Secrets (The Forever series, Book 8) (32 page)

“I love you,” he manages to get out before he passes out
from fatigue.

Cole comes to, groggy and disorientated. He can hear muted
voices coming from the terrace and he cracks his eyes further open to see who
Liv is talking to. It’s Cade. They are sitting close together in the afternoon
sun and he has his hand on her shoulder. Cole leaps out of bed and is at her
side in less than a second. “Hands off,” he growls at him.

They both look up at him, and Cade removes his hand. Liv is
biting her lip to stop herself from smiling and Cade is looking away with a
slight flush. Liv’s eyes scan over him, head to toe, and she says, “As much as
I adore you as you are my one, I think Cade would prefer you to get dressed.”

Cole nearly falls at her feet in worship at her words “my
one,” but at her raised eyebrow he grabs a pair of sweats and pulls them on,
returning immediately to her side. “What are you talking about?” he asks
rudely, but not caring.

“Cade was berating me for going off half-cocked to the
D.F.K.,” she says with a smirk.

Cade glares at her. “I was not. I was concerned. You should
have come up with a better plan than relying on that Remiel guy to help you.”

“Yes, in future I shall bear that in mind,” she says wryly,
taking Cole’s hand and lacing her fingers through his.

“And that’s another thing,” Cade says before he can get a
word in. “Why are you so chummy with him now? What is all that about?”

Damn good question, and the one he was going to ask himself.

“It’s a long story,” she says with a shrug. “I need to speak
to him again before I start surmising.”

“But you know something?” Cole asks her.

“A bit,” she replies cautiously.

“Is he dangerous?” he asks, feeling somewhat foolish,
because of all he has put her through. But he did also help her, sort of.

Her eyes search his for a moment before she answers, “I’m
not sure.”

Well gee, that does not make him feel any better about the
creature. Cade looks the same, but she fires a look at him that keeps his mouth
shut. Cole narrows his eyes at them, he is not liking this little whatever it
is they have going on.

“Right, well I will leave you two to get sorted,” Cade says,
standing up. “We leave for Heathrow in an hour. By the way, Xane asked me to
tell you that he had pressing business in Hell and won’t be back for a few
days. He will meet us in Paris.”

“What pressing business?” Liv asks, standing up quickly.

“He said it was a five, so there is no need for you to
worry,” Cade replies with a smile.

She smiles back and relaxes. Cole doesn’t know what that
means and it annoys him that they do. Cade leaves then and he asks her, “What
is a ‘five’?” He is sick of being out of the loop because he has an actual job,
unlike all these guys who seem to do…well, fuck knows really what they all do.

“When I went to meet Xane in Vegas, we agreed that he would
continue to run Hades on a day-to-day basis and I only wanted to know about
things that were a six and over, so a five is his to deal with,” she explains
to him.

“Oh,” Cole says. He is dying to ask more, like if they are
sleeping together, but he bites his tongue. It will anger her and he doesn’t
want to make her angry with him. He needs her to love him and be happy with
him. He just has a sick feeling about them, he can’t put his finger on it and
it bugs him.

“How are you feeling?” she asks him, bringing him out of his
thoughts.

“Hungry,” he replies with a soft smile, “but good. How about
you?”

“Just perfect,” she says. After a pause she adds, shyly,
“Thank you.”

He hugs her and she returns it. “No need to thank me,” he
says with a salacious smile, to ease the mood.

“Go and feed,” she orders him. “I will get bathed and
changed while you do.”

Cole agrees and goes off to find a Feeder. He knows there
are a couple around here somewhere. He can’t wait to have Dawn back. He has
missed her. He is used to her and he considers her his. The only thing that he
has that is just his. She is meeting them in Paris, after a few days off with
Scott. Now that Liv is back, he feels better, happier, and much more in
control. This will be the first fresh feed since the Hunt and his fangs are
aching. He finds one of his wife’s Feeders, Edward, and the need to drain him
and kill him for daring to engage in such an intimate act with her overwhelms
him. He wishes she would use only women. He calms himself and even though he
still gets icked out by feeding from men, he takes what he can from him,
perfectly under control after his wife’s attentions and sends him on his way.

