The Other Switch (The Forever Series, Book 7.5): The Forever series, Book 7.5 (4 page)

“Don’t do that again. You are not mine,” he scowls at me.

“But I can be,” I coax.

“No,” he says forcefully. “I didn’t make you. Why are you not more concerned yourself about getting back to where you belong?”

I sigh and say, “I am tired. Exhausted, even. Tired of being responsible, tired of being perfect.”

“But don’t you miss your husband?” he presses.

“Yes, but we aren’t getting along very well right now.” I get off him as the mood is ruined. “He hurt me,” I sulk.

“Of that I have no doubt. Seems to be a thing with us,” he mutters and I stare at him.

“I miss Cassis,” I say suddenly.

He starts. “Cassis? You live in France?” he asks.

“What?” I ask, confused. “No, my daughter, Cassis. I miss her.”

He blanches. “Your daughter? You have a daughter?”

“Yes, with you. Well, my you, obviously. She is ours.”

He looks stricken with longing and again I see the similarities. “How old is she?” he chokes out.

“She was born two hundred and sixty-eight years ago. She has been turned two hundred and fifty years.” I don’t see a problem in revealing this information as it has nothing to do with either of them.

“She is a Vampire?”

“Yes. A human-born Dragon turned on her eighteenth birthday.”

“Just like Aefre said,” he mutters and then asks sharply, “By whom?”

“Someone close to us,” I say evasively. This is a sore subject with me, and not one I wish to discuss with a complete stranger.

“Who?” he demands again.

I shake my head. “No one you know here,” I lie.

“What does she look like?” he asks hesitantly, thankfully leaving the sire business for now.

“She is taller than me by about three inches, with my blonde hair, but her face, her eyes are all you,” I say, stroking his beautiful, perfect face.

“She looks like me?” he asks in awe. “I mean, Other me.”

“She does,” I confirm gently.

He laughs then. “Oh, my Aefre will be freaking out,” he says. “She isn’t ready to be a mother, or so she says.”

I smile at him, but he looks so sad.

“Tell me about your turning,” he demands suddenly. “He got it right, so tell me how?”

“Oh, well he has a strange story to tell about that. I am not sure he was in his right mind,” I pause as something now isn’t sitting right about that.

“Go on.”

“Well, we met in the marketplace and I was so sure I wouldn’t see him again, even though I desperately wanted to. I made my way back to my cottage, but he must have followed me and was watching me because later that same night, while Radulf…”

“It’s okay, my Aefre went through the same,” he says quietly.

“Oh, well during an incident with Radulf, he came bursting into the cottage, much to my shock, and grabbed Radulf and killed him. Ripped his head right off his shoulders.” I stare at him as he looks pleased by that news. He adjusts his features and I continue, “He took me, ran off with me, and told me he would give me a better life, that I deserved so much more. He took me to an old Pagan circle a few miles south of London and he sat me down and told me all about himself. What he was, what he could give me. That he wanted me to be like him, if I wanted. That we were in the right place to do it properly. He said he would give me a couple of days to think about it, but that he knew it was right, as he had a vision. This is where the story gets a little bizarre.” I pause as he leans in closer.

“A vision?”

“Yes, he said that he saw a version of himself and of me, he thought from the future. He said that the future him told him that the way it was, wasn’t right. That he had to make it right by taking me and running.”

Constantine is looking at me in shock. “Yes, I do realize it sounds ridiculous. But that is his story and he is sticking to it,” I say dryly.

He shakes his head. “No, it can’t be,” he says, standing up.

“What?” I ask.

“He speaks the truth. He did see your future selves, only they weren’t your actual future selves. It was me and my Aefre. We went back in time to what we thought was our own past but it wasn’t. It was yours.”

“What?” I ask again, this time in disbelief. “You went back in time to my time?”

“Seems so,” he muses. “Makes perfect sense, why everything went exactly as it did when we went back again.”

