200. Much Too Slow

Juliet

I was almost at the teleporter station when an arm wrapped around me. I was in my office the next moment. A lot of eyes on me. “What happened, Caleb?” Marcus asked.

“She screwed up.”

“Juliet?” Marcus asked. I nodded. “They know everything?” I nodded again. Marcus stood to his feet, picked up an ashtray, and hurled it at the wall, swearing loudly. Was there never anything else he could throw? He swiped over the desk, sending tubes flying over the room. “It would have been over! I made a decision. You didn’t like it and… You chose him above... Me.” I had to let him work through it. He moved across the room until his face was inches from mine. “I have never been disappointed in you.” He whispered breathlessly. I nodded. “You just couldn’t resist breaking me.” I played with my tongue over the edges of my teeth, unable to meet his eye. “Not so angry at Chris anymore, are you?” I bit my bottom lip and shook my head. “We lost Palmyra. We are back to square one, taking back the ground we lost.” I closed my eyes and groaned. “No more help from Earth… F- Juliet, I would be a fool to march in there now!”

I lifted my hand and rested it on his cheek. “Marcus, will you fix this one mistake I made?”

He closed his eyes, and his hand instinctively rested on mine. Marcus’s contorted features softened. He lifted his chin and swayed gently from side to side. I supposed to control himself. Remind himself that he made so many.

“You knew what would happen.”

He shook his head, “No. No… I trusted you.” Oh, that hit me where it had to. His hand moved over mine, rubbing and clutching. “I’m livid. I’m shaking. Soren is not a part of this family!” He roared. “What were you trying to do?” He squeezed my hand. “Maybe you always thought he would be allowed in. If you gave us… NO, me… Enough time. Is that it?”

All I could do was nod. Agitated, he removed my hand from his person and turned away from me. “Well, you know the consequence.”

I did know.

“Louis,” Marcus said. Louis pushed his cigarette into an ashtray. He walked towards me, stopped to kiss me on my hair, and held me for a while. “I’m happy you’re safe.”

“Chris, Michael.” The bamf sound came and went.

“Samuel, Liam.” The two brothers smiled at me and passed us on their way out.

“Dad? You going to leave me here with him.”

He stopped and came over, handing me a packet of cigarettes. He tapped me on my nose and clapped Marcus on the shoulder.

“Selena, Jamal.” The two teleported out.

“Kubra, you’re on leave for the time being.” Kubra almost ran out of the room.

Marcus reached around his neck and took off the stone. He fastened it around mine. It wasn’t even ours. It was Charlene’s. It meant nothing.

“Jessy.”

Jessy chattered his teeth together and nudged for me to move. I thought I would go upstairs. Get tied down. I shivered only thinking about it. Jessy teleported us out to Charlene, who was being twirled in a circle by Kubra. Her arms were wrapped around his neck. His was around her waist, kissing her, and he didn’t stop. “After everything, I should probably forget about Selena. I’m never going to have that, am I?”

“You haven’t even tried. One kiss in a bar is not enough. There needs to be a confession. Do you not see that she doesn’t even understand. You’re going to have to do everything. Come, Jessy. Let’s get a drink… I blame you for this.”

Jessy was incredulous. “Me?!” I gave him a minute. “Oh, the cabin. I was supposed to keep you away from Soren, and I would get Selena.”

“You left for like five minutes. And what did I do? Now, both of us don’t have what we want.”

He sighed. “Juliet… Not to be mean or the bearer of bad news. But you’re never going to change. You will always be this… stupid.” Jessy was running before I could get my hands on him. Kubra and Charlene soon joined us in trying to catch him. I just hoped I could make it right. My disappointment in myself didn’t curb my hurt about everything Soren had said and done. The blow and the repercussions had not set in yet.

Two giant shadows joined the fun and swept through us and around us. I had stopped dead in my tracks. Although I had seen Iku and his wife. Not like that. They were surrounding Jessy. “So Jessy.” The one shadow said. “You made a move on Selena yet.” Charlene and I laughed. The shadow’s gaze landed on me. He circled me and transformed into a mid-size man. His eyes held mine. He immediately made me think of my uncle. Older but still young at heart. His hand reached out for the stone on my neck. “Oh, how Ahasuerus taunted me with that small rock.”

“Yes, he has… had a knack for getting what he wanted… in the cruelest ways.” I suddenly had sympathy for the guy. “So he had this one at some point?”

“Yes. I know there are two of great importance. But this one would have gotten me to my mate… Juliet?” He stretched out an arm, “Iku.” I shook it. “You took over?”

“I did. Not much to look at. Still just a child. How could I possibly? At this moment, I’m doubting myself.”

He regarded me, “I wanted to say that I think I would have enjoyed fighting with you. Heard how you killed his son.”

