Forever (The Forever series Book One) (10 page)

“Oh Elizabeth,” he said in wonder. “That was magical. I
want to do it again.”

I smiled. “All in good time my darling, darling boy.
First you have something to attend to.” I pouted at him, my bright blue eyes
mischievous as he blushed. “I apologize, my lady. I was overcome,” he mumbled.

“Find a way to make it up to me.”

He did, several ways in fact.

It was a few weeks later when he first broached the
subject of me turning him. We had been carrying on the biting and I could sense
he wanted more. A farmer from a simple farmer and his wife, Devon was
quick-witted, clever, funny, honest to a fault and so eager. Eager to learn
anything and everything he could. Eager to live, to live in my world. He was
already putting into practice everything I had taught him on how to please me
and was most appreciative and surprised to discover how I could please him. The
only wrinkle in our happiness was his distaste of my need to kill. He didn’t
understand it is a Vampire’s nature to hunt the weak, to hunt their prey. The
thrill of the chase and the sweetness of fear. I knew it is something that he
would overcome once he is like me.

It was no surprise to me when one day, he asked, “How do
you go about becoming one of your kind? I mean, I know how Constantine turned
you, but I don’t quite like the idea of being run through with a spear.”

I giggled, “No, it’s not the best way to be sure.”

“Then how?”

“I would drink from you until your heart slows and all
but stops and then I would feed you my blood and wait for it to transform you.”

“Does it hurt? Having most of your blood drained?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. No one has ever said
so.”

“Would you turn me?” he asked shyly.

And there it was. The Question.

“Do you want me to turn you?” I asked in return.

“I think so, yes. I love you and I don’t ever want to be
without you. I want you to show me the world. Teach me everything you know.
Take me on adventures!”

I giggled at his enthusiasm and asked, “What would you do
for me? What would I get in return?”

His eyes darkened, “I would worship you, love you, do
your bidding. I would please you in so many ways. I want you to be mine and I
want to be yours, forever.”

“That sounds like a proposal of marriage,” I said
coquettishly and his eyes lit up.

“Would you be my wife?” he asked eagerly.

“Oh my darling boy, I do love you,” I sighed.

“Is that a yes?” he asked hopefully.

“I will ask you again, in one week, if you want me to
turn you. If you answer correctly, I will do as you wish.”

“What is the correct answer?” he asked in puzzlement.

“That is for you to learn from what was said here today.”

And his confusion deepened, all offers of marriage
forgotten.

Precisely one week later, I led him outside and we took a
stroll through a nearby field.

“Devon? Do you want me to turn you into a Vampire?” I
asked suddenly catching him off guard.

“Yes,” he said without hesitation and I smiled. There was
no room for uncertainty and doubt as once the act was complete there was no
going back.

“Then I shall.” He beamed down at me and leaned forward
to kiss me. I held a finger up to his lips. “With regard to the other matter
you raised,” and he stopped still.

“Will you say yes?” he whispered in hope.

“Yes, my love. I will be honored to be your wife.” He
swooped down to my mouth with a deep kiss, which left me breathless.

“There is a ceremony that can be performed to make the
transition easier and to be blessed and bind our union together forever. Will
you allow me to perform this ritual with you?” I asked.

His expression turned to one of pure happiness and he
readily agreed.

“We need to complete the exchange of blood on Holy
ground.”

“Tomorrow night then. I am ready, my love. Ready to be
yours forever.”

Devon’s parents weren’t thrilled to learn of our
engagement the next day. I thought somehow they sensed there was more to me
than meets the eye. But Devon didn’t care; he wasn’t close with his parents,
finding nothing in common with them and was quite prepared to forsake them for
me and our eternal life together.

We had just made love in the barn and he asked, “Bite me,
one last time as a human before tonight.” I obliged, hungry as ever and stand
at his back while he remained seated on the hay bale. Kneeling behind him I
tilted his head and let my fangs descend and sank them into him. He groaned and
then we heard a scream.

Scrambling apart, it was his mother screaming about the
devil’s whore and she wouldn’t let me take her only son. She came at me with a
pitchfork, which would have hurt like hell but not killed me. Almost in slow
motion, Devon shouted, “No!” and stepped in front of me just as his mother
lunged forward. The prongs of the fork sliced into his stomach to the hilt and
he grunted in pain. I screamed his name and rushed forward, grabbing him before
he fell to the ground. Laying him gently down as the blood spurted from his
wounds, his eyes met mine and he mouthed, “Do it now,” before he passed out. I
pulled the pitchfork out of him, tossing it to the side quickly while his
mother continued to scream hysterically. Ignoring her I bared my fangs and fed
from him. He had already lost so much blood it took only seconds for his heart
to slow. I ripped open my wrist and placed it to his lips for him to drink.

