The Progeny (The Progeny Series) (10 page)

Now he just wanted to fix it
, but feared it was too late.

C
losing his eyes, he attempted to channel her. He’d been, for the most part, unsuccessful at reaching her. The two times he’d accessed her mind, it gave him nosebleeds.

Now her face was calm, her temperament more even. That same cluster of memories remained guarded. His key keeper status didn’t seem to make much of a difference. She was solving complex equations and doing a great job. She sighed
, before her mind rattled off a long string of thoughts.
Maybe you should just go out with someone else. You fell in love with him and he was all wrong. Maybe he was just a warm up. There are plenty of nice guys around here—just pick one.

Ascher felt something he’d never felt before
—jealousy. The need to rip the throat from any man daring to lay a finger on her suddenly surfaced. His face burned with anger and a growl slipped through his teeth.

Shauna’s eyes scanned the room.
Ian Cosgrove is cute enough and smart, too. He’s been checking you out all year. Maybe you should ask him out. The best way to get over Ascher is to move on with your life.
She sighed and continued to solve for “q.” Her eyes swept the library again.
Hmmm, Declan MacGruder is definitely hot; he has that Irish accent and those gorgeous green eyes.

Ascher
saw
his
face flit across her mind, before it shut completely down.

He hissed and cursed
under his breath—in French and English—then tore from the library. It hit him hard. He was in real danger of losing her. Permanently. He needed to get her back. It didn’t appear that he had a month to give her space and he might not even have a week, judging from her thoughts. Growling under his breath, he knew he deserved her distrust and anger as punishment for the lies. The possibility that he might lose her was his own fault.

* * * *

Ascher slumped into the sofa, watching his brothers drink cocktails and converse about inconsequential things. Shauna’s thoughts continued through his head, burning his brain with their vile intent.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost
,” Quinn teased.

“What is it?” Tristan questioned, sitting beside his perplexed brother. “Are you okay?”

Too angry and upset to speak, Ascher sat perfectly still, his eyes downcast with his heart splintered into a million pieces.

Quinn and Tristan stared
warily at him. His brothers were drinking Bloody Rousseaus—their take on a traditional Bloody Mary, the tomato juice replaced with blood from the blood bank.

“Would you like a Bloo
dy Rousseau?” Quinn questioned.

Ascher nodded.

Tristan’s eyes widened. “Now I
know
something is wrong. You
never
drink with us. What gives, Ash?”

“I just left the library. Shauna was there.”

“Did you two make up?” Quinn pried.

Ascher shook his head.

“What happened?” Quinn asked.

“I read her mind
.” Ascher paused to take a sip. It wasn’t the best he’d ever tasted, but it wasn’t the worst. The blood was off—definitely not a trinity. A strange burn started in his throat as he gulped the drink down.

“Easy now,” Tristan warned, watching his brother down the drink and hand Quinn the glass for another. “What happened with Shauna?”

“She was thinking about all of her
suitable options
.” Ascher’s face frowned as her thoughts filled his head again. “I thought she’d strip naked and do the first guy who glanced her way.” He paused, aware that he was being unfair and exaggerating to mask his pain. Only a week removed and she seemed ready to move on. Was it so easy to replace him? He missed her every day and mourned the loss of their closeness. He was in love with her, which made her gawking at other men excruciating to witness.

Quinn chuckled. “I don’t believe that. She’s
nuts
for you.”

“I’m exaggerating
,” Ascher confessed, before taking a heaping gulp to dull his pain. “She was only checking out her prospects.”

Tristan glanced at Ascher like one of his patients—
head leaned forward, eyes focused and voice calm. “Shauna is a lot of things, but she’s not fickle. She’s a twenty-one year old virgin.” As was his habit, he put a psychiatric spin on every situation. “That is a rarity in
this
society. I don’t believe she would want to go to bed with you and then just start up with another guy so soon. She’s hurting right now, so give her some time to heal. Trust me, she loves
you,
Ash.”

Ascher took another swig and s
unk deeper into the couch. The vodka was taking effect. “I don’t know guys. Her mind seemed certain that she’s ready to move on.”

“They never fully commit to a position
,” Tristan reminded him. “Tomorrow she may feel completely different about things. Have you called her?”

