Betrayal (The Forever Series) (31 page)

“She does,” I say to him.

“No!” he shouts. “She left me, she left me all alone when I needed her. She doesn’t care about me. She turned me and left me to find my own way. She made me into the creature I am.”

His impassioned words have shocked me. How could she do that to him? How could she leave him to become a Rogue Vampire? I’ve had dealing with Rogue’s before.
A long, long time ago. They are Vampires sired and then left after only a few years with their sire. Gustav was only days old when I left him and that’s why he turned out the way he did. Fraser is a fully functioning member of Vampire society, but that is where his cruel streak comes from. His basic instinct is too close to the surface. I am appalled she could be so wicked as to do this to him.

“You see, that right there, is why I need you. You care about me. You would never abandon a charge,” he says.

“You aren’t my charge,” I say quietly and turn my back to him to regroup my thoughts. This was a super bad idea coming here. I thought he just wanted to play with me, but it seems he really does want to come away with me.

I feel him behind me, his hands on my arms. He sweeps my hair away from my neck and whispers, “I can feel it. I am yours.” He brushes his lips softly down my neck and whispers the four words that I cannot refuse. Four words that when muttered I have the overwhelming need to do something. “You can fix me.”

Oh god, I want to. I can’t refuse a plea like that, not from him. He lightly grazes me with his fangs and that snaps my attention back into focus. He isn’t supposed to have fangs. My Fraser doesn’t have fangs. Sure, the topic will come up again at some point after I’ve brought him to me, but currently--well, in the past, currently--he isn’t a Vampire. It seems wrong that someone else did this to him, and it drives home the fact that he isn’t mine and never will be. I step away from him before he bites me and turn to him. He looks crestfallen and it breaks my heart. “There is no place for you in my World, Fraser. Your place is here.”

“Yes there is,” he says. “He is dead, but I am immortal. We can be together forever.”

There is only one way to close this down, so I tell him of my plans to bring past Fraser to my present. “So you see, he
will
be with me. And you must stay here with your sire.”

He looks deep into my eyes and I am mesmerized. They are no longer cold and hard, but the eyes of my beloved. “Your love and loyalty know no bounds,” he says. “You are absolute perfection. But you need to leave him where he is. He doesn’t want what you are offering him. Trust me on that,” he adds bitterly.

I lower my eyes because I know he speaks the truth. It is something that I am going to have to ignore for now. He tilts my chin up and lowers his mouth to mine. I slant my head to meet him and then I clear my throat and step back. I am a traitor of the worst kind. Wanting to kiss this Fraser makes Cade’s betrayal of me look like nothing.

“Please,” he whispers. “I need you to help me.”

Oh Christ, not the “h” word! He is killing me here.

“Bring me to your World and I will be everything you want me to be. If I stay here I will remain this monster. She has left me with little choice.”

Blackmail? That’s a bit low, isn’t it? I frown at him, but he just looks back at me sadly and I know that isn’t how he meant it.

“I love you, Liv,” he says. “Let me.”

“It isn’t me that you want,” I say. “You want Emily and I can’t be her.”

He looks suitably confused as he asks, “Who is Emily?”

We stare at each other for a few moments. He doesn’t know who Emily is? Other Liv must have gone to him as herself and he fell in love with her anyway. Just one more thing that is so vastly different between us. And I, of course, look exactly like her, but with all the traits that he wants in his sire. Ah, crap on toast. This is way worse than I first thought.

“Doesn’t matter,” I mumble. “But…”

“But nothing,” he says and takes me in his arms. I struggle against him briefly. Geez, he is strong. I break free and it finally occurs to me that he is special, just like Cade. Sired after the Power.

“Fraser, I can’t do this with you. I came to tell you, you must let this go,” I say.

“Never,” he says. “Liv won’t ever take me to your World again, but I will find another way. I promise you.”

I gulp at his aggression and I see the real Fraser again.
The one that hurts people for amusement. Will mine really turn into this if I go for him? No! I yell at myself. I will never abandon him, never.

I have no more words for him. I have said what I came to say and now it is time to leave and never return, no matter what the circumstances. I open the door and don’t look back as I close it behind me quietly.

I have a visitor waiting for me as I exit the room. Not who I was expecting though. I thought Other Liv would be up here eavesdropping, but the little nosey parker is Other Devon.

“Devon,” I say to him as I pass him.

He follows me and says, “You shouldn’t mess with him. He is dangerous.”

“I’m not and I know,” I say as I look back at him. He stops, so I do. He is staring at me with such a grave intensity that just looks wrong on him. My darling boy’s beautiful blue eyes were never meant to be so serious.

“What is he like in your World?” he asks me. “
Your Devon.”

It doesn’t surprise me that he asks. Everyone is madly curious as to their
Other selves. “He is passionate, fun, and easygoing,” I say, although this would probably be his description from a year ago. He is way too serious and secretive at the moment.

Other Devon looks quite sad and I feel sorry for him. God, I am such a sucker, really. I move closer to him and place my hand on his cheek. He starts in surprise, but then closes his eyes. “Your spirit has been crushed,” I say so quietly to him. “You need to take back some control. Don’t let her ruin
you, you are so much better than that.”

It’s probably too little, too late, but I feel like I have to say something to him. It hurts me to see him like this.

“Wh-what do you mean?” he asks with his eyes still closed.

I remove my hand and his eyes open again. “Find
yourself a little Vampire to play with,” I say. “Your sire is too much, you need pleasure in your life, Devon.”

He gets angry with me. “How do you know I don’t have any pleasure?” he snaps at me.

“Because I can see it in your eyes. She has stamped out your fire with her…ways. You need to get it back before it’s lost forever,” I reply.

