Betrayal (The Forever Series)

The first seven books of the Forever Series are seen through the perspective of Liv. However, books eight onwards now have the perspectives of all the other characters.

Please note that the character changes are done by chapter, so be sure to note at the beginning of the chapter whose perspective you are reading.

Prologue

Rome, Italy, May 2013 – Cade

He watches her. She is smiling at her husband with a look of pure adoration that he wishes is focused on him. He hates that feeling. He hates her for what she did. But he can’t stop this feeling of needing to be near her, of wanting to touch her. She catches him looking at her and she flushes, knowing that what she did to him pains him. She knew he didn’t want this and he will never forgive her, but he can’t stay away from her.

Liv looks away from him and turns her back. He sighs and tears his eyes away from her and goes back to scanning the crowd. He still has a job to do and he won’t fail. Not ever again. He is disgusted with himself for failing two months ago. If he had been doing his job properly, not only would there have been no shots fired, but the shooter wouldn’t have been there in the first place. His head had been so far up his own ass, thinking he was invulnerable, and that’s when it all fell apart. He knew the risks when he took this job. He knew he would start to think like them, act like
them, go around thinking that nothing can bring them down, except someone older and stronger. They have no fear, and as a result, Cade grew to have no fear. Big mistake. He was still a human, weak and entirely killable. He doesn’t really blame the Hunters for tracking him down and trying to kill him. He deserved it for betraying his birthright and aligning himself with their enemies. He wishes every day that they had succeeded, or at the very least he wishes that Liv hadn’t stuck her nose in where it doesn’t belong. She had no right to mess with him. He was prepared to die and he told her “no.” He can’t remember how many times he told her to leave him be. He supposes he should be flattered she wanted him to stick around. The strange thing is, before all of this went down, he was fond of her. Thought of her almost as a daughter. Christ knows he is old enough to be her father…well, in the human age sense anyway. That has all been shot to Hell and back and he hates the feelings he has for her now. They had an understanding: she let him do his job without interference. Not much interference, he snorts to himself. He knew there was something special about her the first time he laid eyes on her in Milan. He had looked into her, not Vampirically, as there wasn’t a damn thing the Hunters could find on her--it was like her records had been expunged--but her fake human life. He had become obsessed with her, with the need to find out what exactly she was. He had never failed and he had every intention of killing her, but when his magick didn’t work on her, he was thrown and he had to find out why. He was shocked when he heard about the restructure of the Underworld, they certainly had kept that quiet, but he was fearful as well. Fearful that such a powerful Vampire would not sit around waiting for the Hunters to pick off her subjects one by one, but be the one doing the picking. He made the decision to switch sides. To be on the winning side. Other Hunters had defected in the past, the most famous being Nico Abazia, of course. Everyone in the society knew he worked for the creator of the Vampires. He was scorned and hated, but he was also feared. He knew too much and he used it to send the Hunters even further underground.

Cade had wanted to be feared.

As his eyes scan the crowd again, gathered here to see Cole O’Dell, famous actor, he was glad he made the decision, but when Nico brought him into the fold he was shocked and disturbed by the size of the operation going on to kill Hunters. He knew that Liv had nothing to do with it though. It was her sire and his secret team of über Vampires who were behind it. He wasn’t totally sure he was happy with his decision after that, but he stayed because he had sworn an oath and he also got to do what he was born to do and that is to kill Vampires. He involved himself entirely in her protection and when he found out that the assassins sent to take out as many of Liv’s inner circle, himself included, were drained to death by the very people they were sent here to kill, he felt nothing. He was surer than ever that he had made the right choice. That he belonged on this side. Powerful, unstoppable, feared. And he knew he couldn’t leave her, not only after the blood oath she made him swear, but because he didn’t want to. Dealing with Jess had made things more complicated for him. The girl is sweet and funny and he likes her, her appalling decision aside, of course, but there is something off about her he just can’t put his finger on. So he keeps her close. Very close.

And then the shooting happened.
Four bullets that ruined his life.

His eyes wander back over to Liv. She is smiling as her husband greets his fans, but it is forced. He knows she is tense and uncomfortable and dying to go and find her sire. He, like the rest of her crew, is mostly in the dark when it comes to whatever happened between the two of them. All Cade knows is they are taking three months apart. He is surprised that either one of them has stuck to it.
Constantine especially. Talk about an obsessive son-of-a-bitch. Nico doesn’t like to share, but he has told a story or two that has made Cade’s hair stand on end. He is rather glad that Constantine isn’t around while he is going through this. He dreads to think what her sire will do to him when he finds out what she did.

She slips away and is at his side momentarily. “Hey,” she says softly. “
You doing okay?”

“Yeah,” he says stiffly, moving a tiny bit away from her so he doesn’t take her in his arms and kiss her.

“You didn’t have to come,” she says, looking away. “You could have stayed in Paris.”

