Chapter 76
Paris was slowed down by daylight and had to hide out, unaware that Ann has already been found. By the time he arrived at his house where Merch was keeping Ann captive, Katelina caught up with him.
“Michael beat you to it. He killed Merch, and Ann will be fine,” Katelina said.
“You should leave. I am stuck here until tomorrow night as there is not enough night left for me to make the trip back to the higher council.
“Why didn’t you disappear when Merch set you free?” Kateliina questioned.
“I felt saver at the higher council. I suspected it was a trap,” Paris said.
“Why not disappear now? Ann is lost to you. Michael will never give her up,” Katelina said.
“You are right,” Paris said. “You should go. You will always come second to Ann and you deserve better,” Paris said.
“Even if I wanted to stay with you, I can’t. Michael made me promise, remember?” Katelina reminded Paris before speeding off.
***
“Please don’t leave me,” Ann cried when Michael wanted to draw her a bath.
“I am just running the water for you. I am not going anywhere,” Michael said.
“You are a vampire,” Ann accused.
Michael walked over to her and bit open his wrist, offering it to her. “My blood will take your pain away.” He was not sure what will happen, making her see the truth but he hated what happened to her and knew it was all his fault.
Ann looked at Michael and shook her head. “I don’t want to be a monster.”
“Not all vampires are like Merch,” Michael said. “Drinking my blood won't make you a vampire.”
Hesitantly, Ann put her mouth to his palm and started to drink. In utter shock, she stopped drinking from Michael as all her memories flooded back. “I have to find Paris!” Ann jumped up and attempted to rush out of Micheal’s room after seeing what Michael did to Paris and what he had her believing was not true.
“Ann, please wait,” Michael compelled her.
Ann realized that she needed a shaman necklace and knew that Michael will only compel her to forget everything, like he had been doing the past few weeks after drinking from her.
“I love you, Michael, but Paris might be in trouble,” Ann said the first thing that popped to her head, thinking since everyone believed the key to getting her memory back was to fall in love with Michael, only it wasn’t. The key to getting her memory back was to drink from a vampire.
“No you don’t,” Michael said.
Ann walked over to him, desperate to make him believe her when she remembered that he was bound to her by promise. Ann opened her mouth to tell him not to compel her ever again, but Michael pulled a fast one on her.
“Don’t speak,” Michael compelled her.
“Forget everything you saw when you drank my blood just now. Forget what Merch has done to you,” Michael compelled her before picking her up and speeding her over to her dorm room.
“Forget these past few days,” Michael compelled Ann after laying her down in her bed. “Go to sleep and wake up when you are rested.” Michael sped off to find Jessica. He followed her scent and found her back at the higher council.
“I heard you found Ann. Where is she? Is she ok?” Jessica asked.
“She is in her bed. She is fine,” Michael said. “I came to tell you,” Michael said, and left.
Back in his room, Michael had time to reflect on the mess he caused and realized that Ann got her memory back. ‘As long as no one knows she has her memory back, it will be fine,’ he told himself.
‘Does it mean when she told me she loved me the other day that she meant it?’ Michael wondered.
‘I should give Katelina up,’ Michael told himself and sped over to her bedroom but didn’t find her there.
He took out his phone to call her. “Did you find Paris?”
“I did. I am on my way back,” Katelina said.
“If you want to be with him, then you are free to be his,” Michael said, his words taking her by surprise.
“So after all this, I am free to be his?” Katelina questioned in disbelief and hung up the phone.
‘I need some sleep,’ Michael told himself. Michael was so exhausted from using up energy to speed around that sleep took him almost immediately.
***
Wynn went looking for Deacon and found him easy enough. Wynn stood in front of one of Deacon’s houses and rang the bell. He knew Deacon was inside because he picked up his scent, so he kept on ringing the bell.
“What do you want?” Deacon spat when he finally caved from annoyance and opened his front door.
“Why do you always come back here? If you didn’t want me to find you, you would have chosen a different house,” Wynn said and walked into Deacon’s English home.
“Make yourself at home,” Deacon said sarcastically and grabbed a bottle of whisky that was standing on the steps.
“Jessica is alive and well.” Wynn put him out of his misery.
“Do you really think I am in any state of mind for you to be fucking with me right now?” Deacon spat and put the bottle to his lips.
Wynn grabbed the bottle, making some of it spill. “I promise you, Jessica is alive and well.”
“How is that possible?” Deacon questioned, not believing Wynn.
“I don’t know, but she is,” Wynn said. “Now come home before Michael takes over the supernatural world.
“I am gone for less than a weekend and he thinks he can take over?” Deacon chuckled.
“I was joking when I said that, but still, come home,” Wynn pleaded.
“I am tired of it all. Hell, I have not been king for even a year and I am already burnt out,” Deacon sighed and walked into his living room before falling down on the sofa.
“I will be your right-hand man,” Wynn offered.
“Imagine that. The supposed to be supernatural king my right hand,” Deacon chuckled.
“You don’t know what you are saying. You are drunk,” Wynn accused.
“I know exactly what I am saying and so do you,” Deacon snorted.
Wynn bit open his palm before shoving it into Deacon’s mouth. “Drink,” Wynn compelled him, knowing that Deacon won't drink out of his own free will.
Deacon felt himself sober up and tapped Wynn’s arm.
“Stop drinking,” Wynn compelled him.
“You know how to waste a good bottle of whisky,” Deacon hissed and found his feet.
“I take it Queen Amirah must be happy about you being Ami’s fated mate,” Deacon stated.
“You are random,” Wynn chuckled.
“Well, what do you expect when you force me to drink from you,” Deacon said, reminding Wynn that he could see everything he was about when drinking his blood.
“Can we just get going? I would like to get back to Ami,” Wynn pleaded.
“You are not going to get to know her if all the two of you do all the time is fucking,” Deacon chuckled and hopped onto Wynn’s back so that he could speed him back to the higher council.
Wynn arrived back in New York two days later and took Deacon straight to go see Jessica.
Jessica opened her dorm door and when she saw the two of them she slammed it shut again. “Not today.”
Wynn knocked on the door again. “Jessica, come on. Stop acting like a bloody teenager.”
Jessica opened the door. “In case you don’t know, I am nineteen and that makes me a teenager,” she spat and slammed the door again but Wynn put his foot in the way and shoved Deacon inside.
“The both of you stay inside until you talked it out,” Wynn compelled them.
