Absolution of Fate (Fate Series Book 3)

by S. Simone Chavous

  “Let Kaleb feed immediately; let him complete the transformation and I will do whatever you ask.”

  Without another word, Lucias flashed to the phone across the room. “Send the human in to Kaleb. I know what I said, listen to what I’m saying!” he yelled.

  “Wait!” Chloe interrupted. “Not the human; it has to be bagged blood. Release the human, wipe their memories and let them go. I don’t want him to feed on live blood. That’s my condition.”

  Lucias look at her, puzzled by her request at first, and then he realized her intention and smirked. “It seems you have gotten to know my son rather well,” he said, covering the receiver with his hand. “Change of plans, wipe the human female’s memories and drop her off in the city,” he said, keeping his eyes on Chloe. “Yes, alive, you idiot, and do it tonight. You won’t be able to erase enough if we wait another day. Send someone to retrieve ten bags of blood from the cooler and give them to my son immediately.”

  He hung up the phone and eyed Chloe hungrily. “Satisfied, my dear?”

  She swallowed back the bile rising in her throat and forced a smile as she reached for Kaleb’s mind; opening a connection to him she knew she would need to get through whatever was to come. His pain burned through it, giving her strength to press on; she only hope it ended quickly, for both of them. “Yes, thank you…Sire,” she replied, using the term he forced on everyone else.

  “Excellent; now please, join us,” he said, gesturing towards the bed where Molly was already laying. Chloe looked at her for the first time since she’d taken her life and turned her into what she had become. Guilt for what she’d done washed over her again, but Molly smiled at her and Chloe couldn’t help but notice that something in her had changed beyond her transformation into a vampire.

  Chloe stepped inside cautiously, letting the door close behind her. Lucias sped to stand in front of her, his eyes dark with lust. He reached for her shoulder and slowly started to slide her dress down. He’d only moved it a couple of inches when Molly’s hand covered his. “Let me do it; you should get comfortable and lie down to watch,” she husked in his ear.

  Chloe looked at her with confusion, but was grateful to Molly in ways she could never express. Just that small touch of Lucias’s hand made her skin crawl.

  Taking Molly’s suggestion, Lucias finished peeling off his expensive suit and sprawled out on the bed with his hands behind his head. Chloe kept her eyes averted. She’d never seen a naked man in person before, only catching the accidental glimpse in the minds of others. If she could help it, no matter what else happened, she wouldn’t let Lucias be the first she saw.

  Molly stepped in front of Chloe, blocking Lucias’s view as she slid the white dress from her other shoulder and looked into her eyes. Chloe stared back, surprised to find no cruelty, no malicious intent. In fact, if she didn’t know better, she’d almost think there was something akin to love in Molly’s eyes. She slid Chloe’s dress down over her breasts to reveal her white bra and let it drop to the floor, holding Chloe’s gaze expectantly. Finally, with a look that seemed a little frustrated, Molly widened her eyes and moved her hand to her temple.

  She wanted Chloe to listen to her thoughts.

  Chloe was usually far more intuitive, but the strain of being in that room with Lucias had rendered her virtually incapacitated with anxiety. Finally getting Molly’s message, she pushed into the petite blonde’s mind.

  What is it? she asked cautiously.

  There’s so much I want to say to you. I’m sorry, thank you. I love you, all rattled out of Molly’s head in rapid succession, as she urged Chloe to turn and started to work on the clasp of her bra.

  I don’t know how to describe it, but since I turned, I can feel you all the time. I feel so different; every minute that passes I feel better, good somehow, like I’m becoming a different person. A good person if you can believe that.

  Chloe’s bra fell to the floor and she turned to face Molly, confused by what she was hearing; so much so that she didn’t even think about Lucias watching them.

  Then it dawned on her. The infected were bound to Lucias because he fused his blood with the virus, creating something similar to the sire bond he shared with Kaleb, but even more potent. Was it possible that turning Molly with her blood had created a similar bond? It certainly seemed that that was the case.

  I’m so sorry for what happened, Molly. I never wanted to hurt you, Chloe sent.

  Don’t apologize to me, Molly said, reaching to unfasten her own bra. I attacked you. To be honest, now I can’t even understand why, but I owe everything to you. You could have let me die, but instead you saved me and gave me this incredible gift.

  Molly pulled her panties down her legs, slowly bending over. She looked back at Lucias coyly and winked before she stood facing Chloe again.

  I know you don’t want to do this; I can feel it. I can protect you, just follow my lead and don’t say anything, okay? Molly sent, leading Chloe to a chair in the corner.

  Chloe nodded almost imperceptibly and followed. Molly pushed her into the chair and moved in close, hovering with her lips almost touching Chloe’s. Just trust me; I won’t let him near you.

