Marcus
"Bring it to us in bed," Juliet yelled at Jessy.
"Will do. Lots of work to be done." He yelled back.
"Don't you feel bad at all about wiping out an entire race?" I asked.
"We don't know that's what happened… It's just a theory… A little harsh for true love, don't you think?"
"What else? Could they really have been teleported somewhere?"
Juliet threw her legs off the bed and stepped out of the room. Jessy was at the door, and I grabbed whatever he had, taking it to her. He was not going to see her naked… As soon as I stepped out of the room, I was met with the infamous garden. It was a sight to behold. Nothing I had ever seen was that beautiful. Not even Louis's room in France. I plopped the small beasts down on the table. She manifested and bit into its neck like it was her last meal. "Did I tire you out?"
Again, that smile. "No." She said sweetly.
"This place is amazing… Why don't we move here?" I was circling back to the room. I stepped into Brylee's dressing room and a closet that seemed to never end. My hands traveled over the delicate clothes until I found something I wanted her to wear. I took it outside and held it out to her.
"First shower… bath… or whatever." She said. She took the dress and got cleaned up while I ate.
I did my tour of the garden. The view stretched so far into the distance. Massive mountains on the horizon. Fields and stone structures in between… At the edge of the rounding that ended the garden. A treetop canopy ended right in front of me from a gorge below. I had never seen trees that tall or big. It was why their waters were filled with ships.
The door on my left opened up. Michael came out with his own breakfast and sat down. Louis came out of another room, and Chris from the last in the half-circle surrounding the garden. It formed a perfect circle. Ending the ideal picture. We sat in silence as they finished their meal. It was the first time we were all together again. It didn't feel that weird anymore… Brylee had one thing going for her. She had everything she needed to keep a harem happy. Close together and ruled with an iron fist.
Juliet came out a few minutes later. As soon as Chris saw her, he stood up and walked over. "I got to go… I'll see you later. I've been gone two days already." She nodded, tilting her chin up to him.
He liked the dress. "I really hope it works for you guys." He planted a kiss on her lips.
I was watching Michael the whole time. He had not said one word. I didn't know what he thought they were talking about, or maybe his mind was preoccupied.
"Go become general so we can go and explore… Be safe. And tell Selena and Jamal to come with you at night. There is enough room anywhere we are."
He kissed her again and disappeared. "Where is he going?"
"While you guys were busy, we went back and brought some of your army to man the embassy," Louis said.
Juliet smiled. "You and Michael?"
"Yeah… why?" Louis asked.
"Nothing." She smiled.
"Juliet, are you going to work in that kind of clothes from now on?" Louis's gaze ran up and down her body.
"Oh, please! I've read your sex journals."
Louis choked on whatever he was drinking, coughing. "You what?"
She sat down on my lap. "I didn't do nothing in France. I found your stash and the extensive research you did for your one Ph.D." She flashed her eyebrows at him.
"And you still love me?" Louis asked smugly.
"Not that it helped." She retorted. Louis's head dropped, but he was laughing.
The soft silk did tempt me to touch all her curves. I knew what he meant and stroked and caressed her thigh. It was different than her jeans and black boots, with the T-shirt of the day.
"Can you guys give Michael and me a minute?" My grip tightened around her leg. I couldn't think of him and her alone at that moment. She turned to me. "Please." I picked her up as I stood and plopped her down in the chair. "Is this going to be how you handle me from now on?"
I didn't want to be away from her. After the previous night, I knew how she felt after our first time. Every time, Juliet and I grew closer together. I walked off. I was too jealous. "Fine!" She said. "Sit down." I paused. I didn't want to leave her with him when she told him about the baby. He was going to flip out. So I sat down.
She stood in front of us, turning to him. "Michael… I'm off my birth control. It's going to be Marcus for a while."
He swore loudly and tossed his cup at a tree, manifesting into a Vampire. "We needed to talk about this." He hissed, standing in front of her in an instant. "I feel like pointing my freaking finger at you. How can you just decide?"
We all manifested. "Silvanus!" I yelled. Jessy was already there before they could even start fighting.
"Why should I listen to you? Why do you get to say?" Juliet's voice was raised.
"Do you think I don't want a baby? Do you think Louis doesn't want a baby?"
"That's not what you asked for before you branded me."
Michael's face contorted. "What about Louis? Didn't you talk about it long before you guys even got to France? Even on the compound the one night… He's wanted a baby since the first week you were together."
Her shoulders slumped. She threw her head up, peering into the sky.
"Louis is already raising Sammy more than Chris or even you. Where do you think he's been the last week."
"I'm going to see her for nine hundred years… what the hell does it matter if I'm at work. It was one week… She's used to me being busy."
"It's not the seventeen hundreds! With nursemaids and governesses Juliet. You know the psychology behind spending time with your kids. Hell, Liam and Cindy should be your example. You didn't hear Sammy ask me why you're always working."
