by VJ Dunraven
“Your mother laughed in my face,” he said with raw anger in his voice. “She said I wasn't acceptable and accused me of seducing you to elevate my family's pedigree. Then, she told me you’d come to your senses and had decided to break off our engagement.” He clenched his jaw, trying his best to keep his fury at bay. “Was she telling the truth?”
She looked stricken and he knew. “Why didn't you fight for us, Catherine?” He masked the unbearable sorrow that flooded his heart.
“I-I wasn't aware that you came to see me. Mother said you moved on and found someone else. She told me it was for the better. I was confused and I thought you simply gave up, so I did the same.”
He was speechless for a moment. “I never came back after that.” He gazed blankly into space, suddenly feeling weary, and then turned to look at her. “Until now.”
Catherine felt his torment and her heart clenched. “Why, John?” she asked in a strained voice. “What do you want from me?”
He took her hand and kissed her palm. “You, Catherine. I want you back. Come with me, stay with me.”
Catherine squeezed her eyes. Her heart and mind were at war and she didn't know which one to follow. Half of her wanted to be with him and half wanted to run away.
“Please, Catherine.” He held her hand against his cheek, “I can't lose you again. Say you'll come with me.”
Her chest constricted. This proud, intelligent, powerful Duke, whom she never stopped loving was begging her favor. She wanted so badly to give in and follow her heart, but then, what sort of future awaited them? What if the Royal Army caught up with them? They would burn them at the stake and if they had children, they would be persecuted.
Catherine gasped at the grim reality of their life together. It would be an existence of constant secrecy and isolation, forever ensconced in the dark fringes of society where no one would recognize them. They would be shunned. She would never see her family and friends again.
She bit back the tears that threatened to fall. “I'm sorry, John, but I can't.”
He stared at her with that terrible pained expression that made her heart break. “Yes, you can, Catherine. Stand up for me, for us—, for once.”
“No,” She managed to choke out, pulling her hand away.
He sat there for a long time, merely looking at her. “Why?” he finally asked in a strangled voice. “Don't I have a place in your heart anymore?”
Her chest felt like it had imploded and scattered into several pieces. She turned her head, unable to lay her eyes on him, hating herself for the hurt she was about to mete out for the second time. “There's no future for us, John.” Hot tears slid down her cheeks.
“What do you mean?” He cupped her face in his hands and gazed into her eyes. “I'm extremely wealthy. We can have anything—, everything you ever dreamed of.”
She shook her head. “Everything, except freedom.”
“So what?” He shrugged. “We have each other! We could do whatever we want. We can get married, start a family—”
“And then what?” Catherine cried. “Keep our children in hiding? What are we going to tell them when they grow up? That they can't see their cousins, aunts and uncles, or have friends, or even go to school, because Mom and Dad are wanted by the European Royal Army?”
“We'll deal with that when the time comes.” He searched her face. “Please, Catherine ... don't you want to be with me?”
Catherine saw the desperation in his eyes and the gouging grief in her gut grew. Yes, she wanted to give in and rekindle their love, but in the end, the impossible circumstances that neither of them had the power to change, prevented her from succumbing to the blind desires of her heart.
“I do, but not this way, John. There's no hope for us,” her voice shook at the agony that crossed his face. “Please don't ask this of me. I can't forsake my family, my future—”
“Your future?” he exclaimed and recoiled from her. “You're still under your mother's thumb, aren't you, Catherine? Are you still afraid of what she might do, if you and I get back together? You haven't changed at all, have you?”
“How dare you judge me! You know the reason why I'd rather not reconcile with you!”
“Ah.” He smirked. “Because I'm not good enough?”
“Because you're a wanted criminal!” she shouted. “You abducted the Queen of the Highest Royal Coven of Europe! To this day, they're still hunting you. Do you realize the gravity of what you've done?”
His countenance tightened into harsh lines. Catherine shuddered. It reminded her of the way he looked at her fifty years ago, before he fled that ballroom.
