Octavia's Choice [The Klawinken 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (10 page)

“Thank you. I wish I could have known them.”

“Please, Octavia. Can’t you sit for a minute with me?” Magda walked to a chair and sat down. Octavia hesitated and then followed.

“And I also know that you’re engaged to Mathieu Lacroix.”

“We’re no longer engaged.”

“Oh, my. I’m so sorry to hear that. It’s highly unusual for a Klawinken couple to separate. You can understand my surprise.”

“As I’m sure you’re more than aware, I don’t exactly fall into the Klawinken mold.”

“Not to worry. Many of us are different. You’ll find your way.”

“I hope so. I really do.”

“If you don’t mind, can I ask you why you wanted to see Tobias?”

“As I said, I met him at a concert, and we actually had a chance to talk. I don’t know many Klawinken yet, so it was natural that I felt a bond with him. I was in town visiting my sister, and I thought I would just take a chance and stop by. It was silly of me, I know.”

“Not silly at all. Tobias has a great many friends. My son is quite charismatic.”

“Yes, he is. I’ve been listening to his music since I was a teenager.”

Magda smiled. “He’s always tried to make time for his fans. I will let him know you stopped by when I speak to him next. I’m sure he’ll be sorry he missed you.”

Did his mother really call her a fan? “Well, I really should be going. My sister’s waiting for me. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”

“It was my pleasure, dear.”

Octavia opened the car door and slid in. Evenela sat staring at her. “Well, what happened?”

“He wasn’t there. I spoke with his mother.”

“You talked to Magda Morgan,” Evenela said, her eyes wide. “What did she say to you?”

“She was nice enough. She thinks I’m a Naked Dreamer groupie, you know, that I’m infatuated with her son.”

“I take it you didn’t tell her the real reason for your visit.”

“No. I doubt that she would have believed me.”

“You’re probably right. She’d have figured you for a stalker or something.”

“Well, he’s in Japan, halfway around the world. He won’t be back for another month.” Octavia couldn’t keep the unhappiness from her voice. “I was really hoping to get this over with.”

“Let’s go shopping,” Evenela said. “It always takes my mind off my troubles.”

“I don’t really need anything or feel like shopping.”

“Oh, sister, you’re so practical. Every woman likes shopping. Besides, it’s about having fun and not about what you need, except in your case. You need a diversion.”

Evenela started the car and pulled down the driveway, chatting about her favorite store and how she couldn’t wait to buy Octavia a new outfit.

* * * *

Magda watched the beautiful young woman with the long dark auburn hair and sad blue eyes walk away from her. She wanted to call her back and put her arms around her. To tell her everything would be all right. But she couldn’t do that. The fact was, if Pierce Lacroix had his way, she wouldn’t be around for long. She couldn’t bear to think of anyone hurting Octavia, or anyone for that matter. Octavia wasn’t much older than her own Elwina. She had to talk some sense into Pierce before he went to the Council to try and convince them that eliminating Octavia was their only option.

However, before she could call him, he called her. “Hello, Pierce.”

“Magda, I miss you. I really need to see you.”

“I was just about to call you. You’ll never guess who just left my house.

“You know I don’t like guessing games.”

“Octavia.”

“Jesus, you’re kidding me. What was she doing at your house?”

“Looking for Tobias.”

“I knew it. I knew I was right. We have to move quickly before she finds him.”

“Pierce, listen to me. You can’t kill her. She’s a beautiful young woman who doesn’t deserve to die for something that’s not her fault. You can’t do this.”

“I can, and I will. I already met with the Council. I’ve their permission to do what’s necessary. I can promise you it will be painless. She’ll never know what happened.”

“Please, Pierce, I’m begging you not to do this. Sterilize her if that is what you need to do, but to kill her? Pierce, you just can’t. It goes against everything our people stand for.”

“You don’t think I thought of that first? She’s too strong. It probably wouldn’t even take, and if it did, she’d reverse it. I’m telling you, she’s more powerful than you can imagine. She just doesn’t know it yet, and we need to make sure she never does. It wasn’t just Tobias that made those dreams of his happen. It was Octavia, too. She can’t be allowed to mate with Tobias. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to your son, would you?”

“Are you threatening Tobias?” Magda felt the blood pounding in her head. She couldn’t believe he would dare threaten her own son.

“Calm down. Of course I’m not. But let’s not talk of this any longer. Decisions have been made. I meant what I said when I said I missed you.”

“I’m busy today, Pierce.”

“You’re angry at me.”

“Let’s just say I need a little time to myself.”

“All right then. I’ll call you in the next day or so when you’re feeling better and this whole unfortunate event is behind us. You know I’m only doing what needs to be done. I don’t like this any more than you do, but I’ll do whatever I have to to protect our people.”

After she closed her cell phone, she sat down and stared into space, trying to piece together what she was going to do. Pierce had made a very bad error in judgment when he threatened her son. One she couldn’t just forget. Tobias needed to be warned. How much should she tell him? She knew he loved Octavia. But for them to mate would be disastrous. At least that was what she had been told by Pierce, and her own life only confirmed it. She and Pierce had been meant for each other as one true mates. They both knew it. However, she was Beaucomp and he was a very powerful Klawinken. Their dreams had been manipulated, and she had married someone else as he had. However, the bond between them had always been strong, strong enough that together they had been able to direct their children’s dreams as well as Octavia’s. At least they had thought they had.

