Dark Star

by Amy Sumida

  I've taken care of that too.

  I'll need to feed my son eventually, I said in my mind.

  I can turn it on whenever you like. Fill him some bottles if it makes you feel better, but he doesn't need to be sucking at your tits all the time.

  I flinched at the crassness of her words but then the thought slid through my brain and took root. She was right. Why did I need to feed him all the time? Trevor was doing just fine. Let him take care of the son he wanted so desperately that his wolf had to come out and force conception on me. And formula was just as good as breast milk. Why should I have to walk around with these enormous breasts that ached when they got too full? It was unnecessary torture.

  “Minn Elska?” Trevor started to look worried.

  “What?” I snapped.

  His golden-brown eyes went round.

  “Sorry, Honey-Eyes,” I amended immediately. “I'm tired. What is it?”

  “I was just wondering if you were okay.”

  Vero started to whine.

  “I'm fine.” I frowned at the baby. “What's wrong with him?”

  Trevor gently jostled his son while he stared at me as if I'd grown another head... and it was male.

  “What?” I growled.

  “Nothing,” he whispered. Then he cleared his throat and asked, “How was Faerie? Anything... strange happen over there? Anything you want to tell me about?”

  “Nothing unusual.” I shrugged. “Roarke and Anna got married then they went on their honeymoon. They just got back.”

  “Roarke and Anna got married?” Trevor asked with a lifted brow.

  “Yeah; we nearly missed it. We got back just hours before the ceremony.”

  “Good timing.”

  “Indeed.” I sipped my coffee and looked back out at my territory. “Timing is everything.”

  I narrowed my eyes at the lacy trees and herds of antelope that were just beginning to forage for breakfast. Why did I keep my territory like this? I didn't enjoy the scenery; it was far too flat and open for my tastes. I should change it.

  “Are you sure that you're feeling all right?” Trevor asked again, interrupting my landscaping plans.

  “Of course.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Never better.”

  Then I caught a whiff of his masculine, wolf musk, and I growled in arousal. I dove back in and kissed him properly, my fingers threading through his hair to pull him closer. Things down low were tightening in need and lusty images filled my mind. Riding my husband as day broke over us. Feeling his mouth on my breasts and his shaft inside me. Watching his eyes start to glow as we brought each other closer and closer to completeness. Trevor growled back at me and kissed me just as passionately but when I tried to take things further, he pulled away.

  “Vervain!” Trevor lifted Vero pointedly. “I'm holding our son. What are you doing?”

  “Oh, so when I want sex, you don't want to give it to me?” I snarled as I stood. “All of you paw at me every fucking second of every day, but when I want it, you suddenly want to hold your child. Or was it only Vero that you were after? Is that why you wanted me so badly? So you could knock me up and have your precious son? And now that he's here, I'm nothing. I've done my job for you and now it's time for me to pop out a couple of boys for Az, right? Well, fuck you, Trevor, I don't need your dick, I've got six others to choose from!”

  Vero was screaming by the time I finished my tirade, but I didn't care. All I knew was that my husband had just rejected me. He'd chosen our son over me. That's all they seemed to want me for. Babies. Always babies. What kind of men were they that all they thought about was children? Fucking pussies; the lot of them. I was done with this bullshit.

  “Vervain!” Trevor growled. No, not Trevor; the Wolf had risen.

  “Are you too much of a fucking pansy to deal with me, Trevor?” I snapped in the Wolf's face. “Had to send your guard dog to bark at me? Well, fuck you too, Wolf. You had your way and you got your son. Now, stay the hell away from me.”

  I started to walk away, but he grabbed me. I yanked my arm out of his grip and tossed my hand at him without thinking. A blast of starlight streamed out of my fingers and knocked the Wolf off the veranda and into the moat. For a second, I felt gratified and grinned, but then I realized what I'd done and who I'd done it to. Not just the Wolf.

  “Vero!” I shouted as I waved my hand again.

  The Wolf and our son levitated out of the water and landed on the veranda. Wolf snarled at me as I hurried over to them, and I jerked back in shock. Vero was crying again, but his cries were broken and his fists pummeled the air above his wet, red face.

  “It's okay, Son,” Wolf whispered as he laid Vero down on a couch and unwrapped his sodden blanket. “Daddy's got you.”

  “I'm so sorry,” I whispered. “I didn't... I forgot that you were holding him.”

  The Wolf's shoulders tensed, but he didn't look at me. He concentrated on getting Vero out of his wet clothes and then cradled the naked baby against his chest and headed inside the palace.

  “Is he all right?” I asked.

  “Stay the fuck away from us, Vervain,” the Wolf growled. “You smell wrong. You are wrong.” He pushed me away from him as he passed me. “I don't know who you are, but you aren't my mate, and I'm not letting you anywhere near my son.”

  “Just what I thought,” I sneered after him. “All you care about is Vero. Well, enjoy him. I wash my hands of you both.”

  The Wolf froze and looked back over his shoulder at me. “I'm going to see to my son and then I'm coming back down here to find out what you've done with my mate.”

