Clove : Book 4 of Lord Emperor Vampire Series
folder
Vampire › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
49
Views:
22,795
Reviews:
795
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
Vampire › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
49
Views:
22,795
Reviews:
795
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Crossroads
You wanted a forum, you got one. Please check it out. I have never attempted a forum thing before so..any help, assistance is appreciated. I have a poll set up. I’ll try to change it weekly (If I remember.)
Once again, I am short of my prerequisite 10 pages but this got emotional and it was an evil place to stop. Bwah hhahahaha.
Lots of hits, minor reviews but the reviews are got are of epic proportions. YeeeYaaw!!
Thank you Loyal!! Spirit: a.taste.of.insanity(x2)l rosemary; Rainy; aurorar0821;k; mihara; Asluym, Laur and Dark Avenger
“How do you write? Are you kidding!!” has now topped 1000+ hits. Which is amazing considering it’s me blowing smoke out my arse.
Mihara: Yes, Sex is the original Edward. He fractured at 9 years old after the Lycan attack. He stepped back and let Xavier run with it. It wasn’t until he me Armor ( disguised as Marcus) and X started getting raped that he returned to the surface again.
Asylum: Welcome to Legal Age. (pssst…you weren’t supposed to be reading this stuff until you were legal) Glad you’re here now. And yes, Sex is his own grandpa.
K: Hellcat question is sort of addressed below
Rainy:
Q:What di X/Skeel do to get into trouble with Raissa?
A: He left them. Even though he’s been gone all their lives, it was abandonment in her point of view and Papa is not going to get off the hook that quickly.
*Chapter 151: Crossroads*
Three six year olds kicked my ass in snakes and ladders. Last time I played that game, hard liquor was involved and I couldn’t have given a rat who won. I do seem to remember the police being involved though. Callia and Raissa had grumbled but headed off to nap time when Haruka came for them. Both Lex and me used our eyes to sway her. We got the look of death from Raissa but it was tempered with a yawn. Right now, Lex was snoring and drooling on my arm. Yup, a chip off the old sponge.
I lay on my stomach coloring a poster of a dragon. Lex had gotten it from Deduschka, which oddly enough was Liam, for Christmas. That just kind of blew my mind that my kids called Claudius Ded and Laim Deduschka.. Then again, he did say he was good with kids. Lex had pulled it out of hiding and presented it to me. He said he had hoped that Uncle Marcus would color it because he could stay between the lines really good but then Uncle Marcus didn’t do that kind of stuff any more. He leaned against me and sniffed. So here was I laying on the floor trying to color better than a six year old…and not doing that great at it.
I heard the door open and I glanced over at the feet coming my way. Speak of the devil. I felt his eyes rake over me then he set a red shake down at my head and settled himself down beside me. “Hans sent you a blood protein shake. He said something to the effect that Vampire can’t live on chicken wings alone.” He nodded his chin at my little amigo. “He’s latched on to you rather strongly.”
I ran my hand down his pale white hair. Do vampire children go to regular school? “I think it’s because we have the same color hair.”
“It’s because you are Papa, Xavier. All of Von Drachenfeld has made sure that your children know you.”
“Then I owe everyone a debt.”
“You owe nothing, Xavier. Everyone is grateful to have been drawn to Von Drachenfeld. I told you, you would be a good father.”
I set down my crayon and looked up at him dreading asking this but needing to know as well. “Liam, are you a pedophile?”
He blinked and the expression on his Billy Idol face was as if I had sideswiped him with a two by four. “Never! I...I… I would cut off the fingers of anyone who dared touch any of my great grandchildren.”
“What about Hades?”
“That was Hades and that was a different time. People were married at twelve.” I watched him carefully and his face turned pink under my stare. “You know what love is, Little Emperor. I waited for him to know what he wanted. It has always been him. Half of your problems wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for us.”
“I wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for you.” I took a sniff at the blood shake. It was kind of disgusting but it smelled like strawberries. I took a suck at the straw sticking out of it. Not bad. I wouldn’t want to live on the stuff exclusively. “Liam, you ever wonder what if?”
Liam rolled over and picked up a green crayon. He watched me for a few moments then starting coloring the top half of the dragon. He was silent for a bit looking over at Lex’s slumbering face. “That has never been a question in my mind. I did what I had to. I can’t second guess myself. I would have gone loopy long ago if I questioned every decision. You make it and you live with it, good or bad. The Black Death is learning that now.”
“I forgot Claudius is called that.”
“Oh, and this goes with that.” A little blue pill was handed over. I wanted to throw it across the room. My face must have done something weird because Laim reached out and touched me. “You made a decision, Xavier. From that decision, Skell was born and he was able to hold you all together until you could get away from those bastards. They used drugs against you to control you, but they did keep you alive. I’ve made inquiries into the lab about some of those drugs. They might be able to break it down and figure out what was working for the…”
“What are you saying? That I decided to fracture again?” I cut him off as I felt a chilled dread enter me.