“Every day
,” Ascher spoke then burped.

His brothers laughed.

“I always get her voicemail. I understand
why
she’s angry.” He spoke in a slurred, irregular pattern. “But she won’t even give me the chance to explain myself. You know I had my reasons for not telling the truth.”

“This is why a relationship with a human is not ideal
,” Quinn advised. “It’s too late to think about that now.”

“It’s not impossible, but it
is
difficult. Until you reveal your truth, you have to walk a fine line, and you can’t reveal yourself until you quicken. Until then, you can’t be completely sure about her,” Tristan added.

“I know.”

“Give her some space and have patience. She’ll let you know when she’s ready,” Tristan spoke with an eerie certainty.

Too drunk to question him
further, Ascher stood to leave. His head whirled with his blurring, doubled vision, while his stomach flipped. Glancing at his brothers’ smirking faces, Ascher clutched the wall, mentally begging the room to cease its spinning. His eyes rolled in his head. “Guys, I don’t feel very good.”

Quinn and Tristan chuckled.

“Seriously guys, am I supposed to feel like I’m on a roller coaster?”

They howled with
more laughter.

“You consumed quite a bit
of vodka for your first time,” Tristan continued to speak in his Dr. Rousseau voice.

“Dude, you’re
jacked the fuck up!” Quinn teased.

T
ristan shoved Quinn’s shoulder and asked, “Do you need help getting up the stairs?”

“No
.” Ascher’s head clouded with a dizzy confusion. That was the last thing he remembered.

* * * *

Shauna sat with Aggie under an old sycamore tree in the middle of Langley Forest, a book of incantations lying between them. The day was warm and breezy—the perfect day to cast a few spring spells.

The first week after the break up was hard on Shauna. Thank god for Aggie. Besides being an unbelievably caring soul, she’d been like a personal assistant. Too depressed and broken to communicate with the outside world, Aggie ran Shauna’s errands, collected her class assignments, and even managed to provide her with bouts of comic relief. Shauna could definitely see why she was Ascher’s friend. After their meeting in the park, Aggie insisted that Shauna spend time with her learning the craft.

“I want you to be very still, Shauna,” Aggie warned. “Don’t move a muscle. Breathe in and out of your nose.”

Shauna closed her eyes and concentrated on evening her thoughts. Her breath slowe
d until her chest barely moved.

Aggie chanted the serenity chant
, but stopped abruptly. “Now Shauna, you have to concentrate. Try to forget everything but your breathing and chanting.”

“I’m trying
, but I can’t make him go away.”

Aggie opened her eyes, flashing Shauna a
heavy stare of disapproval. “Want to talk about it?”

“
No! I know that being nice to me is hard enough, without me spewing my feelings at you. I won’t talk about him with you Aggie. It isn’t fair.”

“The sisterhood means more to me than some guy. I get that he’s in love with you. I know that you don’t want to hear that, but it’s true.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’m your key keeper
, remember?”

“If he
’d just told me the truth, I could’ve taken it, but he lied. That’s the worst part about it.”

“Guys lie
. It’s in their nature. You have to look at it from his point of view; he made this commitment to someone that he didn’t love.”

“You honestly believe that he doesn’t love that woman?”

“Yes, I do. I’ve known Ash for a long time now. That sealing was arranged.”

“Why do they call it a sealing? It’s the same as getting married, right?”

“Not exactly.” Aggie flipped through her book, stopping in the middle. “A sealing is
different
and more permanent than any marriage. I don’t think Ascher believes in marriage in the conventional sense.”

Shauna gasped
, remembering his vague explanation about his beliefs. “What is he...an atheist? Are the Rousseaus some sort of religious cult?”

“No! I can’t say anymore. He’ll have to fill in the blanks for you.”

“More secrets, that’s just great. What is he hiding now—a wife and child?”

Aggie laughed. “No
. Ascher is a straightforward guy, and he never loved Ursula. He chose
you
and he loves
you
with his whole heart.”

“You can’t possibly know that.”

