ALL NOVEL Mistakes Have Been Made
170. Mistakes Have Been Made
Michael
By the time Jack delivered me at the red gates, I was pretty drunk and stumbling to my room, ready for Juliet in between my black sheets for the first time. I put on the light. The bed was made. I didn’t really care about the location so I made my way next door, opened it, and saw a figure under the sheets. I plopped down and put my arm around her.
“I think if our relationship escalated to intimacy, Michael… I would’ve known.” Louis’s voice was cold.
I lifted my head, looking deep into the blue oceans. “Where is Juliet?”
“I thought she was with you? It’s your night… Caleb said he left you in Washington hours ago.”
I fell back on the bed, stroking my mustache over my lips. “That brat!” I whispered. Louis straddled me and put his hands around my throat. He started squeezing. “You want to know where she is? She drugged herself after your fight. To get over it and not get covered with more skin.” His grip tightened. I was drunk and thought he would teach me a lesson, but he didn’t stop. “Now I’m going to miss my two nights I have with her.” He squeezed harder. My fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. I manifested. My neck grew under his hands. His eyes turned white in the dark room, and his legs closed around my waist. He was stronger than me like that. Black nails dug into my skin to keep me in place. I started rolling around, and we wrestled. He got me in a choke and didn’t stop. I was tapping, but he popped out my shoulder. I hollered loudly into the dark. I heard the door open between the rooms. Marcus watched us for a second and slowly closed the door again. “Marcus! Come and help me.”
Marcus grinned. “Sure.”
Louis got off me heaving. Not from the exertion. His face was contorted in anger. “She also missed our first doctor’s appointment. I was looking forward to that… But this… I will take it.” Marcus’s voice was full of menace. The moonlight streamed in through the glass from the mountains side. I grasped my shoulder, rolling around on the bed. “You know what we did to young vamps that just came into their power and needed to be brought down a peg.” Marcus spat.
I knew exactly what they did. I squirmed. “Don’t teleport out. If you do. You don’t come back.” Louis snarled. “If you do… We will go through this every time… Until you submit… I told you!”
I wasn’t in any state to walk, nor would I give them the satisfaction of going willingly. Each moved in under a shoulder and picked me up. They didn’t take me to the barracks. We traveled to Zoreah. They pulled me by my ankles through Shumaan. As a Riphath, all the guards laughed at me. They knew where I was headed.
Marcus called into the hut. Silvanus pulled back the curtain so Ira could step through. “We need to teach him a lesson… Silvanus, if you would oblige us this one time… I will be grateful.” Louis asked.
Silvanus cracked his knuckles in front of him. “Do you want me to whip him or the second punishment we have for ingrates?”
“What did he do?” Ira asked.
“He came back home drunk. That’s all.”
Ira’s head fell back and laughed. “Well, he knows the punishment for that.”
The thought of submitting kindled all my fears. The universe was open to me… My mind spiraled into a place where I didn’t want to go. I could leave and never come back. Be free of it all. Silvanus came down the few steps, manifesting and growing so large that I didn’t compare.
I struggled as more thoughts flooded my mind. Hands around her throat… Choking her… Taking the position that belonged to me. I couldn’t help if Louis saw it all. He was going to know everything by the end of that night.
I groaned. Flashes of me killing all those Werewolves on Zoreah. One by one. Death after death. Women with swollen bellies. Nicholas’s face as I choked the life out of him.
They kept dragging me through the sand and rocks. It chafed through and into my skin. Silvanus leading the way. Ira helped him open up the big gates to their barracks.
Mateo’s face as he looked up at his mom. While they stabbed him to death. I retched next to me. I should’ve done something. I always just stand and watch.
Louis pushed my arms behind my back and tied me down. I hated the feeling. I was tied up for too long. The pain shot through me as they pulled my hands over my head and hooked me to a structure. I screeched into the air. “This is not about you submitting under me. She will rule you. If it’s the last thing I do. You cannot have a normal relationship with her. And out of everyone… You are the last to give excuses. You know she is not normal. If you don’t leave tonight….”
I pulled my face out of Louis’s grip. He lifted his hands in the air and stepped back. Silvanus’s heavy tread circled me. I watched him from the corner of my eye… He picked up the whip, slicing it through the air. The loud noise closed my eyes for me. I was bracing.
