Chapter 54
VIOLET
“You look perfect,” Leiza says, smiling over at me. “Even if you did forever wed the scariest vampire to have ever lived.”
Her voice wavers with some apprehension, just before she gulps very loudly. Her smile looks more and more forced with each passing second.
Lemon, however, looks so relieved.
“Honestly, I think it means we’ll see him less. He’ll have no reason to intimidate us into helping him out. Not to mention, his vampire beta is getting better about talking him up. I think he saw that as some sort of draw to getting to know us,” Lemon confesses, paling a little. “There’s no need in him getting to know us. We’ll talk him up if he really needs it that badly.”
“We feel comfortable saying this, because you swore we could be honest, and we trust you,” Mary rushes to say, peering over her shoulder.
“Shera had this entire room insulated, because she didn’t want everyone hearing me have sex with four alphas. Mostly because she’s not having sex and doesn’t want to be reminded what she’s missing out on,” I assure them, gesturing around my empty room. “She had it done after Caroline broke my walls.”
My hair gets pulled a little harder than necessary, as Shera continues to add curls. I grin at her in the mirror, but she pointedly ignores me.
“You have to be pressed all the way against the door to even hear small pieces of a normal toned conversation,” Ingrid cuts in, almost distractedly, while she eats her yogurt and focuses her attention on it. “Even then you don’t really know who’s talking or what’s actually being talked about.”
I stare at her for a very long moment, wondering if I just heard her correctly.
Mary, Tiara, Lemon, and Leiza all cut a surprised and slightly horrified look in her direction.
As if she just realized what she’s said, her head pops up, and she darts a look at me.
“Not that I’ve ever tried to eavesdrop on you,” Ingrid hurriedly adds.
Rolling my eyes, I return my attention to the mirror.
Now that she’s finished using the curling iron on the bottom of my hair, she begins pulling the top half from the rollers, the shaky hands of my stylist tickling my scalp.
“There will eventually be individual ceremonies for all these matings,” Mary points out. “Emit’s should be in the woods behind—”
“There will be one ceremony,” I interject, watching them all look at me with blank expressions through the mirror. “It’ll be in the woods, at midnight, and on a night where the moon isn’t an issue. I’ll wear a black dress and veil, have green shoes, and you guys can decide on the rest of what I wear.”
They only look a little bit happy with that.
“It’ll be brief, and it’ll be tame. Once the Monster Mansion cake is cut, I want to dance all night long.”
Shera continues to give me a blank look. Mary smiles somewhat shyly and looks away. Lemon grins very openly, as she sips her drink. Tiara looks at me like I’m an idiot.
“She’s so cute,” Lemons says, grinning around her cup.
“Cute? I’m working toward sexy, since it’s my wedding day,” I grumble, eyeing myself in the mirror.
Lemon snorts, and Mary laughs along with her. I feel like they’re mocking me, but I have no idea what I’ve done.
“I bet they do every single thing on the damn list,” Shera mutters so low I almost don’t hear.
She gets a little aggressive with my hair for a brief moment, as if punishing me, but it quickly lessens.
Even though I was skeptical of her vision, I watch as she finishes weaving the different curls together, and slowly smile. She’s actually good at this.
“At least the vampire beta has some worth,” Tiara says, digging Ingrid out of her hole by diverting the conversation.
Shera glares into the mirror at me, as if saying it’s all my fault she’s stuck in a room full of omega she-wolves, who constantly talk about her instead of to her, while she finishes the last curl in my hair.
“This vampire beta is so beyond top notch that you’re all lucky to be in my presence,” Shera says very tightly, eyeing my hair with a lot of scrutiny, before she sprays it. “But this feels reckless to do so suddenly. I mean, the alphas just put Idun down last night. I know I can see her on Idun TV, and we all heard Vance say they could handle her again if need be, but I have some trust issues with that.”
I nod as though I get it, but clearly, I say nothing else.
