Deviation: Altera Realm Trilogy Book 2

by Jennifer Collins

  Noelle felt tears come to her eyes. His silence was a sign of something, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t something good.

  Finally he looked back at her, his face completely different. There was no sign of the snarky and manipulative Vampire. “I’ve only loved two women in my life.”

  “Wow. Two in more than nine hundred years? That sounds lonely,” she said quietly.

  He nodded. “With Faye I knew right away. I saw her at a great race council meeting. She was way up in the balcony, staring down at all the delegates with a look of utter concentration on her face. She was studying all of us. She even wrote it all down. She fascinated me, the way her mind worked. She was never OK with unexplained body language or situations. She had to understand everything. But with you…”He shook his head. “You just came out of nowhere. And that scared the hell out of me.”

  Noelle took some deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. He loved her. That was all that mattered. But now it was her turn to be honest. She tuned away from him, if only to calm herself some more. Her pulse sped up whenever she looked at him. Finally she looked back at him. He was back to his usual Gabe self, his head cocked to the side and a smile on his lips.

  “I have to tell you something,” she said, as he pulled off his shirt. This isn’t helping, she thought.

  “Go on,” he said, kicking off his shoes.

  “OK.” She took a deep breath. “My grandmother was a Magic User. But my grandfather wasn’t. He was a Shifter. So I’m actually one-fourth Shifter.” She squinted her eyes, waiting for his reaction.

  Gabe whipped his belt out of his pants. “I know.”

  Her eyes opened wide, and her jaw dropped. “You what?” she practically yelled.

  “I know you’re part Shifter, and I’ve been dying to know…”He moved within inches of her. “Which animal?”

  “How can you know? I’ve been killing myself, hiding my scent from you and every wolf in this Village! And you know!”

  “Only for the last few weeks. You did hide it very well. How did you cover the scent?”

  “You’re an ass!”

  He smiled. “I know. You’ve told me multiple times.”

  Noelle stared at him for a moment, her anger fuming, before grabbing him and kissing him hard. He pulled at her after a moment, yanking her hair tie out and letting her blond hair cascade down her back. Next he worked on the back of her dress with the speed of a hungry animal.

  Later, as they lay next to each other in his bed, he traced little circles along her arm as she nipped at his ears. She smiled at him. “You’re really good at that.”

  “I’ve had more than nine hundred years of practice. I’m also a very good dancer. Both of those things get better with age and practice,” he said, stealing a kiss.

  She laughed into his mouth. “I’m never going to get used to your dirty talk.”

  “I’m bad, I know. I can’t help it, though.”

  “I’m getting that.”

  “So,” he said, lying back on the pillows, “you haven’t answered my questions.”

  “Right. Well, the scent thing was easy. It’s a Psyche potion.”

  Gabe nodded. “I thought so. They can be useful for some things.”

  “And…”She leaned in close to his ear. “I’m a cat.”

  “A big cat?” he asked, curious.

  She shook her head and shifted to her knees. She’d never done this in front of anyone but her family, and it felt exhilarating. She closed her eyes and willed her body to change. She felt her limbs shrink and the familiar feeling of growing her fur. After a moment she opened her eyes. As usual, some of the colors in the room faded into a dull gray. She looked at Gabe, who stared at her in awe. She jumped onto his chest and bashed her head into his face as she began to purr. She felt his hands on her as he scratched along her light tan fur.

  “You’re perfect,” he whispered, before planting a kiss on her head.

  She purred even louder as she ran the corners of her mouth against him, anywhere she could, to mark her territory. This manipulative Vampire asshole was hers, and no one was going to touch him.

  He was in too deep. He knew it for sure the second Syney kissed the spot right behind his right ear then giggled. Getting a woman to like him usually didn’t involve feelings on his part. He just had to make her feel good, compliment her, make her feel like the only woman in the world. But Syney was different. She didn’t buy into any of that. And as much as it pained him, he relied on what Gabe had said and opened up to her. It hadn’t been easy, but it had been worth it. And now he was screwed. When he kept things impersonal, he had control over everything. But Syney had cracked him open, and now he couldn’t get her out. This wasn’t something he was used to, but it felt damn good and scary as hell.