“And the rest, as they say, is history,” Devon finishes.

Cole looks gobsmacked, “Your own mother stabbed you with a
pitchfork?”

Devon shrugs, “Yep. We were quite the pair with our similar
death scenes, weren’t we Kitten?”

“Indeed,” I say wryly.

“Fuck, this is all so… surreal,” Cole says again.

I soften as he looks worn out. “Yes it’s been a difficult
day. I’ll get Grayson to drive you home,” I say softly.

Cole’s eyes snap to mine, “You want me to go home?”

I shake my head, “No. But if you need space to think, I
understand.”

“I don’t want to go home,” he says.

“Then stay, but you need to get some sleep,” I say firmly.

“Yes ma’am.” He smiles shyly at my tone and he looks more
relaxed than he has since finding out our secret.

We head rather tentatively upstairs after wishing Devon
goodnight. “Are you sure you want to stay?” I ask hesitantly.

Startled he looks at me, “Of course. I meant what I said,
Liv. In spite of all this, I still love you. That won’t change.” I smile
weakly, unsure what to say.

“So, what is your real name? Do you remember?” he asks earnestly
as we enter the bedroom.

Looking sharply at him, snapping, “Of course I remember. I
remember everything. Photographic memory.” I tap my head.

“Ah, one more talent to add to the many,” he smirks. “Is
that a Vampire ‘super power’?”

“No, a human one.”

“So, your real name?” he prompts.

“Liv is my real name,” I state huffily. “If you are asking
what my first name was, it was Aefre.”

“
Ah-vuh
,” he pronounces it slowly. “How do you spell
it? It’s unusual.”

“A-E-F-R-E. It’s Saxon,” I point out.

“You were Saxon?”

I nod, rolling my eyes in exasperation at him.

“You’ll have to forgive my lack of British history dating
back a thousand years,” he says sardonically. “Oh, the name of your company!”
He lights up at the connection and reaches for my bracelet, “The ‘S’?”

“Right.”

“Aefre,” he says again. “What does it mean, in English?”

I cock my eyebrow at him, saying, “Ironically, it means
‘Forever’.”

He laughs a genuine laugh and it’s a beautiful sound after
the stresses of the evening. “Well my love, seems your destiny was written,
wasn’t it?”

“Hm, seems so.”

“Something Devon said is puzzling me… he mentioned your blue
eyes. Your eyes are the prettiest green I’ve ever seen and definitely not blue.
What’s that about?”

Uh-oh, I had been hoping to keep the Shifting thing until
another time but oh well, in for a penny….

“I have a very rare Vampire gene which allows me to ‘Shift,’
for lack of a better term, into someone else.” At his wide eyes, I clarify,
“I’m still me, I can just make myself look different.”

“Oh, so…” he gestures up and down in my direction.

“Oh no, no. This is my natural form. What I really look
like,” I say quickly. “Every couple of generations I adopt my natural look, it
takes up less energy and it’s quite a good one, don’t you think?” I joke.

“Well I can’t argue with that,” he says, slightly stunned.
Heaving a big sigh, “It’s been a long night. We should get some sleep.”

I nod, “Sure.”

Knowing that sex is off the table for tonight I grab a long
navy blue satin negligee from my drawers and I pull my dress over my head. I
feel Cole standing behind me and cast a glance over my shoulder. He runs a hand
down my back and turns me around. Casting his intent gaze over my face, my
body, lingering in all the right places.

“A thousand years old,” he marvels. “You are exquisite.
Flawless. It’s incredible, you are incredible,” he adds quietly. Taking the
negligee from me he, to my utter disappointment, pops it over my head and lets
it fall down. Grabbing the straps he pulls them up my arms and over my
shoulders. Sighing softly at his touch, his eyes darken to a deep blue. He
hesitates to speak so I do it for him. “It’s okay. You need time. I
understand.” He lets out the breath he is holding. Turning from him I crawl
into bed and feign interest in my Blackberry while he gets undressed, pulling
out a t-shirt and a pair of boxers.

Hm, I thought as much.

He climbs into bed and to my relief pulls me to him. I put
my head on his chest and I can hear the too fast thrum of his heartbeat.

He’s afraid. I sigh softly, but say nothing, as he doesn’t
either.

We lie in silence for a while. Cole is awake but pretending
to be asleep. I sigh inwardly and choosing to believe his pretense, I creep out
of bed. I hear him stir but leave him be. I head downstairs, disappointed,
frustrated and hungry.

