Love of Enemies

He Isn't The Same

"Fuck this," I exhale, shoving to my feet and shaking out my arms. "Fuck them. Fuck everything."

I shadowstep right to the —thankfully empty—second-floor bathroom of our nest. Only reason we have bathrooms at all is the building came with them. Useful for the humans who come visit, I guess. I splash my face, wipe it with a paper towel, and brace on the marble sink, staring at my warbled reflection in the seventeenth century mirror.

Axel's mark is invisible, if it's even still there at all. Maybe vampires and shifters can't be mates. I wince, knowing good and damn well what I felt. What I still feel...

All I can see are the four of them behind me. I can't scrub the fantasy from my brain. The way Axel's hands felt, like he knew exactly how much pain and aggression it would take to make my broken self believe whatever he said. To force me to feel his love, whether I fucking wanted to or not.

My eyes water again on their own, and I grunt in frustration, punching the mirror. It spiderwebs in a satisfying series of cracks.

I'm about to open the door and storm through when there's a calm triple knock, barely sounding through the wood.

Shit. I already know who it is.

"I look forward to seeing the replacement mirror you choose." Vex's silky voice curls around the wood frame.

I take a slow, steadying breath and back up a step, clearing the way for the door to swing wide. He leans over the threshold, cutting his gaze left and right before stepping in. Once in front of me, he studies my face, gaze falling to my neck, my stomach, my legs. Fuck, can he see the marks somehow, even though they're gone? What would he say if he found out? Ugh, I am in absolutely no mental state to deal with any more shit today.

I fidget, cracking my neck.

After what feels like an eternity, he smiles. "This room has needed a makeover for some time."

My own smile breaks through, just barely, and I clear my throat, glancing at my shoes. "Sorry, my king."

"Not at all, Candy." He pats my shoulder. "I've always appreciated your flair for design. Let me know when it's finished, hm?"

I nod, and he gestures to the doorway, backing up. "Shall we?"

Oh, fuck. His meeting!

My hands fly up, covering my mouth. "I'm so sorry! I was coming, I swear!"

"Shh, shh. It's alright. Today was a difficult one, I know."

I blink at him, tears threatening to bubble over. How could he possibly have a clue about that? Before I can ask, or make a fool of myself by crying in front of the fucking Monarch, he ushers me through the door. We walk side by side toward the huge Convergence Room.

Is it weird I feel sort of special that he's talking to me directly? It's weird, I know it is. He has a really damn nice scent. Like lemongrass and a forest in the dead of winter. Maybe letting those fleabags bite me changed something, because I've never noticed his smell before, other than 'vampire.'

Also, this is the closest I've ever been to him. Yeah, I'm a regulator, but it's sort of like he's the entire owner of a humongous corporation and I'm doing grunt work with the other employees. Okay, not quite that big a difference, but still.

He doesn't hang out with anyone, really. Soran and Ruche are the closest, and that's mostly because they share sex partners, and he sired them both. I think they're probably friends, too, but I'm on the outside of everything, so I don't know for sure.

He smiles at me again, and the acknowledgement is exciting. He's just so powerful, so calm and centered, no matter what. It's a very different energy to be around.

"I heard about your hunt," he says sideways, nodding at a passing trio of my fellow clan members. "That Lost you took down, she was a former friend? I assure you, had I known, I'd have sent Brekfort alone."

Oh. Fucking, of course. I honestly had forgotten. Great, now I'm rolling in guilt for her stupid former life again.

"Whatever, it's fine."

He stops me with a finger on my shoulder and steps in my path. "It isn't. Your feelings matter. And it won't happen again. You have my word. Contrary to what you may have heard, I am not unreasonable."

I blink at him, mouth working. "I...I haven't heard anything."

He narrows his gaze at me before smirking, shocking me to my soul. "We all know what a terrible gossip Ruche is."

A laugh explodes out of me, and I quickly cover it. Vex maintains his smirk, resuming our walk.

"Yeah, he sort of is. I think he's more of a bitch than I am."

"Mm." Vex chuckles. "I don't think you are at all."

"That's fucking hilarious."

"I think," he continues, holding the door for me as we pass through the outer entrance, "you require different..."

He freezes, gripping my arm with deadly force. His eyes widen, cheeks going sallow.

"Whoa, what the—?" I support his weight as he pitches forward, holding his chest, and go down with him when he drops to his knees.

"H...Hale," he gasps.

There are tears of blood streaking down his face, and he lets out a bone-bending wail, so full of pain I can't help but cry with him.

"Who is Hale? What happened?" I cup his blood-soaked face with trembling hands. "Vex?!" I never in a billion years thought I'd see The Monarch, crumbled in a heap across my lap. Weirdly, this area of the nest is empty. Oh, that's right, everyone's waiting for the meeting. Fuck, that leaves me as the only one who can be here for him.

He's shriveling, like he's losing way more blood than he is. It makes no sense at all.

"Bite...biteling," he wheezes, and my heart strangles.

Oh, damn. I never met him, but I do remember Vex sired another vampire before Soran. They had a difference of opinion, I think, and the guy, Hale apparently, left for somewhere in the states.

"Dying." More blood leaks from under Vex's fingernails, streaking his crisp, white shirt as he grabs at his heart.

"Wait, you can feel him dying? This is what happens when...?"

I frown, too distraught to do anything else. No wonder Soran gets so worked up when I do something stupid.

Vex lets out another shout and curls in on himself only for a second, then he launches to his feet, blasting a wave of command power through the entire nest. Hell, maybe the whole of Paris.

He adjusts his cuffs, and the only indication anything was wrong at all is the blood still staining his face and clothes. Even his color, pale as he is, returns.

But he isn't the same.

He doesn't say a word to me. Doesn't meet my eyes as he turns and stalks out of the room in rigid, determined silence. Ignores the rest of the clan as they rush out of the Convergence Room. He didn't even issue a specific command with the power. Maybe he was just testing the rest of the connections, reassuring himself everyone else was fine.

Either way, I'm dumbstruck.

~~
NP: Full disclosure, I friggin' love Vex, almost as much as I love Candy. His story is already in progress on my Ream page!! Link on my profile <3
Next episode coming: 7-31-23 and we're getting close to the end!