Chapter 3
1920 Words
Present- (Back to Third POV)
Ethan and Kai were coming back from another meeting with another group of vampires looking to ally with Diamond Sky. In the four months that have passed since Cal made his great exit from the rest of the Council-governed world they live in, several leaders have sought some sort of partnership with Cal. No one knew about his fight with Samael, his ability to actually fight a god and not die, and still they wanted to partner with him.
“I think that went well,” Ethan said, as they walked toward the Thompson house. “They all respect you, Kai. They can see the leader in you.”
“They just think I’ll put in a good word for them with Cal. They’re all chauvinistic pricks.”
Ethan chuckled, “don’t say that in front of Max.”
“Max hates vampires more than anyone else I know. She would agree with me.”
“Eh, true.”
“You two gonna figure your stuff out anytime soon? I can practically smell the pheromones you two put off for one another and honestly, I’m tempted to lock you both in a room for a week until you get it out of your systems.”
“Shut up,” he shoved her to the side, “and don’t say that in front of her.”
“Why can’t you two just accept one another? I mean, for crying out loud, you two nearly lost one another and you saw what happens when a mate bond goes to waste. Look at my br—” she stopped when she almost said the words. Shaking her head, she changed her statement, “just don’t waste it. You’ll end up regretting it one day.”
“You’re one to talk.”
“Excuse you?” she quirked a brow at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Have you told him you broke up with Alex? It’s been what, five months?”
“Why should I have to tell him about that?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Kai. Maybe because you broke up with Alex to be with Cal? You had every chance to tell him you want to be with him and instead, you stare at him like you expect him to read your damn mind while you guys go through your rejection.”
“Yeah, well, I tried. He didn’t seem to want to listen.”
“Oh bullshit. You know that’s the biggest load of crap, Kai. If you spoke up he would have listened to you. Instead, you cowered like some little girl and let it happen.”
“Gosh, Ethan, rub it in my face why don’t you? Besides, Cal and I are friends and we haven’t actually been real friends since I was fifteen. Not this close, I mean.”
They stood on the porch in front of the Thompson house. Ethan looked in the distance while Kai shuffled her keys around in her hands. “So, what are you going to do when he starts seeing someone?”
“You mean like dating?” she looked up from her keys at Ethan. “I don’t know.”
“You think you’d tell him how you really feel at that point?”
“Maybe, I don’t know. I mean, he probably wouldn’t start doing that now, right?”
“Then what’s that going on over there,” he lifted his chin in the direction behind Kai. When she saw Cal opening his car door for a girl, she bit off a curse and pulled Ethan down to duck out of Cal’s line of sight. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Shhh! He’ll hear you, you i***t!” She looked between the shrubs on her parents’ porch at Cal getting in the driver side. She didn’t get a good look at the girl, but thank f**k it wasn’t Heather. She had been threatening that girl with her life for months now and still, it seemed, she didn’t get the picture. Heather was not going to have Cal, and Kai would die on that hill to make sure it never happened.
Cal’s car pulled out of the driveway and they watched him pull out of the col-de-sac and down the street.
“Kai, I’ve seen you stand up to a god before. You’ve taken hits from people and hit them right back. You put the other entitled sorcerers and vampires in their places whenever they try to make you feel unimportant in those meetings. You never ask Cal to join those meets, even when it would be easier with him there. You’re a f*****g badass but Cal gets in his car and suddenly you turn into a chicken?”
“Shut up, Ethan, or I’ll tell Max you’re gay.”
“I’m not gay!”
“She’ll understand then why you have never made a move even though you’re her mate.”
“She’ll never believe you.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Are you two going to go inside or bicker like an old married couple all night,” James called from his bedroom window in the house next door.
Kai’s eyes widened, “how much of that did you see?”
James smirked, “enough.”
“You gonna be a gossip queen about it or are you gonna keep your mouth shut?”
