A Beautiful Dream: The Dream Trilogy

by Samantha Barrett

  “That cannot happen. You will kill innocent fae women and children. We cannot condemn a whole race for the actions of a few. That’s inhumane!” Chase bellowed, pounding his fist on the table.

  “WE ARE NOT HUMAN, BOY!” the king shouted, rising to his feet.

  “Watch your tone and how you speak to my cousin, king,” I sneered, coming to Chase’s defense. How dare he yell at my cousin, the old prick! King or not, he would not speak to my cousin like that.

  “You should not speak of matters you know nothing about, little witch. Be seen, not heard,” he shot back.

  I stood, fists balled at my sides, ready to give him a piece of my mind, when I felt Kai place his hand on my shoulder, as if to sit me down. The king had a smile on his face, like he thought Melakai could settle me. I shrugged his hand off my shoulder with a vicious twitch.

  “Don’t fucking touch me, douche bag. You’re on my shit-list at the moment.” A look of hurt passed over his face, but he quickly gathered himself and masked it. I pointed my finger at the smirking king. “Do not ever speak to me or my family like that again! I don’t give two shits who the fuck you are. You don’t know me or what the fuck I have been through - if I want to say something, I will.”

  My sister stood, fire blazing in her hazel eyes, but her anger wasn’t directed at Randall. She was angry with me.

  “Enough, Ryan, sit down! Cane does have a valid point. The fae have caused so many problems in the past, and given what had happened to our father, I would have thought you would have been more on board with this.”

  “Are you serious? You haven’t heard a word Alex or Chase has said, have you? You would wipe out a whole race like the shit under your shoe, just to help you sleep better at night?” I snapped back at my sister.

  “You know nothing, Ryan. I must do this for my coven. Blood must have blood, no matter the cost. If wiping them all out is the answer, then so be it! I am the queen of this fucking coven and I decide—not you! Do I make myself clear, sister?” There was so much anger in her voice, and her words hurt me more than I could say. I fought to keep the tears at bay. I climbed off the bench seat and headed for my room, when her words stopped me. “You do not get to walk away from me. I am your queen. You will answer me when I ask you a question. Do you understand me, Ryan?”

  I peered over my shoulder, staring at my sister, tears running freely down my face. I saw Jax’s eyes soften when he looked at me. Both Alex and Chase had looks of pity on their faces. Kai looked hurt—not for himself but, for me.

  “If following a queen means killing innocent people just to please her desires and selfishness, then I want no part of that queen’s coven. If you do this, Stevie, you are a monster! You are no better than her!” I spat those words at my sister like they were acid on my tongue. A look of hurt quickly morphed to anger on her face, and her eyes went blank for a moment before she regained control. She climbed off her chair and came toward me.

  I turn to face her head-on, using the back of my hand to wipe the tears away. I was waiting for the verbal abuse, but that never happened. Instead, she slapped me right across the face. The force was so great, I lost my footing and fell to the floor. I touched my cheek, which was now stingy and pulsating. I look up at my sister with utter disbelief; the girl staring down at me wasn’t my sister. The person looking at me was full of rage and disgust. If looks could kill, I would be dead.

  “You will never speak to me, your queen, that way again, Ryan, do I make myself clear?” She looked so power hungry. I couldn’t believe what she had just done, and what she was now saying to me. She promised me just hours ago that she would never let anyone hurt me again, and now she was the one doing it to me. A surge of anger shot through my veins, and I stood up to face my sister. I was done having people lie to me and hide things from me and treat me like I was nothing. I was not going to let another person hurt me ever again.

  When we were face to face, so close that our noses were nearly touching, I heard Tyler say from his seat at the table, “Oh fuck, shit’s about to get real now, boys.”

  I looked my sister directly in the eyes, and I couldn’t see the loving, caring person anymore. I only saw a power-hungry girl, trying to prove she was woman enough to lead, even if it meant killing innocent people.

  “I am not that weak child who you can use as a punching bag, like Mom did, Stevie. I will not let you do to me what she did. I will not stand by and allow another person to dictate my life. I don’t give a fuck if you are some coven queen. You will never be my queen, sister, if you do this. I will never follow someone who murders innocents, sister or not.” I brushed past her and headed to my room to pack my things. I couldn’t stay under the same roof as a person who thought it was okay to treat me the way she just did.

  ∞∞∞

  Once in my room, I slammed my door shut and sat on the edge of my bed. I couldn’t stop the sob that crept out. After everything I had been through in my life with my mom, the one person I thought who would understand my need for change and a new life was Stevie. I was so wrong. She was exactly like Mom; she just hid her monster better. I saw the look she had in her eyes—it was the same look Mom had when she used to beat the devil out of me.

  I didn’t hear my door open over my sobs, and I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I could tell Jackson was upset about what had just happened, and I didn’t want him feeling sorry for me. I was sick of being pitied by people.

  “I know we don’t really know each other well, but Stevie had no right to do and say what she did, Ryan. What she did was out of order.”

