Betrayal (The Forever Series) (33 page)

He feels her eyes boring into him as he just aired their private business in front of nearly a thousand Demons. This is only the beginning. There is a hushed silence after his comment. The Demon Overlord has just declared that he is tied to the Queen by means of a true bond and that around here means something.

“Are there witnesses?” Sven asks with a smirk. “How do we just take your word for it?”

Xerxei stands then, as he knew she would. “You have my word. Is that not good enough?” she challenges him. He falters for a moment, but there is too much at stake to back down. Getting her in his House means turfing Xane out of rule. The prize is just too big.

“Forgive me, my Lady, but…” he starts.

She interrupts him, “But nothing.” Her voice rings out around the quiet hall. “I laid claim to Xane Draconis in a moment of intimacy, after Xerxei showed herself. I am a true Dracul, I belong with the family Draconis.”

“It’s not good enough!” Sven insists. “There is nothing to prove any of this.”

“We will prove it here and now,” Xane says and Xerxei looks at him with narrowed eyes. She knows he is up to something, so he might as well dive in head first.

“Xerxei is a true Dracul by her mother’s lineage, but also because she will be my wife. We will wed here in front of the Trial to show our commitment to one another.”

You could hear a pin drop in the ensuing silence. Then there is a muffled weeping which he knows comes from CeeCee and Xerxei’s sharp intake of breath as she realizes what he has done. He has painted her into a corner. She weds him or she gets handed off to Sven to do with her as he pleases. She knows that if she refuses him it will look to the Trial that she isn’t serious about him or her loyalty to the House. Lord Falcor will rule in Sven’s favor and he loses, both her and his title.

Seconds pass. He starts to sweat. The longer she waits to confirm this the more it looks like a tactic.

Finally, she steps right up to his side and takes his hand.

Lord Falcor looks between the two of them and says, “Are you in agreement, my Lady?”

“Yes,” she says, her voice strong. She squeezes his hand, crushing it as she digs her nails into him. He hides his wince behind a smile and says to Lord Falcor, “We would be honored if you would conduct the ceremony.”

“Of course,” he says immediately. It is a great honor to marry the Overlord, and he will go down in history as the one who united the Overlord to the Queen of the Underworld.

“No!” Sven shouts. “I object! This is forced, a ruse to keep her in their House. If they were planning this, why wait until now?”

“We were waiting for the prefect moment,” Xane says smoothly and Sven closes his mouth. He knows he has lost. The hall is all aflutter with the news of such an important wedding and that they were all here to attend. It has gone down exactly how he wanted it to. With her as his wife, she will be ruled in his favor and there isn’t a damn thing anyone can do about it.

Lord Falcor steps up and without further ado binds them together as husband and wife. Sven watches on in rage that he has lost, but he isn’t going down without a fight. Xane knows this and this is the part where Xerxei is really going to kill him. After great applause after he kisses her, Sven shouts out, “Pick your witnesses!”

Xerxei steps back slightly from him wondering what Sven means and Lord Falcor clears his throat, remembering that he still has a job to do. “My Lord, may I suggest the Head of each of the Houses and in your stead, your father, Lord Xerxes.”

“Agreed,” he says easily. “We will meet you upstairs.” He grips Xerxei’s hand and Astraports them quickly away. He has five seconds to fill her in on what they are about to do.

“You are in so much trouble,” she hisses at him, but he shushes her. “It’s not over yet. We need to consummate our union.”

She glances at the bed and then at the door as she hears the footsteps of the witnesses heading down towards it.

“Oh no,” she says, backing away with her hands up. “Not a fucking chance!”

“I’m sorry, Xerxei, it has to be this way,” he pleads with her as the door opens and the six witnesses and Lord Falcor file in. Most of them look quite eager to witness their consummation. His father, not so much. He has never seen the mighty Xerxes look so uncomfortable before in his life. It makes him laugh to himself until he remembers why he is here.

“Out of respect for your wife, our Queen, we will allow you to take her however you see fit,” Lord Falcor states clinically.