Liam looked over at me from his green crayon. “Did THEY do it? Are you giving Orel Wessel that much power over you? If you do, you give your baby brother to them for all eternity.”
“I…I…”
“What you said was true, little emperor. I was lucky. They just knifed me in the back. You…they ripped apart and built anew. You need to get together with your brothers and you need to make a timeline, to figure out what went wrong or right. Orel Wessel plays head games and you need to screw yours back on again. Playing with Armor works for you. Marcus has gotten…” Liam paused to search for the word, “strange but I think it’s because he needs Azrael. Claudius…we will just have to stand back and watch the fireworks.”
“Who says there’s going to be fireworks?”
“Ebony and ivory. There never was any harmony between those two. It was full speed ahead and ramming speed with them. And that works. If Claudius would stop treating you boys, well like boys, everything would be fine.” He tossed his crayon aside with a flourish. The top half of the dragon was done in green. My yellow half looked like something died on it.
“Papa?” Lex blinked at me. I wiped his mouth clean with my thumb. “I want to go to bed. “ He lifted his arms and I pulled him to me. He latched on like a gibbon monkey with Velcro for paws and promptly fell asleep. Blind trust. Such a precious and fragile thing. Liam gave me a hand up and I carried my little boy out of the entertainment room toward the nursery.
“He is like his father. You have only seen the sweetness and light. Wait till he gets a temper on. Then you can really tell whose son he is.”
“Hey…”
“You can be a bastard, Xavier. We saw that yesterday.”
“I do what I must…”
Liam laid a hand on my shoulder. “I am happy to see you back, even though you are in more pieces than when you left. Be careful of what you want, Little Emperor. You just might get it.”
“Praded.”
I got an eyebrow arched in my direction.
“You truly are my great grandfather. Do you want me to call you that?”
“It’s better than ass and bastard and whatever else you mutter under your breath. About Hades…”
“I’ve knocked him to Third. Is he going to hold it against me?”
“What did I say a while back? Deal with the consequences of your decisions, Little Emperor.” Liam pulled me to a stop. He brushed at Lex’s white hair then looked at me quiet seriously. “If you are going to war, my Pravnuk, Hades will be at your back. So will I. You are broken but any one can see that you are stronger than before. The idealist who lived in the world of black and white is gone. It is always sorrowful to lose that innocence, but what you are becoming is truly spectacular. Once everyone learns that you have returned from beyond the grave and that you defeated Hades in challenge, there will be no more rumors or rumblings. You are truly the Lord Emperor.”
“What if I don’t want to be Lord Emperor? What if I only want to be a father?” I voiced my hidden desire in a whisper that moved a few strands of Alexander’s hair.
“Then you stand at a crossroads, Pravnuk. A Leader of a Nation goes to war. A Father tries like hell not to. The path you are on is for Nation. Make you decision, Xavier and deal with the consequences. No one can make it for you. Not your lovers. Not your children. Not your Father. You are still so young. I am honored to know you. I am blessed to call you kin…and if you hurt my Honeybee again…”
“I needed his rank.”
“No, you were angry. You are angry that we couldn’t find you. You were angry at Orel Wessel. Hades was just a punching bag. I can’t stand up to you in this body, Little Emperor and my oath to you will keep me out of your family’s line. There is little I can do but comfort Cillian.” I felt a burning in my eyes. Liam’s thumb came out and brushed a tear aside.
“If you would have asked him, if you would have explained what you wanted, he would have stepped aside for you. Although none of his blood is in your veins, you are his precious great grandson. Direct your anger to those who deserve it, Pravnuk. You shouldn’t be beating your family.”
I blindly made it back to my old room that had been transformed into a nursery. I opened the door and saw Haruka as she glanced over at me. The whole room was full of babies…okay, five and six years old Vampires, Lycan and…one human boy I shook my head as she made a move to get up. Her son was propped against her. I made my way past the pile of furry puppies and laid Lex on the only empty bed. I tucked the light blanket around him. My heart was light and heavy at the same time. I scrubbed the tears from my face.
Callia; a Crimson spark. Raissa; Dark intelligence. Alexander; Light and Healing. They still had innocence. As any child should. My children. My beautiful children.
My decision was made. Deal with it.
I kissed each one savoring their unique essence; rootbeer; grape and vanilla. I’d just have to learn to live with it. I crossed over to Haruka. Seven years older but she looked absolutely lovely. A small wedding band glittered on her finger. I spoke to her in Japanese.
“Haruka-kun, your child is beautiful. Just like his mother.” His hair was a light brown and he hand a dusting of freckles across his cheeks and nose.
