Octavia's Choice [The Klawinken 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (7 page)

“I want you in my bed tonight, Octavia,” Mathieu stated firmly after the waiter had walked away with his credit card. “We need to be together. We can’t continue to deny ourselves what for me is as necessary and natural as the air we breathe. Our mating will help give you the strength you need for the coming days.”

“I thought you weren’t going to pressure me?”

“I thought I wouldn’t have to, and the fact that you feel I’m pressuring you just adds to my confusion about who you really are.”

“What do you mean, who I really am?”

“You don’t act like you’re my one true mate, Octavia. I keep looking for the acceptance and love that should be in your eyes, and I don’t see it.” He shook his head, his eyes snapping with anger. “You should love me, Octavia, and want to share my bed. Telling your parents about us and that you know you’re Klawinken should not be that difficult. I feel like you dread the thought of both things equally, and that not only goes against everything Klawinken, it goes against me.”

“I can’t help the way I feel. You’re not being fair.” Octavia felt her own anger rising. She didn’t like it that he was bullying her.

“Not being fair,” he said, his tone low, his eyes furious. “I’ve been more than fair. It’s you who are not being fair. You are my mate. Either you act like it or it’s over between us. I can’t do this anymore.”

“Mathieu.” Octavia sat back in her chair, wondering why he was suddenly being so obstinate and unyielding. This was so unlike him. Or was it? “You can’t be serious. What’s changed? You’ve never spoken to me like this before.”

“Tell me something, Octavia, and I want the truth. Have you ever dreamed of me?”

“Mathieu, I’m sorry I’m not responding the way you think I should. It’s not that I’m not attracted to you, because I am. I mean, what woman wouldn’t be. Look at you.” Her eyes softened. “You’re gorgeous.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“You know I’m different. You said so yourself.”

“I guess you just answered my question. And as far as looks are concerned, they truly are only skin deep. With the Klawinken, it’s a mating of the soul. It’s not just physical. It wouldn’t matter to me what you looked like. Your soul would shine from within you, and you would be beautiful to me.” His eyes looked deeply into hers. “It’s not like that for you, is it, Octavia?”

How she hated the thought of hurting Mathieu. However, the time to be honest had come and gone more than once, and this time she was going to do the right thing. She was going to tell Mathieu the truth.

“I don’t know why I haven’t dreamed of you Mathieu, the way you dreamed of me. I did dream, and they were erotic dreams, but they were of another who doesn’t exist except in my dreams. It’s not fair to you that I desire a dream when you are here and I know you love me. Something went wrong, Mathieu. Something went very wrong with your Klawinken dreams of your one true mate.”

Mathieu just sat looking at her for what seemed like forever, before he stood up and walked away from her, not looking back. She followed behind him to the front of the restaurant where their waiter gave him back his credit card. He handed the man his tip. In silence they walked out of the restaurant and to Mathieu’s car, where he opened the door for her and then slammed it shut behind her.

He slid into the driver’s seat and put on his seat belt. Without looking at her, he started the car before he said, “You’ve broken my heart and shattered my soul. I can’t see you again. I’m going to ask the Klawinken Council to erase you from my dreams and to exorcise you from my soul.”

“Mathieu, please,” she sobbed. She couldn’t bear to see him like this.

“I want to forget you.”

“Can they really do that?”

“I don’t know. I’ve heard that they can help those who have lost their loved ones to dull the ache of loss. I’m hoping they can help me because I need to forget you. I want to forget you!”

“I don’t know what to say.” Octavia wanted to take his pain away, to tell him she didn’t mean any of it, but that would only make things worse because she knew now without a shadow of doubt that she couldn’t be what he wanted. He deserved so much better.

“Of course you don’t. I curse the day I ever dreamed of you.”

“Oh, Mathieu,” she cried. “I’m so sorry. I wish my dreams had been of you. You don’t know how much I wish that.”

