Turning to greet him, I notice he cut his shoulder length hair. “Wow, Ben, you look great!” I place Nik back on the floor to play, and stand to get a better look. “Come here; turn around and let’s see this new hair, Mc. Hottie.” Ben walks towards me, and I shake my hands through the new clean cut, shorter stands of hair. He turns to show me the back, and I notice something on his neck. “What’s this?” I ask, tracing the symbol I recognize as an Omega.
“That silly horseshoe type thing? It’s just my birthmark.”
Michael throws his head up and jumps from his seat, racing over to us. “What birthmark? Let me see!” The shock on his face could freeze time. He spins Ben with great speed, and freezes as he stares at the birthmark.
“What’s wrong with my birthmark? Why are you so freaked out?” Ben questions with concern.
“This is no birthmark. It is...I have to go; I must talk to some of the Twelve.”
“You can’t just do that! What is it?” Ben shouts.
“Don’t worry about it! It’s nothing to concern yourself about. The symbol is special. You are special. I will explain more later, I promise.” Before any one can argue, Michael is gone, leaving all of us in shock.
“Okay, what the hell is that about? What on earth does he mean?” Ben stands before us, confused and scared.
“Well, let’s see what we can find out about it. I’ll get the Book of Shadows,” Ebony announces.
“I’ll get my Macbook and Google it,” Danika runs off to her room.
“Ben, don’t worry. We will figure this out, and if we can’t, Michael will be back, and he can explain it then,” I try to comfort my friend, who has had his life turned upside-down in less than a year.
Before Ebony and Danika get back, Michael enters the room, obviously distraught. “Okay, I will explain. Go sit down.”
“Where did you go, and why are you back so fast?” Alexander questions.
“I was planning to go and talk to Katherine, and some of the other Twelve, but changed my mind.”
“What’s wrong with me that you wanted to talk to them, and why did you change your mind?” Ben stands and begins to pace the room.
“There is nothing wrong with you. You have a great gift. I was in shock, and thought the Twelve should know. That’s why I left, but I changed my mind, remembering everything she’s been through since we found out.”
“What do you mean? Who is she? Michael, you really need to stop being so cryptic with us,” I insist.
“Sorry. It’s just...she’s hard to talk about.” He takes a deep breath and begins. “She is Claudia, and she is the reason for everything. Angels are not allowed to love, but it happens, and it happened for me, with her. She is special too, and has been through so much since we found out. We can no longer be together, and she doesn’t even remember me anymore. I had to erase her memory in order to protect her.”
“That is terrible! Do you ever see her?” I ask
“I check in on her every now and then. I need to make sure she’s okay. She is Between, a place where they train nephilim.”
“Okay, so I’m really sorry you lost your girl, but why is she so special? And even more so, why am I special?” Ben begs for answers.
“The Omega symbol birthmark is a special sign. Only a few have it. Claudia—and you—are the only ones I know about. If others find out, it could be very dangerous for you.”
“That still doesn’t tell me anything.”
“Well, why don’t you calm down and let me finish instead of…sorry, this is just a little emotional. Thinking, and talking about her is difficult for me. The birthmark is a sign that you possess the holy soul. Only Phillip, Margaret and Agnus of the Twelve know about this, know that the holy soul really exists. They told me so that I could protect Claudia, and I failed. She doesn’t even remember her mother—well, the woman who raised her. She is stuck in that stupid place, with all the watchers, and with him,” Michael growls.
“With him?” I ask.
“Never mind. Let’s focus on Ben. I decided not to tell them because I lost Claudia, and she lost everything. I want to protect you from losing everything like she has.”
“Well, thank you, but you said her mom was just the woman who cared for her. Is my mom really my mom?” Ben’s face falls at the thought.
“Yes, she is. No one knew about you until the venators began hunting you. Claudia was placed with a watcher, a guardian angel she thought was her grandmother, and then she was placed with a woman who was brainwashed to believe Claudia was really hers.”
“So what does having the holy soul mean for me?”
“For now, nothing. We are just going to go on protecting you—although, we should find a way to cover the Omega, just in case.”
Chapter 32
Ebony’s Release
I haven’t really talked to Dakota since he kissed me the other day, but I think I may be ready to now. I head down to the school, and stepping off the elevator, he’s standing right there in front of me.
“Hey, Ebony, I was just coming to find you.”