Respect? Xane thinks. He couldn’t be disrespecting her more if he tried. He turns to her and she has a face of thunder, but he has to do this. He will apologize profusely and spend the next lifetime making it up to her. There is no way he is giving this bunch of perverts a naked sex show, so he turns her around to face the bed and bends her over gently. She goes with it and he hates himself. He lifts her gown around her hips, keeping what he can of her under cover. He frees himself and even though there are seven pairs of eyes on him, he is already hard for her. He thinks of just her as he thrusts inside her quickly. They don’t need foreplay or her pleasure, just his. The sooner he comes inside of her the sooner this humiliation is over for her. He sees her bunch her fingers into the covers and hide her face behind her curtain of long black hair. He feels guilty, but he also feels triumphant. That feeling of victory drives him over the edge and he comes with a loud grunt as he pulls on her hips, burying himself deep inside of her body. He pulls out of her and drops her gown back around her legs. She stands up stiffly, but with as much dignity as she can under the circumstances. Her pale cheeks are flushed and her eyes are livid. She is going to kick his ass from here to next week. He adjusts his clothing and gathers her close to him, protecting her from the looks of lust directed her way.

Lord Falcor clears his throat. “I rule in favor of the House of Dracul,” he declares and without a look back exits quickly with a very embarrassed Xerxes hot on his heels. The rest take their time to leave, Sven most especially. His parting shot is expected as he says, “Pity you were in such a rush, I had heard you were better than that.” He turns to Xerxei and adds, “If you ever get tired of being rutted like a mare, come and find me, I can give you pleasure if
your husband
won’t.”

Xane ignores Sven as he holds Xerxei back. She is going for him and he doesn’t blame her. However, it will do no good.
Sven just laughs as he leaves, slamming the door behind him.

Laugh all you like, old friend, but she is mine now. All mine. This thought is rattled out of his head as she Shifts back to Liv, pulls back her fist and slams it so hard into his face, she breaks his jaw. He muffles his cry of pain as he rubs it. It heals quickly, but painfully. She has one mean left hook. “How dare you?” she hisses at him. “I am so angry I could kill you.” She holds her hands out and he goes soaring across the room, hitting the unforgiving stone wall with a bone-rattling thump. His whole body is tingling and twitchy and he knows she just threw Faerie magick at him. He has been on the receiving end of Dragon magick before and that wasn’t it. Christ, she’s vicious.

“I’m so sorry, Xerxei,” he says as he stands with difficulty. His knees are still buckling, but he knows he deserves it. “I had to. It was the only way to ensure the ruling.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” she asks sadly. “I would have understood.”

“No, you wouldn’t have. You would have been too worried about what you would tell your husbands about this,” he says and then wishes he had chosen his words better. She fires another blast of magick at him, a stream of ice that chills him to the core, dousing his natural heat instantly. He starts to shiver and with chattering teeth he says again. “I’m sorry. But I love you. I have wanted to be your husband since I met you. I have never hid my feelings from you.” He stops as he grabs the covers off the bed and wraps it around himself. He turns to her again and he is surprised to see she is laughing at him. He glares at her, but then starts to laugh himself. He must look like a downright pathetic loser being tossed around by a tiny blonde girl.

“Do you forgive me?” he asks cautiously.

“I suppose I must,” she says loftily. “It wouldn’t do to be angry with my husband on our wedding day.” And just like that her mood has changed. She has flicked that Vampire switch he loathes so much and all is well again. Although, in this moment, he is grateful for it. Had he been dealing with her without it, had she stayed as Xerxei, he would probably be crisping up nicely in the Hellfire moat right about now.

“Thank you,” he says and sits heavily on the bed. He needs to tell her about the Dark Fae that
are stashed away, but first he wants to erase that awful fucking her just gave her. “Can I make love to you properly?” he asks. “Without a bunch of horny Demons staring on?”