"My parents?" She yelled. "They excluded me. Treated me like an imbecile for most of my life and made so many decisions for me… I still can't think about it without getting mad… I was so frustrated about how they handled me... Even if they let me be stupid when we left the compound… Their progressive parenting had caused so many issues."
"It also made you who you are today!" He spat. "We should've all taken some time to get used to the family unit. You're already doing what you want." His arm stretched out, and he grabbed her. Her jaw dropped, glaring down at his hand. Silvanus was next to him with his hand on Michael's wrist. "Why do you think we didn't include you in the meeting… You take over everything. None of us want to be controlled." Michael wanted to grab her other arm. Silvanus pried off his hand, and Michael flung him away like he was a mosquito. The orange hue dove at him, and they were gone…
Juliet crumpled down in a heap on the ground. Her one hand clutched where he had hurt her.
Jessy lowered his gun and left the garden.
Louis sighed, stepping forward. He put his hands under her arms, picking her up. She wrapped around his neck. "Oh, baby. If he ever does that again… I'll kill him."
"I would have killed him a long time ago." I stood up to leave.
***
Juliet
"Where are you going?" I yelled at Marcus. He wanted to leave Louis and me alone. "You wanted to be here…."
"Yes, for that exact reason!" Marcus yelled back.
It hurt that he was yelling at all. It took me some time to calm down, but I was so angry… Pacing after Louis put me down. I went back into the room and dressed in something more durable and armor. When I walked out, Louis and Marcus jumped up.
"Are you guys coming? Maybe you can help me figure out how to control that freaking fish… That's if you want to. I don't want to tell you what to do."
"Julie, this is my fault."
"No, Marcus! It's not… I'm sorry. This is on me." I tried to hold back the tears. "Michael and I… will figure it out eventually."
They followed me, and Jessy joined us. I turned to him. "Jessy… Could you go get Kubra for me… And if Charlene is available, bring her with you… And Carl."
"Will do. You guys have her?"
Marcus actually laughed at Jessy's audacity. Louis shook his head. Jessy did have an odd way about him. But he stopped halfway out the door. "How am I supposed to get there? Without the three Riphaths."
I let out a frustrated laugh… I was so used to being on En-gannim, where we had transport wherever we wanted. "Have you not found the teleporter in the palace?"
"I have, but it's off. I need to get back to bring those scientists here."
"Seems like we will have to figure out the fish first…. So much for being a bunch of useless vamps. Without an open planet, we're left to use our feet."
"It took us hours to walk through the city just to get here from the fish," Jessy said.
"We don't have a choice. Let's take a jog. You complaining as well?" Jessy shook his head quickly. I glanced at Louis and Marcus. "You guys don't really have on the right clothes."
"Should we go see what we can get in the men's courters," Louis suggested.
***
Kubra
After Michael had turned into all three, Charlene wanted nothing else but for me to try it… She wanted to become what he was and said it solved all her issues. She would be able to protect herself and Miné and was relieved it would not be necessary to become infected after all. Charlene never did connect to me with the watcher tech. The wedding between Michael and Juliet was never mentioned again. The year had been challenging, and after he turned, a human wedding seemed like the last thing on his mind. Charlene had forgotten entirely about the idea, with school and trying to raise a kid taking up all her attention. Even if I brought it up, she said that a double wedding was all she would consider. It left me with no other choice but to let it go and keep working on letting her get to know me.
I had not seen her for a week, wanting to be there if Juliet needed me, waiting for communication from them from Palmyra. Quickly popped my head in and out of the house to make sure Charlene was happy. She was studying so hard, and I didn't want to complain. We were much the same in that regard. Work will always be a part of our lives, and trying to manage it was where I fell short. Charlene was still so young, and time was redundant to me. I was okay with how things were, even if it took us a few years to find a rhythm.
When Jessy came out, he was soaking wet. I was worried there was trouble on Palmyra. "Hey. The queen wants to see you. And if you will… bring Charlene and Carl with you."
"What's going on?" I checked my watch…
"Palmyra is empty…." I stilled at the words, and my gaze slowly came up to his.
"We had to… Argh, I will tell you later. I'll go put on dry clothes… We need a briefing on that campaign you went on to help Brylee and everything you know about her conquering other worlds and everything… Charlene, I think, is needed for moral support."
"What happened?"
"Michael manifested into a Vampire and grabbed her until he hurt her."
"He what?!" I shook my head, thinking about Charlene wanting me to brand her… She was so impulsive with her decisions. If she turned into all three… how strong would she be. How would she handle it and raise a kid? It would change everything again.
"I'm going to go get Carl... Go to Earth and see if she can take a few days off." Jessy said.
