A Forever Series Box Set: A Paranormal Reverse Harem: Books 6-10
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“Thank you,” Sebastian says. “I owe you one.”
“I must do what I can to stay neutral. Do not think this has anything to do with you,” Rosalina hisses at him.
“Regardless, you have given me a chance and for that I am grateful,” he says.
“Well, it is a very good chance. Better than they can expect,” she says sadly.
“You don’t think it worked for them?” he asks.
“If I did, I wouldn’t have given you the chance to be with her. It would have been pointless. At least now either way she will get with child and it is up to the three of you to sort it out. I want you out of my World as soon as she wakes up,” Rosalina says and my stomach drops, as does my hand to my naked body. She gave Sebastian a chance to get me pregnant while I was passed out? And he took it? Oh, the gods, I feel sick and disgusted and…
I wake up in a bed in a dim room in the palace. The natural sparkle has been dulled like a dimmer switch on electric lights. I am stiff and sweaty and still naked. And I feel oddly like I have done this before somehow. I look around for my robe and see it lying over the armchair and I stand up and pull it on. There is a soft knocking and after I call “Enter” CK walks in with a soft smile.
“How do you feel?” he asks.
“Okay, I guess. A bit lightheaded,” I say.
“And pregnant?” he presses with a laugh.
I giggle at him and say, “I think it is too early to tell. I will let you know as soon as I feel any different.”
He takes my arm and gently leads me out of the room. “We have to go; Rosa is very cautious of our being here any longer than we have to.”
I nod and let him guide me towards the red and purple portal that is shimmering at the end of the hallway. “Where is Rosalina? I want to say thank you,” I say.
“She had business to attend to. She left the portal open for us, but we must hurry,” CK says.
“Where is Sebastian?” I ask and get an unexpected shiver down my spine.
“He has gone already,” CK says tightly.
He ushers me into the portal, and I arrive back on Earth with a lot more elegance than when I left it. It closes up behind us, and CK Teleports us back to the Underworld.
“You should get changed,” CK says and starts to rifle through my clothes again. I stop him by Astralling on some comfy sweats and a vest top and he sighs and shakes his head.
“No one will take you seriously dressed like that,” he says.
“Tough,” I say. “It has been a difficult few hours, CK. Just leave it be.”
I check the time to see that we have been gone over five hours, which isn’t all that long considering. It is dark out and I tell CK that I had better go and find Cole. He accepts it with a soft kiss and a loving smile. I know there is so much he wants to say, but his nature just can’t let him get it out, so I say it for him. “I love you and I can’t wait to have our baby in my arms,” I tell him and his face lights up. I squeeze his hand and go in search of the husband I have been sorely neglecting since I got home.
I find him in the kitchen looking less than his best and he looks up from his blood bottle as I enter.
“Hey,” I say and give him a cuddle.
“Hey,” he says and drops his forehead to mine. “Please stop going away. I can’t take much more of this.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Come,” I take his hand and lead him to the library where we curl up on the sofa.
I tell him, now, in detail about my visit to Carolyn. He nods but doesn’t say anything for a long time. When he does, it isn’t what I was expecting. “What happens now that you and Lincoln aren’t together anymore?” he asks.
“I’m not sure,” I say warily, wondering what else to add.
“Oh,” he says and then asks, “So you and Devon made up?”
“Yes,” I say with a smile.
“I hear you gave him quite the ass-kicking,” he says, returning my smile.
“You could say that,” I respond.
“Did you change your mind about…you know?”
“No,” I say shortly. “Not yet.”
“Oh,” he says flatly.
I am not happy with how this conversation is going. It is stilted and slightly awkward, like we have nothing to say to each other. I wonder if he feels it too. We get to the crux of the problem when he breathes in deeply and asks me to tell him exactly what happened to me in the Dragon Realms. “I think I deserve to know, and I think you need to speak about what happened to the baby,” he says in his soothing counselor voice. I suppose he has a point. At least about deserving to know. As far as the baby is concerned, it’s over and I tell him that. He shakes his head, but I interrupt him and shush him and then start at the beginning with what I thought was the dream I had during my Heat.
When I finish up, he looks angrily at me, but doesn’t say anything. I don’t think he is angry with me, more with this situation.
“There’s more,” I say to him and know that I can’t keep this from him.
“There always is,” he sighs.
“In order to stop Rem, err him, from coming back for me, there is only one option. And I think you know what that is,” I say.
“Yeah,” he says after a minute. “Sebastian’s baby.”
“No,” I say and shake my head. “A baby. CK and I have already been doing a ritual to allow him to be able to conceive with me. We had originally planned it for way, way in the future, but our future selves asked us to start it when we saw them last year.” I pause to give that time to sink in. There is no anger from him, only sadness.
“I knew you were up to something,” he says. “That’s where you’ve been today?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, Cole. I know this must hurt, but let me explain,” I say.
“There’s nothing to explain,” he says. “You have chosen him.”
“No, not exactly,” I say quickly. “Hear me out.”
