Where Loyalty Lies (47 page)

As promised, he ripped my clothes off and kissed me all over. As his lips trailed along my collarbone I knew what I wanted. I wanted him to claim me and I knew he wanted it too.

“Bite me, Saul,” I whispered.

He pulled back to look at my face. “What?”

“Bite me,” I repeated.

“You don’t have to say that. I don’t need to do it; I’m more than happy with this,” he said, but his fully extended fangs contradicted his words.

“I want it, Saul.”

He faltered, torn between the need he felt and his concern for me. I pushed it further, knowing it wouldn’t take much.

“Make me yours. Make it so that everyone knows I belong with you.”

That was it. Saul’s head lowered and his mouth landed on the already jumping pulse in my neck. His left hand found my right and he threaded his fingers through mine. His right hand came to rest gently on the other side of my neck to where his mouth was.

I trembled as his tongue circled my pulse. When his fangs grazed my neck I sucked in a breath and held it.
Do it
, I willed Saul,
please do it
. There was a brief moment of pain but, before I could even cry out, it passed and then a tingling pleasure filled my whole body. I went limp in Saul’s arms as my whole body trembled. It was the most glorious feeling I’d ever known.

It seemed to last forever and, when Saul pulled away, I groaned in frustration.

“I love you, Faine,” he said. There was no blood on his lips or teeth.

“I love you too,” I said. “Now get your clothes off.”

“What my mate wants, my mate gets,” Saul said.

He gave me his half-smile and my heart melted. It belonged to him now.

I awoke to Saul stroking my face and gently calling my name. I was exhausted and made a noise that I hoped he’d understand as “I’m too tired to wake up” and snuggled a little closer to the warmth of his body.

“Faine, wake up.”

His words were still soft but there was an insistence to them that made me open my eyes. As my vision cleared and his face became visible, I smiled.

“You know, if you’d told me what I was missing out on, I’d have let you do that a long time ago,” I said, running my fingers over the place where Saul had bitten me. There were no puncture marks, Saul must have healed them.

Saul smiled at me but his eyes stayed serious. “They just called; they’re ready for you.”

Exhaustion forgotten, I sat bolt upright. “Oh God,” I said. “This is it.”

“It’s okay,” Saul said. He helped me off the bed and we got dressed in silence.

I felt sick. I was about to find out what my future held. If I wasn’t declared a vampire, not only would it make things difficult for Saul, it would mean my chances of being able to change the whole atmosphere of this place would be slim to none.

By the time we got outside the doors of the room where the MM’s were held I was shaking so badly I didn’t think I would be able to make the long walk up to the stage at the front.

Saul moved to block the door and his hands held my face tilted up to his. “I love you Faine. Nothing they say in there will change how I feel about you.”

I swallowed. That was the truth and I knew it. I was more worried about how much grief Saul would get if I was declared human and sent to live with the staff. He would be known as the vampire who claimed a human as his mate, despite that fact that it was very clear I wasn’t an average human.

“I love you too,” I said. “No matter what.”

With that Saul nodded and pushed open the door, holding it for me as I entered. Once again every head turned to watch. I was just contemplating turning and running from the room when Saul’s hand found mine and he gave it a gentle squeeze as his fingers laced their way in-between mine. Suddenly the room wasn’t silent anymore and people’s gazes weren’t on me. They were on our joint hands. We’d walked around Rillith holding hands plenty of times before and while it always drew some attention, it was more serious this time. This was the first time we’d been seen together since everyone had heard us declare each other as mates. This subtle little gesture spoke volumes.

When we got to the front I tried to read the expressions on Holt and Henry’s faces but it was clear they had no idea what was about to happen. Holt stood from his chair and approached me. He pulled me into an embrace and then as he backed away he gave a meaningful look and a nod. I didn’t understand it until Henry, Thomas and Roy all followed suit. It was their ways of making sure that everyone knew what they believed the decision should be and that they were making their loyalty to me known in front of everyone. It brought a lump to my throat that they all cared enough about me to do something that could possibly damage their reputations so much.

I gave them all the bravest smile I could manage and started to climb the steps onto the stage but before I was even half way up Saul yanked me back to him and drew me in for one of his knee weakening kisses. I knew that this was a not-so-subtle version of our hand holding. Judging by the snippets of conversation I could hear; it was working.

One man was saying that
The Sénat would have the wrath of Saul on them if they made the wrong choice. Someone else was pointing out that if The Sénat didn’t declare me as a vampire they’d also be implying that they didn’t show much faith in some very respected people’s opinions.

When Saul finally released me I felt more nervous than ever. I was extremely grateful for all these acts of support but the simple fact was that The Sénat had already made their decision. I was almost certain I was about to be sent packing. Seeing the hopeful look on Holt’s face was enough to make me at least face The Sénat with some dignity though. I summoned any scraps of courage that I could and strode up the stairs, coming to a halt in the same spot as before.

I clenched my hands into fists to try and hide the fact that they were shaking. I swept my gaze over every member of The Sénat before stopping at Sénator Aimery as I was sure he would be the one to make the announcement. I hoped it would be quick.

Sénator Aimery stood and my knees nearly buckled. For the first time since I had entered, silence fell throughout the whole room. I wondered if my pounding heart was as deafening to everyone else as it was to me. Sénator Aimery met my gaze with his own and we stood there unblinking for what seemed like an eternity. I could see the hatred in his eyes. At first my heart leapt because I thought it might be hatred that I had gotten what I wanted, but then  realised that if he really disliked me that much then surely he would never agree to declare me as a vampire.

