Lucias laughed cruelly. “Your mate is dead; do you not recall ripping out her throat?”
In the days that had passed since Ethan awoke, he’d remembered more and more about the time he’d spent as Lucias’s prisoner before his transformation was complete; the most painful piece being what he’d done to his own wife, his one true love, his soul mate. As he stood, though the feeling of it initially warmed his heart, Ethan pushed back from the connection he realized could only be meant to torture him; to remind him of what he’d lost, what he had destroyed with his own hands.
Despising the weakness he saw in his highly-prized soldier, Lucias devised a plan to free Ethan from his pointless sense of connection to his dead wife.
“Do not despair; I know precisely what you need. For now, go with Kaleb and continue your training until I call for you again
CHAPTER 16 - A Mother Returned
There was a blaring in her head; the swirling of a variety of voices, which, though familiar, were indistinguishable and unclear. Until one broke through, as clear and crisp as the sound of a newborn baby’s first cry falling upon her anxious mother’s ears.
Open your eyes, Mommy. We are waiting for you.
As if obeying the gentle command, Alexa’s eyelids lifted and she found herself staring into the somewhat blurry face of a beautiful young girl. Alexa blinked rapidly, trying to focus her eyes which were already filling with tears as she struggled desperately to see the most precious sight imaginable; that of the child she had never dared to hope she’d see again.
“Your contact lenses; you won’t need them anymore, my darling girl.” she heard her father say from somewhere across the room.
Alexa struggled to sit upright, having existed outside her body for so long that it seemed unfamiliar, almost foreign. Attempting to raise a hand to her face, she overestimated the amount of effort the movement required, resulting in an audible thump from the self-inflicted blow to her forehead.
It appears the repression spell has been broken, William sent telepathically; the fact that she could clearly hear him and Chloe was further testament to the accuracy of his statement.
Moving with slower, more controlled motions, Alexa carefully plucked the lenses from each of her eyes.
“My God,” she whispered in awe as she looked at the world for the first time as a vampire. Her breath hitched as her eyes again fell on Chloe.
Taking in the sight of her daughter with soft chestnut curls cascading over her shoulders, framing a flawless face with pouty pink lips, high cheekbones and, the only feature Alexa truly recognized, large eyes the color of a stormy sea and shaded by an awning of thick lashes, she began to sob. Instead of the bouncing toddler Alexa remembered, Chloe walked into her mother’s waiting arms as a beautiful young woman.
Unable to speak, Alexa continued to weep, clinging to her tightly as Chloe whispered soft words of comfort into her mind.
You’re safe now; you don’t have to be afraid.
It’s not that; it’s just that you’re so grown up and I missed it. I’m so sorry we ever left, Alexa responded, her sobbing increasing as her guilt took hold.
“Perhaps I can help,” William said, stepping closer.
Alexa gasped and closed her eyes as a slideshow of images flashed through her mind; pictures of Chloe from everyone’s memories. All the special little moments she’d missed which he’d been carefully gathering up for her as he clung to the hope that she would, after being lost from his life a second time, be returned to him again.
William gave Alexa the final memory, one of his from only hours before when Chloe healed her; before he pulled back from her mind. Alexa opened her eyes and released her hold on Chloe.
“I never thought I would see you again, yet here I am only because of you and how amazing you are. I am so proud of you,” she said with a grateful smile, as she placed her hand on Chloe’s cheek.
Chloe’s face heated beneath Alexa’s touch; a flush of embarrassment at her mother’s praise. The response only increased her mother’s adoration. With all that she was, so special and powerful, Chloe’s heart remained humble and pure.
With one last smile at her daughter, Alexa moved to her father far more quickly than she’d intended; nearly knocking him back into the wall as she stumbled into his arms.
“It may take you a little while to become accustomed to your new strength,” he said as he pressed his cheek against the top of her head.
“Thank you,” she whispered, holding him tightly while he stroked her hair.
I would do anything for you, my darling.
Releasing her father, Alexa turned; finally seeing everyone else who’d been waiting so patiently while she’d been captivated by Chloe and the beautiful memories her father had given her.
It was all she could do not to burst into tears again as she found herself surrounded by her entire family, with the exception of Ethan. The joy she’d felt waking up and seeing Chloe had temporarily eased the dull pain which had plagued her heart since the moment Ethan had discovered she was dead.
“Ethan; we have to help him,” she said desperately, turning back to William.
“He’s alive then?” Josephine asked, her tone a mixture of fear and hope.
