Forsaken (Book #1)

After that Elysia left and I had trudged back home, completely and utterly miserable. Thankfully, when I did arrive home Andrea and Parker were still out so I knew that I wouldn’t get in trouble. At least, not now I wouldn’t. I wandered around the house, bored out of my mind.

Since my freak out a while ago, I had come to the realization that I didn’t hate being a Valkyrie and being New Haven’s hope as much as I thought I did. It wasn’t my ideal cup of tea, but I could learn to live with it. I was a supernatural creature, and being a supernatural creature wasn’t that bad.

It certainly added some much craved excitement to my life that hadn’t been there before. Andrea and Parker didn’t get back to the house until almost nine, and when they stumbled through the door sloppily kissing I knew something was up. Before Andrea and Parker had shown affection but they had never really kissed in front of me. All of that physical, intimate stuff had taken place behind closed doors.

I made some sort of half-choking half-groaning noise and the two separated. Parker looked endlessly pleased while Andrea looked flustered and embarrassed, as well as surprised.

“Calla you’re home and you didn’t go out.” She regarded me suspiciously. “How was your night?”

“Boring,” I huffed, “but you can’t say the same, can you?” They didn’t answer and Andrea’s cheeks burned bright. “What is going on? Why have things suddenly been fixed between the two of you?”

“It isn’t fixed,” Andrea insisted, “it isn’t. But we have decided to fix things.” She glanced at Parker as if asking his permission for something. When she turned back to me, excitement was barely concealed in the depths of her eyes. “We’re having a baby.”

I stared at her numbly. They were having a baby. A kid that would be half Andrea and half Parker; a biological kid. This wasn’t something that I had expected in a million years. It wasn’t like Andrea and Parker were terrible parents but I definitely did not think that they were ready for a kid. They hadn’t been ready for a kid when they had adopted me.

“So what happens now?” I asked, glancing between the two of them a little uncomfortably.

“Now, Parker and I go back to Europe try to secure more business deals and get ready for the baby.” Andrea said.

“And I stay here.” I muttered a little bitter.

I had never been with them to Europe – it had always been the two of them – but I knew that when the baby arrived it would be the three of them and I would be left out. Like always when it came to being in this family.

“Yes,” Andrea murmured. “It’s not that we don’t want you to come with us Calla, but you have school.”

And I’d be intruding on your perfect family, I thought bitterly. I’d just be an annoyance.

“We’ll only be in Europe for a few months and then we’ll come here about a month or two before the baby is born,” Andrea continued as if trying to reassure me, “and you’ll get to meet your sibling.”

Right, like they’d actually let me near their kid. They have adopted me and care for me in their own unique way, but I knew that their biological kid would come over me any day. Biological trumps adoptive, but you know what that’s fine. I didn’t need them, I had other people that I could lean on like Grayson, Lucian, Elysia and Cassie.

“When are you guys leaving?” I asked trying to appear happy.

Both of the adults bought my façade and Andrea began excitedly chattering on about how their flight was tonight and their first stop would be England before they’d head to Spain, France, Germany and eventually Italy with a few stops in Belgium, Poland, and Switzerland.

Then within thirty minutes they were gone, leaving me alone in the house. I had barely been alone for a minute or so when Lucian appeared in front of me. I jumped back a scream building in my throat, and he put his hand over my mouth hushing me.

“It’s just me Calla.” Lucian whispered.

I narrowed my eyes at him and then promptly punched him in the stomach. He doubled over, his face contorted in pain.

“Asshole.” I hissed glaring at him.

He straightened up, “Yeah, but you like me anyways don’t you?” He looked around the house, “Why are you alone?”

“Adoptive parents having a baby,” I mumbled.

He nodded a soft look on his face. Then he stepped towards me, cupping my face and pressing his lips to mine. It didn’t take long for the kiss to become passionate and his mouth was searing hot against mine. My nerves were buzzing as I pulled him over to the couch. We tumbled onto it in a mass of tangled limbs. Somehow during that time, Lucian’s shirt had also come unbuttoned and had slid off of his shoulders exposing the taut muscles of his upper arms.

His lips trailed down my jaw and to my neck, sucking hard at my pulse point. I gasped digging my nails into the skin of his shoulder as his mouth went lower, eventually coming to mouth at my collarbone. His fingers toyed with the bottom of my shirt, teasingly brushing against the skin that was being revealed.

Before things could get too hot and heady, I pushed at his shoulders getting him to sit up. He pouted but complied. Once he had sit up, he grabbed me and pulled me towards him so that I was sitting on his lap. He brushed my hair away from my face, thumb rubbing at the bottom of my eyes tenderly.

“Tell me something about you,” I said abruptly, shifting a little to be more comfortable.

“Something that you didn’t already know?” Lucian asked wryly with a smile. I nodded. “I…don’t like magic or potions. Anything to do with Witches, actually.”

“Why?” I inquired curiously.

“I used to have a scar on my back from a fight with Witches. Of course it can’t really be called a fight since they captured me and tortured me,” Lucian muttered his face contorting with pain as he relived the old memory. “It’s gone now, but when it was still there every little movement would hurt it.”

“How’d you get it to go away?” I asked splaying my hands across his chest and feeling his heart pound erratically beneath my fingertips.

Lucian stiffened. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

I frowned but decided to drop the subject since it was obviously a touchy one. That did little to sate my curiosity however but I didn’t bring it up again. I stretched up, pressing my lips to his jaw and hearing his sharp intake of breath, I became a little bolder, brushing my lips from the corner of his jaw down to the column of his throat. As I was doing that my hands were freely roaming his exposed chest.

Lucian groaned a little and I smiled against his skin.

He grabbed my hips pushing me away from him. “I thought you didn’t want to go too far.” He gasped his chest heaving and his eyes dark with desire.

“I don’t,” I confirmed, “but there’s nothing wrong with having a little fun is there?”

Lucian threw his head back, shutting his eyes as he groaned. I giggled and his eyes slowly opened.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” He muttered, but there was no real anger in his voice only amusement and affection.

“You love it,” I returned with a small smile.

It was really unbelievable the turn that my life had taken. One day I had just been an ordinary high school student, then the next I was a Valkyrie and tasked with saving New Haven – and probably the rest of the world too. It was a lot on my plate and to an outsider it would probably sound incredibly insane but to me this was my new normal. But with Lucian and Grayson I knew that I’d be able to do any task thrown before me.

Even in my head that sounds so sappy, but it’s nothing but the truth. Without Grayson and Lucian I don’t know how I would survive. But I knew that I wouldn’t be able to have both of them on my side, not for the upcoming conflict with Darya.

And I was afraid that it would be Lucian.

Lucian was technically on the side of the Afterdark, and he was a Demon just like Darya is. He wouldn’t betray the Afterdark not for me – and I wouldn’t ask him to, no matter how much I really wanted to – so I knew that when it came to stopping the Afterdark from summoning Darya I wouldn’t be able to rely on him.

Even so, I didn’t want to hurt him. I withheld a sigh, laying my head on Lucian’s bare chest.

What was a girl to do?