✧
The visiting soldiers continued with preparations for the coming battle while the Boston Elite gathered outside. Commander Claesson felt it only right that his men attend the ceremony since it was two of their own being joined. It may have seemed inappropriate to some to take the men away from their duties for even a moment, but considering that so many of The Elite were without family, living their lives dedicated only to the fight, he believed they needed a reminder of what they were truly fighting for. Something to show them that, despite their pledge to protect the people of their race, there was more out there for them. That they could have love.
He thought it was the least he could do as he looked at his beautiful wife seated next to him.
“This is so wonderful, Daddy,” Ella whispered from the seat on his other side. “Do you ever think I’ll get married?” she asked, with a hint of sadness in her voice. The Commander’s heart squeezed tight. In his desire to keep Eva and Ella safe, his daughter had lived a life that went beyond the definition of sheltered. Not to mention, any man who knew who her father was would have to be legally insane to pursue Ella Claesson.
“Of course you will, baby. After today, things are going to be different,” he replied, while silently praying it was true.
“Sir, Esther just called. The other witches will be here soon t—”
Jester stopped cold when his eyes fell on Ella, sitting next to her father. She smiled up at him. “Um, Esther called…”
“You said that already,” Claesson said, eyeing him suspiciously, seeing the direction of his gaze. He snapped his fingers in Jester’s line of sight.
“Sorry, sir,” he said with a goofy grin. “The other witches will be here soon to begin casting the concealment with Martinez.”
“Good; thanks, Jester.” His gaze returned to Ella, who was looking up at him through her lashes with a slight blush dusting her cheeks. “That’ll be all, Jester,” the Commander added, with a slight edge of irritation in his tone. He liked Jester, a lot, but he was beginning to rethink his good opinion of him after the way he was looking at his baby girl.
Jester finally got the hint and headed back to his seat at the back of the crowd. He’d set up back there with his laptop, wanting to attend, but needing to continue monitoring what was happening outside. There were mixed reports coming in regarding the human response to the broadcast. There were pro-vampire rallies and celebrations popping up all over the map and a number of hate groups taking form, but nothing more than what The Agency had anticipated and prepared for.
Due to the serious time constraints, the two couples had chosen to forego most of the pomp and circumstance of such an event, but the intricate gardens of the mansion provided an ideal setting nonetheless. The four of them met William at the front of the crowd with the beautiful mansion setting the backdrop as he began to speak in the old tongue.
Ethan squeezed Alexa’s hand as they listened to the same words that had been spoken at their own mating ceremony only months before. William moved first to Jared and Cami with the small dagger and red satin ribbon and said the sacred words in English.
“I bind myself to you, Cami; blood, mind, body, and soul. I give myself to you freely and without reservation, to serve you, by my life or my death, from this day into eternity,” Jared repeated and took the dagger. Making a small cut in his wrist, he passed the blade to Cami before she spoke the same words and slid the cool metal across her skin. William smiled at them as he joined their bloodied wrists and bound them with the red ribbon as he spoke the final words of the ritual.
“I love you,” Jared mouthed silently to Cami, while his father moved to Dante and Layla, repeating the ceremony with them. After their wrists were joined, William stepped back to his place and spoke out to the crowd in the old language.
“Let all those present witness and rejoice in these most sacred of unions,” he repeated in English.
“By the blood, we bear witness,” the crowd recited as one.
✧
Dante carried Layla over the threshold of their room, having grabbed her hand and disappeared through the crowd before the applause had even died down. He knew that they only had a precious few minutes to complete the mating ritual. After everything Alexa and her family had done to help him save Layla, there was no way he could abandon them as they fought to save Chloe.
He set Layla down on her feet, lowering his head to kiss her, but she flashed away just before he made contact. Dante growled, seeing her already completely naked, standing beside the bed with a hand on her hip. She bit her lip, flashing fully- extended fangs as she crooked her finger at him. Perhaps even faster than she’d done it, Dante stripped off his own clothes and was before her with only a few short inches of space separating them and several thick hard inches pressing against her belly.
He stared down at her, his eyes smoldering with love and desire, and pure unadulterated need. His gaze drifted from her eyes, to her full lips, then lower to the base of her neck, where his vision narrowed on her pulse for two slow beats as his fangs pushed even lower, before traveling to her perfect milky white breasts, and he growled again. Somehow, he managed to remain still, waiting for her to make the first move.
She didn’t disappoint. Layla pushed up on her toes and captured his bottom lip between her teeth, her tongue sliding over it as she wrapped her fingers around his cock. Dante groaned at the feel of her finally touching him and his hips thrust involuntarily into her grasp. She released his lip and led him back, still gripping him tight until her legs hit the bed. She sat down and slid back, finally letting go as he crawled with her and covered her body with his. She grabbed his face and kissed him forcefully while he hovered above her with his palms pressed into the bed.
