Fateful 2-Fractured (10 page)

“Daddy, I can’t believe you’re here! It’s so
wonderful!” Danielle said, fighting back the tears that came to her
so easily.

“My darling little princess has found her
prince,” her father whispered when he leaned away from her to see
her face. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am.” He cradled her face
with his hand and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“Thank you.” It was such a huge relief to
see them happy about her engagement. She’d made almost all of their
fears come true by getting injured, going missing more than once,
and falling for a Londoner when they’d allowed her to leave home
and attend art school in England. But for reasons she didn’t
understand, they were still content. She couldn’t help but wonder
what miracle Ethan had performed to make this possible.

Brianna snatched up her left hand,
requesting to see the ring. She was surrounded by the rest of her
family as they also converged for a better look.

Uncle Nick invited everyone to sit down in
the drawing room for—of course—tea. He then made the proper
introductions, while her parents studied Beon and Sophia, appearing
perplexed with their unnaturally youthful good looks. They did look
older than Ethan, certainly, but not by much. She of course
realized this is why they’d come, to present themselves as fake
relatives for Ethan.

Ethan whispered into her ear as they seated
themselves. “Danielle, your parents did have one condition for
accepting my proposal.”

Her eyes widened, and she knew she couldn’t
hide the worry in her expression. Of course there’d been a
condition. Why else would her parents accept this so easily?

She knew her father had heard Ethan, when he
said, “Yes, Danielle. We want you to finish with school before you
get married.”

“Oh,” she said.

The room was silent as they all stared at
her; it seemed they were expecting more than a one syllable word in
reply. So she continued, “I can do that.” But she was feeling a
little daunted by the requirement. She’d only been going part-time
and didn’t expect to graduate quite so soon.

Of course she was nineteen and could
tell them to forget it if she really wanted to, but the biggest
problem was the fact that they were the ones who paid for her to go
to school in the first place. Because of that, she felt they
did
have a say, and apparently they
saw it the same way.

Feeling her muscles tensing as she tried to
imagine a long engagement with bodyguards hindering her time alone
with Ethan. Danielle knew Ethan sensed her stress when he moved his
hand to her back and began working his fingers into the knotting
muscles, clearly meaning to soothe her.

The silence in the room lengthened to an
uncomfortable amount of time, until her mother spoke, “Ethan came
out to visit us, to request our permission to marry you. We were
very impressed with him. Oh, and he purchased a home in Glenwood!”
she announced excitedly.

“Really,” Danielle said, turning to face
him. So that’s how he’d managed to sway them, that and this ...
condition.

“Yes, it’s a lovely little six bedroom with
a very nice garden that reminded me of England. I think you’ll like
it.”

“Little?” she muttered. How are six
bedrooms
little
? “You never
cease to amaze me, Ethan.”

He kissed her then, right in front of
everyone. The response from the others was almost embarrassing, as
they ooo’d and ahhh’d. Her mother and Sophia squealed with delight
simultaneously.

Beon, who had downed his tea in one big
gulp, set his empty teacup down and then spoke, “Well, it was
lovely meeting you folks, but we must be leaving now. Ethan, shall
we?” Danielle then realized that the sun had set, as both he and
Sophia were behaving rather sheepishly about meeting anyone else’s
gaze. Beon had suddenly developed an intent interest in his shoes
while he stood, and fished around in his pocket for his keys.
Sophia took another dainty sip of her tea, set the cup down, stood
as well, and then averted her eyes to the door. They couldn’t
linger any longer.

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry, Danielle,” said
Ethan.

“I know.” She frowned, or maybe it was more
like a pout. “I’ll walk them out.”

Danielle stepped outside with Ethan,
allowing Beon and Sophia to pass. It was their only chance to speak
alone before he was taken from her again.

“Ethan, I don’t know if I have the patience
for this ... not ‘til I’m graduated?”

“Monday we’re going to sign you up for
accelerated classes. That along with full summer semesters and the
AP credits you’d already earned in high school should make it
possible.”

