“Okay, ease up, guys,” Knight said, rescuing me from Arthur’s teasing arms. He nestled me against him with my legs across his lap. “Not that it’s not hot to see you orgasm like that.” I groaned and turned my head against his collarbone so I could catch my breath.
“Going to get you all back for that,” I vowed weakly. “Damn it, I never had enough energy with just two of you, I’m going to need a week to recharge now with Balthazar in the mix.”
“I’ll be nice, my love,” he promised, and I moaned again in thanks.
“I love you,” I whispered, just so he knew I wasn’t mad. “I love all three of you. Especially you,” I finished, kissing Knight’s hot neck.
“Stop touching my daughter!” Lucas roared, peeking over at us from his seat.
“Can’t stop, won’t stop,” Knight retorted, making sure my dad saw him running a hand down my leg, and Lucas squeaked in indignant response. Marching down to sit in one of the seats beside us, he made a show of keeping an eye on everyone’s hands during the plane ride, and my mates continued touching me randomly to piss him off.
Our plane touched down a few hours later and we got a rental car to drive us the extra hour to where my mother was. Lucas never stopped muttering to himself, squished between Arthur and Knight in the backseat as I drove.
We arrived in the fateful city my grandmother lived in all those centuries ago. Beside me, Balthazar stiffened as it all came into view, and he probably would’ve disappeared into thin air if he hadn’t fallen in love with me. Despite our new feelings, I knew this couldn’t be easy for him, and I took one hand off the steering wheel to put on top of his, entwining our fingers until he relaxed enough that I knew he would be okay.
When I pulled up to the small cottage squished between two large houses, Lucas’ mutterings got louder until I had to twist back and tell him to be quiet. “Dad,” I said when that didn’t work. “Remember what we said? In my time you and Clara were married. She’ll forgive you. Please calm down.” He nodded, but his body remained frigid and taunt.
We’d told him everything on the plane ride over since he wouldn’t stop bothering us. He took it all in stride and believed it without much effort, especially liking the part about Clara forgiving him. Clara meant everything to him, if he didn’t have her love in his life, he had nothing. I knew the feeling well. My dad and I were a perfect pair.
“Haul out, fam.”
“I don’t respond to the word, ‘fam’,” Arthur mentioned in complaint.
“Move it, sexy ass,” I ordered with a shake of my finger at him.
Everyone was out and onto the sidewalk in record speed, and we stood in front of the door that led to both of my moms. My normal mom, and my step-mom/aunt. My feet were frozen to the ground even though I was more than excited to have my moms so close to me. I knew Anastasia was still lost inside her mind, and it would be up to me to wake her up. It had been hard the first time, it would be equally hard the second time.
Behind me, Knight slid his hands around my stomach, resting his chin on my head like he used to in my time, and my other two lovers put their hands on my arms to steady me. They were all here with me. I could do this.
I stepped up to the door and rapped on the wood, putting my hand firmly at my side when it started shaking. It took a few moments, but the door opened and Clara was there, looking beautiful with her golden hair and her soft, gentle face. I launched myself into her perfect arms and I cried onto her blue dress. Naturally, she was confused as to why a stranger was hugging her and getting her dress wet with tears, but I felt her body stiffen as she saw the group behind me.
“Lucas? Balthazar?” Her breath caught and her small hands came up to my sides as she realized who I was. “Elisabeth?” I sobbed as an answer. “Oh my god, it’s you. You’ve come back to us.” She tapped my side, signaling for me to let her go even though I didn’t want to. We’d travelled the few footsteps into the house so she gestured for the men to follow us, flushing slightly when Lucas passed her and she could shut the door behind him.
My attention had been torn away because Anastasia was sitting quietly by the fire, as still as a statue since we came in. I left everyone in the doorway and approached her, sitting beside her and checking her blank face. She was still lost.
My family chattered behind me and I tuned them out as I tried to think of what to say to wake her up this time. Before, she’d woken up to the scent of Knight’s blood, but she almost attacked him and she was crazy powerful. I wouldn’t risk him being hurt.
“Who told her?”
“There’s something you should know.”
I picked up Anastasia’s hand and felt her rough skin, scratched and marred from her life, just like she was. Clara had clearly just cleaned her up and dressed her in a simple, black shirt with pants so her gothic dress could be cleaned, the one she wore when she wandered around town like a creepy ghost.
“…the witches sent her back…”
“…we’ve come to try and stop what happened…”
I started humming a tune my mother had sung to Gwen when she was a baby, standing in my daughter’s room and slowly rocking back and forth on her hips to comfort Gwen’s baby tears. I wanted my mother back just as much as I wanted my baby in my arms.
The rest of the room went silent after they’d explained everything to Clara, so I felt safe to sing the song aloud, clutching Anastasia’s hand through every word with my eyes closed, remembering her with my baby and hoping that image would return.
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.
Halfway through the song, I heard someone humming along with me until they joined in at the chorus and we harmonized beautifully. I thought it was Clara, until I heard her join in as well, matching the tune and harmonizing a third part, trailing the song off with us in unison.
