by Eve Newton
“Aefre, leave it,” he says. “I forgive you.”
I stop struggling and look at him in shock. “You do?”
“Of course,” he says. “I love you. I know you woke up in a confusing and upsetting time and the bond that you had with him made you feel better. Safe. Just as the one you have to me does. Even though I am angry about what happened, I’m not angry with you. It’s just circumstance.” He shrugs and I am now gaping at him. He is being so understanding (which makes me feel dreadful about the rest of the story that I haven’t mentioned and never will). He is being so reasonable and seeing how hard it must have been for me. He is being everything Cole isn’t. He is being the anti-Cole and the penny drops, that is his game. I breathe in a deep breath and say shaking my head, “It isn’t over with him.”
“Yes, it is,” he says and lets me go. “He gave you to me. Just as he said he did in the future.”
“No. It isn’t over,” I say again. “I won’t let it be over.”
My phone starts buzzing in my pocket, startling me as I had forgotten I Astralled it there when I got dressed.
“What?” I snap at Devon.
“It’s bad, Lizzie. He’s gone.”
“What do you mean, gone?” I say, feeling sick.
“Packed a bag and left. He didn’t say where he was going.”
“You let him go?” I shriek at him and having stepped back from CK and his claws, I Astral off back to my suite to land in front of Devon, who jumps a mile and throws his phone in the air. I catch it with deft hands and give it back to him. “How could you let him go?” I ask him as CK lands next to me with a glare.
“I am not his keeper, Liv. He wanted to go.”
Th cold ‘Liv’ turns my blood to ice. He obviously is pissed with me as well. “Dev, you know how much I love him, I need to make this right.”
“Not right now you don’t, just give him some time. He’ll come around. I promise,” he says quietly.
I slump onto the bed and my eye catches something on the pillow. His ring. His wedding ring. I snatch it up and I start to cry. Devon comes to kneel at my feet and takes my hands in his.
“He is just upset. It doesn’t mean anything, Kitten.” He looks over my shoulder and his face hardens. “You can stop gloating. Can’t you see she is devastated?”
It gives me hope that my darling boy will come around, but right now my heart is shattered. “Please leave,” I say to both of them. “Please just leave me alone.”
“Of course,” Devon says, and I grab his hand.
“Check on him, make sure he is okay, please.”
“Of course,” he says again. “He won’t have gone far. He has to be in Miami, so he won’t be far.”
I nod. Of course, he is still in Miami. We are all here because we followed him here.
I lower my head to the pillow, still gripping his ring in my tight fist as the tears continue to flow. Devon wrestles CK out much to my relief and I am alone. All alone. I can’t believe he didn’t forgive me and left me. I should never have said anything. I should have kept it all to myself. No one ever had to know. Why did I open my big mouth? I am the stupidest person in the whole world. In reality, I shouldn’t have done it at all. I got swept away thinking only of myself, as usual. But I told him I would keep within my bonds and I didn’t. I don’t really blame him for leaving me.
I lie like this for some time, it gets dark and still I just lie there. I send everyone away and await Cole’s return. He has to come back eventually. Marriage aside, he is too new to be away from me for very long. I hold onto that hope that he will have to come back to me. He won’t have a choice.
“I’ll go if you want me to, but I would like to stay,” Lincoln says from the doorway.
I shrug and he comes closer. “Can I sit with you?” he asks.
“You can but I don’t want to talk.”
“No worries,” he says, as he plonks himself next to me.
We sit in silence for a while and I sigh. He knows how much I hate silences. I turn to him and he grins at me. “Right on time.”
“Fuck off,” I say lightly. “I suppose you know what happened? What I did?”
“I do. Devon explained it to me.”
“Do you hate me as well?”
“Liv, I love you. I could never hate you. What you did was a bit…dumb,” he says, “but I understand. He will too. You came clean, you told him. It would have been worse if you hadn’t said and it came out later.”
Oh, gods, I think. There is more to come out. A lot more. Fortunately, I am the only one who knows in this world and the other two who know cannot shift between worlds so it should be safe. It has to be.
I sit up suddenly and cross my legs, looking away from him. “Oh, Linc. I am such a shit person, and an even shittier wife and even shittier sire on top of that. And don’t even get me started on what a shit charge I am! How could I?” I wail at him.
He scoots forward and puts his legs on either side of me and pulls me back to him. “Maybe, but you are the best Alpha mate a Wolf could ask for,” he chuckles, and I smile through my tears.
“Thank you,” I say to him. “I didn’t think I would smile again, ever.”
“You are welcome,” he says. After a pause, he adds, “He’ll come back. He loves you.”
“Doesn’t matter now even if he did,” I say woefully.
“What do you mean?”
I hold up my right hand, flashing him my ring. “He was there. He witnessed the entire thing.”
“Oh.” Another pause. “Crap. I am surprised he didn’t thrust divorce papers under your nose already.”
“I think he would have if Devon hadn’t put him in his place for being a smug bastard,” I say dryly.
He chuckles and says, “See, you can’t be that shit of a sire if your charge comes to your defense.”