Aggie tapped her head. “Ascher has gifts that you can’t imagine. He and I held whole conversations in our heads. He’s what clairvoyants call receptive. After the incident on the pier, I closed my mind to him. It was just too painful.” A tortured expression crossed her face. “We keep our minds open now. We’re your key keepers and that means that we have to get along, whether we like it or not. Ascher is stubborn and sometimes he’s a real jerk, but he’s in a lot of pain. I know you still love him. Do you think you’ll ever forgive him?”

Shauna
peered down at her feet, wiggling her pink painted toes while she thought about what Aggie said. “I don’t know. He really hurt me, and I don’t trust him.”

“You want to but you’re afraid. I completely understand why. What if he’s
the one
and you let him slip through your fingers? Can you live with that?”

“Even if I wanted to try, I don’t know how to let him back in
. I’m so scared he’ll hurt me again.”

“You take it one step at a time
, one day at a time. Start small. Does he still call?”

Shauna nodded.

“The next time he calls, pick up the phone and talk to him. When you’re comfortable with that, meet him somewhere and talk face to face. Before you know it, you’ll be back together again.”

“You shouldn’t be this kind to me. I know how hard this
must be for you.”

“I would do no less for any of my sisters. I don’t think I’ll get anything accomplished with you today. Go home
and relax. We’ll revisit this in a couple of weeks.” Aggie gathered her books. “Remember what I said. Take baby steps.”

“Okay
.”

Aggie flashed a warm smile then uttered, “Blessed be.”

Shauna returned her smile. “Blessed be.”

Ten ~
Reconciliation

Ascher lay in his bed, no closer to sleep than he’d been two hours ago. He was trying to give Shauna her space, but he missed her. His will was weakening and he constantly thought about that last night, before Ursula came between them. It was so perfect, spending the night with her lying in his arms. He hardly slept a wink, choosing to spend the time watching her sleep, counting each breath and every beat of her precious heart. When morning came, she looked so exquisite with her hair falling into her face. Making love was the only thing that would have made it better. Why didn’t he make love to her? At least then, she’d have a deeper emotional bond to him.

Agony gripped his brain
, as he heard the screaming of Shauna’s mind. The intensity of her thoughts pierced him, causing him to bolt upright in bed. Disorientation dawned in his drowsy head. Shauna was in a deep sleep, her heart racing, Katy the star of her nightmare.

Ascher, help me, please.
I need you.

The haze wore off
and he shifted his focus, attempting to center himself. Maybe her voice was a manifestation of his desire to see her. He saw her tossing and turning, drops of sweat beading on her brow.

Ascher, help me. I need you!

Bounding out of bed, he opened the terrace doors and took off into the night. He soared down to Sheridan Square, careful to avoid notice. Hovering outside her bedroom window, he peeked in at her.

S
hauna lay on her back, the covers hanging off and her face flushed with anguish. Grimacing, she turned her back to him, her breaths evening as he slipped into the room.

A cheesy infomercial
blared on her TV. He didn’t care about the benefits of juicing. Settling into the rocking chair in the corner of her room, he felt complete and his divided heart was whole.

She turned toward him, a smile gracing her sleeping face, her fears replaced with happier thoughts.
She was dreaming about him. They were somewhere warm, and the sun was bright with a sparkling body of water nearby. He immersed himself in her thoughts, feeling the heat from the golden sunrays.

He sighed, longing
to hold her in his arms and kiss her lips. If the opportunity presented itself again, he’d make love to her without hesitation. He reached for her, his hands aching for her touch and his eyes widening. His heart leapt into his throat and the hitching in his chest caused him to gasp for a breath. The warm contours of her face filled the nothingness of space in front of him. The impossibility of this floored him, yet he couldn’t reconcile what his mind continued to process.

Maybe his eyes were
playing tricks on him, because Shauna was still lying in her bed, the edges of her lips curled into a most angelic smile.

His heart accelerated
to a dizzying pace. Everything he’d learned, experienced and knew to be true, suddenly shifted and became irrelevant. The world as he knew it, ceased to exist. His origins didn’t matter, and it didn’t matter that she was human. He didn’t care about the covenant rules anymore.

He was quickening.

