Absolution of Fate (Fate Series Book 3)

by S. Simone Chavous

  “Do you know what this means?” Chloe said, her lip quivering slightly as the reality of what she could do began to sink in. “Lucias will have an unlimited supply of soldiers now.”

  “It is a blessing, Chloe. I have seen it. So long as you are not mated, you will have this power,” Asana added.

  “How is that a blessing? He’ll keep me locked up here turning humans for the rest of my life and if I don’t, he’ll kill everyone I care about!”

  “But don’t you see? Now he can’t force you to be his mate.” Kaleb said, gripping her chin to turn her face to him as his eyes dropped to her lips. Chloe felt her stomach tighten under the intense gaze of his hooded eyes. She didn’t need to be a telepath to understand that it was desire clouding them.

  “It means he won’t allow me to be anyone’s mate,” she whispered as he leaned closer, stopping just before their lips touched.

  “But it gives us time,” he replied, his lips barely grazing hers with each word. Unable to stand it anymore, Chloe pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips against his. Kaleb let Chloe set the pace, so the kiss was gentle, tentative, as she explored the new sensation. Kaleb growled when her tongue darted out and swept across the seam of his lips, but he still held back, remaining conscious of Asana’s presence and not wanting to push Chloe. After years of serving his father, Kaleb was not well practiced in gentleness and restraint, but he would learn for Chloe.

  Using more willpower than he realized he possessed, Kaleb broke the kiss, despite every cell in his body screaming for him to push it further. “We all knew you would be more powerful than any who came before you, that you would change the world; I just didn’t know how much you would change me,” he whispered, looking into Chloe’s hazy eyes.

  She smiled demurely and her eyes fell to his lips again. She wanted more. More time, more kisses, more everything with Kaleb, but Asana’s thoughts came pushing in, reminding her of the danger looming over them all.

  Lucias will return soon. Kaleb can’t be here when he does and I must go to him first, to tell him of my vision of how your mating will destroy your ability to turn humans into our kind. I will leave it to Kaleb to share what else I saw; he knows the story well, but you must not let him linger.

  Chloe nodded, still wrapped in Kaleb’s arms and in a blur, Asana was gone. Chloe watched as the door closed and her eyes went to the camera mounted in the corner above it.

  “Kaleb, what about the surveillance?” she asked in a panic as she tried to step out of his arms. “Lucias is bound to go back through the footage to see what happened with Molly. He’ll want to know everything about how it happened and then he’ll see you here.”

  Kaleb held on to her and pulled her close again. “I took care of it. Before we came I disabled the feed to the cameras in this wing. Our kind has had to learn how to cover our tracks over the years through many changes in technology,” he responded, reaching up to twist a strand of her hair around his finger. Seeing the worried expression on her face, he continued, “Don’t worry; he won’t know it was me and I’m guessing he’ll be too distracted with his latest discovery to care. The footage he wants is still there.”

  “You can’t stay,” she said, satisfied with his response, but still worried.

  “I know. I just want to hold you for one more minute, okay?”

  Chloe responded by laying her head on his chest and relaxing against him. They stayed that way, neither of them talking or thinking of anything except how good they felt in each other’s arms. When their time was up, Kaleb reluctantly released his hold on Chloe, pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead, and walked to the door.

  “Wait; Asana said you would share something else she saw.”

  “Another time,” he said, looking back with his eyes full of joy and a bit of sorrow. “Don’t worry; it is something very good and I will do everything I can to make sure it comes to pass.”

  With that, he disappeared through the door before Chloe could so much as sneak a peek into his mind. She put her hands on her hips, frowning as she scanned for Kaleb’s stream of consciousness. It was easy enough to find him but, unlike normal, he was resisting her. She wanted to be cross, but they both knew she could gain access if she really wanted to, and she could sense his playfulness in keeping this little secret. It was a side of him she had seen very little of, but she wanted to see more. Having traversed the deepest corners of his mind, sharing his darkest memories, Chloe knew all too well the horrors of Kaleb’s life and she was utterly amazed by the good, the strong light of who he truly was, that he’d manage to hold on to in spite of the darkness that had surrounded him from the day he was born. It’s easy to be a good person, or at least to behave like one when you’ve known nothing but love and kindness in your life, but to have your character tested every single day, to fail more often than you’ve succeeded to fight the darkness, yet somehow keep trying to hold on to the light, that is true goodness, and that was why Chloe fell in love with a man she’d never even touched.

  ✧

  “Asana, what a lovely surprise; though I can probably guess why you’re here,” Lucias said as he moved out of his playroom into the hallway where she was waiting. He ran a hand through his freshly-washed hair, the smell of soap mixing with the lingering traces of blood and sex to create his overall scent. Asana schooled her features to hide her disgust; a skill she’d mastered over the years. Lucias’s mood was more cheerful than she had ever seen, which made her all the more nervous about what she had to tell him.

