“Ye’ve put a time frame on our break?” he asked incredulously but still, it gave him hope.
“Just so we both know we’ll be together again.”
Alastor laughed. “Yer a strange one, lass.”
“As strange as falling in love with a vampire?”
“Aye.”
“So, you’ll agree to it?”
Alastor hesitated. He didn’t like the idea of being apart from Ava. The last day and a half when she was captured had been hellish. But as he stared into her wide hazel eyes gazing back at him, he could see how much she needed this. Not necessarily a break from him, but a break from vampires altogether. And because he loved her, he’d have to give that to her. “Aye, I can do five years.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
The Van Wildens and the remaining Primus had returned to the Van Wilden home after cleaning up any evidence of vampires living in Oak Wood Hills. They were all gathered in groups around the living room offering comfort to the ones who’d lost family in the battle.
“Thank you, my friend.” Oscar walked up to Batheras, offering his hand.
“I’m always here to help you, Octavius.” Batheras shook his hand and glanced toward Morgana. “How is she?”
Oscar looked toward his daughter, who was standing in front of the mantlepiece, Gareth hovering by her side. He had barely left her side since her rescue. Alastor stood next to him, his eyes downcast. He had returned earlier bringing with him the sad news. It was a loss to all of them having Ava turn her back on the family coven, deciding vampirism was not for her.
Oscar watched Morgana embrace each of her brothers, nodding at whatever they were whispering to her. She smiled at each of them, but even from here, Oscar could tell it was forced. The light had dulled in her eyes.
Batheras cleared his throat, bringing Oscar’s attention back to him. “It’s difficult to say. Even us vampires can’t quickly heal the psychological wounds one endures.”
Oscar nodded.
“Keep us informed of her recovery. It will do her good to get back to work,” Batheras added. Hammadi and Gregorus mumbled in agreement.
Oscar forced his own smile.
Agnor leveled Batheras with a stare. “Give her time, Batheras. She’ll come back to work for us when she’s good and ready. Poor girl was just used as a blood bag and a stake cushion. No one would get over that quickly.”
“You mistake my words, Agnor, I wasn’t rushing anyone,” Batheras protested. “I was simply stating—”
“She always gets under his skin,” Hammadi leaned in, muttering to Oscar in amusement.
“That she does.” Oscar chuckled.
“Well, my friend, I must get back. While I enjoyed my time here, duty calls.”
“Yes, thank you, my friend.” Oscar shook his hand.
“Yes, thank you, Hammadi.” Vivienne grinned.
Hammadi kissed the back of her hand. “For my extended family, anything.”
“Where’s Cleva?” Oscar asked, looking around the room.
“She left soon after the battle ended,” Gregorus replied. “Said she didn’t want to be around people associated with criminals.” His eyes flickered to Gareth.
Oscar shook his head and opened his mouth, but Batheras held up his hand. “We all know he’s not. She just needs time.”
Oscar nodded.
“I, too, must get back. Get my brood back before they cause any more mischief.” Gregorus looked toward his great-grandchildren who were holding up and sniffing Oscar’s whiskey decanters. His breath hitched. That was his last link to being human.
Gareth’s eyes were on him, and he slipped away from Morgana and walked over to them.
“What is it?” Nardo asked.
“Whiskey,” Gareth replied. “Humans drink it… to feel good, drown their sorrows.”
“Why does Elder Van Wilden have it?”
Vivienne touched his arm, the look she gave him was full of understanding.
Oscar smiled at her, placing his hand over hers before walking over to his liquor table.
“Because I like the taste.”
“Scotch tastes better.” Batheras came up behind him.
“I think we could all do with a toast,” Hammadi said.
Vivienne made a move toward the kitchen, but Alastor beat her to it, carrying a tray of clean tumblers. He gave her a weak smile, and she patted his arm.
“Gentleman?” Oscar asked, taking his decanter back from Nardo, “A drink?”