He sits there quietly, but I can feel his sorrow and I hope my words reassure him. “You were my Chosen one, Cole. Before he came back from the Spirit World, you were supposed to be the One. When he returned, it was assumed by my mother, and him, that he would take his rightful place as my Chosen mate and we would create this baby for the Dragons. But as CK pointed out to me, you, all of you, didn’t lose your powers for being Laurentis’s sons. But if I had chosen you as the one true Chosen One now, the Dragons would have come for the child before she was even born. I can’t allow that to happen, Cole. If I have a child with CK, she will still be powerful, possibly even more so than me. I saw her in the Other World. The one where Empress Aefre and Constantine had a child. But she won’t be the true heir, here. I see that now. I cannot choose my mother in this fight, Cole. I hope you understand that.” I don’t think I have explained this very well, but my thoughts are a bit scattered.
“Then why not just give the Faerie what they want?” he croaks out. “Why have a child with Constantine?”
“I will have to give the Faerie what they want, further down the line. I have chosen them, and I will do my duty, but CK and I want this. We have planned it. It is our chance to have this.”
“So not only do I have to stick around and watch you have a child with him, but Sebastian as well?” he asks, his voice rising in his anger. “What kind of sick fucker do you think I am?”
I flinch as he says that to me. I don’t blame him for being so angry, I just had hoped he would understand. “I don’t think that, Cole. I know how hard it will be and I am prepared to let you go if you feel this is something that you cannot accept.”
His eyes go wide as he takes that in. The rage that swirls around them is totally justified and I leave him to say what he has to.
“Let me go?” he shrieks at me. “Let me fucking go? You are choosing him; you are dumping me for him. You promised you would never do that.”
“I am not dumping you, Cole,” I say patiently. “I love you; I don’t want to let you go, but if you decide it is what is best then, I won�
��t stop you. It is up to you to decide what you can live with for the sake of this war.”
“Don’t!” he snaps at me. “Do not justify it with putting this on me and blaming a war that isn’t even going to happen.”
“Cole, you don’t understand. I know what is coming. You saw Tiamat and Drake in this very room, you know how Tiamat tricked me and took me away. There isn’t a doubt in my mind what is going to happen when She learns She won’t be getting Her true heir.”
“How do you know it won’t be the true heir?” he asks, but something is off. He is avoiding my gaze just like CK did when we were discussing this. Maybe I am just being paranoid. But I see something in him flick and he can see how deadly serious I am. I know exactly what I am doing and why. Trying to explain it to anyone else, well, I knew it would be difficult. To Cole most especially.
“Then why choose Drake?” he asks a valid question.
“Because I have to choose a side, Cole. Either way this has to be done. The Faerie will come for me just as hard as the Dragons if I don’t choose them. But it’s more than that. I love my father. I love his people, my people. They respect me. He respects me and loves me in return. My mother has nothing but disdain for me, She hates me. All She wants is the baby. My father wants me. Me, Cole. I don’t expect you to understand how much that means to me, but…”
“I do,” he says. “I do, I just…”
“I know,” I say, and we sit in silence again.
“I told you I wasn’t leaving you,” he says defiantly a few minutes later. “I don’t care how difficult you make it for me to stay, I told you I would. Apart from the fact that I physically can’t leave you,” he adds, more to himself and it hits me hard.
Is he only really staying because of that? I shouldn’t question it. I should just be glad he is sticking around. But, of course, I have to prod the loose tooth.
“I love you,” I say. “You are still my husband, and you will be until you say otherwise. You will be the one to end our marriage, Cole. I know I have dealt you the shittiest hand, and if I had known all of this at the beginning, I may have thought twice about turning you. But I love you more than I can say and if you leave me, I will be devastated, but I will understand. Just think about it for a few days. I don’t want you to stay just because you have to.”
“It’s not all been shit,” he says with his half smile that I fell in love with.
“Most of it then,” I say lightly, and he laughs grimly.
“Yeah, most of it,” he says.
“It’s going to get worse,” I say and then bite the inside of my cheek. When will I learn to shut up?
“I know,” he says and sighs. “But I am not leaving.”
The Underworld, March 2014 - Cole
She smiles at him and he kisses her. He has to kiss that perfect mouth and get the high that comes with touching his sire. If he doesn’t, he is going to fall to pieces and sob like the pathetic doormat that he has become. He wants to be stronger. He has tried, but the hits just keep on coming. He has given up everything for her. Everything. His life, his career, his humanity, his child. And all he gets in return is heartbreak and hypocrisy. He wishes now that she had never turned him, but it is too late. It cannot be undone. He is reaching his breaking point. He had hoped it would never come to this, but he is hanging on by a thread. The only thing he is holding onto is that she has given him all the power. She may have kids with men who aren’t him, but they will never have her. Not really. Not until he lets her go and that will never happen. He will never give any of them the satisfaction of giving up. It is all he has, and he will smile and hold onto it to stop himself from burning this house down around them, with every single one of them inside of it.
Chapter 16
The Underworld, March 2014 – Devon
Devon sits on the bed while Jess massages his shoulders. His body has been so tense since his sire has been ignoring him, but today she gave him hope. It is nowhere near what he had hoped, but he knows how much he hurt her. Given enough time, she will come around. He knows she will.