“His name is Jonathon. Jonathon Xavier Chesterton. Everyone calls him Jack. J.X.C.” Haruka’s English had improved greatly.
“I am honored.”
“Welcome home Lord Xavier.”
“Thank you. Thank you for watching all of Von Drachenfeld’s children.”
“The Imperials can be a headache some days.”
“I can image so. Haley could be quite a handful, I couldn’t image him as a whelp.” I bowed my head in her direction then headed out of the room, straight into the White Russian.
He didn’t expect it. Crap, I didn’t even know I was going to do it. I punched him hard in the face. He staggered back and hit the wall. His eyes flashed Lycan gold then he stilled as he saw who it was. As before, Lycan are easy to read. Everything they think or feel is on their face. He was happy to see me, it flared up bright gold and orange in his eyes then the guilt of what he has been doing to his Alpha’s wife dulled that flame back to pale brown. He held his face where I punched him. “Lord Alpha.”
“Great Hall.” I turned and headed toward the room. Oh crap, I punched my Alpha Male leader in the face. I shook my hand as I walked. I think I broke something.
I staggered to a stop as I entered the Hall. Marcus’ art filled every space. The central painting was of the brothers three and their mates. He did that so long ago. I looked so young. Yes, physically it only looked like I lost weight but the happiness glowing in those eyes was something that was long gone. There were paintings of the winglets from newborn to about four…then there were photographs. Father said Marcus had lost his art. Something must have happened when my children were four. What was it. I turned and saw another large canvas. He had said he was going to make one. A wedding portrait. Claudia in her oriental finery and me in my morning suit. A formal portrait…with dead eyes.
I heard Vladimir come in behind me. I noticed something. Every portrait with the children had Claudia in it. Her face in a mother’s indulgent smile but her eyes were sad. As they grew from babies, to toddlers that sadness seemed to hang on her then…they began to lighten. Guessing, I would say the triplets were about three and half when the eyes changed. When Claudia found happiness. When Vladimir began to move from protector…to lover…then the paintings stopped.
“Was this the last painting Marcus did?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“He knew didn’t he?”
I had to hand it to Vladimir, he didn’t try to cover his tracks. “Yes, Lord Alpha.”
I almost jumped when I felt hands at my ankle and Vladimir dropped to his knees and pressed his face against my foot. “Do not blame The Empress. I pursued her. Even though it was wrong, I…”
“These do not look like a hunted woman. Get up.” His hands tightened on his leg. “Vladimir! Sit up anyway.”
Vladimir sat on his knees and looked down at the floor. I finished looking at the photographs. Life had stopped for me. Locked in the darkness or sitting in the sand staring across the water at the setting sun, life had just ground to a halt. But not for others. Not for my mates, willing taken or not. Everyone had such veiled comments about Marcus I was beginning to get a little nervous about him. He had so carefully protected that artistic core. What caused him to stop everything? It had to be more than just a Vampire/Lycan affair.
“Who started it?”
“I did.” Vladimir looked away. He couldn’t lie either. I glanced back over the wall. There were other pod paintings. Haley and Ping in human form. The Alphas in wolf form, both male and female. The puff balls with legs and bright eyes. What died in Marcus?
I tossed myself in a leather wingback chair and brought my knees up. I rested my forearms on my legs. Vladimir looked up from the floor. “Lord Alpha.”
“What do you want from me, little Vlad? Forgiveness? Punishment? Tell me, because I don’t know what to do about.” I shook my hands in the air, “this.”
“Lord…Claudia and I are lesser mates, minor mates. We have only seeked the comfort and happiness that would have come from your embrace.”
“We both know that I couldn’t make Claudia happy. I could be a brother to her. That is all. I’ve tried a female once. I respect Claudia to never subject her to that fiasco. Now, I know why it was so wrong.” I looked Vladimir straight in the eye. ”We know that I couldn’t make you happy – I didn’t want to make you happy. You were an accident. The fact that you both found joy with each other is a miracle.”
I let loose a big breath.
“Lord Alpha?”
“Father told me that there have been rumors.”
“Yes, Lord…”
“I don’t begrudge anyone happiness wherever they find it but…you can’t affect the legitimacy of my children. Claudia told you how they came to be?”
He shook his almost white blonde head. “Then I’ll leave it up to her. You know why we had to get married.”
“To secure the Royal Blood line.”
“You are a threat, Vladimir.”
“I know, my Lord. I submit myself for your correction.”
“Do you love her?”
He touched his notched ear. “If I could, I would have her as my mate.”
“She is your mate in every sense of the word…yours more than she ever was mine. But.”
“Claudia is the Empress to be of the Vampire Nation. She is the mother to the future of the Vampire Nation.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “If you want to stay with her you are going to have to give up any hopes of puppies.”