“Yes; I can still feel him,” she said, taking Josephine’s hand. “We have to find him; he’s been infected,” she added, her eyes following Elijah as he pulled Josephine into his arms. The couple clung to one another, overcome with relief knowing their son was alive; but there was pain in Elijah’s eyes.
I will find a cure. The words came to her from Elijah, as an expression of determination covered his face. She recalled what he’d told her of the first infected vampires; of there being no cure but death.
“The link to Lucias is incredibly strong, but our bond remains. Before I came back, I was there with him. Our Ethan is still in there; I know we can bring him back,” she said offering what little comfort she could. “I feel our connection as strongly as I did before; he feels it, too, but he doesn’t believe I’m alive. The despair,” she whispered swallowing hard as she allowed herself to feel the full force of Ethan’s emotions through their connection. “He needs me, Father.”
William sped to Alexa as her body sagged under the weight of what she was feeling. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her up as her memory of dying passed through his mind, a part of him wishing for Ethan’s demise when he saw the savage way Alexa’s life had been taken. Yet sensing Alexa’s love and understanding, he accepted that there had been no choice for Ethan; he was not responsible. The fault lay solely with Lucias.
“We will get him back; I promise you,” William whispered gently as he stroked her hair. “Your mate is safe for now. Lucias will not relinquish such a powerful weapon if he can avoid it,” William added, meeting Commander Claesson’s eyes over her head summoning him into the room before he looked knowingly at Elijah.
“Alexa, meet Commander Alek Claesson,” William said as he released her.
“It’s an honor,” Commander Claesson said stepping closer, awed by the fact he was speaking to a woman who had most certainly been dead only hours before. “I’m sorry to do this now; I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, but we need your help to find your mate. Can you tell me what you remember? How Lucias found you, where you were taken, what you saw, any detail that could prove useful?”
Alexa took a deep breath as she thought back over the events of the last week, trying to remember exactly what had happened.
“We left the villa in Eleuthera right after Elijah called. When we got to the airport, there was a different crew; the flight attendant must have drugged us.”
“We found the bodies of the pilot and attendant your husband hired,” Commander Claesson added.
“When I woke up, I was with him; with Lucias,” Alexa continued choking back her fear and sadness as she relived the memory. “He infected Ethan and waited for the bloodlust to take over before he shoved me into the room and locked us together. Ethan fought
it. He wanted to die, to let the virus kill him, but I forced him to take my blood; I wouldn’t let him die for me. It was my choice,” she said looking to her parents, and then Ethan’s, hoping they understood.
“I don’t know how, but even after it was over, I was still there; I was still with him. I knew I was dead, I even saw the white light you always hear about, but the bond, our connection, kept me close.”
“Remarkable,” Josephine whispered with wonder. “True soul mates; bound not only by blood, but by a shared piece of your souls.”
“That’s what Barb called it, too,” Alexa said regarding Josephine with a sad smile.
“Barb?” Elijah asked in confusion.
“Yes; she came to me, when I was, um, on the other side,” Alexa replied. “She’s still helping us as much as she can and she wanted you all to know that she is okay.”
Elijah’s eyes filled with tears as he chuckled.
“Stubborn woman; she never could walk away from a fight,” he said with admiration. He took Josephine’s hand, giving her a knowing look as she smiled with tears in her eyes as well.
“Before I came back, she wanted me to see things so we would be prepared,” Alexa continued. “I didn’t get a chance to see much; I don’t know where the facility is, but I’m sure it was underground because there were no windows or daylight. Though I have no idea if it was during the day or not, I just felt like I was down in the earth. I saw Lucias’s soldiers; hundreds of them, maybe more, and they were all infected. Barb told me his entire army was there, that Lucias is preparing to move against The Elite. He knows—,” she paused, cutting her eyes to Chloe.
It’s okay; you don’t have to protect me, Chloe sent.
“He knows Chloe is here and he’s trying to find a way in. He plans to make her his mate.”
Josephine and Rebecca both gasped. “But she is just a child,” Rebecca said with disgust.
“After I died, I could hear his thoughts. He somehow knew and about her abilities and that she would be mature soon.”
Commander Claesson’s eyes went to William at hearing evidence that confirmed his suspicions of a spy, but William’s face remained impassive.
“Do you have any idea where you were; maybe what part of the country you were in?” Commander Claesson asked, his tone growing anxious.
“I’m not entirely sure, but when Lucias told his man to dispose of my body, he thought of the location and I sensed that it wasn’t far. The other man, Kaleb; he intended to drive there,” Alexa responded.
