Fate Forgotten (27 page)

“Your uncle Samson and his mate, Claudia, they love you, and they’ll take good care of you, pupa.”

She shook her head. “I-I…d-don’t know th-hem! I n-never met them! And they…a-aren’t superheroes like y-you!”

A superhero?
He wished. Had he been, he would know how to keep her with him, how to be better for her. He considered running away and taking Annie and Val with him, but that was selfish and cowardly. In the end, he wanted the best for Annie. If the council decided there was someone better suited to parent her, then he would swallow his pain and live for the moments he could see her.

“And M-Mommy p-promised! She promised you’d come get m-me, that you’d take care of m-me!”

Jacob stilled. He’d never thought of what those last moments must’ve been like. He never wanted to imagine how scared they must’ve been.

His gaze snapped to Valerie. Her cheeks marred with tears.

“Mommy s-said—”

Valerie grasped his hand and shook her head.

“Mommy s-said you’d c-come f-for me,” Annie whispered between rapid heaves. “She s-said you’d take c-care of me. I…waited a l-long time. I got s-scared you wouldn’t come, but you did…l-like Mommy p-promised.”

The searing ache in his chest deepened. Her last words to her daughter—her unrelenting trust in him, her brother. She had faith in him when he’d lost faith in himself, life, and love.

“Shh, shh…” Valerie whispered, holding Annie close, her hand still clasped in his. “Nothing has been decided yet, Annie. That’s why we have to go to Treconomia and make them see Uncle Jake is what’s best for you.”

Annie’s sobs quieted, but her breaths continued to come out in spurts. “But w-what if they take me…away?”

“No one is going to take you away from Uncle Jake, sweetie. No one. I promise you.”

Val had made him the same promise with the same conviction. She had as much faith in him as his sister had. Where was his faith in himself? Maybe it faded little by little with every person he’d lost, everyone he’d been too late to save.

He reached for them both, locking them in his embrace. “I’ll fight for you, pupa, with my last breath.”

A promise he meant to keep.

****

The clock ticked. Time neared.

Valerie knelt in front of Annie. Her big expressive eyes wide, full of fear, dread, and hope. Val clasped her small hands, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath then exhaled. Concentrating on the power within her, she willed it to flow and whispered a protection spell.

Her eyes parted and met Annie’s again. “It’s time. Stay close to Jake and me, okay?”

“But what if—”

She shook her head, firmly hoping she looked confident. “You
are
coming home with us, sweetie. I won’t let them take you.”

Jake entered the room, his expression unreadable. Closing the distance between them, he carried Annie, then took her hand in his. A rush of comfort flooded her, helping settle her nerves.

Lucas, Jenna, Ashley, and Clyde appeared moments later. The air already thick with tension heightened. Jenna and Ashley greeted them. She spared a glance at Annie and smiled. Her best attempt to assure the child who felt every emotion around them.

Lucas nodded. “Ready.”

Jake’s features hardened. His jaw twitched.

Lucas knelt in the middle of the living room, then began whispering phrases in Latin. Moments later, the room shimmered, a light appeared, then morphed into a doorway.

Lucas stood and reached for his queen, Jenna. Together, they stepped through the portal. Their bodies disappeared through the shimmering light-filled threshold into the demon world, Treconomia.

Under other circumstances, Val would have been awed, even excited to enter another dimension. But her stomach turned, her heart flip-flopped at a ridiculous pace. She thought she might retch.

The sudden urge to grab Annie and run away rushed through her. She couldn’t. They had to prove Jake was best for Annie. She fisted her free hand to stop it from shaking.

Clyde and Ashley stepped through the portal. Their bodies disappeared.

Jake took a step forward, then paused. She turned to look his way. His expression, unreadable before, now clear.

His stare revealed his pain, eyes misted. He looked to Annie. “Pupa, no matter what happens, I’ll come for you.”

A father wrenched from his daughter. His last goodbye, a promise he’d come back. Her heart clenched painfully. She gritted her teeth as if the action alone would cease the ache.

“I love you, Uncle Jake.”

The panic faded. Anger burned in its wake. Annie wouldn’t be taken away from the man who’d given her solace. It wouldn’t be goodbye.

