Chapter 24

Twenty-Four

CALUM

Edges.

That’s all I feel. Cusps and rounded corners. Falling off a log.

My brain says to lift my chest, so I do even as something heavy resists the rise. Lift and relax. Lift and relax. Lift… It’s all I know. The edge of alive and death.

The cure…

My puppet must have given it to me, even when I asked her not to. She chose well. She chose me. And I can smell spring with every inhale. Newness and the sun.

Despite everything, she thinks I’m worth saving. And maybe I am for West Side and for my bride. Perhaps, I am of some use.

“Please, please, please…” The sobs of her suffering echo through the ether, and I don’t want her to be in pain. Not anymore. She’s seen enough of it for a lifetime. For ten!

But down off the cliff, I can barely reach her. If she loves me and she wants me, I need to crawl my way back for her. She won’t survive without me. The vultures and the owls will descend and rip her apart, stealing what life she has left. Clawing up the overhang of darkness, I can just grasp her. That death wish had become such a part of my identity; it feels strange to leave it behind. The further I am from it, the closer my holiday fantasy jingles in my ears and the closer I am to that Unnamed. Peace.

Struggling to the surface, my consciousness takes form, and her warmth encompasses me everywhere. Like a shield around me, she protects me. My cure.

Pursing my lips, soothing ocean sounds escape my mouth with some deal of effort. “Shh, puppet.”

“Oh my god. You’re alive?” Her breath hits my face like a splash of hot water stirring me awake.

My eyelids are cumbersome to raise, but I force them open as my fingers begin to twitch back to life. Most of my thoughts are consumed by remembering to breathe, but in the dim light, I’m also able to focus on her terrified face. My savior, Veracity.

“Cal! Can you hear me? Say something!” Tears run down her cheeks, only visible by a tiny piece of moonlight that’s crept among the trees surrounding us. She’s lifting me by my shirt in her fists, the object blocking my chest movement straddling my waist.

The first words I can muster are the most important. Ones I will never take back. These are forever and the sounds my soul needs to set free. “I love you.”

Practically dropping me, she quickly grips me tighter and pulls me to a sit. “Wha-what?”

“I love you. You chose me. You saved me.”

In a flurry of passion, she presses her warm lips onto mine, breathing air into my lungs and reviving me fully with a delicate swing of her tongue. My arms are able to wrap around her now, fingers weaving through her soft red strands. We collapse back onto the ground as a unit, her face filled with awe as she stares down at me, inspecting me with wonder.

“Well, now we’re even. I love you, Cal. I thought you died.” A melody only Mozart could write. Her words wind themselves into the depths of my being, soothing the wounds I’ve never been able to heal. I had to die in order to be reborn, to live with her in the way I have wanted to for so long. Now that I have been made anew, I choose life just as vehemently as she chose me. Everything she told me was indeed the truth. She’s the first real thing in my life.

Swallowing, my mouth feels very dry, my tongue thick and heavy. “I think I did die. Who—where—are we safe?”

Her head whips around as her fingers still clutch the fabric of my shirt, as if she’s afraid to let go. “Yes. I did a sweep, but I don’t know if they will be back.”

“I think I can walk now.”

Tugging me to a stand, she places her shoulder underneath mine as we stumble out of the forest together in silence. Every ten feet or so, she pauses to check our six before pressing on. By the time we make it to the entrance of the woods, my legs can carry me again, muscles gaining full control.

Sliding into the Tesla I rented for the evening, I punch in the hotel’s address and allow it to cart us there.

“What are we going to do?” Vera’s eyes stare at me as if I have all the answers. And I think I do. Down in that dark pit, I realized what my mistake was. Where I was led astray. I’m not easily fooled, but I have been. All because everyone lies…except my Veracity.

“We’re getting back on the plane as soon as we pack up at the hotel and leave. And…” With a quick nod toward the computer system in the car, I finish, “We’ll talk further then.” My jet has better security on board, fully outfitted with anti-spy gear. No one can listen there.

Calling, I give verbal instructions to my crew and staff to prepare the plane for us while Vera and I hustle to gather our belongings from the penthouse, the bellhops aiding with Vera’s boxes of books. With a wave, I tell the clerk to send everything to my credit card before heading out front. The chauffeur couriers us to the tarmac with extra haste after tipping him several thousand dollars in cash.

