living covenant 03 - eternal covenant

by Amanda M. Lee

“WELL, I hate to say it, but even I didn’t think you would find trouble so close to the wedding,” Rafael said, leaning back in his chair and shaking his head. Aric took almost an hour to relate a month’s worth of events, and Rafael was annoyed when he was done. “Why didn’t you call me sooner? I could’ve been patrolling the woods this entire time.”

  “We weren’t sure what was going on,” Aric replied, casting a look at James and my father as they hovered in the doorway. Neither of them was fond of vampires. If Rafael cared, he didn’t show it. “The first sign of real trouble was the wolves at the ice cream parlor. They didn’t do anything but bluster, though.”

  “And Zoe could take three bitten werewolves with two hands tied behind her back … literally,” James added. “They weren’t a threat.”

  “Then Paris and I found the totem, and I burned it,” I said. “Then we found the other magical barrier, but we found out today that Pemberley put that up because he sensed trouble and was trying to protect us.”

  “That’s down, though, right?” Rafael asked.

  “Most definitely,” Pemberley answered. “You would’ve burned to a crisp if it wasn’t. Vampires can’t cross my barriers.” He seemed put out by Rafael’s appearance. “Why didn’t anyone tell me a vampire was on the guest list?”

  “You didn’t ask,” I shot back. “Besides, what does it matter? He won’t be eating so it doesn’t change the food order.”

  “He might be eating guests,” Pemberley muttered.

  “Oh, he wouldn’t do that,” Mom said, smiling at Rafael. She’d met him before and was fond of him. “He has impeccable manners.”

  Aric frowned at Mom’s familiarity with Rafael. He hated knowing that Rafael watched out for me at a time when he couldn’t. He and Rafael had made up – well, mostly – but they would never be the best of friends.

  “It appears Zoe’s powers keep growing,” Rafael said, leaning forward. “At this rate they could be limitless. You’ve come a long way from the girl who had no idea what she was or what she could do, little mage. What else have you been able to do?”

  I balked. “I … nothing.”

  “Well, that’s not entirely true,” Aric hedged, glancing around the room. “I think we should tell them.”

  “No way,” I hissed. “They’ll think we’re freaky and schmaltzy.”

  “If this goes to a weird sexual place, I’m out of here,” Dad said, shaking his head. “I might smack a wolf before I go, too.”

  Aric made a face. “It’s not sexual. Er … it’s not sexual in nature. We might’ve done a few freaky things with it to test it out, but that’s not what we did at first.”

  Dad shifted his weight from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable.

  “And people say I’m the one who puts my foot in my mouth all the time,” I said, chuckling.

  “What is this new ability?” Rafael asked, intrigued.

  “I can drag Aric into my dreams,” I answered, taking almost everyone by surprise. “It happened the first night I got sick. I dreamt about the day I met Aric and he was in there with me.”

  “Only I could feel things from Zoe’s perspective,” Aric supplied. “It was … amazing.”

  “That’s because she was hot to trot for you from the beginning,” Paris said, grinning when I scorched her with a dark look. “What? It’s true. You fell all over yourself that day.”

  “Has it only happened the one time?” James asked.

  “No, we’ve done it several times now,” Aric said. “Most of it has been pretty innocent. After a few tries she even managed to share memories with me when she was awake. I think she did it the first time because her barriers were down. Once she knew she could do it we … experimented … a little.”

  “I’m guessing this is where the sex comes in,” Dad muttered. “I’m out of here.”

  “Not yet,” Mom ordered, shaking her head. “I want to hear this. I’ve never heard of mages being able to do anything like this. Did the book boost her powers enough to make this possible?”

  “I have no idea,” I answered. “It just kind of happened.”

  “What aren’t you telling us?” Rafael asked. “There’s more to the story. I can tell.”

  “Well, last night when I got sick, it happened again,” I said. “This time, though, I was in Aric’s dream.”

  “You didn’t tell me that,” Paris said, excited. “That’s amazing. How did Aric get the power to do that?”

