Betrayal (Blood Haze: Book Three) A Paranormal Romance

by Shuler, Tara

  “Do you want to do it now?” he asked.

  “Yes!” I gasped, but then I paused. “Wait. My mother and my brother… how can I get married without them here?”

  “I have already taken care of that, darling,” Alexi told me. “I believe the danger to them has passed, and I have already made arrangements for them to come here. They will be here in about an hour.”

  “Oh, thank you!” I shrieked, throwing my arms around his neck. “Wait! I need a dress!”

  “Your mother wanted it to be a surprise,” Alexi said. “But she is bringing her dress – the one she wore when she married your father. I hope you do not mind.”

  “Mind? It’s perfect,” I breathed. “That dress was beautiful, and it’s been in my family for centuries.”

  “I am glad it pleases you,” Alexi said. “I must go get ready. If you need anything at all, just ask one of the acolytes to help you.”

  He turned to leave, but I grabbed his hand. He turned back to face me, and I looked up at him, trying desperately to see his eyes in the shadow of his cloak.

  “Alexi…”

  “Yes, darling? What is it?”

  “I love you more than you know,” I vowed. “I don’t know why it took me so long to see it, but I need you to know. I feel it so strongly I can’t describe it. It’s always been you. I just didn’t see it.”

  “I told you,” he said. “I knew you would feel it, someday. I knew you would feel the same way I feel about you.”

  His lips once again found mine, and the shocking jolt of electrifying passion swept through me. It left me breathless.

  “I will see you soon, my love,” he promised me, and then he left to prepare for our wedding.

  Chapter Fourteen – Wedded Bliss

  It wasn’t long before my mother and my brother arrived. Jamie was with them, and I embraced her fondly. It had been so long since I saw any of them, I could hardly believe they were real.

  “Mother!” I gasped, squeezing her tightly. “I’ve missed you so much!”

  “I know, dear,” she said. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

  “Will!” I shrieked, nearly choking the life out of him. “God, it’s so good to see you!”

  “You, too. You look good,” Will said. “Your hair is longer.”

  Then I turned to Jamie, and I ogled her with real surprise.

  “Jamie!” I boggled. “You look incredible!”

  She blushed. She’d not only lost a tremendous amount of weight, but her skin had cleared up, and her face was radiant.

  “Thank you,” she said. “It’s all because of Will.”

  “Don’t give me the credit,” Will flushed. “It’s all you, honey.”

  The way they looked at each other, I could see nothing but true, undying love for one another. It was the way I looked at Alexi.

  “So you finally made your choice, eh?” my mother asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you sure this time?” Will asked.

  “More sure than I’ve ever been about anything,” I gushed.

  “You know what?” my mother asked. “I can see it in your eyes. You love him.”

  “Yes, Mother,” I agreed. “I love him more than anything.”

  “Aww,” my mother cooed. “My baby has finally grown up!”

  “And it’s about damned time!” Will joked.

  I stuck my tongue out at him playfully, and he ruffled my hair.

  “So where is the dress?” I asked.

  “I’ll go get it,” my mother told me. “It’s hanging up in the car.”

  She disappeared outside, and reappeared quickly with a black zippered coat bag in her hands.

  “Come on,” Jamie squealed. “Let me help you get ready!”

  Jamie grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs. Her excitement was plain to see. My mother followed closely behind us, carefully carrying the precious wedding dress.

  The next hour was a flurry of activity. Jamie and my mother fussed over my hair and makeup. My mother brought several different pairs of shoes, and they had me try on each pair at least twice. At last, I was ready. I’d given them free rein over how I looked. I couldn’t have cared less what I looked like. I just wanted to marry Alexi as quickly as possible.

  I didn’t even think to look in the mirror. I sat on the edge of the bed, my stomach twisted in knots, while I waited for my mother and Jamie to get ready in one of the other bedrooms. I gnawed at my fingernails.