She giggles. “You certainly can,” she says and sits next to him. She takes the covers and peels them off him, “I will warm you now,” she says huskily and climbs onto his lap to kiss him. He kisses her back, sliding his hands up under her gown. He feels her wet sex as she grinds against him. He inserts two fingers into her, feeding her arousal. In seconds she is naked on his lap, thrusting her small, pert breasts into his face. He takes one, pushing it up into a mound. He wants her to Shift back to Xerxei so he can bury his head between her glorious breasts, but he doesn’t want her mood to Shift with her. He leaves it for now and flicks his thumb over her nipple. It tightens at his touch and he takes it in his mouth, tugging on her gently. She cries out and pulls him closer. He gets rid of his own clothes and turns them over. She is his wife and
he
will take
her
, not the other way around. Not this time. She gasps as he inserts his tongue into her, rubbing her clit with his thumb until she comes in an explosion of honeyed nectar gushing into his mouth. God, she tastes so sweet. He could stay down here forever. He rises up above her and she Shifts.

“Take me as your wife,” she murmurs and his cock twitches as he sees her. He impales her with a force that has her screaming his name loudly and he hopes the rest of the Castle can hear her. He drives into her time after time, he has lost count of the number of orgasms she has had. They are perfect together, his Demon to her Dragon. The most
Powerful couple in all the Realms. He rams into her one last time before he spurts his seed deep into her womb, hoping that there is a residual effect of her Heat lingering. This child is begging to be created by them and he needs it as he needs her. Together they will rule for eternity and he will be King.

Chapter 21

The Underworld, September 2013 – Liv

My new husband is lying panting on top of me. I crash back into some sort of reality and quake inside. There is no getting around the fact that I am going to have to tell everyone what we did. They might even already know. Oh the fights, I don’t think I can bear to think about it.

Xane takes his weight off me, propping himself up on his elbows. “My wife, my Queen,” he says. “I do love you.”

I smile at him. “I love you too,” I say. “But…”

He sighs and rolls off me. “I know, this doesn’t change anything. But, Xerxei, you have to be my wife in every respect. You have to move to the Underworld immediately. We cannot give them any cause for reopening this Trial.”

“I know,” I say. And I do know. We should have already been living here, but circumstance has prevented that. “As soon as I get back and heal from the almighty beating I am going to receive, we will move, okay?” I add lightly.

He goes all protective and ferocious on me. “If anyone ever hurts you even in the slightest way, I will burn their insides out with Hellfire,” he says.

“That does not sound pleasant,” I say as I get up. I am going to have to get going and face my music. I was so angry with Xane for trapping me like he did and I haven’t faced humiliation like the watching of the consummation for a good, long time, but the rational part of me has to agree with him, that it worked. It is no longer a worry hanging over my head what would happen if I was ruled a Septimus. I really don’t know how Xerxei would have taken that. “What would have happened if they had ruled against us?” I ask, wanting to know.

Xane looks a bit startled by my question, but answers me truthfully, “We would have been forbidden to be together, you would have become Sven’s wife and he would have taken over my rule.”

“What?” I snap at him. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”

He just shrugs, as men do. Infuriating beasts. Hey, wait…

“So you only want me so you stay Overlord?” I ask, my anger firing up again.

“No!” he protests and grabs my hands before I can fling him across the room again. This time I was going to aim for the windows. “Xerxei, don’t be ridiculous. I love you, I want you because you are you. You claimed me and I accepted you. I made you my wife because I want to be your husband.”

Oh, well, when you put it like that. Appeased, I stow my magick and he lets my hands go, but pulls me back onto the bed by my hips. “Don’t go yet,” he murmurs.

I chew my lip. I want to stay here and make love to him again. He makes my heart beat faster and my brain to go all fuzzy, but most importantly and most secretly, he makes me feel completely at peace. The tug-of-war inside me over all of my lovers goes away when I am with him. I know it is the Blood Magick bond, I know we are supposed to be together, but I have my Vampires to think about and I would never let Lincoln down in a million years, coma aside of course.