Absolution of Fate (Fate Series Book 3)

by S. Simone Chavous

  “Fine, but if we survive all this, you’re going to owe me at least a week of free babysitting,” she teased, happy to do whatever was necessary to help her friends.

  ✧

  “I still cannot help but think this is a dream,” Ethan whispered as he stroked Alexa’s cheek. He had not taken his hands off of her since their first contact, too afraid that she would disappear to let her go even for a moment.

  “I assure you this is no dream, my love,” Alexa replied with eyes full of love and devotion. Under Ethan’s gentle touch, she felt like herself again for the first time since Chloe healed her and her true vampire nature was released. It was strange, but being separated from Ethan seemed to have had a far greater impact than dying and being resurrected as a vampire had.

  “I’m so sorry, Amor,” Ethan whispered as he began to sob, sinking into Alexa’s embrace and seeking comfort he knew he didn’t deserve. How could she ever forgive him?

  Alexa placed her hands on the sides of his face and urged him up to look at her, wiping away the tears with her thumbs as he moved. “My sweet Ethan, none of this was your fault. You can’t control fate any more than I can command the stars. I am awed by you and your strength; to have lived with all of this for so long, bearing it all alone. You are amazing and I love you more than words can say.”

  He opened his mouth to respond, but unable to resist any longer, Alexa slammed her mouth onto his in a kiss that told him what her words could not. The kiss was like coming home and finding something new and exciting all at once. Alexa was different as a vampire and losing each other had made their love as strong as any that had ever come before it. They gave everything to each other in that kiss; passion, love, understanding, forgiveness. It was like a signature on the contract of their renewed bond.

  Ethan deepened the kiss, a new hunger forming at having Alexa back in his arms; her body familiar, but changed. She was a bit thinner than he remembered, but not without the luscious curves he adored. And she was stronger; he could sense the immense new power in her and it thrilled him in a way he’d never expected.

  Alexa pulled back, panting as she gazed into Ethan’s eyes that were darkened by his growing desire. Her stomach clenched with need at seeing the look in his eyes, but it wasn’t the time or the place for that.

  As much as she wished she could stay there forever in that moment with Ethan, Alexa stood pulling him with her, not that she needed to pull him. His hooded green-gray eyes tracked every flinch, every flex of muscle and his body followed as if tethered to her by hundreds of invisible strings. He could not lose her again. He would not lose her again, not even for a moment.

  The emotion and excitement of finally being with Ethan and seeing him cured exactly as Chloe’s vision had predicted had distracted Alexa temporarily from the dull ache in her heart. That of a mother worried for her child.

  Despite her obvious arousal and hesitation, with their bond fully restored and Lucias’s wretched infection washed from his system, Ethan didn’t need for Alexa to voice the concern that glistened in her eyes.

  “We will get her back,” he stated, his tone indicating that his words were indeed fact. While he worried for their daughter, Ethan felt a sense of freedom that he had not known since he was a child. Ironic, since he was still locked in a cell, but the prophecy, which had hung over his head his entire life, had indeed been fulfilled, at least his part in it had. Every detail that had terrified him into a life of solitude had come to pass. He’d found his soul mate, borne a child of immense power, and lost the woman he loved by his own hand, all as had been foretold, all as he had feared, and by some miracle he had come out on the other side with Alexa back in his arms. He was absolved; finally free to live his life without the dark cloud that knowing one’s own future inevitably presented.

  And there was something else. He’d made a promise to Lucias. A promise he would now be able to keep.

  Alexa lifted her chin and squared her shoulders, drawing strength from Ethan and their bond. He was right. Chloe was strong, perhaps stronger than anyone, human or vampire, who had ever lived. Chloe would hold Lucias at bay until they could save her. There was no other future she could let herself envision.

  She took Ethan’s hand and they turned, ready to face whatever life threw at them next, together.

  ✧

  Between the soundproof barrier of the cell and Ethan and Alexa’s focus on each other, they hadn’t noticed what went down with Dante and Martinez.

  Seeing Martinez lying unconscious on the floor, Alexa rushed to the glass with Ethan in tow.

  “Oh no,” she whispered, knowing that her suspicions about Dante had been confirmed.

  “What is it?” Ethan asked, squeezing her hand gently, trying to offer comfort as he shared her anxiety through their bond. Before, he would have put up shields to block some of the sensations, but after everything that had happened, after losing Alexa once, Ethan wanted to feel and savor every moment of their connection to the fullest.

  “One of the soldiers who helped me get to you is in love with the woman who came here with you, the one in the next cell. We all hoped he would be able to resist, but he must have gone in there with her. She was infected, but they were not bonded. If he’s in there, he’ll be infected and it could put the entire compound at risk if either of them gets out.”