He is muttering to himself and I settle back down into the sofa. I am stunned. I always thought he must have been drunk or something when he said he saw the vision, but now it turns out it was these two. These two shaped
my
future. I frown deeply, as I am not so sure how I feel about that. Don’t get me wrong, I readily accepted the life he offered me without hesitation, but all the rest that came after was a bit of a shock, and something that has been nothing but a burden on me for a thousand years.

He comes to sit next to me and takes my hand. I look up at him and I can see he feels much like I do, only in that he had hoped to change his own past, but ended up changing someone else’s. We sit in silence for a long, long time and I determine that I have to get home. I don’t belong here. For all her easy, carefree ways, this is not the life that was given to me. I have a responsibility to my Empire and it is time to get back to it
.

Maybe. In a few days.

Chapter 3

I wake up suddenly, fighting the hands that are gripping me. I could feel myself being drawn away from her world and back to mine in my sleep. I tried to fight it, but it was to no avail. I wanted to come home, but I just wanted one more time with Cole before I did. Constantine’s hands are holding me down as I flail and I open my eyes to find his concerned face looking down at me. My eyes then flick to Sebastian’s and my anger gets the better of me. How dare she! I have woken up naked in between my two lovers and that has to be how she left this body. That bitch! How dare she take my husband and my lover together in
my
bed. I know I was irresponsible with her men, but to do something so intimate with two people you don’t even know just smacks of gall. I have to concede on some level that they probably didn’t give her any choice. Having firsthand experience of the two of them, it is difficult to resist when they both touch you. Well, actually, it is damn near impossible. But I remember all the things I did in her body while I was over there and feel a small sense of satisfaction that I took her husband and her charge and left her in a pig’s arse of a mess to clean up with her Sebastian. Oh yes, she is going to have some explaining to do. Unless she doesn’t tell them what she did over here? She probably won’t, as I have no intention of telling my lovers what I did. Constantine will skin me alive.

My rapid, erratic thoughts come to a halt as I hear him say, “Aefre?” to me for about the millionth time while I just look at him. He is naked and looking like he has had a damn good seeing-to. Sebastian looks the same and my anger ignites again.

“What?” I snap at them and they both flinch at my tone. I push Constantine’s hands off me and sit up, pulling the sheet up with me. Neither of them seems too thrilled to see me. Seems our little switcher has been dishing out her sweetness all over the place.

“Aefre, are you all right, my love?” Constantine dares to ask me.

“I am fine,” I snap at him and he looks away and sighs as I climb out of bed, taking the sheet with me to the bathroom. I slam the door and then breathe out and slide down the wall, the tears pricking my eyes. Doesn’t look like they even knew I had left and someone else was in my place.

There is a quiet knock on the door, but I ignore it and climb into the shower. He comes in anyway. “Aefre, have you taken another turn? You seemed to be getting better, did we…we should have left you alone to rest,” Constantine says, his voice full of sorrow.

“Yes, you should have,” I growl at him, meaning he should have left
her
to rest. Maybe I should tell him it wasn’t me. I open my mouth to say exactly that when he says, “I’m sorry, my love. You told me that you had forgiven me for what I did and I was so happy and relieved that you had, I just needed to be with you.”

I clench my fist around the soap I am holding and it squishes through my fingers in a goopy mess.
She did what?
She had no right to do that. No right to forgive him on my behalf. I close my eyes and try to bring my rage back under control. My rage is dangerous and this shower is not the place to unleash it.

“Just leave me,” I say to him through gritted teeth and he turns to leave without another word. I am really glad now that she has her own mess to clean up that I made for her. I hope she suffers in the process. If I ever work out how to get to her world, I am going to tell everybody what she has been up to. I finish my shower and get dressed. Fortunately, both Constantine and Sebastian are nowhere to be found. I just can’t look at either one of them at the moment. Traitors. I want to go and see my Cassis, to sort out this problem of Lance once and for all. I storm out of the bedroom, catching the whiff of our mingling scents as I pass the bed. The only thing I can be thankful for is that it was my body that they ravaged. It was definitely a ravaging. I can tell by the knocked over lamp, the broken vase and the sheets that have been ripped to shreds. First stop is Serena: she can get one of the maids to sort this mess out. I want pristine, brand new sheets on this bed before I step back in this room. I will also get a good old-fashioned dose of vengeance on Serena when I send her up here to inspect it. She thinks I don’t know about her and my husband, but there is very little around here that I don’t know about.

