Trials (The Forever Series, Book 6) (19 page)

“Oh? And?”

“They are all in, of course. I expected nothing less.”

“How does that work then? Don’t they already have Packs?” I
ask.

“Yes, but you can leave if you are asked by another Pack to
join them. There is usually a big fight over it but seeing as you are Queen, no
one really wants to take you on.” He smiles at me. “I don’t think it will be a
problem.”

I laugh. “Well at least there are some people out there who
recognize my authority,” I say.

“Liv,” he chides me. “You know we all respect you. But it is
different for us as we are so close to you. Intimate with you. Those that don’t
know you, haven’t seen your vulnerable side, it is easier for them to treat you
accordingly.”

Well I suppose he kind of has a point, but I really do have
to go now so I kiss him goodbye and with reassurances that I will call for him
if I need him, he watches me Astral out.

Cole isn’t back yet which is good in a way. It is
unnecessary for him to know where I have come from. I already showered at
Lincoln’s so I just sit and relax for a few minutes before he comes home. I
think over what Cade said. I really do need some discipline in my life. I want
to get back to training and mediating and I think Xane needs to sit with me and
instruct me on Demon magick. A girl can only pick up on so much by herself.
This Thirteen character is not pleasant and I don’t think in my current state
of
not
being the most powerful creature in all the Realms (massive
bugbear, that one) I can beat it. I reach a couple of decisions which are not
going to go down well with anybody, except my husband, I think with a small
smile. But tough shit. I said last week, it is my show and I will run it as I
see fit. This is how I see fit. If anyone has complaints they can take it up
with Jess. She is, after all, my assistant and that is her job. Poor girl. She
is going to get an earful.

Shortly thereafter Cole returns and I greet him warmly with
a deep kiss. He greets me with a quick shag on the dining table and then we are
happy again. I tell him of my plans and he is delighted but then concerned
about CK’s reaction.

“Don’t worry about him. He wants what is best for me and
this is what is best. I…” I trail off.

“What is it?” he asks, concerned.

“I can’t defeat this thing. It is coming at me half-mast and
It is still so much stronger than me, I have to do something, Cole. Something
drastic.”

“I get it. I will support you and make them see reason. All
of them,” he adds forcefully. “You said in your message earlier that you know
more about It?”

“Yes. Cade, Nico, and a woman called Serena dug up quite a
bit. Xane wasn’t all wrong. Here.” I hand him the pages.

He takes them from me and proceeds to read them at normal
speed.

“Baby,” I say to him after the third page and I am beyond
impatient now.

“Yes, my love?” He looks up from his reading.

“You do know that you can speed read now. As a Vampire, like
everything else, you can do it ten times as fast?”

“Yes, I know. I just want to read it properly so I don’t
miss anything,” he says and turns back to it.

Oh well, in that case I will go and get myself a drink or
two. I pour a glass of red wine. I have a craving for it which is bizarre as I
am very much a white wine girl, and then I stop midway of pouring it. No, not
just red wine. Red wine mixed with blood. I grab a bottle out of the secret
compartment of the fridge and top up the glass. Mm, delicious. I take a big
gulp and then freeze and stare down at my still bare feet. No high heels, not
even shoes in general, and cravings. I swear to the almighty god if I start to
get fat that woman is dead. Deader than dead.

I swiftly finish off my drink and pour another, it is just
too delicious. I make one for Cole as well so he doesn’t think too much of my
weird cocktail.

“What is this?” he asks, looking up. “Red wine and blood?
Bit of a cliché don’t you think?” he says with a chuckle.

“It’s yummy. Taste it.”

He takes it off me with a sniff and takes a small sip. “Oh,
that is nice,” he says and takes another bigger sip.

He finishes off his reading and hands me the pages back and
says, “Wow. That is pretty out there. You definitely need time to focus, my
love. Especially if you think that you aren’t strong enough.”

“I know I’m not. But let’s just keep that between
ourselves.”

He nods, smug that we have our own secrets to keep.

I have missed him and tell him so.

“I have missed you too,” he says with a yawn.

“Are you tired baby?” I ask him.