“Yes... I need the practice. We still could. After the baby?” Iku smiled. He introduced me to his wife. Not that she could understand us. “I have a good sense of character. Your son says a lot about you as a mother… Why don’t we go sit down and talk.”

“What would you like to talk about?”

“Soren, of course.” Charlene looked guilty. “We are all dying to hear what happened.” I groaned. The whole universe would know what I had done.

“Then you have to tell me how you will protect the Dheka… Both of you just left them there.”

Iku smiled. “You have a propensity for management. No wonder you are queen. Remember every detail about everything. And you think you don’t have what it takes.”

Charlene put her arm around me. “Everything will be okay. If Marcus doesn’t want to help you anymore. I’ll send in the wolves.”

“And the shadows,” Iku added.

***

Marcus

After we sorted out everything we could on En-gannim. It was time for me to sort out my wife. I had let her take a breather for a few days. I needed time to cool down. I wanted to go in there and rip Soren to pieces. Louis had told us most of what had happened. He also made me understand that she was his territory. That I had to submit to the choice he made. I always thought I had a good idea of character. But boy, was I wrong about Soren. So I stepped back, waiting for Louis to tell me what I could do. We needed the time anyway. We never did attack Ian. I was hoping that Soren would fall flat on his ass. Ian might have already killed him.

I decided to move all the prisoners to the Red Planet. They could fend for themselves. A little ticked off that I had to go back and forth. One of them would take over and govern the situation. I was waiting to see who it would be. Who would turn on Ian first? Everyone we would conquer on Ian’s other Islands would be shipped off. My plans had changed rapidly but I figured I could always go back to killing them all later. Juliet didn’t trust me. I couldn’t blame her. I knew I left it too long. Waited too long. I knew she had not gotten over him. She said as much to me in the tunnels. At that point, I was relieved. Neither I nor Louis would have to kill him. Soren did it all by himself. He had sorted out the problem for me. He would have died, and I would have been the bad guy. The two children had, in one moment, sorted themselves out.

I would find another planet to get my own water and food. I felt like an idiot for not thinking of it sooner. We had the chests. We had all the information. All Palmyra’s books. It was why Michael had gone to such lengths. So we would have an advantage. I had just thought Juliet was working on finding things to help us. But, no, she was sitting around, worrying about Soren on an Island. The boy’s actions forced me to move a little faster. All Ian had was one stone. Even if it did open those doors, we had no idea what would be inside. I was hoping it would not matter without the books.

Michael and Chris had taken that week and had cut off the teleporter power Ahasuerus had taken from his grandfather. En-gannim was now going to experience the loss. We would have the advantage. Juliet had the stone to keep it safe; I would use it when necessary.

Ian would have to work with Fahan and beg him to fight the war for him. I could deal with Fahan. I would kill two birds with one stone. I was not going to Palmyra, and Ian would have a hell of a time convincing Fahan to fight next to the pink oceans.

***

That night, we nervously waited for Michael to deliver our wife to us. He dropped Juliet in her room on En-gannim. He had to cut her with the red blade for our plan to work. Even that tiny amount of blood on her skin was almost enough to change my mind. Her swollen belly made me falter. I had conjured up the idea in my jealousy. So much needed to be dealt with. I wanted to know what happened, or I would go mad.

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Michael stood against the wall, one arm tucked away against his chest. A cigarette in the other. I stared at her for a moment, our eyes locked. I had thought she would fight it. Kick and scream. Slowly, I stood up. “Can we get to it! Say what you have to say.”

I took a step closer, holding her eyes, bent down, and picked up the straps from the bed. “You know the punishment.”

“You wouldn’t.” I nudged at the bed. She spun and took in everything I had laid out.

“You have one second to tell me what happened. And let’s be precise. I’m not Louis.”

“I just went to talk with him. I didn’t want him to die.” I jingled the belt next to her face. “He and Rana… were already going at it. So, does it really matter?” I bit the inside of my mouth. Even if I hated the boy at that moment. He had done more than she had. He wanted to move on. If she had not gone, none of it would have happened.

“So you watched them? Why?”

“I… I…” Juliet fumbled. “I am selfish and cruel, apparently.”

I put down the chains and rubbed her arms. She seemed to calm down. “What happened to Damian for watching you.” I moved past her and picked up the blindfold. “Marcus, please. I won’t be able to handle it. None of it. At this point, don’t you think I learned my lesson?”

“Oh, I have a tube for you. And when you wake up, we will just go on.” Michael chimed in. “I have to say. I’m a little bit more jealous after our branding. You did the one thing you were not supposed to. Put yourself and the baby at risk… After everything we have gone through as a family. You killed Stevie. Marcus can’t kill Soren?” Juliet’s lips pulled tight. I didn’t know that was how he felt. She had three jealous, angry husbands on her hands and one who could only look at the floor.