Finding Devon still up watching TV in the den, I grab a
glass of wine and join him on the couch. We sit in silence for a few minutes,
then he pulls me into his arms for a comforting cuddle. I relax in the familiar
embrace of my darling boy.

“He’s taking it quite well, considering,” he says
reassuringly.

“He’s afraid to go to sleep,” I blurt out a bit too loudly
and wince at revealing that piece of information.

Devon chuckles, “He’s probably just trying to sort it all
out in his head. Don’t worry so much. If he wasn’t willing to accept it he
wouldn’t have come home with you and he wouldn’t have stayed when you gave him
an out.”

My head hears his words but my heart doesn’t believe him.
“I’m hungry,” I say suddenly as the need for blood surges up at my frustration.

Without a word he pulls me onto his lap. Snuggling into his
chest I raise my mouth to his neck and sink my fangs into him sucking hard. He
groans in pleasure as he pulls me closer to him, wanting more, but I pull away
from him and tenderly take his face in my hands. I kiss him gently, “Thank
you.” I’m gone in a flash of Vampire speed back to my bedroom.

I creep back into my bedroom and realize to my relief but
also my disappointment that Cole has fallen asleep on his side.

I crawl into bed and carefully cuddle up to him, my chest to
his back and drape my arm over him. He pulls my arm closer around him, in his
sleep and I settle down for a long wait. Wanting Cole to wake up first, in my
arms, to know that he slept and I didn’t hurt him. A quick glance at the clock
shows 3 AM. I’d be nodding off in an hour or so, so I just try to relax and not
think about anything other than my to-do list at work.

I must have slept eventually as I come to as I feel a soft
tickle down my cheek. I don’t open my eyes yet, enjoying his touch. I can tell
it’s light out but have no idea what time it is.

“Oh Liv,” I hear him whisper so quietly, “I do love you.”

Pretending to stir in my sleep I turn over, my back to him.
I glance quickly at the clock 5:45 AM. Well I can pretend to sleep a bit longer
and go back to my mental to-do list, while Cole sighs deeply. But then I feel
him cuddle up behind me, draping his arm over me, as I did to him earlier, and
he kisses my shoulder. My heart flutters and I risk snuggling my backside
closer into him. He inhales sharply and trails his hand down my stomach and
across to my hip, where it comes to rest lightly. Drumming his fingers as if
deciding what to do. He must come to a decision as I feel him bunching the
satin up in his fingers and sliding the soft material up my thigh. I wiggle a
teeny bit to let him know I’m not completely dead to the world. Encouraged he
pulls the fabric up over my hips and softly moves his hand between my thighs. I
sigh in pleasure, relief, and joy as his fingers stroke my clit and he kisses
my shoulder again. I open my legs wider for him, subtly, of course, and he
plunges his finger inside me. I gasp as if in surprise, but not wanting him to
stop I stay silent and looking away from him. He seems happy with that
arrangement as my fangs are out of reach, as he doesn’t speak either.

Continuing his slow, steady pulsing in and out, I can feel
myself getting wetter and he moans softly in response. Abruptly he withdraws
his finger and I hold my breath. I feel him fumble behind me and the next
minute he raises my leg and places it over his, giving him access to me. He
thrusts quickly and I know this is going to be hard and fast. Pulling on my
hips, he thrusts deep and hard making me cry out. I chance placing my hand over
his on my hip and he laces our fingers and that simple act sends me over the
edge and I come in a rush of pure relief. Expecting him to come as well, I am
surprised, pleasantly so, that he carries on moving inside me, pounding away
his confusion and doubt and fear of the unknown. I come again around him and it
seems more than he can bear as he comes quickly after me, my name on his lips.
He rests his forehead on my shoulder while his breathing eases, fingers still
entwined with mine on my hip.

Leaving him to do this at his own pace, I wait.

After what seems like hours he moves our joined hands up to
my chest to roll me onto my back. His deep blue eyes stare into mine telling me
everything he is feeling. “I love you,” he says, and before I can respond he
dives down to my mouth, pushing his tongue between my lips. He runs his tongue
along my top teeth and my breath hitches. He does it again and I know he is
teasing me. I pull back a bit wary and he smirks. “I’m sorry I was a bit of a
douche last night,” he says. “Please don’t think that it is because I’m afraid
of you. It’s not that.”

“What is it then?” I speak for the first time in what feels
like a month.

“I am in awe of you,” he says softly. “I feel completely
inadequate and unworthy of you.”

My mouth drops open in shock but before I can say anything
he carries on. “Next to you, I feel inconsequential, unworldly, inexperienced
and unsophisticated. You have no idea how difficult of a feeling that is to
process. I see how you are with Devon and I don’t know how I can possibly live
up to that,” he finishes despondently.