“I was looking for you too. I wanted to apologize for the way I acted when you kissed me.”
“No Ebony, you have nothing to be sorry about. I was out of line; you had just seen Matt, and were emotional. I took advantage of you, and for that, I’m so sorry.” He wipes a tear from my cheek. “Please don’t cry. I hate seeing you so sad.”
“It’s just so hard. I mean, I love Matt, and I don’t want to let him go, but I know I have too.”
“You don’t ever have to let him go, Ebony. You’ll always love him, and that’s okay. You just need to open your heart to loving another, and to happiness.”
Pondering what Dakota is saying, I realize he’s right. I don’t have to let Matt go. I do love him, and I always will. That doesn’t have to change just because I let someone else in. I begin to feel peace with the situation, with this new realization. I have always felt a special connection to Dakota; I just never paid attention to it. Maybe it’s time to explore that a little more.
“Thanks Dakota, I really needed to hear that, and your understanding means so much to me.”
“I’ve done my best to prove that I’ll be here for you no matter what. I will continue to. I think I have made it obvious that I would love for you to explore our feelings. I just want you to know that you mean too much to me; that even if you choose not to, I will still want to remain in your life. Your friendship is too important to me, and I refuse to sacrifice that for anything.”
“I do know that, and your friendship means everything to me too. You’ve been here for me through so much, and I just don’t know if I could have made it without you. Now, with that said, let’s go do something. This is too heavy, and I think we both could use some fun.”
“Great idea. Why don’t we get Elyn and take her to the park? It will be fun.”
“Really? I ask you to go out and do something, and the first thing you think of is to do something with my daughter.”
“Yeah, sorry, I just—”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I just…you’re just…it’s just so amazing that you would think to do something with her.”
“Of course I would. I love that little girl as much as I love...I mean...um...sorry Eb.”
“No, don’t be sorry. Thank you so much. I care about you too.” Not realizing what I’m doing, I lean towards him and press my lips to his. Excitement rushes through me. Dakota runs his hand across my cheek and holds the back of my head. As if in slow motion, our lips move together, and everything feels right for the first time in months. Our lips part, and I take a small step back.
“Are you okay, Ebony?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It was time.”
“Well, thank you for that. Now, let’s not read too much into it. Should we go get Elyn and go out for a while?”
“That’s a perfect idea.”
We head back up to the main house and through the passageway to the guesthouse. Florence is there
with the babies. The moment Elyn sees Dakota, she floats over to him, wrapping her tiny little arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. Then, before we can turn to leave, she spits out, “Koda.”
“Oh my God, she just said her first word. ‘Dakota’! You are her first word,” I scream, running to the two of them and hugging them both as we all laugh.
Seeing how excited everyone is, Elyn continues, “Koda, Koda, Koda.”
Florence, Dakota and I all burst into a roar of laughter. Elyn giggles right with us. We tell Florence our plans for the day and grab the light pink diaper bag on our way out the door. After we get Elyn secured in her car seat, we take off down the drive and head to town for an afternoon at the park. I’m excited to spend the day with Dakota and see how it goes. I want to take this slowly, and for it not to be just a rebound fling. I do feel more equipped to handle this now, and Dakota is just the man to continue with.
Chapter 33
Going Away
Elijah has worked hard to finalize Nik’s adoption, and today we go to the courthouse to pick up the final papers. That’s it; Nik is mine and Nathanial’s son. We also get his passport and our plane tickets for our trip to Transylvania. We will spend at least the summer there, maybe longer, depending on what we find out, and who we find. I can’t take any chances, and Nik will be safest there. The Cerberus would never step foot on the home soil, at least not until they are ready to take on the Renata.
“You ready to go sweetie?” Nathanial asks.
“You don’t know how ready I am.” I grab my purse and the diaper bag, and Nate takes the infant carrier, with my new son buckled as ‘snug as a bug’, or whatever that saying is.
After getting the adoption papers, passport and tickets, we head back to the house. It’s time to start packing. Walking through the front door, we are bombarded by cheers and screams, “Surprise!”
Everyone is here; the Pierces, Eliza, Luke, and all the students, ready to congratulate us on the adoption of Nik. I can’t contain my emotions, and happy tears fall from my eyes. I have my own family, a husband and now a son. Who could ask for more?