Either we managed to escape most everyone’s sight while Anna was dressed as someone other than me, or…Arion was thorough in suppressing people’s memories.
“I’d rather not think about Idun at all,” Ingrid whispers very quietly, looking around as though the boogeyman may pop up if she speaks too loudly.
“Honestly, I sort of thought you’d be secretly powerful and be able to put Idun down. I know it’s silly, but there’s always been this draw toward you that calls to our basest omega instincts,” Leiza says to me, studying me as though she can’t believe she was wrong.
Shera snorts, and I shrug a shoulder.
“My mother never let me be a badass,” I remind them. “Even if she had let me, I still wouldn’t be much of a match for Idun. Especially not on my own.”
Shera rolls her eyes.
“I’m not sure why I ever thought differently. Maybe it’s because you put my ass to the ground the one time I stepped between you and Arion,” Shera confesses with some clear reluctance, eyes more focused on my hair.
She’s like a dog with a bone about that whole thing. It’s like she can’t let it go.
“I remember a day when confessing such a thing would have embarrassed such a prideful, arrogant vampire,” Tiara cuts in, purposely studying the back of her own hand, as opposed to looking at Shera.
“I remember a time when omega wolves knew how to fear extremely powerful beta vampires,” Shera volleys.
I open my mouth to speak, but Mary speaks before I can.
“You look brave, but is it all talk? I’ve yet to see you do anything all that badass,” the wolf quietly prods, cutting a slanted gaze toward Shera, and then quickly darts her eyes away again, since it’s all false bravado.
Shera tenses behind me.
“Avery says the renewing of the combat trials has actually had a positive effect on the entire community,” Leiza says, smirking in a way that suggests she’s being petty. “Betas want the chance to fight for their houses, and with the absence of true war, they’re restless. This will give them their chance to have a say in what does or does not change, so long as it’s matched up to be a fair fight.”
“That’s where it gets tricky, huh? I mean, if someone’s not really as tough as they pretend to be,” Lemon chimes in, as she files her nails with a devious smile on her face.
Shera’s body tenses again, and she slowly turns her attention to Lemon.
Lemon’s devious smile fades, when she notices the serious expression on Shera’s face.
“I’ve already requested to move to Emily’s new House and serve as her beta. I’m strong, but I’m not capable of contending with the elite beta powerhouses, who will be competing the vast majority of the time. The fights will be fairer if I’m second beta in a new House, and Arion will have room for new top betas who can win in the ring for the Head Alpha Vampyre. Even if they can’t run his House, because all they rely on is strength.”
She calmly puts the curling iron down at last, gives me a tight smile in the mirror, and turns to go.
I cast some side-eye toward the wolves, who all look guilty as hell, as the door shuts behind the sad vampire.
“The world is entirely too fucked up if I feel bad for hurting her feelings,” Leiza tells me, swallowing thickly. “But I honestly feel like shit right now.”
“She’s giving up the alpha who saved her life and gave a survivor a chance to do more than simply survive,” I remind them. “She’s thrived since meeting him, by comparison to what she’d have done
anywhere else.”
“But she’s a coldhearted vampire,” Ingrid quietly argues, as though she can’t believe any of them feel bad about this.
“She’s more than that, and we unfortunately know that now,” Leiza grumbles, as she grabs her drink from the table beside her. “Great. Just when I finally start catching on that she’s not that fierce, I can’t even get any jabs in without feeling bad about it. I fucking hate being an omega sometimes.”
“Only sometimes,” Mary is quick to agree, clearly horror-stricken by this new development.
“I didn’t do anything. I don’t have to face her. Maybe you’re all okay with her enough to provoke her, but I still want to pee myself when she walks into a room,” Ingrid says as she steps into the wall passage.
Poking her head back out, she smiles and adds, “But I sat in a room with her. I don’t feel like she’s out to get me for my secret. She’s probably heard about it by now, and nothing bad has happened. Apologize for me.”