“You and your mother degraded not just me, but also my ancestry,” he rasped through gritted teeth. “Who did you think you were to assume you were better than everyone else? I will show our entire civilization that the days of European tyranny are numbered!”
Catherine stared at him, dumfounded. “T-that was your reason for abducting the Queen? You must be mad!”
“Mad? Hah!” he scoffed. “Did you think no one could challenge the Highest Royal Coven? You, Europeans are so vain! You think everyone is beneath you!”
“I never regarded you as such!” she exclaimed, her temper flaring.
“Bullshit!” he retorted angrily. “I saw the look on your face when you paraded your Prince in front of me as if I never existed! You were gloating. Savoring every minute of attention, those pompous fools were showering on you because you were in his company! You loved that, didn't you? Being adored like a queen? But now that he tired of you, tell me, was it all worth it? Sacrificing our love in exchange for the temporary privilege of being the Prince's paramour?”
Catherine jumped off the bed, facing him with cheeks aflame. “He didn't tire of me! H-he got distracted!”
“Ah, yes, by ... what's her name? Elizabeth is it? A mere Tainted girl, far below your rank! She's American, I believe. I wonder how that made you feel knowing he dumped you for a mixed breed who is not even European?”
Catherine felt like he had slapped her across the face. “She’s just a diversion! He's never going to take her seriously! H-he will return to me as soon as he gets bored with her!”
“I see. You're still hoping to get your Prince back,” he said in an icy tone. “But I've seen how absorbed he is with that girl and I'm sure you've noticed it too. I don't think he's planning to give her up anytime soon. What are you going to do in the meantime? Skulk around and hope he'll remember you?” his laughter rang in her ears, taunting her.
The sting of his sardonic remark unleashed her frustration. “No! I'll find a way to get rid of her! Her breed is not worthy of him. He should be with me!” she blurted, only to realize that she sounded exactly like the vain Europeans he had ranted about.
“Ah, you finally revealed your true colors, my dear,” he said with a triumphant sneer. “And how are you going to accomplish that? Are you going to lure her away and stab her with a dagger in the heart, or behead her with a silver sword? Have you thought about how and where to burn her remains?”
“I ... no,” Catherine replied, aghast at the graphic manner John had described the process, as though it was some chore that required a checklist. She glanced at his expressionless face and shivered. Was that what he did to the Queen? Yes, she was angry and vengeful, but could she really bring herself to do the same thing?
“Perhaps I can help you.” His eyes flashed with an insidious gleam.
“Help me?” she asked, wary of his sudden change in demeanor. “Why would you do that?”
“I've nothing to lose,” he replied, lips twisting. “You, on the other hand, wouldn't want to be a criminal like me, would you? Unless of course, you're willing to go down to my level.” His sarcastic words cut her.
“How—? What are you going to do?”
His mouth curved into a sly smile. “I'm going to strike a deal with you.” He slid off the covers and stood on the other side of the bed.
Catherine couldn't help but sweep her eyes a
t his sculpted physique. He truly was a fine-looking man. “What kind of deal?” she asked in a breathless voice.
He began to circle the bed, walking steadily towards her. “You want Elizabeth gone and I need her to fulfill my plans. We can work together.” He stopped in front of her, slowly raking his gaze over her nakedness.
She drew a deep breath at the spark of desire she saw in his eyes. “What plans?”
“It's none of your concern.” He moved closer. “What matters is, we both could benefit from her disappearance. You will have your Prince back, and I, in turn, will satisfy my goals.”
“What do you intend to do? Take her hostage and kill her, or do you desire her for yourself?” her voice quivered with resentment at the thought of him falling for the charms of the same girl who stole her Prince.
“Both. I've decided to change my preference to women who might find me more than good enough.” He smiled crookedly and lifted her chin with the knuckle of his forefinger, running his thumb along the softness of her lips. “You're not jealous, are you?”