They all nodded.
He turned to Morgana, “Drink, dear?”
And for a moment he saw a flash of the lost Morgana in his daughter as she replied, stepping forward, “I’ve never drunk that stuff before, so why would I start now?”
Gareth chuckled, placing an arm around her and kissing her temple, but his eyes betrayed his concern.
Oscar poured them all a finger of liquor. Jonas and Hector helped to pass them out. He held up his glass. “To family, to The Council of Order, and to fighting for vampire kind everywhere. Cheers.”
“Cheers.” They all raised their glasses and downed the contents.
“Ugh!” Dontelle spluttered. “That stuff burns the throat.”
“I’ll give you something for your throat…” Hector began, but Jonas elbowed him in the stomach. “Don’t even think about finishing what you were saying.”
“What?” Hector protested.
Jonas winked at Vivienne. “You don’t want to say something crude in front of your stepmother, do you?”
Vivienne chuckled.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Nardo trying to pilfer one of his decanters.
“Nardo!” Gregorus barked. “Put that back.” He turned back to them. “And for that, we’ll get out of your hair now.”
Oscar’s lips twitched. “Thank you, too, Gregorus.”
“Anytime.”
“Take care of yourself and your family, Gregorus.” Vivienne hugged him.
“You, too.” Gregorus cast a glance at Morgana, who had gone back to being sullen before turning to leave.
“It was good to see you, Oscar, dear,” Agnor said, stepping up to them, Batheras still grumbling his protests. “Next time we meet, try not to get one of us killed.” She lifted the urn full of Jelani’s ashes in her arms higher. “I’ve got to get this back to Eshe. Poor girl is going to be distraught when she finds out.”
“Yes, I should be getting my mother’s ashes back as well.” Hadwyne gripped his mother’s urn tighter. “My sisters will want to see her.” Kaiya placed a hand on her mate’s arm. “We’ll get through it together.” He smiled at her and patted her hand. “Thank you, love.”
“She was a good woman, your mother,” said Oscar.
“Both Eleanor and Jelani were exceptional Elders,” said Batheras. “We’ll feel their loss for centuries to come.”
“Indeed, we will.” Agnor raised her empty glass.
“Thank you, Agnor, for everything.” Oscar took the empty glass off her, clasping her hand briefly to convey how grateful he was that she’d saved his life.
“Oh, don’t you worry yourself. I’d come fight for that girl anytime.” Her eyes flickered to Morgana who was looking up at Gareth. “Anytime.”
“Still, it meant a lot to us, Agnor.” Vivienne hugged her.
“Here, Agnor, I’ll accompany you to see Eshe.” Jonas hurried up behind her.
“You’re a good boy.” Agnor shifted the urn to one arm, patting his cheek with her free hand. “Eshe is going to need your strong arms to comfort her.”
“Ah, yes.” Jonas ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Thank you for organizing them all here, son.” Oscar squeezed his shoulder.
Jonas looked up. “I’m always here for you guys.” His eyes flickered to Vivienne who was sniffling, her eyes rimmed with red. She stepped forward, placing her arms around Jonas who was startled by her touch at first but relaxed into her embrace. She pulled back. “I know we haven’t had the bes
t relationship, but I’m forever grateful to you.”
“Anytime, Vivienne.” Jonas smiled at her.
“Wait up, bro. I’m out, too.” Hector approached.
“Are you heading back?” Oscar asked quietly.
Hector leaned toward him under the guise of a hug, muttering so only he could hear, “My current mission is still underfoot.”
“Good, good. Just take it easy, son.” Oscar patted him on the back.
“Always do, Pops!” Hector said more loudly. “Viv!” He turned to his stepmother, picking her up and making her squeal. “I’m glad we’re all chummy now.” He put her down gently. “Seriously, though.”
