by Juniper Hart
Julia’s eyes became slits, and she rose from the wing chair, stalking toward her daughter.
“You were intimate with him, weren’t you?” the older Aldwin hissed. “I can smell it all over you.”
“Mom, leave me alone.” Lane spun to head toward her room, but Julia grabbed at her arm.
“You’re making a terrible mistake.”
There was an ominous tone to her words, and Lane felt a fission of fear.
“Mom, you’re wrong about the Council and about Henry. They aren’t what you think.”
“You’ll learn the hard way, then,” Julia spat. “I’ve done everything I can for you, and you refuse to see that.”
“You’ve kept me hidden from the world!” Lane exploded, the resentment she’d been building sprouting from her mouth before she could stop herself. “How does that help me? You knew one day I’d be on the Council, and you’ve done nothing to help me prepare for it!”
“Oh, you ingrate!” Julia snapped. “You stupid, ungrateful child! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
“You did warn me. You just didn’t prepare me!” Lane shot back. “And I’m not a child! I’m a full-grown woman who can make her own choices!”
“We’ll see, won’t we?”
Lane threw up her hands in frustration. Nothing she said would change her mother’s mind, that much was clear. “I’m going to bed.”
“I’m sure you must be exhausted doing all that ‘work’ today,” Julia barked back, but Lane ignored her, even though it took every fiber of her being to do it.
Her heart was pounding as she undressed and lay on her single bed, the memory of Henry still fresh on her mind and skin. Her mother had been right—she could smell Henry all over her, and she inhaled deeply to let his scent fill her nostrils.
Nothing that feels this good can be bad, she told herself firmly. I don’t care what Mom believes.
Lane decided that the following day she’d talk to Henry about finding an apartment in the city. She couldn’t keep coming home every night to a fight. She was in love, and Henry was right: nothing should diminish it.
She felt like a small weight had been lifted off her shoulders, knowing that she had decided not to betray the Council.
A slight noise reached her ears, and she instantly recognized it as her mother’s cell ringing.
Who’s calling Mom at this time of night? Lane reasoned it was the hospital, asking her to come in early, but as she closed her eyes, she heard Julia’s voice grow louder.
“—control! She’s entranced!”
Lane sat up and listened, her pulse quickening. Something told her that it was not the hospital and that the phone call was pertaining to her. She slipped her feet over the bed and padded toward the hall, her ears honed to what she was hearing.
Julia had lowered her voice again.
“—do anymore. I… guess I’ll have to let you know if I have any luck, but I don’t think this is going to be easy. I… I think they might be mates.” Her mother paused to listen to whomever spoke on the other end of the call. “Okay. I appreciate it. Let me know if you have any luck. The Council has overextended themselves this time. They almost claimed my daughter once. I won’t let them do it again. Okay, talk soon.”
Julia disconnected the call, and Lane pushed open the door to her mother’s bedroom.
“Who was that?” she demanded. Julia gasped and looked at her.
“Don’t spy on me, Lane! Or is that what they teach you on the Council?”
“You don’t—” Lane stopped, listening as the chime of the Council cell met her ears.
“Oh. No time to lecture your mother now,” Julia chirped maliciously. “Duty calls. You probably have to schedule some toddler’s execution.”
“Mom, the Council wouldn’t ever—”
“You better not leave your lover and new friends waiting,” Julia interrupted. “That could mean your execution.”
Lane grunted and sprinted toward her room, knowing the futility in continuing the conversation. She pulled the cell out from under her pillow.
It was a text from Henry’s number.
We are called to Council. My offices. ASAP.
She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to send a text in response, but before she could, another message came in from Henry.
Sending a car for you. Pls confirm.
Confirmed, she replied, tempted to ask what the meeting was all about. She didn’t know if she should on that phone, though. Their dealings were supposed to be top-secret, after all. Sharing too much information via phone didn’t seem like something she should do.
One day, I’ll be a natural at this, she promised herself, flicking on her bedroom light. I’ll know the protocol no problem.