  I heard a cautious tap on my door, and I went to open it. Kai stood in the hallway, his eyes cast downward. My heart leaped, but not out of love. It was purely out of pity for a friend I cared about deeply.

  “Do you want to come in?” I asked him.

  “No,” he said quietly. “I… I just wanted to say that I understand. I’ve never been there for you the way I should have been, so I can understand why you’d choose him over me.”

  “That has nothing to do with it, Kai,” I told him. “I don’t know how to explain this. You were always there for me. I just… I…”

  I didn’t know what to say. Nothing I could possibly say would take the pain away for him, so I decided I wouldn’t even try.

  “Well, congratulations,” he said, his voice trembling. “I will always be here for you, no matter what you decide.”

  “Kai, look at me, please,” I begged him.

  Slowly, his stunning blue eyes turned up, and I could see them glistening, but he did not cry.

  “Wow,” he whispered. “You look… so beautiful.”

  My heart melted a little, but it wasn’t the same. Once, his beautiful eyes could have turned me into putty in his hands. Now, there was nothing but a friendly fondness. It was deep, but it wasn’t love.

  “I’m sorry, Kai. I really am. I never meant to hurt you. I care about you so much. I do. But this is the right decision for me. I know this hurts you, and believe me, I am so sorry. But it’s right for me.”

  He clenched his jaw and nodded.

  “All I want is for you to be happy, and if this is what it takes, I accept that,” Kai said, though his jaw was still clenched tightly.

  “Thank you,” I told him sincerely. “Thank you for being here, and for being my friend. I hope you will come to understand in time. I hope you will be okay.”

  “I will be as long as you’re happy,” he said, and he sounded sincere. “I’m going to go get ready, now.”

  “You’re coming to the wedding?” I asked.

  “Of course,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t miss this moment, no matter how much it hurts me.”

  I smiled weakly. Kai really was growing up, just as I was. A few months ago, he’d have run away in a huff. Now, he was going to my wedding, because he didn’t want to miss such an important event in my life.

  “Oh,” Kai said, turning to face me once more. “Liam left.”

  “Left?”

  “Yeah, he left. He said to tell you he was sorry, but he couldn’t handle it, and he just left.”

  “Where did he go?”

  “I don’t know. He didn’t say.”

  “I guess he didn’t say when he’s coming back?”

  “Nope. I got the feeling it wouldn’t be really soon.”

  “Oh,” I said, my stomach feeling a little anxious.

  “Anyway, I’ll see you later,” Kai said, and he turned to leave.

  It was then that I realized I needed to tell Max. I got the feeling it wouldn’t be an easy phone call, but I needed to do it. I closed my bedroom door for privacy, and with shaking hands, I dialed his number.

  “Hello?” he answered, after a few rings.

  “Max? It’s Alice,” I said.

  “Oh, hey,” Max replied. “How’s it going?”

  “Fine, fine,” I answered. “Look… there’s something I need to tell you.”

  I heard the sound of a female giggling in the background, and Max said, “Shh! Just a minute!”

  “Who’s that?” I asked curiously.

  “What did you need
?” he asked, ignoring my question.

  “I… I’m getting married,” I blurted out.

  “Stop!” he whispered, and the girl giggled again. “Married? To Kai?”

  “No… to Alexi…” I told him. “Who is that?”

  “Alexi, huh? Cool. He’s the right choice,” Max said. “Will you stop it a minute, Denise? I’m talking, here!”

  “Max! Who is Denise?” I shouted into the phone, tired of him dodging the question.

  “Oh, it’s Denise. She’s… kind of my girlfriend,” he admitted. “Ow! Quit it! Fine, fine! Not kind of! She’s my girlfriend.”

  “You met a girl? When?” I asked.

  “A few weeks ago,” he said. “It just kind of happened.”

  “Well, I’m really happy for you,” I told him.

  It was the truth, but a part of me still felt a small twinge of disappointment – perhaps even jealousy.

  “I’m happy for you, too, Alice,” he said. “When is the wedding?”

