Secrets (The Forever series, Book 8) (13 page)

Cole blinks at him. “I wouldn’t take her from you all the
time Liv isn’t here. Just when I need her,” he says just as quietly.

“You just want to use her when it’s convenient?” Devon’s
eyes go dark and he shakes his head at him.

“Back down sire-man. You know that isn’t what I meant. Look,
I said forget it, okay? I don’t even know if this is something I can do yet.”

“Even if I agree to it, she might not. I am not going to
pimp her out if she doesn’t want to, even for you,” he says.

Even for you
. Those last three words, said with such
meaning, grip his heart. He doesn’t want to go down the whole Lance road with
family terms, but he is close to Devon like that. They have grown closer over
the last few months. He can honestly say that he is his best friend. He likes
it. He likes having someone he can talk to who knows about things. He still
hates that Devon and Liv have a long history and a very present sexual relationship,
but that is separate to what they have. He had always wondered if Devon felt
the same way and now he knows he does. It makes him feel even worse about
asking him to give him his wife-to-be to fuck when he needs the ache inside him
to ease.

He just nods as there is no way he is going to spill the
she-already-came-on-to-him beans. It wouldn’t accomplish anything and would
only hurt him.

“I also don’t know if Liv will think it is such a great
idea,” Devon mutters.

“Me either,” Cole says with a sigh. “Believe me, I know just
how awkward this is, but everyone keeps pushing me to do this, saying it will
help me. I think she can help me,” he adds almost as a plea.

Devon exhales loudly and looks away. “Speak to Liv. If she
agrees then I will consider it and broach the subject with Jess. But I will not
go against my sire if she says no. Are we clear?”

“Clear,” he says and Devon nods briskly, then exits without
another word. Cole has no idea what he is doing. He is frustrated and lonely.
He casts his gaze across the grounds restlessly and spots Constantine on the
terrace reading a newspaper and smoking a cigarette. Geez, he really doesn’t
sleep much. How long has he been there? Probably long enough to hear them
speaking. Fuck. He hopes Constantine didn’t hear him ask about him and
Sebastian. He flushes at the thought. Cole stares at him and Constantine senses
his eyes on him and looks up, that impassive look on his face that Cole has
tried to master in the mirror, but can’t. Constantine holds his gaze for a few
moments and then goes back to reading his paper. Cole hates him. He hates
everything about him. His perfectly good looks, his charm and appeal, his
immaculate dress sense, his authority and power that he knows sends Liv all
mushy because he has seen it. That ring! That ring he gave her that she wears
on her right hand and never takes off. Cole wants to rip it from her finger
every time he sees it. His wealth, his confidence, his age. Both his true age
and the age he was when was turned, made, whatever. Forever twenty. Cole is
always highly conscious that he is the oldest in human years of this group.
It’s disconcerting to know how young they all were. Liv especially. Oh yeah,
that also makes him a filthy pervert, one more thing to add to his
Things-I-Hate-About-Constantine list. At least he didn’t take her virginity.
Cole can be grateful for small mercies, as that would be too much to bear. No,
that belongs to that monster that has his own special hate list. At least he is
dead and Cole doesn’t have to look at his smug face every day. He heads back
into the bedroom, very aware that he hasn’t had any sleep apart from the hour
several hours ago. He is beat, but if he doesn’t go down and fill everyone in
on Liv’s plans then it will just create problems for him later. He is ravenous
and after the Hunt they told him not to drink straight from humans for a few
days. Something about losing control. He grabs two bottles out of the mini
fridge and downs them in a couple of gulps each and reaches for a third. And
then a fourth. He gets dressed and strips the sheets off the bed and shoves
them in the hamper with the balled-up clothes. He thinks there is a
housekeeper. Things seem to get done around here and he knows that Liv doesn’t
do any chores. He smiles as he thinks of his wife’s perfectly manicured nails
and the look on her face should she have to go anywhere near a dish cloth. He
wonders if she even knows how to use a washing machine? He shouldn’t be too
hard on her. She must have had a tough life back in the eleventh century. Fuck.
He really should Google it and see what it was like for her. But there’s an
idea. As much as he prefers his wife to be naked, the thought of her in a sexy
maid’s outfit is a huge turn-on. He wonders if she would wear it for him? He
grabs a fifth bottle and heads towards the library, eager to get this over with
so he can go back to bed. He rips the cap off the bottle and chugs it as he
takes the stairs quickly. Everyone is gathered as expected, waiting for him. He
likes that they are waiting for him. Liv came to him, her husband, and they
have to wait for him to tell them what she is doing. He glances quickly at
Devon and Jess, and Devon’s hold tightens on her protectively even as her eyes
find Cole’s with a look that tells him she won’t object to an affair. Eurgh,
affair. No, he doesn’t want to call it that. Makes it sound dirty. He casts his
gaze over Lincoln who is sitting with his usual stoic silence, definitely a man
of few words. Cole doesn’t mind him so much, massive cock aside. He has respect
for his marriage. He doesn’t flaunt his Alpha-ness in Cole’s face and is
discreet in his feelings for Liv and their physical relationship. Cole knows
that he loves her, he saw it on Sunday morning when he woke up and Lincoln was
watching her sleep with a look of adulation that made Cole want to punch him.
And then to Xane, who is leaning against the fireplace with his arms and ankles
crossed. An arrogant confidence that comes from his station, no doubt. Cole
worries about the Demon’s intentions towards his wife. He can’t pinpoint what
it is exactly about him that he doesn’t trust. Maybe it is the way he looks at
Liv? Probably that kiss he gave her. Or maybe it’s just because he is a Demon.
And ruler of the Demons, no less. He finally brings his eyes to
him
,
sitting behind Liv’s desk like he owns the place. Constantine doesn’t take his
eyes off him as Sebastian hands him a cup of tea. Their fingers brush slightly
and Sebastian is glowing as he places his hand briefly on Constantine’s
shoulder before moving it to the back of the chair. Cole narrows his eyes at
him and Constantine smiles as he knows that Cole knows. That smug, arrogant
smile that lets everyone know he thinks he is better than them. Asshole. Cole
smiles back slyly with a slight tilt to his head, letting him know that as soon
as he can he is going to tell Liv exactly what they have been up to while she
has been away. Constantine’s gaze hardens and he smacks down the cup and saucer
harder than bone china should be treated. Bone china. Ugh, he has been spending
way too much time with these older Vamps. A year ago he wouldn’t have known
bone china from a hole in the ground, much less cared about how it was treated.
He must make a better effort to find some Vampires his own age to mix with.
With that thought in his head, he opens his mouth and tells them all that Liv
told him about her plans for the next couple of days.

