32. Gift Wrappd
Gift Wrappd
There’s enough time to cry and wipe away the evidence because the car doesn’t take me to a restaurant or the Coven.
I have far, far too much time to think on the drive to the castle. It’s been two weeks since I came here to ask Micah Saint James for help. To beg him for five million in crypo to free my boyfriend from jail. But a lifetime has passed between then and now.
My thoughts are like a hornet’s nest, angry and buzzing incoherently. Jake broke up with me. After three years together, he ended things.
It all happened so fast. He made up his mind, and I had no say in it. I know he was angry and jealous, and he had every reason to be. I can’t deny having feelings for Micah. But it doesn’t mean I love Jake any less, or that I would choose Micah over him.
Why hadn’t I just gone to dinner with Jake instead? It’s my birthday. I should spend it with whom I choose. But his manipulation was as much a betrayal as Micah’s. He should have respected my decision.
Comparing Micah and Jake is unfair to them and to me. Micah is who I needed when I was broken and putting myself back together, piece by agonizing piece. He gave me the confidence to go after my dreams, and he helped me shape them. There would be no PPS without him.
Jake is who I needed when I was forming my Squad, learning to be a detective, and forging relationships within the Paranormal factions in New York City. Having a Werewolf boyfriend gave me credibility and earned me respect, even with the drawbacks.
But after Micah broke my heart, I held parts of myself back, and I have no one to blame for that except myself. That Jake also did it is beside the point. Our relationship worked because of what we chose to share and the parts of our lives that fit together.
The question is, who do I need now? Who am I now? I’m no longer a teenager shattered by her parents’ death. But I’m also not the young detective who started the PPS three years ago and needed the support of an Alpha Werewolf.
Finally, I lean back in the car, close my eyes, and clear my mind. Whatever the night brings, perhaps I should try to enjoy it.
‘Happy twenty-seventh birthday, Evangeline.’ Micah leans forward and kisses my cheek when Barclay leads me into the front parlor. I can tell he’s recently fed by the warmth of his lips on my skin.
The room is light, with cream walls, plush grey carpet, and comfortable seating. A fireplace dominates one wall, while windows frame the darkened garden and sloping lawn beyond. There’s nothing around for miles, but the silence of the estate feels as loud as the traffic and people of New York City.
‘You are beyond stunning.’ Micah’s midnight eyes sweep over me, not bothering to mask the simmering heat in them as he hands me a glass of champagne.
Warmth flares through me at the intensity of his gaze, despite the chill still gripping my heart.
Micah’s custom tux molds to his tall, muscled frame.
The pants and bow tie are black, the jacket midnight blue with black satin lapels, complemented by a white shirt with black buttons.
His midnight hair and bronzed skin glimmer beneath the light from the chandelier, casting him as inhuman and entirely captivating.
‘I forgot.’ I tell him honestly, taking a sip of champagne to steady myself. ‘When you said dinner tonight, I forgot it was my birthday.’
‘It’s perfectly understandable that you would block it out.’ He doesn’t move; he only waits, the same as he always has, giving me time to think and make decisions. Never rushing me or giving me an ultimatum.
Not only did Micah remember my birthday, but he also knows exactly why I didn’t.
It’s been ten years, and the pain is still as sharp as ever.
On the night my parents were murdered, we went out for dinner and a holo to celebrate my seventeenth birthday.
I chose to spend it with them instead of having a party with my high school friends because my mum and dad were my best friends.
Now every year I’m torn apart all over again.
With everything that’s happened in the past few weeks, I’m not surprised I blocked out the recurring trauma.
I’ve never told Jake, or Tim, or Captain Buchanan.
Only Ruby and Micah know the truth that we were walking to the hyper-rail from the Holo Theater because I asked them to.
The streets weren’t empty, but we cut through an alley, as we had done many times before.
Not for a second did we think there was any danger in it.
It’s not that crime in NYC is nonexistent; it’s just not the mugging and murdering kinds of the past. The cartels stick to human vices, where the crypto is.
Vamps and Weres signed the Treaty. And there are entire apartment blocks dedicated to eradicating homelessness.
My city is the cleanest and safest it’s ever been.
‘It was never your fault.’ Micah interrupts thoughts he knows all too well. He’s standing close, but the distance is still a chasm between us. Is there a bridge from the past to the present that we can cross?
‘It wasn’t yours either.’ I’ve always known, deep down, that he was hiding something about that night from me.
I’d never wanted to know who murdered my parents; I couldn’t have handled it.