It would take a great deal of strength at her age for her to travel via her Klawinken powers since she had so recently traveled to Tobias’s island to rid him of Octavia. It would take her twice as long as normal, but that would still be faster than going the human way. She had to be able to explain her actions in person. She knew he was going to be not only angry, but hurt that his own mother had plotted against him. She loved her son, and she had only done she had to because of her love for him. She could only hope that he would believe her and someday forgive her.

“Mother?”

Magda turned to see Elwina walking toward her. “Who was that woman you were talking to?”

“Just an overzealous fan of your brother’s who happens to be Klawinken.” She smiled. “No one to worry about. She was harmless.”

“How did she get by the gate?”

“She’s Klawinken. However, she’s also the sister of Evenela Andreas, I mean, Atkins. I was very nice to her but discouraging. I doubt that we’ll see her again.”

“Oh, I know who she is. Isn’t she the one that’s engaged to Mathieu Lacroix?”

“Yes, she is.”

“Well, I guess that explains it. You know, her coming here to see Tobias while she’s engaged to Mathieu. I never understood why they weren’t brought up by their family. Something weird about them I think. But it’s not of my business,” Elwina said a little more sharply than necessary.

Magda raised her eyebrows. She had always suspected Elwina had a little crush on Mathieu Lacroix.

“I’m going to go shopping. Do you want to go with me? We can dress up, and no one will know us. It will be fun.”

“I have some things I need to do. In fact, I’ll be gone for the next few days,” Magda said. “It’s rather sudden, some rewrites the director wants to go over with me. We’ll shop next weekend.”

“Really?” Elwina sat down beside her. “That’s a bummer. I was hoping we could spend the day together.”

“I know. Me, too. But this is something I need to do. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry. We can still go next weekend.”

“Thank you, dear. I love you so much.” Magda opened her arms and hugged her only daughter. Elwina was such a good child. However, she was going to be twenty-one in the next year, and then she would have to tell her more about the Klawinken. She had told her a few things already, but not about the mating. She wished it could be natural, but with her genetics, the Council would not just let nature take its course with her daughter even though she didn’t have the gene. Unless things were to change. Maybe, she thought silently, still holding her daughter in her arms, the time had come for change.

Tobias had gotten through the concert on automatic pilot. The crowd had not seemed to notice that he had been drinking. A few of the band members knew, but as long as he was able to perform, they weren’t about to say anything. They were a good group of guys and Klawinken, so they knew if he had needed help, he would have asked for it. They each had their own gifts that they were more than happy to use when the situation warranted it. Jake, the one he trusted above all others, had the gift of illusion. The crowd could have been made to think any one of them were him if Jake had willed it. However, there was no need for that. He had done his job.

He had met with some fans and put in an appearance backstage, but the truth was he didn’t want to socialize. All he wanted was to be alone with his thoughts of Octavia. He knew she was thinking about him. He had felt her tugging at his subconscious, but for her sake he had to be strong. He loved her beyond reason, but the fact that he could actually end her life with his love was tearing him apart. He had never believed in love, and now that he knew it existed, he would have to live his life without it.

Back in his room at the hotel, he lay across the bed and closed his eyes. He had never wished for his own death before, but at this moment, he thought it might be easier than living the rest of his life without Octavia. He could see her face, feel her body next to his, and taste the sweetness she had offered him with her love. It was a self-torture that he couldn’t stop himself from indulging in. He could hear Octavia calling to him. He knew if he allowed himself to go to her even in their dreams, he would only have to leave her again. He loved her too much to ever put her in danger. It would kill him knowing she was with Mathieu, but at least she would have a life. He would watch over her. That was all he could do.

He must have dozed off because he awoke with a start. He knew he wasn’t alone. He opened his eyes to see his mother staring at him from the side of the bed.

“Mother,” he exclaimed. “What the hell?”

“It’s nice to see you, too, dear.”

“What are you doing here? You’re lucky I didn’t jump up and grab you by the throat.”

“Really. I think I can still move pretty quickly when needed, as evidenced by my being here.”

“What’s wrong? Is Elwina okay?”

“Yes, she fine. But there is something we need to talk about. Something I hope I’m going to be able to fix.”

Tobias sat up and walked into the bathroom where he splashed water on his face. Returning, he sat at the table where his mother was already seated. “Okay, Mother. What have you done?”

“It’s about Octavia.”

“What about Octavia,” he said quickly, his brow etched with concern.

“She came to visit me, looking for you.” Magda sighed. “I’m not sure how much she knows, but she’s not oblivious to your existence. I felt anger from her, even betrayal. I think she’s stronger than we thought.”

“What did you tell her?”

“That you were away.”

Tobias sat back down and looked at this mother. He heard something in her voice that he had never heard before. Fear.

“I’m afraid I’ve lied to you about Octavia. Your mating with her will not kill her. Someone else wishes to do that. The Klawinken Council fears her gifts that if coupled with yours and then passed onto a child could destroy our people.”

Tobias’s face went stone cold, his whole body rigid. “You’re telling me that the Klawinken Council kept us apart because they fear our gifts together could be greater than their own as a whole?”

“Yes, I guess that is what I’m telling you. Please, Tobias, I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be, but believe it or not, that’s not the worst of it.”

“Mother, what do you mean the worst of it?”

“The Council fears Octavia to the point they have gone beyond rational logic as far as I’m concerned. Pierce Lacroix has been given permission to kill Octavia.”

Tobias couldn’t speak. He went down on his knees. Nothing could have prepared him for what his mother just told him. Looking back up at her, he knew she had not been lying this time. “I have to find Octavia before Pierce does,” he cried.

“She’s still in Boston visiting her sister.”

“I have to go to her. If anything happens to her, I swear…”