Eternal Promise: (The Cursed Series, Book 5)

on the couch next to Abby. Trent sat on the arm of the couch while Sean and Whitney sat on the loveseat across from us.
“Is this some sort of intervention?” Abby laughed. “What’s with all the serious faces?”
I cleared my throat. “There’s something we have to tell you, and it’s going to sound crazy, but please just listen, okay?”
Abby angled her body toward me. “What’s going on?” She glanced around the room. “You’re scaring me.”
Trent rested his hand on my shoulder, his touch reassuring. No one else was speaking up, so I guessed that meant it was my job to tell her.
“You know how Isach is a witch, right?” I asked.
“Chloe!” Abby’s eyes widened, like she couldn’t believe I’d just blurted that out in front of everyone.
“It’s okay,” Isach said, taking her hand. “Everyone here knows.”
“Oh.” Abby’s shoulders sagged. “Okay, so what about it?”
I glanced at Trent, silently pleading for some help. How did I tell her vampires were real, and that she was currently sitting in a room with three of them?
“We’re vampires,” Trent said, stating it as plainly as if he were commenting on the weather.
I smacked his leg and gave him a dirty look.
“What?” He shrugged. “It’s much easier to just say it.”
I rolled my eyes.
Abby stared at us like we’d suddenly sprouted two heads. “This is a joke, right? Like, y’all are pranking me or something?”
“No, we’re not,” Whitney said, her tone much more sympathetic than Trent’s had been. “Me, my brother, Sean, Trent, and Jax are vampires.”
Abby continued to stare, and I worried she might be going into shock. I didn’t know what was worse, silent staring or hysterical screaming. Abby was never this quiet.
“If witches are real, and you know they are, then why can’t vampires be real, too?” I asked carefully.
I dove headfirst into the whole truth, right from the moment I arrived in Keene Valley and met Trent. I told Abby every last detail about the curse, being taken by Hannah, how Jax was responsible for bringing my dad back into my life, how Trent had wiped my memories and then gave them back because I was being hunted by witches, learning the truth that I was the only one who could break the curse, being kidnapped by Ivy and held prisoner with Jax, and how Isach helped rescue me.
The only thing I didn’t tell her was Isach’s part in the Hannah thing and that she’d known him previously. That would only complicate things even more, and I couldn’t risk her dumping him. Though, eventually, we’d have to tell her that, too. We couldn’t expect her to make such a life-altering decision about immortality when she didn’t have all the information about her past.
“So… you’re marrying a vampire?” she asked.
After everything I told her, that was her only question? “Yes,” I said.
“You’re right. This is crazy.” She stood, and Isach stood right behind her. Then, she laughed. Hard and long. “You really expect me to believe this?”
“It’s the truth,” I said.
Trent sighed heavily, stood, and then bared his fangs. Abby screamed and backed up into Isach, who steadied her. She whirled around and buried her face against his chest.
“You’re a jerk,” Isach said, holding Abby tightly.
“Was that really necessary?” I glared at Trent.
“Did you have any other ideas how to prove it to her?” he asked, a trace of humor lacing his words. I was going to kill him.
I stood, gently placing my hand on Abby’s back. “Hey, it’s okay. Look.”
Slowly, Abby peeked over her shoulder. Trent stood next to me, grinning, no signs of his fangs. He was enjoying this way too much, and he wasn’t being the least bit helpful.
“See?” I said. “Do you believe me now?”
“It’s okay, Abby.” Whitney remained seated, which was probably smart. The last thing we needed to do was make Abby feel like we were ganging up on her. “We won’t hurt you.”
“Do it again,” Abby said to Trent.
He once again bared his fangs, his face contorted. This time, Abby didn’t scream, but she shrank back against Isach. Her expression vacillated between horrified and curious. I watched her closely, praying she’d calm down enough to sit and listen to everything else we had to say.
Abby’s gaze landed on me. “You’ve known this all this time, and you never told me?”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t.”
“Then why are you telling me now?” She crossed her arms.
My gaze darted to Isach, who gave a small nod. He needed to be the one to tell her the rest of the story.
“Come with me. Please?” Isach took her hand, and Abby followed, though she kept glancing over her shoulder as if she didn’t trust us not to attack her.
Isach led her into the back bedroom, and when I heard the door shut, my shoulders slumped.
Trent slid his arms around my stomach and kissed my cheek. “She’ll be okay,” he whispered.
“Yeah, she reacted a lot better than I thought she would,” Sean said and stood. “I’d better find Jax, Colt, and Wyatt and give them a heads up before they get back here.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Whitney said. As soon as Sean left, Whitney wrestled me and Trent into a group hug. She squealed. “You two are going to have a baby!”
I laughed and hugged her back. Trent wriggled free and winked at me.
“Oh, I get to plan your baby shower.” Whitney bounced with excitement. “Are you guys going to do it right away or wait a while?”
“Uh…” I hadn’t really thought about it, and we certainly hadn’t talked about. We’d only made the decision to even do this less than an hour ago. There was a lot we still needed to figure out.
Jax busted in through the front door, eyes dark, muscles tensed and ready for a fight. “Are you two incompletely insane?” he shouted, his wild gaze dancing between me and Trent.
Oh, crap. I turned to face him when Trent gently shoved me behind him. I grabbed his arm. “Do not fight with him,” I said, but