She shook her head in denial though she knew, he knew.
“Good. Then we understand each other,” his voice lowered into a seductive whisper. “Because you and I,” his mouth hovered dangerously close to hers, “have no future and absolutely no hope.” He trailed his fingers down her throat, making her tremble with anticipation. “We must forget about each other.” The tip of his tongue skimmed along the curve of her earlobe, flicking lightly in sensual provocation.
Her skin prickled at the feathery gust of his breath.
“Don't you agree?” he rasped against her ear, grabbing a handful of hair at her nape and jerking her head back, forcing her to look at him.
“Yes,” she murmured hoarsely, as his arm circled her waist, heaving her roughly against his hardness.
And when he bit her chin gently, “Yes . . .” she heard herself say once again, dazed with desire, and could no longer recall what his question was.
An arrogant smile flitted across his lips. “You're a bad liar,” he whispered. Then, he bent his head and ravished her mouth with a savage kiss.
Chapter 40
Colonel Gunter and the Former Queen
“Mom?” Elizabeth called from the doorway of their yellow cottage.
The rapid tapping on the computer keyboard stopped.
“Elizabeth?” her mom called back, followed by the sound of a chair being pushed away and quick footsteps on the hardwood floor.
“You're early! I thought you were with—” Her mom paused upon seeing Ben, Lela, and Carlos behind her. “Oh, hello!”
“Mom, these are my friends from school.” She introduced each one of them.
“Just call me Mrs. Hamilton.” Mom beamed. “Why don't you guys go to the living room while I get you something to—” Her smile vanished, replaced by a look of utter shock.
“Mom?” Elizabeth touched her arm. “Are you okay?” She darted her eyes from her mother to Chad, who stood frozen in the doorway.
“What?” Her mom swung her head to look at her, a flustered expression on her face. “Oh, I'm sorry—” She turned back to Chad. “Hello, I'm Mrs. Hamilton.”
“Mrs. Hamilton, Chad Alistair,” Chad replied without a smile. “Glad to finally meet you,” he said the last words with emphasis.
Elizabeth noticed the wariness between the two. “Uh ... do you guys know each other?”
“Oh, no, no!” Mom replied, “I-I just thought—he reminded me of someone, that's all, I—anyways, come on in. I was just going to go get some drinks.”
Elizabeth watched her hurry into the kitchen then swiveled her gaze back to Chad whose eyes were riveted on her mother's retreating figure.
Lela slapped his arm. “Chad! Stop scowling and close the door,” she scolded. “I think you spooked Missis Hamilton.”
Chad struggled to maintain his composure. Devil be dammed! Never in a million years did he expect to see Queen Elizabeth the XV, former Queen of the Highest Royal Coven of Europe, alive after all these years!
He purposely selected the chair that faced the kitchen to keep an eye on her. Obviously, she had recognized him. The astonishment he saw on her face told him everything. She had been pregnant when she was abducted seventeen years ago.
His eyes flicked to Elizabeth and the slow realization of what that meant sank in.
Elizabeth was the child she was carrying!
He swallowed the tautness in his throat. Yes, her mother's rank had been relegated to Duchess when she was presumed dead four years after the abduction, but her husband, King Edmund Royce XII, King of the Highest Royal Coven of Europe at that time, had never been stripped of his title even after he passed on the crown to the current King. This simple fact validated that Elizabeth was, and still is, a Princess! Was this the reason why General Bradford called upon him to protect her?
Chad drew a deep breath, inundated by the scale of his findings. After all these years, he could finally close the cold case that had plagued him for so long. He had found the former Queen—alive, with her daughter!
But what were they doing here, living in disguise, surviving through humble means? Why did the former Queen evade their search and rescue mission? Why didn't she come back home to her husband and reclaim her title? And what was Elizabeth doing at Darian Hall, mingling among the Tainted?