I lifted the blindfold. She grabbed my wrists. “Please don’t do this. I already said I made a mistake. I’ll apologize properly.” Juliet thought one kowtow would solve all her problems. I laughed inside, thinking that I once thought it would solve all our problems.

I pulled her up off her knees and shook my head. “Not this time… Do you remember how jealous you were about Louis and his cousin. Me and Rana… We all take you seriously… Now you will learn to take us seriously…” Juliet was wavering. I was hitting every nerve. “You went to see him. You made a fool of me… Isn’t that what you told Chris… Means a blindfold. Lower your hands, or they will do it for you. Juliet peeked at the bed. There were restraints, whips, and gags. I had laid it on thick. She shook her head. Michael and Chris each grabbed a wrist. Juliet’s breathing was deepening. I tied the pink satin behind her head. The boys let her go. We glanced back at Louis. He closed his eyes slowly and slightly bobbed his head. She wasn’t really breaking. Interesting. Chris went to sit down, his back to her. He wanted no part of the plan. He had no right after Selena or Sita. The man was a nervous wreck. He never wanted to tie anyone down again.

“What else? And be quick. We don’t have all day.”

Juliet’s jerked her hands behind her back and clasped them. I didn’t like where it was going. If she touched him. “I sat next to him. We held hands, and he kissed my… hands.”

“Do you think I’m an idiot?”

Juliet was wavering. “He touched me.”

“I get to tie up your hands. Hold them out.” I said in a clipped tone. My anger had dissipated over those few days. It was back. Juliet sat down on her hands to tuck them under her ass. I ran my fingers over her arm down to her wrists. I took hold of one and roughly freed it. Her breathing had changed. Just a little bit more ragged. I fastened the strap and buckled it tight. We all looked at Louis. He lifted one finger into the air. She was getting there. I picked her up and pushed her up against the pillows. For good measure, I tied her arm to the bed. She yanked on the chain. “I can’t. It’s enough.”

“What else?”

Her chest was rapidly rising and falling. She pressed her lips together. I growled, placing my hand on her throat. It was more than enough for me to go on. If she had kissed him…. “Soren wanted her to kiss him. She didn’t,” Louis said quickly, reading my thoughts.

“Well, Julie, all that’s left is a beating.” She wanted to speak. “And a gag if you don’t behave.”

Her chin lowered to her chest and away from me. We looked at Louis. He held two fingers in the air. I gently took off the blindfold. She couldn’t meet my eye. “Why is everyone here? You won’t sleep with me in front of them.”

“Why not? The watchers see you go at it all day long.”

“They are ordered not to watch us.”

The three of us laughed. Chris was still unable to participate. Juliet’s mouth pulled, and her eyes closed. We were laughing at her. The first sign of emotions bubbled up. She pinched the bridge of her nose with the only free hand. “If you think that four men in a little room all day long is not getting off on you. I have little hope that you will survive what I do in the next hour.”

I glanced at Louis. He sat forward and dragged his cigarette. It was the signal that she was breaking. Juliet glanced at Michael for help. He was the only one watching her. “I told you. I would love to see you get punished. I had to go through it. At some point… honey, you have to start listening… You didn’t care that everyone was watching you dance and sleeping with them.” Juliet was numb. No tears. Louis got up. It was the final indication that he would step in. “It wasn’t me. It was Louis. You guys decided to do that. I already explained about the dancing.” Chris turned around. He had had enough. If I didn’t stop, he would make me stop.

“So you have an option. You let me tie you down and do what I want... Without them watching.”

“You won’t rape me, will you? Because it will be.”

My expression had to change. I was acting my heart out, hardening every part of my features. “It’s not rape if your husband sleeps with you.”

Small pools of water finally formed in the corner of her eyes. Juliet was desperately trying to fight it. Louis moved over. She was done. He pulled me away and sat down next to her. “You have another option.” She didn’t say anything. Louis took her loose hand in his. “Baby, we want you to take back your place as Queen. It’s only fair. You trusted Marcus. He made a mistake. He trusted you, and you… I feel… spat in his face.” Juliet sobbed silently. I was staring at Louis. He was as angry as I was. “You wanted this life. We all have one thing… Marcus didn’t deserve that. But you are young, and I am old. Not really in a position to judge. But after Michael Juliet? It was already such an issue for Marcus and me to accept him. And we haven’t even discussed what happened on Mirach between the two of you. If I had to tell Marcus about that.” All the weight of her decision came crashing down.

I wanted to speak. Louis held his hand in the air. “Now! The four of us will sit in that office with you. Follow you until the end of all the galaxies if that’s what you want to do. We want you back where you belong.” She wanted to say something. Louis reached for the gag. She clamped her lips together. “Yes, I know we were messed up and had our excuses. But I think it’s time we cross that bridge. Like Michael would like to say.” Louis sat for a minute in silence. “You have me. I have gotten over most of my issues. Michael is well on his way to finding a balance. Marcus will get over this, and Chris… You guys have a lot to talk about. Because honestly. I don’t know why he’s here anymore.” Chris wanted to speak. Louis held up his hand. “From both of you. You pushed him into that situation because you just had to know. Didn’t like the outcome. You keep playing with fire.”

