Betrayal (The Forever Series) (15 page)

So come to me and I will leave this place for yours. I will leave this world to be with you in yours.

Fraser

I carefully fold the piece of paper and insert it back into the envelope. I push it under the ink blotter, out of sight, and stand to go and find my husbands.

Chapter 9

Buckinghamshire, England, September 2013 – Constantine

“Are you absolutely certain?” he asks Nico quietly.

“Yes, sir,” Nico replies into the phone. “It tracks, I’m afraid.”

“Very well, leave it with me to deal with,” Constantine says, clenching his fist.

“Are you sure?” Nico asks.

“Yes, this is a delicate situation. I will handle it. I assume I don’t need to remind you that if Aefre hears about this in any way whatsoever before I am ready to tell her, it will be your head.” Constantine hears Nico gulp at the threat and it pleases him. He is fond of Nico. Very fond of him. He is without doubt one of the only three people in this world that he cares about. Not that he would ever admit that to him, or anyone else for that matter, but he would protect him at all costs--has done so many times--but it still pleases Constantine to know that Nico hasn’t lost all of his fear of him.

“Of course,” Nico murmurs and Constantine hangs up. This is an interesting turn of events. He has no idea quite what to do with the news. First things though, he is going to confront Cole about it. This serves two purposes: one, he wants Cole to know that he knows his secret and two, to ensure that it is in fact accurate
intel. Nico has never let him down, but this is a rather enormous occurrence and he has to be absolutely certain of the facts before he tells all to his beautiful wife. He still can’t believe his luck that she forgave him his actions and came back for him. He had his serious doubts that she would, but he should have known that she wouldn’t abandon him. She can’t stay away from him any longer than he can stay away from her. The mere fact that Cole suggested and entered into this arrangement is proof of how afraid he is that Aefre will leave him. This was his way of ensuring his future with her and it was a smart move on his behalf. Constantine never would have given him enough credit to think it up on his own. Aefre must have had some influence over his decision, although she looked as surprised as he felt when Cole brought it up. One thing that makes Constantine angry, apart from the fact that he has to share her still, is the fact that since they got married, he has spent two days with her. Well, two days where she has been awake. It is unacceptable and if he ever gets his hands on Remiel, he will kill him, regardless of his “Primary” status. Ugh, he scoffs silently. Primary Vampire. What a kick in the gut that was. And one that every one of Aefre’s boys seemed more than delighted to tell him once they discovered what happened to her. No longer the top of the pecking order, it seems. He should have been expecting it, in all honesty. There was a cursory mention of them in the book that Tiamat wrote and that he is still trying to find the time and effort to translate. He didn’t really understand the context at the time, but it makes perfect sense now. He is still desperate to undo Sebastian’s turning. Even more so now that he has formed an attachment with Aefre. There is nothing he can do about this whole disgusting Fae business, but he sure as Hell will try to do something about the Vampire side. He has to be in control at all times, and he will find a way to take away the Vampire in Sebastian. He will lose his charge, but he has long since come to realize that the only one that really, truly matters to him is his sweet Aefre. He has an infatuation with Sebastian, of course. A love for him that goes back millennia. But he knows it can be squashed as long as he ends up with the only thing he wants. And he has. He will bide his time and in due course push Cole completely out of this relationship. He will take back what is rightly his and this time it will be forever. Her relationship with Devon is tenuous at the moment and all he needs to do is give it the necessary tug to break it, which he will do when the time is right, he already knows how. And he isn’t unduly worried about Cade. The man seems quite happy to end his life, so Constantine will let him do it. The less he has to be directly involved in these betrayals, the better. He has done and will continue to do everything he can to break her tie to every single one of these creatures that has a hold on her. He hates it. He hates the treachery. He has lived through what it does to them when she finds out and he knows he has run out of chances. He offered up his own penance after she found out about the spelling. He offered her something he knew she wouldn’t refuse, but see as acceptable. Something that she knew was so difficult for him, that she could understand he was repentant for his sins. She can never, ever find out that he still continues in his efforts and he will ensure that it stays that way. This new information on Cole is the perfect stake to aim straight at him, as soon as he is ready. He cannot look too eager to share. He has to take it slowly and make sure that he doesn’t get caught in the crossfire.

He regards himself in the mirror and straightens his shirt cuffs. He will never get used to the casual look that everyone adopts around here. Aefre has become more and more idle with her appearance as of late and he must rectify that. He doesn’t like her wandering around looking like a teenager. She is a woman, a Queen, and she needs to start dressing the part. At least he has complete control over that now, he muses. Once she is healed he will make sure her sartorial neglect is addressed. He frowns then as he thinks about her wounds. It is a grave concern for him that they aren’t healing. She is weak and that won’t do. He needs her strong and able and this fragility
has to go. It unnerves him. Makes him think back to when he rescued her from Lance and she was completely frail and defenseless. He loves taking care of her, make no mistake about that, but he loves it when he knows it is an option, not a necessity. He will die for her if need be. He will protect her with everything that he has, but it reassures him to know that she can look after herself. Well, most of the time. She attracts trouble more than any other person he has ever known. He sighs and turns around as she enters the room.

“Like what you see?” she smirks weakly at him, catching him having a moment of vanity, and he smiles at her.

“I do now,” he says and bends down to kiss her. He daren’t touch her in case he hurts her and it is killing him. He wants to make love to her so badly he doesn’t think he can hold back another minute. That, however, he is fairly certain will be off the table for a while. He likes his participants to be actively involved, and she is most definitely not up to scratch.

“You are too sweet,” she replies.
“And a liar. Move, I want to see.”

