Secrets (The Forever series, Book 8) (5 page)

“She knows,” Sebastian says quietly, able to read his
thoughts as clearly as he can read Sebastian’s. “She was going to kick my ass
about it after we got you back.”

“Yes, I can only imagine that she was. You will get off
lightly compared to me.”

Sebastian shakes his head, his sorrow evident. Oh. She’s
told him it’s over between them. He is sorry for his pain, but he’s glad. At
least now there will be no question of a baby between them.

“So how the hell do we get her back?” Devon asks. “Why can
she not just Astral out?”

“It doesn’t work. Only Faerie powers work in the Fae
Kingdoms,” Sebastian says. “I am sure it won’t take Drake long to figure out
she’s there and let her go. Well, out of the cell, at any rate.”

“This can’t be happening,” Cole says as he sits heavily on
the sofa. “I need my wife back, we have to get her back. I can’t just leave her
there.”

“We will,” Constantine says, probably with more malice than
he would have liked. He hates that man to his very core, but he has to put on
an act of tolerance. Aefre wouldn’t be happy if she knew he dreamed of plotting
his death.

“How?” Cole asks.

“I’m working on it,” he says and turns back to Remiel. “Are
you absolutely certain of the physics? You weren’t just saying it to get what
you wanted out of Aefre? I have a lot to offer you if you were lying and you
can go and fetch her.” And over his dead body will she be giving you any days
for you to play with her how you see fit, he adds silently.

“No, I’m afraid two out requires two in,” Remiel answers.

“Then we find another,” Cole says. “Remember when Liv was
going to bring Other Fraser back and she asked us to find an unproductive loner
Vamp with no charges and no sire?”

“Yes, excellent,” Devon says. “We just find one, they are a
dime a dozen in London, and make a switch.”

“You cannot take a Vampire from this world and drop him into
the Fae Kingdoms. He would be slaughtered,” Xane says.

“And?” Cole says, rounding on him. “All I care about is my
wife.”

Stop calling her your wife!
Constantine wants to
shout at him, but bites his tongue. Literally and painfully.

“I care about her too,” Xane says heatedly and Constantine
narrows his eyes at him. This Remiel had mentioned something about them a
couple of weeks ago. What did he call them again? Oh yes: “Quite the power
couple.” Is there more going on there than just a slight Demonic bond? He
wouldn’t put it past Aefre. He said right at the beginning Xane was exactly her
type and he has seen the way he looks at her. She is careful not to look at
him, though. Almost to the point where she is avoiding it, worried about what
he might see in her eyes. Her eyes, the color of the grass in Ireland, with
lips the perfect shade of red, and what she can do with them…

The shouting is getting louder and it brings him back to the
situation at hand. He slams his hand on the desk and everyone shuts up. “Unless
anyone has another plan, I say we do it. The wrath of Drake will reign down on
us, but I for one don’t give a damn. We get her back. End of story.” The sooner
she gets back, the sooner he can explain to her why he did what he did, and
start making it up to her. He fears he is going to lose several years if not
more with her after this. But she has to know, and he has to make her see why
he needs her. He gains a small amount of comfort in the fact that she still
wore the ring he gave her. Even if she had tried to take it off, the curse
wouldn’t have worked if she didn’t still love him. She was still wearing it, so
she still loves him. That is all he needs to know. After what happened in Las
Vegas, when Cole took it from her, he wasn’t taking any more chances that she
would deem that acceptable behavior. If she loves him, she has to have the ring
on, and woe betide anyone who gets in the way. Simple as that.

“I won’t do it,” Remiel says, standing up again and
smoothing down his impeccable suit. Constantine wonders who his tailor is out
in the Spirit Realms. Fuck sake’s, focus: your thoughts are more scattered than
Aefre’s. He smiles fondly to himself at his precious girl who is so clever, but
gives “flake” a whole new meaning.

“And why will you refuse?” he asks, with his arms crossed.

“While you all have been standing here arguing, I went to
her. She asked that you leave her there and to not do anything stupid,” Remiel
says.

“What do you mean you went to her?” Constantine asks,
knowing that he never left the room, as he didn’t take his eyes off him. He
doesn’t trust him. Whatever harebrained notion Aefre has that she can trust him
makes him question her judgment somewhat.

“I don’t have to physically leave the room to go to her. I
went into her head,” Remiel says.

“You violated her?” Cole yells at him and Constantine raises
his eyebrow. When he finds out what Sebastian did at his behest he is going to
be even more mad.