Juliet’s face flashed before me. How I felt about her taking care of me. About her changing how she handled me because I was damaged. She kept standing back, and I was the cause. How she indulged me. How they all treated me differently… Because of her.
The first shot landed across my hurting shoulder, over my back, all the way down to my ass. My teeth clenched as the pain settled. That was why I ended our Sunday drives. Why I stopped doing what I loved. She was the cause of all my suffering. And I was sick of it.
The next one followed swiftly, digging deeper into my skin. With each one, the thought of leaving coursed through me. My stomach was in knots. The night in the club… with the girls all around me. I wanted that girl to kiss me. I didn’t care about Juliet. I had subtly begged for it and didn’t eat her because I didn’t want to cheat… I would have if I didn’t taste blood. And I lied to her about it.
Another hit over my back. I was so angry that night at her. We had set down boundaries! She couldn’t respect us enough to even listen. Nothing I did was ever good enough for her.
Another hit. But I wasn’t getting special treatment from the men. No one was accepting me. My head lifted into the air as I groaned out into the sky. Silvanus didn’t let up. Every hit got harder. When he was tired, Ira took over.
Ira was angry at me about Chris. I could feel it. His hand was more intense. He was older and powerful. No one ever said it. But Ira was more potent than all of us. The slices went deeper.
At last, my head fell to my chest. And it stopped. I had let go of my manifestation and was human. I would not be leaving. Louis yanked off my hands, and I fell to the floor. They undid my ties, and Marcus popped my shoulder back in. Tears streaming down my face.
***
Caleb
Our operations were put on hold with Michael out of action. He was lying in a bed opposite my father. Everyone knew what had happened, and he wasn’t getting any special treatment. Marcus had refused any pain medication. I didn’t really feel for the guy. He had not spoken to me at all the day before. Michael was doing nothing from his side to make our family a happy one. He had been different on Zoreah when we first met.
I would be trailing Louis that day. He wanted to know what Avrio’s wife was hiding. We entered their estate. I was invisible, and Louis would get them talking. He said they gave him the run-around when he was there the last time. He mostly scanned the whole island and searched for any clues. Tried to get into Isla’s head.
Louis gave some excuse for why we were there. The wife was still wearing a veil and had asked Isla to wear one. When Heba excused herself, I followed. Louis and Isla would go over numbers and ask if the wife could really take on the task Chris had given her. Their house was enormous. It wasn’t like anything I had ever seen, not like the huts on Cindy’s island. We passed many closed doors.
Another thing we would have to figure out. What were they hiding? Heba reached for a key in a pocket and unlocked the door. I scooched through the doorway around her. It was barren, nothing personal but a bed and a woman seated on it. Her back straight. It seemed strange to me.
Heba sat down next to the other woman. “They came again today.”
“What do they want?”
“I don’t know… I think it’s time we call your brother.”
That’s what’s in those rooms. Women sitting there… All-day long?
“He said we should not make contact… For any reason.” The other women replied. “What if they find out what my father set in place?”
“I do not care.”
“Neither do I… Juliet stole any chance I had of getting into The Tower. How long have I been sitting here? No one wants me because of who I was supposed to marry.”
“Yes. We were so close.”
“You should have heard her that night. She can not even call herself a woman. Here she would never even have been allowed in a camp. Juliet is against everything we stand for.”
“Rana… You were first in everything in the camps. Your beauty alone would have made Marcus change his mind. If he could only see you.”
“Are women not allowed to work? Should we not seize this opportunity. I can go and make him see me.”
“Rana… I did not want to tell you, but Juliet is pregnant. The child is Marcus’s.”
Rana was quiet, and I listened with interest.
“Our mission has become a whole lot more difficult.” She said at last. “She can not have that child. They both have to disappear.” My fists clenched at my side. “Once she is out of the way… Marcus will come around… The marriage between us would benefit everyone. The first child he has will be King. We will be saving En-gannim.”
“I have to speak to your brother.”
“Will you put out the signal?”
“Tonight. When Louis has left.”
“I do not want to be in this room anymore. I want my own home.”
“One more night.”
