Darkness Rising

by Cate Farren

  “No foreplay,” he whispered. “I just want you.”

  “It’s been so long,” she said.

  He grinned. “You have no idea.”

  Chapter 37

  "This is insane, right?" she asked him, hating to use that word, but it was the only one that made sense.

  He laughed, stroking her hair. "Our whole lives are insane."

  "You went to the future and time travelled! That's awesome. What was it like?"

  He grew quiet for a moment. Clover understood. Their stories of their time apart were painful, emotional, and revealing. They hadn't gone into much detail yet. That could wait. They had plenty more time to talk and be honest with each other. Nothing could part them now.

  This time it's for keeps. I'm not going to think he killed Frankie or fall into a coma or watch him die. Now it's Jared and I forever, and damn the person who tries to split us up again.

  I will take on the whole fucking world to be happy.

  "There's a lot to tell," he said finally. He was quiet, sad. "Too much."

  She gripped his hand tighter, mentally sending him her love and support.

  "Don't tell me any details, not yet," she said. "Tell me how you felt."

  "I was overwhelmed." He paused again. He shook, like he was in desperate pain. "Lonely. Confused."

  She looked up into his face. He was crying. She wiped a tear away with the tip of a finger.

  He nodded and carried on. "When I woke up it seemed to me the very instant after I'd died. I had no idea what was going on. All I could remember was Lydia staking me, and then...and then I woke up with my mother, our son, and Gable Trent in a supermodel's body."

  "Our son?" she exclaimed.

  "Yeah." He grinned proudly. "Our son."

  That must mean her baby was magically unfrozen. She hadn't thought about it in a while. She'd had too much else on her mind. Or maybe this was another child? Maybe she had lots of children.

  "What was he like?" she asked, excited. "Tell me everything."

  He looked away, as if thinking about him was painful. She disentangled herself from him as they both sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard. She waited.

  "I was cruel to him," he admitted. "When I first woke up I didn't want to know him. I ignored him, pretended he didn't exist. I was a terrible father." When she tried to take his hand he pushed her away. "No, I don't need sympathy. I know what kind of person I was, and it all changed when I met Clo."

  His smile was as wide as it used to be, full of hope.

  "She was our granddaughter," said Jared. "And she was a spitfire."

  Clover grinned. "I have a granddaughter."

  "I'll tell you more about them later, but...but Clo brought me out of my funk, and I embraced my new life. I had a family. I didn't have you, but I had a family." He looked into her eyes. The pain and despair there frightened her, despite their newfound happiness at being reunited. "I had a family and they're gone."

  She pulled him into her shoulder as he wept again, grieving for the family that he'd lost. She cried with him. She'd never get to know them, not really. She only hoped Jared could tell her everything about them so she could feel she met them.

  She kissed him on the nose. "I'm pregnant. We can still have our son."

  "He was called JJ," said Jared. "Jared Junior."

  "And he can still have children, and they can have children. Before we know it we'll need a calendar to remember all their names."

  "It won't be the same."

  "Maybe not, but we can still have a family we can be proud of, a family we can love."

  He smiled, wiping away his tears. She kissed him again, and pretty soon they were getting hot and heavy and making love once again.

  JARED SMILED AS HE watched Clover enter the bathroom. She winked at him as she closed the door.

  I can't believe this is real. I have my Clover back.

  But was it worth losing the life I had in the future?

  Clover was pregnant now, but this son could never be the one he grew to love and admire in the future. The same with his granddaughter. Circumstances were different now. Their lives were different. He knew he'd love any children and grandchildren with all his heart, but they could never replace the ones he'd lost. Nothing could replace them, not even the love he had for Clover.

  I can never tell her that. Never.

  He nodded, accepting his fate. It was worth it. It had taken him a painfully long time to realize it, but it was the truth. A lot of innocent shapeshifters may have died to bring him to this point, but stopping a war would save many more lives. All he had to do was kill Loki.

  Jared sighed, thinking about the three witches again. They hadn't been born yet, which was good for them. He still had an urge to kill them. They'd forced him to kill so many innocents. He may have realized over time that it was the right thing to do, but that didn't mean he forgave them. Far from it. The fact that they'd murdered JJ kept his hatred for them alive in his heart, even after so long.

  Clover smiled as she exited the bathroom. She slipped back into bed and cuddled up next to him. He was hard again, ready for round four.

  "Loki almost convinced me to join him," she blurted out.

  The outburst immediately cooled him. "I could never believe that."

  He realized it was time for her to present the truth. He waited.

  "When you were gone, and I killed my mother - yes, I killed my mother - I was institutionalized again." Her hands shook. He held onto her, feeding her strength. "I gave up on the world. I gave up on myself."

  She didn't cry, which surprised him. She was generally an emotional person.

  She carried on. "When Loki turned up it brought me out of myself. I started to feel sympathy for him. He gave me a purpose. I kept telling myself that I went with him to betray him and find out his plans and kill him, but the truth was...the truth was I very nearly joined him." She sighed. "He's an evil man who should be stopped, but I understand him now. I understand how losing someone you loved more than anything in the universe can drive you to do unspeakable things. I hate that, Jared. I hate that I understand him and feel pity for him."

