The Power of One (The Forever series Book Two) (3 page)

“You knew it was her and you told her, didn’t you?” Gregor
asks suddenly and we all turn around to face him, having forgotten his
presence. His pointed features give me the creeps. Actually, he in general
gives me the creeps. I wasn’t sure where he had been born, but had adopted
Russia as his native land many centuries ago. Eloise, I think, was originally
from Gaul and adopted France as her home in later years.

“I had an idea it might be Liv. The numbers were significant
to her, so yes I told her,” CK says.

Eloise sneers again, “Of course he did. He’d like nothing
more than his bitch to serve next to him on The Council.”

CK steps forward. “Call her that again and I will make good
on her threat,” he says menacingly and even I gulp at the prospect.

“Yes, well the numbers are still being verified,” Gregor
says offhandedly.

“They don’t need to be verified,” CK snaps. “Liv is the
Chosen One. It is done.”

“Maybe it’s not done. There are other baby Vamps being sired
tonight on Holy ground, as we speak,” Eloise says sweetly.

CK is growing impatient. “Liv is the One. Turn around!” he
barks at me. I obey: to do anything else would be foolish. Standing facing Cole
now, whose eyes are so wide they may well fall out of his head. I catch his eye
and try to look reassuring as CK yanks down the strap of my top to expose the
symbol I have been marked with. I hear Eloise gasp in surprise and even Gregor
grunts softly. I feel Eloise’s cold fingers flit lightly over my shoulder and
she hisses drawing her hand back as if she’s been burned.

“It is done,” CK says again, roughly pulling the strap back
up. “Devon, Cole, if you please?” It’s not a question.

Gregor moves to stand next to Eloise for the big reveal as
Devon and Cole hold up their wrists to show their matching markings. Eloise
gets over her surprise rapidly and is now extremely pissed off. She snaps her
gaze to Constantine, “Somehow you planned this. I don’t know how you knew but
this has all been a set up from the start, all for you to get your whore whelp
onto The Council.”

I take great offense to that insult but CK just looks
exasperated. “Don’t be an idiot, Eloise. What do you think brought you here in
the first place? You sensed The Power. The prophecy was foretold and has come
to pass. Deal with it. We have bigger issues to deal with than your paranoia,”
he snaps.

Oh? Like what?

“We know nothing of this Power of One. Only that Liv now has
it. Her charges have been marked as well and we don’t know what that means.”

Oh! Like that!

“We need to get back to The Council and gather as much
information as we have on this prophecy and somehow we need to track down
Corinne,” he states with profound authority and I mentally swoon.

“Agreed,” Gregor says, surprising everyone again with this
affirmation and he Teleports out.

Eloise is still not agreeable and glares at me with such
loathing it takes everything I have not to flinch.

CK turns his back on her to face me. He takes my face in his
hands and says, “We’ll figure this out, my sweet. In the meantime take the car,
go back to the hotel and look after your boy. I will return later tonight.” He
kisses me softly and I nod.

“Okay.”

Eloise is throwing stakes at me with her eyes over CK’s
contact with me. He nods at Cole and Devon and then takes Nico’s arm. “You
first,” he says to Eloise, not trusting her. She grins wickedly at me,
triumphant in the knowledge that he is leaving me and returning with her. She
blinks out and with a last nod, CK follows.

“Man, she really hates you,” Devon pipes up from the back
seat. Cole is driving, as he wants to do something “normal.”

“The feeling is definitely mutual,” I sneer with loathing.

“So, is anyone at some point going to fill me in on what the
fuck just happened? Or are we just going to ignore it.” Cole exclaims.

“Oh baby. It is so complicated,” I sigh, but fill him in
anyway. I get looks, grunts, and growls, but soon he is up-to-date with the
whole prophecy concerning The Council and the Power of One thing.

“That’s why you wanted to turn me yesterday? So you could be
on The Council?” Cole asks incredulously.

“What? God no! I do not want to be on The Council. It’s
chosen me. We thought it best to act quickly to save you. Had Eloise and Gregor
figured it out they would likely have killed you and then probably me as well
to prevent this from happening. I’m sorry, I should have told you,” I finish,
ashamed for keeping the truth from him.

