She followed closely behind Grady and Graten, along the bleak and colorless hall, looking for a clue to Wendy’s whereabouts. Saraid began to doubt that they would find her in this building and thought about looking outside. There has to be more than this in Purgatory. Afterall, the first time she saw Wendy after she moved to Ireland was in a room identical to her own.
“You ok back there?” Graten asked, sneaking a glance at her over his shoulder.
“I’m ok. I
Saraid’s hands feverishly worked Graten’s shirt up and over his head, leaving his perfectly sculpted chest exposed to the bare skin of her palms. She flicked her tongue out past her fangs and traced the rips in his chest with her tongue, entrancing him as her eyes rolled up to meet his. His hands met the denim on her waist, sending her buttons flying as he tore the fabric as if it were merely paper.His arms were around her, lifting her to his waist, just above his hardened member. The feel of her heart beating through the wall of her breasts drove him wild with heated desire. Meeting no protest from her, he slowly lowered her, so his erection
The darkness played on her senses as Saraid struggled to see through the darkened woods as they made their way back to Grady’s car. Damon decided to go with them, convincing Saraid that he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened between his house and the car and he was not there to help.“We should be coming up to the clearing soon,” Grady announced to the group.Thank goodness,” Wendy breathed, “these woods are not being kind to my feet.”Graten stepped forward and scooped Wendy into his arms, “Allow me to help.”“Oh, um, thank you.”Saraid rolled her eyes at the look Graten shared with her. He was trying to make her jealous. What he couldn’t seem to grasp was that in order for Saraid to be jealous, she would first have to care. If anything, his flirting with Wendy could be a well needed distraction from the fact that Saraid was still bound to Wendy’s soulmate and that in and of itself posed a whole new threat of drama that she was not ready for.“I see the car. J
Lack of sleep pulled Saraid from the solemn company of her bed. Sleep was limited between the loneliness of the King-sized bed she now slept in alone and the daughter who cried for her father all night. Everything from her cold satin sheets to the matching pillows rejected her as she tossed and turned, trying to drown out the excited reunion noises coming from Chase’s room to the erotic lashing noises coming from Jaxon’s room down the hall. Everyone had someone now except for her. Her love had been ripped from her and replaced with a man she didn’t know. She went through idea after idea on how to regain Liam’s memory to no avail. Now she was afraid that James had successfully stolen him from her for good.“I won’t let him win,” she muttered under her breath, talking to no one other than herself.She silently opened the door and tiptoed to the room next door to sneak a peek in on Treasa. Satisfied to see that Treasa was soundly sleeping, she crept back to her room and made her way to t
Saraid sat in the grass, staring out at the expanse of green fields that surrounded her home. Coffee in one hand and pen to paper in the other. Siphoning the spell James put on Liam had proven to be ineffective so she was practicing with spell writing. She refused to give up until she had tried absolutely everything possible.“Deep in thought?” a familiar voice startled her.She jumped and turned to be greeted by those piercing gray eyes that mirrored her own, “Huh? Oh, I’m just working on spells. I won’t give up on getting your memory back until I have exhausted every option.”He took a seat beside her on the grass and stretched his legs out, crossing them at the ankles as he always does and leaned his head back as if he were soaking up the rays of the morning sun.“I cannot deny that a part of me wants to remember what you tell me of our life together. All I have ever craved in my life was to fall in love with a woman who loves me in return.”“There’s a part of you that doesn’t want
A loud crash followed by the sharp sounds of glass shattering echoed throughout the house as Saraid left a trail of disaster in her wake. She was so full of rage that not one person dared to intervene until it had passed. The onlookers in the mansion ducked and cowered in fear. They had never seen their Queen lose control the way she had now and none of them knew what it was that had driven her to this point.“We have to do something. If people think that she has gone mad they will demand she be removed from the throne,” Grady had appeared as if from thin air and whispered to Chase.“She will calm down. The woman has endured so much these past few years that I am surprised she hasn’t cracked before now,” Chase replied.Jax stepped between the two men with a look that could stop a man’s heart, “She lost the one man who meant the most to her. Chase you of all people should know how that feels. Have some damn compassion. Not everything needs to be about politics. She’s a damn woman not a
Jax hit the send button on his phone after hastily typing a text to Chase, Wendy, and Guin to meet him in the conference room on the main level. He glanced down at Saraid’s sleeping figure and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. He felt the only way she would be okay is if they found a way to restore Liam’s memory, but what he wasn’t sure of was that she would forgive him for leaving her at a time when she needed her family the most. He quietly tiptoed to the door, careful to make no noise as he left the room.He was met in the hall by Chase and Wendy, who looked at him with eyes full of worry and confusion. Wendy embraced Jax quickly and stepped back to look into his eyes.“How is she doing,” Wendy asked.Jax shook his head, “She is finally sleeping, but I don’t know for how long. I don’t know how long she can continue like this honestly.”“There has to be something we can do,” Chase added sympathetically.“Let’s continue this in the meeting room,” Jax stated harshly and walked past
