Into Forever

by Danielle James

  She had begged her not to make her marry a man she didn’t love. She had shouted and screamed about how her mother was being unfair and selfish. Nothing worked. Anora informed her that she was the one being selfish and would do better to learn to shut her mouth.

  So Serena did just that. She shut her mouth and locked herself in her room. She had spent the last hour chanting a spell that kept a barrier around her room, preventing anyone from entering. She had to keep her spell strong because her mother was a strong Fey herself.

  “Serena, this is the last warning you will receive from me,” Anora warned from the outside of Serena’s bedroom door. “We will miss our flight if you do not move it, now.”

  Serena ignored her and continued to chant. Let her mother be angry. Let her miss their precious flight. She wasn’t taking Serena to a party with gifts and happy drinking and laughter. She was taking her to prison in chains. She was taking her away from her soul mate, never to be with him again. Just the thought of never seeing Gage again brought on a fresh wave of tears and it left her spell vulnerable for only a small moment, but Anora felt it and was quick to exploit the weakness.

  Her bedroom door crashed open and three of Anora’s flunkies marched through it. Anora followed closely behind them as they surrounded Serena. “No!” she wailed at them as the men took her by the arms and forced her to stand. “I won’t go! I will never marry him!”

  “You will do as you are told, child,” Anora said, stepping close to her daughter. She stood mere inches from Serena’s face. She wished that she had the backbone to spit in her mother’s face at that moment, but she knew it would only ever happen in her head. Serena had too much respect for her mother, even while her mother basically sold her into slavery. Knowing she had been beaten, Serena hung her head low. Perhaps, she thought silently, there would be an opportunity to escape from the airport or the plane. She never got to finish the thought though, because her mother acted quickly and without mercy, almost as if she heard the thoughts forming in her daughter’s mind. “Sleep,” she commanded. Serena felt her mother’s magic wash over her in waves as darkness overtook her.

  The music poured out of the small amplifier as Gage’s fingers danced over the neck of his bass guitar. He played a solemn melody that came straight from his broken heart. The notes traveled from his fingers, down the strings, through the electronics, and into the air, with a precision that only came from decades of practice.

  He was trying desperately to distract himself. He had never given much thought to finding a mate before Angel and Brea found each other, and even after that he only thought of it in passing. Now that he had without a doubt met his mate, it seemed to be all he could think about. He had known from the first time he saw her. Before, when he allowed his mind to wonder and think of his potential mate, he envisioned how he would not make the same mistakes as his brothers. He would do everything right, and they would live a happy life with two and a half kids, a dog, and a picket fence. Never once did he imagine that he would dig himself into a shit hole the size of Texas over her.

  There was no use in trying to talk himself into believing that things would work out, because they wouldn’t. Now, he was destined to die alone. He was almost ready to accept it. Almost. He missed her. God, she had only been gone a few hours and he missed her with his heart and soul. He felt as if part of himself had been ripped away, leaving him only half a person.

  He continued to play as he wallowed in self-pity. He had royally fucked up; not just with Serena, but with his family as well. And now, they knew the secret that he had kept as close to his vest as he could for so long. None of his family knew that he was a purebred vampire. It just complicated things.

  A purebred vampire, one who was born of two pure vampires, was so scarce that they were revered as royalty among other vampires. They were stronger, faster, and had stronger abilities than turned or half vampires. They were even able to eat food, especially when they are just children. It was why Gage had such a strong mental ability. He taught his family how to use their gifts, but even they didn’t know what Gage was capable of.

  He could use his mind to do all sorts of things. He could read and send thoughts, of course, even over long distances. He could also influence a person to do whatever he wanted. He didn’t often use it because he did not relish the idea of taking away someone’s free will. But he could. He could command a person to stop, as he had done to Rebel, like they were hitting an invisible wall. That was the first and only time Gage had used that power on his family.

  He had fought so hard and for so long to keep his mental barriers in place so that his family would never know who he really was. He didn’t want to be treated differently. If they had known, they would have held his authority above Angel’s, and he really didn’t want that. He may be purebred, but he was no politician. He didn’t have the patience or the willingness to listen to the clan’s problems and needs. He was more likely to tell them to shut the fuck up and get out of his house.

  All the thoughts about his heritage led his mind to his mother. He had not thought of her in some time now, and now that he did, the pain returned in full force with the memories. He would never be able to erase the memory of her death from his mind, no matter how hard he tried.

  He had been a young vampire at the time, only twenty years old. He and his mother had been out on a late night hunt for dinner when it happened. A man tried to mug him, and his mother tried to protect him. If the mugger had been a simple human, things may have gone differently.

  But it was no simple human that approached that night. He was a werewolf; one with a serious vendetta against vampires. He fought for his mother with all his strength. But she was no weakling and tried to help. For one moment, Gage was distracted. The wolf took advantage of that moment to swing his sword at shoulder level. He remembered his mother’s scream just before she moved at inhuman speed in front of him.