He runs a hand through his hair causing it to stick up in
that adorable way and he bangs his fist on the steering wheel. “Christ Liv! You
should have told me,” he yells at me. “I feel now that you just did it for your
own purposes.”

Abruptly he pulls off the road and slams on the brakes.
“Fuck!” he yells.

I give him a minute to calm down. I don’t blame him for
being angry with me.

“Dev, give us a minute?”

“Most definitely,” he says and jumps out gratefully.

I pull Cole’s face into my hands and I glare at him for his
insubordination. He instantly relaxes and apologizes, “I’m sorry, this is all
so new. This is what I was talking about the other night. The politics.” He
drops his face into his hands and the bond is making him feel guilty for
yelling at me.

“Hey,” I say, pulling his face back to mine. “I’m sorry. I
love you. I want to be with you, now, like this, regardless of whatever else is
going on, that fact hasn’t changed. I wanted to keep you safe. I’m sorry. I
should have told you.”

He sighs heavily. “I know. I just wish you could have
trusted me.” He leans his forehead against mine. “I love you,” he murmurs.

“I love you, Cole. More than you will ever know.”

He smiles, relaxes, and turns to me for reassurance and we
are all right again.

Devon interrupts us by jumping back into the car. “Minutes
up. Let’s roll,” he says.

We both glare at him but oblige nonetheless. All of us will
be happier once we are back at the hotel and out of this damn car.

“Why does that Council woman person hate you so much?” Cole
asks.

I grimace. Eloise and I have a bad history. I recount the
tale of our first meeting that even Devon hasn’t heard, but then he’s never had
reason to ask as he has never seen Eloise and I together before.

Caen, Normandy, 1066 – Aefre

The first time I met Eloise was in 1066. William II, Duke
of Normandy, was to set sail to England to claim the throne from Harold
Godwinson. Constantine was to join the fight, ever the warrior, my sire, in an
effort to hold onto his land and Castel in the duchy and to keep an ally in
William, who was also a good friend. I was terrified that something would
happen to him but he assured me no harm would come to him, being what he was,
what we were.

That night in September before the fleet was due to leave
was the night Eloise turned up. Constantine and I were at his Castel, which I
had named Castel Gradile. We were in bed at the time, when she barged into his
bedchamber like she owned the place.

Casting her bright green eyes at us she raised her
eyebrow at our indelicate position. Me, on my hands and knees, with Constantine
pounding into me from behind. Certainly no stranger to all manner of sexual
positions now after fifty-four years of being a Vampire this was, however, my
first time with someone watching us.  Constantine didn’t seem to mind though as
he acknowledged her presence but continued until he was done. I didn’t finish,
for the first time since we’ve been together, and that unsettled me. Eloise on
the other hand seemed delighted by my lack of satisfaction. “She obviously
doesn’t know of your proclivities, my dear. Perhaps we could show her how it’s
done?”

He glared at her as he dressed, clearly unashamed to be naked
in front of her. “Leave her be,” he growled.

“On the contrary, she is a pretty little thing. Wherever
did you find her?” She paused and then said, “Ah wait, let me guess… the land
you mean to conquer tomorrow?” She raised her perfect eyebrows at me sitting
motionless on the bed. She moved towards him and placed her delicate hands on
his bare chest. My heart thudded and I inhaled sharply with jealousy stabbing
at me. She cast her gaze back to me, enjoying my envy. Seconds passed but
finally he pushed her away. “Enough,” he growled. “Go and find someone else to
play with.”

She laughed, a sweet tinkling sound which was in contrast
to the vicious mouth it came out of. “You know I would rather play with you,”
she said seductively.

“Go now, before I make you go.” She grinned, thrilled
with his dominance over her and bowed her head in submission, “As you wish, my
lord. Be sure to come and find me when you are done with this one. I will give
you a proper send off, in the way I know you like.” Casting a wicked glance my
way she flicked her auburn hair over her shoulder and left. “Who is that?” I
asked my sire in pained tones. “Another one of… yours?”

He sneered, “Who, Eloise? No, that bitch has nothing to
do with me. Have no fear my love, she is just trying to make you jealous as she
herself is jealous that my affections are towards you.” He tried but failed to
reassure me.

