Revolution

Carrie

I barely made it until Deacon was out the door before I collapsed into tears. My butt never hit the floor though, something I didn’t realize until later. Colton was just as hard as the floor, but much warmer.

I was crying so hard I couldn’t even put two words together. Not that I needed too. Colton already knew. So did the others.

“You might want to take her into another room until she calms down. The other donors will be here in a few minutes. We’ll keep an eye on the place.” Grace’s voice echoed as though it were coming through a tunnel.

Wind hit my face, and I vaguely caught the sound of a door opening. Colton was already sitting, with me on his lap, before I heard the sound of the door closing. He just held me and let me cry, his hand rubbing my back as he tried to soothe me.

I probably should have felt guilty that I was being held by one of them, while crying for the other. I was too caught up in my own pain to care though. I knew I needed him, so I let him try to comfort me.

When the sobs started to subside just enough for me to hear him, I realized he was talking.

“Sweetheart, Deacon will be alright. The psychic witch has seen it. They will both be fine. They will be back tomorrow.”

I hiccupped. “You don’t know that. The future is always changing, it is not set in stone. One slight misstep on their part, or our part, or, hell, on Carter’s part, and everything changes. I never liked him going in the first place but knowing how close it came to him being captured or killed. I… I…”

And I started again.

Colton kept his lips to the edge of my hair, holding me tight. “That was only a small piece. It was not the whole story. You were alive, which means Deacon was still alive. We only had the ramblings of a mad man in that vision. I would have been after him in a minute, to get you back. They never would have been able to keep Deacon down, if they even had him in the first place. We would have had you back before they could touch a hair on your head. I promise. Deacon and I have made multiple plans on how to get out of here if need be. We are all safe, sweetheart.”

It wasn’t really the words that he used, but the feeling behind them. Colton believed what he was saying. Wholeheartedly believed it. Yes, part of him was trying to reassure himself as well as me, but it didn’t change the fact that what he said was true.

I pushed my head back, still resting on his chest, and looked up at him. “I know. But I’m still scared. I’m still worried about him. And it’s still the longest he’s been away from me. It doesn’t feel right. I can’t even feel him anymore.” I put a hand to my chest. “Last time he left, I was still adjusting to it, I was still learning about it. Now I’m used to the feeling of him always there. Now it’s gone. He’s gone.” My voice cracked on the last word. I was teetering on that edge again.

Colton’s arms tightened around me. I lifted mine up and put them around his neck, laying my head on his shoulder.

“He’s not gone. He’s just too far away. If he were gone, you would feel it. It would feel like the dagger was going through your own heart. Like you were being ripped in two. Up until it took you with him. I won’t let that happen to either of you. I won’t lose either of you.” He was practically growling, making sure I knew how determined he was.

I lifted up and leaned back. Colton wiped the tears from my face, before pressing his forehead to mine.

“If I didn’t believe he was safe, I wouldn’t have let him leave. Deacon is more than a duty to me. He’s my best friend, my brother.” He smirked and chuckled lightly. “And apparently my mate now too.”

I was surprised when the small laugh left my lips as I tucked back into him.

“Are you ready to go back up now?” He asked after a few minutes of silence.

My eyes were closed, and I sighed. “No. Not yet.”

Colton moved his head away, but replaced it with his lips, kissing my forehead softly. “We only have a few more minutes. I don’t know how well a bunch of teenagers will be able to handle a bar full of vampires.”

I giggled. His lips moved further down my cheeks. His intent now was vastly different, he no longer sought to comfort me.

“I think you have that backwards. I don’t know if a bar full of vampires can handle a bunch of teenagers.”

Colton dropped his head to my shoulder and laughed. He wasn’t one who smiled too easily, at least not in front of others. He was hard and serious. But when it was just the three of us, he would soften. His lips brushed mine softly.

“I love you. You know that right? I know I’m not Deacon. I’m not your fated mate, but I still choose to be with you.”

I nodded and slid my fingers up the back of his neck and into his hair. “I know. I love you, too.” I closed my eyes briefly and shook my head. “It’s still a little weird to me that I can love you both. It’s not the same, but it is. I’m not sure how to describe it.”

“You don’t need to. It’s natural in our world. As I said before, I consider myself lucky to have even a small part of your heart.” Colton put his hand over my heart, his thumb rubbing back and forth.

I turned in his lap, moving my left leg over him so I could face him.

“It’s not just a small part, Colton.” I whispered fervently, wanting, and needing him to understand that he owned more than a small part of me.

His eyes came back up to meet mine, having been focused on his fingers and where they were threatening to go next. With a small growl, his lips were on mine again. I reached down between us and released his beast that was banging on the gate to get out.

I learned a lesson down there, besides the fact that we were sitting on the bottom of the stairs in the cellar, Colton had a lot of beast in him.

He was careful to leave me before it was too late. Even without Deacon here, he was going to honor the boundaries in our mateship. Mating? Whatever the hell we were in, he was not going to betray Deacon’s trust. Not now, not ever.

When we emerged from the cellar, it was to a few whistles, which made me blush. Grace just laughed and winked at me.

“Feeling better?”

“Shut up.” I told her with a partial laugh. “I’m surprised you came tonight. You know I can’t let you work.”

She just shrugged. “I wasn’t planning on it anyway. I just can’t stand the idea of staying home right now.” Her voice had gone soft long before she finished.

I put a hand to her shoulder and smiled gently. I felt a little guilty for my breakdown. She had the vision. She knew what would happen if they failed. She was still a kid, and her one comfort in this new life had gone to face off with vampires. Something she sent him to do.

The night dragged on slowly for me. A few asked where Deacon was, donors and vamps, we just told them he had some things he had to do tonight. To the vamps, this made sense, seeing as nighttime was the only time they could do things.

The humans were just confused. Why would anyone want to go out at night?

Grace and I picked up where we left off the night before, talking on and off, during my down times, about her power and how it worked with my mom. There was only so much I could tell her, but she was thirsty for anything I was able to share.

Once the place was locked up, I kept cleaning. Colton worked along beside me without a word. When the place sparkled better than it had in years, he practically dragged me up the stairs with his arm around me.

“Do you want me to stay with you tonight, or would you rather be alone?”

I looked at him like he had grown a second head. “What the hell kind of question is that?”

He tried to hide how happy that made him by pressing his lips together. “I didn’t want to assume. I don’t know how much of this is you and how much is us pushing our will on you.”

I just rolled my eyes, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into mine and Deacon’s apartment. He practically lived there with us anyway.

Unlike Deacon, Colton gave me space to get ready for bed on my own. When I was ready, he lifted the blanket up so I could crawl in next to him. Deacon usually just stripped me and threw me on the bed. Both ways were nice.

I snuggled into Colton’s arm, noting the difference there as well. I missed sleeping in Deacon’s arms. I sniffed and a small tear slid out. Colton silently wiped it away.

“It’s not the same is it?”

I shook my head. “No. There’s too much room on the bed.”

Colton barked out a laugh and held me tight.

“Maybe we should put it to some use then.” He turned to cover me with his body, and I laughed, which he cut off by kissing me.

Moments like this made me glad I had both of them. Lying here alone would have been hard. My imagination would have taken control and I probably would have cried all night. Instead, Colton kept me thoroughly distracted. It still wasn’t the same without Deacon, I could still feel the emptiness in my heart that was left behind just minutes after he left.