by J. E Hanson
Ava cackles mercilessly, “I told you that I have a fairy who supports our cause. Now I can see who is with my darling sister. Who should I kill first? Should I kill their parents, and leave them in chunks of flesh? Alternatively… should I kill Mesa first, decisions, decisions, and more decisions! Come closer to me, sister. I want to make sure you are not packing any heavy artillery.”
I step forward. One of her rogues checks me over, “She is clean, Ava.”
Ava leans her head back, “Do we have any other friends—or husbands in our midst?”
I grab her attention, “Ava, what do you want? You have my undivided attention. I have to go home, and be with Feather, so shall we end this now? I have more important things to do, besides mess around with you.”
Ava sniggers evilly again, “Feather! Her name is FEATHER, oh my goodness! You named your daughter, after an object! How stupid are you? Oh, why do I even bother? You need to know that your daughter will soon fail to survive her first birthday. I am so sorry to disappoint you foolish sister, but it seems you made a fatal decision. You chose your pathetic friends, over your precious daughter… shame on you!”
Without a second thought, I leap over the furniture, and punch her in the face. I sit on top of her trying to twist her head off.
She cackles hysterically at me, “You have three seconds to leave this house, yet you still want to kill me!”
Joey pulls me off Ava. Rosalie and Ember, teleport my friends back to the castle. He grabs all of us, and he snaps us back to the castle. Everyone arrives at the castle scrambling inside for her latest threat to Feather. I run inside the castle to find Feather still asleep in her crib. I wake her up by pulling her close to me. Without a second thought, I run outside the castle. Erik is already checking everything.
“She is just full of hot air. There is no security breech, and no threats. Ava wants us to screw up, and catch us off guard, but we know our shit,” Leo yells. Daniel stands right beside him, as one of the members to the AOM.
We hear an explosion in the distance. Our front gates have an influx of rogues running towards us.
“That fucking bitch! This shit is getting old quick!” Leo shakes his head, and he takes out his swords.
Daniel covers his body over us to teleport Feather and I back inside the castle. Christian whistles, and everyone flocks outside to fight the latest battle.
Christian pulls Feather and me inside a hidden room, “You are in no condition to battle tonight! I marvel your bravery, but this is the one time, you need to listen to me.”
He locks me in the secret room with Ember and Rosalie. Their husbands leave them with us.
Rosalie snaps another baby carrier, “I meant to give this to you, but I forgot. I made this wrap for you, and I hope you like it.”
I hug her, and I love the puce with charcoal swirls in it, “Thank you! It is absolutely beautiful!” I turn my attention to the television, “I hope the Enforcers stay safe. I should have known this was a trap! I am really growing tired of Ava!”
We watch the security cameras. The men are able to fight the rogues. I call in my great-grandfather to help. I watch Grandpa Oberon fight alongside my husband. My family is out there. I have nobody to blame, but myself. There are yellow and blue flares flashing through the sky. Gabriel and Joey pull twenty rogues apart. I watch them, but I continue to feed our baby.
Ember hugs me, “We will have to use our heads next time. Please don’t be upset! You did, what you thought was right. Christian knew you would never hold back, when it comes to the people you cherish.”
I stare at my curly blonde baby, “I never chose them over Feather! I would never do that. I thought she was safe. I thought she had a better chance of survival over them. I refused to let my childhood friends perish without a single care. I am so angry with myself. I should have known what Ava is capable of by now. I will never forgive myself for this fatal error. I put our lives in jeopardy, and for what… my own selfish needs. I will never let this go!”
Rosalie wraps her arms around me, “We are safe now. Please, stop being so upset with yourself. I would have done the same thing, if it were my childhood friends too. We will have to outsmart her somehow.”
