Louis
Walking out on En-gannim was a fantastic feeling. Last time with Soren and Isla, I didn't have time to take it in. Marcus wanted to leave before my uncle changed his mind. The sand-colored buildings complemented the surroundings so much. Juliet had told me how she felt at home there. I had a few moments to try and sense what she meant… We had to immediately travel to Palmyra before Ahasuerus heard about it or could follow and stop us.
Looking over to Juliet and Marcus… Her hand was in his every time we traveled. She was getting attached. They were spending most of the time together. He didn't leave her for a second. It was my own fault. I was doing what I did in France, standing back so they could connect. But the second time around, it was different. There was no cause, and Marcus wouldn't leave, not like Chris. And when she wasn't with Marcus, Michael was there. Knowing both of them, they weren't going to give me a gap unless I took it.
We exited at a spot a little away from the village. There was a lot of water, and most of the traveling would be by boat. It wasn't hard to find someone to take us downriver. Mateo did all the talking.
"You are the second group that wanted a boat." The man said.
"Who was here?" I asked.
The guy saw Sita and Bertram in his thoughts. "A woman and a man." We nodded.
"But you are not far behind."
I helped Juliet into the boat, turning my back on Marcus on the shore. When I sat down, challenging eyes stared back at me. I pulled Juliet down next to me and put my fingers through hers. She watched the interchange with interest. Her eyes darted from me to Marcus. Mateo eyed the whole story from his side. Even the boat guy was watching us.
"Were you guys not trained at school on how to make a schedule?"
Marcus started laughing. Juliet's heart always beat faster when Marcus was happy. Her thoughts went to his mouth. Since he decided to stay, he was all smiles. A schedule seemed like an excellent idea.
***
It was a small village on the shore. We heard the screams from far away. Mateo manifested and jumped out of the boat onto the beach, running like a wolf. We heard growls, and I sat frozen. It was the same as the day my father died. Someone had released an infected wolf onto the village. Juliet was manifested, eyes glossy and behind Mateo by seconds. She was fast and didn't even look back. Just wanted to help.
Marcus jumped to follow… He glanced back at me… "Louis, come on!"
I couldn't move. That day replayed in my mind. My father fought for so long to get the wolf tired enough to stop and assess the situation. My mother Noya was pregnant with me when they came to Earth… Back then… No one knew. We didn't even know there were werewolves on Earth... In the twenty years I was with my family, we learned a lot from Samuel.
At first, my father had thought it was a normal wolf they could get back to human form, but that one didn't. We realized it was different. We should have known when we saw the eyes. Someone wasn't watched and bit a human, and they changed. Not that a vampire could get infected… But we could still die. My father was tired, and the wolf came at him.
Marcus couldn't wait for me anymore. Juliet was calling out to him. He ran, and I listened to the yelp, followed by another. They were fighting together, getting the better of the creature. Mateo was helping, and they were calling out to each other.
I saw Bertram and Sita with some more werewolves. They had two bodies with them, approaching another boat up the shore. I could not help Juliet, but I could stop them. I snuck up on the boatman and killed him outright. Dragged him into the bushes when their backs were turned.
Sita growled and came back to human form. "We've got company." I lifted my jacket and took out the gun. I aimed at Bertram and shot him with a dart. I wasn't going to kill Carl's father. He fell down in an instant. I couldn't hear any thoughts from the bags on the boat… I had a bad feeling that the little girl was already dead.
"Are they dead?" I asked, walking up to Sita, gun stretched out in front of me.
"Of course they are." A voice spoke to my right. The tall grass had hidden a veiled woman and armed werewolves as big as Chris… "Sita had brought me what I wanted most." I frowned; she wasn't talking about the people in the boat.
It didn't take long for Mateo to walk toward us. When Juliet saw Sita, she stormed toward her, dove right into her, and they fell into the water. Juliet was taking her deeper down into the dark. The five guards with the women went after them. Marcus followed, and I did the same. I didn't have a problem with killing a werewolf… The bodies soon drifted to the surface. There really was no one that could defeat us as a team. I walked out of the water when I knew it was only Sita and Juliet left. Marcus surfaced a moment later.
The veiled women and Mateo were standing on the shore talking. Juliet had Sita by the throat… She couldn't do it because of Nick… Juliet dragged her out by the hair. Sita coughed and grabbed onto Juliet's arms. Juliet straddled her and started punching. She didn't stop until Sita was bloodied, cut up, and out cold. Juliet stood and spat on her.