  “You do that,” I headed to the nearest intercom and furiously pushed the button. “Intare! Get your furry asses down to the dining hall right now!”

  The Wolf's eyes flashed gold as our son screamed, and then he hurried into the elevator.

  “That's right; run away, puppy. Mama's done playing with you.” I strolled into the dining hall. “This game is for the big dogs.”

  Chapter Eight

  The dining hall was full of my lions and lovers, and all of them stared at me as if I'd lost my mind. The Wolf had seen to Vero and then left our son and Lesya with Samantha, the Froekn woman who'd married my lion, Fallon. With a little help from me, she had conceived and birthed the first Intare child to be born; their daughter, Zariel. Sam looked after my children a lot, but, honestly, it was the least she could do after I made it possible for her to have a child. In fact, I'd given all of the Froekn their fertility back. They owed me. Maybe I'd call on them to join my army after I talked to the Intare.

  With the children looked after, my men were free to join the Intare in our meeting. I ignored the Wolf's hostile looks as I told everyone about the Trinity Star; how she and I were free because of what Vainamoinen did. How I had the power of the Great Nine Magics and the Void at my beck and call. How I could command the world around me and shape it to my desires. Instead of rejoicing with me, instead of rallying to my call and supporting my decision, they just sat there, staring at me blankly.

  “Vervain, this isn't you,” Odin said warily.

  “Typical,” I huffed. “I finally stand up for myself, and you say that I'm not me.”

  “Tima, I zink Vainamoinen poisoned you vith his evil,” Kirill said softly as he approached me. “Odin's right; zis isn't you. You don't vant to make var on vorld.”

  “Don't tell me what I want!” I shouted at Kirill. “You are Intare; you're mine!” I pointed at him. “My ganza. Now, lead the fucking Pride as you're supposed to. All of you; get up. It's time to change the world!”

  The Intare stood in one motion, they couldn't refuse a direct order from their Tima, but Kirill grabbed me by the arms and shook me.

  “Vervain, stop zis right now! Ve are not going to var!”

  “Stand down!” I roared at him.

  Kirill flew back against the wall as if he'd been punched by a giant fist. He leaned there in shock, his sapphire eyes wide with hurt and horror.
/>   “You don't want to go to war?” I growled at him. “Fine. Stay home with your daughter. Play the doting father while I go do the hard work. Again.” I looked over at the Intare. “Do any of you agree with him?”

  They all just stared at me.

  “Well, come on then. Speak up. Tell your tima what you think.”

  “No one wants this,” Re said gently. “You're sick, Lala. Let us help you.”

  “I'm not sick, Re, I'm awake. I've finally woken up and seen my life for what it is; a series of endless battles and sex and babies. Blood, sex, and dragons; my life has become an episode of Game of Thrones.”

  I looked over my men. Odin, Re, Azrael, Kirill, Toby, and Wolf; all staring at me as if I were a stranger. I finally woman-up and tell them what I want, and they think I'm sick. It figures. Fuck them. I didn't need them. I didn't need any of them. I could make an army now. I just needed my cat. Where was Nick? I'd take Nicky and go back to Hawaii. We'd start fresh. Godhunter 2.0.

  “I'm sorry to disturb your peace. Sorry that your wife has finally realized that she's the one who got the shitty end of this deal.” I stalked past Kirill and toward the other men. “That all of you get to have me and then leave and have time to yourself while I have to turn around and service the next man, pop out the next baby, and keep all of you ungrateful bastards happy. Well, I'm tired, Re,” I snarled at him and bared my teeth. “I'm tired of being your whore and your broodmare.” I transferred my glare to the others. “I'm tired of giving and giving and getting nothing in return. I ask you to stand by me and change our lives for the better and you wuss out. Fine. I don't need you. I don't need any of you.” I glared at the Intare. “Especially not you broken kittens who I've saved over and over again. You betray me now? Really? When I have the power to change everything for the better? Fine. I won't force you. I don't want you with me if you don't want to be there. You're free; do whatever you like. But you'll do it on your own; no tima to hold your hands. Because I'm free too!” I roared the last bit and the room went still. “I'm free!”

  I stormed out and started to head upstairs to find Nick. I was getting my cat and getting out. I didn't need to remake my territory. They could have the grasslands; I'd make me a better paradise.

  “Oh no, you don't,” Odin snarled as a blast of magic knocked me off my ass.

  I flew forward and skidded across the foyer on my stomach.

  “How dare you?” I whispered in horror as I stood. I turned to face him. “How. Dare. You?!” I blasted Odin with starlight, and he tumbled back into the other men; the other men who had been gathering to attack me. They tumbled like bowling pins. “I try to end this peacefully and you attack me? You fucking traitors!”

  “Vervain!” Azrael cried. “Please, fight this, Carus. We love you. No one is betraying you. Don't go, baby.”

  “Come with me, Az.” I held a hopeful hand out to him. “It'll be just you and me.”