“I have been neutered, my Lord.”
Huh? Did I hear that right? Uuuuhhh. “What do humans call it? A vasectomy”
Oh dear…I think it was just instinctive that I almost curled in on myself. “I offered this when I began to…when it seemed like things would move to a higher level. I knew there was a possibility of my lineage dying out when I challenged to become part of the pack. Either I would fall in the performance of my duties or I would be injured.”
Eww.
“Make her happy, little Vlad.”
“I have your blessing?”
Kind of late to be asking for it now. I nodded. “You have my blessing.” He stood up and then lowered himself into a perfect reverent pose. His forehead on his knee. “Vladimir.”
He looked up. “If you ever hurt her intentionally, I will wear your pelt to line my winter coat.”
“If I ever make her cry, I will make sure I am a Lycan when you kill me. The fur is softer.”
I thought he was kidding. The expression on his face was quite earnest. “I leave her in your paws, Alpha Leader.”
“Lord Alpha.” He bowed again and then turned to leave. “The truce will fall apart now that you have returned. You should know that your children will always be protected. Even though the Imperials are still just pups, they can defend the little ones until help arrives. They already have bonded with the Blues. They will give their lives for them.”
Truce? What truce? Vladimir was already out the door. Britta. That old bitch was still alive. Well, crap. I shook off Lanseng. Claudia and Vladimir took care of themselves. Armor was a pistol as usual. Father was…going to be a problem and Marcus. I looked over the wall that ran the length of the Great Hall. His paintings were a wonder. Each one was a masterpiece. What killed it? What warped that talent? Claudius also wrote that his music was gone too. What the hell was going on?
I saw a man in black poke his head in to make sure that I was where I was supposed to be. I had no problem with that anymore. As long as they weren’t touching me, it was fine. Marcus. Marcus, Marcus, Marcus. Well I knew I wasn’t the one to be snooping. I leaned back and closed my eyes. Batter up!
Oh, that first breath was just like that first cigarette in the morning. Painful, hacking and oh sooo sweet. I sounded like I was having an asthma attack. I dragged in another lungful of air and savored it. Breathing. Nice.
I hopped out of the chair and went up to the paintings. X had an eye on him. Well my Babe had the talent with the brush. You could trace the change in Claudia up until..here. I dragged a chair over from the table and climbed on it to take a good look. There was a twinkle, a spark of life. I would say the triplets were closer to four years old before this started. Why would this bother Marcus? He knew I didn’t love her. He knew I sure as hell didn’t want to bed her. I couldn’t do Vlad either. This should have been nothing.
I jumped down and looked at the rest of the work. My man had talent. I stared up at our likeness on that masterpiece. He was lounging beside Queen Nightshade, one hand buried into the red fur the other on the ground. I was behind him one hand fisting his shirt. The other, heaven knows where. I looked dangerous. Marcus looked devilish. We belonged together. Sweetness and Light. Music and Art. That was his essential core.
He didn’t live in X and Armor’s room. So where was he now? I padded over to the man in black and introduced myself. His name was Gun. Father needed a thesaurus. He lead me down the corridors down the halls until we came to…Sex’s old room. You couldn’t swing kitty Snowflake in here.
Hey. /Snowflake! Snowflake? Snowie? Flakie?/
/Stop it now./
/Hello to you too!/
/I’ve been talking to you since you got home. What the hell was your problem?/ Jees, are Hellcats all this crabby?
/I just got here. It’s been Skell and Xavier..shouldn’t they have been able to hear you now?/
/You are only hearing me now? Your shield must be blocking me. That is strange. I should report this to the Queen. Do you need me?/
/Just checking in./
/Later./
That was odd. That was what X was hearing all the time with the Queen. I stepped into Marcus’ room and just stopped. It could have been a nondescript hotel room in anywhere USA. There was nothing on the walls. Everything was neatly packed away. I rushed over to the tall wardrobe in the corner and wrenched it open. When it was Sex’s, half the clothes would have tumbled out. Suits were neatly hung. Sweaters folded. There was nothing of mine. I ripped the wardrobe apart. I tore open the nightstand. Absolutely nothing.
“What is going on in here?” I turned on my bare heel and looked at Marcus. He looked at me shocked then apprehensive then his face dropped into quiet stillness..
“You threw me away? There was a hint of agony on my voice. He heard it and turned away. “Marcus! You threw me away?”
He stood up straight. For once he stood up to his six foot four height even if his back was toward me. “Yes.” He said that one curt word and left devastation in his wake.