Heba got up and opened the door, and locked it again. She did some tasks around the house, making sure everyone was working, and went to her own room, closing the door behind her. Heba yanked off the veil. “Hmpf. Not so happy with the coverings as she pretends to be.” I muttered under my breath. She took out a box from a safe and opened it, sitting down at a little dresser table in the corner. I peeked over her shoulder. I didn’t recognize the equipment. It was a black metal box with a headset on top. She took out a device that looked like a handheld speaker and pressed a few buttons on the front of the box. It didn’t take long. She was talking with someone in hushed tones. Glad I could hear some of what came through the headset. Heba said only a few words, and she put it all away.
***
Juliet
I stretched out. Yawing. Smiling. I felt incredible. After everything that had happened, I needed it. I loved that feeling. The ultimate rest potion. All the stress I had magically gone from my body and mind. Even thinking about Michael… I couldn’t really care. I opened my eyes, knowing exactly where I was. It didn’t even bother me that I was there without him.
“Hello, Princess. You seem better.”
“Hi, Dad… Thank You.”
“You know. It’s not easy looking after someone in this state. Being delirious and having to coax you to a toilet.”
“Urgh, don’t remind me. I know how it feels to wipe someone’s ass when they are like this.”
I rubbed my belly. “How is he doing?”
“Your little nugget enjoyed that as much as you did. How do you know it’s a boy?”
“Marcus wants a boy… Might as well hope for him… I’m starving… Did Chris wake up yet?.”
“Chris is stirring… What will this one’s name be?”
“Jerome.”
My dad laughed heartily. “In remembrance of our body dealer?” I laughed. “Jessy has food ready… Louis wants to know if you’re okay?”
“Urgh! Stop being such a bummer, dad.”
“Every time you do drugs… You turn into a high school student. Just like Jerome when he came to the house.”
“Aaaah, the good old days… How I wish I could go back… Knowing what I know now… You would have to fight for the throne yourself. I would play dumb. I would not waste my twenties on all these men.”
“You would still have one of those marks on your ass.”
“Earlier then… Thirteen.”
“Just before you met Marcus?”
“Yes… I would sit still and keep my mouth shut. Wear my veil. Wait till I can disappear and take you to Uncle Sam.”
“Julie…” My dad sounded serious.
“Don’t! You’ve apologized enough. You never left my side. You were always there for me… And whether you hurt at twenty or at forty. Pain is always a part of life.”
“Fine! A beast sounds good, actually … Come. I can also do with breakfast.”
***
The three of us walked into the med bay. Ira and Silvanus were sitting around. My hands rested on Silvanus’s shoulders. “Mornin. How is he?”
“Better. The marks are healing.” Silvanus patted my hand.
“How are you guys doing? I’m sorry I wasn’t here.” I met Ira’s eye. He waved a hand in the air.
A door opened behind us. I glanced over my shoulder. Two men were carrying Michael, helping him to the bed next to Chris. He didn’t look up from the floor. When they passed me, I saw his back. My eyes darted to Silvanus.
“Husband number one got a beating,” Silvanus smirked.
My gut twisted. Michael’s back was raw and broken. “What?”
“Michael came home drunk two nights ago. Fell into your bed with the notion of sleeping with you. And when you were not there… Called you a brat.”
“He what?” The typical response I had when Michael was hurting was washed away. He not only told me that he didn’t want his one night with me. But he came home after going out and enjoying himself to sleep with me? When I wasn’t home waiting for him… Called me a brat?
Michael was placed down on his stomach. His head turned to the side, not toward us.
“Louis was in your bed… He went a little viral on his ass. Brought him to me. I think it went well… Michael has a lot to deal with, and he has to be put in his place. Learn some control. Can’t leave him to his own devices… No seree… As a Riphath, we did what we had to do when someone drank too much.” Silvanus explained.
I snorted. Louis, my pimp. “A flogging… He deserved it.” My dad laughed, sitting down next to Ira.
“Why were you on Zoreah?” I asked.
Ira’s head came up. “I have to talk to you, Juliet. Will you sit down with me?”
“Can you give me a minute?”
He nudged his chin towards Michael.
