Sweet Destiny (The Jessica Sweet Trilogy Book 3)

by Aliya DalRae

  I was once again dying, at least Rachel thought I was, and to save me, they had destroyed what remained of my life, my human life. The life I loved.

  But looking at the expressions of hope on the faces of my aunt and uncle, how could I tell them how miserable I was? I didn’t want this—had never wanted this—and yet, here I was, Jessica Sweet, Vampire.

  “Jessica?” Raven stood near the exit, that should-I-stay-or-should-I-go question on his face.

  “Stay,” I said, and looked back to Harrier and Rachel. “I need to finish my conversation with Raven.” Harrier made to object, but I squeezed the hand I still held. “We will talk later. I’ll tell you all about it.” I rolled my eyes, and he laughed that rare laugh he reserved just for me.

  “We’ll be just down the hall,” Rachel assured me. Harrier squeezed my hand in return, then rose to follow his sister out the door. Raven stood aside to allow them exit, but Harrier stopped in front of him, assessing.

  “I don’t know how much she’s told you, but…”

  “We’re good, asshole.”

  Harrier nodded, and disappeared into the hall, leaving Raven free to return to my side. I felt trapped in this stupid bed—I wasn’t sick after all—so instead of letting him sit, I rose to meet him. I folded my arms around his waist and laid my head on his chest. The strong, thump-thump-thump of his heart was a panacea to the aching in my own.

  “They’re worried about you,” Raven murmured, his chin resting atop my head. I nodded but said nothing. “Do you want to tell me what else has happened?” I nodded again but remained silent.

  “Want to get out of here?” This had me pulling away enough to look up. He seemed sincere, so I gave him a crooked smile and nodded a third time.

  We found some clothes that Rachel must have brought for me, considering my others were most likely ruined, and I slid into them as quickly as I could. I tried not to notice the way Raven was watching me, tried not to imagine what was going through his mind as we slipped out of the room and headed toward the residential wing.

  Once in the hall that ran between our suites, we looked at each other, deciding which way to go. I reached for the door to my right, Raven’s quarters, and he flashed me a genuine smile. I knew he liked having me in his space, at least he used to. Besides, what they had deemed “my quarters” was stuffy and uncomfortable. I doubted it had changed in my time away.

  Stepping into the large living room with all of Raven’s things was like coming home again. I inhaled deep and long, surprised at the scents that assailed me. I had never noticed the strong aroma of leather and male, and it occurred to me that there was more than one masculine fragrance permeating this room.

  Nox walked out of the bathroom a moment later.

  “Oh! Nox, you scared me,” I said, instead of admitting how freaked out I was by the new acuity of my olfactory senses.

  “Looks like the two of you have worked things out,” Nox said, rubbing a towel over his wet locks.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, looking from one twin to the other. It really was remarkable, seeing them next to each other this way. I’d only ever seen them together in times of distress, so this was the first chance I’d had to evaluate their likeness.

  “Are you staying here now?” I asked to divert my train of thought.

  “Nah. Only, Raven has this kickass shower that my suite is lacking.”

  “Moocher is here most of the time anyway, raiding my refrigerator, stealing my beer.”

  When my brain started itching I dropped my shields a bit and wasn’t surprised to find Nox there. Keeping an eye on him for you, love. He’s been a mess, but that seems to be better now. If I’d known all it would take to get him out of that idiocy was to let him see you with your teeth in me, I’d have done it a long time ago.

  You might want to stay close I sent back. Things could get crazy again.

  Are you alright, then? Nox was walking around the room rubbing that towel over his head, looking everywhere but at me. Apparently, he hadn’t told Raven about this connection we shared. Probably a smart move, given Raven’s jealousy issues.

  I’m fine, I told Nox, or at least I will be. Something’s happened, but I need to tell Raven before I share it with you. Can you give us a bit? Maybe hang out in my suite across the hall, just in case?