  “Vervain, don't leave us.” Azrael eased forward. “We can figure this out. We can fight this poison.”

  “It's not poison!” I held out my arms and Nick appeared in them. But he started to panic as I headed to the tracing room. He clawed at me and hissed until I let him go. My gray tabby, my first baby, went streaking up the stairs away from me as if I were a stranger. It was the last straw; the last jab that finally managed to drive pain into my heart. “You too, Nick?” I whispered as a tear trickled down my cheek.

  Heartbroken and feeling utterly alone, I turned and walked into the tracing room.

  “Don't let her leave!”Odin shouted from the floor.

  My lovers rushed toward me, but the Star knew what to do. A gleaming barrier lifted between us, and I looked one last time on the men I'd loved. The men who had betrayed me at last.

  They always do, Star whispered in my head.

  “You got that right,” I muttered as I swiped at my eyes and traced away.

  Chapter Nine

  “Where are we?” I murmured as I took a long look around.

  The Star had directed my trace, bringing me out onto hard-packed soil. An arid desert surrounded me, the heat getting more intense by the second. And that was just fine by me. I'm a dragon; I like it hot. I held my arms out and basked in the warmth. A brutal sun hung near the horizon, starkly illuminating a barren landscape. Although it seemed to be a desert, I could smell saltwater on the breeze. Judging by the position of the sun, we were in nearly the same time zone as the one I'd just left, and Pride Palace's time zone corresponded to central Africa. So, I suspected that we were somewhere nearby.

  Bahrain, Star announced.

  “Bahrain?” I nearly shrieked. “Are you kidding me? You brought me to the Middle East? Am I about to be shot at or swathed in a hajib? Or short at for not wearing a hajib?”

  First of all, no one's here; I brought you to the middle of the desert. Second, it's a hijab, not a hajib. A hajib is a court official. Third, Bahrain is relatively peaceful and women do not get shot for not wearing a hijab. Finally, I thought this would be a good place to start your campaign for world domination, Star listed smugly. This is where Tiamat began her war and it also happens to be where the Garden of Eden was originally located.

  “The Garden of Eden? Here?” I looked at the ground beneath my feet skeptically.

  Not exactly here, where you are standing, but here on this island.

  “Bahrain is an island?”

  Do you know anything not pertaining directly to yourself?

  “You know what? I get enough attitude from Faerie when she blathers inside my head. I do not need shit from you too.”

  I'm just teasing, Star huffed. Now, look at this place as a conqueror, not a woman. It's easily defensible, has an army in place, and it has a palace.

  “Where's this palace?” I peered around me at scrub and dirt.

  Nearby. We'll get to that later. I thought you might like to take a look around before you make a decision.

  “Sure. Great.” I looked around pointedly at the cracked earth and hunched bushes. “I don't like it.”

  This isn't all of it, she chided. I couldn't just pop you into existence in the middle of Manama.

  “Mahna mahna? Like the song?”

  Manama. Don't act as if you didn't hear me.

  “It was funny.” I grinned.

  No, it wasn't.

  “Whatever. I got that damn song in my head now along with a bunch of muppets. Hey, is that a limo?” I squinted into the distance where a dust cloud approached with a black limousine slicing through the center of it.

  That would be your ride, Star said smugly. Your driver will take you to your hotel. I've booked the Royal Penthouse at Fraser Suites for you. You'll be right in the middle of Manama, allowing you to experience the city to its fullest.

  “You sound like a tour guide.” I grimaced and closed my eyes as the limo stopped right beside me, wafting dust into my face.

  A driver in a black suit jumped out. “Ms. Lavine?” He asked as if there might be another woman waiting in the middle of the desert for a limo to pick her up.

  “That's me.” I stepped forward as I dusted myself off, and he hurried to open the door for me. “Thank you.”

  “There are refreshments for you in the fridge.” The driver bowed me inside.

  “There's a fridge in here?”

  I slid across the leather seat, shivering a bit in the blast of a/c that hit me. I automatically turned up my internal temperature a few notches to combat the chill. I found the mini-fridge just as we started to move but the ride was so smooth that it barely jostled me. I was able to pour myself a glass of champagne without any problems.

  There are truffles too.

  “Chocolate?” I sat up straight.

  Above the fridge in that little nook.

  “Lovely.” I snatched up the golden box of truffles and sat back to enjoy myself. “Champagne and chocolate in the morning. I should start every day like this.”

  You can if you like. You can start every day in any way that
you wish.

  I sighed in bliss but an image of Kirill looming above me, his long braid in my hand as I pulled him down for a kiss, snapped me out of my happiness. That was how I liked to start the day.

  Kirill told you that you were sick. He didn't stand by you. None of them did.

  “But...” I whispered. Kirill; my heart echoed the name. My beautiful black lion. “We've helped each other back from insanity. I love him.”

  Do you? Are you sure it's you who loves Kirill and not just some juju Alaric and Faerie foisted on you? You know that they've planned every step of your life and every man in it. Well, except for Toby, that is. She chuckled. You really pissed them off with that romance.