As I moved around to the side to where Michael’s face was pointed, and I came into view, he turned his head away from me to the other side. I took in all of his lashes. It wasn’t pretty. Much worse than what I had to go through. I circled the bed to the other side. He did the same thing. The whole room laughed. Who was really being the brat?
I ran my hands over his hair. “I’m sure you will survive, honey.”
I was intrigued about what Ira wanted to say. Michael did not want to see me or talk to me, and my father’s words kept going through my mind. I was getting to the point where I was done with him.
I dragged a chair closer, sitting down next to my father. “I have a proposition for you… Selena is back from her treatment, and it all went well. Her system didn’t fight it, and she had no side effects… As you know, we want to establish ourselves in the city in some way. The Riphaths split up when winter set in, and Silvanus and I want to go back for a time… But before we do… I was hoping you would lend me your women. Only those who agree… And they can choose whoever they want… But if we could have new blood in the mix… It will go a long way for every baby born there. Every woman born will be able to have more than one child… Sung and I discussed giving a controlled group of the Riphaths that magic potion and seeing if they could have more kids.”
“Yes. Of course… I will set up a meeting… I am… a little bored myself. And it will only be for five years.”
“Thank you… I don’t know how it will work… Every detail. But they will be looked after.”
“I know… And I’m sure a lot of them will agree. We’re all just sitting around.”
“You don’t want to talk to Marcus first?”
“If you think it’s best. Should we go up and see what he says?”
Ira watched me for a moment. “I didn’t think it would be this easy. Thought you would call me a hypocrite.”
“I’m getting rather sick of everyone telling me how they thought I would act or react.” I stood to my feet. He followed. “Have to grow up some or other time.”
My father snorted. “I told you. Stop ruining your own twenties.”
Michael mumbled under his breath.
***
The doors slid open. Marcus was behind my desk. I wasn’t so angry about them lying to me that day. The drugs did more than just get Michael out of my mind. I plopped down on my couch. Marcus shook Ira’s hand and ushered him over. Marcus sat down next to me and lifted my head onto his lap, stroking my hair. I could get used to that. I had missed it.
The doors opened again. I thought it would be Louis. I glanced up as a woman placed a tray down on the table. She met my eye for a split second. I was instantly jealous. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life. “Thank you, Rana,” Marcus said softly. His hand stroked over my hair and my back. She didn’t miss it. I was taking in all of her reactions… And I knew that look. I felt like I needed another shot of drugs.
Marcus and Ira talked for a bit about his idea. Rana sat down on her knees and poured drinks. She lifted a cloth that was covering a glass box. There were small creatures inside, ones I had not seen before.
Marcus tapped me on my shoulder, and I sat up. “Come… I want you to try this. It is the first thing my grandmother gave me for breakfast.” My eyes shot to his face. The droll in his voice and his manners irked me. He was smiling weirdly. Like a little boy… Who got a treat or one staring at one the whole day long. My jaw hung open.
Rana did everything with so much grace that I wanted to puke. The way she stood up and moved back in his presence. All the way to the corner. Was she standing there the whole day? For how long had she been there? Since they started working? My gut twisted for a whole other reason.
Marcus reached in and grabbed one. His hand broke its neck, and it limped into a corpse. He bit into its neck and sucked. Eyes meeting mine suggestively. He held it out to me. “Come now, Juliet… Taste it.”
My jaw closed and flexed. Had I not told him… That not once can he go into work mode? One pretty girl, Chris’s father, and I was back to Juliet.
Ira had already done the same. He was enjoying it. Marcus smiled again, pushing it towards my lips. I didn’t really have a choice. The smell was overwhelming. I bit in and grabbed it out of his hand. He laughed, took it back, and plucked out its eye. It perched on his black nail, and he held it out to me. He gave me so many mixed signals that I thought I was still drugged. Marcus pushed the eye into my mouth. I wanted to bite his finger… Or suck on it. Just to claim my space, but Ira was watching me. I started chewing.
“Not bad.”
“I knew you would like it.”
Ira followed suit, and he liked it too.
Marcus didn’t need any convincing about Ira’s plan. “I definitely agree with the plan. The women would be much better used… Being pregnant than trying to perform in the barracks. They didn’t make it in a camp. Maybe they will make it there.” He eyed me with a curled lip, waiting to see what I would do. “Juliet… Why don’t you go home and give the men a chance to sort this out? No need for you to be here.” I thought I would slap him. I looked to Ira for help. His eyebrows quirked, and then he frowned. His gaze drifted to the corner and back at me. Eyes suggestively wide.