  You got it. Just yell if you need me. Then to no one in particular Nox said, “Well, I’m sure there is somewhere I’m needing to be,” and he headed for the door, throwing the wet towel at Raven on his way out.

  “It looks like the two of you are getting along,” I said as the door snicked shut.

  Raven carried the towel into the bedroom and dropped it into the hamper. “He’s a royal pain in the ass.”

  “So how is it he was giving me his blood? What was that all about?” I asked, putting off the inevitable.

  “Rachel asked me. I said no.” He joined me in the living room, shrugged.

  Okay. “But when I regained consciousness you were the one with your wrist to my lips.”

  “Yeah, well, I changed my mind.”

  I smiled and crossed the room to put my arms around him, and he returned the favor, pulling me into a tight hug.

  “How do we do this, Jessica? How do we get past everything we’ve done?” He sounded so raw, so lost.

  Unsure how to respond, I stepped out of his arms and went to stand by the window with it’s heavy, lightproof drapes. I had no idea whether it was day or night, hadn’t bothered to ask anyone, but what did it matter? Since our estrangement I had mostly gone back to a human schedule, sleeping at night and doing what humans do during the day. I wondered if my current situation would force me to switch it back up again, whether I wanted to or not.

  Pulling the curtain back a tiny bit I saw a crack of light inch its way across the floor. I heard Raven shift his position in the room to avoid exposure, but he didn’t say anything. If I put my hand in that shining beam, would it burn me now? Was sunshine something I would have to give up forever?

  Without further thought, and very little hesitation, I stuck my hand into the warm rays and withdrew it again, fast, like testing a burner on the stove to see if it’s hot.

  I didn’t feel anything, so I did it again, slower this time and with greater purpose. Feeling gutsy, I left my hand there, determined to let the sun do its worst.

  And nothing happened. Nothing but warmth and comfort, and I nearly cried at that one little slice of good news. I left my hand basking in the gentle glow for a full minute before I was convinced things might not be as bad as I suspected. Unless something changed, it looked like I would be a daywalker.

  With a relieved sigh, I dropped the curtain back into place and turned to see Raven watching me, his eyebrows arched in that sexy way he had.

  “Sit with me?” I asked.

  He motioned toward the big comfy couch in the center of the room. Once we’d settled in I angled myself so I could see him as we talked, that visual connection like a solvent that kept the words from remaining glued to my tongue.

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  T he story flowed from her like a mountain stream, starting off slow and gentle, but building in speed and momentum, much as gravity pulls the water ever downward, until it ends in a river of powerful current and dangerous rapids.

  What Jessica was telling him was the realization of his greatest, most unattainable wish, a dream come true. For him at least. She, however, was devastated, convinced that this was going to be the end of her humanity. That she was somehow going to change from the gentle, beautiful female he’d fallen in love with into some blood crazy monster of Hollywood’s making.

  He had to be careful not to show the joy that surged through him, not to allow his happiness to make her feel like he didn’t understand her concerns. See, he had learned something during their months together. He wasn’t completely thoughtless—anymore.

  They were still on the sofa, legs curled under, knees touching as they talked. When her words trickled off, she heaved out
a heavy breath and stared at a spot over his shoulder. Raven placed his hand on her knee in offering, and she laid her palm in his. It felt so good to touch her again, to be close to her like this, even with things as they were. His anger had consumed him in such a way that he hadn’t realized what he was missing. And with the bombshell she’d just dropped on him, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to respond.

  “How can I help you through this?” Raven asked, deciding to go with sympathetic.

  Jessica didn’t reply for a long moment, then said, “I wish I had a time machine, something that could take us back before any of this happened.”

  “Before you met me…” Raven felt as though a knife had been jabbed into the center of his heart. And yet, her life would have been much simpler had he never been a part of it.

