Eternal Love: (The Cursed Series, Book 4)

by Kara Leigh Miller

  “Jax.” Sean sighed and shook his head.

  “Am I wrong?” Jax asked.

  “No,” Trent said. “Chloe saw Ivy in town the other day. She was with Macaih.”

  Wyatt and Whitney’s heads snapped up simultaneously, their gazes zeroed in on me. I shifted on my feet. I’d forgotten Macaih had helped them, that he’d been the one to change Wyatt. This information probably wouldn’t sit well with them.

  “He kissed her,” I blurted.

  Jax laughed loudly. “Yeah, right.”

  I glared at him. “I know what I saw. I was standing right in front of them. He kissed her.” I curled my hand into a fist, then flexed my fingers.

  “Okay, slow down,” Sean said, holding up his hand. He stopped behind the couch and gripped the back of it. “When did you see them?”

  “Thursday,” I said. “I was leaving the diner, and I ran into Ivy. She asked if we could talk, but I needed to get home, so I told her I’d come right back. When I did, she was there with Macaih.”

  “That’s not possible,” Wyatt said. “Macaih hates witches. He’d never be involved with one, much less Ivy Rose.”

  I never expected for them to think I was lying about something like this. Why would I?

  “Yeah,” Whitney said. She turned off the game and gave me a sad smile. “I’m sure you just misinterpreted what you saw.”

  I clenched my jaw.

  “What did Ivy want to talk to you about?” Jax asked. He sat sideways in the chair, one leg draped over the arm.

  “Breaking the bond,” I said, leveling my gaze on him.

  “So, you’re going through with it?” Sean asked.

  “Yes, we are,” Trent said. He reached for my hand, giving it a soft squeeze.

  Jax straightened, his eyes dark. “You really think you can trust her?”

  “Yes,” I said. “Isach said—”

  “Isach? You can’t be serious,” Jax shouted and stood, throwing his hands in the air. He took several steps toward me.

  Trent tugged me closer, not quite behind him, but he was in a position to easily throw himself in front of Jax if needed.

  “Are you that hellbent on breaking this bond and getting away from me that you’re willing to trust Isach and Ivy?” Jax said, his words heavy with anger and disbelief.

  “Jaxon,” Trent warned, his tone lethal.

  “No,” Jax bit out. “You’re so damn scared of what might happen between me and Chloe that you’re—”

  “She chose me!” Trent hollered, pointing at himself. “It’s time you deal with it, and stop interfering with our lives.”

  I momentarily closed my eyes. We were supposed to be talking about Macaih and his involvement with Ivy, not my relationship with Trent. Or the mess I’d made with Jax.

  “Maybe so, but she loves me, too.” Jax crossed his arms. “You can’t stand knowing that the woman you love is also in love with me, can you? You’re constantly wondering if she’s thinking about me, if she wants to be with me, if she regrets her choice… it’s driving you crazy.”

  “Shut up,” Trent said.

  “Now you know how it feels,” Jax said.

  My shoulders slumped. Trent told me he was worried Jax was using me to get even with Trent about what had happened with Hannah—and the entire time, Trent was right. Jax had been using me to get his revenge. Was anything he ever said to me true? Were any of the feelings real? Did it even matter anymore?

  Trent snarled. His body tensed as if preparing to lunge at his brother, and he dropped his hold on my hand. I took a small step back.

  “Enough!” Sean now stood between Jax and Trent, a hand on each of their chests. “This stops now, you hear me?” He looked back and forth between them. “You two have been fighting about this long enough. I’m tired of it,” Sean said.

  “Then tell him to leave Chloe alone,” Trent said, jutting his chin in Jax’s direction.

  “Chloe is not Hannah. Stop treating her like she is,” Sean said to Jax.

  “Fine.” The muscle in Jax’s jaw ticked with rage. “Then tell him to stop being so stupid. Trusting Ivy is suicidal.”

  Sean turned his attention to Trent, brow raised. “He’s right, Trent. Ivy is not our ally.”

  “No, but Isach is,” I said, my voice cracking. I cleared my throat. “He says Ivy’s offer is legit, and I trust him.” I only hoped my trust wasn’t misplaced.