I opened my eyes to see Anastasia, her purple eyes clear and wide open, smiling at me, knowing instantly who I was. “My baby,” she whispered, holding her hand out for me, and I fell into her, clutching her so close my arms ached. All the sadness I’d felt over losing my babies poured out of me in my mother’s embrace, because if anyone could make this better, it was her. We’d had a rocky start in my time, spent so many years apart, but in the end she was there for me, just like I’d always wanted my mother to be. She’d even raised my son for me when I couldn’t get to him.
I’d never realized how much I loved her.
She didn’t understand my pain, but she didn’t need to. We’d tell her my story and I’d still feel like staying in her arms until everything was okay again, like a small child who wakes up during the night, scared of the thunder outside. And that’s just what happened. Everyone came near the fire and the men that loved me explained everything to her, and through it all, my mother never wavered in her embrace of me, her gentle stroking of my long hair, even when they told her what I’d said about our first meeting. She clutched me tightly when they spoke of my children and losing them to come here.
When the story was finished, she held me closer and kissed my head. “My Erzsébet, you’ve been through so much. I’m glad your new journey still led you to me. Will someone hand me
the journal you spoke of?” Knight got up from where he was sitting nearby and went outside, returning with the book from the car that he handed to Anastasia who lifted one of her hands off of me to retrieve it.
“Your lovers are handsome,” she noted appreciatively, opening the journal with one hand. “The werewolf reminds me of my Nicolas.” Her eyes flicked over the words and she expertly turned the pages with her thumb, understanding the odd language that was written there. “It seems this Alistair was quite the mastermind. He gave me the slip for a very long time. Cat and mouse, fish and bait.”
She turned more pages and stopped, straightening slightly from what she was reading. “I mention your son, Jason.” I jumped up and bent over the words, but I couldn’t read any of it. “I found him destitute and alone, and he clung to me like a boy who lost his mother.” Fresh tears built in my eyes and she put a comforting hand on my arm, still reading. “I raised him for my daughter, as I wished I could have raised her when she was as small as he. He’s strong, like her. Loving. Kind. I’m proud to have a grandson as grand as him.” She smiled, flipped the page and squeezed my arm, finished with the part about Jason. “I cannot wait to meet this boy, my love,” she said warmly, then she went back to reading. “I’ll need some time to look over all of this,” Anastasia declared after several minutes. “I know time is pressing, but this is very complex. If there’s an answer on where to find him, it will take some work to dig it out.”
“In the meantime, we should get back to the castle,” Arthur said somewhere above me. “We’re defenseless with it damaged and it won’t be fixed overnight.”
I looked up at Knight and it gave me an idea, prompting me to my feet. “We’ll bring everyone back with us so you’re nearby when you find the answer.”
“Lisbeth, your mother is a criminal,” Arthur pointed out.
Anastasia scoffed under her breath. “I’m cooling on that one.”
“Then I pardon her. You’re pardoned. And you’re pardoned too, dad.”
He pumped his fist in triumph. “Yess! That’s my girl!”
I expected Arthur to protest, but he knew how the chain of command worked. With Othello gone, I took his place, and what I said was law. There was no way around it. He had to obey me, and not just because there was pussy on the line.
“Also,” I started, checking his face first. “I’m going to negotiate a truce with the Lycans.”
He breathed deeply and his jaw worked a few times before he met Knight’s eyes and he softened up. “I’d like that too.” They shared a significant look that made me warm all over, because it was clear to anyone with eyes that they were falling in love with each other again.
“Awwwww,” I cooed, putting my fists to my mouth in a cute gesture, batting my eyelashes at Arthur.
“Zip it,” he warned, but I was already approaching him, pulling on the back of his neck so I could reach his lips, and we kissed tenderly until Lucas saw and made that squeaking noise again.
“Hands off daughter! Off!”
“Lucas, grow up,” Anastasia bossed from the floor.
“If she didn’t say it, I was going to.”
Anastasia looked up when the Incubus spoke, and she stood to face him, her face looking deathly still again. “Balthazar,” she said with a nod to him. The tension between them was as thick as a cow’s ass.
“Awkward,” Knight whispered through his teeth.
Moving first, Balthazar closed the distance between them, and he diplomatically held his hand out to my mother, surprising everyone, least-wise me, considering even in my time they still weren’t friends.
“What happened with the Countess was the direct result of her own choices. She made the choice to stray from me and that resulted in you and your sister. I hated you for that, but it wasn’t your fault. After what happened to her, I used to believe you were selfish for letting her take the fall for you, but I have since learned that there is no shame in protecting the people you love. I begged her in the end for you to turn her, and she refused, again making her own choices that had nothing to do with you. And now, I’m afraid I’ve fallen in love with your daughter, so if you wish for me to be gone because the sight of me offends you, that is something I cannot do.”