  Ethan glanced toward the barrier that separated his cell from Layla’s; his eyes filling with guilt and regret as images of their time together flashed in his mind. Alexa looked at him, feeling the shift in his demeanor.

  “Can you hear their minds?” he asked quickly, trying to divert her attention before she probed further. He would tell her everything, just not yet. He’d just gotten her back.

  Alexa nodded and focused on the other enclosure, searching for Dante’s stream of consciousness. She found it easily, but was surprised by the state of his mind and her own response to it.

  She wobbled back, falling into Ethan, who looked down at her first with concern, then with eyes darkened by desire as the scent of Alexa’s arousal filled the small space.

  “He’s in there with her, they’re locked in together and he’s infected,” she said breathlessly.

  “Alexa?” Ethan queried, his tone full of questions while his eyes zeroed in on her full lips, desperate to kiss her as her arousal became his own through their connection.

  The reason didn’t matter; he couldn’t fight the pull and lowered his lips to hers. This kiss was hungry, demanding; a reflection of the desire burning through their bond and growing more desperate with each stroke of his tongue against hers. Alexa panted beneath him and let out a moan that kicked his arousal even higher. In a blur, they were against the wall and Ethan had her hands pinned above her head as he conquered her mouth, pouring all of the lust and need for her that had built up over the weeks into his kiss. If she couldn’t feel it in that, or even through their bond, the steel-hard length he pressed against her stomach as he moved against her was evidence enough of how deeply he wanted her.

  “Ethan, I…,” Alexa whispered breathlessly against his lips.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but I think the jig is up,” Martinez said through the intercom, startling them both.

  The security lights were flashing throughout the room as Martinez opened the door.

  Blushing, Alexa stepped out and hugged Martinez with one arm while she continued to hold Ethan’s hand with the other. Ethan growled behind her, his eyes glowing as he glared at the man who dared to touch Alexa.

  “Ethan, this is John Martinez; he’s a good friend of mine and Cami’s. He’s responsible for getting me in here to you,” she said, squeezing his hand.

  “Sorry, man; I’m seriously just a friend,” Martinez said as he stepped back and raised his arms in mock surrender. “You were right about Dante,” he said to Alexa. “I tried to stop him, but, well, see for yourself,” he continued, gesturing to the neighboring cell but keeping his eyes on Ethan, who looked ready to pounce on him at slightest provocatio
n.

  Alexa and Ethan stepped over to get a view. She immediately swiveled and covered her eyes as the blush that was already covering her cheeks deepened several shades.

  “Yeah, it’s a bit much to take in,” Martinez said with a smirk, trying to mask his sadness as he leaned against the wall for support, still not fully recovered from the tranquilizer. “I guess if he’s going to go, there are worse ways to do it.”

  Ethan pulled Alexa into his arms, and as much as he hated it, pushed up his mental shields to lessen the impact of their bond. It was all he could think to do as he watched Layla and Dante writhing naked on the floor, covered in each other’s blood.

  He hated lying to her, but what choice did he have? He'd just gotten her back and he couldn't risk having her find out this way. He would tell her what happened with Layla, but it would have to wait for a better time.

  Alexa faced him, immediately sensing the change. Her lips parted; the question on the tip of her tongue as the alarm sounded, forcing them all to cover their ears.

  ✧

  Jared paced the hallway outside Cami’s quarters. He’d understood her need to speak with Rachel alone, considering the delicate nature of the subject and his short acquaintance with Martinez’s mate, but it drove him crazy nonetheless. Especially when he heard the soundproofing to her room engage. It didn’t help that he had a nagging feeling that Cami was hiding something from him and he was seriously regretting his promise to not read her thoughts without her permission; based on recent history that limited him to using the ability during sex. He’d attempted to sneak a peek into her mind a few times, but she’d become attuned to the sensation and learned to reinforce her mental shields, keeping him out.

  Several minutes had passed and he was starting to get anxious. It had been a while since they’d left the others at the containment unit and he was growing increasingly worried for his sister and friends. He focused and searched for Cami with his mind, but was met with silence.

  He reached for the intercom, but yanked his hand back and covered his ears when an alarm sounded throughout the compound. In his attempt to hear Chloe, he’d unwittingly amped up his preternatural hearing so the blare of the alarm was deafening.

  Before he could react further, Cami flung her door open and rushed out with Rachel attempting to follow, but Cami froze in the doorway before Rachel was in sight of the corridor security camera.

  “Sorry, Rach, but if our story about Martinez is going to be convincing, you can’t come rushing in with the rest of us. Just hang back for five minutes, and act groggy when you get there,” Cami said, facing away from the camera to hide the fact that she was speaking.

  “I don’t think I’ll have to act; I’m still feeling a little off. What the hell did you give me?” Rachel responded, not bothering to hide the irritation in her voice.