The battle lasts over an hour. I am still sobbing at the mess I created. My overwhelming guilt clutches me by the throat, over the sin I just committed. I watch the younger vampires pile the carcasses in a pile. Drake Fira snaps his fingers, and he set the rogues on fire. Joey, Gabriel, Alexander, and Christian are patting each other on their backs. Feather closes her eyes, and she is smiling in the new wrap Rosalie made for me. I am still a mess over what could have happened to them.
I patiently wait for my sentence. My husband enters the room with their husbands.
Christian glances at my face, “Daniel and Leo are repairing the gates right now. You are free to come out of the room.”
Rosalie walks over to her husband, and she hugs him, “I am sorry Joey, please forgive me.”
Joey waits a few minutes, and then he hugs her back, “We will have a nice long talk, when we return home. I need to clean myself off.”
Ember frowns, but Gabriel already wraps his arms around her, “You know I love you, and I already forgave you.”
Christian turns his head to his friends, “If you no longer mind, I need to talk to my wife in private please.”
They nod, and walk out of the room. After they leave, Christian locks the door. I close my eyes, and wait for the firestorm to begin. I can feel his anger, and displeasure building up inside, “I hope you learned your lesson for a change. I hope next time you remember who is more important in your life. I told you to stay in the fucking room, and you proceed to disobey me AGAIN! This is really getting old. You have to learn to trust me. You clearly have no faith in me—or anyone else. You just do what you want to do. Are we not important to you? At the end of the day, it will be us standing beside you, and not your friends. I am extremely disappointed to see that your loyalty is not with me—or Feather. I will not give you an ‘I-told-you-so’ lecture. I will let this be a lesson, because one day your vengeance will cost one of us our existences. You have to think of all the different angles of your decisions, and whom it may—or may not affect. We could have lost our daughter tonight by your impatience. You are lucky this time, but next time, you may not be so lucky. I will say this. I love you very much. I will let you deal with your guilt on your own terms. Right now, there are four people, who never thought about you once, and they are sitting in the library. You need to say your goodbyes to them, because after tonight, you will never ever see them again. You need to forget your past, and move on with the present. You will leave Feather here, if you still want to be with them. The choice is yours, and yours alone to make. I hope, and pray to the gods that you love us enough to tell them your goodbyes.”
Chapter 27
Christian takes our daughter from my hands, and he slams the door behind him. I cover my mouth sobbing over his anger, but he is telling me the truth, and giving me a quick reality check. I walk over to the mirror, and clean my face off. I straighten myself, and head for the library. The Enforcers wait inside the library. I glance over to see my friends sitting there with blankets over their shoulders. Gabriel unfroze all four of them, when they made it to our library. They are drinking coffee and hot chocolate. I walk over to Arizona and Mesa, and try to keep the tears from falling.
Arizona gawks at me with disbelief written on her face, “Jeannie! Is that you? You are unrecognizable to us now!”
Ian shakes his head no, but I hug her tightly anyway, “Yes, this is me. I guess the new improved me.”
Arizona squints at me, and she knows something is off, “Why do you feel so cold to me? You feel like a block of ice!”
I stood back, and Ian steadies me, “That is exactly why we never hug people, Jeannie. You are learning your lesson tonight.”
Mesa hugs me also, “This is really you, and wow… you feel ice cold! Did you step in a freezer or something
?”
I shook my head no. Arizona glances at me in fear, “Well… we miss you very much. So what have you been up to lately?”
I make the BIB upset, and answer them anyway, “I have been here for the past couple of years. I guess I really seem cold to you. I am sorry for feeling that way.”
Mesa steps over to me, “I thought you were away at college. Oh, well. Anyway, you have lost so much weight, and you are beautiful! Your progress stuns me.”
I smile weakly. The BIB continues to give me glares of warnings. I blink for a second, “I guess this is sort of my weight loss camp. I have to make an extremely important decision tonight. I want to mention that I am extremely happy. I actually have a husband, who loves me very much, and we have a baby now.”
Arizona squeals loudly, “I am so happy for you! Wow! That is one huge rock! So where are they?”