  Adam ran a hand through Syney’s hair as she looked around the dimly lit pub from their dark corner booth. “I had no idea this place was here,” she said with a smile. “I think it’s my new favorite place.”

  He laughed. “Good. I like it too. Reminds me of home.”

  “Oh, no. I think I finally figured you out. You’re one of these disreputable, shady folks who practically live in pubs, taking advantage of poor, unsuspecting, young women,” Syney said, getting closer and closer to him with every word. By time she stopped talking, she was inches from his mouth, which she kissed passionately.

  Adam returned the kiss, feeling his heart pick up speed. He came up for air and grinned. “Damn! You found me out.”

  Syney giggled and took a big gulp of vinum. “I really do like this place. How did you find it?”

  “I asked around. You can’t go anywhere, even the uptight Village, without finding at least one pub.”

  Syney frowned as she glanced toward the door. “I don’t think Birch likes it very much. I bet you he runs right to Leaf and tells him I need to stay away from you.”

  Adam gazed at the wolf, who stared back with narrowed eyes. “I don’t think he liked me very much before I brought you here.”

  “Whatever.” Syney rolled her eyes and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “To be honest, I don’t like him very much.”

  “I don’t either,” Adam whispered back.

  “See? So in tune.”

  “I agree.” He smiled. “We must be soul mates.”

  Adam watched as Syney’s smile wavered, and she grabbed her mug. He had said something wrong; he just didn’t know what. That was the one thing he didn’t like about Syney. She was an emotional landmine. Over the past couple of weeks, there had been a few times when he had seen her retreat like this, and none of the things he had said seemed to add up to anything in particular. The other day he had spent a lot on a set of earrings that matched the purple-and-brown necklace she always wore, and she nearly threw them back at him. It was a little frustrating, but he didn’t want to push her.

  She looked back at him; whatever had come over her was completely gone. “How about we get out of here?”

  “I thought you loved it here.”

  “I do. I just figured we could go somewhere…a little more private.” She proffered a small smile that set Adam’s entire body on fire.

  Normally when a woman propositioned him, hesitation wouldn’t be his first thought. But here it was. He stared at her as she bit her lip but maintained eye contact. “You know, I think it might be best if we stay here.”

  She gave him an odd look and placed her hand on his leg, dangerously close to his favorite body organ—in fact a little too close. “What’s the matter?”

  He shook his head and tried to keep his breathing even. “Nothing.”

  “That was, um, a proposition,” she said slowly.

  “Yeah, I got that. I just…don’t want to.”

  Syney leaned back with a nervous laugh. “Oh. You don’t want to sleep with me.”

  “Not ever. I mean…just not tonight.” Adam grimaced and looked around. Several wolves gave them looks, obviously having overheard their conversation. “How about we do leav
e? And just go somewhere to talk.”

  She nodded slowly and took his hand as he led them out of the booth and then the pub. “Come on. Let’s go to my room,” she said, once they entered the palace.

  Adam stopped. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

  Syney moved to stand in front of him and put her hands on her hips. “I’m not going to jump on you and force you to sleep with me. You want to talk, and my balcony is the most private place in the palace. Plus it’s really pretty”

  Adam took a deep breath. He felt like a little girl, which was ridiculous. He needed to man up here. He nodded, and they headed to Syney’s room. Once they were on her balcony, sitting on the swinging chair, her leaning against him and holding his hand, he finally calmed down a little. You’d have thought he’d never been with a woman before. He shook his head as he realized he never had been with a woman like Syney. And he didn’t want to mess it up.

  “So what’s so repulsive about me, huh?” she teased with a poke to his stomach.

  Adam laughed and groaned at the same time. “It’s not you. Well, it is you.” He took a breath. “I’ve been with many women, but this feels different. And I want to wait for a special night.” He cringed at his own words.

