Alterations

by Lucretia Stanhope

  Once they were off her realm, Brac felt the weight of what happened. He pushed all his thoughts away, not wanting to risk even a hint at his secret. It would change things that she knew, but he couldn't think about it, not with Matvei so near.

  “She was pretty hardcore.” Brac tried to shift his focus to where Matvei would have expected it.

  “Yeah, and you should not ever forget that. Gather yourself. Your mother is not going to be having a good day.”

  They stepped together into the tear.

  G wen's hand shook as she tried to make notes on her day-planner. She couldn't even make out her own words. Matvei's help came too late. She kept thinking, if she had just taken his help sooner, maybe she could have gotten the kids away before they were changed.

  A tear escaped and she wiped it away. Her and Sebastian really thought they could spare them the darkness. Like her, now they were to become slaves to it.

  Her kneejerk reaction was to grab the kids and run, but that thought ended when she realized ogres where a realm away.

  If she ran into something that had Timofei rattled, it would likely be more than she or the kids could handle. She looked up when there was a knock at the door to see Kyna standing in the doorway.

  They exchanged a knowing look. Gwen could feel Kyna was upset. Her aura wavered with worry.

  “I can't bond with him, mom. Not any of them, but especially not him.” Kyna walked in the room. She stood behind the chair and looked at Gwen. “Talk to dad. Please.”

  Gwen stood up and walked around her desk. She pulled Kyna to her and they both cried.

  “I told him no, Kyna. I wish I really could tell him no. Who is it to be?” Gwen pulled back.

  “This isn't just about me, mom. There are things they can't know. Things I know. Matvei would tell dad. That would be bad. Bad for everyone.”

  “Things, wait, Matvei?” Gwen backed up, holding the edge of her desk. “Not him. Has Timofei left yet?”

  “I don't know. I'm going to my realm before they close it. I need to be away. I can't be here when Matvei gets back.”

  “Kyna, you can't run away from them. I will talk to Timofei again. Mikhail would be best. He can be trusted.”

  Kyna shook her head. “No, mom. I have secrets.”

  Gwen looked at her, puzzled. Both of her children hinted at secrets. Secrets they didn't trust her with. “What secrets, why haven't you come to me if you needed help or had problems?”

  “He's in your head too much. When they feed on you, like he does you, they can hear what you think.”

  “I know that, how do you know that?”

  “I can't say. It will be dangerous for me to bond with one like Matvei. Try to get him to agree to Mikhail, if you trust him. He is much weaker of mind than they are.” Kyna chewed her bottom lip. “If you can just buy me a few days, that will be all I need.”

  Gwen wanted to stay and ask more, but she knew Timofei was leaving soon and time was not on her side. “I'll go now and talk to him. Walk with me, act as interference for the million questions I get, so that I can get out of the building before Timofei leaves.”

  Kyna and Gwen dodged and answered several questions as they left. Once they were away from the colony, they made good time heading to the fortress. Gwen could feel Timofei was still there and he was alone.

  She tapped her fingers together while she thought about the best way to make him doubt his choice. She kissed Kyna and gave her one more hug. The pained looked of worry on her daughter made her ache in a way she never had before. Protecting the kids had always been her first goal.

  She could tell Kyna was hiding something big. Something she was terrified her father or brother would hurt her over. What it was didn't matter as much to Gwen as protecting her did. She could feel Kyna moving away from the fortress.

  She followed Timofei's presence to his office. He was colder than when she left. Gwen took a deep breath. She would do whatever it took. For Kyna.

  “Gwen, I am almost ready to leave. No problems right now.” He turned to look at her, his eyes were harsh.

  “Kyna is very upset.” Gwen stepped into the room and pulled the door shut behind her.

  He gave her a curious glance and looked to the closed door. “She will be fine. To be a queen is a great honor.”

  “Not with him. He is a monster. Worse than Dmitry ever was.”

