CHAPTER TWENTY

“ P iper’s in LA?” Sage asked, her eyes widening. “Looking for me?”

Ari nodded.

“Oliver is keeping an eye on her, but she’s, and I quote, like a dog with a bone .” He failed to hide his smirk.

Sage pressed her lips together.

“Hmm, she’s like that at times. But I thought you’d dealt with my family.”

So did I.

“Some people don’t respond well to having their memory wiped.”

Which wasn’t true. If it were, half the planet would know about vampires, but he didn’t want to worry his new mate. He trusted Oliver would deal with the situation one way or another. It didn’t sound like he was taking his eyes off her.

It was unlike his new head assassin to let his cock lead his thinking, and that’s why he had asked if Piper was Oliver’s mate. The two of them had clashed from the moment they met. He’d witnessed it himself the night he teleported to Piper’s apartment.

Initially, he thought it was a fair and reasonable reaction to the sassy human. Now? He was beginning to wonder if there was a deeper pull between them.

He wasn’t completely lying to Sage about the memory wiping being ineffective. Ari had seen it from time to time over his long life. The difference was, it wasn’t the human that was the issue. It was the vampire.

For some reason, Oliver didn’t want Piper to forget.

Sure, he could ask Ben to step in, but Ari had learned enough in his life to let things play out and not interfere unless necessary. Piper wasn’t a huge threat, and with his team and the Moretti warriors there, she was protected enough for the moment.

“How typical that my stubborn sister is one of them.” Sage shook her head. “So you want me to ring her?”

Ari nodded.

“She’s sniffing around BioZen, and I don’t need to tell you why that’s a bad idea.”

He saw the concern on Sage’s face.

“Sage,” he said, stepping closer and cupping her face. “I know Piper hurt you years ago, but now you’re immortal and have a long life ahead of you. Consider forgiving her.”

“I have.”

He held her eyes.

“Okay fine, I haven’t completely.” She lowered her eyes. “I don’t know how to. There’s no forgiveness manual.”

He smiled sadly at her. “No. There’s not.”

Those beautiful eyes lifted to his again. “So, how do you forgive?”

“You choose it, sweetheart. That’s it. By making the decision, life will show you the rest.” He kissed her nose and turned to leave. “I’ll be in my office if you need me. Stick to our agreed story when you speak to Piper, the one we’ll tell your parents, and everything will be okay.”

“Got it. Lie to my entire family.” Sage nodded. “No problem.”

Ari felt a pang of guilt for a split second then pushed it away. Sage was still adjusting to her new life and working out who and what she was now. And how she fit into her former human world. In one hundred years her family would be a blip in her memory bank.

He was her mate and future.

They could be the Adam and Eve to their own bloodline of Moretti’s if they were blessed with children. He had to be patient and allow her to work through these massive changes in her life.

If he’d had his way, Sage would step fully into her new vampire life right now, but he knew the importance of family and wouldn’t take away what few years she had left with them.

But when the time came and they created their own family, it would change everything for the race. Ari was ready to outline what that meant to everyone, including the royal family.

SAGE TRIED FOR A THIRD time and then decided to leave a message.

“Piper, it’s me. Sage.” Obviously . She rolled her eyes. “We’re back from our holiday in the Caribbean. Wondered if you wanted to catch up. Call me back. I have... news! ”

She hung up.

News? Boy, did she ever. Hey! I’m a vampire. But that wasn’t what she was going to tell her sister.

She was Captain Obvious today.

She was going to break the news that Ari had asked her to marry him. On top of the damn Space Needle, risking her life.

Something she’d leave out.

Not that she could die anymore. Mostly. God, it was so confusing.

Becoming a vampire was not at all what she thought it would be . Not that she’d had much time to dwell on it in the twenty-four hours she’d known about vampires before Ari changed her. But the scientist in her was curious to understand more. Even before she knew vamps were real, she’d never imagined, while reading her sexy paranormal romance books, that it would feel like this .

Firstly, the emotions were a surprise. She grieved her human state. She couldn’t go out in daylight ever again. She would never grow old, get gray hair, or wrinkles, and she’d never get sick.

Aside from never actually having a tropical holiday, despite their cover story, none of those things appeared to be anything to cry over. Hell, who didn’t want to stay young and healthy forever? Yet, it felt completely unnatural and defied what she had always known—especially as a scientist—as normal.

Everyone was telling her she’d adjust.

Brianna and Willow had sat with her during her transition, but because she’d been in a state of shock and rage at Ari for turning her without permission, she’d barely acknowledged them, let alone taken the opportunity to ask questions.

Nevertheless, they had shared their thoughts, and she’d tried to recall as many of them as possible.

At the time, Ari had been her focus. She had been fighting an overwhelming love for him, which day by day dampened her anger. As a human, it had been powerful, but now it was all-encompassing.

She breathed every day simply so she could love him.

And she knew he did the same.

