Shane's Redemption (Maura's Men Book 3)

by Stella Williams

  Shane didn't have a chance to question her further as one of the orderlies came out and reminded them of their curfew. Carrie continued to blush as she turned and walked away towards the women's dormitory. With a sigh and an anxious glance at the intrusive orderly, he picked up his discarded journal and made his way to his own room.

  "Such an idiot!" Carrie cursed herself once she was safely in her room.

  She flopped down on the bed that was barely more than a cot in comparison to her luxurious four-poster bed at home. In fact, this entire set up was a significant downgrade than where she could be staying, at least in appointments. The whole room was smaller than her shoe closet. Gosh what she wouldn't give for access to her wardrobe right now. If she had her personal closet at her disposal, Shane wouldn't stand a chance. He'd take one look at her and fall instantly at her feet. Except maybe not. He was one of Maura's Men after all.

  When Carrie felt the dark presence within him, she'd been shocked. She'd grown up hearing tales of Maura's Men. Reckless Dandies and Dark Warriors who'd sold their souls to the devil for a chance at immortality. Handsome men with black souls who feasted on the hearts of young women alongside Maura. She'd been drawn to him immediately. Curious at first to see if the rumors were true. Then she'd gotten to know him. He was definitely not soulless. He had depth, so much depth, and so much pain. His spirit was broken and not just by Maura. After his poem today she knew he was, in fact, capable of love and she was so drawn to him. She wanted to save him in whatever way she could. At least before her father forced her home to mate his choice.

  She wanted Shane to be her choice, but she knew that could never be. No way would her father allow her to be tainted by one of Maura's Men. The family would fall in disgrace. Thinking of home always made her sad. She loved her rooms, loved the gardens. She missed the staff who were more family than her blooded relatives in some respects. Except home was just as much a prison as this place. The only benefit was not dealing with the pressures of being a born vampire. As many luxuries as it offered it was still just a gilded cage.

  No, she would enjoy this break as much as she could. She would pursue Shane while she could and make the best of her limited freedom while she still could. Carrie closed her eyes and thought about Shane's gaunt features, using her mind to fill them in give them life. She imagined herself sprawled on a bed, naked and open for him, not just her body but her vein. How would his canines feel piercing the tender flesh of her neck? Better yet the sensitive bud between her lower lips?

  Carrie slid her hand down her body to touch herself right where it ached. She'd seen human women in movies do these things, but had never done so herself. Never felt the need to, until now. Imagining Shane feeding on her, taking strength from her. Blood sharing between Vampires was a very intimate experience and wasn't done lightly, but she could see giving Shane part of her. Becoming part of him, forever. She was hesitant as her hand slid past the elastic band of her sweatpants, pausing at the edge of her lace underwear.

  She knew no one was watching, but she looked around the room just to be sure. Stopping to pull the thin blanket over her body just in case. She started her descent once again. This time slightly less hesitant. Her imagination taking the reins. Carrie was right at the source, her hand hovering over the moist flesh that was begging for some sort of release from the throbbing arousal coursing through her.

  Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!

  Carrie nearly jumped out of her skin. Of course, how had she forgotten about her father's weekly call?

  "Have you come to your senses yet," He asked right away.

  Maximus was never one to beat around the bush. So much so that he insisted on going by a single name. He had no room for titles or the undue flattery that came along with them. Most people saw him as a harsh man, and he could be, but Carrie knew his one soft spot. That soft spot was her. Carrie was his only weakness, and as such he was suffocating in his worry and need to protect her. Especially after the death of her mother.

  She'd contracted a mysterious illness shortly after her fourth birthday. Carrie was young, and her father had tried to shield her from the details, but she knew it had been a painful death. She still remembered the way the staff and scurried around doing their best to make noise as they moved around her room, in a failed effort to drown out her mother's wailing cries. There had been rumors of witchcraft, of a curse placed on her family by Maura.

  "Have you come to yours?"