  And then Molly pressed her lips to Chloe’s ever so gently. Lucias groaned behind them and Molly flashed away pinning him to the bed and sinking her fangs into his chest while Chloe stared into Lucias’s eyes, confused and terrified, but she remained silent. Lucias stared at her, holding her gaze until Molly flipped him over to his stomach and started licking down his back effectively diverting his attention. She paused for just a moment and smiled over her shoulder at Chloe. She gave a shaky smile in return and averted her gaze as Molly moved lower.

  Uncomfortable and afraid, Chloe stayed in the chair for the next thirty minutes, averting her eyes for most of it, while Molly did as promised, pulling out all the stops so to speak, to keep Lucias so occupied with her that he didn’t give Chloe a second thought.

  ✧

  Chloe bolted up on her bed, sensing Lucias’s approach. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since she’d slipped out of his playroom, untouched thanks to Molly, while he was in the shower. She thought back to the last silent conversation they’d had and what it meant.

  I’m yours, Chloe; I know that as well as my own name. Whatever you ask of me I’ll do.

  I don’t want to control you, Molly; I don’t want any of this.

  It’s yours whether you want it or not. I know some of Lucias’s plans. His tongue gets quite loose in bed. I can help you, tell you everything I learn from him, but you should leave before he returns. He’ll be ready for more, um, fun by the time he gets out of the shower. I’m not sure I can keep him at bay if he sees you here again.

  It wasn’t hard to figure out that Lucias would use Chloe to expand his army with turned vampires. Would they all be bound to Chloe like Molly was? Chloe focused, trying to get a clear picture of the future, but it remained elusive, just beyond her grasp.

  As if she’d summoned him with her thoughts, Lucias appeared in the doorway.

  “It seems I’ve been neglectful, my dear. My sincere apologies, but Molly can be quite distracting,” he said, slipping to sit beside her. “But take heart, we have all the time in the world,” he whispered, stroking his fingertips down the side of her face. Chloe fought every natural instinct and smiled up at him. “For now we have more important business to attend to. I hope you’ve gotten some rest,” he said, standing and holding out his hand for her.

  Chloe took it reluctantly and followed him.

  ✧

  Chloe’s heart jumped before they even entered the room. She could feel him. Kaleb was nearby. Her elation quickly evaporated when they crossed the threshold and she saw him. He was standing across the room, which reminded her of the training room at the compound, except it was larger and devoid of equipment, with eyes locked on some invisible thing, glowing red, absent of any feeling or emotion. He wasn’t the first infected she’d seen, of course, but before that moment she�
�d never really understood what Lucias’ infection did. It was almost as if Kaleb wasn’t even there anymore and all that remained was an empty shell.

  Seeing Kaleb like that, for the first time she truly understood the pain her mother must have felt watching Ethan become infected and then living through the weeks after with the man she loved existing only as a tormented shell of who he once was. It wasn’t a fate she would wish on her worst enemy, even though he was right beside her and, in fact, responsible for Kaleb’s current state.

  “Magnificent, isn’t it?” Lucias asked, pulling Chloe from her own thoughts and forcing her to take notice of the hundreds of humans who, based on the erratic combination of so many heartbeats it was like one continuous tone, were unconscious but alive.

  Lucias handed her a box containing at least two dozen bags of blood. “You’ll need these. It will take a lot of blood to turn all of these humans and there are plenty more where they came from. Not to worry; we’re saving some just to feed you for the task.”

  Chloe’s heart ached as she surveyed the room. Where had they all come from? Did they have families, friends who were missing them? Could they ever go back to their lives if she did what was asked? Would Lucias just kill them all anyway if she didn’t?

  She knew the answer to her last question. Either she turned them or Lucias would kill them and Kaleb and probably all of Asana’s family.

  She considered requesting that he simply draw her blood and do the job himself, but thought better of it. If he believed she needed to feed her blood to the humans, it would let her keep track of how many he turned and even give her some control over the pace. With Lucias standing over her, Chloe kneeled beside the closest human, a man she guessed to be around twenty. He was handsome, tall, with sandy-blonde hair that reminded her of her uncle. She closed her eyes and called upon the hunger that was always humming just below the surface to get her fangs to drop from her gums. She used them to open the vein at her wrist and pressed the wound to the young man’s mouth while she used her other hand to part his lips. Like a baby seeking his mother’s teat in the middle of the night, he latched on and suckled instinctually. His sucking became so voracious that Chloe had to yank her wrist free. The moment she did, an infected scooped the man up and carried him off. She wondered to where and thought to push into Lucias’s mind to find out, but a little voice told her that she didn’t really want to know. She already knew. For every human she turned, Lucias had another who would die to feed them through their transition.

  The city of Boston had to be in an uproar with so many going missing in one day.

  Chloe looked to Kaleb again, and though his mind was practically blank and he never looked back, she found some small measure of comfort in his presence as she moved from person to person feeding them her blood and watching them be carried off, only stopping to feed when she started to feel weak from the blood loss.

