by Eve Newton
“I didn’t find out until right before you were abducted. She had been trying to get hold of me, but I was ignoring her. Constantine asked Nico to arrange a DNA test and it proved that I am the father,” he says quietly.
Now I know he is lying. You can’t test Vampires’ DNA. “Liar,” I hiss at him. “Why are you doing this?”
I turn to leave, I need to get away from him and his lies, but he takes my hand to stop me.
“I am not lying, Liv. I wish I was. I wish that this wasn’t happening, but it is, and you have to know. You have to know that I love you, that I never meant for this to happen.” He looks so desperate that I know now he is telling the truth. My already broken heart shatters into another million pieces. Now I know why he was on Tiamat’s side over the baby thing when we thought he was the Chosen One. He thought having a baby with me would make it all better.
I pull my hand roughly away from him. “Don’t touch me,” I say to him as he reaches for me again. I remember after our first date, he took me to lunch. He got up to make a phone call and I feel sick when it occurs to me, he was probably dumping his girlfriend to be with me.
“Liv, please,” he whispers in fear as he drops to his knees. “Please just tell me you believe that I didn’t know. That I didn’t want this.”
“Didn’t want this,” I repeat flatly. “Didn’t. Didn’t. Didn’t.”
“Don’t!” he exclaims quickly. “I don’t want this.”
“Have you claimed the child?” I ask. I can’t say the word “son.”
“No,” he says and shakes his head. “I haven’t even spoken to Carolyn. I wanted to talk to you about it first.”
Carolyn. I wish he hadn’t said her name. It makes it all too real. “Why? What is it to do with me?” I ask harshly.
He looks so sad I want to hold him, but I can’t. “Everything,” he whispers. “You are my everything, I…”
“You want my blessing, is that it? You want me to smile and say, ‘Yes, Cole. This is just dandy. Go and be a father.’ Is that what you were expecting? How do even plan on doing that? You are a Vampire; in case you had forgotten.” My nasty tone makes him flinch, but I don’t feel bad. Not right now.
“No, I don’t, I don’t want that. It’s complicated and impossible and if you don’t want this then it’s over. Done,” he says, standing up again.
How can he put this on me and make it my decision, so he ends up resenting me in a hundred years when his child is dead of old age and he never knew the kid? I don’t fucking think so.
“Do what you want,” I say and Astral away from him. If I thought last week was bad, this one day alone is the worst one I have experienced in a really, really long time. I go to the only place I can think of that will make me feel better. I land in the Entrance Hall to Ponte and slowly make my way upstairs to my old room. I stop outside the door and the flood of bad memories comes back to me. The memory of me waiting in this room for hours upon hours for Constantine to come to me, only to have him turn up and leave after we’d had sex because he couldn’t bear to sleep with me. The bad memories of coming back here and suffering after he rescued me from Lance, of sitting in this room writing him tear-stained letters after he left me over the whole stupid Michelangelo thing. Memories of him bringing me back here after Fraser died and I couldn’t breathe without it hurting. I turn and walk to Constantine’s room, our room, and push the door open. Mostly good things happened in here. I shut the door and jump a mile. CK is sitting on the bed as if he has been expecting me. Maybe he was. Maybe he knew I would come here seeking comfort.
“How did you know I would come here?” I ask him.
“I know you,” he says simply.
“You knew,” I accuse him. “You knew about this and you didn’t tell me. Why?”
He takes my hand and pulls me down onto the bed next to him. “If I had told you, especially before we had proof, then it would have made me look petty and like I was trying to sabotage your relationship with him.”
“Since when did that ever stop you?” I ask.
“Since you are my wife and I never want to see you hurt,” he replies.
“So, it’s true then?” I don’t really want to hear the answer.
“I’m afraid so,” he says. “What did you tell him to do?”