  "Carolina, my sweet daughter. I thought we'd already made it passed the rebellious stage. Please just come home."

  Maximus was trying a different tactic. He'd tried it before, and it hadn't worked then any more than it would work now. Carrie had made up her mind. If she was ever going to be more than just some Royal trophy wife, she needed to establish a level of independence from her father.

  "I am no longer a child that you can easily manipulate. Have a good evening, father and please don't berate the staff too much in your anger for not getting your way," Carrie said and hung up the phone.

  She tried to come back to her thoughts of Shane but talking to her father had truly ruined the mood. Instead, she snuggled tighter into her blanket and closed her eyes. Mentally planning her approach to seducing Shane. One thing she would take from her father would be his mind for manipulation. She would help Shane become the man she knew he could be. Then he would have no choice but to see her as the only woman meant to be with him.

  Questions

  "Your friends are meeting without you. That doesn't bode well for our plans," Rachel stated startling Cat from her chair. You would think the woman would be used to her surprise visits by now.

  "I have a deadline to meet, and I seriously don't have time for your drama right now," Cat replied taking her seat and ignoring Rachel.

  "You aren't taking this seriously enough!" Rachel lost her temper for what seemed the hundredth time.

  Cat glared back at her over what the woman called a laptop. There was much about the modern world that still puzzled Rachel. She'd missed a lot while trapped in the gray. It wasn't until Molly's resurrection that she'd been allowed access to the present. A necessary tool to seek her revenge and restore balance.

  Before then Rachel had all but faded away, stewing in the grief and anger of Xander's betrayal. She'd almost given up on reaching the light. She'd seen it a few times in the distance but had never been able to reach it herself. No, she had been stuck in the quicksand of gray until that fateful day when the balance of life and death had been destroyed.

  By bringing Molly back using her dark magic, Maura had torn a hole in the boundaries between the world of the living and the dead. A hole that it was Rachel's job to fix. A task that would finally bring her salvation, her trip into the light and the key to her final peace.

  She'd been woken and given the knowledge needed to bring about the demise of Maura for her infractions against the laws of nature. Still, she couldn't do it all on her own. She needed the help of this maddening woman to complete her goal.

  "I'm not even going to respond to that nonsense," Cat said coolly.

  Rachel wished so badly to be able to interact with Cat in the same way she could with Molly. Instead, Rachel did the only thing she could.

  "Your sloth will be the death of everyone and everything you hold dear," She stated and disappeared from the room.

  Still, Rachel didn't leave the realm of the living. She had one more stop to make before she returned to the gray.

  One benefit of moving in shadow form was the element of stealth. No one saw her enter Greg's room, nor did he stir when she lay her form next to his on the bed. Rachel marveled at the sleeping male before her. Lingering longer in this realm than she should just for a minute of peace with him. She could feel what little life she had left draining faster with every second she was away from the gray.

  Rachel had no business coveting this man. No, she was only here to seek revenge on Maura and save her soul from the gray. Whatever fantasies she had about Greg, none
of them would ever be. She was a ghost, a shadow just waiting for the light to come and take her. Her destiny was death, not life and love.

  Greg stirred and smiled at her. Rachel smiled back.

  "Don't go," He pleaded as she faded away.

  As much as she wanted to stay, there was too much pulling her away.

  Molly sat at her desk staring blankly at the documents in front of her. Tan pieces of parchment deceptively fragile in her hands. There was a weight to them so heavy, it seemed a brick wall had been placed on her chest. The Council's decree that she bends to their will was the last thing she needed to add to her already ill-fated existence. At least they had conditionally lifted the ban on her establishment. Not that it was entirely unexpected. As soon as she'd met them it was clear they could care less about her business dealings. They were more afraid of her mysterious power. She'd done her best to hide it from them. Even the poor woman who tested her had covered for her. Yet she had a feeling it still hadn't been enough to satisfy them that she wasn't a threat.