He twitches his shoulders and Jess stops, placing her hands there and asks, “Is something the matter?”
He wants to reply that yes, everything is the matter, but he just can’t deal with the sulking that will come from yet another argument over his sire. Jess really needs to learn how to accept his feelings and move on.
“Nothing,” he finally says and stands up. “I’m just not in the mood.” He stalks to the door and as his hand touches the handle he freezes at her next words.
“I can be her for you,” she whispers.
He spins around and she quickly says, “I look like her, if I curled my hair and dressed like she does, you could pretend with me. You could call me Elizabeth.”
He is outraged with her for even thinking about it, let alone suggesting it out loud after what happened with Other Liv. He strides over to her and she flinches at the anger on his face. He cups her cheek gently and shakes his head. “I don’t want you to be her,” he says.
The relief on her face is evident until he viciously grips her by the hair, pulling until she yelps in pain. “If you ever mention that to me again, I will beat you so badly it will take you a week to recover,” he snarls at her and she whimpers. He does love the feeling that gives him. He wonders if this is what has clouded his judgment all these months? He sort of understands Constantine’s need to punish Lizzie, it is a massive turn-on. Not that he would ever admit that to either one of them. He does wonder why Lizzie has never used her sire bond on him this way. Well, in the five hundred and seven years prior to these last shitty few months. Jess’s fear is rolling off her and normally he would be as hard as steel, but nothing is happening to him. He turns her around and strokes her ass. He loves to take her that way, so tight, but he just isn’t feeling it today. He wonders if he is broken somehow. He can’t remember the last time he wasn’t in the mood for a jump. Especially a punishing one. He can feel how scared she is. He is angrier than he has ever been with her and he knows he has become unpredictable. His mood has been grim for a long time and even Lizzie’s absolution of his sins hasn’t lightened it. He is still in the exact same spot he was yesterday: on the outside. She has changed her mind about marrying him. For now. He has to keep telling himself that it won’t be forever. She will come around.
And he misses Cole.
That had been his only source of true happiness over the last months. He needs to feel his bite again. He doesn’t even know how to ask him now that Liz has returned and told them that they are very likely related. He shoves his wife forward, about to leave her with her fear of not knowing what he is going to do to her later, when he steps back into a solid wall of Other Liv.
Fuck.
“Do you have a death wish?” he asks her blandly, not bothering to turn and look at her. He knows it’s her, he can sense the small, weird, sick bond that they have, and it disgusts him.
She chuckles and curls her hand up over his shoulder and down his chest into his shirtfront. She flicks her long nails over his nipple, and he hates that it gets him stirring. He sees Jess cower into a corner and he finds the reaction interesting. He turns around, removing her hand from his person and as he stares into her bright blue eyes, he wants to reach into her chest and rip her heart out for coming to him like this. “What are you doing here?” he asks. “You know that if Liv finds you, she will kill you this time.”
“Hah,” she scoffs. “I’m more than prepared to take her out if she touches me again. But that does beg the question…”
Devon knows what she wants to know, she came back once before looking for answers, but over his dead body will he betray his sire again. He doesn’t care if Lizzie tells her, that’s up to her, but he is not saying a word. His mouth goes into a tight, grim line and she sighs.
“Who is her father?” she asks in that pseudo-sweet voice that makes him want to throw up on her shoes.
Devon just glares at her and her eyes harden.
She sighs and turns her attentions to Jess. That gets Devon on alert. He should have known she would stoop to threaten a newbie who wouldn’t last a second against her. She flicks a Fireball into her hand and Jess goes ashen.
“You,” she says, wagging her finger at Jess. “You were supposed to do as I asked, and you failed. Tell me what I want to know, and I won’t tell your sire what you did.”
What? Devon cocks his head and frowns. What is she talking about? He takes a step forward, but Other Liv holds her hand out to stop him.
Jess pales and shakes her head, her eyes fixed firmly on Devon’s.
“What is she talking about?” Devon snaps at her.
“I-I don’t know,” she stammers and Other Liv laughs.
“Are you going to buy that?” she asks him and turns back to Jess. She holds her hand up and the ball of Fire bounces on her palm. “Tell me or you die.”
“Devon,” Jess squeaks in panic, but he isn’t swayed. He wants to know what is going on.
Other Liv laughs in delight and says to him, “You aren’t going to try to save her? You will sacrifice your charge for your sire? Why does she deserve such loyalty? She doesn’t care about you anymore. That’s why you wanted me.”
He grimaces and has to remind himself it isn’t true. “What did you ask her to do?” Devon says, rounding on her. He has had enough of this Other bitch and her games.
“Oh now, it’s more fun if she tells you,” she says nastily.
He flicks his eyes to Jess and steps forward. “What?” he demands of her and she starts to shake.
“I didn’t do anything,” she says. “Please, Devon you have to believe me.”
Now he is at a crossroads. One would think he would believe his charge under any circumstances, especially when the third party in this discussion is Other Liv brandishing a Fire ball, but there is just something, something prodding at him that he can’t ignore.