This was getting intense.
Viktor and Declan faced off as if in a staring match. Which one was good and which one was evil I hadn’t decided and I wondered what side I was on. One thing was for sure, though. They both were on mine.
“Why am I so impor
tant to either side?” Their attention was suddenly on me. “I mean, you said I tip the balance. There is obviously a Heaven and Hell, so God and the Devil have to exist.” Their eyes widened at my mention of the Devil. “What aren’t you telling?”
“Tell her
, Viktor,” Declan coaxed.
“Why don’t you tell her?”
Viktor fired back.
“Why don’t you bot
h shut the hell up and spill it? Declan, tell me.”
“There’s a prophecy about a child who will be born and will lead an un
holy army against the heavens. She’d carry the blood of not only witchcraft but of light and dark. She’d lead and be the Dark’s companion. ” Declan was no longer looking at me.
This was a lot to process.
I’d just discovered that I was a witch, I might be part of a prophecy, and my life partner was already picked out. I felt myself begin to shake. The idea that my life had already been planned out for me without my say made my blood boil.
“So I’m a witch that is supposed to lead an army, have the power of light and darkness, and be a companion
to the Dark.? Wow! I think I need another drink to help this sink in.”
“Here.”
Viktor handed me a glass of brown liquid. I took a sip and downed the rest. It was the left over Crown.
I caught his hand.
“Who is the Dark? Is it you?” I saw Declan looking away.
“No
, I’m not. I’m afraid I’m a little bit lower on the pay scale compared to him.” His hand cupped my cheek. I was scared, because that wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “It doesn’t have to come true. We just have to come up with a plan.”
“That’s why
she needs to leave with me now,” Declan demanded.
“You wi
ll not just take her and leave. You need to realize you aren’t in the picture anymore? She’s with me and I will protect her,” Viktor argued.
There was sarcasm in Declan’s voice.
“I’m sure you would too—”
“Hello
, I’m still here. I don’t know what the hell you two are arguing about, but I’m not going into hiding.”
“Sloane
, you don’t understand. His side wants you to lead an army that I know you want nothing to do with and my side just wants you dead. If you deny either side, you won’t survive.” Declan was actually worried.
“I don’t care
, Declan. I know who I am. I know right from wrong and I refuse to get involved.”
This time it was Viktor’s turn. “You got involved when you were born.”
I spun on him, “Really? Well, correct me if I’m wrong, but no one has ever been able to pick their parents and destiny in that manner. I never asked for it and I damn sure don’t want it now.”
“It doesn’t matter.
You are who you are and nothing will change that. You have to understand that Darkness will consume you if you use your power for the wrong use.” Declan now stood in front of me, tempting me with his eyes. They were beautiful ice blue eyes that used to gleam every time he looked at me. They didn’t gleam or twinkle anymore as he looked at me. So how did I know I could trust him? He had yet to give back what he stole from me the first time.
I blinked myself back into reality.
“This is where I belong.” I backed up and placed my hand into Viktor’s. Declan stormed out and I didn’t watch him go. Instead, I cleaned up and I gathered my stuff from upstairs.
Chapter 11
I didn’t look for Declan as I topped the stairs to my bedroom. Instead, I made a point to stay away from looking out across the property to see if I could spot him. I knew he was gone, though. Considering that he was a supernatural creature with uncharted speed, he could be in town already. All I had were the clothes I came here in and they smelt horrible.
I opened the closet to see if the
re was something decent inside. Rummaging through some clothes, something fell to the ground. It was a collapse duel picture frame and I knew too well which pictures rested inside. It was a picture of me hugging my Aunt Dru after church one Sunday and Shay held me from behind as we smiled for the camera. It was the last picture my aunt kept and Declan had taken the picture. On the other side of the frame was a picture of Declan and I sitting in the pasture and laughing. It was taken by my aunt on the same day as the other—the day my aunt checked her animals for the last time. It soon became hard to breathe. I was so caught up in the moment I didn’t hear Viktor come in. He stood beside me, glancing over my shoulder.
“Is everything
OK?” he asked.
“Yea
h, I just haven’t seen these in years.” I kept looking at the pictures, afraid he would see right through me.
“Your au
nt was a very beautiful woman. I can tell how much you loved each other.” I knew he was being kind and wouldn’t say anything about the neighboring picture.
“Yes
, I do.” Even though she was gone, I’d take my love for her everywhere. “Will it ever get easier, Viktor?”
