Octavia's Choice [The Klawinken 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (6 page)

When they stopped spinning, they were no longer in the hotel room, but laying on a tropical beach, with white sand, aqua-blue water, and palm trees that were swaying in a warm breeze. The warmth of the sun and the soft ocean breeze felt good against her naked body, which was still connected to Tobias.

“We can be anywhere you want, whenever you want, not only in your mind, but physically. It’s just a matter of working together. I’ve never traveled so quickly so far before. This is only the beginning of what we can do together, my love. And our gift is that our time together will always be like this.”

“I think now I really do understand what it means to be Klawinken. Before, with Mathieu—” She stopped seeing the shadow pass over Tobias’s face.

“It’s okay”—Tobias looked down at her, brushing her lips with his own—“to speak of him. This wasn’t his fault, any of it. He truly believes you are his mate. His dreams have been altered to make him believe you were his mate. He’s as much a victim as we are.”

Octavia nodded. “It’s just that with Mathieu, somewhere inside of me I knew that things weren’t right between us. But even my sister believed him to be my mate, and I thought the fault lay with me.”

Tobias lifted himself and drew Octavia up with him. They walked to the water and dove into a wave that swallowed them up, spitting them out on the other side. When Octavia surfaced, she was looking into the eyes of the man she loved, who she would always love.

“What are we to do, Tobias?”

“That, my love, is what we need to talk about.”

Back on the beach, Tobias explained his theory concerning the manipulation of their dreams by those who were part of the Klawinken Council. Octavia listened intently to every word. She knew he was right. Those responsible had to be among those most powerful of Klawinken to suppress and redesign dreams. The question was why they felt the need to go against everything they held so dear. What could have possibly motivated them to betray their own people?

“I can’t believe we could have been kept apart forever,” Octavia said, holding Tobias’s hand as they sat on the warm sand, their bodies touching.

“The fact that they couldn’t keep us apart tells me that our instincts and our gifts together are greater than they anticipated.” He hugged her to him, kissing her, his lips lingering to taste the salt that remained from their swim in the ocean.

Octavia smiled inwardly, enjoying his kiss. However, it scared her that there were those who felt the need to convince Mathieu that she was his mate and Tobias that she was meant for another. She felt a chill run up her spine despite the warmth of the sun that was drying the water from her body.

“I need to use the bushes for a moment, if you’ll excuse me.” Tobias grinned, pulling himself upward.

Octavia giggled. “Are you shy now?”

“Not shy, but some things really are meant to be done in private.”

He walked casually over to the beginning of the tree line and disappeared within the junglelike growth. Octavia lay back against the sand, looking up at the blue sky dotted by little puffy white clouds. She wondered if anything could be more perfect than this moment. She closed her eyes when she began to feel faint. Fearing the darkness that pushed into her subconscious, she fought to stay awake, but she was being pulled down into the cold, drowning her ability to fight. She continued to sink into the darkness until there was nothing.

When she opened her heavy eyelids, she was lying across the sofa in her hotel room completely dressed in the clothes she had worn the night before. Still groggy and with a giant headache, she looked around and saw Katie sprawled across the other sofa, her eyes closed and snoring. Last night they had been at the Naked Dreamer concert and gone backstage, where she had met Tobias. She tried to remember what had happened next. She remembered falling onto Tobias’s lap and a limousine and then nothing. Her mouth felt dry, and her head continued to pound.

She pulled her cell phone from her pants pocket and read the time. It was after one o’clock in the afternoon. Sitting up, she tried to focus her thoughts on the night before, but she couldn’t get past the limousine ride with Tobias Morgan. She pulled herself up and stumbled into the bathroom. She took off the top Katie had loaned her and noticed it had a slight rip in it. She would have to replace it. She wiggled out of the tight jeans and realized with a start that she wasn’t wearing any panties. Again, she tried to remember last night, but no matter how hard she tried, her memory hit a brick wall.

With a sigh, she stepped into the shower and let the water run over her body. She hoped it would help clear the fog from her head. She needed to remember last night. But if she couldn’t, hopefully Katie would be able to tell her what had happened. She washed her hair and rinsed off. Stepping out of the shower, she caught her reflection in the full-length mirror. She noticed some bruising on her left breast. They were sore to the touch. For an instant she felt a memory struggle to the surface, but it was gone before she could hold onto it.

Still feeling weak, she slid onto the stool in front of the vanity to comb her hair. With each stroke of the brush, she felt herself losing touch with reality. She heard the brush hit the floor. She thought she was going to lose consciousness when she heard her name being called. It was Katie.

“Octavia, are you in the bathroom? Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She forced herself to breathe. “I’ll be right out.”

Katie was standing by the window talking on the telephone. She hung up and turned around when she heard Octavia. “I just ordered breakfast for us. I don’t know about you, but I’m famished.

“Thanks.”

“You don’t look so good,” Katie observed. “I think maybe those tequila shots were a little more than you could handle.”

“Tequila shots,” Octavia croaked. “Oh my God, no wonder I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. How many did I have?”

“I don’t know. I lost count, but the guys in the band were buying, so there was a never-ending flow of booze. Those guys can drink.”

“Did we come right back here? I mean, did we, or did I do anything else?”

Katie shook her head, “Well, neither one of us were up for much more than finding a bed to pass out in. Lucky for us Tobias and Andy and the rest of the guys made sure we got here safe and sound. They took care of us.”

“So then, how did I lose my panties?”

“You lost your panties?” Katie shook her head. “Well, my guess is you weren’t wearing any to begin with since the pants I loaned you were so tight.”