“I’m sorry for the way I’ve been distant with you and Jonas. My hatred for Mariza shouldn’t have tainted my attitude toward everyone,” Vivienne told him. “What you did for Morgana, you will always have my thanks and my love.”
Hector grinned. “Oh, bring it on,” he said, gathering Jonas, himself, and Vivienne for a group hug.
“Later, bros!” he called out to Alastor and Gareth who grinned—well, the latter did. Alastor attempted a smile before Hector strode out the front door but couldn’t quite pull it off.
Oscar shook and bade farewell to the rest of the Primus as they exited their front door. He turned back to see Morgana was nowhere in sight. Alastor stood with his hands in his pockets, staring down at the rug while Gareth glanced with a concerned expression toward the backyard.
Vivienne placed a hand on his arm. “Maybe we should say something to her.”
Oscar patted her hand. “Yes, we should. Though perhaps we should discuss what our options are moving forward first.”
Chapter Fifty
A few days had passed since the eradication battle of the Forest Clan, and Morgana’s mind was still struggling to recover from her ordeal.
Someone had put up a hammock on the back porch in which she laid every day, the gentle breeze swaying her back and forth.
Most days, Gareth would lay down next to her, not speaking, just holding her. He knew the torment she felt.
No words needed to be spoken
And today was no different. Her eyes closed, letting the breeze swing her back and forth. While her body had healed, she felt the phantom pains of the silver bullets embedded in her flesh. Sometimes she awoke in the night still thinking she was back in the forest chained to that pole.
Last night, she had experienced one of those nightmares. Even though the night had been dark, she could see her arms perfectly as she lifted them. They were bare—no deep cuts slicing into her skin, no slits along her veins allowing her blood to ooze out—just her unmarked, olive skin.
Gareth sat up and rubbed the lower part of her back in a soothing motion. “That one was a bad one.” One thing no one had told them about the bond was they could still feel each other even as they slept. So her feelings stemming from her nightmares, Gareth also felt.
“So much pain, so much agony,” he murmured.
“I can’t seem to shake them.” Tears were threatening to spill. If there was one thing she was, it wasn’t a crier. But this ordeal had affected her in so many ways.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She turned her head to the side, drawing her knees up to her chest. “I was so brave during it all. I had to be to survive. But now that it’s all over, all I feel is lost. Like I don’t know how to feel whole again.”
Gareth pulled her to his chest, her cheek pressing against where his silent heart lay. His chin rested on her head. “Hey, now, who says you have to feel whole right now? One of your biggest fears came true. Of course, it’s going to take time to come to grips with it all. But the beauty of being vampires, or half-vampire, is we have all the time in the world.”
“But I don’t want to feel like this. Broken. I want to move past it.”
“Just because we heal fast physically, doesn’t mean we heal as fast mentally. I mean look how long it took for me to get over my issues with women after what your sister did to me. There’s no rush, love.”
“And what if I don’t get past it?”
“Then I’ll learn to love the new Morgana. Never thought I’d ever say this about a woman, but I’d love the chance to fall in love with you all over again.”
Morgana smiled at him before he laid her back down to sleep. This time with no dreams.
***
A few more days had passed. As Morgana once again laid back on the white woven hammock, she looked over to the oak tree, eyeing the mound of dirt there. She sighed. She should go over to Brutus’ grave.
Morgana sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the hammock, placing her bare feet on the wooden back porch to steady herself. She didn’t like to stand up much nowadays, having spent days in a vertical position tied to the pole. She heaved herself up and walked over the porch to the grave.
She stared down at the small grave, grass and weeds had begun to sprout. She kneeled to pull them out.
“Leave them,” her father spoke behind her. “The new residents of the house may not want to know there’s a pet grave here.”
She nodded, standing up, wiping her hands on her blue denim jeans. “I’ll miss him. I never got to say goodbye with the rest of you… devastated me when I heard.”
Oscar squeezed her shoulder. “Did he—”
Morgana hiccupped. “Yeah, he used it as another way to torture me.”