“I must be a really shit sire to have both my charges leave me in the space of a couple of months.”
“Oh, Liv, don’t think like that, please, baby. Devon came back, Cole will as well.”
“But then what? CK is not going to just overlook this. No way in Hell.”
“So, you will lose your husband, but your charge will be back.”
I frown at him over my shoulder. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“Sorry,” he mumbles. “I was just trying to look on the bright side.”
“I don’t understand how he could just give up like that. He knows what the consequences are, and he just handed me off. I think that hurts more than anything else.” I pick at the covers and sigh.
“You will get through this. I promise you.”
“I don’t want to be going through this in the first place. It all could have been avoided.”
“But it is what it is now. Come, I think you should get some sleep. I’ll stay with you until you drop off, then I’ll leave. Just in case he comes back.”
“Thank you, Linc.” I let him settle me under the covers and I close my eyes. I don’t suppose sleep will come soon but if it does, I pray I don’t end up back there.
“Well, geez, finally. Anyone tell you; you sleep like the dead?” a horribly familiar voice drawls at me as I open my eyes.
I groan. “You. What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Aren’t you impressed I got here?” other me asks. “After your disdain the other day, I thought you would be happy I mastered the art of time shifting.”
“Ergh, hardly. Now I have to look at your slutty self every time you decide to pop on over.”
“Well, I won’t take offense at the slutty remark, seeing as you are quite pot-shaped yourself there.”
I sit up then, remembering that Cole has left me and why.
“I am surprised to find you alone. I hate sleeping alone. Where is your husband?” she asks idly as I glare at her lying on the bed next to me.
“He isn’t here,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Obviously,” she says. “You are taking too long to come back. I am here
to ensure you go to my sire today.”
“No, I told you I am not going to sleep with him pretending to be you. You just go and do it. He already wants it.” So, that isn’t exactly true as what he wants is to have sex with me, but whatever. A technicality. I am sure she can work around it.
“No, it has to be believable the first time. You must do it. I will tell you everything else you need to know if you do,” she wheedles.
I sigh. I am still no further in trying to figure out how to get rid of the cursed thing. Maybe I could go and talk to him. Try and convince him, with words, to give me what I need. Or better yet, go and pretend I had sex with him. She doesn’t need to know; I mean it isn’t like she is going to stand there and watch. My eyes snap to hers, or would she? I wouldn’t put it past her.
“If you are thinking that you can go and pretend to fuck him just to get what you want from me, think again,” she says.
Crap. Me and my stupid expressive face.
“Look, I would go, really, but I have a whole load of shit to deal with here. Personal shit. I just can’t step away and trust me when I say that now is not a good time for me to be putting it out.”
“Get caught doing someone outside of the circle, did you? Been there, done that. It’ll blow over. I mean, Christ, it isn’t like they can live without you. Where you go, they follow,” she says matter-of-factly.
“Not this time,” I mutter.
“Please,” she says to my surprise. “I need you to do this, he responds to you. God knows why.” She ruins the heartfelt plea with an insult. Nice.
“He responds because I am what he wants. He doesn’t want a slutty, power hungry harpy.” I borrow this from Devon, and it has the desired effect as she glares at me. “Try being nicer and more loving. Get him alone and focus entirely on him. Forget everyone else, just let it be about him. Look into his eyes, touch him, be interested in what he has to say.”
She frowns at me. “Huh, interesting. So, like, love the one you are with sort of thing.”
Erm, I wouldn’t put it quite like that, still sounds insensitive, but if she gets it that way then all good. “Yes. Exactly,” I say.
“Show me,” she says. “Come back with me now and show me how you do it. You don’t have to sleep with him this time, just let me see what it is you do.”
What it is that I do? She makes it sound like a job. “How?” I sigh.
“I will watch you.”
“From where? Like some kind of Peeping Tom?” I am not comfortable with this plan.
“Just Shift into me and come with me. I’ll show you.”
Well, doesn’t look like I have a whole lot else to do and she said I don’t have to fuck him. Only problem is, he knows it won’t be her and if she is watching she will know that too. I chew my lip. “Why don’t you see me interact with one of my own? It’ll be real then.”
She thinks it over. “Fine. Get one of them up here.”
“It’s things like that you have to stop saying,” I grouse as I climb out of bed. “I need a shower. Give me five minutes.”
She nods and I go off, wondering how I am supposed to teach her to be nicer.
“By the way,” I turn back to her. “Why do you live in London and speak with an American accent?”
“Why do you live in America and speak with a British accent?” she asks in return and, well, she has me there, so I just shrug and go shower.
Five minutes later, I am showered and dressed and set with my little project. I call all of them to come up and tell her to wait in the bathroom to observe. I still have no clue why she wants to see me but if it helps her be a better person then I am all for that. I wait and they all arrive at the same time, just letting themselves in. I stand and face them. “Before any of you say anything about what happened yesterday. Please don’t. I don’t want to talk about it and please don’t look at me like you feel sorry for me,” I snap at Devon who adjusts his features accordingly. I smile brightly now. “Come, sit,” I say, and they all look at me suspiciously, but do as I say.