“That is such an ugly word,” Remiel spits out. “I checked on
her to see if she was okay. She is fine, by the way.”

“How do we know that you aren’t lying to us?” Constantine
asks.

“She said you would ask that and to tell you, specifically,
that when she gets out of this joint, you and your golden boy are headed for
the smackdown of the century after what you pulled, and that you will then owe
her an apology with many gifts and anguish. I trust you know what on Earth she
is talking about?” Remiel asks, perplexed.

Constantine smiles, a big wide smile that turns into a
laugh, a genuine laugh, an affirmation that what he said sounds exactly like
his sweet Aefre. “Yes, I know exactly what she is talking about. So you have
been to her. Is she still locked up?”

“Yes. But she is fine. I told them of your plan and she
doesn’t want you to execute it. She said to sit tight and she will get herself
out of there.”

“Screw that,” Devon says. “We do this before that Drake guy
finds her instead of you.” He points at Constantine, his gaze furious.

“I think we need to leave her,” Sebastian says quietly. “She
has to see this through with him.”

“What the fuck do you know?” Cole says, rounding on
Sebastian. “This has absolutely nothing to do with you. I am her husband and
she is
my
sire and I say we do this. Mine is the only vote that counts.”

“Ahem,” Devon clears her throat. “She is my sire as well,
you know. I say my vote also counts.”

“Are you for or against going to get her?” Cole snaps at
him.

“For,” Devon replies.

“Fine, then your vote counts.”

Well as much as he loathes him, Cole has a backbone. Aefre’s
strength must be rubbing off on him. He winces as he thinks of all of the other
things of Aefre’s that rubs on him.

“I am her sire. My vote counts,” Constantine says with
authority. In fact, he happens to believe his is the only vote that counts.

“For or against?” Cole barks at him.

“Against. If it is her wish that we leave her to make her
own way back, then that is what we will do.”

“Then your vote doesn’t count. And even if it did it would
be two against one,” Cole declares.

“The Wolf should also get a vote,” Remiel says, playing
devil’s advocate with an innocent look that if Constantine could get to he
would beat off his face. “He is, after all, her Alpha.”

“Lincoln isn’t here,” Devon says. “He is off with Erica
doing research on that…thing.” He waves his hand about.

“Lincoln is here,” he says from the doorway. “What is going
on?”

Constantine turns to him with absolute loathing. The boys,
he can just about put up with, even though it pains him, but the Wolf…he
clenches his fists in an effort not to rip him to shreds. It is because of him
that he lost six months with her. He growls low in his throat as he remembers
seeing them together in Las Vegas. Her words to him, her hands all over him,
her desire as his cock pleased her in ways that made her so wet, he could see
it glistening on him. Sebastian is at his side as the waves of hate roll off
him, but he turns away, still not ready to forgive. His pain shoots through
Constantine and he starts to turn back, but stops himself. Sebastian needs to
be punished. He has already punished Aefre, far beyond anything she deserved
and he will have to live with that for the rest of eternity.

“Someone fill him in,” he says gruffly, the tension in his
throat so tight it hurts. “But he doesn’t get a vote.”

With Lincoln filled in, he doesn’t look all that surprised,
and that angers him further. He was clearly in the know about something. “So do
I get a vote or not?” Lincoln asks.

“Not,” Constantine says.

“Vote,” Cole and Devon say at the same time.

“Against,” Lincoln says. “She knows what she is doing. I
trust her and she is more than capable of looking after herself,” he adds and
Constantine has to grudgingly accept his support.

“Two against two,” Devon says. “What now?”

“It is three against two: against,” Constantine says.
“Aefre’s vote counts and she said not to go for her.”

“Agreed,” Lincoln says. “Sorry, Cole. I know you want her
back, but you know if we pull her out and leave a hapless creature in her place
she will find a way to get back there anyway.”

Cole growls at him, but doesn’t make a move. He knows he
would be on the losing end of that fight. Not that Constantine would mind a
fight to the death--he is a Roman, after all. It has been a while since he saw
one of those and he couldn’t think of two better people to have at it. He
sighs, but Aefre would kill him if he allowed that to happen. The things he
does for that woman.