“But they were of another. Who is he?”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s not real. He’s just a figment of my imagination.”

Mathieu pulled the car over into an empty parking lot and turned off the ignition. His whole body was stiff, tense, and his eyes were wild when he turned to look at her. “Were they of Tobias Morgan?”

Octavia could feel the blood drain from her face. She began to tremble. This wasn’t happening. How could Mathieu know?

“Answer me,” he demanded, releasing his seat belt, his body moving toward her. She had never once felt fear where Mathieu was concerned, but at this moment, her heart was in her throat. “Answer me,” he yelled louder, causing her to lean back against the passenger door. His anger was palatable. It surrounded him. She felt as if she could almost touch it.

“Yes, they were of Tobias Morgan,” she whispered. “He’s a rock star I had a crush on in high school. How did you know?”

“Son of a bitch,” he said. “Motherfucker. I’ll kill him. I swear I’m going to kill the bastard.”

“You know him,” she choked out.

“Know him. Yes, of course I know him. I know all the Klawinken in our area, including the infamous Morgans.”

“Oh my god,” was all she could say. “He’s Klawinken.”

“He warned me he was going to fuck you, but I didn’t believe he’d actually do it, knowing you were mine. But then again, he’s always gotten what he wanted. How could I have been so stupid?”

“Mathieu, none of this makes sense. I’ve only been with him in my dreams. They weren’t real.”

“He fucked you in those so-called dreams, didn’t he?”

“But not until after you and I mated, and only in my dreams. I mean, before that it was only erotic dreams that never went further than foreplay.” She couldn’t believe she was telling Mathieu her deepest secrets. But what choice did she have after his revelation? Tobias was Klawinken, and he had come to her in her dreams and for some reason he had told Mathieu. The concert, her falling into his lap, it wasn’t coincidence. All of it was planned. He had been playing with her, laughing at her, knowing she thought their lovemaking was nothing more than her overactive imagination. She thought she was going to be sick.

“He’s always been an asshole,” Mathieu spit out. “Well, you can have him if he wants you, and that I doubt. He just wanted what wasn’t his, and as soon as he finds out I don’t want you anymore, you won’t see him again. That I guarantee. You’ll never hold on to a man like that. He doesn’t believe in the concept of a one true mate. He used you, Octavia, and you let him.”

“I can’t believe this is happening. I didn’t ask to dream of him. I didn’t want to dream of anyone. I didn’t ask to be Klawinken.”

“No, you didn’t, and you know what, maybe you can just live your life being who you were. I really don’t care anymore. The fact is, I can’t stand the sight of you.” He started the car and pulled back out into the highway.

“What are you going to do, Mathieu? I mean, are you going to confront him?”

“I won’t have to. He’s gone too far this time. The Klawinken Council will take care of him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Not your problem, Octavia. Just go back to your parents and your little piece of the human world you hold so dear. Forget you’re Klawinken. You’ll be doing everyone a favor.”

“Evenela won’t feel that way.”

“She’ll do what she’s told. She values her Klawinken heritage. She won’t want to be shunned.”

“Shunned?” she asked as they pulled into her parent’s driveway.

“Tobias is fairly powerful, and whatever they do, I’m sure somehow the bastard will come out of it with nothing more than a wrist slap. You, on the other hand, are like a distant cousin that nobody knows or really cares about. The Council is powerful, and I’ve heard they can suppress the gifts of those who misuse them. When they’re done with you, your only link to the Klawinken will be the birthmark on your neck.”

“Mathieu, please, you can’t do this. None of this is my fault.”

“You’re weak, Octavia. I knew it from the start, but I refused to see the truth. You’re not a true Klawinken, not in the way that counts. He wouldn’t have been able to infiltrate your dreams so easily. It may not be your fault, but it’s who you are. You’re more your mother’s child than I had thought. Now, I’d like you to get out of my car.”

“What do you mean, more my mother’s child than you thought?”