“What are you doing now?” Julia demanded.
“I’ve got an emergency Council meeting.”
“I bet.”
“Mom,” Lane sighed. “I think it’s a good idea if I get my own place.”
The hurt in Julia’s eyes was unmistakable, but her mother didn’t respond. She only turned from the room and left Lane to finish dressing without a word.
Am I moving too fast? she wondered, staring at her face in the mirror. It was hard to believe so little time had passed. The woman in the mirror didn’t seem to be the same girl who had dreaded the idea of joining the Seven. What made me mature? Henry, or the Council?
Maybe it was a combination of both. She would never really know, but there was an undeniable confidence in her eyes, a wisdom she was sure she’d never possessed before.
Lane heard the sound of a car honking outside, and she rushed toward her bedroom window in surprise. The car was there already?
“Mom, I gotta go. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?” There was no reply, and Lane knew she was being ignored. “Love you!”
She slammed out of the house, purse in hand.
As she approached the sedan, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Marjorie?”
The driver’s side window rolled down, and Marjorie smiled coldly.
“Get in,” she said. “I’m your ride.”
Would Henry have sent Marjorie to pick me up? Lane wondered.
“You’re keeping the Council waiting as it is, Lane. From what I hear, you’re not really in anyone’s good books right now, are you?”
“I…” She looked uncertainly back toward the cottage. I should call Henry and make sure this is—
“If you don’t get in, I’m leaving, and I’m not coming back!” Marjorie threatened. “You can explain to the Council why you couldn’t be bothered to show up for an emergency meeting.”
Lane nodded curtly and hurried around the passenger side of the Lexus.
“I wasn’t expecting you,” she said honestly, and Marjorie smirked.
“The feeling is mutual,” she retorted, peeling out of the yard and heading toward the road. Lane sat uncomfortably, unsure of what to say to the contemptuous vampire at her side.
“I’m sorry you don’t like me—”
“You don’t need to speak to me,” Marjorie interjected. “In fact, I would prefer if you didn’t.”
Lane didn’t know why she was affected by the rebuff, but she was, and she sank back into the seat as Marjorie whipped through the streets without any regard for speed limits or other vehicles. Why would she care? She was immortal. If she got into an accident, Lane would be the only one to die.
That was a morbid thought. As they neared Henry’s offices, however, she wondered if that wasn’t Marjorie’s intention: to kill her.
I shouldn’t have gotten into the car with her, she realized abruptly. I need to call Henry and find out if he really sent her.
Lane knew she was probably being paranoid, but that didn’t stop her from reaching into her purse and pulling out the private cell she’d been given by Henry earlier that day.
“What’s that?” Marjorie asked suddenly, her eyes widening as she looked at the phone in Lane’s hand.
“Uh… a cell?” The question was bi
zarre. What did she think it was?
“Where did you get it?”
Alarm bells began to ring through Lane’s mind, and she cocked her head to the side.
“Doesn’t everyone have a cell phone?” she asked slowly.
Marjorie pursed her lips together, and Lane unlocked the home screen, watching Marjorie through her peripheral vision.
Why does she know so much about me? How could she possibly know I’ve never had a cell before today?
Her fingers were shaking slightly as she fumbled off a text to Henry.
“I wouldn’t bother with that,” Marjorie said, and Lane glanced at her.
“With what?”
“With texting Henry.”
Fear and anger jolted through Lane like a shock.
“For someone who doesn’t want me talking to them, you can’t shut up,” she snapped. “Who I text is none of your damned business.” She was even surprised by how sharp her tone was, but her gaze didn’t falter.
“Well,” Marjorie drawled. “I can see that you have more backbone than your mother let on.”
“What?” Her words made little sense, and Lane was sure that the attorney was screwing with her. Still, Marjorie’s cockiness instilled worry in Lane.
“Your mom. She said you were a lot meeker than you are. It doesn’t matter. You’re still not good enough to be on the Council.”
