"You gonna start singing Circle of Life?" I joked.
"Circle of life?" he repeated.
"Lion King?"
"Cassius is king."
I looked helplessly to Stephanie, who was trying to hide her smile behind her hand.
"Have you seriously never watched Lion King?"
"Werewolves are scared of TV," Stephanie said with a soft laugh.
"And sirens are afraid of the dark," he fired back, while she shuddered. "I'm not afraid of the TV. I just don't see the point in sitting in front of a flat box and watching people make fools of themselves."
"He'd rather be the fool." Stephanie nodded and winked in my direction.
"Mason…" I walked over to him and put my head on his shoulder. "How about I eat the steak and we watch Lion King?"
"No."
"Dances with Wolves?"
Stephanie snickered loudly behind her hand.
"Wolves do not dance," Mason growled.
"Oh, we know." Stephanie nodded. "I've seen it once. Don't care to see it again."
"Too much whiskey." Mason kissed the top of my head. "Eat the whole steak, and then we'll talk about King Lion."
"Lion King."
"Same thing."
I sighed helplessly and went to sit at the table while Mason cooked.
Stephanie gave me a side hug. "Eight tomorrow morning, alright?"
"Great."
"Bed." She shrugged. "It's been a long night." Her eyes misted again.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah." Her voice cracked. "Like Alex said, we get emotional. Can't help it."
It felt like she was lying, but I was human, how would I know? I nodded and turned my attention back to Mason, who'd started searing the steak.
"So you cook meat but refuse to eat it?"
"I'm a vegetarian." He smiled. I'd never realized how pointy his teeth were on the sides. Maybe that's how he'd been able to bite into me before Ethan had mated with me.
"Your teeth say otherwise." I pointed. "Flat means vegetarian. Pointy means carnivore."
Mason rolled his eyes. "I didn't say it was natural for me to be a vegetarian."
"Okay… so why?"
He let out a heavy sigh. "Meat made my mate sick… for one reason or another. It gave her headaches. She only ate fruits, vegetables, nuts." He flipped the steak. "So I learned to like other foods."
"And now?"
He went very quiet, his eyes focusing in on the steak. "Now…" His voice was hoarse. "I honor her with my every meal."
My throat clogged with emotion.
The fact that he honored her at all — but with every single meal — killed me. How did he survive that? How did he live every day having known true love? And know he may never experience it again — living forever?
"Don't pity me." Mason let out a gruff growl. "It makes it harder."
"Sorry," I whispered. "So pinecones, huh?"
He laughed. "Yes, well, it's an acquired taste."
"I bet."
My heart picked up speed, and then I smelled him. Ethan entered the room, briskly walking by me, kissing my head. "Steak almost done?"
"I'm a perfectionist." Mason held up his hands. "Let the juices seal."
Ethan scrunched up his nose. "Her blood tastes better than that steak."
"Yes, well, her blood tastes good because she's living. She's living because I feed her."
"Werewolf has a point," I teased. "Besides, if I eat my whole steak, we're going to watch Lion King!"
"Whose king?" Ethan tilted his head. "What lion? Mason's a wolf."
And that's how I ended up spending my evening between a vampire and a werewolf, eating steak and watching a Disney movie while they argued over the animal kingdom, not to mention the lion's choice in song.
It felt right.
Like I'd finally found my place.
My home.
I had no idea that the security I felt was about to get ripped from me, from the very people I'd put my trust in.
Ethan
I tried to watch the childish movie. I even engaged Mason in an argument over the silly cartoon, but my thoughts were elsewhere.
On Alex and Stephanie.
On what he'd just revealed to me, betraying his own sister's confidence because he was so damn worried about what she would do — what she was capable of.
"She thinks she loves him," Alex muttered sourly. "Yet she doesn't wear his mark. It's as if he's refused to mark her, but she still… craves him."
"Sirens crave sex," I mumbled. "You know this."
"This is much different." Alex shook his head. "Something's shifted, I don't know what… but…"
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "He wouldn't dare mark her for death. Immortals don't mate with each other — not in that way. It's not natural."
"That's what I said."
"We can talk later." I sighed. "I'll try talking to her."
"Thank you." Alex's body slumped against the chair. "I worry more than I should."
But really, his worrying was merited because Stephanie wanted what was forbidden for her to want.
A Dark One.
Our king.
To want him was to invite death.
And I wasn't so sure she would listen to any of us, regardless of how wise our words, our warnings. The heart, I'd learned in all my years of living, wants what it wants, and damn the rest of the world for trying to tell it otherwise.
Genesis fell asleep in my lap. I carried her to bed then hovered protectively over her, instinct kicking in. I would die for that girl. I would do anything for her.
I wasn't sure she felt the same.
I doubted myself and hated that I doubted myself.
She stretched her arms above her head. She looked like a cat, all seductive and curvy. "Ethan?"
"Yes?"
"Why are you watching me sleep?"
"Because you fascinate me when you dream."
"I don't want to dream of him." She reached for my body, tugging me against her. "How do I keep him from getting in?"
"You don't." I sighed helplessly. "Just know you're safe in my arms. You'll always be safe."
