Chapter 25
Current day…
“The pride’s queen is Victoria?” Amy said sadly.
“Yes, it’s Victoria, but not the woman I loved. I took that away from her; I took it away from both of us.”
Amy hugged him. She wrapped him in her arms to soothe his pain. She felt no emotion in his body. He held himself stiff, not allowing her to give comfort. Her hands slowly started working their magic as they traveled over his body, her kisses over his face and chest. He finally held on tight and then carried her to the bed and made love to her.
Amy held him long into the night. The last words Victoria spoke that fateful night were haunting her. “I am now damned.” That was why Victoria was afraid of being a vampire. She thought she would be damned. Amy realized the church played a vital role during that century, but how could Victoria think Marcus was damned? He was so good.
Amy hated her, hated Victoria with every fiber of her being. She began crying softly.
Marcus gathered her into his arms. “Shhhh, I wish you didn’t need to know, but I’m afraid Victoria will hate you as much as she hates me and I must keep you safe.”
“Do you still love her?”
“No, my love for her was severed when she had Ivan’s sons killed. I hated her for a long time, but I got over that too, and now I just feel sadness for her, for what I did to her.”
“I don’t, she could have taken her own life if she felt that strongly about it. She continues to live out of hatred. It wasn’t Ivan or Alba’s fault. Why would she kill their children?”
“To get at me, her hatred eats at her. Her desire to see me dead is what keeps her alive.”
“Can you kill her?”
“To protect you or my clan, yes, I can. I left England many years ago, so I would not need to make that decision, but she followed us here. She followed me here. She is very strong and the cats are loyal. They live to kill for her. I have tamed my wolves to a point, but the cats are pure animal. They are dangerous to humans as well as to us, and they’ve been causing problems for a long time. I’ve been passive for years, but now they’ve struck my family again. It’s a situation I must handle. It will mean Victoria’s death. I should never have broken my promise to begin with.”
His arms held her and she finally drifted off to sleep. Marcus woke her at 3:00 am. He spoke softly as he told her they were burying Sinner in a short while, and he wanted her to attend.
Amy dressed in somber clothing. Marcus was in black pants and a black silk shirt. They walked downstairs and out to a waiting vehicle.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“It isn’t very far, but it is too cold for you to walk, so I’ll drive.” They traveled about two miles further into Marcus’ property.
Over fifty wolves were present and all but Alba in human form. Marcus left a few wolves behind to watch the house, but everyone else was in attendance. Sinner’s body was on a funeral pyre. One by one the wolves spoke and they painted a picture of Sinner’s life. He was loved and his sense of humor came through in the stories told. Sinner’s father spoke and held his tears back and finished by saying, “I will see you avenged.”
Marcus spoke last. “The time for peace is gone, it was taken from us. Our brother died for his family. If we must die for him to avenge his death and bring peace once again to our home we will do so. This is my promise.”
As soon as his words were spoken, all the wolves started shedding their clothing. They changed and one by one their voices joined until all of them were singing. It was the most somber and beautiful sound Amy had ever heard. It echoed through the trees. Marcus lit the pyre. The wolves cried their mournful song until nothing remained but ashes. The sunlight was beginning to come over the horizon. Marcus left, with instructions for Ivan to take Amy back to the house after he changed to his human form.
Amy was silent as she drove back with Ivan until she asked, “Can he kill her?”
Ivan was not surprised that Amy knew the truth of the pride’s queen. “I’m sure he can, but until now he has not had a good enough reason. The death of my sons was hard on him, but even then I didn’t think he would do it, even if given the chance. I know Victoria will kill him if she can, and we need him to fight. You gave him that desire. He will kill her. It’s what she’s always wanted.”
“She wants him to kill her?”
“Yes, I believe she does. Victoria was selfish and Marcus spoiled her. We all loved her, but we saw her shortcomings, though Marcus did not. She thought vampires and even beastkind were damned. She was good enough to have a vampire for a lover, but too good to become one. I believe she had Marcus drink from her at the end because she knew it would change her. She just didn’t want it to be her decision. Her hatred is more for herself and her weakness, than it is for him.”
“If he won’t kill her, I will.”
“Amy, she will snap you in half. You wouldn’t survive in a fight against her, you would not have a chance.”
“Not now, but I would if I were a vampire.”
Ivan smiled. It was a smile of satisfaction and one of triumph.