I stand abruptly and walk over to the windows. “I told him to do whatever he wants. I am not being held responsible for this, Constantine. It’s not my mess.” For once, I add silently. I fiddle with the curtain as I wait for his reprimand about being a neglectful sire. It doesn’t come, so I turn to him and add, “How are we supposed to deal with this? What if he wants to claim the child and files for joint custody? Then what? He brings him to the Underworld where the three of us raise him amongst Demons and Vampires?” I actually expect an answer here, because I haven’t got any.
“I don’t know,” he says eventually.
“Well, you are a great help,” I say and turn back to the windows. “You know, this day was the pits before he told me his secret.”
“Oh?” he asks with more than a little interest. “Things not go well with the Demon?”
I shoot daggers at him with my eyes and say, “No, that was fine,” choosing to leave out Sven and his threats. “It’s Lincoln.”
“What about him?” CK says, standing up.
“We are no longer together. Happy?” I snarl at him and turn back to fiddle with the curtain again. I am this close to falling into a black pit of despair, when he wraps his arms around me, and I sink against him and weep. Not for Lincoln, but for my relationship with Cole. If he chooses the child, he turns his back on me. It’s as simple as that.
“We need to sort it out, Aefre,” he says quietly before he kisses my ear. “He is in no fit state to make a monumental decision like this.”
“What if I make him choose and he regrets it later on?” I ask.
“Then so be it,” he says. “No one can see into the future, Aefre. Well, except maybe you,” he says and smiles gently. “We just have to deal with the situation now and the consequences later. The longer this goes on the worse it will be for everyone. And if you have forgotten, you are not innocent of this yourself.” He reminds me of my crimes in this area with more than a little bitterness. I sigh as I am once again just being the biggest hypocrite known to man.
“Just hold me,” I say.
He picks me up and carries me to the bed and tucks me up in his arms. I feel safe and loved and confident that he won’t let me down again. After his declaration last night, I truly know how much he loves me. I was too choked up to say anything to him. I have to make that right. It meant more to me than anything anyone has ever said. “You are the only one I can count on right now,” I say. “You are the only one who truly knows me and what I need. You anticipate what I want, and you deliver. Every single time.” I smile at him and he is beaming down at me, happy with my acknowledgment of his words last night. “I will love you forever, my husband. You are my one true love.” I rest my head on his chest and fall into an exhausted sleep.
When I awake, I am still wrapped in his arms. He is awake and staring at the ceiling. The firelight flickers against the growing dark and I sit up. “When did you get a fireplace in here again?” I ask.
He chuckles. “After you told me off for not replacing the old one,” he says. “Georges arranged it before they started work on the Tower.”
“Ah yes, the weasley worm,” I say darkly. “Is the Tower fixed now?” I add cautiously.
He nods, not really wanting to talk about it either. “It’s off limits,” he says with his own dark tone.
“Hm,” I say. He has a tendency to do that. Shut off areas of his home that he associates with bad things. Maybe I should try that with my brain.
“About that,” he ventures, and I am surprised he wants to talk about it. “There is perhaps something you should know. In the interest of full disclosure and honesty and all that.”
I cross my legs and he copies me, taking my han
ds. “Please don’t,” I say. “I don’t think my heart can take any more devastation today.”
“It’s not bad, per se. Just something you need to know,” he says.
“Okay,” I say and wait.
“When you killed Gregor and Eloise, it appears that their powers needed somewhere to go,” he says. “They entered me. I didn’t know for a while; I knew something had changed and I knew it had something to do with their deaths. I thought at first it was just a change in the balance of power, you know, being the only one left, but it started to become apparent that it was more than that.”
Wait. The power of the other Initial Vampires is in him? That is just creepy. “Do they still hate me?” I ask wryly and my unexpected sarcasm makes him burst out laughing.
“It’s not them, Aefre. Just the power,” he explains. “What I am trying to get at is I first really noticed the difference that day in the Tower. My own monster is vicious, dark, and depraved, and nothing I ever want you to see, but it still loves you. That which you encountered wasn’t altogether me.” He pauses as he lowers his eyes. “That is the first time I have admitted it, it feels good.”