  Cami didn’t say anything, knowing that she would have been livid if the situation had been reversed. Instead, she turned, gave Rachel a reassuring smile, and pulled the door closed before she gave her attention to Jared.

  The pair didn’t speak, only exchanging a knowing glance before they flashed away to the containment unit. Standard Elite protocol was for Cami to report to the pit and await the Commander’s orders, but there was really no point. She knew the source of the alarm and, if the security footage was reviewed, it would probably reveal her part in the current state of chaos, leaving her with a life-altering choice to make so, fuck protocol. She needed to know what happened to Ethan, Alexa, and the others, and Jared wanted no less.

  It only took a couple of minutes for the pair to travel the distance to the containment unit and the ensuing pandemonium that was just outside the door. Clearly, Cami hadn’t been the only one to ignore protocol.

  “How the fuck did this happen!” Commander Claesson roared rhetorically as the guard who’d been assigned to the containment unit cringed in the corner, trying to make himself invisible behind some of the other soldiers.

  He’d been just as surprised as anyone when the alarm sounded a few moments after the Commander let one of the scientists into the area. Clearly, something had happened inside, causing the researcher to sound the alarm, but it shut him and the prisoners in until the system reset in five minutes, practically an eternity to a vampire who is in a hurry. Because of the panels that came down, they couldn’t even see into the interior corridor.

  Cami glanced toward Jared just as the nervous guard caught sight of them. He opened his mouth, but then closed it again when Cami glared at him. His silence wouldn’t mean much either way with Jester rounding the corner shortly after, no doubt to report what he’d found on the security footage at the Commander’s request. Cami imagined she’d be shipped off before the door even opened, separated from Jared and wondering about her brother and the others for God knew how long.

  The Commander locked eyes with Jester, who shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, sir. The footage for this sector was quiet, exactly as I would expect normally. It showed the guard alone at his post up until you opened the door, then alone again until the moment I came here to report. Inside looks completely normal; just the two prisoners in their cells. If there had been anything out of the ordinary, sir, I would have reported it as it happened.”

  Cami looked toward the guard again, then at Jared, finding him looking as confused as she did. It made sense, since Jester didn’t see anything abnormal in the lab because Dante had implemented the loop on the cameras, a loop Jester had unknowingly provided, but they hadn’t tampered with the camera on the outer door. She gave Jared a more pointed look. When his expression remained the same, she nonchalantly tapped her temple while lowering her mental shields.

  Understanding dawned on his face and he pushed into her mind.

  Can you read Jester’s thoughts? Why didn’t he mention we were here close to the time all this went down? she asked in her mind.

  Jared nodded and turned his attention to The Elite’s IT specialist.

  Jester glanced at Jared, and then gave Cami a wink.

  Shit. Neither of them knew why, but Jester was covering for them. Perhaps he hadn’t been as in the dark about why Dante wanted the looping program as they’d thought.

  “Smith, you want to tell me exactly what the hell is going on?” Commander Claesson bellowed, his eyes narrowed on the guard who was still a bit groggy.

  “I, sir, I just, I…,” the confused guard stammered.

  “For the love of God; spit it out, man!”

  “Sorry, sir,” Smith continued, trying to regain his composure. Cami actually felt sorry for him; he had no idea about Martinez’s ability, so there was no way he could guard against it. “I’m not really sure what happened; you were here with one of the doctors, he went in, and you left. A few minutes later the alarm started.”

  As much as he wanted to be pissed, Commander Claesson knew that Smith hadn’t done anything wrong. There weren’t any signs that the prisoners had escaped, so they were just going to have to wait for the system to reset. Meanwhile, a number of fucked up scenarios were running through the Commander’s head, all of which involved his own men, and made his eye twitch.

  Cami let out a sigh of relief at hearing Smith’s explanation. For whatever reason, he’d decided to leave out the fact that she and Jared just happened to have replaced the assigned blood courier within an hour of the disturbance; not that it was proof of their involvement on its own, but it wouldn’t take much digging for a man like Claesson to put all the pieces together. Now she would at least be able to find out what had happened on the other side of the door they were all watching with fear and anticipation, before she had to deal with the consequences of her involvement.

  She had to assume that Dante and Martinez were still inside; no amount of altered security footage or omitted details could hide their part now. The plan was for them to sneak back out under the cover of Martinez’s mist when the next scientist entered; regardless of what happened with Ethan and Alexa, they were going to lock her in. If tha
t had been the case, the scientist inside wouldn’t have pulled the alarm. He would have alerted the Commander and other researchers more discreetly. The alarm indicated that he felt that there was an immediate threat that needed to be contained.

  ✧

  After what felt like an eternity, the alarm stopped and the system reset. Everyone in the hallway, soldiers and civilians alike, looked around at one another with expressions of anxiety and expectation.