  Several hours later, Chloe had made it through about half of the room, when Lucias’s words caught her attention. “Molly, I’m leaving you to oversee the process for the next few hours. I have other matters to attend to.”

  “Of course,” Molly said with a bright smile, reaching up and laying a rather vigorous kiss on him.

  You know, I thought I actually loved him. Molly said when he left. Now just looking at him makes me feel sick, but I know I can’t let on. Being with me keeps him from you and keeps him happy.

  Chloe looked back at Molly, her eyes full of gratitude. Who would have thought the woman who’d been responsible for her parents’ capture, who everyone had thought was so evil, was capable of such self-sacrifice and compassion? Chloe didn’t fully understand it all, even with being clairvoyant she hadn’t seen that coming, but she was thankful for Molly nonetheless.

  CHAPTER 13 - Family, Friends, and Antiserum

  Cami, so happy to see her brother healthy again, rushed into Ethan’s arms, jumping on him like she hadn’t done since they were children.

  “It’s good to see you, too, sis,” he said, hugging her tight as everyone poured into the room he shared with Alexa. Though they hadn’t slept a whole day, even going to bed only a few hours before dawn they’d managed to sleep through a sunrise and a sunset before waking, both feeling better than they had in weeks.

  “You fucking scared me,” she whispered as he released her and set her down on her feet.

  “Sorry,” he replied, giving her a sheepish grin as he extended his hand to Jared. “So here’s that man who finally tamed my wild sister’s heart!” he exclaimed playfully, shaking Jared’s hand, then pulling him close for a manly embrace. “It’s good to see you again, Jared.”

  Jared stepped back, flashing his signature lopsided grin as his eyes cut to Cami with her cheeks glowing red. “I’m working on it,” he replied, giving Cami a wink.

  “Mamá!” Ethan exclaimed as Josephine walked over and grabbed his face.

  “Mi corazón,” she said, kissing both of his cheeks before he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around.

  “It’s good to have you back, son,” Elijah said, coming up behind Josephine. “You gave us a pretty good scare.”

  The two men looked at each other, then smiled and hugged hard enough to make it difficult to breathe.

  Alexa’s parents weren’t far behind, hugging them both and chastising Alexa for being so reckless in her quest to save Ethan.

  “You know, I am the High Commander. Did you ever consider that I might be useful in helping you get to Ethan?” William said, raising his eyebrows at his daughter.

  “I was afraid to involve you; if you said no, I’d have to defy you,” she said with a smirk, teasing the man who’d been in her life for such a short time, yet felt familiar like a father should be.

  “Given what you’ve learned, and what it means for our people, I think it’s safe to say that your defiance, and that of your consorts, whomever they may be,” he said cutting his eyes to Cami and Jared with a smirk, “will be forgiven.”

  “What about Dante?” Alexa asked. She felt Ethan’s jealousy flare through their connection, but smiled when she looked at him and saw how hard he was working to conceal it.

  “Yes, even The Elite involved will not be punished,” William responded.

  They all spent the next couple of hours talking over everything that had happened, sharing their joys and their concerns. Chloe was fresh on their minds, but Alexa shared everything she knew from Chloe’s visions with Jared and her father, both able to see the images in her mind, while the others listened intently to her descriptions.

  “She’s so strong; stronger than I ever envisioned,” Josephine said to the group. “I have to believe she knew what she was doing when she left.”

  “That’s exactly how I feel,” Alexa added, grabbing Josephine’s hand. Chloe was young, far too young to be facing the challenges forced upon her, but if anyone could bear it, it was her.

  While the others were engrossed in conversation, Jared approached Elijah. “Sir, if I may, I’d like to speak with you, privately.”

  Cami, always aware of Jared, watched the two men intently. “Of course, Jared. My quarters will afford some privacy,” Elijah replied, opening the door. Josephine grinned, a knowing look on her face as she pulled Cami away to distract her.

  When they were alone, Jared turned to Elijah, obviously nervous. “Sir, I love your daughter,” he blurted out.

  “Yes, that much is obvious, but I’m guessing that’s not all you have to say,” Elijah replied with a laugh as he reached for Jared’s shoulder, trying to calm his nerves.

  “Yes, you see, I, well, I want to ask Cami to be my mate, to marry me,” he finally stuttered out.

  Elijah crossed one arm over his chest and stroked his chin with the other as if he was deep in thought, obviously teasing, but the joke was lost on Jared in all his anxiety.

  “Well, son, my daughter is a strong woman; she’s over two-hundred years old and definitely knows her own mind by now. Of course, I certainly can’t answer fo
r her, but I appreciate you recognizing that her family, her mother, brother, and I are from another time, one where it was the custom to ask a father’s permission before proposing marriage. Though I think you might have missed the memo about some of the other conditions regarding courting a woman and marriage,” Elijah joked again.