by Eve Newton
“Ahmed?” Lincoln asks. “When did you speak to him?”
“When Devon was undergoing his trials. We spoke briefly. I am going back on Sunday to see him and Corinne. He said they would try to help.”
“On Sunday? I will come with you,” CK says quickly before anyone else can call shotgun.
“No, I am going alone. The moral of this story is focus. I can’t focus when I am around you. All of you. You pull my attention away and I can’t afford to let that happen. Not until I am ready.”
My words go some way to placating my boys, but I can see that they are not happy. Except for Cole, of course, who just looks smug.
I sigh. “Please say you understand,” I ask them, needing to know that there isn’t going to be any drama.
“Of course, V.A.,” Lincoln says straight away, and I love him for it. He is always the one I can count on to have my back without having a big argument about it first.
“Sure,” Devon says, not about to let Lincoln get all the credit for moral support. “Although, this is twice now you have blown me off. You will have some serious making up to do.”
“What, today wasn’t good enough for you?” I snap at him and he shrugs.
“It was for making up for blowing me off last week,” he says, and everyone just looks uncomfortable that we are discussing this, especially Jess who, well, looks more furious than uncomfortable.
“I will make it up to you, I promise. All of you.”
“Well, I shall be sure to keep those handcuffs nearby for when you are ready,” he says with a wicked chuckle.
“Handcuffs?” CK croaks at him. He regains his composure and roars at him, “You handcuffed her?”
Devon just looks back at him mildly. “She could have gotten out of them anytime she wanted to. She didn’t, however.”
“Enough!” I snap at them and they both smile weakly at me. I turn to CK who is still staring at me like I took away his favorite toy. Which I suppose I did, really.
“I will come with you on Sunday,” he says again. As I start to shake my head he adds, “I would like to see my old friend again. You and Corinne can speak while Ahmed and I catch up.”
Old friend? Catch up? Words so strange coming from my sire. I peer at him suspiciously, but he has his perfectly innocent face in place.
“Fine,” I say in a huff. “You can catch up with your old friend. Which, by the way, is just strange coming from you.”
“Why?” he asks. “I do have friends, you know.”
“Do you?” I ask, now most curious, as I have never seen him with any.
“Of course, I do,” he says, now haughtily. “And for your information, Ahmed and I were quite close before he disappeared. It makes the sting of his betrayal that much worse. He has some serious explaining to do.”
“Fine, whatever,” I mumble, not really all that interested in his relationship with Ahmed. “Just stay out of my way and don’t interfere.”
“Done,” he says, now smug that he has gotten his own way – again. When will I learn? I frown and rub my finger between my eyes. “It isn’t fair how you do that.”
“Do what?” he asks, still all innocent, but I know better.
“Wheedle your way into my business. I ask you to stay away and you make a valid reason to come anyway.”
“Your business? You think that this is just your business? We are all in this together, my sweet. And need I remind you that your well-being is my business.”
I blink at him and then take in the nodding heads of the rest of the group. “Together,” Devon says.
I breathe in deeply. “Fine. But I get my free week. The only people I will be spending any time with is Cade and Xane. And Jess,” I add. “Oh, and Cole.” I smile at him and he glows.
“No fair,” Devon grumbles.
“I will still see you, baby. I just can’t dedicate my days to you. Any of you.”
“Why me?” Jess says, not happy to be singled out.
“You are my assistant, are you not?” I ask her. “Plus, I said we would do some training of our own.”
“Oh,” she frowns at me.
“Go and get some blood. You are looking like you are about to go feral on me.”
“Sorry,” she mumbles. “I am still so hungry all the time.”
“I know. It won’t be much longer,” I try to reassure her. “Meeting dismissed,” I say then, suddenly really tired. Everyone stands as I walk back to the bedroom. “Oh, and one more thing,” I say over my shoulder. “Will one of you please find me a loner Vamp? An unproductive member of society, preferably one with no charges and no sire.”
“May we ask why?” Lincoln asks.