  “Zoe is the one supplying the power,” Aric said. “It was my memory.”

  “I wasn’t even in it,” I grumbled.

  “You were in it,” Aric argued. “You just didn’t have a speaking role.” He glanced at James. “It was the conversation we had after graduation when you found out I was going to propose to Zoe.”

  “Ah, yes, by all means, let’s bring that up again,” James said, making a face. “Zoe almost killed me the first time she heard that story.”

  “She agreed with you this go around,” Aric said.

  “Have you tried getting into Aric’s memories again?” Rafael asked.

  “When we woke up and realized what happened, we conducted an experiment,” I said, darting an apologetic look in Dad’s direction. “That’s when it took a kinky turn.”

  “Nice,” Paris said, winking.

  “Yes. This is what a father dreams of hearing,” Dad deadpanned. “I can die a happy man now.”

  Mom pinched his arm. “Get over it,” she said. “It’s not as if you’ve been living under the delusion that they’re not doing it.”

  “I still don’t want to hear about it,” Dad protested.

  “You’ll live.”

  “I find this intriguing,” Rafael said. “You’re connected in a way I never thought possible. Don’t get me wrong, I knew you were codependent, but this is something entirely new. You’ve managed to cross barriers that you shouldn’t be able to breech. Zoe also did it when she took down the sprite’s trap. It is all very interesting.”

  “What do you think it means?” I asked.

  “I have no idea,” Rafael said. “I can’t wait to see how you work this out, though. It should be very entertaining.”

  “You’re still a schmuck, aren’t you?” Aric asked, his eyes twinkling.

  “I have to make you look good, don’t I?” Rafael shot back.

  “On that note, before the boys start roughhousing, I think it’s time for dinner,” Mom sad. “We’re grilling. Rafael, I know you can’t eat, but you can enjoy a glass of wine and the ambiance.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Rafael said. “I will be thrilled to attend your barbecue. I love group events.”

  I pressed my lips together and shot a sidelong look in Aric’s direction, the possible double meaning of Rafael’s words causing me to snicker.

  “Don’t even think of bringing that up,” Aric warned.

  “I’d never do anything of the sort.”

  “Why don’t I believe you?”

  19

  Nineteen

  “So, I’m just dying to hear how all of you fit together,” Pemberley said after dinner, leaning back in his chair as we gathered around the bonfire. “It seems strange that a witch, vampire, wolf and a mage would find common ground.”

  “Zoe brought us together,” Paris answered. “We were paired together freshman year, but I had no idea what she was when we met. Of course, she had no idea what she was either.” Paris shot a pointed look in my parents’ direction.

  “We wanted Zoe to feel as normal as possible when she was growing up,” Mom supplied, answering Pemberley’s unasked question. “We knew her life would be … difficult … so we gave her a normal childhood. I think it worked out pretty well.”

  “You have to understand, we didn’t know Zoe would have powers,” Dad said. “She didn’t manifest any at an early age that we could see. We watched her closely as a teenager, but we never saw any hints that she would become this powerful.”

  “Still, you picked a tow
n where wolves rule,” James said. “Why do that if you were trying to hide?”

  “The wolves in that area were caught up in politics,” Mom explained. “We thought we would fly under the radar.”

  “Did you?” Pemberley asked.

  “For many years,” Mom said. “That became difficult when Zoe started drawing attention to herself at Covenant College.”

  Aric tightened his arms around my waist in the canvas chair we shared. “Zoe might have understood to keep things to herself if you told her what she was,” Aric pointed out. “Did ever consider that?”

  Mom nodded. “We worried … a lot … when Zoe announced she was going to Covenant College,” she said. “We knew what that could mean for her. Destiny has a way of finding people, though, and we figured Zoe would find her place in this world. We had to let her do it on her own.”

  “She definitely found her place,” Kelsey said. “She was downright famous on campus.”

  “I think you mean infamous,” I corrected.

  “And how did you two meet?” Pemberley asked, inclining his head in our direction.