“Your mother was Beaucomp, a whore. That’s why she and your father were drunk that night they died. Your father found out the truth. I’m sure you’ll dream of many other men before you’re through, just don’t ever marry. I’m just glad I know the truth now. Good-bye, Octavia.”

With a sob, she opened the car door and ran into her house. Her mother was sitting at the kitchen table.

“You’re home already?”

Octavia couldn’t speak. Her mother saw her tears and said, “What happened?”

When Octavia just stood in the doorway, her mother came to her and wrapped her arms around her. “Did you and Mathieu quarrel?”

She shook her head as her mother held her close awhile. “It’s over,” she finally choked out.

“Now, dear, you only think that. I’m sure things will look better tomorrow. All couples squabble now and then. It’s normal.”

Octavia pulled herself from her mother’s arms. “Not this time. It’s really over. He’s gone.”

Instead of trying to convince her differently, her mother just nodded. “What you need is a good night’s sleep. Everything will look better tomorrow. Come on. I’ll walk you upstairs.

Her mother left her in her room after she had turned down her covers. Octavia slipped into her nightgown and sat on the side of the bed. Mathieu was out of her life, and if he had his way, she would never see another Klawinken, and that included Tobias Morgan and her sister. The man who had professed his love for her now hated her, and the man she loved in her dreams had only used her for his own selfish desires. Something snapped inside her. She felt suddenly free.

She was going to Boston to see Evenela, and she was going to confront Tobias Morgan and even the Klawinken Council if she had to. Mathieu Lacroix and Tobias Morgan be damned! One way or another, she was going to take control of her life back. The choice was hers to make. Settling beneath the covers, she began to make plans.

Mathieu Lacroix’s father sat at his desk in his study, staring out the window. His son had just left after telling him about his breakup with Octavia. It was heartbreaking to know that he had played an active role in his son’s unhappiness. Nothing had turned out the way he and the others had planned. He picked up the phone to call Magda. She had to be told, and he wanted her to know before he told the others.

His wife would be livid if she ever found out what he had done. She would be even more angry to know that the woman he was about to call had shared his bed over the years, and still did on occasion. He loved his wife, but he had been drawn to Magda Morgan long before they had married. He knew now that his own dreams had been altered, as had so many of his fellow Klawinken, all in the name of what was needed for their survival.

However, what he needed to concentrate on now was how they were going to handle Octavia and Tobias. She was a danger to them all. With Mathieu as her mate, they would have been able to control her, and children would not have been an option since Mathieu was sterile. Tobias was uncontrollable and had proven that once again by his strength in dreaming about Octavia when they had thought his dreams of her were suppressed. His desire not to mate had given them a false sense of security. If Octavia and Tobias were allowed to mate and have children, their kind would truly be lost. Their children would be the most powerful on the planet and would have the power to ruin them all if they so desired.

He pulled out his cell phone and called her. “Magda, it’s Pierce.

“Pierce,” she all but purred into the phone. “Are you lonely?”

“You know only too well that I’m always lonely for you. But that’s not why I called.

“No,” she said, disappointed. “Then why?”

“Mathieu and Octavia have broken up and for good, I’m afraid. Tobias saw to that.”

“What are you talking about? I saw to it personally that she forgot her coupling with him, and I also made sure that he would be out of the picture just like we planned. He’s in Japan on tour, and believe me, he won’t be dreaming about her again. It killed me to hurt him so, but I told him that she would die if he continued to see her.”

“That may be, but I doubt it will work. Their attraction is too strong. We can’t allow them to continue mating.”

“They won’t.”

“I have a really bad feeling about this. More drastic measures have to be taken.”

“What kind of measures? What are you talking about?” Magda’s voice had become high-pitched. He knew she was scared.

“Don’t worry. Tobias will be fine. However, Octavia can’t be allowed to continue. The risk is too great. We tried to do it the kind way, but I’m afraid we have no choice.”