Every part of him longed for, needed and sought to be with her. These unexpected feelings trumped everything else. Love for her became his
new
universal truth. If she could love him—and he knew that she still did—then he couldn’t be the monster he saw in the mirror every day. Maybe there was hope for him.

With
careful hands, Ascher reached for her a second time. Like before, her face filled the emptiness inside his palms. Her sleep deepened and he stroked her cheek once more. A moment later, he slipped out of her window.

He wasn’t sure about a lot
, but he was certain of one thing—his new universal truth. She was his, and he belonged to her. It was nowhere near over between them.

* * * *

Shauna awoke confused; she'd dreamt of Ascher during the night and
felt
his presence. She couldn’t get him out of her mind. The overwhelming urge to see him weighed on her, taking away the miserable feeling of betrayal. Was she losing her mind? Just yesterday, she was still unsure about what she’d do about their relationship. This morning was different and somehow,
she
was different.

The
desire to see him wasn’t just a need—it was a compulsion.

Her usual struggle to get out of bed became a race to get dressed. She checked her phone, but there was no call from Katy. They never went more than a couple of days without
communicating. Maybe she was busy or lost her phone. Shauna could conjure scenarios to ease the nervous ache in her stomach, but nothing made it go away.

Something
was wrong.

Today was the day to right
some of the wrongs in her life, and she’d start with the person foremost in her mind. The vivid dreams were a sign that she needed to make things right with Ascher. After bathing and dressing in her favorite jeans, a pink turtleneck and matching cardigan sweater, she decided to go out to Langley Park.

Spring was approaching
, and the shift in the seasons was evident. Early March was her favorite time of the year. The crispness of the winter air lingered in the background of the warm spring thaw. The air was pleasant—not at all humid. The trees were not yet flowering or spreading their nose twitching pollen.

She took a deep breath
. The sweet smell of maple wood burned in a fire somewhere close by. A gentle breeze tickled her arm, prickling her skin with the promise of renewal and the emergence of a new Shauna.

The sun was brilliant, the vitamin D recharging her, helping her to gain some perspective on her tattered love life.
Soul searching, dreams of Ascher and nightmares about red-eyed demons brought with them a life altering lucidity. She didn’t want anyone else, because she’d found what all of her love poems harped about—her everlasting love, her soul mate. Every beat of her heart belonged to him now. It always would.
This
life was too short to be so unhappy when you had someone who loved you as much as he seemed to love her.

G
lancing at a group of children playing on a jungle gym, she remembered her childhood full of endless games of kickball, a time when recess was the most important thing in the world. There were no responsibilities, deadlines, complications—most importantly, there were no broken hearts.

With a book of
love poems in her hand, she sat under a tree to read. The world disappeared as she plunged into the poet’s deep emotion. Her words resonated with Shauna, their pace and meter pulsing out the poet’s anguish over a love gone bad.

Love was like that.

Just when you thought you knew what it was, it surprised you, reminding you that you don’t have a clue. Just as love made your heart stronger, heartbreak seemed to strengthen your ability to love. In the weeks since she’d seen Ascher, she’d grown to love him more. The beginning was bad. The initial jolt of disappointment proved difficult. Once the anger melted away, the wound of raw emotion scabbed over, leaving more room to love again.

S
he heard footsteps approaching.

Her
hand-shielded eyes drifted up as she stood, squinting at the person in front of her. “Ascher?” His face wasn’t right. Something about his eyes filled her with anxiety, and she collapsed into his arms, hugging him with all her might. “I’m so glad to see you.”

* * * *

Ascher hugged her to him. “Happiness wasn’t a reaction I prepared for. I’ve missed you so much. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, Shauna.”

“We so need to talk.
I have so much to say.”

“I need to talk to you too, but it’ll have to wait. I’ve been looking all over for you. This was the last place I thought to look.”

That was the sort of thing a human, who didn’t have the benefit of channeling her mind, would say. He craved absolution, forgiveness for all of the lies. The guilt weighed heavy, the pretense of his origins crushing him. He was tired of hiding who he was and lies had ruined so much already.

They sat under the tree
and he held her wrist to keep a check on her pulse. “Have you not been watching the news this morning?”

She shook her head.

“Sweetheart, Katy is missing. Your parents were on the news. They haven’t seen her in three weeks.”