  “I saw her in the University Center one day,” Aric answered. “She was beyond cute. Then I talked to her … and she was beyond mean. I still knew there was something different about her. We kept running into each other, and eventually we figured out what she was.”

  “Did you ever consider leaving her?” Pemberley asked. “You’re a wolf. Your father is high in the hierarchy of the council. I would think they had big plans for breeding you.”

  I shifted on Aric’s lap. “Is that true?”

  “No,” Aric scoffed. “I’m sure the council wanted me to marry one of my kind, but I knew that wasn’t going to be feasible. Once I met you I knew what I wanted, and I wouldn’t settle for anything less.”

  “I can vouch for that,” Paris said, giggling.

  “As can I,” Rafael added.

  “What about you?” Pemberley asked, directing his attention to Rafael. “How did you get involved?”

  “I met Zoe at a party,” Rafael answered. “She was on a deck by herself – and she would not zip her lips – so I decided to glamour her. I wanted to feed and run. She wouldn’t glamour, though. In fact, she accused me of infringing on her personal space. I was understandably intrigued.”

  “I’m getting a vibe from you two,” Pemberley said, clearly over his distaste of Rafael and eager to hear gossip. “Did you date?”

  “I don’t want to talk about this,” Aric complained.

  “We did not technically date,” Rafael said, locking gazes across the fire with me. “We spent time together and there was a short span where I thought maybe we could find a way to work something out. It didn’t take me long to realize that wouldn’t happen. Even then, she loved her wolf. I respected that. Besides, we had other things to worry about by then.”

  “Covenant College was always teeming with action,” Aric explained. “Zoe was in the center of that action. During the year we were apart – I like to think of it as the dark times – Rafael stuck close to Zoe to make sure she wouldn’t be caught without backup.”

  “Yes, that was a wonderful year,” James said. “You were extremely withdrawn and morose. Your mother wanted to put you in therapy.”

  “He was depressed,” Helen said, rolling her eyes. “He didn’t tell us what was happening, and I thought Zoe broke his heart.”

  “Zoe did break my heart,” Aric said, tickling my ribs. “I broke hers first, though. I don’t like thinking about that time. But things worked out.”

  “Zoe was a mess that year,” Paris said. “She only perked up when she decided to torture the Academy douches.”

  “Yeah, I’ll never forget when you put that spell on the house so none of them could get in and that Paul guy didn’t realize what was happening and made out with Tally on the front porch,” Kelsey said, laughing at the memory. “We started messing with Paul through the window, and he was getting more and more frustrated, and then Rafael walked in when we were licking the window. He didn’t think we were funny.”

  “Is that true?” Aric laughed, smirking at the memory.

  I instinctively reached over and grabbed his hand, sharing it with him.

  Paul, who looked like as if was caught in a tarantula’s web, moved his gaze so it leveled on my face. I waved at him gaily.

  “How many tongues do you think Tally has?” Kelsey asked.

  “If Paul’s face is any indication, I’m guessing a good five or six,” Paris said, not bothering to hide her smile as she waved at Paul, too.

  “You don’t even know him,” Kelsey said.

  “That doesn’t mean it’s not fun to mess with him.”

  Kelsey tilted her head from side to side, considering. “Oh, let me try.” She pressed her face against the window and stuck her tongue out, licking the glass.

  Paris and I dissolved into giggles.

  “Oh, what are you doing now?” Rafael had entered through the back door, ever silent as usual.

  “We’re watching the newest Academy cadet try to get in through the front door,” I said.

  Despite himself, Rafael seemed curious. He moved closer to us so he could look out the window. “Why was Kelsey licking the glass?”

  “We’re just trying to see if we can agitate him,” I said.

  “Is it working?”

  “You’ve met me,” I said. “If I was trying to agitate you, and you had no choice but to stand there and take it, would it work on you?”

  “Good point.”

  Aric heartily chuckled. “I’m glad you had fun while I was wrecked without you. I’m also glad there’s no nudity in these memories of Rafael.”