The wall shuts behind her, and Leiza mutters a curse, as they slowly leave the room, reluctant to do so.
“Shera’s going to get really pissed off when they apologize. It’ll make her feel weird,” Anna notes aloud, even as she grins.
The triplets appear before me, all of them so eerily reminiscent of Wednesday Adams that I can’t believe it took me so long to piece that together.
I know I’m a gypsy. I know storytelling is in my veins. Now I’m aware that my monster knows how to use every single thing in my blood, heritage, and mind against me to get its way.
“You didn’t win anything. I was always going to give in to Arion, but it’s really scary being in love with him. Really, really scary.”
They grin as though they enjoy that, and then they all wag their eyebrows in synchronized unison.
“You should have let us claim him earlier,” they tell me.
“She’s stubborn,” Anna chimes in. “And such a horribly, boringly cautious person. Far too simple to be a main character.”
“I really do hate you,” I tell her flatly.
“One could argue that means you hate yourself,” the triplets are quick to rebut.
I salt them.
Anna grins, even as they disappear.
“What are we going to do about Talbot?” she asks, making me truly miss the days when she talked about dildos, grandma, and orgies, especially when her eyes dance with excitement.
My monster’s out of the closet now.
“We’re not doing anything. Talbot is Damien’s. He’s either really good, or really bad. He did plan to steal my monster. However, he seemed genuinely relieved that I could handle you,” I tell her, now feeling crazier every time we talk.
I’m talking to my monster.
There’s no need to put a pin in it.
There’s no need to hush my thoughts.
Shit…Demetria. I almost forgot.
Just because she fought for us, that doesn’t mean I should rush into trusting what I can and can’t think about. Not until I know her agenda.
And Jasper…what happens to him?
I can’t let him go back to the skin-walkers. With Idun down and done, will Demetria leave Sanctuary? Is she now my beta? Doesn’t seem likely, and given her vicious reputation, I’m not sure I want her here around my terrified omegas.
None of the wolves have brought it up. I half wonder if they know about it.
The skin-walkers know about me now. Anna deviated from the plan, because I can’t fully control her. But collateral damage was limited.
Zuela knows…
There’s so much to—
A knock at the door interrupts the beginnings of the internal, mounting list of things that need my attention—the cleanup after the Mad Hatter’s festival, so to speak.
I swing the door open, and there stands Arion…shirtless.
A confident smirk only adds to his smug, dark expression, as he twirls a long-stemmed rose in his hand. His right eyebrow lifts, as he deliberately sweeps his gaze over me in appraisal.
Suddenly, I feel self-conscious.
I accidentally mated Vance and had no idea that’s what we were doing. I didn’t have to think about it because I didn’t know.
Emit had to die, or I had to take his mark for all eternity. The choice was so simple that it made me realize just how hard I really had fallen for him. Then he spent three days ensuring I didn’t need sex for three weeks.
However, I didn’t have to think about it, because there was so much else going on.
Damien…
Damien’s always going to be the best in bed. My body will never feel anything but pleasure, even in places where pleasure isn’t ever felt any other time. And he makes it his job to ensure he’s stays at the top of that ladder. He’s also the man who avoids most everyone else in hopes they’ll forget him, but never lets me go for long without at least a small appearance.
I knew I loved Damien, and he’s special in a lot of ways. They’re all special in their own respective ways. Some are just more obvious than others.
Idun never forgot Damien. How did she manage that?
Maybe I’ll piece her together one day and ask that question.
Arion’s thumb at my chin draws me out of my own head once more, while I try to deal with my current debacle.
“I don’t know how to do this,” I tell Arion, treating him like Ace for a moment, because he’s really intimidatingly sure of himself.
His grin only spreads wider, as though he’s enjoying that for some reason.
“Tonight, we’re going to celebrate, and I’m very glad I had that pesky task you gave me to keep me away long enough for you to ready yourself. You look stunning, love,” he says.