  “Thank you, Sire. As you instructed, I came as soon as I saw something. It’s about Chloe, and your human, Molly.”

  “Yes; shall we continue this discussion in my office?” he said, gesturing in that direction. In a matter of seconds, Asana was seated in one of the chairs across from his desk. “Please continue.”

  “Of course, Sire. I believe Chloe can do the impossible. I have seen her turn a human into one of us; more specifically, I saw her turn Molly into a vampire. So long as—”

  “And when exactly did you see this?” Lucias interrupted.

  “Not long ago, Sire. I came searching for you as soon as I recovered.” Of course that was a lie, but it was true that her visions were often a great physical strain; at times so much so, that she would pass out.

  “I must admit I’m disappointed, for this is information I already possess. Molly’s transformation is complete; I have seen,” he said smirking as he raised his fingers to his nose,” and touched the magnificent creature she has become. Nonetheless, I am pleased. This is far beyond my wildest imagination of the girl’s power. I am eager to learn how her blood will change me once we are mated. I believe the time has come at last.”

  Asana shifted nervously, attempting to prepare for the wrath she was certain to incur for delivering bad news. “Sire, I’m sorry; but there was more to my vision. Chloe’s power, this ability to transform humans, it is based in her blood. If she completes the mate bond, the power will be destroyed.”

  In a blur, Lucias was directly in front of her, his eyes full of rage as he leaned over her. “Tell me exactly what you saw. Do not leave out a single detail,” he demanded with a hiss.

  “I, I saw Chloe with the red ribbon on her wrist, it was a mating ceremony, and then I saw her with another human on the verge of death, she gave the man her blood, just like Molly, but he died. And then there was another, a woman, who was healthy as far as I could tell and she drank from Chloe’s wrist, but did not change either. But then I saw a battle; we were gathered before The Elite, your army as it is now and hundreds more, humans turned by Chloe, still unmated.”

  “So if I take Chloe as my mate, I must give up what is perhaps her greatest power? And you’re certain there was a mating ceremony in the first vision?” Lucias questioned suspiciously, knowing he’d never intended to have one. It was a stupid ritual he didn’t believe in, all he believed in was blood. It was what joined them together and what would give him the power he craved.

  Asana immediately
realized her mistake. “Yes, Sire; your mating ceremony with Chloe. It is not surprising that she would want to say the words; I believe she will come to love you and women need such reassurances. It would be merciful for a man such as you to make the concession for her sake,” she lied.

  “Yes, I suppose that is possible,” he replied, attempting to sound magnanimous, though Chloe was far more powerful than he could ever hope to be, even by siphoning as much of her power as drinking her blood could provide. Lucias paced for a few moments while Asana waited in silence, barely breathing. “I must admit I’m somewhat disappointed,” he said, settling into the seat behind his desk. He gathered his hands in front of his face, the fingertips of each touching and pointing up, and closed his eyes.

  “No matter, with an army of turned humans to serve me I will easily defeat The Elite and anyone else who dares stand in my way. When I have enough of them and my enemies are destroyed, I will take Chloe,” he said, jumping up, his mood once again oddly cheerful. “You may go,” he said, dismissively flicking his hand in Asana’s general direction.

  Asana didn’t hesitate, relieved to get away from Lucias’s imposing presence as she sped off to her quarters.

  CHAPTER 9 - Love Renewed

  “Open it,” Commander Claesson ordered with an edge of relief to his tone. Several hours had passed since the perpetrators of the containment unit break-in were discovered and The Elite leader and team of scientists had witnessed something of a miracle amongst their kind. They’d run countless blood tests on both Ethan and Alexa, finding them both completely free of Lucias’s virus.

  Dante and Layla were another story. The Commander moved his eyes to them and shook his head. The pair was sprawled out on the floor, still naked, and passed out. With the ferocity of their feeding on one another, Claesson decided to err on the side of caution and provided them with enough bagged blood to drink themselves into unconsciousness. They were essentially blood-drunk, a state which would allow Dante to complete the transformation safely. Unfortunately, with the amount of blood they’d consumed, The Elite’s stores, which were already strictly rationed due to the visiting soldiers, were seriously depleted. Claesson knew he couldn’t risk letting the supply run too low due to the possibility of open battle with Lucias that was constantly looming over their heads; so, as much as he hated it, he would contact Davies, a man he’d rather throw in a cell than do any sort of business with.

  It wasn’t like the black market blood dealer operating out of Boston was any worse than his counterparts around the world, but the fact that he was the Commander’s brother-in-law somehow made his offenses seem more egregious. To say the man’s methods were questionable was an understatement, but going through traditional channels would require time he didn’t have and Davies could deliver quickly.