“Thank you, Alexa; you’ve been very helpful,” Commander Claesson said as he moved to leave. “My lord, I’m sorry to take you away; but can I have a word with you in private?”
“Of course,” William said. “I have monopolized enough of my daughter’s time for now,” he added regarding Alexa warmly.
“Yes, I agree. You’ve had her long enough and now it’s my turn,” Rebecca said, stepping around William and pulling Alexa into her arms. “My sweet, sweet girl; I thought we’d lost you again,” she whispered, quietly stroking Alexa’s hair.
“I thought I was lost,” Alexa replied simply, before kissing her mother on the cheek.
“I will see you again soon,” William said before he reluctantly walked away from his daughter and followed Commander Claesson.
✧
“My lord,” Captain Erikson began, from the spot where he’d been standing in silent observation since following Chloe to the medical wing. “With your permission, I’d like to escort you,” he finished, drawing the hard gaze of Commander Claesson, who’d been typing out a message on his phone.
“That will not be necessary; you are dismissed for the night,” William responded as he passed by. Though the captain had been one of his dearest friends over the years, Commander Claesson’s continued suspicion of him and the other guards had sparked a seed of doubt in William’s mind.
Commander Claesson’s mouth turned up in a satisfied smirk before he slipped his phone in his pocket and disappeared down the long corridor with William.
“I am sorry, Alek; you were right all along. After what my daughter has shared, there is no denying someone has been giving Lucias information about my family,” William said, taking a seat in Commander Claesson’s office.
“I would have been happy to learn I was mistaken, my lord,” he responded graciously.
“I am not a man easily deceived. I will defer to your experience in the matter. How do you suggest we proceed?”
“Going forward, our meetings need to be completely private. None of your guards and or my men can be involved. I’m going to contact the other bases and get as many soldiers here as our facility can accommodate.”
“Yes; I agree,” William said with a nod.
“There is also the matter of Ethan. You are well aware of his strength. Lucias keeps him alive for that reason and he will use him against us. I cannot begin to imagine the power he possesses now that he is infected. It would have taken several of my men to take him down before; now, who knows how many he will kill if given the chance. We have to be prepared to—”
“Alek,” William said putting his hand up, “Ethan’s death, at least by the hand of anyone in my domain, is out of the question. I won’t do that to my daughter; not after what she has already suffered for our people. If we cannot find a cure before we find him, we will tranquilize him and hold him in a cell until one is found.”
“My lord, we don’t know if a cure is even possible. You remember what it was like before.”
“Yes, but this virus is different; you have seen it with your own eyes. These men are in control; nothing like the infected we faced before. If Lucias were to be killed and the bond broken, it is possible Ethan could live with the disease.”
“Perhaps, but Lucias is not going to be easy to get to.”
“No; he has quite a talent for self-preservation.”
“Security patrols will continue, daylight shifts targeting rural areas, scouting only until we get more men. Lucias isn’t hiding a thousand infected vampires in the city, and we still have the advantage. As far as he knows, Alexa is dead and we don’t know anything about his plans. Not to mention that his men can’t move in the daylight and we still have Chloe. He won’t risk open war until he has her or—”
“I know,” William interrupted, already picking up the commander’s thought; not needing the possibility of his granddaughter’s death vocalized further.
“One other thing,” Commander Claesson continued, “the lockdown needs to apply to everyone on the compound with the exception of the soldiers on patrol. I know some of my men are off the grounds on personal leave already tonight, but none of them knows anything about what’s happened here over the last couple of hours. All other access to the outside needs to be restricted; meaning no Internet and no cell phones. If Lucias’s informant is on the grounds, we need to make sure they can’t get to him.”
“Then we need to move now, before anyone else learns about Alexa’s return,” William said standing in a panic.
“Not to worry, my lord; before we left Alexa, I told Jester to take care of it,” he said, slipping his cell from the pocket of his fatigues.
He tapped his fingers over the screen, and then turned the device towards the High Commander.
“He’s jamming the signal on the entire compound right now as a precaution and I informed the soldiers on guard duty that no one is to leave without express permission from me. If we need to send anything out electronically, we’ll have to go through Jester and there’s a monitored landline for calls. I’m going to head down to the IT cave now and start contacting the other bases. We should have at least three hundred men here within a week.”
✧
“Oh, Alexa; if only I had been able to see. How different things may have been for you,” Josephine said, her voice full of regret as she drew closer to her daughter-in-law.
Redemption of Fate (Fate Series Book 2) Page 16