James laughed, “I won’t tell anyone, Kai, but I do think you should tell him how you feel. You might be surprised what you hear back.”
“He just left for probably a date with some girl, James, he’s moving on.”
“I’m so over this little soap opera you two have going on. Either get together or move on. Quit this running in circles bullshit and just f**k already.”
“James!”
“What! I’m still living with the parents here and have yet to do anything with my mate. You’ve seen her, right? Most damn beautiful, exotic creature to walk the planet? Hair that changes color on its own. Sparkly skin.”
“Hey James,” Ethan called.
“What?”
“That damn beautiful mate of yours mentioned you were in the doghouse for not keeping the bathroom clean for her. I heard she might move back to the cave with us if you don’t pick your s**t up.”
James’ smile dropped, “you lie.”
“I truth.” Ethan turned and snapped his fingers, opening the front door. They had been gone for a day and a half, and he was more than ready to throw himself on his bed and sleep for the next three days. Or until the next summons. Cal or his father. The only two he would let summon him anymore, since he turned in his resignation to the Council along with Kai. His father wasn’t happy about it, until John hired his younger brother, Ian, as a temporary member of staff.
It turned out to be a good move on Ethan’s part. For all of those groups that pulled out from the Council, Diamond Sky’s list of allies grew. However, for those that did pull out and didn’t have allies close by, Council forces were decimating those groups by the thousands.
Nora and Jack went to those places to pull out as many survivors as they could, and relocate them to safer territories. Jack sent many home to his pack, while Nora brought many others to other packs. Diamond sky had taken on some of the refugees, but was running out of room to house them. They were looking for options to build more housing, but it would take time they didn’t have much of.
Kai and Ethan made it inside and straight to the portal to the cave. Since Juliet moved into the Alpha house with James, Ethan took her room all to himself.
“Hey, you guys are back,” Loraina smiled as they walked in. She carried a baby bump under her long dress. It wasn’t done growing, but Loraina already acted like she was carrying the full watermelon. Once she got out of the morning sickness phase, which lasted beyond the morning, she seemed to do better. Now, all she had to complain about is how she felt “fat” all the time.
Kai walked up and knelt before Loraina, putting her hands to her belly, “hello there baby Ace, it’s your auntie Kai. I missed you while we were gone,” she kissed Loraina’s belly. “You be good to mommy in there and then when you come out, we’ll go get ice cream and I’ll take you to the cave, and to all the cool places around. Then, I’ll teach you how to beat all the boys at paintball.”
“Quit trying to indoctrinate my kid with your violence, Kai,” Ace growled from the table in the kitchen. “He doesn’t need to fit into your culture of fighting and growling and whatever.”
“What makes you so sure it’s a boy, Ace? Maybe little one is a girl, you ever consider that? Girls are more fun.”
Ace rolled his eyes, “because the goddess showed me in a dream.”
“You think that.”
“I know that.”
Max came out of her bedroom in sweats and a shirt with messy hair. Yawning, she looked around the room, “Kai? You guys back?”
“Hey, Max, yeah. I think Ethan went to bed.”
“Oh, okay. I’m gonna go to bed too.”
Max retreated to her room and Kai shared a knowing look with Loraina. “She’s still not sleeping when he’s gone. Yesterday, she kept pacing around the house and then opened and closed all of the kitchen cabinets once every hour. If I had my powers, I would have put her under one of those princess sleeping curses where she only woke up if her true love kissed her.”
Kai frowned, “you know, you’re funny when you’re not all sappy and gross like that. But yeah, I can see where it would drive one nuts.”
Kai’s phone dinged in her purse. She pulled it out to check it and was surprised to see it was fro Cal when he was on what looked like a date.
Cal: You guys make it back yet?
Kai: Yeah, Ethan went to bed, though, so he won’t be out for a while.
Cal: You too?
Kai: Probably take a nap.
Cal: When you’re up, I have something to show you.
Kai: Okay :)
Cal: See you soon.
- Writer