He takes that in silently and then asks a question I wasn’t expecting.
“The girl, Jess. Your Devon is her sire, isn’t he? How did that happen?”

“Oh,” I say. “Err, well the two of them are in love, she wanted him to turn her but he refused, so she tried to kill herself in order for him to save her.”

“What?” he asks. “Why would she do that?”

Beats me.
I shrug.

“Liv said she asked about me,” he admits quietly. “What do you think she wants with me?”

Oh she did now, did she? Little bitch. And what on Earth was she doing talking to Other Liv in the first place, and when, exactly? I determine that now I am definitely installing cameras around my home. There is too much subterfuge going on and I am going to get to the bottom of it.

“I couldn’t say,” I tell him, but if I ever find out she has been here somehow and got with him she is a goner.

“I will take your advice,” he says, suddenly standing up straighter. “Liv won’t like it, but it’s tough shit.”

“There’s my boy,” I murmur and he actually glows with the praise. He hugs me fiercely and I return it, feeling very odd. “I should get going,” I say as I pull away.

He nods and watches me Astral off. Other Liv will go nuts that I didn’t go back down to tell her what happened, but I don’t really care. If Fraser wants to tell her, then so be it.

I land back in my library to just CK.

“Hi,” I say a bit awkwardly.

“Hello,” he says coldly.

I roll my eyes at him and hug him. He returns it, just barely, sniffing at my neck where Fraser had grazed me. I don’t give him a chance to ask because he will go berserk on my arse so I just say, “Can we talk now that we are alone?” I do wonder where Cole is. They seem to be attached at the hip at the moment.

“Yes, I have some things I want to say. Sit.” He leads me to the sofa and sits with me, taking my hand. “First things, do not let that woman interfere with your thoughts,” he says. “She knows what She wants and She will go to any lengths to get it. However,” he adds sternly, “I am not happy about this, Aefre. It has gotten far too serious a matter for us to ignore any longer.”

I sigh, “I know. I have a decision to make.”

His eyes snap to mine and he frowns, “What do you mean?”

Oh, crap.
Me and my big mouth. I thought we were on the same page, but apparently not.

“Aefre,” he says, “Are you seriously telling me you are considering giving
Her what She wants?”

“I have to consider it, and what Drake wants,” I whine. “You saw what happened before. I won’t be responsible for an all-out war between them. It’s bad enough I caused the Faeries to fight...”

“You were not responsible for that,” he practically shouts at me, his eyes going black. “That fucking bastard created that problem.”

“Regardless,” I say, patting his hand to calm him. “I need to at least think about it, okay?”

“No, it’s not okay. You stamped on your promise to me because you said you didn’t think you wanted a child. Now you are considering having two that are not mine? You said you would only consider it with me,” he says, getting upset.

“I know and I’m sorry. But try to see this from my point of view, please,” I beg him. He has to understand. But there is only one way he
will so I add, “I have reconsidered my promise to you. We will keep trying.”

His eyes light up before he closes them. “You swear?” he asks.
“On your life that you mean it?”

“Yes, my love,” I say and I do. If I’m doing this then I might as well jump in with both feet.

He crushes me to him and says, “Then I will accept this, because I know you are special and you were created to do special things. It has taken me a long time to get my head around it, but I do, my beautiful wife.”

I hug him back, loving him even more for saying exactly what I want to hear. But I know he has said it for precisely that reason. I don’t believe him, but I can only hope that he will see this through with me. Cole, on the other hand, is going to be a major problem. “Thank you,” I say quietly.

He gives me a squeeze and changes the topic rapidly as he does, “Also, seeing as you have decided to date outside of our marriage, I propose that we have our own.”

I snort in amusement, “You? You want to take me on a date?”

He regards me wryly. “Not exactly,” he says. “What I am proposing is certain days alone with you. Just the two of us. Cole, of course, will get to pick his days as well, but I need time with you alone.”

That’s what he wanted to ask me? And here I was worried about his demands. “Yes!” I say straight away.

He chuckles at my enthusiasm and says, “Good, because it is October next week and there is a certain anniversary that I want to celebrate with you.”

I stare at him in surprise. Vampires, by nature, aren’t sentimental creatures. Anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas, they all fall by the wayside when you’ve been around as long as we have.
“Really?” I ask him. “We have never once called it an anniversary or celebrated it.”

“Well, we should,” he says. “The day I turned you was the best day of my life.” He smiles his made-for-me smile and I kiss him.

“I love you,” I say. “Yes, I want to do that.”

“And I want you on our wedding anniversary, of course, and one other day of your choosing. You and Cole will pick your three days between you.”

I nod eagerly. What has gotten into him? Since when did he become so reasonable and generous?

“Now, there is something I have to tell you,” I say and he turns his attention to me seriously at my tone.

“What?” he asks, almost in dread.

I stand up as this is weird. And I would rather have talked to Cole about it first, but as we are here discussing things, I might as well tell him.

As I pace I say, “Do you remember the day after we got married, when Cole mentioned his bond to Devon?”

CK nods but remains silent, wondering where I am going with this.

“Err,” I pause, trying to say this tactfully. “Well, erm, Devon came to me the other day with a rather surprising statement. It seems that this bond of theirs, there is more to it than we thought.”

“Meaning?” he asks, but I am sure he knows what I am trying to say.

“Meaning, it seems he has feelings for Cole, that are different.” I use Devon’s word for it. Luckily for me, CK nods sagely as if he knew all along and no further explanation is required. “I see,” he says.

Not so lucky for me, I now have to tell him the next part. “Devon has asked me if I will talk to Cole about it and see what he would accept in the way of the three of us together,” I say in a rush.