I point out the way to my office for my girl, and we settle in the cushy club chairs side by side. Never letting a piece of her clothing or skin go, my thumb rubs continuously over her wrist as the steward brings in a tray of food for us. Dismissing the staff, I clear the room of prying ears and eyes with a press of a button.

“You don’t have any devices on you.”

“No,” she says, grabbing a cut chickpea salad sandwich from the tiered tray. She hands it to me before she takes one for herself. That’s just the woman she is, looking out for me.

Clearing my throat, I ask her, “Who do you want to be?”

With shock, her green eyes widen. “Who? What do you mean?”

Stuffing one little sandwich in my mouth, I chew quickly, then brush my hands together before dropping to my knees in front of her chair. Her legs spread to allow my torso between them. Tipping her chin toward me, I gaze up at her with reverence.

“I want you to pick your name. Your first name…to go with Von Dovish.”

Her eyes refuse to blink as the tip of her tongue escapes her blush lips, gathering up a few breadcrumbs before she swallows. “What are you saying, Cal?”

“I’m saying what I’ve always said. You’re mine, puppet. You’re my Mrs. Von Dovish. Pick any name you want. You’re not Zero. You’re not Jane. So, then, who are you, other than the soon-to-be Mrs. Von Dovish?”

Delicate fingers lace through mine as she pulls me closer to her. “Cal…you can’t marry me. I’m a nobody.”

Sitting up on my knees, I press my forehead to hers. “You’re everything.”

Tiny sniffles interrupt our moment, and I spy a tear trailing down her cheek. “You call me Veracity. I want to be her.”

A smile creeps over my lips at the acknowledgement. “You are her. Veracity Von Dovish… We can have a brood of Vs. Virginia, Victor, Vivianne, Valin…” My brow furrows. “Not Vlad.”

Her tears now stream as her breath seeps inside her chest in staccato puffs. Wiping my thumbs across her freckles, I gather them up, and lick my fingers, then place my lips on either side of her nose and kiss her before meeting her mouth in a consuming embrace. Her body practically absorbs me as she wraps her legs around my waist.

“Wait, puppet. I want to ravage you soon, but we need to make some plans. Strategize together.” With wet eyes, she presses her face into my neck and nods, a muffled affirmation vibrating along my skin.

Standing with her still surrounding me, I move us to the loveseat while my hands work to stroke her back, soothing her.

“I’ll get you a ring and a better proposal.”

Barely audible, she mumbles into my chest, “I don’t need it.”

“I do. You’ll be Mrs. Von Dovish of the West Side of Gnarled Pine Hollow. You’ll make your appearance as my wife. You’ll bear my heirs and help me care for our people.” Grasping her red locks, I tug her back to look at me, her face puffy and flushed…and beautiful. “But, most importantly, you’ll help me take down Herodius when we find out their plans.”

Clearing her eyes with a few quick blinks, she responds, “Of course. But Donovan⁠—”

“Don’t worry about him. He wants our product, and I’ll happily move it into his area with ease. He’ll agree to sever your contract, so you’ll be free to be mine.”

“So you think it was Dash and Dot who were here to poison us?”

Swallowing, I grip her tightly to me. “You don’t need to worry about them anymore. Tell me everything you know about Herodius from your training.”

She eases off my lap but maintains a grip on my hand as she slides onto the seat next to me, her feet strewn across my legs. Mindlessly, I rub her calves, massaging the muscles there. Touching her helps to ease any tension I hold. “I know they’re a secret organization with ties to Strauss and perhaps secretly rule Gnarled Pine Hollow by pressuring the consort to do their bidding.” I begin to interrupt, saying I have known this previously, but she continues, “But from my intel studies, Cal, they are not the only ones.”

My spine tingles as I stiffen to a straight posture. “What do you mean?”

Practically spilling out of her low-cut T-shirt, her breasts heave with a deep breath, but I force myself to watch her face instead. “I don’t remember much, but I believe there are a few factions vying for interest in our city. Most likely for the child trade. That’s where the money lies. One seems to have a vested interest in controlling Strauss. The others…I don’t know about at all.”

Beats race in my throat as my heart pumps faster. Why didn’t I know this? “Who knows this?”

“Ace Donovan and his spies.”

“Which means he isn’t one of the ones being controlled or involved… How many? Who are these other factions? What do they want?”

