We just arrived at Vincent's to get ready. It feels different, but I'm not sure how just yet.
“We need to change,” Vincent tells me.
I look around the house as we make our way to our room and that’s when it hits me. I see some of my quotation pillows on the couch, my red standing mixer in the kitchen, and some of my poems line the hall, and then we enter the bedroom.
There's a trophy case with my awards and some of my articles framed. My guitar rests on a new stand by the bed. I grab Vincent by his shirt and pull him against me. I kiss him with my whole being. No man has ever shown me this much love.
“Thank you,” I tell him as I kiss him once more.
“You like it? Eric helped,” Vincent says as he grins at me.
“I love everything you've done. I swear I couldn't love you more than I do right now, and yet I know I will tomorrow.
-Leo Christopher,” I say with nothing but love in my eyes.
He sweeps me up and lays me on the bed. Our eyes never leave each other's. We deftly remove our clothing. Our lips meet. It's sheer power. My hands tunnel in his hair and gently tug. He slowly slides down my body to find me wet and ready.
My legs slide open and he slowly enters me. He thrusts slowly yet hard. I clench as he retreats each time just building up the intensity before we climax. If our eyes are windows to our souls, I'm seeing his now. It's different then when we first met. He's still memorizing but not as troubled. The walls are cracked and
crumbling. He's changing. He's beautiful in every way. I see that he would die for me.
This is love, this is home, and this is my life. We come together in every way. As our ecstasy subsides, he rests his forehead on mine and stares into my eyes.
He caressed my cheek as he gazed into my eyes, “I love you Eva. Nothing will
ever change that.”
“I love you Vin. Don't ever leave me,” I tell him as I peck his lips. I'm not sure why I feel so worried all of a sudden. Maybe it's just the trail.
“I won't. I promise I'm always near,” he says.
We hold each other a bit longer just quietly gazing at one another. Then we get cleaned up and dressed. I go into my closet and hanging on a hook is a beautiful black lace and beaded dress. It fits as if it were made for me. Vincent got this for me while I was at the Falls.
“Breathtaking,” Vincent says as he offers me his arm. I tell him thank you as I blush like an idiot. Sometimes I forget that he's over a thousand years old. Like right now I feel like we were two kids at prom who snuck off for alone time.
He grins, “It's our house, we didn't sneak.”
I just blush more as we enter the living room arm in arm.
“Whoa, momma!” Katie exclaims, “Where'd that dress come from?”
I look at Vincent with a sly smile.
“Go shopping for me!” Katie nearly screams at him which makes me giggle.
Eric kisses my cheek, “You look like a queen, my queen.”
Sam kisses me softly, “You look exquisite.”
“Well let's go. We will stop by a store to get myself and Sam something appropriate,” Eric says as we make our way to the front door.
Once everyone looks the part we enter the club. Of course, everyone stares. I sigh.
“Eva, don't mind them. Remember you're under my protection,” Eric reassures me.
We make our way to the stage. I stand by Eric while Vincent and Sam
stand behind me. Eric begins his speech, “I wish I was here saying this
under different circumstances but I will not act without informing you all.”
He has Victor and Veronica brought out by his men. The crowd gasps as Eric continues, “1 hired Midnight Rose to write about our kind. In her investigative efforts, she solved who was responsible for the unauthorized turnings of late, unauthorized feedings, and a plot to start a war with the wolves and remove me as your Prince. Eric motions for Sam to speak.
“I had invited Midnight Rose to spend a day with my pack. I did this to help relations between vampires and wolves. Victor here,” he points to him, “Had visited my pack while I was away trying to convince Ms. Rose to come. We walked in from a nightly stroll where I answered her questions about pack life, to find Victor threatening my family.”
Eric looks at me, “Explain what all you saw, dear.”
So I try to explain but some seem confused so Eric adds, “She has a talent for seeing our memories and thoughts. She is also my mate, so I can hear and see hers.” That seemed to appease the crowd as well as shock them.
Once they recover a bit, they want to know Veronica's hand in this. I tell them everything I see as I'm seeing it including her obsession with Vincent and what she wanted to do to me.
Eric turns to our group and asks, “Well, what punishment should we inflict?”
“Death to both,” Vincent says flatly.
Sam uses his Alpha tone, “Even my kind would lean towards death in this case,
usually, it's just banishment.”
There's a lot of shouts of “yes” from the crowd.
“Eva, the ultimate decision is yours,” Eric says as he has me move in front of him.
“Don't we get to speak?” Victor asks.
I rolled my eyes internally because nothing he could tell me would change my mind. “Go ahead, but I'm likely to side with the majority in this,” I say coolly.
“I just did what he told me. He promised he'd help me get Vincent back.” Veronica pleads.
I don't hesitate to put her in her place, “Well one, you can't get back what you never had. Two, Victor had no clue I was here or had anything to do with vampires or wolves. Lastly, no one told you how to dispose of me. That was your own
twisted mind!”
“But,” she interjects.
I snap, “Silence! There are no buts here. You had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing, but you simply chose not too. You're a disgrace to your kind and to women!”
I take in a breath, “Victor, you may speak now.”
“Eva, I fucked up. I don't regret gaining power. Eric is weak if he thinks peace will last. I was in line to be Prince. He will take you down with him because he relies too much on others,” Victor says in an effort to justify his actions.
I want to bait him, “And you won't?”
“No,” he says as he attempts to get into my mind.
“You can stop trying to compel me. It never worked,” I smirk.
“What the hell are you?” Victor asks me.
I say with a smile, “The queen you betrayed. The voice of the innocent dead. The voice of justice about to be served. I'm the goddess Themis who is your judge, jury, and executioner.”
“Love, what is your wish?” Eric asks me with nothing but love and adoration in his eyes.
“I'm left with no choice really. I see that they won't change nor exhibit any remorse. Death shall become them,” I say with confidence that I never knew that I had.
“Guards end them swiftly,” Eric says.
They are quickly beheaded and become piles of ash on the floor. Eric hugs me, “You did well.”
“No regrets,” I say as I hug him back.
“It's never easy but it was necessary. I love you. Don't second guess yourself,” Vincent says through our mindlink.
A shy smile forms on my lips. I don't like killing or death. How hard is it to be a decent person?
“Let's go have a drink,” Eric suggests.
We all go into the VIP and have a couple of drinks while we talk.
“Well that's done,” Eric says with a relieved sigh.
“Why'd he have to be so evil?” I ask.
Sam says, “His choice. No one made him.”
Vincent takes me into his arms, “You were a victim, don't try to find any fault in yourself. Eva, you tried to find good. Sometimes there is none, you're going to have to accept that sometimes.”
I pull the other guys to me, “I love you guys.” I do. I have found a love that I didn't know existed.
Eric says as he kisses me, “And we you
You make me proud. I am happy that you are my mate.”