___________
Ded = grandfather
Deduscka = grandpa (paraphaszing here)
Praded = great grandfather
Pravnuk = great grandson
Vnuk = grandson
Thank you for the Russian Familial terms at http://www.doukhobor.org/Terms-Familial.htm
Note: The snakes & ladders incident is real. Vodka, Cops and Eviction were involved. The names of the guilty are being withheld due to stupidity and booze.
Once again, I am short of my prerequisite 10 pages but this got emotional and it was an evil place to stop. Bwah hhahahaha.
Lots of hits, minor reviews but the reviews are got are of epic proportions. YeeeYaaw!!
Thank you Loyal!! Spirit: a.taste.of.insanity(x2)l rosemary; Rainy; aurorar0821;k; mihara; Asluym, Laur and Dark Avenger
“How do you write? Are you kidding!!” has now topped 1000+ hits. Which is amazing considering it’s me blowing smoke out my arse.
Mihara: Yes, Sex is the original Edward. He fractured at 9 years old after the Lycan attack. He stepped back and let Xavier run with it. It wasn’t until he me Armor ( disguised as Marcus) and X started getting raped that he returned to the surface again.
Asylum: Welcome to Legal Age. (pssst…you weren’t supposed to be reading this stuff until you were legal) Glad you’re here now. And yes, Sex is his own grandpa.
K: Hellcat question is sort of addressed below
Rainy:
Q:What di X/Skeel do to get into trouble with Raissa?
A: He left them. Even though he’s been gone all their lives, it was abandonment in her point of view and Papa is not going to get off the hook that quickly.
*Chapter 151: Crossroads*
Three six year olds kicked my ass in snakes and ladders. Last time I played that game, hard liquor was involved and I couldn’t have given a rat who won. I do seem to remember the police being involved though. Callia and Raissa had grumbled but headed off to nap time when Haruka came for them. Both Lex and me used our eyes to sway her. We got the look of death from Raissa but it was tempered with a yawn. Right now, Lex was snoring and drooling on my arm. Yup, a chip off the old sponge.
I lay on my stomach coloring a poster of a dragon. Lex had gotten it from Deduschka, which oddly enough was Liam, for Christmas. That just kind of blew my mind that my kids called Claudius Ded and Laim Deduschka.. Then again, he did say he was good with kids. Lex had pulled it out of hiding and presented it to me. He said he had hoped that Uncle Marcus would color it because he could stay between the lines really good but then Uncle Marcus didn’t do that kind of stuff any more. He leaned against me and sniffed. So here was I laying on the floor trying to color better than a six year old…and not doing that great at it.
I heard the door open and I glanced over at the feet coming my way. Speak of the devil. I felt his eyes rake over me then he set a red shake down at my head and settled himself down beside me. “Hans sent you a blood protein shake. He said something to the effect that Vampire can’t live on chicken wings alone.” He nodded his chin at my little amigo. “He’s latched on to you rather strongly.”
I ran my hand down his pale white hair. Do vampire children go to regular school? “I think it’s because we have the same color hair.”
“It’s because you are Papa, Xavier. All of Von Drachenfeld has made sure that your children know you.”
“Then I owe everyone a debt.”
“You owe nothing, Xavier. Everyone is grateful to have been drawn to Von Drachenfeld. I told you, you would be a good father.”
I set down my crayon and looked up at him dreading asking this but needing to know as well. “Liam, are you a pedophile?”
He blinked and the expression on his Billy Idol face was as if I had sideswiped him with a two by four. “Never! I...I… I would cut off the fingers of anyone who dared touch any of my great grandchildren.”
“What about Hades?”
“That was Hades and that was a different time. People were married at twelve.” I watched him carefully and his face turned pink under my stare. “You know what love is, Little Emperor. I waited for him to know what he wanted. It has always been him. Half of your problems wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for us.”
“I wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for you.” I took a sniff at the blood shake. It was kind of disgusting but it smelled like strawberries. I took a suck at the straw sticking out of it. Not bad. I wouldn’t want to live on the stuff exclusively. “Liam, you ever wonder what if?”
Liam rolled over and picked up a green crayon. He watched me for a few moments then starting coloring the top half of the dragon. He was silent for a bit looking over at Lex’s slumbering face. “That has never been a question in my mind. I did what I had to. I can’t second guess myself. I would have gone loopy long ago if I questioned every decision. You make it and you live with it, good or bad. The Black Death is learning that now.”
“I forgot Claudius is called that.”
“Oh, and this goes with that.” A little blue pill was handed over. I wanted to throw it across the room. My face must have done something weird because Laim reached out and touched me. “You made a decision, Xavier. From that decision, Skell was born and he was able to hold you all together until you could get away from those bastards. They used drugs against you to control you, but they did keep you alive. I’ve made inquiries into the lab about some of those drugs. They might be able to break it down and figure out what was working for the…”
“What are you saying? That I decided to fracture again?” I cut him off as I felt a chilled dread enter me.