“Miss Hawkes,” He said “It’s nice of you to grace us with your presence. After going over all your trial results and the information we have received today we have finally come to a decision. The decision was not a unanimous one and as each Sénat member feels very strongly about their choice, and are therefore unlikely to change their minds, we have been forced to go with the majority vote.”

As this information sank in I scrutinized the other Sénat members trying desperately to work out who voted which way, but they were giving nothing away.

“So with three votes to two, the Sénat officially declare that you, Faine Hawkes...” He paused, prolonging every second of his moment in the spotlight. I stopped breathing. “...are enough vampire to live as one of us here at Rillith.”

A sob of relief escaped me and I brought my hands to my mouth to try and hold back anymore. I wanted to drop to my knees and cry but I knew it would be seen as weak and I was terrified that The Sénat would change their minds.

“We will see to it that you are educated in the rules and lifestyle of our kind. You are permitted to leave Rillith whenever you like but any trips that exceed forty eight hours will need to be cleared with us. We also request that for the time being, you remain living at the same residence as us so that we can monitor your acclimation and behaviour. Anymore outbursts from you will  not be taken so lightly. Do you agree to those conditions?”

“Yes I do,” I said, desperate to get this all wrapped up.

Sénator Aimery nodded. “Very well then. I declare that this trial is complete and closed.” With that he turned on his heel and left. The remaining Sénat members all stood and left the room, none of them speaking to me or giving and idea of who had voted which way. As the door swung closed behind them a weight crashed into me, holding me in a hug that almost broke my ribs. I’d thought it was Saul but when the crushing feeling left me I discovered it was Holt. There was a shine to his eyes that made the tears in mine spill onto my cheeks. This had meant so much to him. He had done so much for me and finally I’d made him proud.

There was a chaos as I was passed around in a mass of hugs. I’d just managed to get a hold of myself when I caught sight of Saul. The look of delight and relief on his face brought on a whole new set of tears.

 “I can’t believe it!” I said. “They’ve had it in for me from the start; how can they have declared me to be a vampire when I just shouted at them?”

“Actually, I think your outburst was exactly the reason they decided you were a vampire,” Henry said. “Nobody could deny that your behaviour was vampire-like. It’s ironic that, if you’d been polite and submissive, you’d have been seen as weak and most likely you’d have been classed a human. All your test results put you bang smack in the middle. Your stabbing John and losing your temper tipped the scales and, in the uproar you left behind you, the conclusion of the majority was that you were definitely closer to a vampire.”

I couldn’t believe it. Who would have thought my temper have would been my saviour?

As we started to leave I noticed that many of the seats were still occupied. I was still being watched but this time instead of looks of judgement, it was looks of respect. As I made my way up the isle many people gave me a nod or uttered their congratulations. I was blown away. There were still a lot of empty seats who I guessed belonged to people like Monique who’d probably flounced off as soon as she heard the verdict, but all these people here were accepting me as one of their own. It was overwhelming.

Once through the doors I was whisked off to my rooms where we spent the rest of the evening celebrating. I phoned Dale to tell him the good news and promised that I’d go and celebrate with him tomorrow. We’d managed to get over our small bump in the road and he’d grudgingly accepted that Saul and I were an item.

I don’t know how many bottles of champagne we got through but no amount of alcohol would ever top the natural high I was on. I had everything I wanted and now I could spend my life surrounded by the people I loved the most and could dedicate my time to fighting for a cause I truly believed in. I was happier than I’d even been in my entire life.

Saul woke me the next morning with a kiss and an apology. He had to spend the day working. At first I worried, thinking he was going off on another assignment but Saul promised me he wasn’t actually leaving Rillith, he just had to go a meeting that would last most of the day. With a final kiss he left with the promise that he’d get away as soon as he could.

I sat in bed for a while thinking over the last few months of my life. So much had happened and now I could finally look forward to the future. I didn’t exactly know what my future would be, but it didn’t matter. I had Holt, Henry, Roy and Thomas, my very own family. I had Saul, my mate. I had Dale, my best friend and the only human element of my new vampire world.

At the thought of Dale, I remembered my promise that I’d go and see him today. It was still early and he’d probably be sleeping for another couple of hours. I showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and a black sweater and decided to go to the shooting range for a bit.

Just before I walked out of the door, I noticed an envelope and a small box on the dining room table. The envelope had my name on it and I recognised the writing as Holt’s.

When I pulled the letter out, a small plastic pink card fell out. I bent to pick it up and found that it was a driver’s license. I stared at it in confusion for a moment; I hadn’t taken a driving test. Then I opened the letter.

Faine,

Sorry I couldn’t give this to you in person; I’ve had to leave on business but thought you’d like this sooner rather than later. The license is legit, one of the perks of being a vampire.

I plan to be back in a couple of days, hopefully I can take you out then and celebrate properly.

I’m more proud of you than you will ever know.

All my love,

Holt

P.S. I hope you like the present and the freedom it brings you. You deserve it.

I smiled. Damn right the license would bring me freedom. It was only when I saw the little box still on the table that I remembered it. I slid the lid off and almost dropped it. Inside was a car key with a key ring attached. It had the outline of a horse etched onto it that was famous for being the logo of a Mustang. There was a tiny piece of paper folded up next to the key and I pulled it out and unfolded it.