“I love you, Dante,” she moaned.
“I love you, Layla, so much,” he replied kissing her again. He tried to nudge her legs apart with his knee, but she smiled against his mouth and flipped beneath as she grabbed one of his arms. The rapid motion caught him off guard and he lost his balance coming down on top of her. It seemed that had been her intention as she buried her fangs into the flesh of his wrist. Dante cried out with the pleasure of her bite as she pulled hard on his vein. His hard length throbbed between them and she shifted her hips in invitation. Dante rolled just enough to get use of his free arm and position himself between her legs. She raised her hips as he rubbed against her opening and pushed back against him. He moaned at the feel of her tight body swallowing the head of his erection as he lowered his body, letting his weight push him in to the hilt. Layla cried out against his wrist, but didn’t release it, knowing she needed to be drinking his blood when he bit her. Following her lead, Dante pushed her blonde locks to the side, exposing her long neck, before he struck. His eyes went wide as he tasted her for the first time. It was like nothing he’d ever felt as the separate sensations of their bodies melted into one simultaneous feeling. He rocked into her and her body trembled beneath and around him as her sweet essence ran down his throat.
Layla released his wrist and he let go of her neck, giving him the freedom to really move. He slipped one arm beneath her hips and pulled her up to her knees as he marveled at the incredible sensation of feeling her tight walls clenching him, while at the same time feeling her pleasure of being filled by him. As difficult as it was, Dante pulled away from Layla’s warmth, wanting to see her face when she found her release, and flipped her to her back. He crushed his mouth to hers as he thrust inside her again and she came apart, the waves of orgasm crashing down on her like a tsunami. It was too much. Dante roared out into the room as her pleasure set off his own climax.
He laid there on top of her as they panted together, relishing the amazing thing that was their bond. Finally he rolled away and sighed. She reached for his lingering erection and stroked him as she kissed his chest. “We must get ready to go and join the others,” he groaned. She replied by kissing his cheek and speeding off to the bathroom. He smiled at hearing the shower start as she shouted, “Then we’
ll have to multitask!”
CHAPTER 19 - The Battle Begins
“Take your time, pet.” Lucias said, stopping to admire Molly’s naked beauty sprawled out on the bed. She smiled lazily and sat up. Christopher was standing behind him, already showered and dressed. Lucias fastened the last buttons on his shirt while Molly crossed to the bathroom.
“The sun will be going down in about an hour. I have decided to accompany my men this evening and I would like very much for you to come and enjoy the victory with us as well.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Molly drawled and slipped through the door.
“I understand now why you’re so fond of her, Lucias” Christopher whispered against the back of his neck. “She is rather magnificent.”
“If you’d like, you can go rest in my private quarters. I have business to attend to with our secret weapon.”
“I would prefer to remain by your side. I have spent enough time away from you, Lucias.”
“Very well,” he replied before they sped down the corridor to the area where Kaleb and Anna were being held.
The two guards outside Kaleb’s door moved to make room for Lucias and Christopher. “Retrieve Asana and take her to Chloe’s quarters immediately,” he ordered one of them, while the other opened the door.
“Follow me,” Lucias commanded into the darkness without greeting or even bothering to look at his only living son. He was a tool to force Chloe’s obedience, nothing more.
A few minutes later, with Anna in tow, they arrived at Chloe’s quarters. Lucias pushed through the door unannounced, not that Chloe needed it. She’d sensed them coming shortly after Asana arrived.
Chloe’s heart pounded in her chest as she stared at Kaleb, silently willing him to look at her. Instead, his eyes remained downcast, his expression devoid of any emotion. The same was true for Anna and her mother, who stood helplessly beside Chloe.
“We will be leaving when the sun sets,” Lucias began. “The two of you will accompany me, with the understanding that I require absolute obedience.” Chloe stared back at Lucias, her expression passive, but there was a fire burning behind her eyes. “To ensure that you don’t get any ideas out there, my dear Chloe…” he said, stepping to his son. He placed his hand under his chin and lifted his gaze. “Kaleb, if Chloe fails to follow any command I give from this moment forward, or attempts to harm me in any way, you are to kill Anna and Asana, and then you will take your own life.” Chloe gasped behind him and tears of anger filled her eyes. Her power began to rise and she trembled against its force, at once wanting to unleash it on Lucias and hold it at bay.
“There now,” Lucias said as if he’d just tidied up a small mess rather than ordered his own son to commit suicide. “Anna, Kaleb, this way,” he said, gesturing to the door. “As for you two, be at my door in thirty minutes.”