“But who is she?” I pressed.

He sighed, “Eloise Delacourt, she is an Initial Vampire
and a member of The Council.”

“I see. Are you and she…?” I trailed off, unable to
complete the sentence. He looked puzzled for a moment but then he realized what
I was trying to ask. “No! No, my sweet. She is interested but I am not. I
despise her but sadly I am stuck with her. Please stop these thoughts. I love you.
You are mine and I am yours. Always and forever.” He kissed me sweetly, deeply,
and I wanted to believe him. He set sail for England the next day but
unbeknownst to him, I was also aboard the ship, unable to be apart from him,
for even a second. The next time I saw Eloise, she was half naked with my sire
in 1112 and I ran.

“So basically she wants Constantine and he doesn’t want her
and she’s jealous because he wants you?” Devon sums up quite nicely.

“Yep, pretty much,” I sigh.

Finally we are back at the hotel. Devon and I leap out
before Cole has cut the engine, restlessly flexing our muscles.

“I need a release,” I mutter.

“Yeah me too,” Devon returns. We glance at each other.
Normally we would be each other’s release but not this time. I sigh, “Dev…” but
he holds up his hands. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this,” he says and I believe him.
He has no shortage of admirers, and I watch him enter the hotel in hunting
mode.

Cole joins me at my side, pulling me close with one arm
while also taking my hand in his other. Needing to touch me, be near me. I
smile up at him and he gives me that luscious half smile back. “I can’t wait to
get you into bed,” he murmurs seductively.

Holy crap! My stomach drops at his tone.

“Mm, me either,” I murmur back.

“Then let’s go,” he whispers.

We stroll back to the elevator draped around one another. As
soon as we get to the room Cole is all over me, devouring me with his hands,
with his mouth. “Fuck, I need you so bad,” he says against my lips, not wanting
to break contact, before clamping down on my bottom lip fangs at the ready.

Biting me harshly he moans at the feeling it invokes and the
taste of my blood. “I want you… now,” he demands.

My sire self takes a step back. “Uh-uh baby. That’s not how
this is going to go,” I murmur, shaking my finger at him. He looks lost that I
have stopped touching him, stopped kissing him. “How then? I’ll do anything you
say, just please let me kiss you. Let me make love to you,” he pleads, “I need
you.”

My old cruel self takes delight in hearing him beg but my
new evolved self doesn’t like hearing him in pain. At war with myself I try to
find a middle ground while I undress, first myself, then him. I feel him shiver
as my fingers lightly brush his skin.

“Let me touch you, please,” he whispers, eyes closed.

I bring his hand up to my face and kiss his palm and he
gasps. “I want you to please me, Cole,” I whisper gently. “I want your hands on
me. I want you inside me.”

He reaches for me but I push him away and shake my head.
“No. You are mine to do with as I please. You will do what I want and when I
want it.”

He nods his agreement, his desire for me winning out over
his reluctance to submit. I know I am being cruel but all the blood, all the
feelings, the cravings, and not to mention the weird electric current running
through me, spurs me on. I am Liv, Vampire Sire.

“First, my love, you need to feed again. You can take my
blood this time.”

Desire flares up in his eyes at the thought of my blood. He
hungrily steps towards me fangs already drawn. I hold a hand up to his chest.
“Slowly,” I say carefully. “You will still struggle to stop and I don’t want to
have to hurt you.”

He nods but I know he isn’t hearing me.

I turn around and pull my hair over my left shoulder, as he
is a rightie. He leans down and grabs the top of my arms in a death grip and
lowers his mouth to my neck. I hiss as his fangs pierce my skin. I moan in
delight as he starts to suckle gently. The bloodlust gets to him though as I
knew it would and he clamps down harder, coaxing out my blood. He growls deep
in his throat and drinks more. Already past the limit he has to learn, I say
his name, “Cole.” He doesn’t stop. “Cole!” I say louder but he still doesn’t
stop. Huffing in exasperation, I pull my left arm out of his grip and elbow him
in the side. Hard. He grunts in pain and releases the bite, panting.

“Too much, my love,” I say harshly, turning around to find
him bent over double. “Had I been human, I would have been dead now. Self
control is everything,” I say softly then.