“CK, can I have a word with you please, alone.”
“Of course, my love,” he beams at me and inwardly I roll my eyes at him. I take his hand and lead him to the bedroom, and I close the door behind us.
“Before you say anything,” he says. “I know you are hurting, and I am sorry for that, but you know the arrangement. You are mine now, end of story.”
I sigh and take his hands. “I know. I just need a bit of time, okay?” I say and he nods.
“Of course, my sweet,” he whispers as he pulls me to him. “Take some time, but not too much,” he adds with his made-for-me smile. “I have waited a long time for this, I don’t want to wait much longer.”
I nod and swallow. Shit. Is this really happening so quickly? Oh, Cole, why did you have to give up? Why couldn’t you just have had a shit fit at me in private but stay with me?
“Sit. I need to talk to you about something,” I say, gesturing to the bed.
He pulls me along with him and sits. “What is it?”
“Are you okay?” I ask him to his surprise.
“Yes, why do you ask?”
I take his face in my hands and stare into his eyes, hoping that the other Liv is taking all of this in. “I hurt you. I know that and I am truly sorry. Know that I will never do it again. I promise.”
“Aefre,” he says, taking my hands again. “Don’t worry about me, I keep telling you I am capable of looking after myself. And yes, it did hurt, but Christ knows I have hurt you worse in the past and you have the grace and compassion to forgive me every time. You have nothing to worry about.” He kisses me. “Besides, it did work out in my favor, now didn’t it. I shall have to thank myself if I ever get the chance.”
“Oh, CK,” I say, shaking my head. “You must understand that I am not going to get over him as quickly as you would like me to.”
His face hardens briefly. “I do know that.”
“But I love you,” I say. “I love you and we should do the ritual again soon.”
His face lights up now. “Right now,” he says, and I laugh at his eagerness.
“Tomorrow,” I say. “When we don’t have everyone waiting for us,” I say, pointing to the door.
“Hm, acceptable terms, my sweet.”
I kiss him tenderly and he wraps his arms around me. He pulls back suddenly and gazes at me. “Did you meet her?” he whispers, and I know he is talking about our daughter, but I don’t want to talk about this with other me listening. She has already learned far more than I would have liked. I nod but say, “I will tell you all about her when we are alone.”
He nods, seeing that I am resolute. “I do love you, Aefre. Thank you for saying what you did before. It was unnecessary but it makes me feel special,” he says shyly.
“You are, my love,” I say and kiss him again. “Will you give me a minute to freshen up? I then should go and speak to Sebastian about what I can only assume happened.” I stand but he pulls me back down.
“No, Aefre, leave it. He is heartbroken. He can be volatile when such emotions overtake him,” he says seriously.
Heartbroken? What the hell did she do to him?
I frown at him. “No, I want to speak to him. I need to know what she did and try to make it right.”
“She destroyed him,” he says, clearing his throat. “I know you probably don’t want to talk about it yet, but you could heal him.”
I shake my head. “Too soon,” I whisper, and he nods grimly.
“Speak to him then, but be careful, Aefre. He isn’t in a very forgiving mood.”
I open my mouth to say that I didn’t do anything to him, but close it again as he shrugs, knowing what I was going to say.
We both stand again, and he hugs me tightly. “I love you. You are so strong,” he says to me quietly. “But will you let me take care of you? You don’t need to go through everything on your own. I just want to take care of you.”
“And I want you to,” I say truthfu
lly as I am worn out, weary, heartbroken myself, and struggling just to remain standing and not fall at his feet in tears. He beams at me adoringly and I smile back. “I’ll just be a minute, okay?”
“Okay,” he says and leaves me as I stride into the bathroom.
“See?” I say, hands on my hips. “Easy peasey. Just be nice.”
She is staring at me in wonder and says, “How the hell do you do it though? I saw and heard everything, but I just can’t get my head around how easily you wrap him around your finger. I mean he wants to take care of you? I don’t think anyone has ever said that to me, let alone him.”
“Because you are such a bitch, no one wants to,” I say nastily, and she flinches. “I mean that they don’t think that you need it or want it. Show a bit of vulnerability.”
“It is a weakness,” she says.
“No, it isn’t. It makes the people you claim to love actually know that you care about them.”
“So, Cole left you, did he?” she says with a cruel smirk, wanting to get her own back, probably.
“He did. But he will return.” I cross my arms tightly in a show of nonchalance even though I am dying inside.
She shrugs, not really interested in my sorrow. “Fine. I will take what I learned and try it. If it doesn’t work, though, you are coming back with me to do as we originally planned.”
“Wait. What about The Thirteen?”
“If your tactics work then I will come back.”
“They aren’t tactics, Liv,” I say with a sigh. “They are feelings, emotions. You have to be genuine. If you want him to love you, you have to love him first.”
“I do love him,” she whispers, and it is the first time I have seen that she actually does.
“Then stop being a cow and show him.”
She nods. “I will return later. Good luck with Sebastian,” she says and winks at me.
“Excuse me?” I say.
“Whatever it was you have to talk to him about. Your sire was right, he can be volatile. That Faerie temper is something else.”