  Trent stepped back and once again reached for my hand. I slipped my fingers between his and leaned closer. His body was still tense, though, and his gaze didn’t waver too far from Jax.

  “Great, now that we have all that worked out,” Wyatt said, waving his hands at us. “Can we get back to the issue with Macaih?”

  Sean dropped his hands and nodded. “Chloe, you’re absolutely positive Macaih and Ivy were together?”

  “Yes. Ivy made a few comments about knowing a vampire expert. I’m guessing she meant Macaih,” I said. “And there’s no way Ivy could’ve known about the bond unless someone told her.”

  “And no one in this room would have told her,” Trent said.

  “Which means Macaih must have,” Sean said and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “No, I don’t believe it.” Whitney stood, arms crossed. “Macaih isn’t a traitor. He wouldn’t have run to Ivy and told her this. Why would he?”

  “There’s only one way to find out.” Wyatt pulled his phone from his pocket.

  “What’re you doing?” Whitney asked.

  “Calling Macaih.” Wyatt held the phone to his ear. “We’ll let him explain.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:

  Macaih Valentine

  THE HOUSE WAS SILENT AS WE waited for Macaih to arrive. The tension, though, was choking me. Wyatt and Whitney kept giving each other looks, like they were communicating with one other via their thoughts. They probably were.

  Jax and Trent kept their distance from each another, but their gazes were deadly. I half expected them to start circling like two predators ready to attack. They might have, too, if it weren’t for Sean. He stood in the middle of the living room, arms crossed, watching everyone.

  I sat on the couch and fidgeted with my promise ring, twisting it around my finger. My stomach was one large knot. I hated that I had to be the one to tell everyone about Macaih. They liked and respected him, and I’d made them question that.

  Would Macaih’s involvement with Ivy affect the deal Trent and I were going to make with her? I hoped not, but knowing my luck, everything was seconds away from crashing down around me. Again.

  Trent sat beside me and took my hand. He ran his finger over my ring, then gazed at me, a clear question in his eyes. He was clearly worried about the stuff Jax had said, and I wanted to reassure him that Jax was wrong.

  A part of me did love Jax, and I couldn’t deny that. But Trent was my future. My world. Regardless of the eternal bond, my feelings for Trent were solid, and nothing was going to change my mind. I knew what I wanted, and he was sitting right beside me.

  He leaned over and kissed my cheek, his mouth lingering near my ear. “You and me, right?” he whispered.

  “For eternity,” I whispered back.

  With a sigh, he placed a lingering kiss to my forehead.

  A moment later, a knock sounded on the front door. My heart jumped in my chest, and I straightened. Trent remained seated beside me, and I laced our fingers, needing the physical reassurance.

  “Wyatt, my boy.” Macaih walked in and gave Wyatt a hug. “It’s been far too long.”

  “Hey, Macaih,” Wyatt said, returning the hug. “Thank you for coming.”

  “Of course.” Macaih moved gracefully toward Whitney and hugged her, too. “Lovely as ever, my dear.”

  Whitney smiled, though her usual pep was missing.

  “Macaih.” Sean nodded at him, his lips set in a firm line.

  “I assume you called me here because of my involvement with Ivy Rose, yes?” Macaih sat in a chair and crossed one long leg over the other.
<
br />   I was momentarily mesmerized by how graceful he was and how he didn’t seem the least bit worried about his actions or our concerns. Maybe Whitney was right, and I’d misinterpreted what I’d seen.

  “Why’d you tell her about the eternal bond?” Jax demanded. He stood near the fireplace, arms crossed.

  Macaih steepled his fingers beneath his chin, his expression contemplative. “I had no choice,” he said after a moment.

  Whitney let out a small gasp. “So it’s true? You betrayed us?”

  “No.” Macaih shook his head. “I was fulfilling my blood oath to Ivy. Nothing more.”

  My jaw dropped. “You made a blood oath to Ivy? Why? When?”

  Sean held up his hand to silence me, as if the questions I asked were somehow inappropriate. But I didn’t care. I needed to know how deeply involved he was with Ivy and what that meant for the deal she offered me.