Then, to her surprise, she learned Ari was not just any old (literally) vampire—he was the remaining original vampire. His twin brother, Gio, had passed away over a thousand years ago.

She was only beginning to understand what that meant, but it was clear Ari wanted a family. A line of his own. From what she understood, it could take decades for that to happen.

Sage didn’t know how she felt about that.

While she’d been happy to put her career first for a while, she’d never planned to wait a hundred years to be a mother. Plus, how did one fit into society with a vampire baby?

God, she had so many questions.

Ari appeared to be forthcoming with answers, but she knew he was drip-feeding facts so as not to overwhelm her. She loved him for it, but she was a scientist. Knowledge was power, and she wasn’t going to sit around and be wrapped in bubble wrap by her ridiculously sexy mate.

She texted Willow.

Hey, thanks for plugging in your number. Can we do a video chat one night? I’m spiraling. Just like you said I might. Sage.

...

Absolutely. And Brianna?

Yes! Sorry, I was rude while you were in Seattle.

Girl. Do not apologize. Losing your humanity is a big damn deal. But it’s going to be okay, and we’re here for you.

Thanks Willow.

Send me the time and date, and we’ll see your gorgeous face then.

Sage flopped onto the sofa and let out a long sigh.

In her other life, she probably wouldn’t have been friends with Willow. The Moretti princess was cool and full of life. Sage was a scientist who wore sensible shoes and glasses. But she’d liked the female immediately.

Brianna was simply adorable, and despite Sage’s state, she hadn’t missed the dynamics and bantering between the two female vampires. It was like watching a sitcom.

Ari had talked about going to the Moretti castle in Maine in the coming months, so Sage was excited to get to know them better. After all, Willow was technically her great-great-great niece or something really damn weird like that.

Brianna was a token member of the Moretti family through her mate Craig and her friendship with the princess.

She wished the women were based in Seattle. It may have only been a few weeks but already she was overwhelmed with all the males in the mansion. A few girlfriends would be nice.

It wasn’t like he could call Tina for a catch up or pop in for lunch at the BioZen café. She wasn’t the first person to leave behind a work friend and never touch base again. It happened, and Sage had too many other things to focus on. But she did miss their little chats.

She let out a sigh.

Most women would be thrilled to be surrounded by so many gorgeous muscly men who walked around shirtless. It wasn’t horrible, that was for sure. She loved Ari, but still appreciated the testosterone wallpaper.

Not that she’d ever say that out loud.

It would just be nice to have some girl-vampire friends.

Words she never thought she’d say.

She let out a long breath and called her mom.

“Hello,” her mom answered.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Sage! Oh Sage. Darling, you’re home,” Maryanne Roberts said. “How was your holiday? Tell me all about it.”

Tears sprang to her eyes. If only she knew her daughter had died. The human baby she gave birth to no longer lived. Now she was a different species.

It was wrong, and yet such a gift.

“It was good. We completely unplugged and had a great rest. Lots of cocktails and lazy walks on the beach.”

Stick to the script.

“Sounds amazing. I keep telling your father we should go to the Caribbean.”

“You should, Mom.” Sage drew in a nervous breath. “So I have some news to share with you. Can we pop around one night?”

Silence.

“Oh?”

“Tomorrow night?”

“I think your father is at the club. What about lunch?”

Shit.

This is where it was going to be tricky. They couldn’t go for lunch. Not today, not tomorrow, not next week or next year.

“Sorry, days are difficult for Ari. How’s the night after that or can Dad skip the club for once?” she asked.

She heard her mother umming and ahhing.

“I’ll speak to him. You didn’t lose your job, did you? Piper said something... oh, maybe I dreamed it.”

Sage frowned.

“Piper said something about my job?” she asked.

So she had been snooping around BioZen.

It was nice to know her sister cared so much, but Sage knew there must be more to it. Why had she gone to LA looking for her? It seemed an odd coincidence that the vampires were there digging into BioZen and now Piper was there.

And Sage didn’t believe in coincidences.

More importantly she knew her sister was, as Ari put it, like a dog with a bone, when she wanted to know something. She had to get hold of her before she upset the wrong people.

If she hadn’t already.

At least Oliver was there. She trusted him.

“Ignore me. I can’t remember,” her mother said. “Okay, I’ll text you when I’ve spoken to your father. It’s late. I better get to bed. Goodnight, darling.”

“Night, Mom.”

Sage ended the call and stared out the large glass windows into the dark night.

It was going to take a little while to adjust to this new life. She’d take it one day at a time. Ari had told her to take her time deciding what she wanted to do, and she was fortunate there was no financial pressure on them.

For now, she had a wedding to plan and was going to do some redecorating. Ari had some lovely and interesting things in his living quarters—many priceless antiques—but this was her home now, too, and while it wasn’t quite a bachelor pad, she wanted some of her things in here and to give it a more feminine feel.

So that would keep her busy for now.

That, and getting her sister home from LA and whatever trouble she was getting into.

Poor Oliver.