Secrets (The Forever series, Book 8) (33 page)

“Who’s slippery dick?” Cole asks me, making me spin around.
He steps back from my searing rage, with a hand up. I can tell my eyes have
Shifted to Dragon eyes and my talons have also made an appearance. “Okay, calm
down, sweetie,” he says, in that placatory tone he reserves for when I have
gone off the deep end. I ignore him and storm past him, along with Devon, Jess,
Cade, and Lincoln, who are all waiting to head to the airport. I throw the
front doors open, knocking one of them clean off its hinges in the process.
Grayson is waiting with the car and he hastily opens the door for me, lest I
rip that one off too. I glide onto the back seat, still fuming. My temper is
exacerbated by the fact that five minutes later, I am still sitting alone in
the car. Clearly everyone thought better about joining me. Jerks.

I feel marginally better when Cole tentatively climbs in
next to me and takes my hand in his. I am getting some of the feeling back and
my talons retract, to his relief, but the eyes stay.

Devon climbs in and hands me his Ray-Bans. “Sorry, Livvie.
They freak me out.” I snatch them off him and shove them up my nose and turn
back to stare out of the window. Lincoln and Jess follow and Cade, deciding to
steer clear of the back seat and me, gets in the front with Grayson, and then
we are on our way in one of the most awkward silences I have ever come across,
and I’ve had a few.

No dares speak for the first half of the journey, but
Lincoln, brave soul that he is, clears his throat. “So, I think we can all
agree that the dick in question is Remiel. Care to enlighten us on the mood
you’ve got going on over there?”

“Later,” I say, still pissed off.

“Okay then,” he mutters, and I have the grace to offer him
an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, Linc. I am mad at him and mad at myself for letting
him get away from me.”

“Why are you mad at him? I thought you called a truce?” he
asks.

“I thought so too. Seems I was wrong about it and him. He
betrayed me,” I say, feeling incredibly sorry for myself. “Well, I suppose I
shouldn’t say that he betrayed me. He had no loyalty to me in the first place.”

“You know his end game?”

“Yep,” I say and that has everyone looking at me. Even Cade
has turned around to get clued in.

“Well?” Devon prompts me when I continue to stare out the
window. “You can’t just leave us hanging.”

“On the jet,” I say as we pull up outside the airport. I
scoot out of the car before Grayson has the chance to open the door and head
inside with everyone following me. I take off my sunglasses now as I can tell
my eyes have Shifted back to normal, and hand them back to Devon. No one says a
word as we make our way through security and moments later we are being ushered
onto the G6. Gotta love private air travel.

I look around my little group and feel a sense of sadness
that we have dwindled to only six. I sit on the sofa this time, so that
everyone can see me and hear what I have to stay properly. I tell of my
findings and I am greeted with a stony silence when I mention that Remiel was
the cause of me ending up in Faerie Land.

“‘Dick’ is not the word,” Lincoln growls after a moment and
sets off a chain reaction that has everyone’s Supernatural vibe going into
hyper drive. Cole is crushing my hand and I shake it free from him with an
annoyed look. I resume my tale before we get sidetracked by the one hundred and
one words to call the traitorous beast.

“No fucking way!” Devon exclaims when I finish up. “
He
is the very first?”

“Seems so,” I say.

“And he thinks drinking your blood will bring him back to
life?” Cade asks me.

“I am fairly certain he is right in that assumption,” I say.
“He draws on energy to maintain his bodily form. Mine especially gives him a
great boost, but now with the blood and my Power it is a distinct possibility.”

“So Tiamat decided She wanted an Empire so She used the
Demons to try to create other Supernatural creatures?” Lincoln asks, trying to
get it straight in his head.

“Yeah, Remiel called them Primaries,” I say. Then I jump up
yelling “Linc!” so loudly that he throws his glass in the air that he had been
holding, spilling his bourbon all over himself and Jess. “What the fuck?” he
asks, brushing his t-shirt down and apologizing to Jess.

“Primaries!” I yell at him again in my excitement. “More
than one!”

His eyes meet mine as he knows exactly where I am going with
this now. “Oh holy Hell!” he practically yells himself.

“The Demon-Wolf thing!” we both yell in unison.