Chapter 5

Kingdom of the Dark Fae – Liv

“It’s time to go,” Drake says as he barges in. I have just
finished speaking to Cole and I am not happy about being interrupted so rudely.

“Privacy not a big thing in Faerie land?” I ask.

He stares down at me from his great height. “This is not
‘Faerie land’ and no, you don’t get privacy. I don’t trust you.”

“Do you trust anyone?” I ask as he ushers me out with a
rough shove to my back.

“Not any of your business,” he replies.

“That probably means ‘no’ then,” I say without expecting a
response. “So, what exactly does this naming ceremony entail?” I ask a question
that he has to respond to.

“I will present you as my daughter and you will be gracious
and, above all, quiet, and then I will announce your name,” he explains.

“Does anyone actually know who I am? I mean, really am?” I
ask.

“Unfortunately yes,” he says, as he strides down the long
corridor, forcing me to jog to keep up with him. “Your Vampire nature is
unfortunately one we cannot get away from.”

“No, I mean do they know I am Queen of the Underworld?” I
prod.

He stops in the middle of the corridor and stares down at
me. “I suggest you steer clear of that title while you are here. Your type, all
of your types, are not welcome here. The last thing I need is for my people to
get a reminder of exactly who you are.” He stalks off, leaving me to follow.

Wonderful. I can see this ceremony going swimmingly.

“Will I get to meet my brothers?” I ask.

He stops dead again. “Brothers?” he sneers in disgust. “My
sons are not your brothers.”

“I beg to differ,” I say.

“Humph,” he says rudely. “I can assure you that you will be
presented before my sons, but don’t expect a very warm welcome. They are not
going to be very fond of you.”

Well, can’t say that I blame them. They are all but
redundant from what I can see. I trail in his wake now and he takes pity on me
and slows down. “They will not see you as a sister,” he says quietly. “I don’t
want you to be disappointed.”

“Oh,” I say, a bit disappointed anyway, in spite of myself.

“They can be quite an unruly bunch, the middle lot. I
suggest you keep clear,” he adds.

“What do you mean?”

“Well they won’t see you as a sister, but they will see you
as someone to take advantage of. Unfortunately, you being a Vampire will only
encourage them,” he sighs.

