She folded her arms and raising the fire circle higher and hotter so that Socar and the others had to retreat farther.
There was a sickening crack, a harsh sound that nearly stopped her heart. Diana turned to see Alec standing still with his back partly to her. Fear seized her until she saw that he was holding something. He dropped it and backed away, giving everyone a clear view of Stanishlough stretched on the floor. The older vampire’s head was lying several feet away from his body.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Well, that was fast.
Diana walked through the fire circle and stood at Alec’s side, taking in his frozen expression. Despite his strength and fighting ability, Alec was a scholar and gentlemen. He didn’t take death lightly, and being its instrument would always be painful for him.
She cleared her throat slightly and whispered, “I didn’t mean literally.”
Alec’s eyes met hers. It took a moment before they focused on her. A small coughing laugh escaped him.
“I’m sorry about Daniel,” she said quietly. “Let’s get out of here.”
He took a deep breath but didn’t say anything.
“Yes. Leave and don’t come back,” Socar said from across the room.
Alec’s handsome face became hard and cold.
“I will leave, but I will come back. I’m keeping my seat on the council. If you oppose me, say so now.”
“Now? While your witch is here to fight your battle?” Socar said. “Will you bring her to all of our meetings? Does she dictate to us now? Shall we bow before her?”
A rustle of whispers erupted behind him.
“If Alec wants to attend your boring ass meetings, I don’t care. I won’t be joining him. Frankly, I have better things to do. But rest assured, if he doesn’t come home after one, I won’t believe it when you say he got bored to death. If anything happens to him, there isn’t a hole deep enough for you to hide in,” Diana warned.
Socar stood up, his eyes shooting daggers at her. Then he straightened his suit jacket and stalked out of the room.
A few others followed him. The remaining company was silent until Daviel Saturne chuckled out loud. He got a few looks from his neighbors and subsided.
Alec walked to his father and said quietly, “I’ll. . .be in touch. Will you be all right?”
“Yes,” Alden said stiffly. “Stay safe, my son. I trust I’ll see you soon,” he added more graciously.
Alec nodded and followed Diana out of the council chamber.
42
Alec watched Diana at the wheel as she drove straight to Boston.
She called me her mate.
She was his. And he was hers. He had lost Daniel. But he wouldn’t grieve alone. Diana understood, and she would be there with him.
“Now what?” he asked her.
Hours had passed in relative silence.
“I can take you to your place. I guess you have stuff to take care of,” Diana said.
“Yeah, some. I need to figure out what to do for Daniel.”
“Did he have family?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s probably for the best. But I’m really sorry you lost him. I know he was important to you.”
“Thanks.”
It meant everything that she was there for him. And even though she would never say so, she needed him, too. He would take care of her and her secrets, if she let him.
“What happened to you in foster care?” he asked suddenly, surprising himself.
He’d meant to wait for a better time to ask.
Diana tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she glanced at him. He watched her quietly, but she didn’t answer. She kept driving until she found a parking spot outside his apartment building.
He didn’t ask again. He just kept staring at her.
“I killed my foster parents,” she said finally, looking straight ahead into the darkened street.
“Did they deserve it?” he asked.
“Yes and no.”
He waited patiently. Sighing, she sat back into the leather seat of her favorite car, a perfectly restored 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500. It had been waiting for them when they left the council chambers, courtesy of Logan.
“I lived in a lot of different homes after my mom died. Never lasted long in any one place. Stuff would happen that would spook the foster parents. Kitchen stoves going crazy until they broke. Electronics burning out. I was considered bad luck. And as I got older, things escalated, and fires broke out. I was labeled a problem case. I got stuck in some pretty rotten places after that. Till I ran away. But I didn’t know where to go and eventually someone would find me. Then I would be sent somewhere else.”
She stopped when he slid his hand over hers. As he gripped it tightly, she continued. “The last place was the worst. There was a husband and wife. They had three awful kids of their own but took in a lot of others for the checks they got from child service. Some of those kids were heading for the state pen, but I could handle them. Most of them found me. . .creepy. It was the parents who were a problem. The dad—I hated him. He beat some of the kids when they acted up, but it’s what he did behind closed doors that made my skin crawl. Even to his own kids.” She stopped and looked away. “I didn’t have to wait long for it to be my turn.”
