Deviation: Altera Realm Trilogy Book 2 (10 page)

Syney looked distracted. Mellisandrianna didn’t know which was worse: Syney being distracted or verbally attacking her every five minutes. She stared at the table as the younger woman stared off at nothing with a silly grin on her face. Mellisandrianna narrowed her eyes. She had heard Syney was seeing the young man who had come into the palace with Brian. She thought the distraction would be a good thing, but now, as they sat in the council meeting, she wasn’t so sure. She had adjusted her plan, which meant she needed to encourage Syney as she made her way toward the throne. She couldn’t, however, have Syney making vast changes now, and then having her take them all back once she took the throne. That wouldn’t look good.

“Justice, how are the plans to move the dining hall coming along?” Mellisandrianna asked, noticing Syney’s attention shift back to the meeting.

“Everything should be finished by tomorrow,” Justice said.

“Very good. Is there anything else?” She paused but got no reply. “Good. I hope you all have a wonderful day, and thank you all so much for being a part of this meaningful council.”

Everyone at the table stared back at her, unmoving.

“Meeting adjourned,” she added with a smile.

Finally they all slowly moved out of their chairs and slipped out of the room.

“Oh, Syney, would you mind staying for a moment?”

Syney looked at her hesitantly but nodded. “Of course.”

Mellisandrianna glided over to her as everyone else left. “Would you care to take a walk?”

“I’m very busy.”

She gave a short laugh. “And it’ll never slow down, I promise.”

Syney looked at her critically before she nodded. “A short walk would be lovely.”

Mellisandrianna smiled and led the way out of the room. She steered the walk to a long open walkway that overlooked the Village. “I’m very happy with the fact that you have become so involved with the council. There seems to be a lot you want to change around here.”

“No offense to the current system, but it kinda sucks if you’re not a royal. I just want to make things a little easier for everyone,” Syney said.

“A noble goal,” she said with a smile. “And one I believe my daughter, Helen, agrees with.”

“She’s a very compassionate person.”

“That she is. Very much like her father.”

“And Adanna is very much like yourself.”

Mellisandrianna chuckled. “Yes, she is.” She stopped and placed her hands on the large stone railing. “What other changes do you have in mind, beyond eating arrangements?”

Syney shrugged and moved to stand next to her. “How about an end to the war? Maybe a peace committee sent out to the other races? Make the Realm what it used to be.”

“Ah, the overambitiousness of youth. I do miss that.”

“You don’t think it can happen?”

The queen shook her head.

“Then we see things very differently.”

“Very. That being said, I would like to help you.”

“If you think it’s futile, then why?”

“I feel as though you and I got off on the wrong foot. I do like the fact that you’re here, and I do believe you’re going to be the bearer of change. I’d like to help you with that…and guide you to the best paths.”

Syney stared at her for a moment before smiling. “You don’t want me trying for your throne until you die.”

“Who says I’m going to die?”

Syney took a deep breath and leaned forward. “That throne is rightfully mine. You have absolutely nothing to hold over my head anymore. You got your wish; Hunter is gone, and your palace is no longer tainted with disgrace.
So please don’t misunderstand me when I say that when I want the throne, you won’t be able to stop me.” She smiled and stepped back. “Thank you for the walk. Have a wonderful day, Your Majesty.” Syney even curtsied at the last part before she turned on her heels and took off.

Mellisandrianna stared after her, her smile transforming into a scowl. That little bitch wasn’t going to make this easy for her, which meant she had to step her plan up. In order to make the changeover, she had to get her alone and willing to be there. This would take some planning, which, luckily, was something she was very good at. She turned back to the Village and smiled out over her land. Soon she would have the whole Realm back, not just this measly Village.

This was the hardest decision she’d ever had to make. She had lived with the secret of her upbringing since she was old enough to tell a lie. But if there were ever a person she could tell who might actually understand, it would be Gabe. And man, did she want to tell him. She actually agreed with him: The only way to start a real relationship with someone was to start with honesty. But when the secret you’re keeping could get you killed, you had to weigh your options very seriously. And for the past two weeks, she had. On the one hand, if she told him, they finally could stop tiptoeing around how they felt about each other, or at least how she felt about him. He had yet to truly open up to her. That last kiss had told her some things, but Gabe was a master manipulator. On the other hand, there was so much going on with Syney and the palace that maybe she didn’t need the distraction called Gabriel McMann. But what an attractive distraction he was.

Noelle took a deep breath as she stared at Gabe’s door. She had made her decision as she watched Syney and Adam leave on a date only minutes earlier. Syney looked so happy as he took her hand and led her down the hall, stealing a quick kiss before disappearing around the corner. Noelle had never had that in her life. Sure, she had dated, but she’d never had anything she would call love. And right there, when she saw Syney and Adam, was when she’d realized it. She loved Gabe. He made people do things he needed them to do and would
ruin someone’s life if he had to, but by God, she loved him. She had felt empty during the couple of months when he had disappeared. And now she was going to trust him with her life and the lives of her family as well.

She knocked rather loudly and shook out some of her nervousness from her hands.

Gabe pulled the door open and looked at her oddly. “What’s wrong? You’re flushed. Is it Syney?”