Jake placed a kiss on Annie’s forehead, then together they walked through the portal. The bright light at the threshold blinded her until slowly it dissipated. Several figures came into view, the Elementals, and their mates.

A large regal building made of green and gray marble stood feet away, the council chambers. Together, Jake, Annie, and she followed Lucas and Jenna. Ashley and Clyde flanked them. They entered through the large bronze double doors into an opulent corridor. They passed several doors leading into rooms until they reached the end of the hallway where they met another set of double doors.

Lucas reached for the door and paused, turning toward Jake. He met his stare and nodded. Inside, the scent of sandalwood filled Valerie’s scenes. Paintings decorated the entirety of the room, a rectangular carved cherrywood table positioned at the far end. Behind it sat five demons.

A set of tables positioned directly across from them and beside one another. At one, stood another demon, a male and his mate, Samson and Claudia, she assumed. Their eyes deadlocked on Jake and Annie, who buried her face in Jake’s chest and wrapped her arms around him.

Lucas instructed them to stand behind the right table beside the Samson and Claudia.

“Welcome,” a blond-haired male demon spoke first. “We are here to discuss the matter of custody for Anne Rachel Davis.”

“We’ve reviewed and discussed the matter thoroughly for nearly a week and are prepared to disclose our ruling, but first…we’d like to speak to Anne.” A demon female who’d spoken materialized near them and reached for Annie.

Annie’s sobs pierced the air, shuddering and trembling against Jake.

Valerie’s heart stopped, then began beating frantically. She positioned herself in front of Annie and Jake, blocking them. Her gaze locked on the demoness. “Don’t you dare.”

Jake snaked his arm around her waist and hauled her against them, then he soothed Annie. “It’s okay, pupa. They just want to ask you some questions…”

The demoness took another step in their direction.

Her hands fisted. Involuntarily, her magic burst out of her, the strength of it zapping around them.

The female took a step away.

“No!” Annie wailed. “I want to stay with you! I don’t want to go! Mommy promised!”

Samson turned to them, jaw dropped. “You told her?”

Valerie muttered a spell, muting the bickering voices around them from reaching Annie. She then fully turned to Samson. “You know nothing about Jake. He is a wonderful father.”

“I know him better than you do.”

She shook her head. “You think you know him because of what people say, but you don’t know the real man. You haven’t seen how he calms her with a hug, and soothes her when she misses her parents, when she has nightmares. You don’t know how much or how often he worries, how he cares for her and loves her. I’ve seen it.”

Her eyes welled with tears. “We had to warn her. She would’ve found out as soon as we arrived, and then she wouldn’t only lose the man who provided her solace and unconditional love after her parents were killed, she’d lose her faith in the world—because Jake
is
her world,
her whole world
like
she’s
his.”

She paused, then angry, she snapped, “Before you judge Jake, take a good, hard look at yourself. Taking a child away from a home she loves, a home she’s adjusted to after losing her parents, for your own stupid, selfish reasons.”

As if struck, Samson recoiled. She locked gazes with the demoness. Jake’s arm around her waist tightened, then he tugged her toward him until her back pressed against him and Annie.

She didn’t bother to spare a glance at him when she said, “Not now, Jake.”

“You aren’t helping the child allowing her to throw tantrums.”

Jake stilled. His body tensed. Instead, he buried his face in her neck and took a deep breath.

Val had no such reaction. Seeing red, bolts of magic zapped around her. Even so, she smiled a fake smile. “She does
not
throw tantrums. She’s a four-year-old girl terrified she’ll be taken away from her uncle who she loves and adores. How would you react in her shoes?”

“Do not take that tone with me. I’m a council member!”

Her eyes narrowed. “To me, you’re just the bitch that’s trying to take my kid.”

Gasps sounded around the room. A second later, Jake’s towering frame blocked her and Annie from view. She attempted to push him aside, but he held her still.

Tilting her head up to meet his gaze, “Jacob,” she scolded.

The female turned to her fellow council members. “I demand she be held accountable!”

Jake’s body tensed against her, his arms squeezed them closer.

A chuckle sounded, slightly defusing the tension. Hesitantly, Jake turned letting her get a glimpse of the blond-haired demon who’d laughed.

“Well, you’ve insulted the child. What did you expect?”