  Syney sighed. “Thank you for being honest,” she said, sitting up and facing him. “I don’t get much honesty.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “I like the idea of waiting. So stop being embarrassed by it.”

  “I’ll try. It just isn’t like me.” He laughed and shook his head again. “You’re doing something to my head.”

  Syney shrugged. “So…how many women have you had?”

  “None that I really cared about. You’ll be my first.”

  “Aw, that’s so sweet. Now tell me the truth.”

  “That is the truth.”

  “How many?” she paused. “Ten?” He made a face. “Twenty?” He made another face. “More than twenty?” she asked, her smile fading.

  “What does it matter, really? Two, twenty, two hundred…It’s just a number.”

  She nodded. “A really high number.”

  “Syney,” he said, rolling his brown eyes.

  She laughed. “Sorry. You’re right. What happened before doesn’t really matter. That being said, I think I should be honest with you as well.”

  Syney’s smile had fallen, and her face turned serious. She finally was going to open up to him about something; a past relationship was his guess.

  “Um, my number is two, and the first one—well, he really meant something to me. I loved him. He was, um…my Protector.”

  “You and Reed?” Adam asked with a cringe.

  She laughed. “No, not Reed. Hunter. He was my first Protector. But he took an assignment out in the field. So he’s gone.”

  “I didn’t think Protectors did that.”

  “Ones who want to get far away from their charges do.” She shrugged. “But you should know that it’s very much over. I might not be totally over it, but…”She smiled. “You’re helping a lot. I like you. I’m…I care about you.”

  Adam smiled and kissed her slowly. “I care about you too.” He stared into her violet eyes, knowing that was an understatement. “And it’s eighteen.”

  “Holy crap. I really didn’t want to know that!”

  “You asked!”

  “Knowing you wouldn’t tell me!”

  They both fell back onto the swinging chair with laughter.

  He stroked her hair and looked out over the dark Village. “So who’s number two? Rebound guy?”

  “No.”

  “Oh, God, don’t tell me I’m rebound guy.”

  Syney shook her head. “Definitely not. You’re more than that, I promise. And number two was a mistake that I made…a few times.”

  “Sounds depraved.”

  “It was. I, um, someone cursed me. It was a depression thing. Pretty bad. I didn’t know it was there, though, so I thought it was just me. And I found…um…numbness, I guess you could say, with my friend, Gabe. He’s the Vampire I told you about.”

  Adam looked away from her quickly. He couldn’t believe his ears. Did she really just say she slept with Gabe? With a Vampire who could easily tell her there was a curse on her and how exactly to get rid of it?

  “Vampires have this biting thing,” she said slowly.

  Adam nodded. “Yep, I know all about it,” he said a little too hard.

  “Are you OK?” she asked. “Was that too much information or something?”

  He shook his head and looked back at her, trying to hide his anger. “Of course not. I just can’t believe someone would curse you like that.”

  “It was pretty bad. I think…um, never mind.”

  “What is it?”

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s gone now, and I’m happy—especially when I’m with you.” She smiled and planted a kiss on his lips.

  Adam kissed her back, but his mind reeled with anger. He didn’t stay much longer after that. He wasn’t in the mood to sit around and cuddle. He was in the mood to hit someone. He headed straight to Gabe’s room and walked straight in without knocking.

  Gabe stood by the bed wearing only pants. He looked over as Adam entered the room. “Hey. How are things going?”

  Adam responded by decking him.

  Gabe staggered a bit, and Noelle gasped as she lay in bed.

  Adam looked at her, just realizing she was there, holding a sheet over her chest. “Sorry for barging in,” he said then looked back at Gabe.

  “What was that for?” Gabe asked, wiping blood from his lip.

  “You really had to sleep with Syney? You couldn’t just tell her the curse was there?” Adam yelled.

  “She told you?” Gabe looked at Noelle with a smile. “That’s good.”

  Noelle nodded. “She wouldn’t tell that to just anyone. I don’t think she even told Helen.”

  Gabe grinned at Adam. “You’re doing an excellent job.”