I respond by peering at the library doors. My husband must have heard, because he walks in the library with our daughter. He gently hands Feather back to me.
Arizona squeals, “Oh! She is really beautiful too! What’s her name?”
I respond with even more glares of warning in the room, “Her name is Feather Zorelle Hunter. My last name is no longer Justice. This is my husband Christian Hunter, and we married last year.”
Arizona straightens herself up, “Well… I should have known that he’s your husband. I always thought that I would be your bridesmaid, if you ever married though. I am a little disappointed that you never invited me to be in your wedding. I would have put you in mine, but it appears I’m not marrying anyone soon anyway.”
I allow Arizona to hold Feather, “You also feel ice cold to me. Jeannie, you might want to put something warmer on her. You don’t want her to catch a cold.”
She pecks my daughter on her forehead, and Mesa toys with her hands, “You have your mommy’s smile. Congratulations to you both.”
I return Feather to Christian, and quickly peck her cheek. He reminds me, “Make it quick. I will put our daughter to bed, since it is so late.”
I nod, and turn to my friends, “I am sorry for my sister. I am sorry for the pain she put you through tonight. I will inform you that I will find her, and she is in deep trouble for what she did tonight.”
Mesa steps over to me, “We are still alive, Jeannie. I had no idea it was Ava until she entered our house. I gave her permission to come inside, and I never to expect her to hurt us. We know you both have seen better days. I hope you two can work it out.”
I scoff at the idea, “I believe Ava and I are way past the point of working things out. I refuse to trust her anymore, and neither should you. Ava is very dangerous, and for that reason, I will have to say that this means goodbye for forever.”
Arizona gawks at me in shock, “What do you mean forever? We are your childhood friends! We grew up together! We faced your bullies together! How could you end our friendship like this?”
I peer over at the BIB, “I am so sorry Mesa, and I would love to tell you more, but I am not allowed to. I am responsible for what happened tonight. I should have told them to move you to safety, but I never did. I forgot about everything else. Your safety is important to me, but I have to put my family first now. The men will move all four of you to an undisclosed location. So undisclosed that they will never tell me where you are. I am doing this for your own good, and please don’t hate me.”
Arizona cries and she hugs me, “Whatever it is, I hope that one day, we will see each other again. I love you, Jeannie. I am so proud of you. I am proud of the woman you are right now. I would have never thought in a million years, you would appear this gorgeous—or have so much confidence. I remember that you used to be petrified of everything. I like this new Jeannie. I hope you always have happiness wherever you are.”
I hold back the tears, “I love you two too, but I want you to be happy and safe. Erik, Ian, Charlie, and Louie will help you out. I hope that deep inside your mind, you remember how much I love you too, but I have to say goodbye for your own safety.”
I hug Mesa and Arizona one last time. I step back, and stare at the hardwood floor. I make the order, “As your Princess, I order Erik, Ian, Charlie, and Louie to wipe their memories clean of me. They will never remember me. This in turn will keep them safe.
Ian glances over in shock, “Are you absolutely sure?”
I nod a quick yes, “This is the only way to keep them safe. Wipe every bit of me from their memories.”
My chosen Enforcers caught all four of them. They stare directly into their eyes, and they begin suggesting to them that I am a figment of their imaginations. Erik takes over by giving them new memories. I run out of the library in tears. I gasp from the pain in my heart. Ava will use them against me, and this is warranted. After he finishes, Charlie walks out of the library.
Charlie pulls me close to his chest, “This is for the best, darling. You will never forget your friends, but this had to end. You will realize in time that this was the right thing too. Time will make the pain hurt less, darling. Your husband is waiting for you upstairs.”
I hug Charlie, and he escorts me upstairs. I walk into Feather’s bedroom to see Christian rocking our daughter in the chair. He is singing a lullaby to our baby in his native tongue. I wait until he places our daughter in her crib, kissing her goodnight. I walk over, and then tuck her in. I give her a quick kiss on her tiny forehead, and then follow my husband. We close her doors, and we return to our bedroom.