As I reach up to stroke my face with her cold finger, her red eyebrows pull together. “I don’t know, Cal. If I did, I’d tell you. Dot thinks that maybe two, perhaps three total. But this is only a guess.”

Livia would tell me if the Freidenbergs were involved. Just how deep does this thing go? “I’ll put Delta on it. Maybe it’s time to bring up Foxtrot and give her a more important assignment.” If there are more factions, are they in on this together? Which one controls Strauss? What is their ultimate goal? Veracity’s right. It has to do with the trafficking. This is how I know that Herodius makes most of their money, human trade. But my suspicions about Strauss not being very cooperative have yet to be confirmed. If he’s going against his maker and there are other factions, maybe there is a way we can save the city.

Pursing her lips, she interrupts my thoughts. “And, um…Alpha?”

With a clenched jaw, I grit my teeth and tell her, “I’ll take care of her.” Then, taking a deep cleansing breath and leaning over her legs, I pick up a sandwich, then hand it to her before taking another for myself. “You, my pet, need to figure out exactly what kind of huge wedding you want. And where in the world you want me to take you on a honeymoon. I’m not even asking how many babies you’ll let me put in you. Just know there probably won’t be a year after this that you aren’t pregnant for a good long while.”

With a look of complete satisfaction, she wiggles in her seat and takes a tiny bite of bread. “Mm-kay.” After snagging another treat off the tray, she asks, “Cal?”

“Hmm, puppet?”

“Can I be Veracity Jane Von Dovish?”

Tilting my head toward her, I question her intention. “Do you want to keep that name?”

“It’s who I met you as. And who I was for a long while. But I am Veracity.”

“Say the last part…please.”

“I will be Veracity Von Dovish.” Pulling the food from her fingers, I tease apart her lips with the crust of bread. As she opens her mouth, I slide it in slowly, our eyes meeting with intensity. The sound of those words fills me with pride and a new outlook on life. Other than the people of West Side, I need to take care of her.

“You can have and be whoever you want. But understand, first and foremost, you’re mine.” Following my fingers with my lips, I clutch her face and pull her into me again. “Chew that and let’s go to bed. By the morning, we’ll be home. Our home.”

After snuggling together in the main cabin bedroom, I allow her to rest without sticking my dick inside her like I’m desperate to do. Part of the poison still lingers within me, and my body tells me it also needs sleep. With my bride safe in my arms, I drift off easily for the first time in my life knowing…I trust someone.

“You’ll calloff your spies. She belongs on the west side now. She’s mine.”

A snort comes through the line. “Man, fine. You want to marry a whore, so be it.”

In my mind, I picture a blade slicing off his tattoos one at a time with reckless razor cuts, displaying them like a stretched flesh banner outside his casino as a warning for the other wolves not to mess with a fox. Flaring my laced fingers outward, the joints pop as I speak into the phone lying on my desk.

“I would watch what you say about her, truly I would. Do you want my product or not, Asa?”

Quickly, a bit too much so, he responds, “Yes, Calum. I want the products.”

“And you’re setting your wedding date with Arianna to when?”

There’s a pause on the line, and my eyes scan over the screen. Still connected. “Max came to see me.” A loud sigh peaks the microphone. “Three weeks. A Saturday. You’re invited. Then you can tell me all about who murdered my sister.”

My fingers find their way up to my chin and stroke the hairs there. It’s really time for a shave. “When are you getting the marriage license? I’m assuming it’s before the actual event?”

“Ugh. Yeah. I signed it. It’ll be official after it’s processed if Strauss’s men don’t find out. One of my men is taking it to another county in the next week or two.”

Trying to control my smirk, I say, “Then you’ll be officially a married man.” Who would have ever thought this day would come? “Have you even spoken with the girl?”

“Is that part of the requirement?”

Letting my head drop back onto the top of the chair, I tell him, “Yeah, typically husbands talk with their wives.” A wild-headed V pokes her head into my bedroom, her eyes still heavy from sleep. She smiles lazily as she shuffles in, a sheet wrapped loosely around her curvy frame. Motioning with my fingers, I make room for her to sit on my lap, then nuzzle her neck as she attempts to control a giggle. Her movements cause my cock to rise between her ass cheeks. This call better end soon.

“All I know I gotta do is fuck her, then get her knocked up. That doesn’t typically require much talking other than, ‘turn over’ and ‘shut the fuck up and take this dick like a good girl,’”

Shaking my head at him, I say, “I can tell you’re going to have a lot of fun with her…and her boyfriend.”