“Err,” he says and blocks her way with a frown. She won’t like what she sees and why cause her more pain?

“Move!” she says with more force and he steps to the side knowing she will see eventually. The look of horror on her face at her ghastly appearance makes him want to both laugh at her own vanity, but also take her in his arms and comfort her.

“Seriously?” she asks, bringing her hand up to her sunken cheeks. She peers closer and traces the deep black circles under her eyes. Her skin is a sickly yellow color and she is even
more gaunt than her natural state. “Jesus,” she whispers and turns her back. He takes pity on her at her mournful gaze and he does hold her then. She clings to him and he is happy. He sweeps her up into his arms and carries her to the bed.

“Rest, Aefre. That is the only thing we can do for now,” he says.

“No,” she shakes her head. “Blood-soaked marigolds.”

“Excuse me?” Constantine asks her.

“Other Liv said to soak marigolds in your blood and put them on the bites. It will draw out the poison and heal them,” she explains.

“Other Liv?” he says in disgust. “You have seen her?” He cannot stand that woman. She is vile and repulsive and everything that he never wants his own dear charge to be.

“Mm, she paid me a visit earlier,” she says evasively.

What is she hiding this time?
Always with the secrets. He wishes with a grimace that he had that telepathic connection to her that Lincoln has. At least he would know her every thought and there would be nothing she could hide from him.

“…so after she got through berating me she told me about the marigolds,” Aefre says and he realizes he has missed half of her explanation due to his errant thoughts.

“Oh, well. I am not sure we should take anything that woman has to say at face value. What if it is the opposite and it hurts you further?” he says.

“Why would she want to do that?” she asks, puzzled, and he mentally shakes his head at her. Far, far too trusting for
her own good. She always has been. He, personally, wouldn’t trust Other Liv an inch, especially with regard to Aefre’s life. And he hates it when she is called “Other Liv.” As far as he is concerned she is just “Liv.” His charge is Aefre. He will never think of her any other way, ever again.

“Because she is an evil, distasteful creature that would probably find entertainment in your further destruction,” he says and she looks upset by his words, but she has to know.

“Well, we have no other options so I want to try it. If it fails then I can’t actually feel any worse than I already do. Please, my love. Arrange it.” She touches his cheek and looks at him with that look that melts his heart and heats up other parts of him. He would do anything for her when she looks at him like this. Against his better judgment, he nods at her and says, “I will get Jess to sort it.”

“Thank you,” she says and kisses him, and then has to ruin the moment by asking, “Where is Cole?”

He shrugs, but it does remind him of that conversation they are going to have. “I will go and find him while you rest,” he says.

She smiles at him and she is fast asleep before he has left the room. Good, he thinks as he closes the door quietly. He doesn’t want any interference or possible interruptions.

Constantine finds Cole downstairs, about to head up to see Aefre. “She’s sleeping,” he says. “Leave her for a minute. There is something I wish to discuss with you.”

Cole looks back at him, perplexed, and Constantine is quite looking forward to this.
A nice bomb to drop out of the blue. You always get a nice, true reaction when no one is expecting the accusation.

He leads Cole into the library and closes the door. He indicates that Cole should sit, and he does, while Constantine remains standing.

“What is this about?” Cole asks with more than a hint of suspicion.

“You tell me,” Constantine replies glibly. “Got any secrets to share?”

Cole shakes his head. “Err, no,” he says.

“Wrong answer,” Constantine retorts. “I happen to know of a certain ex of yours that has a rather large secret that you are fully aware of.”

Cole pales and starts to sweat. Ha! Constantine thinks. Gotcha.

Cole stands and says, “How do you know about that?”

Constantine debates that point for a few moments. Reveal his source or not? Seems like it won’t make much difference in the grand scheme of things. “Nico,” he says and Cole, to his credit, doesn’t look surprised. “Certain members of his team are in charge of the mountains of fan mail that get sent to you. I cannot allow anything harmful near Aefre, so it gets sifted and discarded. This one letter, that I believe got passed on to you a few hours ago, is a very interesting read.”

“Have you told her?” Cole asks him quietly. He isn’t at all offended that is the first question that gets asked.

“No, not yet. I thought it prudent under the circumstances to find out if it is in fact the truth before I hurt her with something so profound,” Constantine says and Cole looks relieved. It gets replaced with an almost shocked expression and he sits again.

“I haven’t even had time to process this. Carolyn has been trying to contact me for months. I’ve been ignoring her as I had nothing to say to her,” he blurts out.

“Mm, perhaps you should have acknowledged this sooner,” Constantine says. “Does she speak the truth? Is it yours?”

Cole shrugs. “I have no idea. I mean if what she says about the dates is true, then it is a strong possibility. I was with her right up until the day I first went out with Liv,” he admits and has the grace to look sheepish about it. Constantine has a flare of rage go up in him that this man had dared to treat Aefre so badly, keeping this other woman around in case things didn’t work out. It is infuriating.

“Nico has checked the dates and they are what she says they are. Now all we need to know is if the baby is yours,” Constantine says.

“Fuck,” Cole says, dropping his head into his hands. “How can this be happening?”

Constantine shrugs. He has no experience in this area.

“How do we find out?” Cole asks desperately.

“Do you have anything from your former life that you could use as a DNA sample?” Constantine asks. It’s a long shot, but it’s the only way outside of casting a spell, which will most definitely involve too many people and Aefre will find out.

Cole thinks for a minute and then looks up. “Maybe,” he says slowly.

Constantine waits for more and then has to prod Cole for further information. “Well? What is it?”