  “I’ve sent the soldiers outside back to their quarters and your families have been notified; but under the circumstances, they’ve agreed to hold off on the family reunion until the morning,” Claesson stated, turning his attention back to Ethan and Alexa as they exited the cell. He’d been rather busy while the couple was undergoing their testing, speaking with the High Commander and Ethan’s family, debriefing the guard and Jester, neither of whom he fully believed about how the earlier events had come to pass; but considering what was at stake, he’d decided not to press the issue for the time being.

  “Martinez, you’re dismissed, but we’re going over all of this again when things settle down. Understand?” The Commander said to the nervous soldier who’d remained in the room to recover from the tranquilizer and to undergo a couple of precautionary blood tests to rule out the possibility of infection. Relieved, Martinez headed for the door. “And make sure you tell Rachel that I need to hear what happened from her, too.”

  The soldier looked back, his expression puzzled as the Commander raised his eyebrows and inclined his head to the door. Realization dawned and Martinez smiled, speeding off to find his mate. Perhaps Claesson wasn’t as much of a hard-ass as they all thought. Protocol required Rachel to be debriefed separately, before contact with anyone, including her husband, but the ancient vampire was giving them the opportunity to get their stories straight, so to speak.

  ✧

  The click of the door closing was barely audible against the loud pounding of Ethan’s heart. Alexa pulled him further into the room, their hands having remained joined the entire walk to her room. The couple had remained silent the whole way, walking at what was a natural human pace, just staring at one another.

  She pulled his hand up to her face, gently kissing each knuckle as she continued to stare up into his eyes. “I’ve. Missed. You. So. Much,” she whispered, each word separated by a kiss.

  Ethan slipped his other hand into her chestnut hair and drew her close, his eyes locked on her full lips. “I’ve missed you more than I can say, Amor,” he whispered against her lips, not quite touching them. A shiver traveled down her spine as his warm breath brushed over her skin. He closed the distance between them, capturing her mouth in a kiss that said everything his words could not. It was gentle, reverent, yet hungry and full of promises of what was to come. Alexa slid her arms around his waist, her hands moving slowly, tracing every chiseled line, committing them to memory. His body felt different, bigger, no doubt a side effect of being infected. If it was possible, it made him even sexier.

  His tongue swiped across the seam of her lips, parting them before it plunged into her mouth, tangling with hers and stealing her breath. He was claiming her. Though they’d renewed their blood bond, he needed more; he needed to possess her, to erase everything that had happened, to erase everything he’d done.

  Alexa felt the dark turn in his thoughts; felt his guilt rising and pulled back. “Ethan, you have to let it all go. What happened between us before, it was beyond your control. I chose it; you know that, so please forgive yourself. I’m here now, with you, and I’ll never leave you again. I promise.”

  Tears welled up in Ethan’s eyes as he stood in awe of the woman he loved, but there was still something he couldn’t let go. “I should have trusted in your strength; you tried to tell me. I should have trusted you to make the right choice even when I couldn’t.” Thinking of his choices brought more pain and regret to the front of his mind. Even though deep down he knew it wasn’t his choice, he couldn’t stop blaming himself. “Alexa, I must tell you something,” he swallowed hard, trying to choke back his pain, “something I did after you were gone. I didn’t want to, but…”

  “Shh,” she whispered placing a finger over his lips, “you don’t have to say anything about it. I already know; I knew when it happened.” Ethan cringed. “Stop; it’s fine, I understand. I could always feel you and I know how much it hurt you even though you thought I was dead. It was Lucias; the infection. It wasn’t you. You have to know that, despite everything that has happened, I wouldn’t change any of it because it was the price of having you and Chloe. I’d go through all of it again for a life with you.”

  Alexa relaxed her shields, letting Ethan feel more of her emotions so he would know she truly meant what she was saying. While it had been one of the most painful experiences of her life, she didn’t blame Ethan, she couldn’t and she knew that the other woman didn’t mean anything to him.

  Ethan pulled her into his arms and squeezed her so tightly it probably would have hurt if she was still human. Though it was true she did forgive him, thinking about Ethan with that other woman raised something in her; something primal. Alexa pushed against Ethan’s arms, forcing him to loosen his grip on her and grabbed his face, yanking his mouth down to hers. She needed to claim him as much as, perhaps more than, he needed to claim her. She needed to imprint herself on every inch of his body, to remove every trace of the other woman and replace it with something new.

  Without breaking their kiss, she gripped the neck of his plain gray t-shirt and tore it completely off. Ethan could feel what she wanted, what she needed. He needed it, too. He scooped her up, placing his arm under h
er ass, encouraging her to wrap her legs around him as he walked them across the room, away from the bed.

  Alexa looked at him, her eyes burning with desire, literally glowing as her expression became one of confusion. Ethan growled, still not accustomed to this new side of her which he found unbelievably sexy. “Where are we going?” she asked, licking along the edge of his jaw to his neck. Her eyes fixed on the slow steady strum of his pulse there, her fangs punching through in response. She put her hand up to cover them, still not entirely comfortable with all of the changes to her body, especially the involuntary ones.