“What—?”

“My people will be in touch.” Pressing the button to end the call, I tighten my arms around V’s waist. “Mmm, puppet didn’t get her fill of me this morning yet, did she?”

“No. I didn’t.” Looking around the bedroom, she lowers her brow with a question. “Why did you put us in the guest room last night?”

“Because I want something of you and us.” Sliding her legs to the side so I can look at her freckled face, I kiss her lightly on the cheek and wave my hand around to show her. “This room is just work and not really where I ever slept. More like just crashed in between times of monitoring you.” Patting her silk-covered thigh, I say, “If you want me to build you a new house with different memories, I will burn this place to the ground and piss on its ashes. If you want to live here, so be it. But just pick any room and we’ll make it ours… Right now.”

“You made me feel pleasure for the first time in that bathroom.” She nods to the open door near my bedside.

“Yes, but I’d like to make love to you in a bed. Where we can sleep together every night.” Brushing some of her hair back, I suction up the skin of her upper arm as she considers.

“Come on…” The sheet gets tangled at her feet as she stands, but she gathers it and grasps my hand to pull me with her. Tugging me down the hall of our wing, she starts throwing open doors and the sunshine she radiates lands inside my heart. Watching her feel so comfortable here, free to roam wherever she wants, it’s what I want for everyone who was in her position.

“Oooh! Gold and blue? Nah. Never mind. Too fluffy.” As she leads me farther down in a stumbling gallop, she makes comments on each room we pass. “Too stuffy.” Each giggle she lets out travels through my belly and into my waiting cock. “Wow, this is too dark.” I’m about to ravage her in the hallway if she doesn’t pick soon.

A loud gasp leaves her throat as she opens the double doors at the opposite end of the hall from my room. “This one!” It’s the guest suite we kept for important dignitaries or mob bosses. The green room, we’d call it. No one has used it for at least ten, if not more, years. Trees in a mint green line the wallpaper and a deep forest velvet covers the Louis XIV bed with a high tufted headboard upholstered in a spring green silk. The rug is like white blossoms have fallen from some invisible branches while the twisted wooden chandelier gives the place an odd rustic vibe to the otherwise fancy brocades. It’s Veracity in a room.

She quickly spins her head to get my approval, and my lips curl into a smile at her open-mouthed joy before I scoop her up and carry her across the threshold. The crinkles in her nose relax from her childlike smile to a misty wonder as I place her on the bed and crawl on top of her. My lips gently massage hers open, and with a soft swish of the tip of my tongue, I pry them apart until she accepts me inside.

Vera’s taste is like sugar with vanilla, and maybe a dash of spice that hits me unexpectedly at times. Her musk is like a hint of her mouth, and I salivate at the thought of being between her legs again. Eating her pussy is an absolute need in my life now.

“I love you, and I can’t wait to marry you.”

Kissing down the column of her exposed neck, I tug her sheet with me on my descent. She leans up on her elbows to watch with a sparkle in her bright eyes that trail mine. “Now that you realize I don’t want to kill you, you’re quite the romantic, Mister Von Dovish.”

A loud smack leaves her dusky pink lips as she spreads them in awe when I gingerly take a bite on the apex of her thigh. Not hard enough to bruise, just enough to leave my mark, I suckle there as she pants out breaths. After she wiggles her hips, I’m able to work the rest of her cover off and toss it behind me, leaving my lover completely exposed.

Standing, I gaze at her nude body, perusing it in case I’m ever in that poisoned position and cannot open my eyes. Studying it for my dreams. Learning it for when I’m alone.

“Fuck, I want to pleasure you in so many ways…” Tossing my T-shirt across the room, I strip off my jeans, then boxers. Stroking myself with one hand, I scratch my chin with the other, considering just where I want to touch her first.

Pulling her foot up to my mouth, I breathe on one toe as her knees shudder together. “Little piggy?”

With a mock gasp, her jaw unhinges. A devilish playfulness creases the corners of her eyes. “Don’t! You were watching.”

Narrowing my eyes, I suck on her biggest toe, watching her breasts rise and fall rapidly. “Of course, puppet.”

“And you killed him.”