Amy rested throughout the day. She felt very lazy, but realized she did not want to miss a moment of Marcus’ “awake” time. She thought long and hard about her decision. She wanted Marcus to ask her to change. She thought he would, but she didn’t want to wait too long. She wanted to fight; she needed to help protect him and the pack.
That afternoon Amy called Brian. He was still pissed off. She told him she would see him in two days’ time, before the charity event. She had cleared it with Marcus and he didn’t seem to mind. Brian was somewhat appeased, but was very suspicious.
After Marcus woke, they began preparing to leave. Amy didn’t need to pack because they would pick up additional items from her apartment. They would leave the following afternoon in Marcus’ private jet. He told her the jet carried the wolves, but he usually just went his own way.
“Explain it to me. I want to know how you do it.”
“I just picture where I’m going and my body transports. Another vampire taught me because my father never would. I will travel by plane with you though, I wouldn’t enjoy the time spent waiting for you to arrive. I will transport myself on board and it will be dark when we land so we can disembark together.”
They spent the rest of the night talking and making love. Amy fell asleep in the early morning hours and got up at noon. They would take eight wolves with them to act as body guards. Marcus usually took only four, but wanted Amy to have extra protection. Her four wolves were to keep her alive even at the cost of their king. Ivan was not in that group because Marcus did not trust him to see to Amy first. Ivan was not insulted; he knew that Marcus was correct.
Alba stayed behind. She told Amy she would wait until her return to have the pups. Amy wasn’t sure if that was possible and knew she would be heartbroken if she missed their birth. It was a sad parting for both.
The next afternoon, Amy boarded the plane. One second the luxurious seat beside her was empty and the next it was filled with Marcus. He chuckled and said Alba was having Amy withdrawals, and if he hadn’t seen it himself he would not have believed it.
“I don’t understand what hold you have on her but I know she would choose you over me. I wish I had her to fight. She is pure death during a battle and she is my oldest bodyguard. Back before Alba realized she had fallen in love with Ivan she was impossible to be around. She was sure she could beat him in a fight for Alpha and I knew she had a very good chance. The problem was that I had two wolves that loved one another, but were too stubborn to acknowledge it. Their battle was horrifying. I was afraid of losing either or both of them. Alba was awesome to watch.”
Ivan broke into Marcus’ remembrance. ”You would have killed me if I won. What choice did I have but to kiss her?”
“I thought she would kill you just for that. I’ve never seen her as angry as she was when she couldn’t bring herself to kill you. She stormed around for m
ore than a week waiting for you to come get her or to die.”
“I convalesced longer than necessary while waiting for her to calm down. I didn’t want to fight again. I knew I would lose.”
Marcus laughed. They had a smooth flight and the airplane was luxurious and very comfortable. Amy drank wine and they talked and laughed while Marcus and Ivan told stories of one another, and their escapades through the centuries. Both Marcus and Amy napped for a short time before their arrival.
Marcus kissed her hair to wake her as they were touching down. When they stepped off the plane it was dark. A long limousine was waiting to pick them up. Amy asked to be taken to her apartment before going to Marcus’ home.
Inside, Amy went about packing more of her things. Marcus walked directly to her underwear drawer and began taking out scraps of cloth.
“How did you know where they were,” she asked with a smile.
“It’s not my first time here. I went through your underwear before you knew me.” The grin did not leave his face.”
You are a very bad man and I’ll need to think of some way to punish you.”
“I can’t wait until you do.”
Amy was also grinning and after her things were packed they proceeded downstairs followed by Amy’s bodyguards.
They went to Marcus’ city house. It was the mansion Amy had been in before. This time Marcus showed her to his suite. The ranch’s master bedroom was rustic compared to this.
“I’m wealthy. My business associates expect me to live a wealthy lifestyle and I don’t want to disappoint.”
“I know you take over and reorganize large companies, but what else do you do?”
“My younger wolves are always itching to find trouble. I run a mercenary group that works for our government. It keeps us all happy. There’s nothing worse than a young wolf that wants to fight anyone and everyone. It’s how I’ve always tamed them. I give them things to kill until they get it out of their system. After they fight for thirty years, they’re okay to have around civilized people. At least most of them are. Ivan and Alba keep a firm hand on the pack.”
Amy yawned and Marcus tucked her into bed. He had paperwork to go through and Amy enjoyed some uninterrupted sleep.
Fang Chronicles: Amy's Story Page 31