Nathanial puts his arm around my shoulder as I hold Nik close to me. “Thank you so much, everyone. I can’t explain what this means to Sophia and I. Each one of you is like family to us, and even though we’ve all experienced tragedy, I am happy to have you all in my family. Thank you.”
The evening is filled with friends, family, food and fun times. Almost everyone has a gift for us and Nik. Some are just toys and clothes; others are amazing keepsakes, like the adorable pewter frame set; one for his adoption certificate, and another for a picture of the three of us. Ben takes a picture of us standing in front of the fireplace to put in the frame. What a great gift to display the memory of this day. Before long, Nik is ready for bed. Nathanial takes his new son and tucks him in for the night. We party on until the wee hours of the morning. In a week we leave for Transylvania, and need to finish packing and confirming all our arrangements.
As the long flight comes to an end and the plane begins its descent I peer out the small rectangular window of the 747 aircraft. The luscious green hills that roll over the land showcase the beauty of the area. Amazing stone castles can be seen in the distance. Nik pulls at the window trying to see the amazement for himself—I can’t help but giggle.
“Are you excited, little man?” I ask, and Nik pats his hands together in a clapping motion.
“I hope we get to take in some of the sites while we’re here,” Nathanial admits.
“I think we can take a few days for sightseeing before we approach the Renata.”
“Great! Well, once we check into our room, let’s go check out the city.”
The plane has a smooth landing and we wait for our turn to disembark the plane. The other passengers are rummaging through their overhead compartments and carry-ons, ready to race off the plane. We have plenty of time, so just remain seated waiting for the others to clear the aisle. Once the masses have left we collect all our items and head to the customs area before collecting the rest of our luggage.
Waiting at the luggage carousel, I notice Cato walking towards us. “Cato, what are you doing here?”
“Hello Sophia, it is great to see you again. I heard you would be arriving today and thought it would be nice to meet you here.”
“Well thank you; we thought we would go to the hotel and then do some sightseeing.” Nathanial confirms our plans.
“There is no need for hotels; you are in the home land, son. The Renata is aware of your presence, and we have a suite at the castle for you. Please do us the honor of staying with us; after all we are all family, so to speak.” Cato insists, and we know there’s no way to refuse his offer.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Cato; we are looking forward to meeting the others and the leaders.”
“They are aware of your intentions, and hope to assist you in your time of need.”
Nathanial and Cato take our luggage to the black stretch limo waiting outside for us. The sun has just set and I can feel something changing in the atmosphere. This is vampire land and night is upon us; is it safe for mortals to be out, or do the Renata follow their own laws? I guess I will find out sooner than I had expected.
We take the forty-five minute drive to the Renata’s residence, driving through the lush green hills and down spiral like roads. A crystal blue stream runs alongside of the road, welcoming all to jump in the fresh water and play chicken with the jagged rocks that hide beneath the surface. Romania is a beautiful country, at least what I’ve seen of it. I hope we’ll get to see even more in the days to come. Before I know it the driver pulls up to a large stone castle, and just like the castles you read about in fairy tales, a large wooden drawbridge folds down over the moat before us. The limo proceeds over the bridge and it closes behind us. Behind the stone walls surrounding the castle are stunning gardens that have hundreds of flowers flourishing; it almost looks like heaven.
The car slows and stops before the front entrance. Opening the car door, Cato exits the vehicle first, followed by Nathanial. I move to the edge of the car seat and pass Nik to Nathanial before I climb out. As the four of us stand before the majestic castle, the front doors open and seven male and female vampires stand before us. I gasp; I know I am now in the presence of the Renata, the grandchildren of Cain, the original vampire. We all wait with baited breath to be invited in to begin learning how to destroy their brother, Cyrus, and nephew, Drake, once and for all.
Special Thank You
I would like to send a special thanks to author Mary Ting of The Crossroads Saga, for allowing me to use some of her characters and for writing Chapter 23, Michael`s Adventures. To learn more about Michael, the Twelve, and Claudia, please check out Mary`s first two books of the Crossroads Saga, Crossroads and Between, today to see angels like you never imagined and a love story for the ages.
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About the Author
Charlotte has a strong passion for young adult novels especially those in the paranormal or dark fantasy genres. As she continues to work on The Embrace Series, Charlotte is also working on a mainstream romance and a science fiction novel involving alternate universes. She will continue to update this site with her work and what is next, and she thanks you all for your support and encouragement.
Charlotte Blackwell, Everlasting Embrace (Embrace Series)
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