  "You feel pity for the enemy. That makes you the better person. It makes you the woman I love."

  He didn't admit what he really felt about Loki. She hadn't seen the future. If she had then she wouldn't pity him. He loved her for her compassion, but he also thought she was a little naive.

  What had changed? What made Clover leave Loki this time? In the future timeline she stayed with the enemy. Something Jared did, something he did quite unknowingly, had caused her to flee from Loki. He couldn't inquire further because he didn't want her to know she was originally a traitor. She must never know that.

  I'm keeping so many secrets from her; what is she keeping from me?

  Chapter 38

  They talked well into the night and through the next morning. They ignored every knock on their door, too engrossed in each other's stories to bother with anything other than themselves. Clover told him everything that happened with Loki, and she assumed he told her the truth about his sojourn to the future. Maybe he missed a few things out, some events that were too painful to talk about, but she trusted him. He'd tell her when the time was right.

  Clover grinned, reveling in her happiness. "You defied time itself for me."

  "You defied the lord of chaos for me," said Jared.

  "I'd say that means we belong together. Forever." She grinned and added, "I remember you proposing before you died. Do you remember that?"

  He smiled. God how she missed that smile.

  I can't believe he spent thousands of years, just waiting for me...

  "I remember it vividly," he said. "How could I forget?"

  The spell to send him back in time had been interrupted. It had gone terribly wrong. He'd been propelled back to America thousands of years before Christopher Columbus discovered it. He glossed over his time with the Native American tribe who took him in, claiming there was
too much to talk about right now, but she could sense he'd been through a lot.

  "When this is all over we're going to have a cheesy white wedding with doves and a wedding band," he suggested, smirking.

  "That sounds terrible." She kissed him. "I love it."

  She was about to pull him into another kiss when their door opened. Sutton let herself in, giving Clover a quick glance before plopping herself on the end of the bed.

  "Good to see you too," said Clover.

  Sutton sighed. "As if it wasn't enough that I have to put up with my sister, but now the Groza family are moving in. How could my father do that to me? He knows what they did."

  "It's the vampire summit. It's just bad timing that you're here the same time they are."

  "I'd nuke the whole fucking world if it meant they died too." Sutton smiled and blew Clover a kiss. "Good to see you too. I can hear you two fucking from all the way down the corridor." She winked conspiratorially and whispered, “We inherit our prowess in the bedroom from our father.”

  She smiled and left them to it again. Clover laughed at Sutton's brazen attitude. It was a breath of fresh air.

  "The Groza family from the reality show are vampire royalty," Jared explained.

  Clover grimaced. "I can't stand that show. It makes my skin crawl. Those people are so narcissistic they make the Kardashians look saintly by comparison."

  "The Grozas were the ones who killed Sutton's lover and made her lose her baby.”

  “No wonder she despises them.”

  Clover felt her anger rise. This family sounded like the typical evil, spoilt vampires that had populated paranormal fiction for the past hundred years. How could they get away with what they did to Sutton and the world and still be around to even get their own reality show? It was utter madness.

  "We should make sure Sutton and that family are never alone together,” Jared suggested.

  “Perhaps it would be cathartic for her to wipe them out,” said Clover cheekily.

  Jared shrugged. “Perhaps.”

  "LOOK WHAT GARBAGE THE cat dragged in," said Sutton.

  Prince Valeriu Groza stared at her like she was the missing link. She tried not to show her revulsion but she couldn't help it. This man had ruined her life once upon a time and she'd never forgiven him. She didn't forgive easily, or if ever.

  "You look well," the sleazy prince remarked. His voice oozed arrogance and self entitlement.

  Sutton joined him at the dining table, sitting across from him. She kept her eyes on his face. She didn't trust him not to kill her should she blink.

  And I don't trust myself not to kill him should he blink.

  Prince Valeriu was in his early thirties. He had silver hair, slicked back. His angular nose made him look like he was looking down at you all the time. He was handsome in a skinny sort of way, but Sutton had never really noticed that. All she saw when she looked at him was the man who destroyed her life.

  "I highly doubt the threat of the shapeshifters is affecting you too much,” said Sutton, pouring herself a glass of fresh blood. “The politics of the supernatural world haven’t bothered you much before. Or are you scared Loki will affect the ratings of your TV show?”

  Valeriu drank some blood, his grey eyes taking her in. “My brother was murdered by a shapeshifter. Loki now has my undivided attention.”

  Sutton sighed. “He was the only member of your family I actually liked, though being related to you made sure I hated him too.” She paused before adding, “I’m sorry he died.”

  “If Costel wasn’t such a weak willed imbecile he’d still be here.”

  They glared at each other over the table. Valeriu’s treatment of his brother made her hate him even more. Costel had been kind to her when his vampire family kidnapped her. He hadn’t been able to save her baby, but he’d secretly helped her to escape. Without him she wouldn’t be here now.

  Why him? Why not one of the others?

  “Is your father here?” Sutton asked.

  Valeriu finished off his blood before replying. “My father is sitting at this table right now.”