  “No,” she said, easing his pain a little. “Not that. I don’t think I can really accept a world where you’re not in my life. If I could go back, I would make better choices. Figure out another way to save Allie, maybe carry wooden stakes everywhere in case of feral attacks. I don’t know, just protect myself better so I wasn’t in the position to have to be healed all the time.”

  Raven nodded and brushed his thumb along the back of her hand. “What was it like, when you sparked?” he asked, remembering his first time vividly. He had just turned thirteen—a late bloomer, Allon had said—and it was the most incredible feeling.

  Jessica shrugged. “I was so angry, at Harrier and Rachel for doing this to me. At you for—everything else. And then all of that anger just exploded out of me. The next thing I knew the room was flooded with a light so bright it should have blinded me—it certainly seemed to be bothering Rachel. But to me, everything became clearer. It was like the camera lens I’d been looking through my whole life had been on the wrong setting, and by pushing a button, everything was finally in focus.”

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you,” Raven said, and meant it.

  “You’re just sorry you didn’t get to see it.”

  Raven chuckled. It was impossible to argue with that one. “I’m having a hard time being sad about this,” he admitted. “You know how badly I’ve wanted this for us. I had reconciled with the impossibility of it, but now that it’s happened…” He hesitated to say more, for fear of what she would think.

  “You get points for not doing a victory dance.”

  “I’m saving it for when I’m alone.”

  This made her smile, a barely perceptible rise of the corner of her sweet mouth, but it was something, so he let her believe he was joking.

  “So, what happens now?” Raven asked.

  “I’m guessing Allon will want to run a whole boat load of tests. My understanding is that this has never happened before, at least not that they know of. I feel like that alien on Independence Day. It’s going to be all needles and scalpels from here on out.”

  Raven’s hand tightened around hers, and he felt his fangs lengthen as a flash of amethyst lit the room. “I won’t let them turn you into a science experiment.” She smiled a little, but he was dead serious, and for once he and his beast were on the same page.

  “Thanks,” she said, twisting on the sofa and laying her head on his shoulder. Raven placed a protective arm around her and tucked her in close to his side.

  They sat that way for a long time, lost in their own thoughts. It was Jessica who broke the silence.

  “So where does that leave us?”

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  M ason walked with a purpose, eager to see the two little monsters who had been wreaking havoc on his town for the past three months.

  Turning a corner into the hall that lead to the medical wing, he nearly ran headlong into Rachel, who was marching toward him at a clip. Mason shifted to avoid the collision and put a hand out to steady the female. Her pink-stained cheeks and swollen eyes had him wondering what new hell he’d missed.

  “Rachel,” he said, “is everything alright?”

  She stared at him for a beat, blinked once and said, “No.” She then patted him on the shoulder, stepped around him, and hurried on her way.

  Without the time or energy required to understand that female, he continued on to patient room number four. Mason barreled past the Soldier standing sentry at the door and entered the room. So, these were the two children responsible for sending his Legion all over town, chasing their proverbial tails.

  Ready to lay the hand of the Primeval on their asses, he strode further into the room and stopped between the two side-by-side beds. He took a deep breath, prepared to lay into the child in bed number one. Only the sight of that small female with tousled red hair and bloody-tear streaked cheeks stilled his tongue. A glance to his right at the boy, who could easily be her brother, had him doing a mental about face.

  Taking a physical step back to regroup and calm himself, Mason inhaled and started over.

  “My name is Mason,” he said in as gentle a manner as he could muster, “I am the Warlord…”

  The girl’s wails startled him, and the snarl coming from the boy was…unnerving. His awkward glance at Allon didn’t help matters, as the good doctor was apparently stifling a smile. He’d be getting no help there.

  Changing tack, Mason faced the doctor and directed his questions to him. Allon sobered at once, grey eyebrows furrowing in respectful consideration. Much better.

  “What do we have, Doctor?” Mason said, all business, but dialing down it a notch on the scary scale.