  “We trusted you,” Wyatt said, his tone filled with sadness.

  “What else did you tell her?” Trent asked. His hold on my hand tightened the slightest bit, and he sat forward.

  “All right, let’s just take a moment to calm down,” Sean said. He sat on the opposite end of the couch. “I apologize for their barrage of questions, Macaih, but as I’m sure you understand, we’re all a bit… concerned.”

  “Naturally.” Macaih nodded. “And I apologize for causing all of you to worry.”

  “Then tell us what’s going on,” Jax said.

  “Allow me to start at the beginning.” Macaih stood, hands clasped behind his back, and wandered around the living room. “I am extremely old, but there was a time when I was a very young vampire who didn’t know the first thing about vampirism.” He moved to stand in front of the large picture window that overlooked the backyard.

  I twisted around to watch him.

  “I was alone and scared. As I said, I knew very little. I knew I needed blood to survive, and I knew I could turn others into what I was,” he said.

  Once again, the room fell silent, and I waited for him to continue speaking.

  “So, that’s what I did. I turned people, a lot of people, so I would no longer have to be alone.” He took a deep breath. “And then I met her. Yolanda Bardot.”

  Trent’s entire body stiffened, and his gaze darted to Jax, whose eyes were wide. What was that all about? Did they know Yolanda?

  “She was breathtaking,” Macaih said, seemingly lost in his memories. “For a while, I was blissfully happy.”

  “What does she have to do with Ivy?” I asked, unable to wait a moment longer for him to continue.

  “Everything.” He spun to face me. “I was perfectly content to spend my eternity with Yolanda, but she wanted more. More money. More possessions. More vampires. She was never pleased with what she had, and so she began to build a personal army.”

  Icy fear snaked down my spine. Trent kissed the back of my hand and gave me a small smile, but there was an undercurrent of fear in his eyes. He knew something about Yolanda. But what?

  “She’d entice men with her body, lure them in with sex, promise them wealth,” Macaih said, disgusted. “She kept quite a few of them to feed on, but when she grew bored with them, she’d either kill them or change them.”

  “She sounds lovely,” Whitney said sarcastically.

  “For a while, I let her have her fun, but then she met Dante, and everything changed.” Macaih returned to the chair and sat, graceful as a gazelle, his long legs tucked beneath him. “Dante worshipped her. He did everything she wanted. He hunted men for her, brought them back to the mansion, tortured them for her pleasure.”

  I could feel the color drain from my face as bile rose hot and thick in the back of my throat. Other than Hannah, my interactions with vampires hadn’t been terrible, but hearing Macaih’s story made me realize just how lucky I’d been.

  “In exchange, Yolanda allowed Dante to do as he pleased. He took whatever he wanted from whomever he wanted. He didn’t care,” Macaih said.

  “Why didn’t you stop them?” Wyatt asked. “That behavior… that’s not you, Macaih.”

  “Don’t you see?” Macaih tilted his head. “I did stop them, which is how I became indebted to Ivy.”

  “What?” Sean asked.

  “I wasn’t strong enough alone to stop them, not with the following Yolanda had amassed, and there isn’t exactly a vampire directory that I could use to call in reinforcements.” Macaih chuckled.

  “So you asked Ivy for help,” I said.

  “Not exactly,” Macaih said.

  “Just get to the point already,” Jax said, his tone dripping with frustration.

  “Patience, Jax,” Sean said, giving him a scolding look.

  I tilted my head, studying Sean. Why was he so considerate of Macaih’s feelings? I knew they were friends, but Sean’s reverence for Macaih seemed to indicate a much deeper relationship.

  “Please, continue,” Sean said to Macaih.

  “Word of Yolanda and Dante’s escapades spread quickly. Any vampire who holds that much power should be feared, and rumors spread of an uprising. Vampire against vampire. A war like that would have resulted in too much bloodshed. So, Ivy sought me out.”

  “Since when does she get involved in vampire affairs?” Sean asked. He leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees.

  “She was worried about the natural order of things,” Macaih said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

  I laughed, then clamped my lips shut. Ivy was constantly droning on about the natural order and ensuring things remained balanced. I was glad Isach didn’t do that, too.