  “I don’t know what I am going to do now. I cannot stand by and watch a whole race be destroyed because of my sister’s rage, Jackson. That’s not who I am. I will not follow a queen who is prepared to sacrifice the lives of innocent people just to satisfy her own blood lust. I’m not like her,” I said though my tears.

  He shushed me and started rubbing his hand up and down my back, trying to soothe me, in a bid to stop my crying.

  “I know you are different from your sister. I can see it in your eyes. You have an innocence about you that is so captivating to see and very rare to find in our kinds. The world we live in is so different to the one you were raised in, Ryan. We answer death with death. That’s all we know. We were never taught any different.” His voice was so soft and smooth, and it made me feel calm. The tears slowly stopped falling. I pulled away to rest against the headboard, and Jackson sat at the bottom of the bed.

  “Can’t you all change the way you view things?” I asked, my throat scratchy from all the crying.

  “I wish it was that simple, but so much has happened between the supernatural races, Ryan. The vamps, witches, and wolves came to an understanding many years ago that ensured peace to all our people. The fae have upset that balance. The fae king, Nicholas Stone, signed the same treaty as my father and Randall. Your father also signed that same treaty. The fae king agreed to the terms that were stated. The king and his people would remain in Farrarie and never step foot on Earth as long as we left the portal open, so that their world wouldn’t die.”

  “Why did the first war start?”

  “The fae killed my father.” Oh my God, so that’s why Jax hated the fae. They killed his dad and broke the treaty. That’s why they were all so anxious to write a new one and cut the fae out.

  “I’m so sorry, Jackson, I didn’t know.” I grabbed his hand and held it, giving it a squeeze.

  “It’s okay, Ryan.” His words had no conviction in them. They were hollow.

  “How many treaties have there been?”

  “Two. The first was with my father, Randall, your grandfather, and the fae king. The second was signed by Randall, my father, your father, and the fae king. The one we are trying to discuss now will be the third.”

  “How come a new one was never signed when you became Alpha?”

  “Because your father helped me protect my people from other supes, who wished to challenge me for my throne. It is my birthr
ight to be alpha of my people. When the time came for me to sit on the throne, I had grown strong, and that was thanks to the aid of your father. He trained me and taught me how to be a good and fair king to my people. He put off the signing of the new treaty til he knew I understood what I was doing. When the time came, it was too late—he was gone. That’s why Randall is pushing so hard now. Stevie and I are both new leaders, and we both must sign.”

  Holy shit, I never expected that. My dad was that kind of man. What he did for Jackson spoke volumes of the kind of a man he was. Instead of trying to kill Jackson and take over his pack to gain power, he helped him and kept putting off the signing of the treaty until Jackson was old enough and strong enough to rule on his own.

  “I’m so glad my dad was there for you and helped you out, Jackson. I’m sorry that I pulled you away from the treaty meeting. I know you need to be out there, so you can go.” I felt guilty for taking up so much of his time.

  He cupped my chin and lifted my head so he could look me in the eyes.

  “Never look down, Ryan. You are royalty and have every right to the throne as well. You can challenge your sister for the throne, you know, and rule your people in the way you see fit.” His eyes held so much hope that I couldn’t get any words out. He took that as his cue to lean in. Just as his lips were about to touch mine, a knock sounded at the door. Startled by the noise, I jerked back and tried to get my breathing under control. Shit, I was about to let Jackson kiss me!

  My bedroom door opened to reveal Tyler.

  “The meeting has hit a stalemate for now. We will continue the discussion tomorrow at the king’s manor, so all parties can go over what has been said.” Jax gave Tyler a nod and stood up to leave.

  “I hope we will see you tomorrow, Ryan. Until then, please take care of yourself, and if you need anything, just call me.” He handed me a card with his number on it. I thanked him and wished them both a good night.

  Once they left, I settled down in bed and shut my eyes, thinking I would just have a minute’s rest before packing my bag and leaving this place for good.

  Chapter 16

  I must have fallen asleep, as when I awoke, I was in my dream woods again.

  As soon as I realized where I was, I called out to him, knowing he wouldn’t be far away.

  “I know you’re here Melakai—you may as well just come out!” I shouted, turning around in a circle until my eyes landed on the shirtless vampire. Yummy.

  “You catch on fast, mi amor,” he said, walking toward me.

  “I’m a quick study, what can I say,” I drawled, sarcasm thick in my tone. I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to wake up so I could get my shit together and get the fuck out of the cabin and away from my sister.

  “I am sorry if I upset you tonight. That was not my intention.” I could hear the sincerity in his voice.

  “Look, don’t worry about it. It’s just been a long day and night.”

  “Will you walk with me?” he asked, his hand extended toward me. I didn’t have enough fight left in me to refuse, so I placed my much smaller hand in his and let him lead me through the woods. We walked a few minutes before he stopped us at the lake and he sat down. He looked at me, asking me with his eyes if I would sit. With a loud exhale, I sat down reluctantly.

  “Will you let me tell you a story, mi amor?” I could see he was torn on whether or not to tell me this story, so I nodded. I mean, curiosity did kill the cat.