  Timofei stood to his feet, his features asked the question he did not.

  She left it unanswered.

  “He is the strongest option.”

  “What of the future? Don't you have any bigger plans for me? What if you and I have a child? Wouldn't you rather leave your strongest options opened?”

  He laughed. “We can’t. Our species are incompatible as mates.”

  The glad feeling that washed over her didn't last, when she saw his eyes held a look that told her she had hit on something he considered.

  “Please, Timofei. Just not him. She hates him. It is clear he hates her too. He would be cruel to her.” She walked over and reached for his hand.

  He didn't take her hand. “Would you rather she lives like we do? Perpetual illusions? Matvei will leave her to her own things. He has no interest in a queen.”

  “Then why him? Give her to someone who will at least be good to her as you have with me. We have more than illusions. Don't we?” She hugged him, ignoring that he did not return the embrace.

  He stood silent.

  Gwen considered what she needed to do to sway him. She looked up at him and ran her finger up his neck into his hair. “Don't we?” she asked again. “I do love you.”

  He growled. “It isn't about love. She is weak and needs to be stronger. Monsters are coming.”

  “You will protect us. You always have.” She leaned against his chest. “There is no creature more cunning or capable than you are.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “Why is it so important to not be him? You know all vampires are cruel. You have even seen that side of me, despite my best efforts.”

  “You are not cruel. You are managing a lot of moving parts. I know you didn't mean to be unkind. I lost my temper as well.”

  He breathed in and exhaled loudly. “Matvei is the best choice. Logical choice.”

  She looked up at him and brushed her hair aside. “Love is not logical. Take as much as you need.”

  He kissed her longer than usual. When he pulled away his eyes still held aggravation but to a lesser degree. “It is not logical at all, my precious treasure. I, however, must be logical in the face of war.”

  “Consider someone else. If they hate each other they won't nurture it. You realize how strong you have made me because we do this daily. Would she benefit just as much from someone she would want to be with, if they did it more often? Is that how it works?”

  “She will only ever be as strong as her master.”

  “But if she only bonded with him once a year and would have bonded with someone else daily, wouldn't that get the same effect?”

  Timofei rubbed his forehead. “Perhaps, initially, but over time she would gain more from Matvei.”

  “She would be miserable. She wanted to run away. That is more dangerous than being bonded to a weaker vampire. I can't lose my baby. Please. Just consider it while you are away.” She wrapped her arms tight around him. “Please, give her a chance to be happy. I won't fight you on anything else. I promise.”

  He brushed her hair. “You won't keep that promise. You are a restless witch.”

  “Then tell me what you want. I will do anything in exchange for her happiness.”

  He shook his head. “You do understand you will do anything I want regardless. You are in no position to bargain.”

  “Is this where we are now? This is where you want to be? I am your slave, not your queen?”

  He kissed her forehead. “It is where we always have been. I did not want to be cruel, but I did ask you to do what I say. We are at war. My family and my queen are most vulnerable.”

>   Her lip quivered as she fought back tears. There was nothing she could offer to save Kyna. He was right, she had always been a slave.

  He looked at her with a look she read to mean he was done and wanted her to leave.

  She couldn't get her feet to move. She couldn't let go of the idea she needed to get him to relent on this. She pondered a million hurtful things she could say. She could point out the lies and promises he made, but he had no emotions. He was a monster. Then it struck her. There was one thing she had he wanted. Her. He wanted her life, her blood. She was still one of a kind and irreplaceable as he said many times.

  She turned to leave and made sure to clearly send an image of her lying dead, chewed to bits. Along with the image, she put out her intent to summon a demon and end her suffering. She held the thought and walked slowly away.

  She felt him step toward the door, hesitate, and then follow her.

  “It makes you that sad?” He matched her steps as she walked the hall. “You would die because your daughter was a little upset?”

  She kept her pace and held the sadness in the front of her mind. “I didn't think you still lurked in my thoughts. Why pretend to care?”