“And I’d do it again a thousand times. No one touches what is mine. Remember that.” Using my teeth, I rake her toe through my mouth before latching onto the skin of her foot, suctioning up to her ankle, then further kissing my way to her knees while they tremble, trying to close back together. She whimpers and lets her head hang back, red hair splaying erratically across the comforter. Kneeling before her on the floor, she spreads before me as I slide my palms under her ass cheeks and scoot her toward my waiting tongue.

I take my time swirling around her throbbing pearl, then suck before clenching with my teeth just hard enough that she snaps her neck and cries as she grips my head with her fingers threading through my hair. “Cal!”

“Mmm, puppet?” Doing it again, she groans and thrusts her hips toward me. “You like the pain, remember? And I like to give you pleasure with it.” Licking from back to front, I stroke her repeatedly with my nose until I find a rhythm she enjoys while writhing on my face. Sucking on and flicking her clit with the tip of my tongue, I curl two fingers inside her warm hole until she’s on the edge, the wetness of her pleasure coating my entire hand. Right as I sense she’s about to climax, I eat her, biting as if she were the last meal on earth. The scream that rips through her lungs is deafening, even with her thick thighs muffling all sound and air surrounding my ears.

“Cal… That was…”

I stroke myself, cock hard and pulsating with need. Grasping her waist, I tug her back to the middle of the bed, then grip under her knees, parting them wide for me to settle between them. My palms gather up the evidence of her orgasm coating my cheeks and chin, then apply it to the shaft of my dick before I wet the tip near her entrance. A few smacks of the head of my cock on her clit make her writhe off the bed, a wail escalating from her throat.

With a thump of my hips, I enter her as we both groan in mutual ecstasy. Laying over her, I ease myself inside her warm, tight tunnel, filling her to capacity. “You feel amazing. I may put superglue on my dick, so it never leaves you. Just keep myself stuck inside forever.”

“Yes, please. Do it,” she breathes into my face.

Eyes scrunched with pleasure, she bites her lower lip before I snare it between my incisors, ready to draw blood. With a small nick, I do, then suck up her life fluid as she whimpers, her symphony of sounds rapidly escalating my thrusts. Moving my face down to the crook of her neck, my teeth rake across the skin there, making a small indent that I lavish with my tongue right after. The blue and pink mark makes my lips curl into a smile with the pride of ownership.

While I pick up my pace, her nails steady themselves into the skin of my back, holding on despite the slipperiness from my sweat. A bead drops from my forehead onto hers, and I kiss it away. Revering her face, I scan the delicate freckles in a sprinkle across her straight nose, the glistening of her green eyes, the ruby flush to her cheeks, and watch as she tumbles over the edge, indulging herself on me. Just as she almost comes, I let her know…

“Last night, I had the healer remove your IUD, puppet. I’m going to come inside you now. Fill you up and get you pregnant. Mark you as mine forever. You’ll keep me inside you for nine months, and then another nine months after that, and nine months again after that.” She nods eagerly, moaning wantonly as her eyes lock onto mine. With each reiteration, I emphasize my point with a jut of my cock deeper into her as she screams, latching onto me with shock and elation. “Your womb will miss my cum when it’s not there. You won’t even remember what it’s like to not be pregnant…”

“Cal, please.” It comes out like a prayer in whispered breaths and it’s enough to make me connect with her fully. Imagining those twins, maybe even triplets, inside her swollen belly, I erupt, spewing my love into her body and hoping it stays forever.

Collapsing on top of her, she lets the tips of her fingers dance across my arms with such gentleness, they feel like feathers. Still throbbing deep within her, I catch my breath, our chests pressed together, breathing in unison.

Veracity is no longer a puppet I control. No, her strings are just as tightly wound around me.

We’re one.

“You said you had my IUD removed? While I was sleeping?” The vibrations of her voice resonate through my ribs.

Slowly, I nod, still trying to recover from my high. “Yes” comes out muffled, the skin of her shoulder taking the brunt of the expulsion. Leaning up on my elbows, I brush hair off her face. “You mad?”

Her legs wrap around me, and she squeezes my waist while I start to thicken again within her hot walls caressing me. “No, but you could have just asked. I would have done it. I’d love to have a family with you. Cal…I want a large family.”

Tapping a kiss to her nose, I say, “I do, too.” With a glib smile, I tell her, “I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you.” I grow firmer as I shovel my erection deeper and begin fucking her once more. As she squeals with laughter, the jostling of her abdomen just making me yearn to fill her again.