I have my conversation with Serena and she rushes off to do my bidding. I watch her go with a self-satisfied smile. She may get a small piece of Constantine when he wants her, but he is mine and I have no doubt that he doesn’t take her like he does me. I find Cassis in my office downstairs. She is looking rushed and a small smile crosses her lips as she sees me.

“Mother,” she says as she crosses to me and hugs me fiercely to my surprise. “You look so much better today. I am glad that you are well again.”

I step back from her and peer at her curiously. She doesn’t appear to be cross with me anymore. I start to smile at her and then it freezes on my face. What did that woman say to her that changed her mind? “You are no longer upset with me?” I ask her.

She frowns at me. “No, Mother, we sorted this out yesterday. You said you would accept Lance as my husband. Have you changed your mind again?” she adds, her voice rising. It is not difficult to see where she gets her temper from. I take a deep breath and close my eyes to steady my anger. She forgave Constantine on my behalf and now she has accepted Lance to be Cassis’s husband. I will tear her limb from limb if I ever see her.

I open my eyes and she is glaring at me with her father’s eyes. “No, I have not changed my mind,” I say reluctantly. It would be unfair of me to put my daughter through yet another argument on this topic. I will just have to sit on it now and try to destroy this relationship on my own somehow. I will never let him become her husband. It is just not going to happen in my lifetime: which means it will never happen.

She looks relieved that I am not going to start on at her again and then she goes into everything that she has been doing in my absence. At least that woman had the good sense to stay out of my Empire business, even though she clearly had no issues about delving right into my private life. Everything is running smoothly and in spite of my “episode,” which I can only assume was her state of mind when her emotional, volatile self woke up as me, my authority and reputation have remained intact. Cassis leaves and I pick up where she left off. My mind is distracted as I keep thinking about not only what she did here with my men, but also what I did over there with hers. I can’t get her charges out of my head. Cole is so passionate and loving. I want to go and find him here. It is a shame about Devon, he will be long since gone, but if I can have Cole here, with Constantine and Sebastian, I will be happy with that. The more I think about it the more anxious I get and my temper gets the better of me several times before everyone just decides to avoid me and my foul mood. Not even Sebastian has come to find me and that hurts. I have missed him so much as I haven’t been with him since before he left for Court. Only he doesn’t know that. I can’t believe that they didn’t know it wasn’t me. They must have seen the differences, but probably just hoped that my mental breakdown had changed me.

It is getting late now and I want to see Sebastian. I go off in search of him, as I need to be with him. I find him in the stables, as I thought I might.

“Hi,” he says, eyeing me warily as he continues to brush down the horse.

“Hello,” I say back and then there is an awkward silence. There have never been any awkward silences between us before. That woman is destroying everything. “I love you,” I whisper to him and his eyes snap to mine. “I need you,” I add.

He relaxes instantly at my words and looks around with his impish smile and says, “Here? You want to go for a roll in the hay?”

I chuckle and say, “Right here, right now.” If anything her life has taught me, it is to stop being so uptight, to relax and live in the moment. Sometimes.

His eyes light up as he moves closer to me and I feel our bond set on fire. I want him to take me as Devon did the first time. I want him to push me up against the wall and rip my underwear off me. I feel myself getting damp as I think about it and back up with a slow smile. Good thing I had the foresight to wear a skirt today. He follows me quickly and as my back hits the wall behind me he leans into me and kisses me. His hands go everywhere, in my hair, down my back, over my backside and up my skirt. “What if someone comes in?” he murmurs against my lips.