A sudden movement in the water made our heads jerk. We were all jolted and pushed back further onto the shore. The bodies in the water were being dragged down by enormous water beasts, grabbing the dead in one bite and diving down. Juliet ran to me and stood behind me. "What the hell… we were in the water just now." I chuckled.
"Next time when you are on a foreign planet. Maybe you should ask the people living there if it's dangerous." The voice behind the veil was so familiar that a shiver ran down my spine. Mateo wasn't really sad about the bodies in the boat. The woman reached for her veil and pulled it off. The long golden locks hung to her buttocks and her face… I stood staring at her for a long time… The guards took off the robe, and she was clad in almost as little as Juliet would like to wear. Her body was nearly covered in the snake-like skin Juliet had… Shoulders, back, and legs to her knees…
"You don't recognize your own mother, Louis?"
I remembered her with short hair and much younger. "Noya?"
The woman walked over to Juliet. She was standing off to the side behind me. I wasn't reading the woman approaching us… Too preoccupied. She grabbed Juliet by the throat and manifested into the most giant werewolf I had ever seen. She was enormous, muscular, and towered above us. She was more creature than Chris's father. The green royalty glow in their moonlight was prominent, coming from behind her.
It happened too fast. She had grabbed Juliet, who was dangling and grunting, and I reacted. I jumped onto her arm, threw my legs around her neck, and got her off Juliet quickly, choking her with all my strength. She had to let go of my wife to get me off. She turned to fight me. I was ready and strong. I threw the dart gun at Marcus.
He shot and didn't stop and jumped in to help. Noya required two hands or more. Marcus and I had pinned her down, each one on a shoulder. I took out my real gun and shot it into the dirt next to her head. The "bang" had made her stop fighting.
"Ah… guys…" Our gazes lifted to Juliet's voice. There were more werewolves around Juliet. Spears pointed at her neck and other parts of her body, pushing her back to the water's edge. We jumped off, and they lifted their weapons. The woman got up with the help of two of the men. She returned to human form, walked over to the water, and washed her face. She lifted a hand. The men helped her pull out the darts. She flung them at my feet. "I needed to know how much you loved her. It seems you won't have any issues killing your mother for that chit."
"My mother is dead!"
"I am not Noya… Not anymore, anyway. My name is Brylee… I am queen on Palmyra. I fell in love with your father. When he came to the palace with Ahasuerus and Samuel… Basaam snuck me to En-gannim, and I ended up at Samuel's home. I was pregnant when the rebellion broke out. … All I had to do was put on a veil and never manifest. Ahasuerus thought I was a vampire…." She chuckled… "He still doesn't know… We knew the baby wouldn't survive… So your father worked tirelessly to figure out something for me… To be able to carry the baby… I did, as you can see… But some idiot didn't take responsibility on a full moon and bit some human… I was so happy… And then I wasn't… That concoction made me so strong that I didn't even have to try really hard to take back the throne… All I had to do was return to Palmyra. The story was straightforward. I died because of the branding… But we never did it. I didn't want to take a chance on some legend. Knowing what I know now, I would have… Get the girl!" She pointed at Juliet. "And get that useless woman there."
My gaze darted between Juliet and Marcus and rested on the general.
Marcus { We're outnumbered, Louis }
"If you so much as touch her. I will come for you." I pointed my black nail at her. "If you are my mother or not."
Brylee regarded me. "As you wish. I will keep her in the palace with me and treat her like my daughter-in-law."
Juliet took my hand. "I think it will be okay. I'm sorry." Juliet kissed me goodbye… It was a peck… I didn't like it… We were being handled from every direction and had nothing of the truth.
Juliet thought to me as she walked off…
Juliet { If all else fails. I'll disappear, and they will be able to see me but do nothing about it. Come get me at Jack's in two days if you don't hear anything }
She glanced over at Marcus for a second. He wasn't happy.
"Promise me… not one scratch, baby."
She saluted Marcus and me with two fingers, walking backward, following my mother into the tall grass. They disappeared. We could have followed, but Mateo kept me back. "What the hell just happened, Mateo?" You have to be royalty. We all saw the green emblem."
"I am."
"Your wife and daughter? Real?"
"Safe… I'm sorry… I had no choice… I told you… She's ten times worse… I used Sita and this island as a diversion."
"You have to tell us where they are, Mateo… How will you protect her? Just by hiding her?"
Marcus walked up to him. "You protected your own wife, but you put mine in danger. Don't ask me for anything… Ever again."
"How did she get a teleporter, Mateo?"
We kept bombarding him with questions all the way home.