The door clicked shut and Asana crumpled to the floor and began to sob. Fighting against her own emotions, Chloe kneeled beside her and pulled her close, wrapping her arms around her friend’s shoulders. “Shh, Asana. He has not won yet,” she whispered.
“Have, have you seen what is to come?” Asana stammered through her cries.
“No, but if we do what he says, everything will be fine,” Chloe lied aloud to avoid revealing anything to Lucias through his surveillance equipment.
I have seen enough to know hope is not lost. Lucias means to use me to defeat The Elite, but he is foolish, power hungry. It will not be enough to defeat them. He wants to demonstrate the might of his army first; that will be our chance. I promise you I won’t let anything happen to you or Anna. I swear it.
“Come; dry your tears, Asana. We must not be late.”
✧
I’m scared. Asana said, looking across the space in the back of the limousine to where Anna and Kaleb were seated off to one side. Lucias was directly across from her and Chloe, with Molly and Captain Erikson on either side of him. From the looks of him and his two companions, you’d think they were heading into the city for dinner and a show rather than following an army into battle.
It’s going to be fine; just stay close to me. Chloe sent back. She avoided looking at Lucias and Kaleb, not wanting Lucias to see her fear, so she instead let her gaze drift to the front of the vehicle. She’d been shocked to find that the driver was human, but Asana explained that Lucias had a number of loyal humans working for him. She wasn’t really sure what motivated them before, perhaps fear; but now with Chloe’s ability, Lucias had a lot more to offer them. A quick peek into the man’s mind revealed that Lucias had already made him the promise of immortality. It seemed the egotistical vampire couldn’t resist showing off.
Chloe could sense Lucias’s excitement, and his thoughts were centered on his victory and the grand speech he had planned when he assumed rule over The Elite. He believed a broadcast was in order, like the one The Agency had tried to use against him. Counting on her family’s presence in the camp, Lucias had ordered his men to capture the High Commander alive. Using him as a bargaining chip, he would take over The Agency and systematically use their network, his virus, and Chloe to bring the entire world to its knees.
“We’re nearly there,” Captain Erikson announced, looking out the window. In his earlier mission, he’d managed to devise a route to the facility that would allow the entire army of nearly thirteen-hundred to travel through the country virtually unnoticed. The car rolled to a stop a few miles from The Elite camp where, as commanded, the generals were waiting just inside the tree line.
“The scouts just returned to report that there has been no change since the photographs were taken this morning. We estimate the same number of men and they are fairly exposed, with the exception of the wooded area on the other side of the factory. If they are cowardly enough to flee, many of them could escape that way. It would be impossible for us to send a unit to intercept before the initial strike without detection.”
“The priority is the lab,” Lucias replied, sliding out of the vehicle behind Captain Erikson. “I want it all destroyed after a sample is acquired.” In discussions with the scientist who developed his virus, a man who, like Asana, was forced to serve Lucias to protect his family, he learned that with a sample of the antiserum to work with, they might be able to alter the virus to render it ineffective and perhaps even find the key to why it didn’t work on the turned humans.
“Signal to the men; let it begin,” Lucias ordered. Mason and the other generals disappeared into the forest. “Kaleb, Anna, you are to remain close to me at all times. Asana, stay with Anna; that will simplify things if Chloe tests me,” he continued with a sneer as he stared Chloe down. “And you, my dear, are not to leave my side unless I command you otherwise, understood?”
“I understand,” Chloe replied, her expression stoic.
✧
The army broke off into units and headed for the camp; quietly moving as close as possible without being detected. Lucias watched with barely-contained delight as his men approached the unsuspecting camp where Elite soldiers were going about their business completely unaware.
Chloe scanned the area, unsure how much distance her telepathy could cover, but she had to warn them if she could. She was sure she could reach the nearest Elite soldier, but somehow was only met with silence as she zeroed in on him. Something wasn’t right. Before she could investigate any further, shots rang out into the night as the first unit of turned humans sped across the distance towards the camp of Elite soldiers. Within seconds, wave after wave of the infected appeared out of the trees and followed.
“This will be over quickly,” Lucias said with satisfaction, before speeding off behind the army to get a closer look at the action. Chloe and the others, as commanded, stayed right beside him, running through the night with preternatural speed.
And then the soldiers slowed and stopped. “What’s happening?” Lucias asked of no one in particular since they happened to be in a patch of low ground and none of them could see past the wall of infected. There was a cacop
hony of the infecteds’ murmurs as the crowd split and Mason appeared.
“Mason, what the fuck—”
“Sire, they aren’t here,” he rushed out.
“What do you mean they’re not here? I saw the camp with my own eyes!” he spat.
“When the first men reached the edge of the camp, where the trail crosses the field, they just disappeared; everything disappeared; the men, the lights, the equipment, all of it’s gone.”
Absolution of Fate (Fate Series Book 3) Page 21