  Adam gritted his teeth in anger and turned away before he slugged Gabe again. “I can’t believe you’d take advantage of her like that!” He turned back. “I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised. You like to screw with people’s lives—why not screw her literally?”

  Gabe cocked his head to the side. “You’re really upset about this.”

  “He loves her.”

  They both looked at Noelle.

  “Really? You think?” Gabe asked. “This works. But we need Syney to reciprocate.”

  “She will. Just give her a little time,” Noelle said.

  Adam swallowed. He wanted to tell them to shut up. How dare they talk about Syney that way. But he realized only a couple of weeks ago he stood in this very room talking the exact same way. He plopped down on the end of the bed and dropped his head into his hands.

  “Hey, no second thoughts here,” Gabe said.

  Adam looked up at him. “We have to tell her. Everything.”

  “No.”

  “She’ll understand. She wants the same things we do. She was in love with her damn wolf! Trust me. She’ll get it.”

  “Is in love, and don’t you forget that,” Gabe said coldly.

  “He’s right,” Noelle piped in.

  “I know I am,” Gabe snickered.

  “Not you,” Noelle said. “Adam. We need to tell Syney. Doing all this with her being in the dark is stupid. It’ll backfire eventually.”

  Adam looked at Gabe, silently begging him to agree.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Adam stood. “Which means no.” He shook his head and headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Gabe asked.

  “To bed,” he yelled as he slammed the door behind him.

  Once in his room, he lay on his bed and draped his arm over his head. He understood the importance of what was going on here—and the importance of Syney—but all he could think about was the fact that he did indeed love her, and he was lying to her. Both of those things didn’t s
it well with him. His adoptive father had told him never to get too close to a woman unless he knew she was the one he would be with until the day he died. He sighed and realized he couldn’t live without Syney, but Gabe and his master plan were derailing the getting close part. He knew he shouldn’t have taken this assignment. Either way he wasn’t going to win.

  Helen was used to seeing many people come and go in the library as she sat working at her corner table on a daily basis, but Vasclineda, the high priestess of the Village, never had been one of them—until now. She smiled as the old woman slowly sat down across from her. Vasclineda was an elegant older woman, her gray hair pulled back in a bun but the lines all along her face gave away her age. It was an honor to spend time with the religious leader of her people, and Helen felt the presence of the goddesses sitting across from her.

  “It’s lovely to see you,” Helen said.

  Vasclineda nodded. “Yes, yes. It is good to still be seen.” She laughed, which teetered off into a hacking cough.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Not well. I do believe my time on this plane will be ending soon.” She smiled at Helen. “Which is why I have sought you out, my dear. The goddesses have agreed to have you as my replacement, as was your request. They believe you will be a blessed replacement.”

  Excitement ran through Helen. This is what she had wanted since she was a child. She pushed down all of her feelings and tried to keep her composure. “I’m honored.”

  “As well you should be.” Vasclineda patted Helen’s hand. “I would like to start your training as soon as possible. Your vows ceremony will be scheduled for the end of the week.”

  Helen nodded eagerly. “I’ll be ready.”

  “Good, good.” She stood up slower than she had sat down and headed away without a good-bye.

  Helen smiled brightly. It was an amazing feeling to be able to do the one thing she’d wanted for so long. Not to mention the fact that the goddesses had blessed her for the position. She believed wholeheartedly in the Magic User religion, finding solace in prayer and the religion’s dogma. It was almost surreal. She stood up and gathered her books. She wanted to tell everyone but especially Leaf. He’d be so happy for her. She was halfway to his room when reality crashed down around her. She was going to be high priestess and would take her vows—one of which demanded chastity—in a few days. Helen fell back against the nearest wall as her world crumbled around her. She wasn’t sure how long she had stood here, thinking. But it had gotten dark outside, which meant it had to be a few hours. She sighed and pushed off from the wall, having made her decision. She started again for Leaf’s room. This was going to hurt, so she might as well get it over and done with now. Better to stick the knife in instead of wandering around, knowing it was going to happen.