***
Juliet
I have to say… I did not see that coming. There was no view from the chamber we emerged out of. It was large and utterly walled off… No one was supposed to have their own interplanetary teleporter. Energized from En-gannim, which meant Brylee could come and go as she pleased.
Marcus had told me some of what Caude looked like, but I wished to see it for myself. The splendor of the uncorrupted nature. It would be like going back in time on Earth, with no ruins and every temple preserved and improved upon. But I wasn't going to be that lucky. I didn't think I was there for a tour. The walkway from the chamber was covered until it opened up to a bridge and, in the distance, a beautiful staircase into the palace. For a few moments, I had a view of the surrounding area. The palace walls were built and clad from stone. Flat and white. Some places were polished, some places not. Two werewolf statues stood as high as an apartment building next to the gates at the top of the stairs. The floor was marble, shiny, and clean. No clutter anywhere.
I guessed it was only a side entrance, and the air hit us with every step. A light mist of water fell from the sky. As I turned in a circle, the waterfall towered high from above the mountain surrounding the palace to far down below us. The rushing, thundering sound almost drowned out everything else. I loved it immediately. I had that same feeling about En-gannim, and I knew it was supernatural. The branding was calling me to conquer.
I stopped when massive bird-like beasts flew over us, screeching and flapping giant wings… Every planet had beasts filled with blood for the inhabitants. I wondered how they ever hunted in all of that water.
We were about to enter the big gates at the top of the stairs. I stopped dead in my tracks. Brylee had seen my movement and glanced back at me. "What?" She spat out.
"I'm not going in there with Sita. She wanted into the palace. I'm not giving her what she wanted." Sita was being carried over the shoulder of one of the wolves.
"Take her home," Brylee ordered.
The wolf turned and went the other way. They had left Bertram with Marcus and Louis. I think it was the end of Carl's father's career. After that, I didn't say anything. I wanted one thing, and she gave it to me. So, I would shut my mouth and let Brylee take the lead.
The palace inside was even more spectacular. Green everywhere, from moss growing on the rocks to trees and plants. Pillars so high they held up the carved-out roof. The whole palace was built on the base of a mountain. A mountain made from marble. There was water running through from one side to the other. A soft, gentle waterfall feeding it. Werewolf men stood everywhere. The idea popped into my mind that the worlds they conquered must have many moons. And I wonder what it was about the Earth that she didn't like. The fact that she would have to be caged once a month or that a human killed her husband.
In the last few months, I had been to En-gannim and Palmyra. Chris was one stop away. But I couldn't get to him. It was frustrating… I wanted to beg. Brylee had the power… I could ask her if she would send me. No one would know.
After we followed a lot of narrow corridors, we came out to a massive open floor space. Every inch of our journey had been guarded along the way. I would never be able to find my way there. Guessed, she designed it like that for protection and privacy. Across the open floor, there were two doors… A guard opened for us, and it led to an oasis with a Roman-type bath in the center. Soft steam emanated off the water's surface.
She ripped off the veil and tossed it aside. Attendants had replaced the guards at the threshold. All the men at her service were in human form. They followed her and helped her with her clothes. She was beautiful, and I knew where Louis got his looks.
One man came over to help me. I stretched out my arms like she had. He pulled off my shirt so gently and lifted it over my head, smoothing out my hair after. I liked the feeling, and Marcus would have been riled up. I should never go to Palmyra again. His eyes caught mine on him, and he smiled.
I chuckled when his expression changed. He had glanced down and saw my bra. His hand raised up to the chest piece. He couldn't get his fingers underneath. He kept trying, circling me up for the challenge. I bit my bottom lip as he fumbled. Another replaced him, bumping him out of the way. He didn't like it. He was serious about his work.
The second man's hands reached around me. It was effortless. He tossed it to the other and unclasped my belt and button, zipping down my pants, and lowered himself into a squat. I lifted a leg and stepped out. He did the same with my underwear. He tossed it at the previous attendant, who was still standing and watching. He slowly ran his fingers up my legs, over my skin as he came up, stopping when his hands rested on my hips. Slowly, he turned me around. His touch never left my flesh. He pushed me forward. I was getting a bath. The slap came so unexpectedly and rough that I jumped. He had hit my ass. I spun around and stretched out a finger to him. "Never! Do that again." He smirked and nodded. Like he really wouldn't. He had been gauging me and assessing my personality. Brylee gave a sardonic laugh. "They train for years and years on how to make a woman feel in control. From start to finish… I like men to still be men. I don't want them on the floor… But you should understand that."