“Because two go, two come back, and Fraser is coming home. To me.”
Chapter 21
What happens next is quite comical. Had I not been deadly serious about my intentions, I would have laughed. A lot.
Almost in slow motion, they all turn to me, mouths hanging open in shock. I brace myself for the barrage that is headed my way and it comes. In spades.
Cole reaches me first and grips my arm. “Liv!” he says desperately. “You can’t do that.”
I don’t hear the rest of what he is saying to me over the shouts from the rest of the group. They all descend on me and I take a step back. Cade pushes his way to the front of the crowd and stands in front of me. “Get back!” he snaps at them, and I go over all mushy at his defense of me. He pushes me back into the bedroom and closes the door on everyone still yelling at me that I can’t do what I said I was going to do.
“What’s the big deal?” I ask him. “I mean, I expected some complaints but geez.”
Cade shakes his head at me. “Liv. You cannot just go to a parallel universe and take one of its people.”
“It’s not just any people. It’s Fraser.”
“Look, I get that he meant a lot to you, but you can’t replace him with…well, himself. It’s not right.”
“I don’t care about right. I care about him. Being here with me, like he was supposed to be.” I start crying then and he stands there awkwardly, looking at me. He shuffles forward to pat me stiffly on the back and I find a small amount of comfort in it as, for him, that is like giving me a bear hug.
“Liv.” Cole pushes the door open and comes to me as he sees me crying. “We’re sorry, we didn’t mean to crowd you. Please come back out and talk about this.”
“There is nothing to talk about,” I sniffle.
“I beg to differ,” CK says from the doorway. “There is a whole hell of a lot to talk about.”
Cole takes my hand and leads me back into the sitting room where everyone is sitting, nice and quiet, albeit with varying degrees of horror on their faces at my declaration.
“Liv, sweetie,” Lincoln starts. “The Lance creature was probably lying just to unnerve you. Fraser is probably not still alive over there.” He looks at me sadly.
“Why wouldn’t he be? It makes perfect sense that he would be alive because Gregor would be dead,” I state much to everyone's confusion.
“What?” Devon asks. “I don’t quite follow your logic.”
I sigh impatiently. “I became Queen there five hundred and seven years ago, which means I would have killed Gregor and Eloise in 1506. That is two hundred and forty years before Fraser was killed by Gregor at Culloden. It also means that she got more time with him. Enough time to be able to turn him.”
Realization dawns on them as they hear my words and I can see the dread seeping into each and every one of them that, by this rational argument, it is, in fact, very likely that Fraser is still alive in the alternate universe.
“Regardless, my sweet. You cannot go there with someone from here and leave them there so you can bring him here. You will cause all sorts of damage to the timelines.”
“I think we did enough damage when we went on our travels, this won’t make much difference.”
“It will. Even if he is alive, who is to say that he is the same man you knew and fell in
love with?” he asks softly.
Everyone waits with bated breath as I think that over.
“It doesn’t matter who he is now. Of course, he will be different. She turned him. He is a Vampire now. He has seen and done things that he wouldn’t have done here.”
“Aefre, you cannot go after him.”
“I can and I am going to.”
“And what then?” CK asks, now losing the gentle, soothing voice in favor of his annoyed tone. “You bring him here and then what? You pick up where you, not he, left off? Which leaves the rest of us where, precisely?”
“Is that why you are trying to talk me out of this? Because you think I will run off with him and get our happily ever after?”
“Well, will you?” he asks, as the room descends into an eerie silence.
“No, of course not,” I say vehemently, much to the relief of everyone in the room. “But if there is even the slightest chance that he, any version of him, is alive and well, I want him here with me.”
“Liv,” Cole says quietly. “Don’t do this. I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t,” I say to him, taking his hand. “None of you will. There is a space here for him and he will fill it again.” As far as I am concerned this discussion is closed, so I pull my hand out of Cole’s and go to the bedroom. I close the door quietly and heave a sigh as I get undressed. “I will come for you, my love. I will not leave you at the hands of that woman,” I whisper as I sink to the bed and fall asleep before my head hits the pillow.