He wanted to pull her into his arms, but he was worried she might stop. He settled for stroking her palm with his finger.
Eventually she continued. “The father waited for everyone to be out of the house. He kept me behind when everyone else had gone to school, telling them I was sick and that he would have to stay home and watch me. Only I wasn’t sick. And I was done waiting for him to make his move. I sat quietly on my cot until he came to my room.” She closed her eyes briefly. “He looked at me like he was having second thoughts. I think my calmness may have thrown him. But then he shrugged it off. He smiled and petted me, told me how pretty I was. And then I told him.”
“What did you say?”
“That he was a monster. But it was okay. Because I was there to kill monsters—and no I didn’t know what I was. Not back then. It just came out. And then I called the fire,” she said, her eyes distant.
“It was the first time I did it on purpose. I wasn’t sure it would come. It always seemed to happen when I didn’t want it to. But it came. The cot burned, then the room. Eventually the whole house. I walked out of there without a scratch or singe. Not even my clothes were damaged. I went outside and sat in the front yard until the police came. The social workers took me away, and that’s when I found out that my foster mother had gone back to the house after dropping the kids at school. She wasn’t supposed to be there. And she died, too.”
“She had to have known what was happening in her house,” Alec said quietly.
“Yeah, she did. But I’m not sure that’s enough of a reason for her to die. If she had chosen to fight him, she would have lost. He probably would have killed her.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. All she had to do was inform the authorities. It’s possible they would have been able to put a stop to it.”
Diana cocked her head to the side. “I don’t think it would have gone down that way, but there’s not much point in speculating. I got locked up after that. They blamed the fire on me. I had a history with them. But I wasn’t locked up for long. Gia came for me. And then everything changed. I had a calling, a purpose. And sisters.”
She pulled his hand into her lap and held it with both hands. “Sometimes things still get to me. You’re going to get frustrated, too. There are a lot of things we don’t have the power to change. But you get to make a difference. Most of the time, it’s enough. But not always.”
“I get that,” he said. She raised her eyebrows, and he insisted, “I do. But wouldn’t it help to have someone to hold on to when it’s not enough?”
She didn’t answer right away, and he held a breath he didn’t need.
“I need to move on soon,” she said eventually.
Not what he was hoping to hear. But it
was now or never.
“Yeah, I figured. Are you finally going to ask me to go with you?”
She smiled wryly. “I’m telling you to be ready to leave by noon tomorrow.”
Alec laughed a little and then stopped and held out his hand. “And I’m telling you to come upstairs with me now,” he said softly.
Diana stared at his outstretched hand for a long while before finally taking it. They got out of the car, and he stopped to admire it.
He put his arm around her. “Hey, do you think I can drive it tomorrow?”
“Not a chance,” she said with a shake of her head.
“That’s what I thought you were going to say. I’m going to have to teach you a little something about sharing. And we’re going to start your first lesson right now,” he said, tugging on her hand and pulling her in close before leading her upstairs to his bedroom.
THE END
Afterword
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Also by L.B. Gilbert
Air: The Elementals Book Two
Available November 28th
Despite being the junior Elemental, Logan’s never had to worry about failing a mission before. Not until an overgrown and annoyingly attractive shifter comes along.
Being an Elemental is in Logan’s blood. Hers is the gift of Air, a vast power she’s still struggling to control. Then a Were named Connell hunts her down. His wolf is missing, and he blames her.
A den of werewolves is the last place Logan wants to be. The testosterone alone is enough to make her choke. But she has a mystery to solve. She will find out who is stealing wolves even if kills her.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the enemy has planned…
Free on Kindle Unlimited.
About the Author
L.B. Gilbert spent years getting degrees from the most prestigious universities in America, including a PhD that she is not using at all. She moved to France for work and found love. She's married now and living in Toulouse with one adorable half-french baby.
She has always enjoyed reading books as far from her reality as possible but eventually the voices in her head told her to write her own. And so far the voices are enjoying them. You can check out the geeky things she likes on twitter or Facebook.
Amazon Author Page
http://www.amazon.com/L.B.-Gilbert/e/B015T01IVU/
@elementalauthor
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