Marcus was so jealous… I would have to stay away from Palmyra if it was that easy… I had never known Marcus was that bad. On the compound, when I was younger. He didn't need to fight for my attention. Since Marcus stayed, I gradually felt terrible about Soren. I had hurt Marcus. And I had to take responsibility for the boy. I sighed as I stepped into the water. It was hot and felt good. I relaxed immediately.
The power I would have on a planet where women were the rulers was dangerous. I obviously felt safer around the men... I snorted at myself. Safer? There, the woman was a constant threat. If she could have, I think she would have. That same guard that was just flirting with me would wring my neck in a second on her orders. I didn't even care… I floated in the pool. The sky was open. I loved it. I wouldn't mind living on any one of the planets… But the road was so long… And every ruler was a little bit scarier than the first. I wet my hair, swam to the edge, and sat down like she was.
"Feel better?" I nodded lazily, staring at the moons. I wished Louis was there. Why didn't she want him to come? We were both vampires, and he was her son.
"Can I interest you with a werewolf husband to secure alliances?" She snickered. There was something broken in her manner. In the same way, Ahasuerus was just a little off. It was too much confidence. They were too old. Ruled for too long.
Her hand lifted, and a few men walked out, clad in very little. They sat down across from us, feet in the water. My gaze instinctively sprung to the guy who was dismissed because of the bra. She followed my line of sight and snorted. Her hand raised. He sat down, and the others left. The boy or man couldn't look at me. I met her gaze and shrugged. Then I looked at the other that replaced him. "I don't like arrogant."
"Oh, we have a whole school for the nice guys. I can take you…."
"All though that would be my downfall… I'm sorry, my one husband said no more."
"Let me guess. Marcus?" We both laughed lightly. "Not even for Caleb?" My eyes met hers. I shook my head. I would never do that to Marcus. "How many?" I asked her, thinking she would have a thousand.
"Oh, I just have one."
I was shocked. I sat up bewildered.
"I treat him like gold and precious silk..." Her gaze traveled up to the stars, running her hand through the water. Even in the light of the three constant full moons, the Milky Way was so clear… "I give him everything he wants. But a daughter… After Louis's father… I didn't think I would ever love again… Never say never… Is that not a saying on Earth? I don't have to tell you that it is possible to love more than one person." She was quiet for a while. "If I had met Zavier first… who knows. It happened so fast… I am, after all, just a girl… Werewolves are meant to have a big family." She watches me for a while… "Why are you not saying anything?"
"Speak only when spoken to." My hand rinsed the water from my hair.
She scoffed. "I hate that world."
"Well, if I'm allowed… I had heard it's just the reverse here."
"Look… how a woman treats her husbands… Her harem… I can't do anything about it… At some point, you have to let… I will call them people… Let people be… In the end, it doesn't really matter what anyone does… They will always be human… There is a reason we are half-human… I don't like to be in my creature state too much. The men here are in a creature state because it keeps them grounded. On En-gannim… Same thing, just the other way around. If the women were in their vampire states more… maybe it would be worse for little Ahasuerus."
"Women are too ugly like that," I whispered.
"The lust of a vampire…."
"Yeah, being in any form didn't help me… I still don't know where I am most of the time."
"I envy you…." She said softly.
"Why?" I gulped.
"To be so free…."
My lips turned upside down… a confusion on my features… "I had always felt that I had the worst kind of luck. That life and the universe were against me… I didn't ask to fall in love with Marcus, but I did… so hard." My eyes closed, thinking about those three years we were apart. "Without even understanding the concept…." I drew in a breath. "I didn't ask to fall in love with Chris… Before I knew it, I was… And at the same time, Louis was there… I don't know what it was. I was in the middle before I even knew what was going on… If it wasn't for him… I don't know where I would be."
"And Michael? Are you sure you are in love with him… Are you sure he is in love with you? He might be indoctrinated to protect you. You might feel you owe him."
The corner of my mouth lifted. She had already twice brought up the brandings… The first time she spoke of interracial brandings… And she's asking about Michael, not Chris.
"Thinking about it… Anybody can fall out of love… How would that even work? Would my tattoo fly into the air? I really know nothing. Only learning as I go on."
"No Juliet… That's not how it works… The supernatural bond only happens if it is true… Everlasting."
I blinked a few times to take in the enormity of what she was saying. My tattoos would never disappear. Chris didn't want to… I didn't know if the time apart had changed his mind or made his lack of commitment worse. I was so jealous of Louis being in love with someone else… What if Chris's feelings had changed? I would never know if our love was written on the stars.
Michael… I couldn't ask that of him. "Hey… how about we try branding and see how it goes. You're next in line." The thought made me cringe.