Oscar wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close, placing a kiss on her hair. “Well, you well and truly got that bastard back.”
“Yeah, I did.” Morgana managed to crack a smile.
“Come, the others are waiting.”
Morgana turned to see Gareth, Vivienne, and Alastor watching them from the back porch.
“What’s happening?” she was afraid of what they were going to say.
“The Council called,” Oscar told her, supporting her as they walked back to the house.
“Where are we going now?” She looked up at him, her feet stumbling on the steps.
Gareth reached his hands out to her, guiding her to sit down on the hammock.
But it was Vivienne who answered, sitting down next to her, making the hammock rock.
“We’re going home, Morgana.” She took her daughter’s hand, giving it a light squeeze. Morgana turned to her mother, her icy-blue eyes full of excitement. There was only one place that would excite her mother so.
Morgana managed a small smile for the first time in a long while. “You don’t mean…” her voice trailed off. She hadn’t been back to that place in over three hundred years.
“Yes, we’re going back to London.”
***
Gareth felt her trepidation and took her hand, squeezing it to reassure her shoulders. Morgana turned and gave him a small, fleeting smile, her fingers grasping his hand. “Why are we going back there?”
“Well, the boys need to be assessed by Doc and trained,” said Vivienne.
“But I thought we were already trained?” Gareth scratched his head. Who was Doc?
“But not assessed and certified as official agents.”
“Are you coming?” she asked him.
“Of course.” He kissed her knuckles. “You have my heart. Anywhere you go, I go.” For the first time in days, Morgana smiled, and her brown eyes brightened.
Alastor snorted and stomped back inside.
“What’s wrong with him?” Morgana looked at the door and back at Gareth. The spark was now gone.
Gareth’s lips thinned. Dammit, Alastor. He shouldn’t be mad at his best friend—he was going through a rough time. He should be there for him. But what Alastor was going through was only temporary. Ava just didn’t want to accompany them to London. She needed a break from vampires. Gareth couldn’t blame her. Seeing Morgana on the verge of breaking because of what the girls had been through, anyone would want to take a breather. His main concern right now was helping Morgana recover from her ordeal. He hoped Alastor understood.
Vivienne’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, “He and Ava have decided to part ways for now, dear.” She looked grimly at her daughter.
“I should go see her.”
“She’s already left for Summerville. She came around to see you, but you weren’t quite yourself.”
Morgana looked at Gareth, who rubbed her arm trying to comfort her. “Is she upset with me?”
“No, she understands. She witnessed what you went through. She also needed to leave Oak Wood Hills.”
“Yes, I think we could all do with leaving the painful memories behind.” Oscar stared out over the backyard toward Brutus’ grave.
“Still, I should call her, see how she’s coping.”
“Of course. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.”
“What do you think, dear?” Vivienne must also have wanted to see that spark in Morgana again.
Morgana turned to look at everyone. There was a small sparkle in her eyes, and Gareth’s heart spiked at the sight of happiness.
“Yes, let’s go home.”
TO BE CONTINUED
The Van Wildens continue in:
I Will Protect You Book Four
Click to purchase
BLURB
When love turns to hate, how does one come back from that?
Eshe Kalu loved Jonas until the day he gave her an urn of her mother’s ashes.
Now she hates him.
As she deals with her grief, she realizes she may have received more from him than she expected.
Jonas Van Wilden is trying to win back the love of his life. He has waited three thousand years to finally be with Eshe and will do whatever it takes to prove his love.
Morgana Van Wilden is still trying to deal with the aftermath of her ordeal with the Forest Clan.
Gareth Lloyd, her mate, and Alastor McLoughlin, their best friend, are doing anything they can to help get her back to her old self again. Even if that means sabotaging their first solo mission.
Can Morgana become the fierce, vampire ass-kicking warrior they all know she can be?
The Van Wilden Chronicles Box Set Books 1-3 Page 58