“I can take care of myself, no need to worry,” I say in
reassurance and he looks at me as if I have grown another head.

“Touch them and, daughter or not, I will kill you myself,”
he growls at me.

I roll my eyes at him. “All right, papa bear. Calm down. I
won’t go near your precious boys.”

“Make sure you don’t. I don’t want them sullied by your
less-than-pristine state,” he says as he starts walking at his speed again.

Excuse me? My less-than-pristine state? “What the Hell is
that supposed to mean?” I bark at him as I run to catch up.

“You know what it means,” he says with disdain. “Princesses
of this Court are supposed to be innocent until marriage. I am sure it is far
too much to hope that you still have your innocence?”

I balk at him and say, “I am one thousand and seventeen
years old, what do you think?”

“Precisely,” he says. “Sullied. It, quite frankly, is a
disgrace.”

I stare at him open-mouthed. I’ll show him a disgrace, I
think, clenching my fists at my side.

“I blame your mother,” he adds. “She should have told me
about you from birth. I could have gone for you and protected you. Raised you
the way you should have been. She may not have been able to interfere, but I
could have. Fortunately, there is a silver lining. Kalen is also as tarnished
as you are, so I don’t have to worry about your future husband finding out.
It’s a good match.”

“Humph,” I say rudely and go quiet.

“I believe you already know Kalen. You share the same
Vampire sire,” he says conversationally and I look up at him.

“Yes, we know each other. We also know each other in the
biblical sense,” I say smartly, out of spite for his comments about my lack of
innocence.

He glances down at me sharply. “Oh really?” he asks. “Even
better. Maybe you are already with child.”

“I had better bloody not be. I have too much to explain to
my husband as it is,” I say wearily.

“Husband, ha. Your husband will be Kalen,” he says and stops
outside a set of closed double doors.

“Hm,” I say noncommittally. I am all on board for being
acknowledged as his daughter, but this whole prophecy business is a worry that
I have no idea how I will get out of. Hopefully Sebastian will have some ideas.
I will have to ask him, once I am through beating him within an inch of his
life for betraying me. My shoulders sag as I realize I would kill to see him
right now. Whether it is being here, the place of our shared heritage, or just
to see a friendly face who knows what the Hell is going on down here, I don’t
know. Drake pushes the doors open with a grand gesture and steps into a hall
the size of the entire
Ponte Sull’acqua
. Man, how big is this palace? So
far all I have seen is the prison, the kitchen, the hallway, and my bedroom.
Not exactly tour onteof the century. Hundreds of faces turn towards us and I
gulp. Oh yikes. There is more than enough contempt to go around, but Drake
takes my arm and glares at his people. He leads me silently down the aisle and
I can feel everyone’s eyes follow me closely. We eventually reach the front few
rows and all of my brothers are glaring at me in hatred. Well, most of them,
the one at the far end, who appears to be the youngest, gives me an encouraging
smile. I return it, but then I actually feel the ice-like stare coming from the
tall, thin woman sitting at the front of the room on a throne. Her dark hair is
swept up into a tight knot on top of her head and her pinched features are
drawn into a look of intense loathing. Ah, I guess this is Drake’s wife,
Maurelle. Man, she really does not look pleased to see me. Not that I can blame
her, but still. Drake ushers me to the seat next to the friendly one and then
goes to sit on his own throne next to his wife.

“I’m Trystan,” the Faerie next to me whispers.

“I’m Liv,” I whisper back with a smile. “Well, not for much
longer…” I indicate to our father who has started speaking in a language that I
have never heard before, but gather is Faerie. It is all guttural sounds and I
have no clue what he is saying as I have no foundation in this language. It
kind of annoys me and I vow to ask to learn it at the earliest convenience. He
goes on and on about who knows what and I struggle to stay awake. Talk about
boring. He seems to be pleased, though, with the audience’s response as he
smiles at me and gestures me forward. I stand and inch closer to him, vastly
uncomfortable under the sinister glare of Maurelle. I look up at him as he
takes my hand and I see a genuine look of pride in his eyes and I beam at him,
everyone else forgotten. He turns me towards the crowd and says more words I
don’t understand, but then, lucky for me, he switches to English and announces
my new name. I hadn’t even thought to ask him what it was. I don’t really care,
but when he says, “My daughter, Aeval,” I look up at him in surprise. Aeval? As
in the Lady of Sexuality? What kind of name is
that
? He smirks down at
me slightly, and I roll my eyes at him.