“What? Why would they wait so long to report her missing?” Shauna questioned through the sheen of tears now misting her eyes.

“She was supposed to be at an artist’s convention in Connecticut. She never showed up. When she didn’t come home two days ago, your parents called the police. They didn’t call you?”

Tears welled i
n her eyes. “That can’t be true. I don’t believe it. They would’ve called me, no matter what they think of me. She’s still my sister and I love her! Doesn’t that trump their anger over
whatever
it is I did to offend them? They should’ve called me!”

Her pulse
flew off the charts. Ascher massaged her back in slow calming circles, but it didn’t help. Her deep staggered breaths became gasping hyperventilation before becoming panic ridden sobs.

“I knew
something
was wrong. She never goes this long without calling me. Then, I had those dreams.”

Ascher
flinched, knowing that he’d been witness to some of those dreams. “What can I do to help?”

“I just need you.” She broke into louder sobs. “I’m so sorry, Ascher. I’m so sorry for everything. I don’t expect you to want me anymore, bu
t I love you—I never stopped.”

“
Baby.” He brushed his thumbs over her face, swiping away the tears. “Of course, I still want you. I’m the one who should apologize. I didn’t try to explain to you about Ursula, and the fallout is entirely my fault. You reacted the way anyone would. I’m the one who should be begging for forgiveness, not you. If you’ll have me back, I’ll never give you reason to doubt me again. I love you, and you never need to worry about that.”

“But I said all of those awful things to you. I’m ashamed of the terrible things I said.”

“Forgotten…” He glanced down at her shivering shoulders. “It’s chilly out, and you don’t have a coat. You should get one from home.”

“I don’t want to go back right now. I’ve been there
for three weeks now.”

Handing her his black leather jacket, he said, “Take mine.”

They walked toward the parking lot.

“W
here’s your car?” Ascher asked.

“I walked.”

“You
walked
here?” He shot her a disapproving stare before his face lit with intuition. “I know someone—Jon Blake. He’s a detective my father uses. He’s very thorough and discreet. We can start with him. Would you like to see my home? I want to talk to my family about Katy. We don’t have time to waste. I’m sure they’ll want to help.” He lifted her into his arms, placing her into his Jeep. Sure, she could have stepped in herself, but he’d take any opportunity to have her in his arms.

“Okay
. It’ll be nice to be around others. I was starting to hold conversations with myself.”

Ascher
gave her the obnoxious look that he reserved for teasing her. “Maybe Tris has an open appointment tomorrow.” When they came to a stop light, he turned to her and asked, “When was the last time you saw your sister?”

A
puzzled look passed over her face. “That last night at the bar.”

His mind clicked
, an involuntary gulp sounding in his throat. He knew her disappearance wasn’t an accident. The crime rate in Sheridan and Langley was low. Shoving his suspicions back down, he evened his thoughts.

Ascher
drove, his mind going over the last time he’d seen Ursula. When he’d returned to the lounge, she was gone. A growl begged to escape his throat, but he fought it back down. He’d have plenty of time to fume. His mind shut down long enough to send his brothers a subliminal
. Meet me in the great hall. I’m bringing Shauna. Make sure Kara feeds. We wouldn’t want to tempt her.

An hour later, they arrived.

The home overlooked a cliff in Langley—a town north of Sheridan, near Laurel Pointe. They’d picked it for its seclusion, as it was the only house on the hill. The gardeners were out caring for the perfectly manicured grounds. The overcast sky was the main reason they loved the hill. Ascher never worried about bright sunlight, as his human side made that fear irrelevant. His brothers, however, were very allergic to the sun. The amulets prevented their deaths, but didn’t take away the discomfort that direct sunlight sometimes caused—especially when they thirsted.

* * * *

Shauna knew he came from money, but she had no idea he was
wealthy
. He wasn’t in the least bit snotty or snobbish. She’d only seen homes like this in magazines. In awe, she shook her head at the stark opulence she viewed as the Jeep turned up the curving dirt road.

Her breath caught as t
he rest of the colossal structure came into view. It was a sprawling and lovely estate with a vineyard sitting adjacent to the home. The salty tang of ocean air tickled and burned her nose.