“Arthur!”

The male, Arthur, cleared his throat. “We must speak to Annie to ensure our decision is accurate.”

She freed herself from Jake’s grasp and reached for Annie patting her back softly. Annie turned her flushed face to her. She uttered a counteracting spell to unmute the voices around them.

“What are you doing?” the demoness asked, abashed.

“I created a spell, so she wouldn’t hear. Lucky for you. I just may be able to forgive you for insinuating she’s anything but perfect.”

“Val?” Annie asked, softly.

Eyes back to Annie, her gaze softened, her temper melted. “Yes, sweetie.”

“I want to go home.”

“Yes, soon, but first the council wants to ask you some questions.”

Annie’s gaze went to Jake. He pressed his lips to her forehead. “It’s okay, pupa.”

Bravely, Annie lifted her gaze toward the council members.

“Annie, can you tell us what you like most about living with your uncle Jacob?”

She nodded. “He loves me like Mommy and Daddy used to.”

Jake’s hold tightened on Annie, his love for her spilled around them.

“How so?”

“He cuts my steak for me, and reads me a bedtime story, sometimes two. When I fall, he gets really scared even though I’m a demoness, and it doesn’t hurt too much. When I get scared at night, he comes to my room, and stays with me until I’m asleep.”

“What happens when he isn’t around?”

“He’s always around.”

“When he goes to…” The demon hesitated. “Work?”

“He’s a superhero. He saves people and when he does, I stay with Val. One time, I stayed with Ash and Clyde.”

“And what do you do with Valerie?”

“We watch a movie or play with my dolls or she teaches me how to braid my hair like Mommy used to.”

“Do they get angry?”

Jake tensed beside her. Annie met his eyes.

“The truth,” he whispered.

The answer could give them a reason to take
his
reason for living away, yet he chose to teach Annie the truth was always better than a lie. With Jake as her father, Annie would learn honor, loyalty, integrity, and love.

Val bit the side of her lip, fighting the burn deep in her chest.

Annie faced the council again. “Uncle Jake gets angry sometimes, but I make it better.”

“How so?”

Annie shrugged. “The other day he got mad because he couldn’t do the laundry right, and then I went to see what happened and he wasn’t angry anymore. He was sad because he messed up my favorite dress. He said he would buy me another, but then Val fixed it with magic, so he didn’t need to.”

“Can you give us another example of when Uncle Jake or Valerie got mad?”

“Val only got mad when Uncle Jake was being possessive. Mommy used to get mad at Daddy for the same reason.”

Valerie flushed.

“Can you explain that, please?”

“We went to eat at a restaurant and a male tried to help Val sit and Uncle Jake got mad and wasn’t nice to the male, and Valerie got embarrassed and then she was mad at Uncle Jake, but then Uncle Jake kissed her hand, and then she wasn’t mad anymore…I told him to buy her flowers because Daddy used to get Mommy flowers, but he didn’t.”

“Has he ever turned in front of you because he’s mad?”

She shook her head.

“Thank you, Annie.”

“You aren’t going to take me away, are you? I can feel Uncle Jake and Val love me. They w-want me…”

“No, Annie, we will not take you away,” Arthur assured.

The air rushed out of her. When Jake’s emotions struck her—unhindered, profound joy. As she clasped her chest, slowly her tension faded. She hadn’t needed the protection spell. He drew her to him, hugging Annie and her simultaneously, his warmth further soothing her.

“We have plenty of evidence to support Jacob is more than capable of raising Annie. We see no reason to remove her from your custody considering her parents wished it so.”

“We will not ban you from your duty either,” another demoness announced.

Valerie wasn’t listening. All she felt: the overwhelming relief, knowing Jake would keep Annie.

They could now move on, together.

“We will start the adoption proceedings. We assume you’d like to add Valerie as a guardian as well.”

“Yes,” Jake replied instantly drawing her out of her inane state.

Her heart swelled.

“We will send you the formal documents when they are completed.” With those last words, the demon council members dematerialized.

Samson and his mate neared. “I apologize for any heartache this has caused you, Valerie, or Annie. It was not our intent. We only wanted the best for Annie, and your reputation precedes you. Considering she is our niece, my mate and I would appreciate if we could see her from time to time.”