No, he couldn’t. He didn’t want to come here. He wanted to stay in Paris and wait for their return, but his tie to her made it impossible. He shakes his head, but doesn’t say anything. They stand in an awkward silence for a few minutes. He knows how much she hates those, so he isn’t surprised when she finally blurts out. “I’m not sorry for what I did! I won’t apologize to you again. You are here and that is all I care about.” Her cheeks are flushed and the Power rush coming off her hits him hard and he stumbles back an inch.

He ignores her, which infuriates her even more. She is struggling to keep her temper in check and he takes a moment of satisfaction in watching her effort. “Don’t speak to me about this again,” he says finally. “You made a choice and now I have to live with it.”

“Exactly!” she says heatedly. “
Live
with it!” She stalks off and he watches her go. His hand reaches for her involuntarily and he snatches it back before he touches her. If he touches her, he won’t be able to let go. He watches her slide easily into Cole’s arms and he wants to kill him.

Or himself.

Or her.

Or all three of them.

He turns to the man who has abruptly appeared by his side.

“Well?” the man asks. “Are you ready to give her up yet?”

“I’ll get her to you,” Cade decides with a grimace. “You get one chance, don’t fuck it up.”

Remiel smiles sinisterly at him. “I won’t, Mr. Sinclair. I have waited a long time for this.”

Cade nods once. “It is a difficult task. I need some time.”

“Don’t take too long,” Remiel warns and disappears into the crowd.

Cade looks back at Liv with sorrow. He will betray her to break this bond. He has to. If she dies, he dies too...eventually. That is what Remiel told him: because he is so new he needs her to live. And he doesn’t want to.

Chapter 1

Paris, France, June 2013 – Liv

“Don’t go to him,” Cole says to me as we look out at the Eiffel Tower lit up against the night sky. “You have proven you don’t need him, that you can live without him.”

“Oh, Cole,” I say and sigh. “Don’t ask me to give him up. Not now. These three months have been wonderful, but I miss him.”

“I know,” he says quietly. “But I had to ask.”

“I know,” I say.

“Have you truly forgiven him for what he did?” he ventures.

I think about that for a moment. Cole doesn’t know the whole story. I have given him a mostly fabricated story with enough truth to make it believable. It would hurt him too much if he knew the whole truth. I have forgiven Constantine’s actions in the tower. I knew the monster was unleashed and I know that he did try to pull it back. My defiance in the face of his anger pushed him too far. That is my fault. I should have left him alone as he asked. His words took me longer to forgive. He told me that he didn’t mean it. That he said it just to hurt me, and boy did he hurt me. Branding me the same as the Substitutes that he made, telling me I was no better than them, hurt more than the wounds he inflicted upon me. But, yes I forgive him for that too. If I hadn’t gone to him, he never would have said it. I don’t blame myself for this, but I have to take some of the responsibility for that too. The Initial Vampire sire-powers that he used on me, that I never even knew he had, took some time to process. But I believe him when he said that he has never used them on me before. He has had every opportunity to get me to submit my will to him, but I never have so that is inconsequential. I have Powers that he has yet to learn about so I can’t fault him for wanting to keep them a secret. The whole Sebastian spelling me, though--that is the kick in the guts. The one thing it has taken me all these weeks to forgive him for. I wanted to hate Sebastian for doing it, to cut him out of my life even though we are Faerie soul mates, but in the end, I didn’t blame him. He was only doing what his sire asked him to do, because he believed it was the right thing to do. Or maybe he had no choice because CK bent him to do it? Either way, that responsibility falls completely and utterly onto Constantine.

“Liv?”
Cole prompts me as I just gaze over at the illuminations. “Do you forgive him?”

I nod. “Yes,” I say, meaning it. “I have forgiven him. And I will go to him tomorrow to get him back.”

Cole turns from me. I know he isn’t happy about that. The last three months he has had me mostly to himself. With the exception of a few days here and there with Lincoln and on the full moon, and a few secret meetings with Xane and Sebastian, I have been back in his bed, by his side every night. He knows now that we will go back to me being away two nights a week and I know he hates it. I think about Devon. I haven’t been with him in months either. He and Jess are now married and he took her on an extended honeymoon, wanting to show her the world. I am happy for him. For them both. They are due back tomorrow at the country manor in Buckinghamshire, as are we. I know everyone is wondering whether we will show up with my sire or not.

“Cole,” I say, touching his shoulder. He turns to me with a sad look. “I have loved these last three months with you. I love you. But I am aching for him,” I say softly. “I’m sorry, but I need him.”

He huffs out a breath. “I know you do. If I didn’t see you for three months, I would feel like I wanted to die. Go to him tomorrow and bring him home.” He looks resolved, like he has come to his own decision and it looks like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He’s probably just glad that a decision has been made, instead of living with the future undecided. I smile at him and pull him to me.

“One last night in our little bubble and then back to the real world,” I say.

“One last night,” he repeats. “I can’t believe that the film is finished and we are going home. No more traveling, no more hotels.”

“No more films,” I say sternly, interrupting him. “I meant what I said about you retiring after this.”

“I will. All I want to do is spend every second that I can with you.”

“Good boy,” I murmur up at him and he throws me back his delicious half smile before he swoops down to kiss me.

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