I had ever lost you," she said quietly.
He didn't answer, but turned her around and took her hands in his. He then moved his right hand, putting it in his shirt pocket, and pulled out a black velvet case.
"I've been keeping this for you, ever since I realized I loved you," he said, opening the case.
Her eyes widened when she saw the ring set that was there. There was a beautiful diamond ring, shining up at her, and then a wedding band with tiny diamonds encircling it.
"These are beautiful," she whispered as he took the rings out and placed them gently on her finger.
"Not as beautiful as I wanted to give you, but when I first realized I loved you, I bought these, knowing they would match your necklace," he said, tenderly lifting her necklace so the charm rested in his palm.
"When did you first realize you loved me?" Angel asked, her eyes gazing up into his.
"You were running down an alley," he said quietly. "I remember it clearly. It was the third time I saw you after realizing you were the girl in the prophecy. You stopped, pivoted, and then looked straight up, straight into my face. There was such defiance, and yet such purity, to you. I wanted you, right then and there, to know what I was, to understand me and to love me, for I certainly wanted to take you and love you."
"So you became the human boy, Jaden," Angel said, closing her eyes and leaning back against the house wall, remembering.
"I did."
"And I did fall in love with you," Angel smiled, opening her eyes to see his nose nearly touching hers, his hands pressing against the wall on either side of her, trapping her in. "For everything that you were and still are."
He smiled, touching her nose with his own.
"I'm not letting you go this time," he whispered, his breath touching her lips.
"Did you just let me go when I ran last time?" she asked, closing her eyes against his warmth.
"You think you could have slipped right out of the arms of a vampire?" he chuckled.
"Pretty wishful thinking, huh?" she whispered, pushing herself off the wall slightly to press her body closer to his.
"I would say so," he breathed and then pushed his lips against hers.
She was barely given a chance to breathe as she reacted to his touch, deepening her kiss, getting as close as she possibly could to him as he wrapped his arms around her. He moved her towards the house door, letting his hands move up her back to her neck, and then letting his fingers weave through her hair. She could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest as he pushed her back against the door, her hands gripping him tightly to her, heat washing over her body as his kisses became more passionate. She heard his hand slip to the doorknob, and then stumbled back as the door opened behind her. He held her tightly, preventing her from falling, and then pushed one hand back to slam the door shut.
He moved his mouth to her neck, trailing kisses along her cheek to get there, and then muttered against her skin as her hands found his hair.
"I love you."
"I love you too," she gasped, barely able to breathe as his passion intensified.
Visions of Ghost fluttered through her mind as she responded to him, truly enjoying their closeness. There were parts of that vampire, she realized, that hadn't been so terrible. He had such fervor for life, such a passion, and such a sincere desire to love her. She looked forward to what the future would bring them.
When morning arrived, Angel awoke to see Jaden stretched out next to her, one arm around her, his head tilted to the side, letting a few blonde strands lay against his eye. She smiled and then slid out of bed, pulling a bathrobe on over her pajamas. As she tied the bathrobe closed, a stray beam of light fluttered across her neck, and a red glint caused her to look down to her necklace.
There wasn't a trace of black left. There, against her chest, was a beautiful, large, pure ruby, surrounded by tiny, magnificent diamonds.
Jaden was fully human.
Jaden murmured something in his sleep and pulled his arm towards him, as though trying to pull Angel closer. His eyes immediately opened when he realized that there was nothing in his hold, and he sat up to see Angel standing at the foot of the bed, the necklace held in her hand.
"It's completely ruby, isn't it?" he asked, sliding out of the bed and moving towards her.
She nodded and then opened her hand to show him the necklace.
"So much for the fangs, the passion for blood, the super power and speed, and the ability to transport," Jaden chuckled, closing his hand back over the necklace and smiling at her. "It took longer than I thought it would."
"I think it was just waiting," Angel whispered, studying his eyes. "Waiting for the vampire to give himself up."
Jaden nodded and leaned forward, pressing his lips softly to her forehead.
"We have a long road ahead of us, Darling."
"Shall we sing 'Absolute Beginners' again?" Angel teased.
"Nope," he said, hugging her lovingly. "No lyrics could possibly explain what we have."
Angel smiled gently and rested her head against his chest. She closed her eyes as she heard his heart beating, steadily, humanly, beneath her ear. So much lay head, but she wasn't afraid. She couldn't be with him at her side.
So there it is! The conclusion of "Nocturnal!" What did you all think? And, just out of curiosity, did you have a particular favorite character? I have a sequel to this story, "Blood Moon," and a sequel to that one, "Night Guardian." Would you like me to post those on here as well? Thanks so much for all the reviews!
Code Green