  “I couldn't miss the sadness. I do hate your sadness.”

  “We are at an impasse, Timofei. I just want to be alone.”

  “What would make you happy? We can’t have her vulnerable. I will not have her merely a human.”

  “I'm done arguing. I quit, you win. I never really had any choices, I see that now.”

  Timofei put his hand on her shoulder and stopped her. “I knew always giving you your way would be a mistake.”

  When she spoke, she filled her tone with disappointment. “It was always your way.”

  “What do you want, my queen? Let me fix your sadness as I always have.”

  “You caused it. You can't cause it and fix it. It just doesn't work that way.”

  “You simply object to Matvei?” He waited for her response while she thought.

  “Yes. I do.” She objected to a lot of things and couldn't help adding, “Amid a host of other things, but that is a start.”

  He chuckled. “You always have been rather demanding. I will give you this, Gwen, because your thoughts grow darker than they ever should. Do not become more trouble than you are worth, or I will make it so no demon needs to be summoned.” He paused and looked at her with less than loving eyes. “This compromise will come at a cost.”

  “A cost?”

  “I want more children. We are not compatible. I will arrange someone who is.”

  Her mouth gaped opened. “For me?” She took a few steps back. “You want me to make you more witches to feed from? Are these elementals not giving you what you expected?”

  “As usual, you are perceptive. It will be easier if you do as I say. I will choose a new vampire and mate for Kyna. You will do this because I have been so kind. Fight me and you will discover where Matvei learned his cruelty.” He kissed her forehead. “Do be discrete. Brac is enough of a scandal for this family.”

  She looked at him for a long second. If it would buy Kyna the time she needed, she could at least agree, even if she had no intentions of following through. “Can we come back from this? Back from the threats and ugliness?”

  “Of course we can. We have forever.” He kissed her nose. “I must go see that our forever is not invaded by ogres.”

  Him wanting her and Kyna to breed for him drove home the point she always struggled with. He did not love her. She was not a real queen. She kissed him again and walked away. She had a small victory for Kyna that allowed her to better suffer the blow of being treated as some prized cattle.

  Chapter Eight

  G wen took some comfort sat behind the closed door of her office. No witches came knocking, but her problems stayed with her, unsolved. The exchange with Timofei shook her in a way that she still couldn't recover from, even after he left.

  She ordered and reordered her list of things to either do or figure out: Demon summoner, Maryanne, Brac's secret, Kyna's secret, the festival, Yvette's replacement, her estate, who was this new mate? She deliberately left off Dillon and talking to Matvei about the veil.

  Her thoughts lingered on the demon, she might not even be able to look into that. Once Timofei sealed the openings in the veil, she would be cut off.

  If she had not been told how much they despised her work there, she would have put up a bigger fight. Instead, she thought if Matvei did agree to take her, she would rather use the trip to try to sort her affairs and perhaps watch Dillon, or even talk to him.

  The door opened and she looked up with a smile. She knew who it was because his aura pushed strong in front of him.

  Brac closed the door behind him and walked over to Gwen. He took both of her hands and she stood, sharing a long embrace with him.

  While she relaxed in his arms, she felt the strength in him was changed. The vibration of his aura held a subtle difference. It didn't have as gentle a buzz as he usually sent out. She held him tighter. “It's been done already?”

  “I'm okay, mom.” He held her and kissed the top of her head. “It wasn't so bad. In fact, she was nice, and easy on the eyes.”

  Gwen felt a wave of trembles wash over her. Her knees threatened to buckle under the weight of the realization.

  He stroked her hair with one hand and his other arm held her close to him. “Come on. I heard you faced down the big monster for Kyna. I'm proud of you. Don't do it again. They are restless now.”

  She pulled back from her son and looked at his concerned eyes that held the look of a thoughtful man, not a rebellious child. She put a hand to his face. “Had I known you were being whisked away this morning I would have stopped it, Brac. Somehow.”