  He watched her head fall from her body. Gage erupted in a blind rage then, and he really could not remember what exactly happened after that. All he knew was that his mother was dead and her killer lay in pieces beside her broken body. He realized some time later that the werewolf who killed his mother had been more than an assassin. He had been a hit man sent to kill them both.

  He never knew his father, so after that, Gage was alone. He was alone for a long time before he met Angel. Immediately, Gage knew that he was going to be very important one day and vowed to protect him. He stayed by Angel’s side and held his vow very tightly. He never did anything that might endanger the man, and stood by his side to protect him, every day since. Until now.

  Now, Gage had done something that could put all of them in danger, and he had never been so ashamed of himself. He missed his mother. He missed Serena. He missed Antonio. Antonio had been his best friend. Now, it felt like Gage had been left with nothing.

  Well, not nothing. He still had his family. As mad as they were at him for now, they still cared. He could hear them, even over his amp, discussing who was going to come and talk to him. Jessica had said a flat no; they were not throwing her under the bus on this one. Frankie was terrified to come and see him. Brea was the only one willing, but not sure Gage even wanted to talk. Every one of the men knew that Gage just wanted to be left alone. The discussion was finally settled when Angel’s voice popped into his mind. When you are ready to talk, he said, we are ready to listen.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Serena had to admit, Prince Rakimesh Adeer was pretty to look at. Upon first meeting him, she noticed that he was tall and handsome. His dark hair hung to his shoulders and his eyes were almost black, they were so dark. His eyes held a sincerity that was uncommon these days, and she respected him for it. His home was equally beautiful. It was everything she expected a royal palace should be. She was introduced to everyone in the palace, including the staff and the concubines he kept. There was even one that the Prince looked at with true adoration. If she weren’t already in love with Gage, Serena might have been je
alous. They ate a huge dinner with her family and then Serena was shown to her room so that she could shower and prepare herself for Rakimesh that evening.

  Of course Rakimesh wanted to have sex with her. Of course he wanted to own her before they were married. Premarital sex was not taboo to the Fey, and this was no different. He wanted to sample the merchandise before he bought it, so to speak. No way in Hell she could let that happen. It’s not that he wasn’t attractive; he was very easy on the eyes. It wasn’t that she was a prude either. It was because her heart belonged to Gage, and sleeping with another man was out of the question. She may be forced to marry him, but no one was going to make her have sex with him. If he wanted her that badly, he was going to have to rape her. And God help him if he tried.

  But there was nothing she could do, was there? Or maybe, there was.

  Serena had spent enough time with Gage to know what he would do in this situation. He wouldn’t go balls out and start a fight. No, he would be stealthy. Sneaky. He would find a way to make sure Rakimesh didn’t want to have sex with her. Yes, that would be exactly what he would do. That is what she would do. Starting immediately.

  Serena knew she didn’t have much time. She opened her door only a crack and peeked out into the long hall. No one was standing guard for her. And why would they? Her mother had seen to it that the whole palace was surrounded by a spell. Serena could come and go as she pleased, so long as she stayed within the walls of Prince Adeer’s home.

  She tip toed out into the hall and tried to remember her way around. She rounded a corner, went down the stairs, and hung a sharp left into the dining area. She looked all around her until she was satisfied that no one was watching her. She then pushed her way through the doors that led to the servants’ area of the kitchen. She opened one cabinet after the other until she found what she was looking for. Clear plastic wrap had more than one use. She stashed the rectangular box under her arm and continued her search. She found baking soda, salt, vinegar, Cheyenne pepper, and, in the drawer that held non-food supplies, she found gorilla glue.

  Serena rushed back to what would be the marital suite with her booty stashed in her arms. She had much work to do and only a short time in which to do it.

  Rakimesh walked slowly up the stairs. He hated leaving his women alone tonight, but this was important. He was going to be with the woman who would be his bride. He knew she was reluctant, but he felt confident that after she sampled his wares she would change her mind. He slipped silently into the suite they would share, only a little disappointed that Serena was not there. He had hoped for her to be there waiting for him, but inside, he knew that was not going to happen. She would come to him only when he summoned her, and not a moment before. It was perfectly fine though, as he needed to prepare himself for her.

  He entered the master bath that was attached to their room for a nice hot shower. He was actually excited for the events to come. He stripped his clothing from his body and turned on the shower. He then turned and lifted the toilet seat. As the urine began to stream from his body, he heard an odd noise and looked down.

  He was peeing on some invisible barrier! Urine was splashing off the toilet and showering the entire floor! He tried to stop, but he was already in the process and couldn’t stop the urine flow from leaving his body. It was splashing all over the place, including himself. His legs and stomach were getting wetter by the minute! He looked around frantically, finally deciding on using the sink instead. When he finally stopped peeing, he checked the toilet. There was clear plastic wrapped snugly around the toilet bowl! No wonder his pee went everywhere!

  He grabbed the first washcloth off the counter and began to wipe the urine from his body. He rubbed his thighs and his scrotum until they were dry. As he knelt down to clean the floor, he felt something. It was slow to register at first, but then…

  Holy mother of God! His balls were on fire!