“Honestly
? I don’t know. What I do know is that as long as you will let me, I will be here to help you through it all.” He wrapped his arms around me and I began to feel somewhat safe.
After standing
there and taking everything in, I finally let that wall I’d been building up for so many years slowly crumble down. It was something I was going to need in order to get through whatever was in store for me. After that wall came crumbling down, I sat the picture frame on the top shelf of the closet and I turned to face Viktor, tightly wrapping my arms around him. He kissed the top of my head and rubbed my back, and his fingertips grazed the skin on my lower back. The touch was electrifying. I looked up because I was sure he felt it too. As soon as our eyes met, I couldn’t stand it any longer.
Viktor
first kissed me tenderly, and then as if he was starving. One hand was wrapped in my hair and the other around my waist, pulling me tighter to him. All I could do was hold on. We moved from the closet to the bed and he pinned me beneath him, still kissing. Giving me a chance to breath, he moved to the nape of my neck. When my shirt got in his way, he ripped it to complete shreds. “You can have mine,” he said. He went back to devouring my skin with his lips and grazing his teeth against my neck, creating goosebumps. I ran my hands through his hair. It was a good thing my bra had a front opening, because some things had been medically enhanced since the last time I lived here and my old ones wouldn’t fit.
And this was it.
We were finally going to seal the deal.
It wasn’t long after my bra was u
nhooked that my pants followed. I guess it worked in his favor that underwear wasn’t part on my attire last night. A low growl sounded from his throat as he realized I laid there completely bare. I sat up to hurry the process for him, because he was still fully dressed. As he kicked his shoes off, I pulled his shirt over his head and unzipped his pants, yanking them down. Oddly enough he wore jockey briefs. I pictured him commando myself. I couldn’t help but smile to myself.
“Is something funny?” h
e asked as he caressed my cheek.
“Nope
, just perfect.”
He bent down and kissed me ever so gently as
he shimmied out of his jockeys. There was no need for any foreplay, because we were both so close to the edge. He took his time exploring every inch of me and it made my whole world spin. When his lips found mine again, it was pure bliss. In that moment of intimacy, nothing else mattered. He even made me forget about Declan.
Once we exhausted ourselves
, we laid there entangled in each other and Viktor had fallen asleep as I played with his hair. I closed my eyes and smiled. For that one moment I felt freer than I ever had. I pulled the cover up and snuggled closer to Viktor. He turned over on his back and I put my head on his chest, covering us both up. I laid there for a while, hoping to fall asleep, but for some reason my eyes flew open and there stood Declan on the other side of my glass door. The look on his face was of pure torture and a single tear fell from his face as he placed his hand on the glass. He forced a smile and he was gone.
Viktor felt me tense and woke up.
“What’s wrong?” He kissed the side of my forehead.
“Nothing.
I thought I saw something. I think we better move before we remain here for the rest of the day.”
“Would that be so bad?”
He pulled me on top of him and I pulled the covers around me as I straddled him.
“Honestly, I don’t think you’
re up for the challenge.” I bent to kiss him.
“I might have to prove you wrong
.” He pulled me closer.
After
seeing Declan, I honestly wasn’t in the mood. But to be the light in someone’s eyes for a change was awesome. This is why it was so hard to come back to reality knowing I had to leave because duty called. I easily pulled away and slipped into the shower. It wasn’t long before Viktor slipped in with me. And after an hour of mischievous, raging hormones, we emerged from the bathroom. Viktor got dressed and I rummaged for some other clothes to wear. Once we were dressed, I locked everything up and took one final look around.
“
How are we going to do this?” asked Viktor.
“What do you mean? Are you asking if you’
re riding Bitch?” I couldn’t help but laugh as he pulled me in for a kiss.
“Let me drive.”
He wasn’t asking, but I was willing to see what he had. So I handed him the keys to the bike.
Viktor got on the bike and drove it around to get used to it, I assumed, but then he opened the
barn door and drove it inside. I was confused. He must have brought his car, or bike even, but then all I saw was him walking back from the barn after closing and locking up the door.
“OK, I give.
What are we driving back?”
“Close
your eyes and give me a kiss,” he commanded now. And I happily complied.
I did as he asked.
I closed my eyes as I wrapped my arms around him and puckered up. He kissed me, and for some reason this kiss was different. It made me feel weightless. How this man could have such power over me was beyond me. I smiled as the wind picked up.
“Open your eyes,” h
e whispered.
As I did
, I couldn’t believe what was happening. We were flying. We were really flying. High above the clouds is where we were. Viktor smiled at me as his big black wings beat against the wind, and he held me close to him. Our grip tightened at the same time, offering me more security.