  Sutton looked to her left, trying to hide her shock. The vile Prince Nicolae was sitting at the head of the table, smirking evilly at her. He raised his glass of blood in a toast.

  “You used your obfuscation power,” said Sutton. “Bravo.”

  “I do so enjoy seeing the surprise on your face dear Sarah,” said Nicolae, his voice oily.

  Sutton stiffened. “I don’t go by that name now and you know it you piece of filth.”

  “Is that any way to treat an honored guest of your father?” Nicolae asked.

  “My father should have executed your entire mother-fucking family centuries ago.”

  “That’s why we have the peace treaty. Sarah.”

  After the vampire war both Dracula and Nicolae signed a peace treaty to never fight again. All the ancients were dead. The vampire population had been almost wiped out – eighty per-cent of their number were gone. Even the vile Nicolae had seen what the war had done and realized they had to do something. At the time all Sutton wanted was revenge. Her baby was gone. Her lover was gone. She’d been turned into a vampire against her will by her own father to protect her. She’d had everything taken from her. All she’d wanted was to grow old with the man she loved, watching her children and grandchildren grow up.

  I lost everything all because my blood could make vampires fertile.

  It was funny in a way how vampires almost wiped themselves out just for the ability to have children. Sutton thought it was funny anyway.

  Sutton smirked, deciding to have a little fun. “How was Costel’s funeral?”

  “Painful,” Nicolae admitted.

  “I’m so glad. I hope it tore you apart from the inside.” She loved how he tried to hide his pain. She decided to dig the knife in a little deeper. “I hear your wife didn’t react well to Costel’s death. Rumor has it she’s going slightly mad and ripping her own hair out. She must be quite bald by now. You might have to put her down like a dog.”

  Nicolae glared at her and walked away. Sutton felt sick at her words, though triumphant.

  “Mother is dead,” Valeriu revealed. “She killed herself after Costel’s funeral.”

  Sutton didn’t know what to say. She knew she should be reveling in the misery of her enemies. Princess Sasha had been a vile woman who had delighted in torturing Sutton when they held her captive. Yet losing a child was the worst thing a person could go through. Nobody deserved that.

  “Your family is crumbling around you,” Sutton observed. She’d rather die before expressing another morsel of sympathy for this creature. “The next family reunion is going to be a rather quiet affair.”

  “Don’t push me,” Valeriu threatened.

  She could tell them Costel helped her escape all those centuries ago. It would certainly cause quite a ruckus, knowing he had betrayed them. But she couldn’t sully his memory. She owed everything to Costel. She would mourn for him in her own way.

  Sutton glared at him across the table with hatred. “I want you to be the last one standing, Val. I want you to watch, helpless, as your entire family lies dead around you. Then I’ll kill you, fuck the treaty.”

  She blew him a kiss, turned her back on him, and walked casually away. It was only when she was back in her own room that she cried for everything that family had taken away from her.

  JARED SAT DOWN AT THE table, Clover by his side. He'd checked on Sutton before heading down for breakfast. He'd never seen her cry like this before. It made him angry. Nobody had the right to reduce his friend like this.

  "I don't believe we've met," said Jared icily.

  Clover put her hand on his arm, urging him for restraint. He ignored her.

  "You're the grandson," said Valeriu. He said the word grandson as if it were an insult. "I thought you'd be more impressive."

  "He's a little skinny," said Nicolae, grinning. He laughed and drank some blood. "Are you important enough to be
at the summit?"

  Jared laughed with them, enjoying how they were underestimating them. He had all the powers of Dracula. He could kill them in seconds. He wouldn't give them the privilege though. They deserved to be humiliated.

  He focused his cadou on Valeriu. "You will get your cellphone out and tweet a racist message to your followers."

  Valeriu nodded and pulled out his cellphone from a pants pocket. His phone was studded with what Jared had to assume was real diamonds.

  "What are you doing?" Nicolae snapped, grabbing his son's phone. He threw it against the wall, where it smashed to pieces. "You idiot!"

  Valeriu stared at his father, vacant eyed. "I have to tweet a racist message to my followers."

  Jared laughed. So did Clover. Valeriu looked like a slack jawed idiot. He pushed his chair back and ran off, probably to find another cell phone. Nicolae glared daggers at him before running off to stop his son.

  He leaned back in his chair, satisfied. "That felt good."

  "You're naughty," said Clover, laughing too.

  "It was a warning too," said Jared, taking Clover's hand. "If that family so much as touches you I'm going to destroy them."

  She seemed shocked, but nodded. "I believe you."

  CLOVER WAS A LITTLE perturbed by Jared's threats, but also delighted. He would wage war to protect her. She didn't need protecting. She could take care of herself against pathetic creatures like the vampire royal family, but it was good to feel special.

  "When this is over I want a witch to unfreeze my baby," said Clover.

  Jared nodded, grinning. "I was about to suggest the same thing."

  "It will be over soon, one way or another. I can feel it."

  "But not before we rescue Jessica."

  Clover smiled. When she'd told him about Jessica he became just as concerned about her as she was. He became a father. She couldn't wait for them all to be reunited as a family. Jessica needed to be taken from Loki and that toxic environment as quickly as possible before it was too late.