Cursed (The Brookehaven Vampires #4) (50 page)

“Your grandmother has requested the two of you marry in my church,” he said.

Kiera nodded in agreement, her small hand finding mine and gripping it once again.

How had I never figured out Kiera’s fae line? There
were so many obvious signs. Of course I saw it clearly now that I knew. Was Laney such a distraction to me that I was missing the obvious? Were there others whose true nature I had missed?

A sudden squeeze from Kiera’s fingers pulled my attention back to the present situation.

The fae leader was silent for too long. I observed the man, wondering what he was thinking, what he was feeling. I really wished I had my ability. Although, if I had my ability, I would most likely still be myself, which meant I would not be in a “church” with Kiera, talking to a fae elder about getting married.

This is ridiculous!
I needed to be at work. I needed to be making arrangements to break ground on the community extension. I needed to be researching replacement coven-issued vehicles. I needed to be making updates on the town’s security system, and about a million other duties that were mine, not Carter’s. Mine. Just like Laney was mine. Not Carter’s. He was going to screw something up, I just knew it! But I would take him screwing up something at work over him messing up things with my Laney.

I was grateful Laney knew what was going on. Scratch that. None of us really knew that much, but I meant I was thankful she knew we
weren’t ourselves, unlike Kiera. Although, I was fairly certain Kiera wouldn’t handle such knowledge as well as Laney.

I heaved a sigh as I stared at the little man behind the desk. I needed my Laney. That was what I needed most, not to be at work, but to be with her. I needed to see her smile and feel her love for me. I needed that more than anything else. Always.

“Do you agree, Mr. Thomas?” the man questioned.

My focus
was on him the whole time, how had I missed what he’d said? I hadn’t even noticed his lips moving while I was busy thinking about my actual girlfriend.

I blinked and directed my full attention to him.

“I’m sorry?” I said. I hoped this was how Carter would have responded.

I was amazed to have zoned out so completely as to not hear anything the fae elder had
said. That was probably due to the fact I was so accustomed to relying on my ability. I relied on feeling the change in people’s emotions. It was hard not to pay attention when everyone’s emotions are gnawing at you.

“Do you think this marriage is being rushed?” he asked, obviously annoyed at having to repeat himself.

I glanced over at Kiera. She had a death grip on my hand and tears in her eyes. I sat up from my Carter-slouched position. “No, sir, I do not. I believe that if you truly love someone, there is no need to wait to spend the rest of your life with them.” I considered saying “dude” rather than “sir,” but I figured that might have been a little too much.

He did not appear satisfied with my initial response. I needed to give him more.

Without admitting who I was speaking of, I continued, “Sir, I love her, and I will spend the rest of my life with her, with or without your blessing. I don’t care where we get married, just as long as I get to call her my wife.”

From the corner of my vision, I could see Kiera beaming at me
, but the words had not been meant for her. It was at this very moment that I realized I wanted Laney to bear my name. I wanted a ring upon her finger—a symbol to show she was taken—to show she was mine.

Being bonded and living together was no longer enough. I
knew we would eventually get there, but at that moment, I needed her to be Delaney Josephine Knight. No longer an Alexander.

The man smiled in response to
my speech. He gave his approval for Kiera and Carter to be married, by him in his “church,” all because I had voiced my feelings for my
actual
girlfriend and mate.

I needed to get back to being me so we could move forward. Preferably, away from this town. The community was not far from “Treeville.” Nevertheless, if planned right, we would never need to leave.

As we were leaving the church and heading to her parents’ car, I could see that Kiera was pleased. When we reached the car, she voiced her delight, and she showed it, physically. She jumped up and threw her arms around my neck. She kissed me. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her to prevent her from falling, but it surprised me when she kissed me. I had to force my…
Carter’s
lips to respond to hers.

Kissing Kiera did not feel right, physically or mentally. However, it was nothing compared to what Carter had done. My stomach lurched at thoughts of our morning. I forced the memories out of my head. Had I been myself, I
would’ve killed him. No questions asked.

Lucky for Carter, my emotions
weren’t so extreme in his body. My mind knew I loved Laney, but being separated from my heart and body, I was actually able to keep my cool. I could stay levelheaded. Mostly.

Thankfully, Carter (that being me at the moment) had the night off from work. I was relieved.
No part of me wanted to experience his job. Not at all. So, since
I
didn’t have to work, Kiera and I headed back to the complex.

After another heart racing ride with her, I was quick to get out of the car when she pulled into the apartment parking lot.

“I love you,” she called after me as I about jumped from the car.

With a twinge of guilt, I returned her affectionate words, reminding myself this was a show for whoever had cursed us. A show to keep us safe.

I rushed up the steps when I saw Laney’s car in its space. I was eager to see her. My car was not in its space. Carter’s body gave a shudder in response to its absence.

He had better not hurt her. I was referring to my car here. I loved that car. However, if he hurt my car, I would only be angry. As we know, she
was replaceable. Yet, if he hurt my Laney, I would kill him. Again, no questions asked.

As I hurried to the apartment, I realized I was anxious to see how Carter’s day as me had gone, but I was more anxious to see Laney…

When I reached our door, I took a breath, steadying myself before entering the apartment. When I walked in, the apartment was silent. Laney was on the couch, curled up in the corner, her feet tucked under her and her head on the arm.

She lifted her head when I entered. Her beautiful, dark, sad eyes met mine, but only for a moment.