There was Soren… Marcus didn't want him to… And because he was so against it, I wouldn't entertain the thought. I knew Louis had their family emblem… And I missed Soren… if I had to be honest. Even if Michael was back, Soren wasn't a replacement… But did I really love him?
"I heard there was another guy?"
She said at last… Like reading my thoughts. "Is there a reason you cannot come out and say what you want…?" I asked.
"Yes… But I will paint a little scenario for you." She shook her head like an Indian cab driver, thinking about how to answer… "Ira, Ahasuerus, and I had a secret meeting."
That got my attention. She smirked at my eagerness.
"We had discussed only one thing… You… Since then, I have had time to think. I had never met Louis… But when I saw him tonight… I was back there in an instant. That monster was coming for us… Not even I could take it on. Louis's father made me promise to put our child first… And I did, and I honor my promises. He was twenty and didn't have any abilities. I couldn't look at him after that…." Her eyes cast down to the water.
"Blamed a child for his father's death… We all have our limits… Mine is very shallow… Yours run unlimited… It scares people… But like me, I saw tonight that there isn't much Louis wouldn't do for you… And his limits are just as deep… You do make the perfect couple… So… Why I brought you here is to tell you… Not to let Soren brand you… Do not let anyone brand you… Until you're absolutely sure who should receive the honor…."
F- Me. Did she just tell me that the third branding would mean more than the rest?
"The one problem you face is that you haven't seen Chris in a long time… You don't know what he's been doing. What he's going to do in the next ten years… Because I tell you… You won't be seeing him soon. Ira… will do anything in his power to keep you away from his son."
Brylee dropped down into the water and waded to the side of the pool. She went to stand in a shallow end. A carved-out round pool. Mr. Arrogant came over and washed her. He never once glanced at her face, knowing exactly how to handle her. She went back into the water to rinse. After he helped her out, it was my turn. Mr. Arrogant didn't even try. The other man eagerly jumped up and held out his hand to me, helping me to the shallow pool, getting in with me, and washing me. He looked me in the eye the whole time, asking for permission. Marcus once contemplated it. At that moment, I was too.
Brylee got out, and Mr. Arrogant put a robe around her. She waved her hand. More men brought in clothes and towels.
My attendant helped me get dressed into the softest piece of fabric I had ever felt. I could feel his breath on me as he moved; every touch was full of purpose.
My dress was a hand-stitched top. My back and chest were covered in lace. There were small sleeves that stopped a little over my shoulder. The neckline ran up until it sat like a choker. Soft triangle wedges covered only a little of my stomach that was left exposed. The back was laced up with satin. It should have been a corset, but it wasn't. I didn't feel suffocated at all. For the skirt… It was made out of layers of soft georgette silk with a slit in the front. I felt like a fairy, not an ugly monster. "You look beautiful," he whispered.
"Where am I going?" I asked softly before I made another stupid mistake.
"I thought you would have asked by now. Begged…"
She held out her hand and led me back to the teleporter.
"It was nice meeting you, Juliet. I couldn't have asked for anyone better for him."
Jack was waiting for me. I was so happy to see him that I ran down the stairs over the bridge, and he caught me and swung in a circle. I hugged him for a long time. He held out his hand, and I took it. We traveled somewhere.
***
Chris
A few days after Selena and I had our talk at the bar, we were still in Shumaan. Ira had things to do, and we helped out with Patrols. Our last stop would be the city of our origin. Ira wanted to come back to Shumaan to rest and catch up, and I had to say I was getting tired of sleeping outside in the sand. I knew every location by heart. All I had to do was catalog the last one to mind...
It was a strange day. Ira was being weird. Even Silvanus was watching him from the corner of his eye. I had moved back for the time being.
Since Selena and Jamal had crossed that line… Yeah, they needed the space. After our talk… I had one with Jamal. In hindsight, that might have been a mistake. What made my father act like that.
It was late and dark. Caleb was asleep in his room. I heard my father come into the house, talking and sending Silvanus out on patrols. Told him he didn't need to be watched like a child. My father came into my room. It was so dark. I thought he wanted to talk… The next thing I knew, I felt a stab in my neck. My eyes were still open when they placed someone on the bed next to me. I could smell Selena. Ira had me followed, I supposed. Must have heard our conversation and seen her and Jamal. I hadn't eaten or drunk anything they would give me since that stupid threat at the meeting... How did he get a little black dispenser? The whooshing sound I would never forget. Ira might not be able to teleport out or communicate with anyone anymore. But someone was coming and going…