Ever After by Kate Serine Read Free Book Online Page A

toward the cabs lined up out front.
    For a moment, I thought she would dart inside one, but she abruptly changed direction, running down Fifth Avenue toward Seventy-ninth Street. Shifting now was definitely out of the question, but though her legs carried her swiftly, I was quickly gaining ground. I was within a few yards of her when she broke away, turning off into Central Park. Although the paths were lined with trees, their coverage wasn’t nearly dense enough for her to lose me. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder, giving me a glimpse of her face, but it was too brief for me to make out more than wide dark eyes.
    As we reached a stretch of denser woods, she left the path, seeking the safety of the foliage, but I was too close now and too tired of this bullshit to let the chase go on much longer. As soon as I was convinced that we were beyond the curious eyes of those in the park, I shifted.
    As I slipped out of the rift, I made a grab, my hand closing around her arm before she even realized I was there. I spun her around, snatching the hood from her head in the same movement.
    And then I forgot to breathe.
    In my shock, I released her, staggering back with a choked cry, stumbling over my own feet and ass-planting in the fallen leaves. For a long moment, I could only stare up at the woman before me, unable to accept what my eyes were seeing.
    â€œ You, ” I finally managed to croak, tears of disbelief blurring my vision. “It’s you. ”

Chapter 4
    S he took a few hurried steps, ready to bolt again, but then halted midstride, indecision making her falter. With a resigned exhale, she turned back to me and swallowed hard, her brows furrowed. Her chest was heaving and a sob hovered in her voice when she whispered, “Hello, love.”
    I pulled off my shades and pressed the heel of my hand to my eyes, clearing away the stinging blur. “Who are you?” I demanded, although my voice was cracked, ragged with both sorrow and tentative joy. “Why do you torment me with this humorless jest?”
    She offered me a sad smile. “Tormenting you was never my intention.”
    She slowly came toward me then knelt beside me. My breath shot from my lungs when she took my face in her hands, her touch cool on my skin. My own hands trembled as I brought them up to cover hers. I closed my eyes, committing to memory the tenderness of her fingertips, knowing that at any moment this illusion would vanish, leaving me heartbroken once more.
    â€œThis isn’t real,” I rasped, squeezing my eyes tighter, shaking my head, not willing to indulge this cruel fantasy. “I saw you fall ... I watched you die.”
    â€œAye, you did,” she murmured, her thumbs smoothing away the tears that had made their way to my cheeks. “And for that I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. . . .” And then she kissed me, an all too brief brush of her lips against mine. And I no longer gave a damn if she was real or imagined.
    My arms went around her, dragging her into my embrace. I buried my face in her hair, inhaling deeply, the sweet scent of honeysuckle—of her scent—filling my lungs. I shuddered with the strength of my warring emotions—sorrow, anger, elation, heartache, fear—torn between sobbing with joy at having her in my arms again and fury at her for having let me believe she was dead.
    I abruptly took hold of her upper arms and held her away from me, studying her intently, looking for some evidence that the wide dark eyes, pert nose, and defiant chin in that lovely heart-shaped face I’d adored were false, that this was some witch or siren sent to trick me, lure me to some horrifying fate with my own longings.
    My hands moved from her arms to her shoulders, over the silkiness of her hair, reassuring myself that the woman before me was flesh and blood. Then I took her face in my hands, disbelief making my chest heave with ragged breaths.
    â€œYou’re alive,” I