“So we are agreed then,” he states. He has his own reasons
now for keeping her there a bit longer. If she is there, then she isn’t here,
hating him for what he did. He hopes that the time away will make her see
reason. Either that or it will be the opposite and she will come back and tear strips
off him. As predictable as her behavior usually is, he is finding it more and
more difficult to keep up with her swaying temperament since she became Queen.
He feels like he is losing sight of who she is and it scares him. Not that he
would ever admit that to her or anybody else. It hurts just to admit it to
himself. She is and always has been the only one to elicit such emotions from
him.

“Agreed,” Devon says reluctantly as his charge joins him. He
holds her tenderly and kisses her and it pleases Constantine that he has a
focus away from Aefre. Their relationship has been far too close and stifling
for his liking. He had hoped that convincing Devon to sire the girl would
accomplish this goal. Aefre was mad with him, but she got over it and it all
worked out for the best. He knows that Sebastian still feels bad about
suggesting to the girl that she try to take her own life in an effort for Devon
to save her. Constantine would have done it himself as it is a messy business,
but his power only works with those he has sired. It is distasteful for him
having to rely on Sebastian for such courses of action, especially when the
consequences are so drastic. It was hit-and-miss there for a moment; he didn’t
think Devon would do it. But all’s well that ends well as the saying goes. Now
if only he could get rid of Cole. This whole marriage affair is just a
disaster. But he only has himself to blame, he waited too long and now he has
to wait even longer.

“Not agreed,” Cole says. “I want my wife back. It is bad
enough that I haven’t seen her since Tuesday morning and now she is somewhere
where I can’t get to her and she can’t get back.”

“Look, none of us like this,” Constantine says, somewhat
impatiently. “This is what she wants. Did it ever occur to you that maybe she
wants to meet her father and get to know him? Do you realize how rare an
occurrence that is at her age? She is probably the only Vampire in history to
be presented with this opportunity. Leave her to do this her way. End of
discussion.” He turns away and pours himself a Scotch. A triple one. This has
been the day from Hell and he is getting frustrated being around all of these
people who know his beloved the way he does. He is more convinced than ever
that Xane has also been there, as he has been quiet during this debate. Too
quiet, as if he is hiding his true feelings. That kiss the other day was too
familiar, like they had already done it before. He swears to the almighty
Jupiter that if the Demon’s dick has been anywhere near her, he will kill him
and fuck the consequences. He opens the French doors to step out onto the
veranda. He senses Cole’s anger, but he dismisses it. He does not care about
his feelings. He doesn’t care about any of their feelings, with the exception
of his dear Vincentius. The arguing continues, but he is no longer interested
in hearing any of them. He moves further away and stares out at the grounds.
Such a beautiful spot. He can see a lot of thought went into the purchase of
this property. It is very her. She loves the big open spaces. She always has.
She used to walk around the gardens at
Ponte
for hours every day and he
used to watch her. She would be unaware that he followed her from window to
window as she circled the grounds and he could see her just as she was when she
was alone. Her. No pretense, no flirtatiousness, no sultry seductress, no sire
adoration. None of the trappings their life had forced her into. She had been
too young. He hadn’t wanted to turn her so young. He had a rule for a reason
and she is the living embodiment that proves it. He didn’t lie when she asked
him if he saw her as just a child. He didn’t. She was all woman, but just too
naïve and sweet to be turned so suddenly. He had wanted to get her used to the
life, to know what she was getting into if she wanted it. To have a choice, the
choice that he never had. He had wanted to wait, but sadly, that was taken out
of his hands when he found out about the baby and when her husband all but
killed her. There was no way he was walking this Earth without her after
knowing her. That first time they made love in the barn was a revelation. An
epiphany, even. The only thing that would have made it even sweeter was if she
had been a virgin. Even though she was completely inexperienced and had only
ever known violence and rape, she had still been with a man. If he could have
taken her innocence, pushed through the gateway to her womanhood for the first
time, it would have been everything he wanted. She would have been completely
his. As it was, he had to teach her and he took such delight in it. He had
never bothered with anyone else before. He had either bedded experienced women
or took a girl's innocence just for the rush and didn’t bother after that. But
her, he wanted to teach. He wanted her to know what he could do for her, to
show her that all she had endured wasn’t how it was supposed to be. And,
selfishly of course, he could instruct her in everything she had to do to
please him. She was his own little creation that could please him like no
other, not only because she had no frame of reference against which to compare
his tutelage, and took it all to heart, but also because being inside her, her
mouth on his, her tongue hesitantly sweeping against his, her nipples brushing
his chest, could jump-start the dying light inside him. He lived for her. He
wanted to tell her so many times, but he just couldn’t. He didn’t know how.