  “Male and female, refusing to answer questions. The Soldiers who brought them in informed me that the boy’s name is Talon, the girl is Fear.”

  “Fear?” Mason asked, glancing sideways at the child. “That’s an odd name.” Which made the girl child cry harder and the boy’s growls louder. Shaking off his unease, he added, “Condition?”

  “Well, they are certainly not starving,” Allon said. “At least not for blood. They could do with a hearty meal to ease their rumbling stomachs, but they are otherwise well fed.”

  “Yes, well that doesn’t surprise me.” Mason tried hard, very hard, to ignore the sniffles and snarls, but he was unused to being around Vampires of this age. Deciding that questioning them personally was beneath his paygrade, Mason called for the Soldier to enter.

  “Sir,” the male said, closing the door behind him.

  “Martin. Status.”

  “Yes, sir. I found them at the old Saltcreek Mill. There was a human with them, unconscious but still alive. The two attacked me, but were subdued by Peregrine and Osprey, who showed up right at the end.”

  “Have they said anything? Spoken to anyone about who they are and why they are here?”

  “Only that she told them to come here and find Rachel. Aunt Rachel, the girl said.”

  Mason raised an eyebrow and turned to the children.

  “Is it true? You seek a female named Rachel?”

  The boy whispered, “Don’t,” but the girl was already nodding.

  “Do you happen to know anything more about this Rachel. Perhaps we could help you find her.”

  Again, the boy tried to stop the girl from speaking, but she ignored him.

  “She’s our aunt,” she said between sniffles. “She took us to live with her in Detroit, but when we got there, Aunt Rachel was gone. The house was closed up and the neighbors said she’d gone to live with her brother, in Ohio.”

  “Phire, shut it!” the boy growled through clenched teeth. “You’re going to get us in trouble!”

  “Oh, you shut it, Talon,” she threw back at him. “I’m tired, I’m hungry, and if this guy says he can find Aunt Rachel for us, then I’m ready to let him try. Besides, I really want a hamburger, and that doctor said he would get us one if we cooperate, so dang it, I’m cooperating!”

  Talon folded his arms across his chest and grumbled. “If we end up at the end of a Primeval rope on a bright, sunny day, it’ll be all your fault.”

  “Bite me,” the girl snapped, then turned a sunny smile on Mason as the boy fl
ipped her the finger.

  “Can you do that, Mr. Warlord? Can you help us find our aunt?”

  Mason nodded, taking in both children’s red hair and ruddy complexions, and thinking of the female he’d nearly leveled in the hall. “Martin,” he said, and the Soldier was out the door in a flash.

  “I think you’ll be surprised how very resourceful the Legion can be.”

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  I t felt so good to be back here, back in Raven’s home, in his arms, but other than me being a blood-sucking Vampire now, not much had changed. I was still a cheating ho, Malcolm was still dead, and Raven had still killed him.

  And my baby…

  I choked back the tears that swelled in my eyes. My baby was gone.

  Earlier, the anger I felt toward the man next to me had contributed to my very first Vampiric episode. Part of that anger was blaming him for Baby M’s death, and everything else of course. Could I get past that? Could I look beyond all the damage Raven’s jealousy had caused and forgive him? Could he do the same for me?

  “I love you, Jessica, that’s never changed.” Raven whispered his response to my earlier question through a kiss he planted by my ear.

  “That doesn’t change what we’ve done, though, Raven. Either one of us.”

  “No,” he agreed. “It doesn’t change it, but doesn’t it count for something? Isn’t love supposed to conquer all, or some shit?”

  I laughed a little, but it wasn’t really funny. Could something as simple as our love for each other pull us through all of this darkness?

  “I don’t know, Raven. Despite everything I’m going through physically, you and I have both done unforgivable things. How do we look past them?”

  “Do you want to look past them?” Raven’s voice was low and his arm tightened around me, anticipating my answer.

  “Yeah,” I said on a sigh. “I want to. I just don’t know how.”