  Her so-called power. A magical weapon she had no idea how to use or control. A curse she hadn't known she had until that awful night. A light so intense it had stopped whatever evil spell Maura had cast upon Claude and Gretchen. Well, at least mostly. It hadn't been enough to destroy Maura. That crazy hag was still out there somewhere. No doubt planning her next attack. This time with Molly as her number one target. A knock sounded on Molly's office door.

  "Come in," She called shoving the parchment under a stack of vendor orders.

  Gretchen peeked her head in, a bright smile on her face.

  "Are you busy," she asked pleasantly.

  Molly pasted on a smile. Even though Gretchen was now a close friend, Molly didn't want to burden the girl with her news. Gretchen had quite a bit to deal with on her own. Having given up most of her family, nearly losing her brother and Claude to Maura. Molly envied the girls ability to cope. Although it probably had a lot to do with the fact that since his recovery, Claude had barely gone a few hours without stealing her away to a locked room or dark corner.

  A sharp pang of jealousy jolted her chest. An unwanted sentiment. Molly was done with love. It had literally gotten her killed, and after the disastrous affair with Brody, Molly knew now that even carefully constructed flings were not much better. It seemed Molly's love life was doomed to casual flirtations and battery operated boyfriends. Suddenly realizing she'd yet to answer Gretchen, Molly cleared her throat and nodded.

  "Just a bit. The bar is in disarray after you and Mack both taking a vacation and me being distracted with Council business."

  "Right. The Council," Gretchen said with a shiver, "Sorry, I guess now wouldn't be the best time for an ice cream break."

  Molly laughed.

  "Probably not, but I could really use a pleasant distraction at the moment," Molly cringed slightly at her revelation.

  She wasn't handling things all that well, but Gretchen didn't need to know that. Thankfully Gretchen didn't so much as raise an eyebrow. Unlike Cat, Gretchen tended to be a bit more diplomatic about other people's privacy. If Gretchen was suggesting an ice cream break, something was bothering her as well.

  After their first ice cream outing, Claude had installed an ice cream parlor in the mansion. His way of ensuring that Gretchen had no excuse to leave his side longer then he deemed necessary. He hadn't liked the idea of her being out in public without him. Of the three men, well four that now lived in the mansion, Claude was the most demanding when it came to protecting his conquests. Not that Gretchen was a pushover by any means.

  "So what's on your mind," Molly asked.

  Gretchen twirled her spoon in the half-eaten banana split. Despite not being able to taste the flavor as strongly as before, Gretchen usually savored every bite until her treat was gone. Being sired by Maura the men were shunned from vampire society, making their knowledge of the culture limited. Molly, having been accepted into regular vampire society until recently, had been able to learn a lot more than they ever could. This made Molly a walking encyclopedia for Cat and Gretchen’s curiosities. Gretchen set her spoon aside and crossed her arms over her chest.

  "Can vampires have children," Gretchen asked.

  Molly nearly choked on her mouthful of ice cream.

  "Excuse me," She gasped.

  "Just a question. I mean, I'm not planning to-- is it even an option,” Gretchen mumbled.

  "As far as I know only purebloods can actually birth a child. Turned vampires only have children in the creepy I killed you then brought you back to life with my blood way," Molly said.

  "You know, I'm starting to feel a little left out," Cat said plunking herself into the booth next to Molly.

  She grabbed the spoon from her best friend and stole a bite from her sundae. Gretchen blushed obviously embarrassed. The girl was so sensitive it reminded Cat of Molly in the old days. Before she'd become a bitter old shrew. Molly snatched her spoon back and glared at Cat.

  "Did your mate send you to spy," Molly quipped.

  Cat laughed. If only Xander gave her that much credit. No, her mate had no idea she had even left the confines of the fortress they called home. Truly, Cat loved that Xander was protective of her. It was something Cat had rarely experienced in her human life. Being a strong, confident, independent woman she was often in conflict with it.

  "Actually it was our dear shadow friend," Cat said instantly shutting her friend up.