“That’s exactly what it is. It is the Wolf version of
Remiel,” I say, calming myself slightly. My heart is pounding so hard it feels
like it is about to burst out of my chest.

“No wonder we can’t find the damn thing,” Lincoln says. “It
must also exist in the Spirit Realm. Coming out when it bloody well feels like
it to slaughter Alphas.”

“Because he never got to be one. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my
god. This is all making sense now.” I sit heavily and drop my face into my
hands.

Cole gets up to get me a drink and brings one back for
Lincoln too. He smiles his thanks and drains the glass, as do I.

“So, the question that everyone is probably thinking is: How
many more are there?” Devon ventures in the sudden silence after all the
yelling.

“Indeed,” Cade says. “I also think it needs to be asked why
your mother has allowed these beings to survive. Especially when they are
hurting people.”

“She gave a half-arsed excuse about Remiel, but it was right
after the Power enhancement and I was fried. I will definitely be having words
with Her again about it the next time I see Her.” No wonder She was in such a
hurry to flit off back to the Dragon Realms after I started asking questions.

We land in Paris shortly thereafter and trudge through the
airport. As we hit the bricks outside, I pull Cole close to me. My Dragon sense
has gone on alert and it slides down my spine unpleasantly. Jess has arranged
for a car to take us to the hotel, so we aim for it. The rest happens in slow
motion. I hear the shots ring out and I turn to push Cole behind me
automatically, as Devon does to Jess. Lincoln drops to his knees and I am a
split second after him.

“Cade!” I scream. I can hear my voice, but it sounds
muffled, like it is coming from far away. “Cade!” I scream again as I drag my
coat off to put to his chest. Lincoln’s hands are covered in blood as he tries
to stanch the flow of blood that is pouring out of Cade’s chest. Time speeds up
again and I hear screaming and panic and someone is calling for an ambulance. I
hear Lincoln say to Devon to get Cole and Jess out of here. He does it without
question, although Cole is protesting, he wrestles him into the car and it
speeds off. The tears are falling down my face as I take Cade’s hand. I have to
save him; there is absolutely no question in my mind about what needs to be
done. I don’t give a flying fuck that we are out in public. I attempt a partial
Shift and get just one set of claws, which I slice open my wrist with. I lift
it to his mouth and his pain-filled, slate gray eyes find mine. He grips my
wrist with what little strength he has left, his fingers closing over the
wound, and he says to me, “Don’t you fucking dare.” Then he passes out.

Epilogue

Buckinghamshire, England, March 2013 – Jess

She watched him with her eyes wide. His open shirt hung
loose around him as he loomed at the foot of the bed. He grabbed the girl with
a glint in his eye and extended his fangs. Jess licked her lips at the sight of
him. He was magnificent. She sat upright, the silken sheet dropping from her to
reveal her nakedness. The lust grew in his eyes as he pulled the girl towards
him and slowly sank his fangs into her. Jess’s heart started to thump. He was
going to kill the girl and she wanted to watch him do it. She wanted to see her
die at the hands of her sire. The girl had no right to look at him the way she
had. No right to expect him to fuck her. Jess would like to kill the girl
herself for her bold actions. She was relieved that Devon didn’t want her that
way. He only wanted to feed. She knew that one day she would be forced to share
him and she dreaded it with every cell in her body. She didn’t think she would
be able to watch him do that to someone else. It was hard enough just knowing
that he screwed other woman, no way did she want to see it. The scent of the
blood made her fangs drop and she inched forward. There was very little left in
the girl, but Devon pulled back and offered her the last remaining drops. Her breath
hitched. She had never killed before, but she moved closer and took the girl’s
wrist to her mouth. Devon watched her with hooded eyes as she pierced her flesh
and sucked the last of the blood out of her.

“Perfect,” he murmured and she shivered. She released the
girl and let her slump to the bed. She felt nothing. No sorrow or guilt, just
delight that she had pleased her sire. “You are so beautiful,” he said as he
came closer to her. She wanted him to take her right now and was annoyed when
her phone rang again. The spell was broken as Devon grabbed it off the
nightstand.

“Who the fuck has been calling you? That’s three times
now,” he complained.