“Stop the car,” Lane hissed, abruptly aware of the danger she was facing. “Let me out.”
“I can’t,” Marjorie sighed. “You have a Council meeting, remember?”
“What did you do to my mom? Was she talking to you on the phone?”
“Oh, look at that, you even have the power of deductive reasoning!” Marjorie cried. “Still, you’re weak, Lane. The entire Aldwin bloodline is weak now.”
“My grandmother wasn’t weak!” Lane choked. “And I’m not weak, either!”
“At least we can agree that your mother is,” Marjorie chuckled. “She’s batshit crazy, isn’t she? Locking you up like you were some flower that couldn’t be handled. It’s probably for the best. You’ve been out for two days and you’re feisty. I imagine a lifetime would make you formidable.”
“STOP THE CAR!” Lane shouted, grabbing for her phone again. With a single swipe of her hand, Marjorie sent it flying to the floor of the vehicle.
“You can make a jump for it if you want,” Marjorie said conversationally, spinning around a corner at breakneck speed. “Oh, that’s right—you’ll die if you do.”
“You can’t tell me that you have been conspiring with my mother,” Lane stammered. “She loves me. She would never do anything to hurt me.”
“I agree,” Marjorie laughed. “That’s why I had to appeal to her sense of madness. She thinks I’m helping her dissolve the Council.”
“She can’t know you’ve kidnapped me right now!” Lane insisted in disbelief. “There is no way!”
“So much drama for such a boring girl,” Marjorie sighed, pulling toward the offices and stopping before the darkened building. “See? You’re safe and sound.” She nodded toward the lobby. “Have fun at the meeting! Hope they won’t vote to throw you out today.”
Lane stared at her. “That’s it? You’re just dropping me off?”
Marjorie looked at her innocently.
“What did you think I was doing?” she asked, a sly smile on her face. The expression churned Lane’s stomach, but she jumped from the car before Marjorie could change her mind. “Toodles!” Marjorie called, zooming away.
It wasn’t until she had left that Lane realized she’d left her bag and both phones inside the car.
I have no idea what that weirdness was about, she thought, but I am telling Henry that she needs to go. I’ll bring her before the Council myself for treason.
She knew she wouldn’t. After all, if Marjorie was brought before the Council, she would undoubtedly sell out Julia, too, and no matter what their problems were, Lane wouldn’t harm her own mother.
As she rushed up the steps to the building and used her key card to let herself in, she wondered if that wasn’t the entire reason that Marjorie had made her position known. The vampire was using Julia as leverage for something.
Getting me off the Council. Lane suddenly wished she was locked away again, where her life was simpler and she was protected. Mom isn’t wrong. The world is cruel. Maybe I would have done the same if I was her.
She would warn Julia about Marjorie. But first, she had to meet with the Council.
The offices were dark when Lane arrived, and she stood before the elevators, looking for signs of life anywhere.
“Hello?” she called out. Her voice echoed emptily through the corridors. “Is anyone here yet?” She felt foolish, but she padded toward Henry’s massive inner office, unsure of what else to do.
“Henry?” she called, pushing open the double doors. It was exactly as they had left it hours earlier, the settee slightly off center from their passionate lovemaking.
She heard the elevator ding in the hall and exhaled. Someone else had arrived.
“Hello?” she called out again. “It’s Lane.”
There was no response, and as she pulled the doors open again to seek whomever had come, she saw nothing.
“Hello?” She had heard the elevator, she was sure of it. “Henry?”
There was a flurry of movement, and before Lane could brace herself, she was knocked onto her back, a dark figure looming over her.
“Marjorie!” she gasped.
“I’m sorry,” Marjorie leered. “This evening’s Council meeting has been canceled.”
She bared her teeth, her fangs elongating. Before Lane could stop her, Marjorie sank them deep into the witch’s pulsating jugular vein.
Slowly, Lane felt the life being drained from her body, the futile attempts to fight off the vampire weakened with each pint of blood being sucked from her body.