  “Many years ago, the supernatural races used to be at peace. Until one day a greedy king fell in love with a woman of a different race, who was of royal blood herself. She left her people to live with the king in his realm. They married soon after, and they spent many happy years together, so in love with one another. The king—slowly over time—became so obsessed with gaining power that he hurt many people and took many lives to get what he wanted. He wanted to rule all the races and be the king of all the supernatural kind. The queen couldn’t stand by and let him continue to hurt others for his own selfish gain, so she tried to stop him.

  “He saw her act as treachery and sentenced her to life as a slave. She was beaten, raped, and made to work as the king’s personal handmaid. The queen was very powerful in her own right, but she could not access her full power because the king had a witch cast a spell to keep her weak; he worried that she would be the only one in his realm strong enough to kill him, so he took precautions to ensure that never happened.

  “What the king did not expect was for her to fall pregnant to some warlock that was one of the many to defile her. The king could never sire children himself; he was sterile. He was enraged by the sight of her and the knowledge that she was carrying some other man’s child within her womb. He locked her in the dungeon, planning that when she gave birth he would kill the child while she watched, as a punishment. The queen could not let that happen to her child. She saved what little magic she had left so she could portal the child out of the castle as soon as the child was born. She was almost starved to death by the time the child came; the king was hoping that if she wasn’t fed enough that the child would die in the womb, but that never happened. The queen gave birth to a healthy baby girl. She knew she didn’t have long before the king came to kill the child, so she quickly teleported the child out of there, but she didn’t have enough strength to take herself. She chose to save her child’s life over her own. When the king came to collect the child, he was so angered at her defiance that he killed the queen with his bare hands.

  The king never found the child, no matter how long and far he searched. What he didn’t know was that the queen had cloaked the child so that no vampire may ever find her or harm her. You see, that child would be one of the most powerful children to walk the earth; it was part witch and part fae—no one could ever match the child in strength or power. The only curse the child would bear from her mother was that she could never access the power herself, only her offspring.

  Blinded by rage, the king unintentionally started a war by killing the queen. Her people wanted his blood for what he had done, and the king could not win a war against her people on his own. He needed the other supes to stand with him. He knew they would not stand by his side, for it was his own stupidity that started the war, so he needed to think fast.

  And so he killed one of the leaders of another supernatural race and pinned it on the queen’s people. He got what he wanted in the end—all the supes rallied to his aid. He told them that the queen’s own people had killed her and tried to blame him because they wanted to start a war.

  After the king had won the battle against the queen’s people and banished them to their lands, he went in search of the child once again only to finally find the child and realize that the child had no powers of any kind. She was as human as they came, and the king went about his business, confident that she would live and die, as all weak humans did, not knowing that this human would pass on the power she inherited through her children.

  And so it came to pass that the queen’s daughter gave birth to twin girls, but only one child could receive the power of both fae and witch: the child with the purest heart, received those powers.”

  I had been listening carefully to his tale, making sure I had the details straight, and so after he finished I sat there quietly, trying to piece together the story. Then it suddenly hit me. I jumped to my feet.

  “Wait—so you’re telling me that my mother is the daughter of the fae queen, and my sister and I are half fae and half witch?” I screeched.

  He stood and placed both his hands on my shoulders, almost like he was keeping me grounded for the bomb he was about to drop.

  “No, mi amor, your sister is full witch. You are half fae and half witch. Only the child with the purest heart could wield the powers of both races.”

  Holy fuck.

  “No. No, that can’t be. My dad was a warlock, and my mom was human. I’m not who you think I am, and if what you say is true, what is the fae king to me?”

  “Yes, in a way yo
ur mother was human, but only because her powers were inaccessible to her. The fae king is of no relation to you, as he was only king of the north and east at that time. The queen was the princess of the south and west. She would have been queen of fae realm had she not left to marry the king. During the Great War, her father died, so now Nicholas Stone rules the north, east, south, and west. They are all one kingdom now.”

  “Wait—who the fuck is the king, the one the queen married, then?” I had a good idea who he was going to say, but needed him to confirm it.

  “The Vampire King Randall Cane,” he said dispassionately. How the fuck could the queen marry that asshole?

  “Holy shit, he was the one that killed Jackson’s dad, not the fae…” It was more a statement than a question, but he nodded anyway. “The fae didn’t kill my father, did they? Randall Cane did, didn’t he? He’s still trying to take the leaders out so he can rule all the supernatural kind.”

  “I cannot be sure of that, but I do suspect it was him, and yes, he is still trying to take over, but he didn’t account for Jackson surviving the war. He started trying to rule the wolves after the war had ended, but your father protected Jackson, and Jackson’s people were loyal to him. They knew he would take the throne and responsibility that came with it when he was strong enough. By then it was too late.”

  “Why are you telling me this, Melakai?”

  He had a look of regret on his face, like he was about to dump the world on my shoulders, and in a way he kind of was.

  “Your sister and the king have decided to seal the fae realm, which means Farrarie will die, and if that happens, that means all the fae will die.”

  I knew the point of the story now—if the fae realm was closed, and if I am half fae, that would mean I would die along with them.

  “I get what you are saying, but what the hell am I supposed to do about any of this? You saw what happened last night; my sister will never listen to me.”