Five Months LaterWendy paced the hall as Damon leaned against the door jam of Chase’s bedroom, examining Chase’s near lifeless body convulsing on his bed. He approached the bed and placed a cool hand on Chase’s forehead and then moved his hand to his neck, using two fingers to feel for his pulse.“I’m afraid that there is no other option. Their link is almost severed and if that should happen, we will lose them both,” he addressed Wendy, his brow furrowed in concern.She stopped pacing immediately and rounded on Damon, “I can’t do THAT. There has to be another option to save them.”“Our options are limited dear child. Jax has been unreachable, Guin is bedridden at headquarters and Liam is, well you know.”“We will find another way, Damon!”It was his temper that flared this time. He turned his head to Wendy with pure rage in his eyes, “I will not lose my daughter because you are too feeble minded to look past the sex to see the bigger picture. If you have another idea, I am all ears,
The echoes of protests and shouts reverberated through the walls of the stone mansion, the subjects of the coven hammered Damon and Wendy with questions regarding the whereabouts of their Queen. They shared a look of understanding as they approached the angry crowd. How were they going to explain something that they themselves didn’t know the answer to?“I understand your frustrations and your confusion. The Queen has been extremely busy handling a few pressing matters in which we cannot disclose. I assure you that she is alive and well and you will see that as soon as she is able to make an appearance,” Damon spoke as calmly as he could to the now quieted crowd.“We’re just supposed to take your word for it?” a man stepped to the front of the crowd.Damon smiled, “Your skepticism is understood, but yes at this time I ask you to take my word for it. If something had happened to my child, do you think I would be standing here in front of you trying to make peace instead of avenging her
Saraid all but ran from the room and up the stairs with Liam following closely behind, both afraid of letting go of eachothers hands. Once they reached the top of the huge staircase Saraid turned and jumped into Liam's arms, straddling his waist and locked her lips on to his. He carried her to their room, never breaking the kiss. With one arm around his neck, Saraid reached behind herself and turned the knob and pushed open the door to their room. Liam kicked it closed, and fumbled with the lock before crossing the room and tossing Saraid on the bed, pulling a slight giggle from her as she bounced from the impact on the mattress. She sat up and immediately began to pull on the button of Liam's pants, quickly pulling them from his body as her unbridled need for him grew stronger. He kicked his shoes and pants off simultaneously. Her hands hungrily tore at his shirt until it joined the rest of his clothes on the floor and she pulled him down on the bed so she could climb atop his waist
Every eye in the room was trained on Liam as they waited anxiously to see if Treasa's magic was the key to recovering Liam's memories. Saraid dropped to her knees in front of Liam and rubbed Treasa's hair back from her sleeping face. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage as she saw the familiar red barbed wire like mark glow slighty before fading back to its usual dull red appearance. "Liam?" His eyes shifted between Saraid and the sleeping child in his lap, "When did we get back home?" Saraid plopped herself down on her butt and began to laugh hysterically. She didn't find anything about the situation particularly amusing and deep down she felt relieved. She didn't realize that he wouldn't have any recollection of everything that had happened in the past few months. The last time Liam remembered her, they were at the cabin and he was chained to a tree by Graten. How was she going to explain the twisted chain of events that led to her now being bound to Graten as well? Would
An awkward silence befell Saraid and Damon as they sat and discussed the peculiar predicament, they found themselves in. Treasa returned in no time and sat on the floor between them with her arms full of her favorite toys.“Where’s Daddy? I have his favorite dollies so he can play too,” she asked Saraid, her innocent face scrunched up in a sign of confusion.Saraid fought back the tears threatening to fall all over again as she brushed her sweet angels bangs from her face, “Daddy is out helping the Guardians with some important training so it’s just you, me, and Grandpa this time.”Treasa’s smile failed and was replaced with a frown of disappointment, but only for a second. She looked into Saraid’s eyes and asked, “Daddy’s sick, isn’t he?”“What makes you ask that,” Damon interjects.“Because Daddy is not Daddy. When Daddy is Daddy, he always plays with me,” she lifts her chin and challenges Damon to say otherwise.Saraid grabs Treasa under her arms and lifts her, so she sits on her l