Confused eyes opened, and a tear rolled softly over her cheeks, regardless of how strong she was trying to be. “You’re trying to change me.” He smiled briefly and shook his head. “No. You will give us something in return. To fix this mistake. Marcus never wanted to rule or fight… Do you understand?” She nodded. “Marcus will still have to tie you up if you disagree with our plan, but he will never hurt you. Not like I did.” She shook her head. “We all know what happened on Mirach and how you feel about being bound up.”

“You told them?” She lowered her head.

“Marcus would never do that to you… One arm isn’t so bad, and a blindfold? You have to get over that fear. You have to start to trust him.” It took me by surprise. She had gone to Soren because of the exact reason I went to talk to my mother. “ You trust him, don’t you? When it comes down to it?”

Juliet’s shoulders shook as her head fell down on his shoulder. It was hard to hear that she didn’t trust me. I thought we had dealt with all our issues. She didn’t just go to save Soren. She didn’t trust me to fight the war or make the right decision. But when it was about her as a person. She had to know I would never hurt her intentionally. Not again. “Marcus has to teach you how to get out of a situation like that.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered. I was drugged.”

“Still, you need to train. Drugs are just another excuse. You and Marcus need to do it one at a time. I know it’s one of your three things… But baby, it will always be life and death. And we won’t be the ones tying you up… You were locked up in that tent for hours. The fear took hold of you. You completely shut down like you always do.”

“Not today. Please. I will come back to work. I will. Get me out of this thing.”

She yanked on the chain. Louis lifted the buckle, and it released. She had not even noticed I had been faking. Agitated, she rubbed at her wrist and over her face. “I’m going to make sure the soldiers move the teleporter to Mirach.” Juliet nervously took out a cigarette and lit it as she left the room. She stopped at the door. “Give me a few months. I won’t interfere before the war is over. I want to have the baby first and spend some time with him… I need some time after everything that happened. And Marcus, I won’t doubt you again. I’ll wait until you make a decision. It was me that put you there. I never thought it would chafe away at me like it did… I am sorry I hurt you. No, all of you.” Juliet had said it with her back to the room and left.

“That did not go well,” Chris said. “It’s worse than I thought. Louis, you are not talking half as much as you should be.”

“It did.” He spat out. “Do you think I would’ve allowed it if she didn’t need it… We all need to know we are not invincible. She took such a big risk… The only thing that motivates her is if someone else is in danger… A simple werewolf cub or Charlene. She never thinks about the consequence.” Louis was audibly exasperated. “It was so close. Soren had that red knife in his hand. One cut.” It took me by surprise. “He threatened her with a man three times her size… She is still in that ring on the ground, thinking she can fight her way out of a situation.” A new hatred originated for Soren. I had thought they had one of their fights. “I had no time to tell you everything he said and did… Soren told her that he was coming for her. Which means for us… And now you all know how she feels about him... For Soren to have taken that and broken it down to nothing… Even with my ability, I never saw it coming.”

“What are we going to do?” Chris asked, packing away everything he didn’t like to see. “You sure nothing happened on Mirach?” He asked.

“She was tied up naked.” Louis closed his eyes, and the emotions flooded his features. “Men fighting about who would go first.” He sat down, pressing his fingers into his eyes. “I can’t get it out of my head.”

“We should never leave her alone again,” Chris said, handing Louis a cigarette.

“I don’t think she realizes how close to dying she’s been the last six months… Leaving for Zoreah with a human. Going to Palmyra alone. If Jessy didn’t push to go with her. That freaking fish. The raiders.” Louis said and looked at Michael. “She’s finally realized that we need time.”

“I have my powers back,” Chris said.

“Have you tested the tattoo?” Louis asked desperately. Chris nodded. “It’s not your fault, Chris. And I’m sorry that I’m pushing you two into a corner. But you guys need to sit down and think.” Chris dropped his eyes and nodded. “Marcus and I are having a real hard time with the three of you moving at lightning speed.”

“If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine,” Michael said. “I knew they were alone there. It was my responsibility. I was with her. The one that’s there has to take care of her. Especially if we’re always going to be pushed to split up.”

“If it was anyone’s fault. It’s mine.” I went over to the bed, took the last bondage, and handed it to Chris. “All of this started with us and one chair.”

“Juliet thinks the rooms on Palmyra are filled with stones. All with supernatural powers… If they figure it out. They would have a lot of things to play with.”

“Including swatches,” Chris said softly.

“Come, we need to move. We don’t have time.” I said, and the rest of them laughed and followed me out.