“I am. Unusually so,” he says with a frown.

I frown back at him because I know why. I have been too far
away from him and not focused on him for months now. This definitely has to
stop. “I’m sorry. This is my fault. You need me and I haven’t been here
properly for you.”

“No, don’t blame yourself. You have other things to do,” he
says in a way that only a charge to a sire would say and I sigh. I know I do
the same with CK and he gets mad at me for protecting him. I know how he feels.

“Come to bed.” I pull him up by the hand. “To sleep,” I add.

“It’s only 8 PM,” he says. “And I don’t want to sleep, I
want you.”

“We will sleep together and then when we wake up we will be
together. I just want to hold you and look after you, please,” I wheedle.

“Well when you put it like that, I am not going to refuse
that offer,” he says and lets me pull him into our bedroom. There is no way I
am going to sleep if at all possible after this afternoon’s horror show, but he
needs to and I will make him. I still light my candles, with an added Demonic
protection boost, which has the flames flaring up red for a few moments to
Cole’s astonishment.

“What did you do?”

“Gave them a bit of kick!”

“You don’t say,” he says and strips off. “Sure I can’t
interest you in a bit of nookie before sleep?”

I giggle at him, “Afterwards. Come here. Let me hold you.”

He dives on the bed and snuggles under the covers with me.
He leans his head on my chest and relaxes as I stroke his hair and within
seconds he is asleep. His rhythmic breathing soon lulls me into a doze and I
struggle to stay awake. I don’t want that thing coming back. I ponder about
that dream. Something is bothering me about it. Apart from the obvious
brutality of it, of course.

Oh yes, Dream Lance said he was trying to show me our real
sire, but that I wasn’t remembering the visions. What on earth did he mean?
Probably just trying to mess with my head. Real Lance thought that the real CK
was the monster inside him, but I don’t think that. I see the good in him,
especially now, especially after these last two days. We have become so much
closer and he is starting to accept me as an equal, not his charge to dominate.
I recall when we were outside and I asked him what happened to his sire
dominance and he said it had been replaced with your soon-to-be-husband’s love.
I mentally shrug. I won’t think any more of it. Dream Lance lies and I won’t
listen to him and question my sire. Cole shifts in his sleep and I move with
him, now putting my head on his chest. He pulls me close and I pull the covers
up around us. Our very own little cocoon. A couple of hours have passed and I
just can’t stay awake any longer. I am exhausted and I vow to just close my
eyes for a few minutes…

“How did it go?” Sebastian asks. He is sitting in his
suite as CK stands looking out of the window.

“Interesting. She won’t agree to it now but she will.
Christ. She argued like a bitch though. Had to know every little detail. She is
so tenacious,” he says fondly.

“You told her?” Sebastian asks in surprise. “You told her
I don’t have sex with Vampires?”

“I had to. She pushed me so far into a corner with her
questions I had no choice. She knows, of course, about Vivienne though. That
you spell her.”

“I’m sure she must have wondered why I don’t do that with
everyone.”

“She did. I explained it to her in terms she understood.”

“Oh. Well, thank you for trying. I guess I will just have
to wait then.”

“There is another option,” CK says casually.

Sebastian looks up at that, “What?”

“She mentioned something about the future that she
learned that was…interesting.”

“The future? No, you can’t tell me anything about the
future. It could change everything.”

“So could this information, for you, now.”

“What if you tell me and it fucks things up for you and
her?”

“It won’t. I won’t let it. I can assure you.”

“Tell me then.” He sits forward.

“Tell me first when you plan on spelling her again. It
has been a couple of days.”

“I don’t know. I told you, when the time is right.”

“I was prepared to wait a few months, but now, having
seen us together in the future happy, and she is finally accepting now about
the baby, I don’t want to wait any longer than I have to.”

“Baby? What baby?” Sebastian asks in suspicion.

“Our baby,” CK says with a small smile. “We are in the
process of…how did she put it…oh yes…bringing me up to scratch,” he snorts to
himself, “…to father a child with her.”

“What!??” Sebastian shouts jumping up off the sofa.
“What? How is that even possible?”