“Let them,” I murmur back and his eyes widen in surprise. “Now, Sebastian. I want you now.” He lifts me up and I wrap my legs around him, struggling to get him free of his pants. He slides his fingers inside my panties and into me and I gasp. Oh, this is good. I haven’t had sex in a public place since Constantine and I couldn’t keep our hands off each other when I was freshly turned. That was such a long time ago. The fear of being caught adding to the excitement of being with my Faerie soul mate makes me come almost straight away to his immense delight. “Oh, Aefre. What has gotten into you lately?” he asks as he does what I want and rips my underwear off me with a quick tug. “You are being very daring today.”

“I missed you,” I say before I kiss him. “I hate it when you go away.”

He kisses me back as he pushes himself inside me, pounding me up against the stable wall with great enthusiasm. “I love you,” he says. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” I say back. “I want to be with you always.”

He groans at my words and I come again as he drops his fangs into me, ripping the sensible neckline of my shirt wide open. He comes then as he suckles slowly from me, and I push his head closer.

“Aefre!” Constantine’s voice cracks like a whip as he strides into the stables. “What do you think you are doing?”

“What does it look like?” I snap back at him, dropping my feet to the floor, annoyed that he had to interrupt. I didn’t get to feed.

“It looks very much like you being a wanton whore out in public. It is not acceptable.” He grabs my arm and glares at Sebastian. “You should know better than that.”

Sebastian just shrugs as he adjusts his clothing and bends down to pick up my ripped and discarded underwear. He twirls them around his finger with a wicked grin before he shoves them in his pocket. “I know you can summon up another pair, but I quite like the idea of you walking around without them.”

I giggle at him. I can’t remember the last time I giggled, well, here, anyway. Cheeky Sebastian makes my heart pound. He hasn’t been around in a while, since before this whole going-to-Court business.

“Aefre,” Constantine barks at me again. “What is wrong with you? Get back to the castle now and mind yourself.”

I roll my eyes at him and, blowing a kiss to Sebastian, I Astral back into the castle in a much better mood, landing in the Grand Entrance Hall.

“You seem happier.” Lance’s voice makes me turn towards the staircase where he is lurking. Or standing, if anyone else were to say.

“What is it to you whether I am or not?” I ask.

He shrugs and says, “You are my Empress and soon to be my mother-in-law, of course I care about your well-being.”

Humph, not if I can help it. “Where is Cassis?” I ask.

“In our bedroom,” he says, almost with a hint of slyness. Everything is just an
almost
with him, never quite all there. Why can no one else see it except me? “She mentioned the conversation you had the other day,” he adds casually.

I suppose that would be the conversation that woman had with her. I don’t know for sure what was said, but whatever it was got Cassis to be happy with me again.

“Oh?” I say with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes.” He steps closer, I want to say menacingly, but it just isn’t all there. “I can assure you that I am completely faithful and I won’t hurt her or ask her to do anything untoward,” he says with a smirk, “you know, in the bedroom.”

What? My tired brain tries to figure out what he means. What did she say to Cassis? She asked her if he hurt her or asked her to do… oooooh. Well, seems like I am not the only one who is concerned about this relationship.

Good girl
, I think now without malice. Her suspicion of Lance is her only redeeming feature at the moment.

“She is my daughter, of course I am going to look out for her,” I say haughtily.

“Yes, well, there is looking out for and then there is prying.” He steps even closer to me and I can see the evil lurking in his black eyes now. He leans forward and whispers close to my lips, “What I do to your daughter behind closed doors is not your business.”

My breath catches in my throat and he smirks at me again, pleased to have caught me off guard.

“Unless, of course, you are jealous,” he continues, his mouth inches from mine. “I can always make an exception, for you, Your Majesty.” He steps back quickly and smoothly as he senses our sire striding around the corner headed straight for us. Well, me. He is furious. I know this, even though his face is impassive, because he chose to walk back here instead of Teleporting straight in behind me.

“Constantine,” Lance says, bobbing his head.

“Lance. Would you excuse us, please?” he says. “I need a word with my wife.”

“Of course.” He smiles at Constantine, who smiles back, and then with a smile at me that chills me, he stalks off.