“But, I’ll be going to school nonstop!”

“No, just full-time rather than part-time.
I’ll help you. It was the only way they’d accept it.” Surrounding
her with his arms, he rested his chin on her head. “I’m sorry.”

“I’d rather run away,” she complained,
feeling the sting of tears return. She could have handled a long
engagement if it could have been a normal one, but a lengthy one
while dates and alone time were restricted was a distressing
thought.

“And you wouldn’t have been happy, Danielle,
because they wouldn’t be happy.” Ethan tipped away from her, held
her face with both hands, and pushed away the tears with his
thumbs. “Don’t be sad. This is the best way. I know what happens
when a child disappears. That’s what happened to my parents, and I
know how much it devastated them. For the rest of their lives they
mourned my disappearance. We can’t do that to yours.”

She exhaled slowly. “I know you’re right.
It’s just—”

As she inhaled, Ethan suddenly blew his
breath into her face, and then forced her to meet his sapphire
gaze, allowing her to see his soul. “Does that help?” he asked
patiently.

“Mmm.” She smiled as his sweet breathe
caressed her insides. “That did help. You’ll need to be doing that
a lot from now on.”

“I’ll give you a daily dose to keep you
reminded.”

“So…” Danielle ran a finger down the length
of his silky tie, “a house in Glenwood, huh?”

“Yes, and I plan to build one here too. In
front of the ruins. I own that land.”

“That would be wonderful! You plan to
preserve them?”

“Yes, they will become part of the garden
behind the home.”

“It was really nice seeing my parents, thank
you for that.”

“You’re very welcome, my love. Was it worth
it? Do you still want to marry me?”

“Yes.”

Sliding her arms around his ribs under his
jacket, she tightened them, feeling the power in his frame. Tears
still made their way down her cheeks, but they were happy tears
this time. He was so wonderful, and she didn’t want him to go home.
But she knew her family wouldn’t allow him to stay, nor would they
allow her to leave with him. She’d have to find the patience
somewhere within herself to endure this.

She kissed him goodnight and let him leave
with his security detail, knowing returning home was actually a
little worse for him than it was for her since he was basically
detained in his bedroom all night while the curse was
strongest.

Danielle’s parents couldn’t stay long. This
trip had been a spur of the moment thing and they both had
responsibilities they needed to get back to. She had some wonderful
conversations with her mother and father, but after a couple of
days, they left for their home in the States.

Chapter 6

Un-dead

Over the next couple of weeks Danielle began
the insanely daunting job of trying to gain what should have been a
four year diploma in two. She never thought she’d end up even
trying such a thing, and agonized over the task and secretly
fantasized about eloping with Ethan rather than working so hard.
Not because she was lazy … it was just that the once doable load of
homework had turned into an intimidating mountain.

She couldn’t resist asking Ethan to help her
finish reports. He was much faster at typing, and there was an
advantage to using his hundred and seventy-three-year-old
knowledge. He was actually a better source than the internet,
especially since he happened to be a fan of art, and seemed to know
a lot in that area. And it only took a few extra kisses to persuade
him into helping her.

Between stints of working on homework, Ethan
took Danielle back out to the ruins to watch the progress on the
construction of their home. He’d drawn the plans up himself;
apparently architecture was another thing he’d studied over his
many long years. He was building a two story country chateau, which
was turning out to be much bigger than she thought they needed, but
she knew better than to argue, and decided to let him do what he
wanted.

A narrow road was cut through the trees so
they could drive directly up to the ruins rather than hike in.
Ethan would spread out a blanket and a picnic, and they would eat
while construction workers cut wood and hammered nails. Unless it
happened to be raining, if that were the case, they would watch
from the comfortable inside of his Jaguar. They spent a lot of time
at the site of their future home when Danielle wasn’t working on
her studies. It was peaceful there, and their security guards would
keep a nice distance from them.