I can see the relief on his face, but I have mixed feelings about this. He knew something was different and he lied about it. Okay, he omitted to tell me. I am a stickler for this point, when it suits me. But on the other hand, I am relieved that what I saw in him that day wasn’t him. Or at least not just him. Everyone struggles with a boost in power. Christ knows I fired off enough shots of Dragon Fire after I got mine. The poolroom will attest to that. Everyone thought it was intentional and I let them believe that, of course. But really it was the world’s largest accident. When I think about what I could have done to Cade, I start to break out in a cold sweat.
“Why did you wait so long to tell me?” I ask seriously.
“I don’t know,” he says. “I know I should have, but I was trying to wait for the right moment. After what I did to you, it never seemed to be the right moment,” he says with a look of sadness. “When Rem, err he, took you, I knew the true nature of this power. I can beat him, Aefre. I can protect you from him.”
He looks earnest when he says that, but no one can beat him. Not even me. I start to shake my head, but he shushes me. “I can,” he insists. “That force field that he flung at us in the bathroom. I pushed it back. I was just a second too late. Next time, I will be prepared.”
“Really?” I ask. “Do you think three Initial Vampires equals one him?” This is way cool if it is true.
“I think so, yes,” he says, and I start to get a bit excited. Surely between the two of us we can defeat him.
He smiles shyly at my obvious excitement, but it reminds me of something important. “Did you send the letter to Rosalina?”
His smile disappears and he nods again. “I did, but we don’t need her. I know I can protect you.”
“No, CK. No males, remember?” I remind him gently.
“But it’s me,” he says, wounded. “You said you would.”
“And I will, but not this time, my love. I need time. Please understand that,” I ask him.
He reluctantly agrees, but I am sure it is only because I said “no males” so he knows that no one will be going near me this time.
“I suppose we should get back,” I say then.
“Do we have to?” he grumbles. “There is too much drama there.”
“No kidding,” I snicker. “But, as you said before, we need to deal with this.”
“Five minutes,” he says salaciously. “I haven’t made love to you yet.”
“Five minutes?” I ask incredulously. “Is that all?”
“I can do a lot in five minutes,” he says with a sniff. “Time me!” He dives on me with a youthful exuberance that is quite foreign on him and true to his word, he does a lot in the next five minutes.
We land back in the Underworld and my wounded heart has been patched back together by our time with each other. It isn’t really about the sex, although that was fantastic, it was just about being together, just the two of us, and him telling me his secret. I know he wants to keep it between the two of us and I am happy to do that, for now.
Cole is waiting in the library, absolutely distraught by my less than enthusiastic response to his news and my abrupt departure. He flies at me, almost knocking me off my feet, with apologies on his lips. I shut him up by kissing him softly and start to hash out our options.
In the end, he agrees that telling isn’t an option and therefore having contact with the child isn’t either. He seems to be on board with the plan on the outside, but I have to wonder what he is really feeling. Still, the three of us talk about it like responsible adults with no accusations or hissy fits and come to a conclusion. He will be financially responsible, but that is the limit to his involvement. It’s the best plan. And at least I can then move on and forget this ever happened. Err, we can move and forget this ever happened.
CK offers to send Nico with the payment plan and the details behind it, but I decide that he would probably scare the pants off her and offer to do it myself. I have an ulterior motive, of course. I have certain conditions that I want to be absolutely sure that she sticks to. It’s nothing that I want Cole to know about, or CK even, so handing this off to Nico is out of the question. I feel the stab of my betrayal as Cole completely accepts my plan and trusts me to execute it as we have discussed, but I squash it, telling myself it is for the best.
“When will you go?” he asks me.
“After I get back from the D.F.K.,” I say. Neither of them is happy to be reminded about my upcoming nuptials to Sebastian, but it’s a reality that we have to face. Sooner rather than later.