Noelle shook her head and pushed past him. If she was going to do this, she had to do it before she lost her nerve. “I…um…I want to be completely honest with you, but I need some answers first.”

Gabe pushed the door closed and stared at her for a moment before smiling. “All right.”

“Do you love me? No, um, do you care about me? As something more than just friends or someone who could help you?”

He was silent for a while as he looked away.

Noelle felt tears come to her eyes. His silence was a sign of something, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t something good.

Finally he looked back at her, his face completely different. There was no sign of the snarky and manipulative Vampire. “I’ve only loved two women in my life.”

“Wow. Two in more than nine hundred years? That sounds lonely,” she said quietly.

He nodded. “With Faye I knew right away. I saw her at a great race council meeting. She was way up in the balcony, staring down at all the delegates with a look of utter concentration on her face. She was studying all of us. She even wrote it all down. She fascinated me, the way her mind worked. She was
never
OK with unexplained body language or situations. She had to understand everything. But with you…”He shook his head. “You just came out of nowhere. And that scared the hell out of me.”

Noelle took some deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. He loved her. That was all that mattered. But now it was her turn to be honest. She tuned away from him, if only to calm herself some more. Her pulse sped up whenever she looked at him. Finally she looked back at him. He was back to his usual Gabe self, his head cocked to the side and a smile on his lips.

“I have to tell you something,” she said, as he pulled off his shirt.
This isn’t helping
, she thought.

“Go on,” he said, kicking off his shoes.

“OK.” She took a deep breath. “My grandmother was a Magic User. But my grandfather wasn’t. He was a Shifter. So I’m actually one-fourth Shifter.” She squinted her eyes, waiting for his reaction.

Gabe whipped his belt out of his pants. “I know.”

Her eyes opened wide, and her jaw dropped. “You what?” she practically yelled.

“I know you’re part Shifter, and I’ve been dying to know…”He moved within inches of her. “Which animal?”

“How can you know? I’ve been killing myself, hiding my scent from you and every wolf in this Village! And you know!”

“Only for the last few weeks. You did hide it very well. How did you cover the scent?”

“You’re an ass!”

He smiled. “I know. You’ve told me multiple times.”

Noelle stared at him for a moment, her anger fuming, before grabbing him and kissing him hard. He pulled at her after a moment, yanking her hair tie out and letting her blond hair cascade down her back. Next he worked on the back of her dress with the speed of a hungry animal.

Later, as they lay next to each other in his bed, he traced little circles along her arm as she nipped at his ears. She smiled at him. “You’re really good at that.”

“I’ve had more than nine hundred years of practice. I’m also a very good dancer. Both of those things get better with age and practice,” he said, stealing a kiss.

She laughed into his mouth. “I’m never going to get used to your dirty talk.”

“I’m bad, I know. I can’t help it, though.”

“I’m getting that.”

“So,” he said, lying back on the pillows, “you haven’t answered my questions.”

“Right. Well, the scent thing was easy. It’s a Psyche potion.”

Gabe nodded. “I thought so. They can be useful for some things.”

“And…”She leaned in close to his ear. “I’m a cat.”

“A big cat?” he asked, curious.

She shook her head and shifted to her knees. She’d never done this in front of anyone but her family, and it felt exhilarating. She closed her eyes and willed her body to change. She felt her limbs shrink and the familiar feeling of growing her fur. After a moment she opened her eyes. As usual, some of the colors in the room faded into a dull gray. She looked at Gabe, who stared at her in awe. She jumped onto his chest and bashed her head into his face as she began to purr. She felt his hands on her as he scratched along her light tan fur.

“You’re perfect,” he whispered, before planting a kiss on her head.

She purred even louder as she ran the corners of her mouth against him, anywhere she could, to mark her territory. This manipulative Vampire asshole was hers, and no one was going to touch him.

He was in too deep. He knew it for sure the second Syney kissed the spot right behind his right ear then giggled. Getting a woman to like him usually didn’t involve feelings on his part. He just had to make her feel good, compliment her, make her feel like the only woman in the world. But Syney was different. She didn’t buy into any of that. And as much as it pained him, he relied on what Gabe had said and opened up to her. It hadn’t been easy, but it had been worth it. And now he was screwed. When he kept things impersonal, he had control over everything. But Syney had cracked him open, and now he couldn’t get her out. This wasn’t something he was used to, but it felt damn good and scary as hell.

Adam ran a hand through Syney’s hair as she looked around the dimly lit pub from their dark corner booth. “I had no idea this place was here,” she said with a smile. “I think it’s my new favorite place.”

He laughed. “Good. I like it too. Reminds me of home.”

“Oh, no. I think I finally figured you out. You’re one of these disreputable, shady folks who practically live in pubs, taking advantage of poor, unsuspecting, young women,” Syney said, getting closer and closer to him with every word. By time she stopped talking, she was inches from his mouth, which she kissed passionately.

Adam returned the kiss, feeling his heart pick up speed. He came up for air and grinned. “Damn! You found me out.”

Syney giggled and took a big gulp of vinum. “I really do like this place. How did you find it?”

“I asked around. You can’t go anywhere, even the uptight Village, without finding at least one pub.”

Syney frowned as she glanced toward the door. “I don’t think Birch likes it very much. I bet you he runs right to Leaf and tells him I need to stay away from you.”