Liam looked over at me from his green crayon. “Did THEY do it? Are you giving Orel Wessel that much power over you? If you do, you give your baby brother to them for all eternity.”
“I…I…”
“What you said was true, little emperor. I was lucky. They just knifed me in the back. You…they ripped apart and built anew. You need to get together with your brothers and you need to make a timeline, to figure out what went wrong or right. Orel Wessel plays head games and you need to screw yours back on again. Playing with Armor works for you. Marcus has gotten…” Liam paused to search for the word, “strange but I think it’s because he needs Azrael. Claudius…we will just have to stand back and watch the fireworks.”
“Who says there’s going to be fireworks?”
“Ebony and ivory. There never was any harmony between those two. It was full speed ahead and ramming speed with them. And that works. If Claudius would stop treating you boys, well like boys, everything would be fine.” He tossed his crayon aside with a flourish. The top half of the dragon was done in green. My yellow half looked like something died on it.
“Papa?” Lex blinked at me. I wiped his mouth clean with my thumb. “I want to go to bed. “ He lifted his arms and I pulled him to me. He latched on like a gibbon monkey with Velcro for paws and promptly fell asleep. Blind trust. Such a precious and fragile thing. Liam gave me a hand up and I carried my little boy out of the entertainment room toward the nursery.
“He is like his father. You have only seen the sweetness and light. Wait till he gets a temper on. Then you can really tell whose son he is.”
“Hey…”
“You can be a bastard, Xavier. We saw that yesterday.”
“I do what I must…”
Liam laid a hand on my shoulder. “I am happy to see you back, even though you are in more pieces than when you left. Be careful of what you want, Little Emperor. You just might get it.”
“Praded.”
I got an eyebrow arched in my direction.
“You truly are my great grandfather. Do you want me to call you that?”
“It’s better than ass and bastard and whatever else you mutter under your breath. About Hades…”
“I’ve knocked him to Third. Is he going to hold it against me?”
“What did I say a while back? Deal with the consequences of your decisions, Little Emperor.” Liam pulled me to a stop. He brushed at Lex’s white hair then looked at me quiet seriously. “If you are going to war, my Pravnuk, Hades will be at your back. So will I. You are broken but any one can see that you are stronger than before. The idealist who lived in the world of black and white is gone. It is always sorrowful to lose that innocence, but what you are becoming is truly spectacular. Once everyone learns that you have returned from beyond the grave and that you defeated Hades in challenge, there will be no more rumors or rumblings. You are truly the Lord Emperor.”
“What if I don’t want to be Lord Emperor? What if I only want to be a father?” I voiced my hidden desire in a whisper that moved a few strands of Alexander’s hair.
“Then you stand at a crossroads, Pravnuk. A Leader of a Nation goes to war. A Father tries like hell not to. The path you are on is for Nation. Make you decision, Xavier and deal with the consequences. No one can make it for you. Not your lovers. Not your children. Not your Father. You are still so young. I am honored to know you. I am blessed to call you kin…and if you hurt my Honeybee again…”
“I needed his rank.”
“No, you were angry. You are angry that we couldn’t find you. You were angry at Orel Wessel. Hades was just a punching bag. I can’t stand up to you in this body, Little Emperor and my oath to you will keep me out of your family’s line. There is little I can do but comfort Cillian.” I felt a burning in my eyes. Liam’s thumb came out and brushed a tear aside.
“If you would have asked him, if you would have explained what you wanted, he would have stepped aside for you. Although none of his blood is in your veins, you are his precious great grandson. Direct your anger to those who deserve it, Pravnuk. You shouldn’t be beating your family.”
I blindly made it back to my old room that had been transformed into a nursery. I opened the door and saw Haruka as she glanced over at me. The whole room was full of babies…okay, five and six years old Vampires, Lycan and…one human boy I shook my head as she made a move to get up. Her son was propped against her. I made my way past the pile of furry puppies and laid Lex on the only empty bed. I tucked the light blanket around him. My heart was light and heavy at the same time. I scrubbed the tears from my face.
Callia; a Crimson spark. Raissa; Dark intelligence. Alexander; Light and Healing. They still had innocence. As any child should. My children. My beautiful children.
My decision was made. Deal with it.
I kissed each one savoring their unique essence; rootbeer; grape and vanilla. I’d just have to learn to live with it. I crossed over to Haruka. Seven years older but she looked absolutely lovely. A small wedding band glittered on her finger. I spoke to her in Japanese.
“Haruka-kun, your child is beautiful. Just like his mother.” His hair was a light brown and he hand a dusting of freckles across his cheeks and nose.
“His name is Jonathon. Jonathon Xavier Chesterton. Everyone calls him Jack. J.X.C.” Haruka’s English had improved greatly.