  He jerked to a standing position and dropped his head down as far as he could to see the damage. Other than being a little red, his parts appeared to be fine. That was when he smelled it. It was pepper. He lifted the towel to his nose, and sure enough, under the scent of urine, was hot pepper! Who and why were the only thoughts going through his head. That, and put the fucking fire out immediately!

  He turned on the tap in the sink and splashed cold water on himself until the burning subsided. He tossed a couple of towels on the floor to soak up the assorted liquid, not daring to touch one to his body. He turned to finally get into the shower.

  He stepped under the spray and pretended that the hot water didn’t feel like a branding iron on his cock. He needed to wash off all of the pepper residue if he was going to stop his genitals from bursting into flames. He soaped himself from head to toe until he finally felt more normal. He didn’t know for sure who would try to sabotage his marital suite, but he was sure as hell going to find out.

  He reached for his shampoo and poured a generous amount directly on top of his head. He rubbed and felt it lather vigorously. He scrubbed and scrubbed until yet another smell violated his nose. It was vinegar. Hell, someone had put vinegar in his shampoo! He took a handful of the suds and studied them.

  They were popping and fizzing like the volcano the kids make at school with vinegar and baking soda. He was beyond irritated by that point and just did his best to rinse it all out.

  He turned off the water and stepped onto one of the towels on the floor. He didn’t bother to dry off for fear of another towel bomb. Instead, he immediately went to his drawers and searched all the way in the back. He found the little tube he was looking for. He didn’t worry that someone might have done something ill with it, it was too well hidden.

  He read the label carefully. It was male enhancement gel. It said, “Apply liberally to the penis before intercourse for a long lasting erection.” He wanted to really impress Serena with his stamina, especially the first time. He popped the lid off and poured a large glob into his open hand. He rubbed it on himself until it began to absorb and feel a little tacky. It was at that fateful moment that he noticed that it too, had a strange smell. He tried to raise his hand to his nose to be certain, only to find that he could not. He pulled and pulled, but his hand was securely attached to his cock, and there was no getting it free. Well, shit. Didn’t this make for a great first impression? And as if that weren’t enough, the voice returned to his head once again. Well, it serves you right. You know she will never belong to you.

  Rakimesh sat down on his bed. He was wet, naked, hearing voices, and his hand was glued to his dick. Now what was he supposed to do?

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Five days. It had been five days since Gage had last seen Serena. That was one hundred and twenty hours. Seven thousand two hundred minutes. Gage knew this because he had watched each one tick by with agonizing slowness. Time had begun to creep by at a snail’s pace. Every second of every day had become harder and harder for him. He wanted to call out to her mind, just to be sure she was alright. He knew he couldn’t do that, though. She needed to adjust to her new life without him making it more difficult.

  Although they had scarcely said the words, Gage knew that Serena loved him as much as he loved her. He didn’t know much about bonding with the fey, but he was fairly certain that since he bonded to her, she could reach him if she wanted to. And she had not done so. That fact spoke volumes to Gage.

  He was wandering around, ok, sulking around the house, when he heard a soft whisper. It was coming from the little room that had been made into an altar for Frankie. He stood by the door, his interest peaked, and listened for a moment.

  “Dearest Goddess,” she said softly, “I beg of you. Show me the way to help my family. Show me the way to help Gage. I don’t know whether to help him get her back or to help him let her go. I can’t do this on my own.”

  Gage listened to the prayer for a few moments, guilt building up inside him like a high rise apartment complex in the city. He felt the weight of that guilt like a ton of bricks. He
knew he had to snap out of it, if not for his own sake, then for his family that was worried to death over him.

  He didn’t know what made him decide to open the door, but he did. He didn’t stop there. He walked through the room and directly to where Frankie was kneeling on the floor praying. It was as if some unseen force had taken control of his body. He laid his hands on her shoulders and she twisted around to look at him. It was hard to believe that he snuck up on her, but the surprise in her eyes was evident.

  Frankie smiled at him and then turned back around without speaking to him. “Is this the answer I seek?” she asked her Goddess. On an invisible breath, the candle Frankie had lit for the prayer, blew out. “Ok,” she said, nodding her head. “I think I understand.”

  She got up and stood to her full height in front of Gage. She looked him over from head to toe and then back up again. Gage stood perfectly still for her assessment, curious as to what she would do next. It wouldn’t surprise him if she hauled off and slugged him as Leigh had done. Hell, he deserved that and more. But Frankie did no such thing. Instead, she lifted her hand and brushed the hair off of his face, running her hand lightly down his cheek in a careful, almost motherly caress.

  “You look like shit,” she finally said. Gage couldn’t help it; he smiled. “You are the answer to our problem.”

  “I think I am the cause,” Gage muttered.

  “Well, that too,” Frankie replied. “But the Goddess says you are the answer. Now we just have to figure out how. I think it’s time we all had a good, honest talk.”

  “Yeah,” Gage agreed. “I got some things I need to tell everyone. There is some shit I’ve been keeping to myself for a long time now.”

  Frankie raised one eyebrow and gave him her best ‘no shit’ look. “Let’s gather the family and see if we can’t figure something out here.”