  “So what happened?” Jax asked. “Because we know Yolanda and Dante are still very much alive.” He gaze slid toward Trent, another knowing look passing between them.

  Seriously, what was going on with those two? I was going to have to ask Trent about it.

  “Despite everything, I couldn’t kill Yolanda.” Macaih hung his head, then glanced up, his eyes dark and filled with torment. “I loved her too much.” He stood and paced. “Ivy, along with a couple other covens called a meeting with Yolanda. They came to terms, and Ivy negotiated for my freedom from Yolanda.”

  “What terms?” Trent asked.

  I glanced at Whitney. She was sitting in the chair, knees tucked to her chest. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes were sad.

  “Yolanda and Dante agreed to limit the number of people they took. In exchange, Ivy and the other witches would leave them in peace.” Macaih stopped behind Whitney’s chair and smiled down at her. “I was granted my freedom. All it cost me was a blood oath to Ivy. A favor of her choosing.”

  “Wow.” Sean stood and let out a heavy breath. “And she finally cashed in on that favor.”

  “Yes and no. Ivy and I developed a tentative professional relationship. We agreed we’d keep an eye on Yolanda and Dante and deal with them again if the need ever arose, but Ivy was fascinated by vampires and our ways.”

  “Macaih,” Whitney said with disappointment. “Please don’t tell me you’ve been working with her all this time.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I’ve had this debt hanging over my head for centuries. When I learned of the curse on Sean, I went to Ivy for help.”

  Sean nodded, a grateful smiling brightening his features.

  “She couldn’t, of course, but she gave me her word she’d do everything she could to make things right,” Macaih said.

  “She tried,” Trent said. “A member of her coven visited us, said she had a lead to break the curse, but she was murdered.”

  I cringed. My father was the reason for that. I shoved the thought away, slipped my hand from Trent’s, and wiped my sweaty palm on my jeans.

  “When I learned of the eternal bond, I went straight to Ivy with the information,” Macaih said. He straightened. “I was desperate to be rid of my debt to her, and I hoped that providing her with something she could use to get what she wanted, she’d consider my blood oath satisfied.”

  “So, you
sold Chloe out to Ivy,” Trent said with a snarl.

  “I didn’t sell her out,” Macaih said forcefully. “If anything, I helped her. Who do you think located the grimoire with the spell Ivy needs? Had it not been for me, she would be destined to live a mortal life bonded to your brother.”

  “You found the spell Ivy needs?” I asked, dumbfounded.

  Macaih nodded.

  “Thank you,” I said sincerely.

  “I’m truly sorry, to all of you”—Macaih’s gaze swept the room—“if my actions led you to believe I betrayed you. I assure you, I did not. I was simply honoring a debt.”

  Sean stood. “Thank you for explaining yourself, Macaih.”

  I leaned back and rubbed my hands over my face. Macaih had been helping Ivy, but he’d also been helping me and Trent. Which meant the deal Trent and I were planning to make with Ivy was still good. Relief settled over me.

  “Now, if you don’t mind,” Macaih said, holding his hand out to Whitney. “I’d like to have a moment alone with Whitney.”

  Trent stood, and I did the same. He led me into his room and closed the door. My mind reeled with everything I’d just heard, and I couldn’t grasp any one thought long enough to ask a question.

  I took several deep breaths and willed my thoughts to settle. “What’s up with Macaih and Whitney?” I finally asked.

  “They had a thing for a while,” he said.

  My jaw dropped. Macaih and Whitney? No wonder she’d been so upset. Did she still have feelings for him? What about Luke?

  “And what’s up with your dad? He acts almost—”

  “Macaih created him,” Trent said.

  “What?” I asked, once again shocked.

  Trent rubbed the back of his neck and walked farther into the room. “Sean refuses to talk about how it happened, but yeah. Macaih is his sire.”

  I sank down on the bed, my mind racing again.

  “When a vampire sires another vampire, a bond is created. It’s typically one of adoration and respect. You treat your sire like a revered elder, someone you can look to for guidance,” Trent said.

  “That’s why you didn’t want Jax to change me,” I said. “Well, one of the reasons.”