A sudden sense of despair eclipsed the thrill of his discovery. Yes, he had found the Queen, but he had also lost the only girl who captured his foolish, evasive heart. Elizabeth is a European Royal. The only breed untouchable to someone like him. The astonishing pain of that reality gripped his heart like a vise, suffocating, crushing, and splitting it in two.
“Why are you so quiet?” Elizabeth laid her hand on his knee.
He turned his gaze on her. Elizabeth was staring at him with those blue-violet eyes he adored. Princess Elizabeth. His suffering instantly intensified like a brewing tempest that threatened to ravage his very core.
“Chad?” She squeezed his knee, peering at him.
He blinked. “Huh? Nothing. I'm just—,” He met her mother's eyes fleetingly as she set a tray of drinks on the coffee table. Blue eyes. He switched his gaze between mother and daughter. It couldn't be. “I'm just thirsty.” He smothered the sudden suspicion that bloomed in his chest. Could things be worse than what he had imagined?
“Here.” Elizabeth handed him a can.
“Thanks.” He took the can and stood up. “I'll just go get my cell in the car and make a quick phone call.”
Elizabeth's mother watched in alarm, as Chad headed towards the door, glancing her way before stepping outside. She had overheard what he'd said and a bad feeling began to churn in her gut. Hastily, she sneaked out the back door to catch up with him.
“Colonel Gunter!” she called out behind him, as he lifted his cell phone to his ear. “Please don't!”
He looked over his shoulder and she saw the vexation on his face as he slipped the phone in his shirt pocket. “I was hoping you'd get the hint and follow me outside.” He turned to face her, eyes narrowed. “How do you do, Your Grace? It has been a long time. You've given us quite a scare.”
“Colonel, I know how everything must look to you.” She met his intelligent scarlet eyes. “But I assure you, I have good reason why I did what I did.”
“I'm listening.” He stood with feet apart, arms crossed on his chest.
She hesitated and threw a worried glance at the house. “This is not the place, nor the time,” she said. “Come by alone, when Elizabeth and the others are not here.”
“Very well. But you must know that I am obliged to report my findings to General Bradford.”
“Yes, I understand, but Colonel Gunter—,” she looked at him with imploring eyes, “please, just give me time—, hear me out and base your decision on what I have to say.”
“Fair enough,” he replied, “but I can't promise you anything.”
“Perhaps later, then? When Elizabeth is not at home?”
Chapter 41
Unconditional Love
Inside the house, Elizabeth sat quietly on a chair while Ben sat on a large cushion on the floor in front of her, painting her nails. Carlos and Lela were comfortably sprawled on pillows in front of the TV, and Chad, who had just come in, plopped onto the chair next to hers. Her mom walked into the living room minutes later with car keys in hand, saying she needed to pick up more drinks at the depot.
Elizabeth watched her go into the night as her thoughts drifted to what had happened in school. The pressure was simply unbearable and this was triggered by their first appearance together! What more in the coming days?
Clearly, she must refrain from seeing Prince William. It would be best not just for her, but also for him. From the beginning, she knew it was impossible anyway. A Prince falling for her was nothing but a dream, and she needed to pinch herself and wake up fast, before everything became a nightmare.
“Are you okay?” Ben looked up from his task.
She heaved a long sigh and feigned a bland smile. “I'll be fine.”
“I know how you feel about being hated—, I've been there.” Ben dipped his brush in the nail polish bottle and skillfully applied the pink lacquer on her ring fingernail. “When my dad learned I was gay, he couldn’t figure out what I am. He was a Deimon and there were none like me in his race. He thought I was abnormal—, like I had some weird disease. Dad blamed Mom’s human genes and left us soon after. Mom said it was my fault so she sent me away to live with my Grandma. Her goodbye to me was: “Get out of my house. I can’t stand the sight of you.”
“Oh, Ben, I’m so sorry.” Elizabeth touched his shoulder.