  “Tonight.”

  “Tonight? And you’re just now telling me?”

  “Sorry, it just happened.”

  “Like… you just agreed to marry him tonight?”

  “Yeah. It’s a long story.”

  “Well, damn. I would have come to the wedding if I’d had any notice.”

  “It’s okay. I wish you could be here, but I understand.”

  “Well, I’d better go. Denise and I were headed out to dinner.”

  “Alright,” I said. “Max?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I miss you,” I admitted.

  “I miss you, too, Alice,” he said. “I hope I can see you, soon. Bye.”

  I hung up the phone. The call was awkward, but it hadn’t been as difficult as I thought it would be. At the moment I closed my phone, someone knocked on my door. I opened it, and Jamie stood there beaming proudly.

  “It’s time!” she squealed.

  My heart fluttered, and I couldn’t resist squealing a little, myself. A few hours ago, I couldn’t imagine making this decision. Now, it consumed me.

  “They’re holding the ceremony in the foyer,” Jamie explained. “I hope that’s okay with you. I thought it would be dramatic for you to walk down the stairs.”

  “That sounds perfect,” I told her.

  Honestly, I would have married Alexi in the middle of a junkyard, or in a sewer, or standing waist deep in a swamp. I just wanted to bond myself to him – to be his wife, and to stay with him forever.

  Jamie took my hand and led me to the stairs. She handed me a bouquet of white roses that I recognized from our garden at home. They must have picked them for me when they went home to retrieve the dress. The wedding march began to play, and my brother stepped over and took my arm.

  “Father is gone, so I’m going to walk you down the aisle,” he whispered, and I smiled at him gratefully.

  I gasped lightly when I saw Alexi waiting at the bottom of the stairs. I couldn’t believe this moment was real, and the love of my life was waiting for me. He was so close I could almost taste him. I smiled in breathless anticipation. He will still hidden by his cloak, but he managed to take my breath away.

  Slowly, my brother led me down the stairs. I could see Alexi’s tender smile in the shadows of his cloak as we neared him. It looked proud, and delighted. At last, we reached the bottom of the stairs, and I stopped beside Alexi and looked up at him warmly.

  “We are gathered here to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony,” Father Jacobs said. “Before we begin, is there anyone here who objects to the union of this couple?”

  For a moment, the air was thick and I could feel a darkness emanating from Kai. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, and I could see his mouth open slightly. Then his jaw clenched, and he was silent.

  “Then we shall begin,” Father Jacobs said after a moment. “Alexi Carolos Christakos, do you take this woman, Alice Claire Wright, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?”

  “I do,” he gushed, placing a simple golden band on my finger.

  “And Alice, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?”

  “I do,” I breathed, and I took the thick gold band I was offered by my brother and placed it on Alexi’s finger.

  “Then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. Alexi, you may kiss your bride.”

  Alexi wrapped his arms around me, and I could feel his face nearing mine. I pulled back slightly, and I grasped the edges of his hood. I waited for a moment, hesitating to allow him to object.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered. “Go ahead.”

  I smiled, and I pushed his cloak back away from his face. Finally, I was able to rest my eyes on the tremendous beauty of his face once more. His pale skin, his crimson lips, his deep scar… nothing in the world was more beautiful to me. I looked into his violet eyes, and they held more love than all the world.

  “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” I whispered.

  “Finally, I believe it,” he whispered back, and his lips found mine.

  I absently handed my bouquet to my mother, and I allowed myself to be lost in his kiss. I breathed deeply, enjoying the intoxicating scent of his skin, and I tasted the sweetness of his lips. His arms held me in an embrace that blocked out everything else in the world. It was warm and strong, and it was all I needed. I forgot the other attendees. I forgot my problems. I forgot the world. I only knew him.

  Alexi swept me into his arms, and I clung to his neck. I was so lost in his kiss, I could barely tell we were moving. He carried me up the stairs, and I was vaguely aware of us entering his bedroom and of hearing the door slam behind us.