"But in my dreams I'm in danger?"
"Remember what I said about good and bad… the same goes with danger. When all else fails, Genesis, you follow your heart."
"The heart can be evil."
"Not yours." I shook my head. "Never yours."
"I'm going shopping tomorrow."
"I know." I chuckled. She was so tired she wasn't making much sense. "Stephanie will charge whatever you want to my card."
"Too much money."
"I'm rich."
"Because of the fish."
I laughed. "Yes, the fish. They make me rich. Sleep, little human." I kissed her nose as she wrapped her body around mine and fell into a deeper slumber.
I waited, unable to sleep until I felt the cold seep from her body into mine.
Her breath staggered.
And then her skin went from hot to cold.
"Cassius," I whispered, "you take her from me, and I'll rip your heart from your chest."
"Trust her," he said back to me.
Agony washed over me as I waited for Genesis to return. Every second that went by was torture because I knew it was another second he was tempting her with forbidden fruit.
Just like he'd tempted Ara.
Only Ara had bitten.
And with that one bite, destroyed a part of myself I'd never been able to get back.
Until now.
Genesis
"It's snowing." I held my hand out and caught a few snowflakes. "No lake today?"
Cassius shrugged. His mood was different, darker. "I wanted the comfort cold brings me."
"Normally it's heat."
"I'm the opposite of warmth." His eyes turned white. "Therefore, it's cold that comforts. It's my fire."
I pulled the fur blanket around me. We were sitting outside a cabin in front of a roaring fire. It
was beautiful; snow-blanketed the forest, making it seem enchanted.
"More questions…" Cassius sighed. "I sense them."
I stared into the fire. "What was Ethan's daughter?"
"Different question," Cassius snapped.
"Can you mate?"
Cassius let out a slew of curses. "Our punishment or maybe our prize? Women die at our hands. Human women." He shrugged. "Vampire blood and human blood co-exist. Angel blood and human blood are an abomination."
My throat went completely dry. "So it can't mix."
"It can… for a time, and then the angel blood overwhelms what weakness the human has. It makes them evil, destroys them from the inside out."
"So you can't mate."
"We don't mate," Cassius snapped, "because there is no point, Genesis."
"That's lonely."
His eyes closed. "You have no idea."
"What about other immortals. Can you mate with them?"
"Why risk more lives?" Cassius threw a piece of wood into the fire. His eyes still hadn't returned to a normal color — they were void of color, void of emotion. "Is that it for this evening?"
"One more…" I held my hands out to the fire.
He nodded.
"Is there a way to test the prophecy? To make sure it works?"
"There is always a way," Cassius sneered, "but I highly doubt it is a road you want to travel — or one your mate would let you even step foot on."
"So I wait to live or die?"
"You pass all tests, you live — and hopefully restore balance. The prophecy says a human will mate with an immortal. It will be the new beginning, and they'll have a child."
I shuddered. "I don't want to die."
Cassius's eyes met mine. "Then don't."
"Wha—" He disappeared in front of my very eyes.
And then I jolted awake, shivering in Ethan's arms.
"What did he do? Meet you in a freezer?" Ethan swore, gathering me against him, wrapping blankets tightly around my body.
"S-sorry." I shivered. "I didn't realize how cold I was."
"He thrives on the cold." Ethan rubbed my shoulders. "And clearly forgets himself if he put you in the middle of a blizzard."
"It was a snowstorm… I think… but pretty."
"Oh well, as long as it was pretty," Ethan hissed.
I tucked my head against his chest, focusing on his warmth. "We need to have a child."
Ethan's hands stopped moving. "Cassius told you that?"
"It's part of the prophecy, right?"
"Yes, but—"
"So that will make it come true, right?"
"No," he said, sadness evident in his tone. "I wish that were true, but no, Genesis, we won't know until…"
"I no longer exist." I trembled. "He said there's another way—"
"No!" Ethan yelled. He gulped in a breath released it then said more softly, "No, it isn't an option."
"Maybe if you told me."
"It's forbidden."
I pretended to be satisfied with that — but I wasn't. If there was a way to fix the balance of things, I was going to find it. Not just for me, but for Ethan — for Mason, who'd lost the love of his life — for Cassius, who seemed lonelier than Death.
If I could save them—
I had to try.
Genesis
"Ready?" Stephanie popped her gum and hooked her arm in mine. "Ethan gave me his credit card with no limit, meaning we have damage to do."
I nodded, forcing myself to smile. Something felt… wrong. I'd spent the night in Ethan's arms, yet I felt like my balance was off, like I was straddling a line and was about to get pulled over to the wrong side.
Stephanie directed me toward a white Lexus hybrid and practically shooed me inside.
"So I'm thinking Downtown, since it's close to work."
She nodded. "Work? Why would you want to work anyway? I'm just curious."
I shrugged. "I need a purpose."
"But Ethan is your purpose."
"Right, but Ethan has a job too. It's not good to be idle, you know? Plus, I'm not really good at anything… other than reading… so why not work at a bookstore? It helps out Drystan, and so far I like it."
She snapped her gum and shrugged.
Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, exposing her neck. I was about to glance away when I noticed a mark on her neck.
"Did someone bite you?"
"Lovers all bite…" She smiled. "If they're good."
"Oh."
"Hey, relax. We're shopping. This is fun. You get to spend your mate's money, and you get me as your personal shopper for the next few hours."
I forced myself to smile and embrace the moment. "You're right."
"Course I'm right." She turned up the music and started singing at the top of her lungs.
By the time we'd made it downtown, we only had a few hours until I had to be at work.
Shopping with Stephanie was like an Olympic sport. She took me from store to store, tossing clothes in my empty arms and ordering me to try them on before I'd even told her I liked them.
She knew my style well. Not fussy, comfortable — but cute. I tried on several pairs of jeans, bomber jackets, shirts, boots — the list went on and on. I needed more coffee if I was going to make it through the rest of the day without passing out.
Or maybe I just needed Ethan.
He would be nice too.
"Hey!" Stephanie knocked on the door to the dressing room. "Hurry up in there. We only have a few more minutes."
I rolled my eyes and stared at my reflection. "Can I ask why you put me in a black evening gown?"
"Because!" She laughed. "Ethan will want to show you off."
"Fine." I pressed the heavily beaded fabric against my stomach. It was strapless and ridiculously heavy. Black with silver beading cascaded from floor to ceiling, it seemed.
I was like a walking pageant queen. "Stephanie, I don't think I like this."
No answer.
"Stephanie?"
With a sigh, I opened the door. Words died on my lips.
"Hello." His white eyes matched his long white hair. He tilted his head to the side as if examining me. "Come."
I stepped back and shook my head. "Where's Stephanie."
"Come." He held out his hand. His body was massive, bigger than Cassius and Ethan combined. He stood at least eight feet tall. Why was no one else running and screaming? He was beautiful, but it was a deadly type of beautiful. I don't know how, but I knew if I touched him, I'd die.
When he ducked into the dressing room, I gasped, covering my mouth.
Wings. He had wings.
Gold feathers that appeared then vanished right in front of me.
Ethan! My mind screamed.
Cassius… he could read my thoughts; he was powerful enough. I started yelling for him in my head, hoping he was tracking me, hoping in vain he would be able to find my scent. There was no way I was escaping the immortal in front of me.
"You're an archangel," I whispered.
"And you're the human."
Not a human. The human.
I gulped. "Please don't make me go with you."
His smile widened. "Are you afraid?"
It felt like a test.
I didn't know what to say.
I opened my mouth to yell no, but it was like he'd stolen the words from my lips. His head tilted back. "Come."
I shook my head, forcing myself to breathe, to not give into the fear that threatened to choke me.
"Come, or I kill your vampire. Your choice."
My throat released. "Don't!"
"So you'll come?" He seemed pleased.
"Just don't hurt him."
"You have my word. It won't be me who hurts your mate."
I nodded and reached out, touching my hand to his. And my world faded to white.
Ethan
"So things seem to be progressing nicely." Alex smirked over his morning coffee.
Ignoring him, I rolled my
eyes and continued reading the paper. I was just about to put it down and grab my keys so that I could finish what I needed to do for the day and find an excuse to stop at the bookstore, when pain sliced through my chest.
My knees buckled as I reached for the table to steady myself.
"Ethan?" Alex was immediately by my side.
My blood boiled, turning to acid beneath my skin as the room started to spin. "Something's wrong."
"Sit down."
I pushed him away.
Mason was soon at my other side.
The door to the house opened, and Stephanie appeared right in front of us. "Ethan, I tried to—"
Our eyes met.
Hers were white.
"What. Have. You. Done." I roared, the heat in my blood searing every rational thought in my body.
Stephanie held up her hands and took a step back. "Nothing. I did nothing. I woke up, and she was gone!"
Alex cursed. "Cassius."
"No," I repeated. "It isn't Cassius."
I would feel Cassius — I'd felt him before when he'd taken one of my mates, knew the way it felt when my blood turned to ice in my veins.
"Stephanie?" Alex's eyes narrowed. "Your neck."
Growling, I pushed away from both men and slammed her against the granite countertop, tilting her next to the side so severely I was surprised her head hadn't come off.
"No." Hands shaking, I stepped away. "No."
Stephanie rubbed her neck; tears streamed down her face. "What? What's happening?"
Her eyes were still white.
"Did you see… it?"
"See what?" She was nearing hysterics. "Something knocked me out, and when I woke up, she was gone!"
"The archangel," I said in a hushed tone. "You wear his mark."
Stephanie's horrified gaze met mine as she started vigorously rubbing the spot I'd just discovered. It was small, white, and had the appearance of a snowflake tattoo. It would have been beautiful if it hadn't been a mark of death.
"No." She hugged her arms to herself. "I'm so sorry. I thought we were safe. We should have been safe."
"Can you track her?" Mason growled next to me, his body trembling with the need to change and tear something limb from limb.
"Yes," I said in a voice I didn't recognize. "But it may be too late. I'm strong enough to fight him, to distract him, not strong enough to defeat him alone."
A Kiss For You Page 15