“I am honored.”
“Welcome home Lord Xavier.”
“Thank you. Thank you for watching all of Von Drachenfeld’s children.”
“The Imperials can be a headache some days.”
“I can image so. Haley could be quite a handful, I couldn’t image him as a whelp.” I bowed my head in her direction then headed out of the room, straight into the White Russian.
He didn’t expect it. Crap, I didn’t even know I was going to do it. I punched him hard in the face. He staggered back and hit the wall. His eyes flashed Lycan gold then he stilled as he saw who it was. As before, Lycan are easy to read. Everything they think or feel is on their face. He was happy to see me, it flared up bright gold and orange in his eyes then the guilt of what he has been doing to his Alpha’s wife dulled that flame back to pale brown. He held his face where I punched him. “Lord Alpha.”
“Great Hall.” I turned and headed toward the room. Oh crap, I punched my Alpha Male leader in the face. I shook my hand as I walked. I think I broke something.
I staggered to a stop as I entered the Hall. Marcus’ art filled every space. The central painting was of the brothers three and their mates. He did that so long ago. I looked so young. Yes, physically it only looked like I lost weight but the happiness glowing in those eyes was something that was long gone. There were paintings of the winglets from newborn to about four…then there were photographs. Father said Marcus had lost his art. Something must have happened when my children were four. What was it. I turned and saw another large canvas. He had said he was going to make one. A wedding portrait. Claudia in her oriental finery and me in my morning suit. A formal portrait…with dead eyes.
I heard Vladimir come in behind me. I noticed something. Every portrait with the children had Claudia in it. Her face in a mother’s indulgent smile but her eyes were sad. As they grew from babies, to toddlers that sadness seemed to hang on her then…they began to lighten. Guessing, I would say the triplets were about three and half when the eyes changed. When Claudia found happiness. When Vladimir began to move from protector…to lover…then the paintings stopped.
“Was this the last painting Marcus did?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“He knew didn’t he?”
I had to hand it to Vladimir, he didn’t try to cover his tracks. “Yes, Lord Alpha.”
I almost jumped when I felt hands at my ankle and Vladimir dropped to his knees and pressed his face against my foot. “Do not blame The Empress. I pursued her. Even though it was wrong, I…”
“These do not look like a hunted woman. Get up.” His hands tightened on his leg. “Vladimir! Sit up anyway.”
Vladimir sat on his knees and looked down at the floor. I finished looking at the photographs. Life had stopped for me. Locked in the darkness or sitting in the sand staring across the water at the setting sun, life had just ground to a halt. But not for others. Not for my mates, willing taken or not. Everyone had such veiled comments about Marcus I was beginning to get a little nervous about him. He had so carefully protected that artistic core. What caused him to stop everything? It had to be more than just a Vampire/Lycan affair.
“Who started it?”
“I did.” Vladimir looked away. He couldn’t lie either. I glanced back over the wall. There were other pod paintings. Haley and Ping in human form. The Alphas in wolf form, both male and female. The puff balls with legs and bright eyes. What died in Marcus?
I tossed myself in a leather wingback chair and brought my knees up. I rested my forearms on my legs. Vladimir looked up from the floor. “Lord Alpha.”
“What do you want from me, little Vlad? Forgiveness? Punishment? Tell me, because I don’t know what to do about.” I shook my hands in the air, “this.”
“Lord…Claudia and I are lesser mates, minor mates. We have only seeked the comfort and happiness that would have come from your embrace.”
“We both know that I couldn’t make Claudia happy. I could be a brother to her. That is all. I’ve tried a female once. I respect Claudia to never subject her to that fiasco. Now, I know why it was so wrong.” I looked Vladimir straight in the eye. ”We know that I couldn’t make you happy – I didn’t want to make you happy. You were an accident. The fact that you both found joy with each other is a miracle.”
I let loose a big breath.
“Lord Alpha?”
“Father told me that there have been rumors.”
“Yes, Lord…”
“I don’t begrudge anyone happiness wherever they find it but…you can’t affect the legitimacy of my children. Claudia told you how they came to be?”
He shook his almost white blonde head. “Then I’ll leave it up to her. You know why we had to get married.”
“To secure the Royal Blood line.”
“You are a threat, Vladimir.”
“I know, my Lord. I submit myself for your correction.”
“Do you love her?”
He touched his notched ear. “If I could, I would have her as my mate.”
“She is your mate in every sense of the word…yours more than she ever was mine. But.”
“Claudia is the Empress to be of the Vampire Nation. She is the mother to the future of the Vampire Nation.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “If you want to stay with her you are going to have to give up any hopes of puppies.”
“I have been neutered, my Lord.”