I stir when Cole joins me, but I am too tired to move. He sighs and drapes his arm around me. I want to give him comfort, so he knows that I won’t abandon him when Fraser gets here, but I am exhausted, and sleep pulls me under once again. I dream of Fraser. Regular dreams, not the fake ones. I must have hurt The Thirteen more than I thought. I thought it was going to come back at me with the remaining five, but they stay away from my dreams. Thankfully. Or at least up to a point.
I am lying in the bed in the hotel in Toronto when I open my eyes. I stare straight into the mossy green eyes of Fraser.
“Morning, lass,” he whispers, giving me that perfect smile I miss so much. My heart lurches. I know this is a dream, one of the fake ones, but I don’t care. I am going to go with it because it means I am with him.
“I have missed waking up with you,” I murmur as I lean forward to kiss him.
“I have missed you too. Every day. I didn’t get enough time with you, Emmie. I didn’t get to tell you how much I loved you. But we can be together now. As we should have been.”
“I love you too,” I whisper. He pulls me to him, and I can feel his muscles rippling under his shirt. I rip it off him, much to his delight and he pulls me onto his lap.
“Make love to me, Emmie. I want you so much.”
I know in the back of my head that this isn’t real, but he feels so real and I want to. Dream me wants to make love to him more than anything.
I kiss him tenderly and he kisses me back, desperately pushing his hands into my hair. I can feel him hard against me and I trail my hand in between us, eager to get my hands on him.
“Oh, yes,” he sighs as I touch him. “Just how I remembered.”
He brings his hands up to squeeze my breasts and I moan at his touch.
“Liv!” I hear Cole’s voice in the dream, but I ignore him as I kiss Fraser again, bringing my hands up to cup his face as he moves his down to my hips.
“Liv!” I hear Cole again this time, desperate. “Shit!” he yells. “Get here now.”
I have no idea what he is saying, I just want him to go away and leave me to my precious dream.
“Aefre!” Constantine barks at me.
Oh, for fuck's sake. Can’t a girl be left alone with her dreams in this place?
“Aefre, get away from him.”
I pull away from Fraser and turn, finally, to glare at my worried sire and Cole.
“Will you go away and leave me and my husband in peace, please?” I snap at them and Cole’s face drops as he hears my words.
“Aefre. Get away from him,” Constantine says again this time, stepping closer but not able to reach me.
“Do as the lady says,” Fraser says, looking smug. “Leave.”
“Get your hands off her right now,” Constantine hisses at him.
“Or what? She, quite clearly, is happy to be here with me. Leave us.”
“Yes, go. I am happy here. I want to stay in this dream,” I say.
“Aefre, this is not a dream, my love,” Constantine says worriedly, and I cast a quick glance at Cole who has a matching expression.
“Yes, it is. It is my dream and I don’t want you two in it. Go.”
“Liv, baby. This is not a dream. That isn’t Fraser,” Cole says, holding his hand up gently.
I look at Fraser, who is looking back at me perplexed. “I am your husband,” he says. “I love you, Emmie.”
“Liv. You are not dreaming, my love. This is real but that isn’t Fraser. You need to get away from him right now.”
I frown at him. “This is a dream,” I insist.
He shakes his head, stepping forward, but again not getting close enough to me to reach me. He holds his hand up carefully as if scared he might frighten me off. “Come to me, Liv.”
“No,” I say. “I want to be with Fraser.” Why does he keep insisting that this is not a dream? I know it is a dream because Fraser is dead. And yet, I can feel him under me now, feel his hands tighten on my hips. I put my hands on his chest to feel him.
“Look at your rings, Liv,” Cole says to me. “Look at them. That is what is real. I love you. We are married. Come here to me, please.”
“This isn’t a dream?” I ask, shaking my head.
Cole and Constantine shake their heads, “No, Liv. This is reality. You need to come to me now.”