“Nothing you need concern yourself with. But you see how
pressing this is. I need her free to be with me. I plan on changing the future
myself, my boy, so what I have to tell you shouldn’t make much difference.”

“Fine, I will spell her again tomorrow.”

“Good. I am sure I don’t have to tell you that what I
have just told you stays between us?”

“Of course. Christ. I never, ever thought I would see
this side of you. Marriage was enough to floor me but then you give her half of
your estate and now you are talking about babies. Fuck me,” he says, rubbing
his hand over his face.

“I love her. We have, in her words, arsed about for too
long now. It’s ridiculous. She is mine and I will make her so as soon as
possible. I thought letting her know I was going to fight for her would sway
her somewhat but I underestimated her love for him. So I will fight dirty, and
you are my secret weapon.” He turns to Sebastian with a winning smile that
makes Sebastian glow.

“I still think you should do this yourself, but I won’t
let you down,” he says quietly.

“I know you won’t.”

“Now tell me, about my other option,” he says eagerly now
that he isn’t bothered about messing with the future.

“The girl, Jess,” CK says.

“Jess? What has she got to do with anything?” he asks,
confused.

“She mentioned that you and Jess are married in the
future.” CK drops that bombshell casually.

“What?” Sebastian says again. “Married? So she knows? She
knows about me?”

“Well,” CK says clearing his throat, “she said no. That
you spell the girl not to bite you.”

“Oh.” He looks disappointed. “That’s upsetting. Why would
I marry her then?”

“I have no idea ‘Bastian,” CK snaps at him. “The point
is, she said that why couldn’t we trust her as she is so close. She has a
point. She wouldn’t dare betray us.”

“No, we tried that before. You sired someone specifically
and she betrayed us. I have even sired someone and she betrayed us. We can’t
trust anyone but her.”

Come again, now? They sired specifically for the purpose?
And wait now, that raises the interesting question of Sebastian siring at all.
They have gone to extensive lengths to keep this a secret. I thought I
understood before, but maybe I don’t really understand the power that he has.

“I’m not so sure,” CK says. “It is worth thinking about.”

“Maybe,” Sebastian says uncertainly. “I like her. She is
fun and clever. I would hate to have to kill her if it didn’t work out. Plus,
not so sure that would go down well with her sire. Who happens to be her
charge, who happens to be your charge.”

Okay, something has struck me odd about this conversation
that I am eavesdropping on. Am I eavesdropping? I am unclear on where I am in
the room, just that I can see and hear everything and yet they can’t see me…

Anyway back to what is odd… they are definitely talking
about me but they don’t call me by name. It’s weird.

Oh, and don’t think that I have missed the fact that they
seem to be plotting against me to get me away from Cole. I am so stupefied by
that, I haven’t quite processed it yet. There will be words and plenty of them
when I have wrapped by brain around it.

“Oh don’t worry about that. Technicalities. I have given
you something to think about and now you will do what I have asked you to do.
Get her away from her husband as soon as possible,” CK says.

“I thought you said go easy on her?” Sebastian asks,
concerned now.

“Screw that. Like you said, a few dizzy spells aren’t
going to kill her.”

I awake with a start. My head is pounding and my mouth is
dry. “You see, Aefre. I have been trying to show you what our sire is really
like,” says a voice in my head, Lance’s voice, but he isn’t here. I reach for
the water, scanning the room again in case he is lurking in the shadows. I
don’t see anything. Wait? What was I looking for?

Eurgh. Why is my head aching so much? I glance at Cole who
is still fast asleep and then at the clock. It’s only midnight. Did I have
another dream? I don’t remember it so I suppose not. I creep out of bed and go
to get some blood. It eases the pain in my head instantly and I feel tons
better. I make my way back to the bedroom and decide it is time for Cole to
wake up. I carefully climb back onto the bed and pull the sheets down, he stirs
but doesn’t wake. I grin mischievously to myself as I cup his balls in my hand
and gently massage them, flicking my fingers over his cock to bring him to
attention. He wiggles and I plunge my mouth over him, sucking him until he is
rock hard and moaning in his sleep.