I scoffed and got up to leave. Marcus followed, and as I came closer to the door, he slapped my ass. “I’ll see you tonight.” Rana turned bright red, gushing like a girl who had never seen anything like that. Or one waiting for her turn. I wanted to turn around. Done with the humiliation. Marcus grabbed my shoulders and pushed me out the door. He spun around quickly.
I stood there staring into the room, wondering what I was going to do. Marcus and Ira were talking shop. Caleb grabbed my arm just before I wanted to step forward and rip that stone off around Marcus’s neck.
“Mom! You handled that like a pro. I am so proud of you.” He pulled me invisible down the corridor.
“Oh, Caleb!” My chest was rising and falling. Hands on my knees.
“When you and Ira came into the room, Marcus and I had no time. That was the funniest thing I had seen in a long time. And after Michael. I can’t believe you didn’t do anything.” Caleb laughed. “Marcus was a little too naughty.”
“Who is she?”
“Avrio’s daughter. The one that was there that night… His wife to be.”
My back straightened. “Her?! What did Marcus do when he first saw her. Come, you got to tell me, or I’ll go crazy.”
“I don’t know… I can never read his features… But it will make for an interesting night. It is his turn.”
***
Marcus
I thought I was done with acting, but sitting across from Ira, having to compose myself. I bit the inside of my lip raw that day. All of Juliet’s girls were still on En-gannim. We headed over to the barracks. The general was a tall man. Saluted me and stood on attention. Kubra came around the corner. We all greeted each other. Since Charlene had left, I had asked him to help. Kubra agreed easily. Wanted to help in any way he could. I needed my team full of people we could trust. Selena was back at the compound. I had put my faith in Jessy and her to protect Juliet and my child.
“We need an audience with her girls. How are they doing?”
“Much better than the men. Stronger, faster, and less complaining.” The general smiled. I liked him immediately. Kubra had chosen him and would be acting as a director over the whole army. The emblem was hanging around Kubra’s neck. It was on full display so that everyone knew who was in charge.
I couldn’t wait to get home.
***
Before I left The Tower, I was in my office. Rana in the corner. I had pulled Soren into my confidence. He wasn’t there earlier to enjoy the show… But I was glad. Juliet would have done something to make me jealous. I still cringed when I saw the boy, thinking about his hands on her. His eyes didn’t even leave his desk. He couldn’t care less about the beauty in the corner.
It was also not custom for her to be there at all. But Rana didn’t know that. She took her job in stride. I had never seen so much fortitude, standing there the whole day. If she had only chosen the right side, she could have made any of my men happy. That would’ve been an auction and a half. My thoughts drifted as I had to stare at her. Make her think that I was contemplating it. The women didn’t even know how to flirt or what it was. How were they going to do this? Just by her looks.
We knew they used radio frequencies. And in the meantime, we’d tapped into their channels.
A few days ago, when Soren pitched up at The Tower. I had to know why. Soren was still very involved in the day-to-day running of some things. Juliet had even told me, and I didn’t mind being the buffer, keeping them apart. If you are a jealous person, it’s one of those things you have to endure. I knew she wanted there to be no confusion that she was meeting with him. The fear came back that she would retaliate when something happened between us. Especially with me… Hurt me and push me over that line. She was definitely scared of the same thing.
I couldn’t take it anymore. “Soren. I’m leaving for the day.” He stood and followed me out. “Rana, you’re relieved for the night.” The girl fell to the floor like she was taught. If she only knew… That one act nullified all her looks in my eyes.
“Come with me, Soren. I need to go to the med bay.”
I had not been to see Chris yet. I just couldn’t. The way he looked that day. Thin to the bone. It broke me. He was my friend. I let him down, and he had been more of a man than me. It was hard for me to fix something emotional. A problem I couldn’t even see if I stared at it the whole day. I needed Chris.