Chapter 12
The Underworld, March 2014 - Liv
I decide on sooner and make a plan for in the morning. I will be a day early, but I am sure they can throw something together to get this done once and for all. CK left Cole and me together for a bit of alone time earlier today and it really does freak me out about how accommodating he is being. But I might have known there would be a hidden agenda. Not that I am complaining, though, as I luxuriate in my deliciously warm and fragrant bath filled with red rose petals as he leisurely washes me.
“I think this might work out quite nicely,” he murmurs to himself.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Time for him and time for me. We can alternate it. We don’t always have to be with you together,” he answers.
Works for me, although I quite like having the two of them see to me and tell him so with a wicked smile.
“Mm,” he says, his gorgeous amber eyes going darker. “Especially together-together.”
A hot, happy flutter passes through me and I want to call Cole back here, but CK is shaking his head, tutting at me.
“No,” he says gently. “My time.”
He reinforces this with the sponge, stroking me in all sorts of delicious places. I sigh happily.
“I like being your wife,” I declare suddenly to his amusement.
“That warms my heart, my sweet. Care to tell me why exactly?” he asks.
“You treat me like a Queen,” I say, keeping my eyes closed.
“You are a Queen,” he reminds me.
“So I am, and I greatly appreciate your service.” I open one eye to see his reaction to that comment.
“I live to serve you,” he murmurs darkly and sucks on my toes, causing me to squirm closer to him. He drops his fangs and bites the instep of my foot and I let out a sharp yelp. I knew, even though he had stated his intentions of servitude, that I wouldn’t get away with a comment like that. I wiggle my toes at him in annoyance and he chuckles.
“You know,” he says conversationally, “that I am not going to let you go to him without leaving my mark on you.” He keeps his eyes on my foot as he slowly circles the sponge around my toes.
“Meaning?” I ask him.
“Meaning, I am going to make love to you before you go and you will stay that way
until your return, or there will be severe consequences,” he states.
I shiver with delight at his possessiveness, but also at his threat. He takes my silence as non-compliance and adds, “I don’t trust him. I don’t trust you two together, over there. You will not consummate this union.”
“Who said I was going to?” I ask quietly, I’ll admit a little fearfully, after his admission of increased power.
He regards me with a look that says it all. He knows about our secret relationship. Sebastian told me he was supposed to break it off and that CK could never know we were still together, and I wholeheartedly agreed, the aftereffects of the Tower still fresh in my mind. I do the only thing I can and ignore him. He isn’t getting an admission out of me so he can go all cave man when I was enjoying this soak. I crawl forward and kiss his stern mouth.
“You said something about making love?” I ask and he accepts that I won’t admit anything, and he kisses me back. But he knows and now he knows I know he knows. I reach for him, but he stands up and steps out of the bath. He helps me up, wraps a towel around me and carries me into the bedroom. I expect to be placed gently on the bed and get a mild shock when he places me on my feet and turns me around, whipping the towel off me and bending me over. He is inside me with a swift stroke and my indignation flares up. Less making love, more fucking then by the looks of it. It takes me all of two seconds to forget that, though, when he brings his fingers around to play with me. He sees to my satisfaction and then comes inside of me quickly. At least it wasn’t a completely selfish fuck, I think, as he hauls me upright by my hair. He cups me, soaking his palm with our juices, and he squeezes me gently. Removing his hand, he turns me around and slices a deep gash across his damp palm. I watch him curiously as he places his hand to my chest and starts muttering some words in the ancient Celtic language.
Fuck, he’s casting a spell on me.
I reach up for his wrist to pull his hand away from me, but an electric shock sparks my fingers and I pull back with my hair standing on end. What the Hell is he doing to me? I can only stand there and watch the trace of his hand down in between my breasts, down my stomach, leaving a bloody trail in his wake before he stills at the top of my mound. He takes his hand away and wipes it on the towel before he wraps it around his hips and crosses over to the closets.