He is waiting for my decision, “It is finally over, Chris. My past is done. I am so sorry for betraying you, and I will never do it again, but I am not perfect either. I am full of mistakes, and will occasionally make them. My heart and soul will always remain with Feather and you. I will live with the burden of my guilt for what I caused tonight. I learned my lesson, but I will always care deeply for the people I love. I am sorry that you find this unacceptable. If the roles were switched, and it was you in that chair, I would have done everything in my power to save you too. Please stop shortchanging me. You have to trust me too.”
I left him alone with his thoughts, so I can take a shower. I continue to sob in the shower, and I hate myself for the rash decision I made tonight. I could have ended Feather’s existence over my stupidity. That will never happen again. I place my head on the shower wall, and continue to sob out of control. A pair of muscular arms wraps around me. His lips caress the nape of my neck, not uttering a single word to me. He keeps caressing my neck with those sultry lips down my spine. His hand slid between my thighs. He makes it up to me for being so incredibly hard on me.
“I love you, and I forgive you. What is done is done. Let it go, Jeannie. You made your decision. I am pleased to still have my wife with me for forever,” Christian whispers in his thick Greek accent.
I gasp, and he brushes my rusty tears away with his lips. He pulls my hips to his while he continues kissing me. My back slams hard against the wall of our shower. He is still coming down from his excessive adrenaline.
I pull his hair back, “You should also know, that I will always pick you. You already have won me over. There is no competition, when it comes to you—or Feather. I promise that this will never happen again.”
He smiles, and holds me tightly, “That is all I want to hear from you, and I love you too.”
I grip his hips tightly with my thighs, and I focus on him. Christian glides deep inside, and he thrusts his cock gently this time. He pauses every few minutes to brush his lips against mine. We are making love for a change. He makes sure to show me his appreciation. I never take my eyes away from him. This is the most passionate lovemaking we have ever done. I nibble on his bottom lip. His firm hand tilts my head to bite my neck. I gasp, and allow him to drink from me. He pulls me to his neck, and my fangs descend. I carefully bite into him, and sip his blood in return. He still makes love to me gently.
We finish washing each other in the oversize shower. He pulls a towel over me, only to pick me up. I am in for a very long night of exc
itement from him. We leave our hair dryers hung, and he carries me to our bed. His soul devours mine. My love overflows, and it shows. I caress his chest with my lips, and suck his erect nipples. He allows me to show him just how grateful I am. I slid my tongue over his six-pack abs. I return to suck his hard nipples. He turns over for me, and I slid my tongue from the nape of his neck to his rock hard ass. I nibble, and suck his ripe ass. He loves it when I worship his entire body. He turns over from the excitement. I stare at his rock hard cock. It stands like a proud statue. I continue to show him just how sorry I am. I place is perfect cock in my mouth. I nibble on his sack, and back to his protruding cock. I continue to caress it with my lips, and gently nibble his tip. I give him exactly what he wants. I slam his cock deep in my throat. He wants all of me. He has me right where he wants me. He pulls my hair moaning from the pleasure he receives only with my sultry mouth. His beautiful cock pulsates, and he pours his hot cum down my throat. I nibble on the tip of his shaft, just to make him moan with more pleasure. His body jerks for a minute, as his cock continues to vibrate in my mouth. Once he recovers, he slams my back on the bed. He pins my legs over his shoulder, and he rams his shaft hard inside. I moan from an immediate orgasm. The base of his shaft is all the way inside. He quickly shifts me to his hips. I rock back and forth to give him pleasure. We have rough sex until he drains me. He keeps me firmly by his side, and toys with my hair. I drift off to sleep in perfect bliss and harmony. I have whom I always want, and I will do whatever it takes to keep my family together.
Series continues with book four, “Angels Of Mercy.”