* * * * *

Liv

I sink into the bubbles and feel at peace. Whatever Cole did
to me healed me inside and I am more in love with him than ever. He let me play
with him, and I know I hurt him, but he took it because he knew I needed it. He
knew I needed complete control. I am only slightly concerned about the fact
that my claws are definitely not those of the average Vampire any more. I have
been seeing this for a while now, going back to when I clawed CK in the grounds
at
Ponte
and they didn’t heal straight away. I am starting to think they
are more Dragon, less Vampire at this point. That brings me back to Cole’s
ability. My mother has alluded that he is something special, but in Her usual
fashion She remains tight-lipped about it. But one thing is for sure, he is
definitely something special. For the first time since CK turned me and I
wanted only him, I feel that way again with Cole. I don’t want to be with
anyone else. He is everything, he is the one. It startles me slightly that I
think this, as I am not used to being true to one. I know my Dragon has
everything to do with it, and I wonder if it will last. I wonder if my Vampire
side will come out of her slumber at some point and try to regain what is hers.
I get out of the tub and get dried and dressed and decide now is a good time to
face Remiel, if he will come to me. I haven’t seen him since he came to me in
the D.F.K., but I want some answers.

I pass Cole on the way out and stop to give him a lingering
kiss, which he delights in returning before I tell him I’ll be in the library.

I stand there and call out, “Remiel,” feeling like a bit of
an idiot.

“Aefre,” he says as he shimmers into view. “You’re back.”

Like he didn’t know I was.

“So I am,” I say. I can feel his barrier is up again and
that makes me curious as he dropped it before. I, however, am pretty damn sure
that won’t be a problem anymore. I step forward and he peers at me but stands
his ground. I bring my hand up and place it on the barrier and with a magickal
pop!
it vanishes.

“Hmm, I had a feeling that would be the case,” he says to
me. “Word on the Spirit grapevine is you got an enhancement.”

“I did,” I say. “Now there is no reason why I shouldn’t just
kick your arse back to where it belongs.”

“It belongs here,” he says stiffly, straightening his
immaculate suit. “I am completely certain that you can help me now.”

“Help you do what?” I ask, expecting an answer.

“Live,” he says.

“You told me you couldn’t,” I say and frown at him.

“I couldn’t, while you were weak. I had to get Tiamat to
accelerate your Powers, and I came up with the perfect plan. Like little chess
pieces to be moved into place by my hand. Such fun. The ultimate game, Aefre.”

I gulp. What is he trying to say?

“Do you really think that figuring out who your father was,
your secret conversations with your little Fae-pire, Drake showing up, Aelfric
showing up…was all a big coincidence? The amendment to the prophecy was a
stroke of luck and it got you exactly where I wanted you.”

My mouth drops open in shock. “You-you orchestrated this
whole thing?” I stammer as it all falls into place.

“Indeed,” he confirms.

“You knew what would happen to me?” I ask in dread.

“I knew you would never jump into the sack with him
willingly,” he says slowly. “Although you are quite the loose woman, it does
seem you have to have bonds with those you take to your bed.”

I let that insult sail over my head as I say, “You knew that
he would take me by force and that my mother would never allow that to happen
again.” It’s not a question, it's a horrible fact. He set me up. He set me up
to get raped so I would get my true Power. But why?

“I did. I am sorry for your ordeal, I am, but you are the
means to an end, my dear. You should be grateful that I sent Sebastian to find
you before Thrace arrived. I am not so sure you would have come out of that
encounter quite as easily.”

I am absolutely horrified that someone could do this. To set
up such an elaborate plan that would not only hurt me and my family so much,
but also to set off a chain of events that leads to a civil war breaking out.

“Why did you pretend to help me?” I ask, close to tears. “If
all you wanted to do was hurt me?”

“I didn’t want to hurt you, Aefre. I told you, it was the
only way. Your mother is a proud creature and She loathes the Faerie. The Light
Fae especially. There is no way She would allow such an act to be taken against
you without repercussions. I misjudged Her though, in the beginning. I really
thought that if She knew I was trying to kill you, She would step up. Quite
insulting that She didn’t deem me threatening enough.” His haughty expression
turns sour.

