It didn’t feel like I was about to get married. Instead it felt like I was going to walk down the aisle to my own funeral. I felt steady in my attraction to Nathaniel, between the Binding and reading our file, I was certain that we were a good match. But the uncertainty of rogues and my sister's death loomed over me.
Even in death, I couldn’t escape my sister. Looking at the evidence, she was probably a pawn more than I realized in the Accord, but she constantly consumed my thoughts. Now instead of those thoughts being filled with grief and longing, they were questioning the last few weeks of her life. What did I miss? I knew there were things Nathaniel wasn’t telling me, he seemed more suspicious of others than he originally let on, but who could be behind everything going on? Or was this puzzle fragmented because it wasn’t connected? My gut wouldn’t make a commitment and my theories kept shifting. But I was certain that Nathaniel would protect me.I was starting to hate my office. What once brought me peace and seclusion now reeked of loneliness. It was a space that only brought me stress now. I missed my wife’s tempting curves and the way she begged when it was just us. Here in my extravagantly decorated room that was supposed to be my oasis for work and productivity, I was alone with my thoughts. And my thoughts were terrifying recently.My mind was filled with conspiracy theories of the enemies that were within Tencrest’s walls. A facade of peace was here but underneath the surface, I could feel the tension rising. Somewhere there was a rogue being questioned, a ghost of my dead ex-fiance tormenting my wife, and a villain who wanted the Accord disintegrated. The future was bleak right now and my body was heavy with that realization. On the other hand, I was enjoying fulfilling my duty in my attempt to impregnate my wife. We had grown close between our late night talks and physical connection strengthened by the undeniable
I sit with my legs hanging over the table in a sterile white room. Celia said this is where Cassia does her routine blood tests each year, a random room hidden in the basement. As new vampires and humans are added into the Founding Ten, they must be accounted for and documented. Apparently, Cassia spends the majority of her time collecting samples during the month long event, adding each sample to her files in the archives back home. A nurse of some kind wearing the House Slavius crest on their shirt escorted me in here and took my vitals and a vial of my blood. I didn’t even flinch as the needle pierced my skin, I was getting used to the sharpness of Nathaniel’s teeth and a needle wasn’t any different. The nurse was just as methodical as Cassia had been during our previous conversations. They were obviously dedicated in playing their role for the Accord.It’s cold in here and the brightness of the room hurts my eyes. I shiver underneath my outfit. Celia let me dress ‘casual’ today
If I believed in God then I would be thanking Him right now for the beautiful woman that was my wife. She was soft in all the right places and tight where I needed her to be. I held her up and against the shower wall with the water raining down on us like we were actors in my biggest fantasy. She moaned against my lips as I adjusted myself so that I was touching her entrance. She nodded, knowing I wanted approval, especially after the weird day we had. It took me two seconds and I was fully in her. The water was cascading over us so that she couldn’t meet my eyes, instead holding her head under my chin as I rammed into her fast and hard. The Binding blurred my vision, the need to be rough and claim my wife was loud and forceful. I couldn’t see past her and this moment. Someone could walk in on us right now and I wouldn’t notice. It didn’t care about the rogues or the attacks on Margot and me, it boldly told me to fuck her and spill my seed. Like a pubescent teen, I fervently agree
He thinks I’m crazy. My new husband for two days and he is probably thinking about putting me in an insane asylum. But I know what I saw. Or at least I think I know. Now I’m questioning myself at Nathaniel’s doubtful looks.She had taken up so much space in my head lately. Logically, it wasn’t crazy that I would see someone similar and think it was her, but this wasn’t that. It was the same hair, blowing in the wind. The same smirk when she got caught doing something she shouldn’t. It was like a tease of her existence here on Earth. Nathaniel had ushered me into the car and given me a look that said “keep quiet.” So I did just that. Instead I flipped through the memories in my brain of my last few times seeing my sister. She had been her normal self. I had no inclination that she was about to die. She hadn’t given away her prized possessions, rather she went shopping the day before and had sent pictures of her new purchases. She was alive and breathing one day and gone the next.
The phone was already pressed to my ear as the SUV rolled past the front gate. Sasha did not waste time with greetings.“You have lost your mind,” he snapped. His voice was all steel, the kind that came from years of command. “We pulled a rogue out of Charleston less than forty-eight hours ago. He is still strapped to a chair in my office, and you are taking your wife right back into the city?”I let him talk. He always needed the first volley.“It is a short outing,” I said when he finally stopped for air. “A few hours. Ivan is with us. Matthew is driving. We will be back before sundown.”Sasha’s laugh was bitter. “Ivan is not a battalion. He is one man. One man does not cover you, your wife, and a civilian driver. Do you think this is a game?”“Hardly.”“Then stop acting like it. The rogue we caught did not fight when we cornered him. He did not run. He waited. Do you understand what that means? He wanted us to take him. He is planted. He is bait. And you are walking into the trap.”
By the time we left the roof my head felt lighter, though I could not tell if it was from the bourbon or the stars or the relief of being somewhere no one else could touch us. The garden below was still roaring with music and voices, but when Nathaniel closed the door to our suite the sound dulled, like we had cut a thread.I leaned back against the wall and kicked off my shoes. My toes ached from smiling and standing and pretending all day. The gold dress had been beautiful this morning, but now it clung to me like dead weight. I wanted it off my body.Nathaniel had his tie undone, his jacket draped over a chair. He always moved so controlled, every line of him sharp, but I saw the heaviness in his shoulders. He looked as worn as I felt, though I doubted he would truly admit it.I peeled the gown from my skin and let it fall to the floor. He only looked at me once, eyes unreadable, then walked into the bathroom and turned on the water.“Shower,” he said.I followed. The tiles were co