“Hey,” I quietly said. I didn’t know what else to say to her. There was so much going through my mind. So much I wanted to say to her. There was one particular question I was dying to ask, but I couldn’t very well drop to my knee and ask her to be my wife. An excited shiver coursed through me at the thought.

I could not ask while I was not me. It
wouldn’t be right. I was not in my own body, and it wouldn’t be my voice. The question would have to wait. For now.

Still averting her eyes from mine, Laney unfolded herself and stood. With her back to me, she said, “I’ve got to go.” She headed toward our bedroom.

“Where are you going?” I took a step forward, my heart breaking as she walked away from me. I could not hold her, I could not comfort her. I felt useless. Helpless.

She stopped just before our broken bedroom door. I would fix the door after Carter and I were back to ourselves. Not before.

Laney glanced over her shoulder. “I’m meeting Amber.”

“I’ll come with you,” I said, hopeful.

She shook her head just ever so slightly. “No, that’s okay.” I could hear it in her tone, how much she was hurting, how much she needed things to be back to normal.

She disappeared in our room for a moment.

I stood there, near the front door, not knowing what to do.

She returned with her shoes on and her backpack over her shoulder. The look in her eyes was tearing me apart.

She had been right, we shouldn’t have come back.

“Laney, wait,” I said as she hurried past me.

She stopped, her back to me once again. I reached for her hand. She tensed when Carter’s hand touched hers.

“Close your eyes,” I quietly told her.

I slipped her backpack from her shoulder and gently set it on the floor. I slowly turned her very tense body so she was facing me. Her eyes were shut tight. I ever so gently and slowly pulled her into my arms. It felt so good to feel her against me, even if they weren’t my arms actually holding her. I needed this too.

It took her a few minutes to relax. Well, she didn’t completely relax, which I guess was reassuring to me. I really
didn’t want her to be as comfortable in Carter’s arms as she was in mine.

Eventually, she buried her face in my shoulder. Her arms slipped around my chest (Carter’s chest—I tried not to think about it), and I could feel her balling the back of his shirt in her hands.

“What are we going to do?” she asked, her voice muffled against my shoulder.

“I don’t know yet,” I whispered. I kept my voice quiet because I
didn’t want the sound of Carter’s voice to startle her. But even the whisper caused her to tense again.

She pulled out of my arms and stepped back, but at least she was looking at me.

“May I join you?” I asked, hoping she would let me go with her to see Amber. I just needed to be near her, even if it was in the company of another. I also wondered why she was meeting with Amber, but I didn’t want to pry for fear she might shut me out again.

“I, uh
…” She looked away from me. “I don’t know,” she said, her dark eyes returning to mine. “I think it would be weird if I brought
Carter
along. Amber wants to talk to me about paranormal studies and what kind of future I might have in the field.”

Laney had mentioned this to me before. At the time, I had felt she was unsure, yet also excited about the idea. I knew she would be good in the field, or even in the classroom. I was proud of her for taking the first step to get started. I had told her all of this when we had previously spoken of it, and I wanted to say it all again, but I
didn’t think it would carry the same weight coming from Carter’s mouth as it had when it had come from my own.

“May I at least drive you there?” I asked.

She stared at me for a moment, and then she questioned, “In my own car?”

Oh, yeah…
I sighed. “This really sucks.”

“Tell me about it,” she muttered.

Her eyes fell from mine, focusing on her backpack sitting on the floor beside her. She reached down for her bag and shouldered it once more. Her beautiful dark eyes met mine.

“Drive me there, then leave with my car like you have something to do. It’s what Carter would do if he needed to use my car,” she said. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready. You can come back for me when I’m finished talking with Amber. Well, if the other you isn’t back from work yet. If he is, I guess he should probably come get me.”

I accepted her plan just so I could be near her, and to make sure she was safe. I couldn’t protect her in Carter’s body like I could in my own, but it was better than nothing.

We headed out into the late afternoon sun together. It was hard not to reach for her hand as we headed to the parking lot.

“Have you heard from Felix?” she asked as I drove her to the college.

“No.”

She said nothing more until I pulled her car into the parking lot at the university. “I hope he gets this fixed soon.” Tears glistened in her eyes as she glanced over at me.

I wanted to pull her to me, kiss her and make everything better. Instead, she got out of the car without another word. I watched her go. My chest felt tight.

This truly sucked.

I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I just sat there, in the car, in the parking lot, watching students passing by, coming and going.

Laney sent me a text to let me know she had safely made it to Amber’s. Soon after, I received a text from Carter, although, it came up as coming from me. Minus our consciousness, we had switched everything, including our phones—another thing I was unhappy about.

Reading the message, I saw that
Carter was home. He wanted to know where I was.

Still feeling unsure about where I needed to be, I stared in the direction of Amber’s home under the English department. I knew Laney was safe with Amber, especially in Amber’s apartment, but I still felt uneasy leaving her there.

However, the real Carter most likely wouldn’t just sit in the parking lot, so I left.

With a sigh, I headed home.

Once back at the complex, I took the steps two at a time and headed for the apartment.

Seeing myself pacing behind the couch and running my hands through my hair—making it puff out, not cool—was slightly unnerving.

“Dude!” I watched myself say as my own green eyes fell on me. “What the hell? Your job is crazy insane, especially with all these damn emotions you gotta deal with!”

“How did it go?” I questioned. I watched as Carter flopped my body onto the couch. I took a seat in the chair beside the sofa.