  I tangled my fingers in his flowing white hair, and I kissed him fiercely. He laid me gently on his bed, and our lips never parted as I struggled to tear his cloak away. I could hardly tell what was happening. Zippers were tugged, buttons popped, and clothing flew about the room like discarded paper lost in the wind.

  I felt his bare skin against mine, and the sensation was maddening. His hand was under my neck, pulling me into his kiss, and I let my hands explore the rippling muscles of his back, touching his smooth skin and then wrapping my fingers in his long hair once more.

  “I have waited for this moment my entire life,” Alexi whispered hoarsely. “There has never been another.”

  I felt a twinge of guilt as I remembered my escapade in the motel room with Kai, and I wished I could have saved myself for Alexi. I started to mention it, but his lips closed over mine, and I forgot what I’d been about to say.

  “I love you,” I told him. “I love you more than anything, more than anyone, more than I ever knew I could love someone. You are beautiful to me, Alexi. More beautiful than anything.”

  “You do not know how much I have wanted to believe that, to hear you say it,” he breathed, his lips brushing lightly against my cheek.

  “I am yours, forever, Alexi,” I vowed. “I will never want another.”

  “I have always been yours, Alice,” he said. “And I always will be.”

  The following moments were intense, and undeniable. The passion I felt was incomparable to anything I’d ever felt before. I thought my time with Kai was incredible, but now, it meant nothing. Being with Alexi was like coming home. It warm, it was comforting, it was love. And that love was the most intensely passionate experience I had ever felt.

  Everything was a blur of intense emotion and physical pleasure. I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began. Our bodies melded together into a single form, and I felt his hands and his lips all over me.

  “Alexi!” I gasped, tears stinging my eyes. “Never leave me! Not ever! Not for any reason!”

  “Eternity,” he promised me with a gentle whisper in my ear. “Nothing less than eternity.”

  “You
are my everything,” I told him, and it was the truth.

  I felt an electrifying intensity begin to wash over me, and I clung to him tightly. I began to tremble, and I could not contain the passion I felt. I cried out with pleasure. I heard Alexi groan fiercely, and he pushed against me. His lips locked over mine, and they pushed against mine so hard I could taste a drop of blood on them. His tongue eagerly lapped at it, and he moaned softly.

  “I love you!” I cried, digging my nails into his back.

  With that, we both exploded like fireworks on the Fourth of July. It was loud, it was beautiful, and it was glorious. I could see a million colors flashing before my eyes, and then nothing but pure violet as his piercing eyes found mine. We collapsed together, panting and holding each other close. I had never felt so passionately loved, nor had I ever loved so intensely. He was my Alpha and Omega, my beginning, and my end.

  A tear slid down my cheek as I struggled to catch my breath, and his lips kissed it away. He gently pushed my sweaty hair away from my forehead, where it clung like a spider web stubbornly refusing to let go of a curtain. I took his hand and kissed his palm, and then I looked deeply into his eyes.

  “Please don’t ever cover yourself again, my love,” I begged him. “I can’t bear not to see your face.”

  “Never again,” he promised.

  “I can’t believe you ever thought you weren’t beautiful,” I whispered. “You’re so beautiful it almost hurts to look at you.”

  I took a strand of his white hair between my fingers and ran them down the length of it. Then I rested my hand on his naked chest.

  “No one ever felt that way about me,” Alexi told me. “Everyone always said I was ugly – a freak.”

  “Oh, Alexi,” I breathed. “I can’t imagine. I can’t understand.”

  My eyes searched every inch of his face, looking for some imperfection, some hint of why people would have told him such a thing. I found nothing. All I saw was the most gorgeous creature I’d ever met.

  “It’s love,” he told me. “You see what others don’t. It’s because it’s real.”

  “No,” I told him definitively. “You are beautiful. It’s not just because I love you. You… are… beautiful.”

  “I almost believe it when you say it,” he said, and he planted a kiss on my forehead.