  “It's really not so bad. I don't have to stay with her and I will grow stronger now. Strong enough that you and I can do something. Something you've always dreamed of.”

  She put her fingers to his lips. “Don't think it, sweetheart. Not even for a second.”

  “It's okay, my, what do I call her? My monster? She lives on a realm far away from us, Timofei is gone, and Matvei is busy organizing the battalion here. Is my realm still opened? I want to talk to you about something.”

  “The secret?” She looked at him and watched his face light up.

  “Yes.” He turned to the window and walked over, looking out in the courtyard. “The vampire, Malvina, saw it in my mind when we connected. She said we would talk about my secret later.”

  Gwen sighed. “You can't ever trust any of them. I assume she is loyal to Timofei, all of them are.”

  “She can't be too loyal if he is the obstacle to her rule.” He ran his finger along the wood around the edge of the window.

  “Your father is always aware of what is going on around him. Always.”

  “I know, which is why we need to go now while he is away and Matvei is busy.” Brac turned, took a few steps and reached for her hand.

  They hurried out of the building, only getting stopped once.

  His realm tear was away from the main buildings and she didn't feel anyone following them, not any vampires. She looked around with both her eyes and her magic. Once she was sure they were alone, they stepped into his realm.

  “It's been a long time since I was here.” She noticed that he made no efforts to maintain things. Most of the realm was barren.

  “Yeah, me too. It's boring here. Look, we should hurry.”

  She took both of his hands. “If this is something in your mind, Matvei already knows.”

  He sighed. “Probably. I mean, I know he knows what I think. I try not to think about it. The first time it happened I was at the colony and I have been careful to only do it here, on my realm.” He paused and looked at her with worried eyes. “Will Timofei know if I tell you?”

  “It's complicated. He doesn't always invade my thoughts.” She hated to lie to Brac, but if she told him what she knew, his mistress would see, and Matvei would see as well.
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br />   “I can make a fire creature.” Brac watched her cock her head and study him.

  “What do you mean? Call fire? That's normal for your type of elemental.”

  “No, mom, they are kind of sentient.” He stepped from one foot to the other. “You want to see one? Tell me if it is normal or special? I didn't want to tell Jarrod either. I mean, if it is a new skill, it might make me more of a pawn than I already am.”

  “A pawn? Who is making you do things?”

  He kissed her forehead. “They don't make me. They suggest and manipulate. I just go along because it is easier on us all.”

  “Suggest? Like what?”

  “You know, like Maryanne, because she has special parents, and waiting until they change us both to be together.”

  “I'm so sorry.” She put her hand on her face, covering her eyes and shaking her head. “I never wanted this to touch you. You don’t have to …”

  “Yes, yes, I do.” He kissed the top of her head. “I don't blame you. I know everything you do is for us. Let me show you. We need to get back before Matvei gets suspicious.”

  Brac held her under his arm and focused in the distance.

  Gwen watched as a fire started to blaze. She turned to reassure him that his gifts were nothing he had to worry about, but she felt a surge come off of him and looked back at the fire.

  It danced as if a breeze blew, but the air remained still. It formed a shape resembling a flaming grizzly bear. Once it seemed a solid shape, it started to lumber toward them.

  “It's okay.” His voice was soft but his aura remained hot and pulsing. “It will only do what I want it to.”

  It stopped a few feet in front of them and Gwen studied what looked to her like black spots in the flames. There was a feeling of anticipation coming from the creature. It wanted a command.

  Brac waved a hand, it flashed and flickered away. “Is that normal?”

  She shook her head. “Lock these thoughts up tight. Good lord. How many can you summon?”

  “I've done about five or so at a time. I didn't want to do too many in case someone came.” He shifted and rocked back on his heels. “I just wanted you to know, that when the time comes, I can help you too. Those things would be able to engulf vampires.”