  “That’s one of the things I still regret,” I said, earning a dark look from Aric. “Come on. Are you honestly saying you’re not curious to see if his … thing … looks different? It might have horns or something.”

  Rafael was mortified, while Aric barked out a hoarse laugh.

  “I can honestly say I never considered it before, but now I’m pretty sure I’m going to have nightmares,” Aric said.

  “I don’t have horns,” Rafael hissed.

  “I don’t believe you,” Kelsey said, sipping on her whiskey sour. “You should probably show us.”

  “Someone cut Kelsey off,” Aric ordered. He extended a finger in Rafael’s direction. “Don’t you dare show us.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Rafael replied dryly.

  “How did things end at this college?” Pemberley asked. “How did you two get back together after breaking each other’s hearts?”

  “I couldn’t live without him and decided to forgive him,” I said. “While I wasn’t thrilled with what he did, part of me understood that his first loyalty was to his pack.”

  Aric pushed my hair away from my face and studied my profile. “And I decided I would not let her go for anything and turned my back on the Alpha Chis,” he said. “In truth, I kept a secret for a fraternity of wolves, not a pack. I would’ve given serious thought to picking Zoe over my pack, but I would’ve done it. Leaving the fraternity was easy.”

  “And what happened after that?” Pemberley asked. “I’m a sucker for a good romance story.”

  “Zoe saved me on the lawn of the library,” Aric said. “She burned a woman alive and sent a powerful message that night. It wasn’t powerful enough to give her a peaceful year, but her legacy was etched in stone that night.”

  “I remember,” Rafael said. “You outsmarted everyone and had glowing blue eyes for a time being.”

  I shuddered at the memory. “I thought I was going to lose Aric all over again after that, I admitted. “It’s not as though we could go out in public if those eyes stuck around.”

  “You were never going to lose me again,” Aric said, sincere. “As for the eyes … well … they were definitely odd. I had plans to make you wear sunglasses indoors. I figured that would solve all of our problems.”

  “Luckily my eyes were back to normal when I wok
e up the next morning,” I said.

  “That’s right,” Rafael said, leaning forward. “You corrected your problem in sleep. I forgot about that.”

  “Why is that important?” Paris asked.

  “I’m not sure it’s important as much as it is intriguing,” Rafael answered. “She fixed her own eyes in sleep. She also manifested this new power, which is purely mental, in her sleep. If I’m right, I don’t think Zoe is using this power to its full potential. Not yet, at least.”

  Aric shifted beneath me, and I realized he knew what Rafael was getting at.

  “I’m confused,” I said. “What do you think I can do with this power?”

  “I can’t be sure, but I would like to try a few things,” Rafael said.

  “Like what?”

  “For starters, I want to see if you can affect others with memories,” Rafael said. “I want you to try with Kelsey, who is human, and Paris, who is a witch. I would also like you to try with me.”

  “Why not me?” Pemberley asked, his nose out of joint about being left out.

  “I think Zoe will manifest with those she trusts first,” Rafael said. “I’m not sure she’ll be able to do it with others. I think she can do it with Aric because she trusts him more than anyone. What that will mean for others is still up in the air.”

  “I’m not sure I want her to try with anyone else,” Aric said. “It might put her in a vulnerable place.”

  Aric and Rafael locked gazes, something unsaid passing between them. Finally Rafael shook his head. “You don’t want her to try with someone else because right now you have something that is yours only,” Rafael corrected. “You have a special bond, and you like that bond. You’re worried that if Zoe can do it with others it will mean that bond isn’t as special as you believe.”

  “That sounds a little pathetic,” Aric said.

  “Nonetheless, I believe that’s how you feel,” Rafael said. “Zoe doing it with you first proves you have a special bond. Her powers are growing, though, and this could be one that will protect her. Do you want it to go unexplored?”

  “I … .” Aric broke off, unsure how to answer. “Fine. You’re right. If she can manipulate the thoughts of others, that could save her down the road. She has to try.”