“Let’s claim him,” Anna stage-whispers, as my knees actually wobble.
It’s embarrassing as hell, and I straighten them real quick. The vampire eyes my knees, keeps on grinning, and slowly returns his knowing gaze back to my eyes.
“You’d better fucking claim me, love. Use Anna. Or Diva. Leave the triplets and other young or creepy ones out of the bedroom,” he states like it’s some sort of easy compromise.
“We use Violet’s face for claimings,” Anna states with a smile, as she gives him a red-lipped air-kiss.
“Even better,” Arion says with his own scary grin.
Great. It’s already normal to him, while I’m just starting to pick up the mountainous piles of pins. I envy him sometimes.
That freedom…
“How do you do that? Make it sound so easy to simply see things as one way, and then another, and move forward with complete commitment, without a glance too far ahead to worry about what comes next?” I ask very seriously, needing an answer to this. “Especially since you know how much one little thing can change everything you thought you knew?”
Soft petals touch my chest, and I swallow around the immediate lump in my throat, as he slowly drags the rose down. It moves down the small valley between my breasts, touching the top of the black lace.
The lace leads to silk, which clings to me more than I usually prefer. Arion’s hand runs across my side, pushing the silk against me, and I decide the silk feels way better than anything else he’s ever touched me through.
The feel of his firm, restrained power is delicately cushioned with the softness. I wish there was a buffer for the intensity of his stare, because it takes a lot of effort not to shrink.
“Because I’ve lived more than long enough to know exactly what I want. I just never dared to hope it could be so perfectly suited to all my favorite tastes,” he says, sliding me forward and sideways, until my back is pressed to the wall.
He quickly steals all the space between our bodies, and he tips my head back, teasing my lips with the smallest ghost of kisses.
I’m not sure when my eyes closed, but when they open, he’s still staring down at me.
“I know I’m the biggest monster of the four of us. I don’t want you to ever see me the way they see her, and you’re
far more delicate than you realize. I’m going to ensure my bride stays happy, because that’s always been the plan. Even before I knew that bride would be you. You’re my priority. My anchor. My soul’s replacement,” he says, grinning lips teasing mine once again.
The grin on his lips is almost patronizing.
“A sweet monster like you should be interesting to keep pleased. Go easy. I’ll try to play the game, Violet,” he says, once again…not understanding there is no game.
Or maybe I’m just not capable of seeing this the way he sees it. He’s an ancient vampire who sold his soul for a woman who could never respect, love, or even truly want him. We’ve clearly had two very different lives.
I’m just starting to understand how different we actually are.
I thought I was the same, because I’ve got a monster. Which is stupid.
He has centuries more experience and way more monster stories than I ever want to have.
Anna scares the shit out of me.
There’s still a piece of me that wants to fully give in to that request, because…I really want to claim him. If Anna could succesffully force the issue, it’d already be done.
“You should be more scared of my monster,” I say, even though I shouldn’t have to point that out by this point. “Instead of just asking me to claim you. You have no idea what that’s doing to me right now.”
His grin spreads again. “Then please tell me all about it, love.”
Anna is practically glowing beside me, desperately hoping for another shot at flesh.
“It’s dangerous,” I assure him, unsure why the desperate urge to give into this is hitting me so hard.
Is this really instinct?
Is this really how this all works?
I’m so glad my mother suppressed it. The teenage me would have never survived this.
“We’re monsters capable of destroying the world if we so choose,” he states like somehow that’s what I’ve said and he’s agreeing with me. “It’s always dangerous.”
“At least now it’ll be far more fun,” comes Damien’s voice from behind Arion.
Arion doesn’t act as surprised as I do, since I fully startle, and even press against Arion. Pete’s sake, I just put down a monster no one else could handle, made her look silly, and left her to rot in a simple case as a giant fuck-off message.
Gypsy Truths (All The Pretty Monsters Book 6) Page 49