Huh? Did I hear that right? Uuuuhhh. “What do humans call it? A vasectomy”
Oh dear…I think it was just instinctive that I almost curled in on myself. “I offered this when I began to…when it seemed like things would move to a higher level. I knew there was a possibility of my lineage dying out when I challenged to become part of the pack. Either I would fall in the performance of my duties or I would be injured.”
Eww.
“Make her happy, little Vlad.”
“I have your blessing?”
Kind of late to be asking for it now. I nodded. “You have my blessing.” He stood up and then lowered himself into a perfect reverent pose. His forehead on his knee. “Vladimir.”
He looked up. “If you ever hurt her intentionally, I will wear your pelt to line my winter coat.”
“If I ever make her cry, I will make sure I am a Lycan when you kill me. The fur is softer.”
I thought he was kidding. The expression on his face was quite earnest. “I leave her in your paws, Alpha Leader.”
“Lord Alpha.” He bowed again and then turned to leave. “The truce will fall apart now that you have returned. You should know that your children will always be protected. Even though the Imperials are still just pups, they can defend the little ones until help arrives. They already have bonded with the Blues. They will give their lives for them.”
Truce? What truce? Vladimir was already out the door. Britta. That old bitch was still alive. Well, crap. I shook off Lanseng. Claudia and Vladimir took care of themselves. Armor was a pistol as usual. Father was…going to be a problem and Marcus. I looked over the wall that ran the length of the Great Hall. His paintings were a wonder. Each one was a masterpiece. What killed it? What warped that talent? Claudius also wrote that his music was gone too. What the hell was going on?
I saw a man in black poke his head in to make sure that I was where I was supposed to be. I had no problem with that anymore. As long as they weren’t touching me, it was fine. Marcus. Marcus, Marcus, Marcus. Well I knew I wasn’t the one to be snooping. I leaned back and closed my eyes. Batter up!
Oh, that first breath was just like that first cigarette in the morning. Painful, hacking and oh sooo sweet. I sounded like I was having an asthma attack. I dragged in another lungful of air and savored it. Breathing. Nice.
I hopped out of the chair and went up to the paintings. X had an eye on him. Well my Babe had the talent with the brush. You could trace the change in Claudia up until..here. I dragged a chair over from the table and climbed on it to take a good look. There was a twinkle, a spark of life. I would say the triplets were closer to four years old before this started. Why would this bother Marcus? He knew I didn’t love her. He knew I sure as hell didn’t want to bed her. I couldn’t do Vlad either. This should have been nothing.
I jumped down and looked at the rest of the work. My man had talent. I stared up at our likeness on that masterpiece. He was lounging beside Queen Nightshade, one hand buried into the red fur the other on the ground. I was behind him one hand fisting his shirt. The other, heaven knows where. I looked dangerous. Marcus looked devilish. We belonged together. Sweetness and Light. Music and Art. That was his essential core.
He didn’t live in X and Armor’s room. So where was he now? I padded over to the man in black and introduced myself. His name was Gun. Father needed a thesaurus. He lead me down the corridors down the halls until we came to…Sex’s old room. You couldn’t swing kitty Snowflake in here.
Hey. /Snowflake! Snowflake? Snowie? Flakie?/
/Stop it now./
/Hello to you too!/
/I’ve been talking to you since you got home. What the hell was your problem?/ Jees, are Hellcats all this crabby?
/I just got here. It’s been Skell and Xavier..shouldn’t they have been able to hear you now?/
/You are only hearing me now? Your shield must be blocking me. That is strange. I should report this to the Queen. Do you need me?/
/Just checking in./
/Later./
That was odd. That was what X was hearing all the time with the Queen. I stepped into Marcus’ room and just stopped. It could have been a nondescript hotel room in anywhere USA. There was nothing on the walls. Everything was neatly packed away. I rushed over to the tall wardrobe in the corner and wrenched it open. When it was Sex’s, half the clothes would have tumbled out. Suits were neatly hung. Sweaters folded. There was nothing of mine. I ripped the wardrobe apart. I tore open the nightstand. Absolutely nothing.
“What is going on in here?” I turned on my bare heel and looked at Marcus. He looked at me shocked then apprehensive then his face dropped into quiet stillness..
“You threw me away? There was a hint of agony on my voice. He heard it and turned away. “Marcus! You threw me away?”
He stood up straight. For once he stood up to his six foot four height even if his back was toward me. “Yes.” He said that one curt word and left devastation in his wake.
___________
Ded = grandfather
Deduscka = grandpa (paraphaszing here)
Praded = great grandfather
Pravnuk = great grandson
Vnuk = grandson
Thank you for the Russian Familial terms at http://www.doukhobor.org/Terms-Familial.htm
Note: The snakes & ladders incident is real. Vodka, Cops and Eviction were involved. The names of the guilty are being withheld due to stupidity and booze.