I knew her schedule by heart and traveled to Earth, waiting in Washington. Her next class was almost done. The station was operated by only a few watchers at that point. It was strange to see it so barren. I didn't need to go anywhere to text her. The school she was attending was the first to have a teleporter installed. But only she and a handful of other students were using it in kind of a test phase.
Me { Your presence is requested by Her Majesty }
Charlene { Great! I'm so sick of school }
I was surprised. It was the first time she had complained about studying.
Me { Are you sure you can miss your midterm }
Charlene { I'll ask for an extension. Wait for me }
Like I do anything else? I sighed. Charlene wasn't thinking. It had been too long since the three of them had let loose. Charlene couldn't even join Juliet the night at the club. It had been hard for her to say no, and I could see it was where it all started. Juliet was already working and didn't need to study for years on end to work and live on Earth. With the galaxy open to us, it was bound to become a problem.
It wasn't ten minutes, or she walked through. I caught her in my arms and kissed her. "I've missed you so much. Seems like we will be going on a holiday."
"Really? Where?"
"Palmyra."
"NO WAY!" Charlene hugged me tighter as I carried her into the teleporter. Glad that I had brought her some good news and excitement to the last two years of difficulty.
"Something happened to Juliet… So you might have to spend some time with her."
"Do you mind? I miss her so much. We haven't seen each other at all."
"No… I don't mind…."
"Where is Selena? Isn't she on Juliet duty?"
"Selena… Isn't really human. She needs a lot of training. Not really a lady in waiting, if you know what I mean."
We stepped out, and Jessy and Carl were already waiting. Carl was happy to see her. He and Charlene had grown only closer. The boy was almost always somewhere near.
After Juliet woke up from her three days, we had to go to Carl's father's funeral. The three of them got drunk and lived in a hotel room. Carl had to deal with his mother, and it wasn't pretty. But I was there… It was the week that Michael was still on the farm. I didn't know if Michael and Carl had talked at all… And if Michael was that unhinged, he would have hurt Juliet. I didn't think he would take time like he used to to fix his relationship with Carl.
Charlene's fingers slipped in between mine. It was still the best feeling, and I squeezed her hand to tell her I had noticed. Charlene was the only one who had never been to Palmyra. But Carl was shocked at the state of the place. I was, too, and already trying to figure out what happened to the Werewolves after Brylee died.
"How do we get to Juliet?" Charlene said after she had looked down into the harbor.
"They're downstairs." Jessy prompted.
***
Charlene
Juliet almost ran me over, jumping on me. "What about your midterm?"
"How do you remember my schedule and everything else?"
"You'll know when you turn into a Vampire." Juliet scowled at Kubra. "I heard you're fighting her on the branding."
Kubra gestured to her arm. "Those marks new?"
Juliet rolled her eyes. "Occupational hazard. Never pegged you for a coward… You scared she would dominate in the bedroom."
I chuckled. Sometimes, it was great having a friend with no filter. All the issues were brought up in the most inopportune times. And with Kubra, time didn't matter. He would leave it for a hundred years, and it frustrated me.
"Hey, I was there the first and second time … Can you blame me?"
We walked towards a boat swaying in the water. It didn't seem sturdy at all. "What are we doing? Do I really have to get into that thing?" I stepped in behind Kubra as the next wave hit the rocks. It looked like it would topple us.
Juliet dragged me onto the boat and made me sit down. "Carl, would you sit with her, please." Marcus and Louis manifested, and each hung down the side of the boat. They slowly dragged up two rope lines and softly pulled them through their hands. There were posts they could kick against and gently tugged on the line. The boat started rocking from side to side. It lifted and dropped into the water. The biggest fish I had ever seen emerged out of the water in front of us. Carl grabbed my hand. Kubra, Jessy, and Juliet stood holding onto poles. The three were joking and laughing. Carl and I still didn't entirely belong. I always felt like an outsider, weak and pathetic.
The fish jumped up once and dove into the water to propel us forward, leaving the cove carved out in a mountain. We entered the large expanse of water… After that, it was smooth sailing. Or as choppy as it could be with the waves.
Juliet glanced back at me, smiling.
My eyes grew as I caught sight of an even bigger fish. A whole pod jumped out of the water and dived down next to us. Juliet saw it too late and was caught by the brunt of the water splashing over the deck. She drifted in the water over the wood to the edge. There was another knock on the haul, making the boat almost flip. Juliet went flying into the air and into the water. Jessy and Kubra grabbed at her but missed.
Carl was up before I knew what had happened. He snatched me around the waist and flew up into the air. There were so many abandoned boats in the water around us that we could land on another one close by.
When Carl and I found our footing, we saw the blood in the water. That was when I screamed like I'd never screamed before. I completely forgot that Juliet didn't bleed. Marcus and Louis wanted to dive in, but Kubra and Jessy held them back.