  The Shadow hadn't exactly been kind to Molly, and God knew it was probably the only thing left in the world that actually scared her more then finally giving in to her love for Shane.

  "What demands has it made now," Molly sighed before handing Cat a second spoon.

  "Oh the usual, get Molly and Shane together or suffer the consequences. Honestly, I'm getting a little annoyed with being her mouthpiece," Cat said.

  She dug into the sundae. Not that it tasted like anything, but Cat could still enjoy the cool sensation it left as it slid down her throat.

  "At least it's better than having it torture you at random."

  Molly rubbed her arms as if she were cold despite it being a pleasant temperature in their favorite ice cream parlor. A funny reaction considering the Shadow had a habit of using heat and flame to scare the not so living daylights out of her.

  "Or having it slink around your brother," Gretchen muttered under her breath.

  Now that caught Cat's attention. This was a surprising new piece of information. There was no telling whether the shadow was female or not but over the time Cat had spent in the shadow's presence she had a vague idea of who or what the Shadow was.

  "What do you mean," She asked.

  Gretchen rolled her eyes.

  "I've caught him in mid-conversation with the Shadow a few times, and I always get the sense that I'm intruding on some kind of intimate moment. It's super creepy to think of my brother with anyone, let alone a shadow figure with ulterior motives."

  Cat exchanged glances with Molly before bursting into a fit of laughter. Not that the situation was funny in the least, but it was a better reaction to the weirdness in their lives than any alternative one.

  "Well at least you know you won't have any half shadow nieces or nephews running around," Molly said.

  "Wait, what did I miss? Were you asking about the possibility of children," Cat asked Gretchen, and there was that crimson flush of her cheeks again.

  The poor girl still wasn't used to Cat's directness after all the time they'd spent together.

  "It was an important question. I honestly couldn't handle any more life-changing surprises in my relationship with Claude. That man is enough to handle as it is," She said fussing with the ever-present scarf around her neck.

  Cat did her best not to stare as the scarf slipped slightly out of place. A jagged raised scar marred her otherwise flawless skin. It looked like she’d been mauled by a bear. Gretchen saw it as a reminder of her weakness. Cat saw it as sign of her strength. She’d fought Declan hard as
a human, giving enough time for Claude to save her. That didn’t mean she was a damsel in distress. Gretchen had killed Declan herself for what he did to her. Cat nodded in acknowledgment of her friend’s statement and to clear her own head.

  "Yeah and I thought Xander was bad with his whole protector of the innocent thing. Anyway, I could have answered that one for you. I mean, Xander and I have been going at it for years. Nothing has resulted from it. Well, that and it's pretty common sense that if you aren't bleeding, you aren't breeding."

  "Oh geez, could you be crasser," Molly said.

  Cat was just about to reply when a group of young men approached their table.

  "Mind if we join you," One of the men asked.

  Cat wiggled her eyebrows at Molly before turning to say yes, but before she could answer Xander and Claude were there, pushing themselves into the booth.

  "Seats taken," Claude bit out before pulling Gretchen into a kiss so passionate it was X-rated.

  Xander being much more mindful of appearances draped an arm over Cat's shoulder and pulled her in close. That left Molly as the odd woman out, but the look Xander shot the boys had them all scattering to the winds. Now alone Cat turned to Xander, fire in her eyes.

  "Are you having me followed," She spat.

  Xander grinned before giving Cat a quick peck.

  "Only when you sneak out," He said a glint of challenge in his eyes.

  If Cat wasn't so madly in love with her mate, she’d have smacked the smug grin off his face. Instead, she kissed him. Reaching over him she lifted the car keys from his jacket pocket before pushing him out of the booth.

  "Time to go home so I can punish you properly," she said.

  "Ugh! All of you just go before we're all kicked out for indecency," Molly grumbled.

  Cat flicked her off before pushing Xander towards the door. Someday soon, Cat was going to have a real come to Jesus talk with her bestie. For now, she had more pressing needs. Needs that involved complete privacy and the dead sexy warrior in front of her.