“It’s nothing,” she said, trying to grab it back, but he
was quicker than her.

“Nothing?” he repeated and glanced at the screen. He
frowned when he saw who had been calling her. “What does he want with you?”

“He probably just wants to know something in Liv’s
schedule,” she lied, trying to keep her face expressionless.

“You seem to be getting quite close with him lately,”
Devon said, throwing her phone back to her. She shrugged nonchalantly. He
stalked her and spun her around, his fingers digging painfully into her upper
arms. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Are you sleeping with him?”

She snapped her head back and said indignantly, “No! Of
course not.” But she was relieved that is all he thinks it is. If he knew her
true motivations he would leave her, or possibly kill her. There again if Cade
knew why she was using him, he probably would too. Devon brushed his lips over
her neck, pausing over her pulse. He kissed her softly and said, “Go about your
business, but you tell me everything. Do you understand me?”

Jess nodded, but he wasn’t finished yet. “Do you have
anything to tell me, Jess?”

She shook her head and he released her. She threw her
phone back on the nightstand and stumbled slightly as he pushed her forward. He
walked her to the bed and grabbed her hips, pushing on her back to get her to
lean forward. She put her hands on the bed and swallowed as she stared into the
face of the dead girl. The girl that she killed. He fumbled behind her and got
himself free and slid his dick into her ass as she blinked back the tears. He
was punishing her. He had only ever treated her this way twice before and both times
he was punishing her. He knew she was lying to him. He grunted softly as he
came and pulled out. After several long seconds he ran his hand up her back and
tightened his fist in her hair. He slowly pulled her up and kissed her sweetly
on the mouth. Her punishment was over. She breathed a sigh of relief as he
handed her robe to her. He leaned down to the dead girl and picked her up,
slinging her over his shoulder. Jess gulped as her arms and head hung limply
down his back like a rag doll.

“I’ll do it,” she said, now eager to please him.

He smiled at her. “No, it’s my job,” he said and turned
from her towards the door. “Be ready for me, how I like you, when I get back.”

She nodded quickly at him and watched him leave to
dispose of the body. She had no idea how or where and didn’t really want to
know. She was glad he refused her offer. She sat and waited for him and the
minutes ticked by. She frowned at the clock, wherever he went he surely went
with Vampire speed and he should have been back by now. She started to worry
and raced to the bedroom door, opening it quickly. The house was deadly quiet.
The mood was somber after Liv’s news and all the rest of the events that
happened after she got back. Jess wished she had stayed there. She glared at
the door to her bedroom, but passed it quietly. She wanted to know why
Constantine left so abruptly and when he would be back. If he was out of the
way her plan might go a bit easier. She reached the bottom of the stairs and
the trail of her sire led her into the billiards room. She stepped into the
dark room and it took her a moment to catch sight of him outside on the
terrace. He ran his hands through his hair in that way that told her he was
agitated about something. She could see he was speaking to someone, but she couldn’t
see who. She stepped closer and then her heart dropped like a stone into the
pit of her stomach. Elizabeth. That bitch had come down here and Shifted for
him. She wanted to rip her eyes out of her head, but knew it was impossible.
She was completely incapable of hurting her. Hence her plan. Jess stepped back
further into the shadows as she watched her sire take his own in his arms and
kiss her with such forceful passion, she wanted to die. He pushed her up
against the terrace doors, his hands disappearing up her skirt and Jess fled
the room, barely keeping the blood down. She raced up the stairs in a fit of
despair, which turned into rage as she passed by Liv’s bedroom again. She had
snuck out of the bedroom she shares with her husband to go and fuck Devon. How
dare she? Jess was livid and wondered how she could even stand to do something
like that after what had happened to her. Jess was momentarily glad that she
had been through an ordeal like she had. She deserved it, the lying, smug,
arrogant, manipulative whore! Jess returned to their bedroom to await her
sire’s return. She wouldn’t confront him, she wouldn’t confront her boss, she
wouldn’t say a word. Jess would keep what she thought she had seen to herself,
bottled up to ferment into a hatred so fierce, she would do everything she
possibly could to destroy that woman and her hold over Devon once and for all,
or she would die trying.