“I can’t do this anymore! What was the point of all this if I was just going to keep losing him,” Saraid silently asked herself? She stormed through the mansion, throwing everything she could lift in her anger. She now had the last person responsible for taking Liam away from her and she wanted nothing more than to still her beating heart, but she couldn’t, not yet.A glint of silver caught the corner of her eye, tucked away in the corner atop a small wooden table. It was a picture of her and Liam the day they first sat upon the throne. She felt her breathing slow as she slowly crossed the room and took the picture into her hands. They looked so happy and so in love as they gazed into one another’s eyes. The memory of that day sent a small stream of warm tears down her cheek.“I am yours and you are mine forever,” she whispered through her tears.Her life with Liam seemed to move through her mind like a slow-motion movie. All the good and all the bad, and all the things designed to te
“Jaxson Claiborne, you better call me back! I’ve left you message after message. It’s not like you to ignore me!” Wendy screamed into the phone right before she smashed her finger down on the end call button.Chase reached for her and immediately halted her pacing. He had a random burst of energy and found himself feeling close to normal. He wasn’t sure what happened, but he knew it had something to do with Saraid. Knowing she’s alive made them that much more determined to get in touch with Jax so they could go find her.“Wendy, Jax is bound to Saraid just as I am. Chances are he was hunkered down somewhere too weak to do anything,” Chase tried his best to comfort her.“It is likely that his battery died too,” Damon added.She began pacing again, wearing a spot in the floor, “Jax is always prepared for everything. He would not be caught without a charger or some way to get in touch with us. I’m telling you; something is wrong!”A high-pitched wail drew their attention away from the co
The night air was crisp and added to his misery as he sat up from the dampened ground. Questions plagued his thoughts. How did he get here? Where is he? His eyes darted back and forth, taking in his surroundings. He was protected from the elements by what appeared to be a makeshift shelter of some sort. Every wall was comprised of twigs, moss, and mud. Whoever built this place must live here, but where is here and who lives here?A faint sound of feminine humming drifted in through the missing entryway. He noticed his legs were stiff and hard to move as if he hadn’t moved in days. It also caught his attention that his clothes had been changed because he now wore clothes that he didn’t recognize. A small grunt escaped him as he moved to follow the humming coming from outside.Surrounded by trees along the bank of a river sat the silhouette of a female moving something around in the water. Careful not to startle her, he carefully walked in her direction, his guard up so he wouldn’t be c
Graten had flipped every piece of the furniture in the mansion, feeling slightly defeated when he failed to find her there. He was sure that she had vanished into Purgatory, but she would be here at the mansion, right? He won’t rest until he finds her.“Come on Saraid, where are you?” he asks the empty room.Maybe she’s not even here. She could have just vanished to get away from me. Or maybe when she wound up here, she decided to go out to look for me.“Hmph, Fat chance,” he mocked himself but decided that seeing if she was at his place was better than doing nothing.He jogged through the mansion until he found himself seated on his motorcycle. The turn of the key left an echo like thunder in his wake as he went barreling down the old dirt road in the direction of his brewery. If nothing else maybe, he will run into her along the way.As the brewery came into sight, he noticed a familiar car in the lot. He couldn’t place where he had seen it before, but his gut told him that it was S
The room looked like hers, only everything was grey and void of any color. The last thing she remembered was crying herself to sleep and then there was a glimpse of Graten and now she was here. Here she assumed is Purgatory. She needed to get home, but she could barely keep herself standing so her chances of calling magic was slim to none. She sat up on the bed and tried to call upon her magic and felt nothing in return. It was just as she thought. Her magic was depleted and that meant that Chase, Guin, and Jax were suffering as well.“I’m such a selfish asshole!” she cursed to no one in particular.How could she have let herself get this weak knowing that she had other people’s lives tied to her own? She couldn’t even remember the last time she saw anyone outside of the mansion. Anxiety seemed to give her enough strength to get to her feet and begin her search for the only person who could help her.“He’s gotta be here somewhere,” she grunted to herself and she stumbled through the b
The echoes of protests and shouts reverberated through the walls of the stone mansion, the subjects of the coven hammered Damon and Wendy with questions regarding the whereabouts of their Queen. They shared a look of understanding as they approached the angry crowd. How were they going to explain something that they themselves didn’t know the answer to?“I understand your frustrations and your confusion. The Queen has been extremely busy handling a few pressing matters in which we cannot disclose. I assure you that she is alive and well and you will see that as soon as she is able to make an appearance,” Damon spoke as calmly as he could to the now quieted crowd.“We’re just supposed to take your word for it?” a man stepped to the front of the crowd.Damon smiled, “Your skepticism is understood, but yes at this time I ask you to take my word for it. If something had happened to my child, do you think I would be standing here in front of you trying to make peace instead of avenging her