“So the question remains, what do you want from me?” I ask.
“Really and truly this time, Remiel, I want to know the truth now. What are
you?”

He regards me and gives me the answer. “When the Faerie
split apart from the Dragons, eons ago, your mother decided She wanted to
create new species to live under Her rule. She wanted an Empire and She set
about finding ways to do so. She sent Dracul to Earth to breed a new type of
creature and the Demons were born.”

I know that already, or at least a version of that story, so
I stay quiet.

“She was pleased with the new additions to Her Kingdom and
sent them to the Underworld to live out their lives and to make more Demons.
But soon it wasn’t enough for Her, She wanted more beings to rule and so She
started experimenting.”

I swallow loudly. She had said he was a failed experiment.

“I am one such experiment. She chose me, due to my special
status and created the very first Vampire,” he declares and watches for my
reaction.

“Uh, no, Ahmed was the first Vampire,” I say, realizing how
lame that sounds.

“No, he was the first human to be made.
I
was the
very first,” he corrects me.

“Stunned” doesn’t quite cover it. Of all the things he could
have said, this wasn’t even on my list.

“You were the first Vampire?” I need him to confirm it again
because I don’t believe it.

“Yes, unfortunately I wasn’t quite what your mother had been
going for,” he says wryly. “She wanted creatures She could control and I was
uncontrollable. She became conscious of the fact that Demons did not make good
Primaries, and turned Her attentions towards the humans instead.”

I sit heavily on the edge of my desk. Whoa! This is just
insane. All this time, he was the original Vampire. CK will throw a shit fit when
he finds out.

“So She killed you, but you were too powerful for even death
to stop you,” I say, more to myself. The blood drains from my face as he steps
closer to me and I stand up again as I know now what he wants from me.

“I see you have figured it out,” he says as he drops his
fangs. His very, very, large fangs. They elongate as I watch, unable to think.
He reaches for me, keeping his claws away from my skin as he drags me to him
and he leans down to bite me. I push him away as his fangs--that are glistening
with some kind of venom--graze my skin, causing a shock wave of pain to radiate
through me. Holy motherfucker. I dread to think what would have happened had he
actually pierced me with them. “You bastard,” I snarl at him, holding my hand
up to my neck. “If you think I am going to let you drain me so you can live,
you have another thing coming to you.”

He snaps his fangs back, which is no surprise as it doesn’t
look like it would be very easy to talk around those things. His insulted look
almost makes me laugh, out of sheer nervousness, not amusement.

“I do not need to drain you,” he says in a huff. “I just
need to take enough to get myself back where I belong. Although,” he pauses, “I
can’t say for sure if you will come out of the other side alive. You are
Powerful, I can see that by the fact that you are still standing and not in
fact lying dead on the floor already, but it is a risk I am going to have to
take.”

Dead on the floor already? Shit! Shit! Shit! By just a
graze? And I let this creature near my boys and Jess. I must be fucking insane,
or worse, just a trusting fool with a death wish. I cannot allow him to do
this. I cannot allow him to roam the Earth once more. If Tiamat knew this, why
didn’t She tell me? Why did She let me think he was an average enemy? I hold my
hand out to end him, and twirl the handy Hellfire orb at him.

“Now don’t be hasty, Aefre,” he says, backing away. “I don’t
mean harm. I told you I was not a monster. I was just the product of someone
else’s power trip.”

“Harm? You just being out in the world is harm enough,” I
say as I step forward, ready to banish us both back to the Spirit Realm. He
sees my intent and as I plaster my hand with the orb in it against his chest he
howls in pain and lashes out with his claws. My hand drops like a stone from
him as it has gone completely numb. I can’t feel anything and he vanishes from
sight before I can get hold of him with my other hand. “You slippery dick!” I
shriek to the empty room, pissed with myself that I let him get away. There is
no way I will get that close to him again, unless I am at his mercy with those
primeval fangs of his.