“Thank God.” Octavia breathed a sigh of relief. “I think you’re right. I wasn’t sure if I, well, you know.”

“No worries. No one took advantage of us.”

“You sound a little sad about that,” Octavia joked, noticing Katie’s wistful look.

“Well, let’s face it, one night with any of those guys would have been heaven, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. They were a lot more chivalrous than I would have ever imagined for a rock group.”

“You never know. You may see them again.”

“I doubt it. They were getting on a plane this morning for New York and then they’re heading to Japan. They won’t be back in the States for months, and by that time they’ll have forgotten all about us.”

“Since I can’t remember anything past getting in the limo, I doubt that I left a memorable impression. It sounds like you made a much better impression since you can at least remember partying with them. I just wish I could remember what it was like hanging out with Tobias Morgan. I had such a crush on him in high school, and what I do remember of last night is that he was still every bit as hot now as he was then.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I know the guy was taken with you. You literally fell into his lap, and from that point on you two were attached at the hip. In his defense, he did tell you to slow down on the shots, but then again, he didn’t stop them from filling your glass. He seemed kind of at odds with everything, but in the end he did make sure that we made it back here safely.

“Well, I’ll just have to take your word for it.” Octavia smiled. “So, what are we going to do with the rest of the day?”

“How about doing the tour of the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, and just walking around the historic district before it gets dark? We still have money left on the room comp, so we could come back here for dinner. What do you think?”

“I think that’s a great idea. Let’s do it. I just need to take a couple aspirin, and I’ll feel a lot better.”

Octavia went back in her room and shut the door. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t make herself remember. What was so strange was that she had no memory at all. She would have thought she could have remembered bits and pieces, but it was like it never happened. Never in her life had she experienced this kind of memory loss, regardless of what she drank. Suddenly she felt very sad and empty. She didn’t know why, but she began to cry. She couldn’t stop herself as she lay back on the bed and hugged a pillow. An incredible loneliness overwhelmed her to the point that she was powerless to get up for a few minutes. She hadn’t felt this sad since her sister had left home.
What’s wrong with me?

* * * *

The remainder of the day passed without incident. They did the tourist tour of the historic district, and even took a ride in a horse-drawn carriage that took them past Christ’s Church and other landmarks before they made their way back to the hotel where they ate dinner. Tired, they decided to go bed early. They wanted to be on the road before noon and home early so they could work on their homework. Mathieu called before they left the hotel, and they talked for a while. He said he was coming back on Saturday morning and that her sister, Evenela, was hounding him to bring her back with him to Boston for a visit. She wanted to visit Evenela, but she needed to talk with her parents about her Klawinken heritage first.

Katie was a magpie on the trip home. She couldn’t stop talking about the concert and going out with Naked Dreamer afterward. Octavia listened, hoping something Katie said would jar her memory. Every time she pushed herself to remember, the feeling of sadness she had experienced at the hotel came back, bringing tears to her eyes. It was as if she had lost a lot more than just her memory. Luckily, Katie was too busy driving and talking to take notice.

At home, her parents asked her how everything went. She regaled them with the highlights, leaving out meeting the band backstage. They knew she had homework, so when she went to her room with a sandwich instead of sitting down for dinner, they understood. She did need to study, but she still felt dead inside and she needed to be alone. She decided to use her MP3 player and listen to some Naked Dreamer. She began to listen to it, but for some unknown reason Tobias Morgan’s voice didn’t sound the way she remembered. She actually found his voice somewhat distasteful. She turned it off.

That night, before she went to sleep, Mathieu called her, and again he mentioned visiting her sister. On the one hand, he had told her he didn’t want to pressure her, but on the other, he was beginning to sound like a broken record. She missed Mathieu, but she didn’t feel excited about his return. She knew she should be missing him a lot more than she did. Nothing felt right about her relationship with Mathieu.

She studied for a while before she finally fell asleep. When she woke, she felt as if she hadn’t slept at all. There were no dreams to remember. Her body felt cool to the touch, not like before, when she would wake overheated from a dream about Tobias Morgan. She felt so alone, and again she gave way to the unwanted tears that fell unheeded down her cheeks.

“You know, Octavia, spring break is in two weeks and you promised your sister we were going to visit. She understood you didn’t want to tell your parents over the holidays, but the holidays are long gone and you have over a week off from school coming up. I think the time has come to speak with your parents and visit Boston to see Evenela.” Mathieu looked at her from across the dinner table, his face serious, his eyes locked on hers, his jaw rigid. Ever since he had returned from Boston, he had been unrelenting in his desire for her to go back with him to Boston.

“I know you’re right, and I’ve decided to tell them this weekend. I have no choice. I should have told them long before this.”

“Good,” Mathieu said, draining his glass of scotch. “That makes me happy, and it’s going to make your sister very happy.”

“How I hate the thought of telling them. It will only hurt them,” she said, unable to keep the regret of what she had to do from her voice. “They’ll know that you and I have mated already and that Evenela has been back in my life without their knowledge. If only I could spare them the details. They are going to feel so betrayed.”

“They need to know the truth regardless of how they react. Remember, they betrayed you by not telling you the truth about your real parents.”

“They only did it to protect me. My parents must have given them reason to believe they were doing the right thing. They did ask them to bring me up as their own. Let’s not forget that.” Unlike Mathieu and Evenela, she didn’t see her parents as the bad guys. Mathieu just grunted, shaking his head. She could see he was not happy with her. They finished their meal in silence. She was lost in thought about how she was going to tell her parents that she knew they weren’t her biological parents and the circumstances surrounding her newfound knowledge.