Lost (12 page)

“
Sara, would you like
me
to kill her? If it makes you
happy, I’d be honoured.” Marcus smiled maliciously. “This
is
my
territory.”

“
You can’t do that…” Gene’s brow furrowed. “You’ll start a
war. She belongs to…”

“
Watch me. She belongs to one of the interior Covens, and do
you really think they will care about a month-old fledging that
never should’ve been made? She was no more meant for this life than
you are.” Marcus snarled. “Do you honestly believe they would take
the chance of enraging Max and Corrine, who are famous for rash
decisions they may or may not regret later?”

“
She’s a mistake, just like you are,” Loren added
confidentially. “I will back that up. My Leaders are away, so who
do you think were one of people left in charge?”

“
See, this makes sense now.” Kelly snorted, and replied to
Marcus, “Maybe that’s why they get along so well. They’re both
fuck-ups.”

Gene
ignored Kelly, and looked straight at Loren. “You need Jesse’s
consent to do anything.”

“
Jesse and I have been with the Foxworth Coven a very long
time. Under our ruling family, we’ve protected this entire province
for more than twelve times the length of your lifetime. We’ve lived
here since before the Council even came here. If I tell him I want
to start a war, all he’ll do is ask if he can watch. As for the
Council, they will heed whatever I have to say.”

Gene
looked absolutely murderous, but there wasn’t much he could do. He
was outranked in so many ways. I knew the blonde had to be hearing
this go on, and know we were discussing her, yet she remained in
the false security of the house.

At any
moment Loren could will her body to his side, and I knew he would
just step back at let me have at her.

I
couldn’t resist anymore. I touched Gene’s mind, so light he would
have never noticed. Then it all made too much sense.

He
didn’t feel jealous because he cared or loved me. Gene was
resentful like a child would be if another stole their favourite
plaything. I was just another object, no better than the bitch in
the house to him.

“
You know what the worst part is? You wanted
that blonde so much, but you didn’t want Sara involved. You
deliberately had her occupied with someone else, just so you could
go do what you wanted. Then you had the audacity to get mad at her
for
liking
it.”
Kelly taunted with her face a mask of rage and
indignation.

Gene stared at her with the dumbest expression I'd ever seen
cross his face.

“
Come baby, we don’t have to get your belongings right now. We
will come back when Gene and his pumphog are elsewhere.” Loren
pulled me into his arms.

Loren
tipped my head back, and pressed his lips to mine. I pulled away
from Loren the moment Gene began to charge forward.

I held
my hand out, and he froze in place, truly the perfect marionette.
Only his eyes and voice were his own in that moment.

“
Get the fuck out of my house Gene,” Marcus snapped. “If I see
you on my property again, I won’t hesitate to end your pathetic
life.”

“
She's mine.
None
of you should ever forget
that,” Gene thundered, looking at each pointedly.

What was
it about me that made vampires feel the need to own me?

“
Nothing my love,” Loren said, hatefully. “And anyone who
feels different will be burned by the fullest extent of my wrath.
I’m taking you away from here, right now. You’ve had enough abuse
and I will not tolerate one more insult.”

I turned
to Marcus and Kelly, smiling sadly, wishing it never had to come to
this.

“
We’ll be in touch,” I whispered, but knowing they'd heard me.
Marcus nodded in my direction.

We’ll take care of him, little
sister,
Holly whispered to me. Kev and
Ryder weren’t far behind him. They all made me promises, ones I
knew they would keep.

Whenever I did come back to my territory again, they'd be
here waiting for me.

“
This isn’t over!” Gene shrieked. “Sara,
you
are
mine, and
no one will take you from me.”

I opened
my mouth to say something, but what could I say?

There
was nothing.

I turned
into embrace of the loyal man who reached for me and ignored the
painful wail from the other. It was the final picture that would
come to haunt me in the tribulations to come.

I let
Loren take us both away from the disheartening scene, and I
wondered when I would see this place again. There was so much I
wasn’t sure of.

But
there was one thing I knew.

This was
far
from over.

Chapter Eight

I stood
outside of the Cornwall mansion.

My heart
skipped a beat as the front door opened, yet no one was
there.

“Figures,” I mumbled, as Loren laughed.

I stepped over the threshold, into the opulence Maximus and
Corrine Cornwall were accustomed. Hand in hand, we crossed the
foyer and into Max’s study.

Perched
on the edge of the wide oak desk, Corrine examined her long, blood
red polished nails. Her mate, Max, typed on his keyboard in super
speed, that not even my superhuman sight could track.

Corrine smiled before she looked up. “Good afternoon,
darling.”

She stood and spread her arms. I released Loren’s hand and
darted into her motherly embrace—a touch I’d coveted my entire life
and found when I joined the Coven. A tight knit, wonderful family
Kelly and I needed above all else.

I hadn’t
sensed Max move, but there he was, arms wrapped around both of us.
As close to a father as I’d ever had. Traitorous tears marred my
vision, and my shoulders trembled.

“My baby
girl,” he whispered. He kissed the top of my head. “Everything will
be all right. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

But damn
it, Gene was. Even now, when he was nowhere in sight.

“Sara,”
Corrine said. “I understand how much it hurts when you let someone
in and they dare to betray you.” I looked up into her violet eyes.
“Right now, Gene’s callousness aches, but it will fade in time. And
when it does, life and light will return, allowing you to see all
that is important. You family and friends, who will always stand at
your side, giving you love and strength.”

“I
know,” I replied. They released me, and I stepped back.

Wasn’t
it always like me, to separate myself from everyone when I was
hurting? To never let myself wallow for long in the darkness, and
to plaster a fake smile like a bandage over a gunshot
wound?

Max
nodded toward Loren. “You don’t always have to be alone to face the
world. Some people might be worth investing in.”

Loren
stood by himself, straight and tall, almost aloof. But I knew
better. Behind that arrogant mask lay a man filled with heat, love
and passion that smouldered in those espresso eyes.

“I’ve
already learned that lesson,” Loren said softly, a hint of an
accent I hadn’t heard before in his tone. I cocked my head,
wondering what else I hadn’t learned about him. What joys or fears
we could unravel together.

“It is a good lesson to learn,” Corrine replied. “I take it
you want to ask us something, Mr. Foxworth."

“I do.” Loren’s expression softened as his gaze fell on me. “I want
to take Sara away for a while, to a special place I visit when I
find I need time to relax.”

“And can
we trust that you will keep her safe in the absence of her Coven?”
Max asked.

“I give
my oath nothing will harm her. I want nothing but her
happiness.”

“It
better not,” Max growled.

I
smirked. “Come on, Max.”

Max
winked at me. “Well, what do you expect, baby girl?” He paused. “I
suppose, if you want to go on a short vacation, Corrine and I can
find someone to fill in for you at the RedLine.”

“And
hunting?” I asked.

Corrine
inclined her head. “I haven’t been on a good Rogue hunt in a long
time.”

Max
laughed. “Neither have I. I guess, that’s what happens when we have
so many capable people to call.”

“Sounds like you’ll do just fine without me,” I said, a
shiver of expectation working down my spine. I hadn’t taken any
time off in, well, forever it seemed.

A sure
smile pulled at my lips as I meet Loren’s shining gaze. He held his
hand out to me, and I closed the distance between us with two small
steps. The moment our fingers entwined, our adventure had just
begun.

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