“Don’t listen to them. Stay with me,” Fraser says as he plays with my hair to distract me. It does distract me. I don’t look like Emily; I look like Liv. Every time I dream about Fraser I always look like Emily. Every time in the last two hundred and sixty-seven years. I pull away from him confused and scramble to the edge of the bed pulling the sheet up over me.
Fraser sighs. “What gave me away? I was fairly certain I was believable.”
I stare back at him, dumbstruck. This isn’t a dream, this is reality, and I have just been sitting on and kissing The Thirteen who has taken on the guise of my dead husband. I was ready to make love to him and it was all real? My heart breaks as I look at him. “How dare you? How dare you use him to get to me.” I call the sword to my hand, ready to take out this thing that has manipulated me for the last time.
“Oh now, now. We don’t need to go through that again,” he says as he stands up.
“I will kill you for this. I will find the way,” I say through gritted teeth as he stares at me through the eyes of my beloved dead Fraser.
“Not if I get to you first,” he says with a cruel smirk, which just looks wrong on his face, and he disappears. The forcefield goes down and Cole is on me the instant I let the sword go.
“What the hell was that?” he asks me, the terror evident in his voice.
“I was dreaming. Or at least I thought I was. Shit. I can’t even separate my dreams from reality anymore. What the hell?” I pull the sheet up higher in my panic.
“Aefre. Calm down,” CK says as he strokes my arm. “Tell us why you thought it was a dream.”
“I was asleep. Dreaming of Fraser. Not the fake ones, just the usual kind. I opened my eyes and I was looking right at him. I was so sure though that it was a dream.”
“You dream of him like that often?” Cole asks as if he doesn’t really want to know the answer.
“Sometimes,” I admit. “Not that much anymore.”
He looks pained but then adjusts his features. “Well, that’s it. I have had enough of this thing messing with you. You are not to be alone at all until you defeat it. Someone will be next to you at all times.”
<
br /> “Cole, that isn’t necessary.”
“Yes, it is,” he insists.
“I agree,” CK says. “No arguments,” he adds as he sees me about to do just that.
“No, I don’t want to be coddled,” I sulk.
“Liv, you are clearly vulnerable to this thing. It knows how to manipulate you. What if I hadn’t been here? What would have happened if I hadn’t walked in here when I did?”
I gulp. I would have had sex with It. I really do need to get myself under control. This is ridiculous. “All right, point taken,” I mumble.
“We need to keep you safe,” CK says softly. “I will get Cade to work up a rota.”
“No, that isn’t necessary,” I say again.
“Aefre. Just do as you are told for once. Please,” he says with his world-weary sigh.
“Fine.” I sigh myself. I slump back to the bed and stare out of the window. “Wait. It’s light out.”
“Yes, it’s morning,” Cole says.
“What time?” I look at the clock and it says 8 AM.
“I came to bed at 9 PM. I slept for eleven hours?” I ask incredulously.
“That thing drained you of quite a bit of your energy last night, my love,” CK says, sitting on the bed. And you didn’t feed. You shouldn’t be surprised.”
“No, I suppose not. Would one of you get me some blood, please? I’m starving.”
“Ah, now that I can help you with. I have someone here for you. Well, in my suite at least,” CK says.
“Oh? Well would you mind getting them?” I say as he doesn’t make a move.
“I am staying right here with you. Nico can bring him up,” he says as he messages someone, presumably Nico.
“This doesn’t fit into my plans of a vacation time,” I grump.
“Tough shit,” he says offhandedly. “You may wish to put some clothes on?” he adds as there is a knock at the door followed by whomever it is just coming in anyway. Seriously, we need some boundaries around here. I hear Nico and summon up some clothes, nice and casual again today. Loose fitting and barefoot.
“Liv, sweetie. Are you sure you are okay?” Cole says.
“Just peachy,” I say with a bright smile. I feel like crap though. I am still tired, and my heart is breaking over this thing taking over Fraser’s body. I must get to him as soon as possible. I make a sneaky plan to try and get to the other world just to track him down. To see for myself if he is still alive.