“Why?” Lane managed to moan. “Why are you doing this?”
The world darkened around her, and she fell into the blackness, vaguely aware that Marjorie had finished depleting her life.
“It’s nothing personal,” the immortal chirped, wiping the plasma from her face with the back of her hand. “I just hate all the Aldwins, and I’m not a fan of Henry, either. The Council needs an overhaul, even if they can’t see it. I’m just helping matters along.”
Through glassy, half-dead eyes, Lane watched the black cape swirl and disappear the same way it had come, and the sickening realization of what she’d done struck Lane in her final moments.
Marjorie had left her to die in Henry’s office with a vampire bite. Lane would be gone, and Henry would pay the price.
13
A spasm struck Henry’s body, and he froze, a thousand goosebumps prickling his flesh.
Something was wrong. He could feel it in every pore of his body, his heartrate speeding up as he stepped onto the balcony of his penthouse and looked onto the street below.
Something was wrong with Lane.
Even before he could register what he was thinking, his cell rang, and he started at the sound. His eyes widened in shock when he saw who it was.
What the hell is she calling me for at all, let alone at one-thirty in the morning?
“Are you drunk?” he barked into the phone. He heard a sharp intake of breath and a stifled sob.
“Henry…” Sylvie gasped. “You need to get to your office right now.”
His blood turned to ice. “What happened?”
“I can’t talk about this over the phone, just— Just get here. Now.”
She disconnected the call, and Henry was already flying out the door, shifting fully into his bat form. There was no time for the car. The panic he had heard in Sylvie’s voice told him everything he needed to know.
It’s Lane. I know it’s Lane.
It took him less than ten minutes to arrive, and he was up the steps and in his office in the blink of an eye, barely managing to shift back into his mortal form
before he greeted Sylvie, who stood shaking at his office door.
“What happ—?” Henry stopped midsentence when he saw Lane, pale and dead on the floor, the puncture marks on her neck unmistakable.
“Oh…” He dropped to his knees. “Oh, Lane…”
“I was leaving Michael’s office, and I saw your door open,” Sylvie blubbered. “You didn’t do this, Henry. Please tell me you didn’t do this!”
“Of course not!” he howled. “Sylvie, get out and tell no one what you saw.”
“I was going to call 9-1-1, but I thought of the firm—”
“GO!” he roared, and she balked, stepping back. “Wait outside.” He didn’t turn to see if she had obliged, staring at Lane’s lifeless face. “Who did this?” he muttered. “Oh, Lane, please, wake up!”
Tears of despair and grief filled his eyes. His head dropped onto her chest, and imperceivably, he felt the dullest, erratic heartbeat beneath her sweater.
He raised his head quickly and darted his eyes back toward the door. Sylvie had disappeared. Henry wasted no time.
I have no choice. I have to do this, or she’ll die.
Without hesitation, he gnashed at his wrist, the purple blood spilling from the exposed artery, and he pressed it to Lane’s lips.
“Drink it!” he urged her. “Drink it!”
The streaks fell along her lips, and no matter how he tried to get her to latch onto the wound, Lane was gone.
She’s not gone! he thought furiously. You are not gone! You can hear me, Lane. Drink, dammit!
Marjorie… Lane whispered in her head. Marjorie did this.
Fury swept through Henry.
“You have to drink, my love. Please! Just a sip, Lane…”
Can’t. Not allowed.
“Screw the rules!” he hollered. “DO IT, LANE!”
“Henry,” Sylvie tentatively called.
“Sylvie, GET OUT!” Henry yelled, his head spinning in the panic and confusion. He hoped that Sylvie had not seen what he was doing, but she was the least of his worries in that moment.
Please, Lane. We’ll deal with the aftermath. Please, I can’t lose you.
Slowly, he felt Lane’s lips close around the deep cut he’d made, and he exhaled in relief. It seemed to take hours, but the waxy parlor of her skin lightened to a pale pink, and then Henry could see her chest rising and falling again.