This wasn’t one of those peaceful days….
Danielle fiddled nervously with the cell phone Beon had given her
while she scowled at her now towering pile of homework. Beon wanted
her to have this phone for emergencies, and she was pondering her
current one—three reports due Monday, and it was Friday!

Her eyes fell on the heavy load once again.
She groaned audibly and flipped open the cell phone. She wasn’t
calling Beon, however, she was calling Ethan. Beon wasn’t needed
for this type of an emergency.

“Hello, Danielle.” Ethan said cheerily.

“Hi, Ethan, do you miss me?”

“Always. How’s the homework coming
along?”

“That’s actually why I’m calling. I need
help.”

“Again?”

“Yes, again. Will you write a report for
me?”

“Isn’t that cheating?”

“Sort of…” Oh darn it, integrity was kicking
in and she said, “You’re right, I’m sorry. But I have three big
reports due in three days! I know the goal is for me to graduate in
less than a year but I’m beginning to wonder if I can actually do
it.”

“How about I type for you again and I’ll
help with the research part? What are the topics?”

“Trompe L’oeil, English artist and Jack
Vettriano.”

“Ah, Vettriano, do you like his work?”

“He’s one of my favorites.” This is why
she’d chosen him for one of her topics.

“Which paintings of his do you fancy? No,
wait, let me guess.”

“Okay,” she said smiling.

“You like
The
Singing Butler
and
Dance Me
to the End of Love
.”

“Everyone likes those.”

“But are they
your
favorites?”

“Yes,” she had to admit.

Ethan began chuckling softly.

Deciding to change the topic, Danielle
offered, “How about another movie tonight?”

“Another picture!” Ethan snorted. “Aren’t
you tired of going to see films we never actually watch?”

“No. Are you?”

“Well, no, I must confess that I’m not tired
of it. I doubt I ever will be, to be honest.”

“Good!”

Ethan laughed again. “All right, darling,
I’ll pick you up at six o’clock.”

“Perfect.”

They spent the entire time kissing, as
usual, and Danielle didn’t want the movie to end. Unfortunately,
they’d somehow chosen a very busy night to go to the theater. There
were huge crowds waiting for the next showings to start, making it
difficult for them to navigate their way out of the theater with
eight vampires following. They’d brought dates again.

“What is playing that’s brought this on?”
she asked.

“It’s probably that werewolf picture,” Ethan
joked.

Danielle giggled. “We should have gone to
see it then, we must be missing out…. Wait! Are those things
real?”

“Danielle—” He began to answer, but silenced
himself as they moved through the throng of people situated
outside. With him pulling her closer, she watched his expression
tighten as his muscles coiled with tension. Ethan didn’t like the
crowd tonight, and Danielle didn’t understand why.

Seth, Beon, Cedric and Max had closed the
distance between them as they searched the crowd in earnest. The
behavior of the five of them made Danielle apprehensive. She then
noticed that Eva, Sophia, Anna and Nadia were stealthily making
their way through the mass of pedestrians, checking for any
threats. Then Nadia snapped her head back to Max, a look of horror
on her face.

Danielle gasped. Right in front of them,
with only a few people between, stood Lucas and Celeste. The
expressions of the two started as a mixture of shock and confusion,
then twisted into menace as recognition settled in. The two
villains now knew for certain that she was still alive and that
Ethan had tricked them quite thoroughly.

Her eyes quickly found the ground, as did
Ethan’s, before they could be entranced. Danielle clutched onto
Ethan’s jacket, knowing the privileges that governed their
relationship were going to change yet again.

“This can’t be good,” she whispered.

“We knew it was inevitable,” Ethan
reminded.

Suddenly ripped from Ethan, Danielle grunted
in surprise when she was slung over Max’s shoulder as he then raced
for Beon’s black car. She could hear that Beon had already started
the engine as they neared. She watched from her precarious
position, perched on top of Max, as Seth lugged Ethan like an
oversized football going in the opposite direction, disappearing
into the crowd.