There was no one there besides Liam. He would be staying the night. Told me that Caleb had taken Juliet home and would be back to follow Rana. Chris was moving a little. It seemed that he was doing better. I sat down next to the bed, watching him, thinking about everything. Organizing all my thoughts…. What I still needed to do.
“Are you okay, Marcus?” Liam asked next to me. He had moved his chair over. I didn’t even realize it. “I think I should ask Samuel to come back and help you. He can set up a new court for you. Manage things until we can trust them. You can’t handle everything on your own.”
I ran my hand over my mouth, sighing heavily. “Would he want to?”
“You kidding. All he does is spend time with Cindy, Soren, and Sammy. After Louis was on the Island… He already went traveling, putting out feelers.”
“Whatever happened to your family Liam? No one else we can trust?”
“There is no one left. It’s just him and me… The only thing that spared his life was his friendship with Ahasuerus and Agatha. While we were on the compound, I feared they would kill him off-planet. Ahasuerus had been so angry at him for going against En-gannim. But I think Basaam had a lot to do with it.”
“Did you know that Louis was an Ahmed?”
Liam chuckled. “No! Can you imagine if Juliet knew?”
We both laughed. Michael joined in. My eyes raised and met his.
“So?” I glanced back at Liam. “Are you okay? You never wanted to rule. On the compound and off, you were sick of it.”
“I… I don’t find it so tedious this time around. I wanted a child. A family… More than anything….” I lowered my eyes to the floor. “Is it a stupid dream?”
“No!”
“Family has become more of a motivation for me. Being this free from all my obstacles has changed everything. The work… seems worth it… If that makes sense?”
“It does.”
“I do regret how things worked out. But… We are finally changing things. Taking action and making it better. And… It is all because she made the choices. I didn’t want to hurt her. Or force her hand.”
“I know.” Liam placed a comforting hand on my back. “Juliet has so much time left, Marcus. This little blip will soon fade. She will come around. I’m sure of it.”
“She never did any of it for the sake of ruling… All her thought were to keep us all safe. Make us all happy.”
“All she wanted was to be happy….” Liam whispered.
“And now… If we’re not happy. She’s not happy.”
We both looked at Chris. Soren was still seated in the corner. The only thing that could ever drive us apart. I slapped my hands on my legs. “Okay. I’m going home.” I moved past Soren. “Will you keep an eye out?”
He nodded. “I’m not leaving. Don’t worry. I’ll be here with Caleb.”
“I’ll let you know tomorrow. When I’m on my way.”
***
At the compound, they drove me to the estate. The car stopped at the gate, and the driver turned around. “Sir… Juliet is in the lane, walking back and forth. Has been for some time.” I smiled and opened the door.
She was biting her nail. Eyes cast to the ground. Fidgeting. I checked my watch. I was a bit late. “Hey!”
Juliet froze like that night before we slept together the first time. I wondered if she would run again. She waited till I caught up but didn’t lift her head. “You know what I did… I put Soren in the room. He is back, and I am never alone with her… Caleb hasn’t left her side since he found out who she was. The only reason she’s there is so we can use her.”
Juliet’s arms flung around my neck. “I need to ask you something… For something.” She whispered.
“Okay.”
“I…”
Her heart was racing. She was squeezing nervously around my neck. “Oh, Julie… Will you ever relax around me?”
She shook her head against mine. “I need… to practice.”
“Practice what?” I wanted to push her away, but she clung to me.
“S… Strip…ping. Lap dance with a pole and everything.”
I was quiet. It took me by surprise. Of all the things…?
“You’re the only one… I can do it for… In front of… Without feeling like a complete idiot… Before I… have to do it in front of Michael… And I need you to help me.”
“Oh yes. Oh yes, yes yes.” She pulled away and met my eyes. “Yes, Julie. Please.”
“You’re not angry?”
I pulled her lips onto mine. Juliet was not responding. Her hands reached around me, and we kissed a little. I grinded myself into her. So she could feel what only the idea did to me. Usually, she would be all over me. It was her turn for her kisses to be different. I pulled away. There was too much hesitation from her. “Jump.” She did, and I caught her knees under my arm. Her head rested on my shoulder, and I carried her home, hoping Liam was right. The moon was bright and full on the horizon. I started talking about anything we could connect about. I smiled as she relaxed in my arms. I was learning.