“Oh baby. I told you that you have nothing to worry about. I
want to be with you. I love you.” I sit up suddenly, serious. “I do know how it
feels. I felt the exact same way around Constantine,” I try to reassure him.

“But you are a thousand and technically sixteen years old.
That’s nine hundred and eighty-eight years older than me!”

I raise my eyebrow at him, my face still serious, wondering
if another bombshell would shatter his hesitant acceptance.

He goes serious then too. “Seriously? He was a thousand when
he turned you?” he asks incredulously, doing the math.

Well he’s going to find out sooner rather than later, so
jumping in with both feet I say “No, older. When I met Constantine he was one
thousand, seven hundred and fifty-nine years old, technically as you put it, he
was one thousand seven hundred and seventy nine-years old.”

Cole sputters as it sinks in. “That makes him TWO thousand,
seven hundred and fifty-nine years old now?”

I nod and he starts laughing. “Holy shit! Do I
not
want to meet this guy. Fuck! How old does that make his sire?” he asks then as
the thought crosses his mind.

“He doesn’t have one. He’s one of the Initial Vampires.
There are three of them now. They are called The Council and are based in
Milan, Italy.”

“Initial Vampires? What like the first ones ever?” he asks,
bewildered. “Why Italy?”

“Yes, the first, and Italy as it was the seat of the HRE.”

“HRE?”

“Holy Roman Empire. CK was from Ancient Rome.”

His eyes bug out.

“My point was that I know how you feel. More so perhaps as I
was so innocent and naïve when we met. I know how overwhelmed you feel.”

“Christ, Liv, you are one complicated woman. But I wouldn’t
love you if you weren’t.” He smiles a shy smile, “So if Constantine is called
an Initial Vampire, what are the rest of you called? Is there some sort of
hierarchy or something?”

“Yes, exactly,” I say and explain it to him. He nods in
wonder and I know that everything is going to be just fine. I am happy. For the
first time in years, I am truly happy. I can tell that he is too and that makes
me even happier. That I can be the cause of someone’s happiness. God knows I’ve
caused enough suffering in my time.

Nagyvárad
,
Kingdom of Hungary, 1250 - Lucretia

After I fled from Constantine the first time in 1112,
exactly one hundred years after he turned me, I was devastated. He had hurt me
more than I thought was possible. Even more than my husband had when I was
still mortal. My husband’s pain had been inflicted physically. That I could
bear. This betrayal and heartbreak that my sire had caused was unbearable.

I had Shifted several times into several different guises
once I realized it was possible to do so, after I left the castle in Italy. As
a result he had never been able to find me. I knew he was looking for me
though. He would get close and word would spread that he was in the area and I
would Shift and move on. I headed north to start with as far as I could go, but
over the next century I headed southwest through the Kingdom of Hungary.

In 1250, I settled in
Nagyvárad
near the Transylvanian border, in my natural
form. I was over my heartbreak by this point but I had found anger. I was good at
anger. Really good. I lashed out at poor innocents who didn’t deserve it. I captured
them and tortured them for days, even weeks, until I grew bored. One of my
favorite methods of causing pain was taking my dagger to them, slashing at
their skin until the blood flowed freely and I could drink deeply from their
wounds before finishing them off with my fangs in their neck, the fear making
their blood taste so sweet. The humans quickly feared me and even most of the
Vampires stayed away from me, where possible, as I quickly gained a reputation
in the underworld as a brutal and savage killer, taking no mercy and killing
anybody who looked at me wrong. I enjoyed this wicked side of myself and I
indulged in it completely. I never went out in the sunlight anymore, only
lurked in the shadows of night, luring stupid humans into my castle with my
beauty and guile. Sometimes I played with them before I tortured them.
Constantine wanted me to take other lovers, well I was happy to oblige now. I
embraced my sexuality and used it to gain an advantage. I was vicious enough to
break even the strongest men and when they begged me for mercy, I laughed at
their weakness. I became known for taking my victims, tempting them into
begging me to turn them with sex and promises. Then when the time was right I
turned them and then staked them viciously through the heart after their first
human feed, drained to death as I watched. I was consuming so much human blood
on a daily basis and it made me strong. Stronger than I should have been for my
age and I reveled in it.  Word soon spread of the Devil with the face of an
Angel, with the lightest blonde hair and the brightest green eyes. I knew that
he would come. I was counting on it now. I wanted him to see what he had done
to me. No longer the sweet girl he knew and destroyed but a powerful, evil
woman with no regard for human life and no room for pain. I was no longer able
to love or show any human emotion. The more I caused pain, the more I killed,
the more I watched my handiwork kill for me, the less I cared about anything
except the blood.