“This is not what I had in mind.” I laughed.
“No, but better, right?”
“Absolutely better.
Can we go any faster?” I chuckled.
“I don’t want to scare you
, but here goes.” I could hear his wings beating faster as everything seemed to be flashing by like lightning.
Just like that
, within mere minutes we were in front of our building. We landed so fast and effortlessly that no one would have had time to even notice. For a minute, I felt a bit of vertigo come on, but Viktor just held me there until I got my bearings.
“Let’s get inside.”
He wrapped his arm around me and we giggled like teenagers walking through the doors. He came to an abrupt stop, though, when he saw an older man in his late thirties dressed in a black on black Armani suit with sunglasses. “Go inside and I will see you in a minute.” I gave him a confused nod and watched as he gestured for the man to follow him. But before the man did, he pulled his sunglasses down to the bridge of his nose to get a better look, no doubt, and shot me a devilish smile. I smiled back as I heard Viktor clear his throat.
“Shouldn’t we help your lovely friend
, Viktor? She looks awfully…winded,” said the creepy man. This told me he knew what Viktor was and that he too was something other than human.
“The faster you come in and tell me what this is all about
, the faster I can assist Sloane. So if you would...” Viktor motioned for him to come into his loft.
“Good day
, milady. What a good day indeed.” He smiled and turned on his heels.
I hurried and went into my loft an
d started checking my messages. There were several from Shay telling me to call and that I better have a great explanation for why she didn’t need to come in. What was I going to tell her? “Um, Shay, I’m the owner of the club we work at and, by the way, it’s run by a bunch of supes.” Nope, not a chance. She would think it’s April Fool’s Day for sure. Honesty probably wasn’t the best policy at the moment. So I dialed her number and hoped something came to mind before she picked up.
“
You have some explaining to do!” No hello, just explaining.
“Good afternoon to you too.”
“Don’t patronize me. What happened last night? I got a call from Mindy asking if I was sick.” Shay was pissed. She never wanted to give up a reason to make money if she didn’t have to.
“Well
, for starters, Declan came in and I didn’t want you in the middle of all the drama.” Yeah, that was good. Put it off on Declan.
“Oh
, Sloane, you shouldn’t torture yourself like that. When are you going to let all that go?” Wow, she was on a roll, but little did she know that I really did let it all go. In fact, I chose Viktor.
“I did
, Shay. I chose Viktor. Declan said he wanted me back and I told him no way in hell. It’s done.” Although, I didn’t think it would ever truly be done.
“Oh
, really? I always miss the good stuff!” She stressed each word.
“I have to get ready
, so I will see you there tonight, right?” I asked, as if I really had to.
“Naw
, I think I’m going to lounge around here so I can miss more juicy drama.” Shay was laughing now. “Yes, you will see me.”
“Alright, love you, bye.”
I ended the call and was walking into my bedroom area when I heard Viktor.
“Love you?”
Viktor had a questioned look in his eyes.
“Shay,” was the only answer he would get.
I started looking through the closet for tonight’s apparel as he came and lay down on my bed. I laid my leather pants and tube top on the bed and bent over to give him a quick kiss. I was trying my best to not ask about the creepy guy in the hallway.
“If you see him around
, don’t allow him in here. I don’t trust him,” Viktor said, as if he could read my mind.
“I didn’t say anything,” I
replied.
“No
, but I know that quizzical look you get.”
“Fine
, who is he?” I asked as I snuggled up close to him.
“His name is
Simon, and if he’s here it’s because he knows something.” Now Viktor had me scared.
“But how?”
“Every time you use your powers
, it sends out a sort of beacon,” explained Viktor.
“So as long as I don’t channel anything
, I am OK, right?” I hope I didn’t look too freaked out.
“Right, as l
ong as they don’t provoke you.” He shot me a smile.
He knew as well as I did that somethin
g very little would provoke me. All someone had to do was hurt someone I loved, which were the people who worked at the club. Three people in particular, Shay being at the top of the list.
“How are we going to do that?”
I asked.
“As much as I am going to ha
te this idea, I have no choice. I need to get with Declan.” You could imagine my surprise.
“We
don’t know how to contact him,” I said, very confused.
“Let me handle that
. You just work on that temper.” He kissed me sweetly and hugged me close. “I won’t let them get to you.”
Who
ever was looking for me was in for a rude awakening if they thought I would give in without a fight, especially if they hurt anyone.
They had
yet to know my wrath.