Anastasia blinked a few times, looking down at his offered hand, and choosing her words carefully, the way I’d always seen her react to things. “You stayed with my mother in that tower until she died, and I will always be grateful for that. You looked after my daughter when I could not, and now you stand by her side to protect her like you protected the Countess when I failed to do so. There are not many souls I would trust with my child, but I suppose you’ve proven yourself worthy of it.”
The room went eerily still and Clara broke it with a gentle sob. “Oh Ana, that was lovely.”
Balthazar quirked his mouth at her. “Mine was nice too.”
And then Anastasia took his hand and they shook, finally allies.
We had to stay the night, mostly because Clara insisted, but also the flight crew of our private plane needed rest. We women went to the kitchen area to make dinner, even though I insisted that was super sexist and the men could cook too, but Clara threatened me with a rolling pin until I agreed to help.
The men were around the fire, sipping some wine Clara had been saving for a special occasion. As I helped roll out dough, an apron tied around me and my hair back in a ponytail, whenever I checked on the men, one of mine was always looking at me, and heat was rising inside me that had nothing to do with the oven being on.
I could tell something was up when even Knight had a gleam in his eyes, and their casual façade didn’t fool me. Anastasia and Clara moved away to do something at the sink and as soon as their backs were turned, I flew forward and banged my head on the counter as I started climaxing under Balthazar’s powers.
Mother fuckers.
I grit my teeth at them with Clara and Anastasia fussing over me and checking my forehead. I took my apron off and knew exactly how I’d get my revenge. It was something I’d come up with in the future during one of my countless fucks with Knight and Arthur.
Leaning against the counter, I squared the three men with a look and motioned with my hand for them to bring it. Pushing my powers out, I knew when Balthazar sent the order for me to orgasm again, and I deflected it back to them, making all three instantly come in their pants and they tried to hide it with mock coughing.
When they’d recovered and gave me indignant looks in the brief moment my parents weren’t looking, I held up my middle fingers for their approval.
“What are you four doing?” Anastasia reproached when she saw me flipping the bird.
I put my hands down and smiled innocently. “Nothing.” She smelled my bullshit and handed me a handful of silverware with cloth napkins and pointed to the table. Ahh, good old mom. Putting me to work like I was a ten year old. Turning my backside to my men, I started setting the table, straightening everything three times before I was satisfied.
Knight approached once I was done, putting an arm around me and kissing my head. “I have to go.”
Before I could ask, Clara almost dropped her pan of steaming hot potatoes. “But we haven’t started dinner yet!”
Anastasia seemed to know what was up a second before I did. “Is it the full moon tonight? I still don’t have my bearings yet.”
Knight kissed me again and hovered over me, stroking my cheek. “I’ll be back later.” He tried to leave but I held onto him.
“No, I’m coming too.” Checking Arthur’s face, he nodded to me and I walked with Knight to the door, shutting it behind us so we were alone under the chilly, darkening sky.
“You went with me a lot?” he asked, holding my hand tightly.
“The only time Jason shifted was during this time of the month. He wanted to be there for you. Sometimes we went together. I just… the Knight in my time never ran alone. I don’t want you to be alone.”
He tried to smile, but he was afraid. “I might hurt
you.”
“No, you would never do that. You’re not dangerous, I promise you.”
His face lit up with a choked ironic laugh. “You said I throat punched you the first time you saw me shift.”
“Yeah, well, that notwithstanding, the other times were fine.” The mirth on my face only faded when he came closer and put his hands on my neck, holding me a breath’s width above his lips. I waited for him to kiss me, but instead he leaned down, his lips against my neck, and he bit into my skin, marking me as his mate. Moaning from the pain, I held him to me until he let me go and resurfaced with droplets of my blood on his mouth that I reached up and kissed away.
“There,” he pronounced, wiping my cheek from the tears that had fallen. “Now you’re safe. I won’t hurt you. Even if you believed I wouldn’t, I won’t risk your safety.” He held out his hand for me and we walked down the street, making the long walk out of town where he would be safe to change into his primal form.
We made it up to the ruins of my grandmother’s castle and I made sure we were alone when Knight removed his clothing and folded them into a pile by some benches that he could come back to when dawn arrived. The moon hadn’t risen yet, but it would come very soon, and Knight was agitated waiting. He stood looking out over the land before us with acres of trees and flowers, and I came up behind him, putting my arms around his waist, surveying the land of my birth with him.
He let out a breath and put his hand on top of mine on his stomach. “I love you so much, Lisbeth.” Turning in my arms, he slowly bent over me and kissed my lips like he was trying to memorize their shape. “I’ve been alone for so long, no one ever accepted me exactly as I was until you came. I know I disliked you at first, but you put my needs over yours at every second, and I fell so deeply in love with you, I never want to find my way out.” He brushed at my tears and my chin trembled under his touch. “You said I was everything to you. You’re my very existence now. And if my moments from here on out are measured, I want every breath to belong to you. Every heartbeat. Everything.”
The Born Vampire series: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (The Complete Series, NSFW Edition) Page 94