I was a shell of myself for months afterward, with no idea who I was without the two people closest to me.
When your whole world is ripped away, your entire existence turned upside down, all you care about is survival.
I lived from one day to the next. And Micah was there with me for every minute of them.
‘I need to tell you the entire story, Evangeline.’ He takes a large swallow from the glass of whiskey that’s appeared in his hand, ice cubes clinking against the side.
‘I thought we already did this?’ I’m staring into my glass and not at him.
‘Please.’ It’s the way he says it, as if he needs this and has for a long time, that has me nodding in silent permission.
We’re still standing in the middle of the room, and if this is going to shake me even more than I already have been today, I’d prefer to be seated.
My glass refills with champagne as I sit on a deep cream couch, smoothing my dress over my thighs.
‘Selene wanted me back,’ Micah admits as he sits down next to me, whiskey held idly in his hand.
‘I told her no. Actually, I told her to get the hell out of my city and never return. She decided to get back at me by hunting. You and your parents were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She killed them first to hurt you. I know her, and she would have been jealous of your youth and beauty.’
‘Why? She still has hers.’ It comes out slightly more bitter than I meant it to.
Micah either doesn’t hear the undertone or chooses to let it slide. Once, I believed all I wanted was immortality with him. To be young and beautiful and loved by him forever. It eats at me that Selene had it all, and she never valued or even wanted it.
‘She has a facsimile of them. She’s trapped in her eternal youth, but she never changes. We may not age externally, but Vampires do not stay stagnant. Imagine a dozen lifetimes, stacked one atop the other, played out over and over. Even her hunting became a twisted game.
‘When I saved you from her, it was partly because I hadn’t been able to with the others. And I was concerned she would come after you again.’ He blames himself; I can see it in his eyes, in the clenching of his jaw. He’s holding himself as still as an ancient statue.
‘You not only saved my life that night, but took a human girl into the Coven, and you let me stay. You didn’t have to do that, Micah.
And when the incident happened, you could have found me an apartment or something.
Instead, you came here, away from your responsibilities in the city.
When will you stop thinking you’re the villain?
You’re not. And nothing you can say can convince me otherwise.
Selene made her choice. She’s the villain.
She’s a selfish, narcissistic bitch. The rest of us have a mix of good and bad. We just have to choose the good.’
‘When did you get to be so wise?’ He smiles, and for the first time, I think maybe he’s starting to believe that he’s redeemable. That he’s not a monster wrapped in a beautiful package. That he doesn’t have to try constantly to earn forgiveness for his multitude of sins.
‘Well, I am a detective now, in case you hadn’t heard.’ I smirk at him and watch as his breath catches and his onyx eyes flicker between mine, searching. ‘And twenty-seven is quite old.’
‘Here’s to many more years, then.’ He clinks his glass against mine, and I almost breathe out in relief that the subject is closed.
‘Are we going to eat anytime soon?’ I tease him. ‘Or did you bring me here to lock me up in your castle?’
It’s an old joke between us. I never once felt trapped in the year I lived here with him.
Now, I’m telling him that I want, if not what we had, something similar.
I want him in my life again. Even if I were still with Jake, that would be true.
I’ve missed Micah more than I allowed myself to acknowledge in our seven years apart.
‘What if I did want to keep you here?’ His voice is deep and low, an intimate caress that slides across my skin. Before I can decide if he means what I think he does, he continues. ‘But yes, dinner has been prepared. But first, I have a gift for you.’
Micah looks very pleased with himself. Younger. More human. It suits him, and a fraction of the pain from my breakup dissolves like ice near a fire.
‘You didn’t have to, but thank you.’ I let myself get excited for the first time today.
‘Don’t thank me until you see it.’ He smirks, his eyes black fire as he pulls me to my feet. Taking the glass from my hand, he places it beside his on a low table.
Threading his fingers through mine, I feel his excitement and a hint of smugness as he leads me from the room. I don’t really pay much attention to where he’s taking me until we’re inside the massive garage.
Micah has around a hundred cars, some two centuries old, others modern.
All exorbitantly expensive. Most are electric, a few run on almost impossible-to-get petroleum, and none are autocars.
Few people own even one car with the convenience of the Skyway and hyper-rail. Micah Saint James has a collection.
I stop abruptly as the holo-lights flare brightly overhead, illuminating the rows of cars. But Micah tugs on my hand, almost pulling me toward the front.
And there it is, with a big red bow on top. The latest Aston Martin Vantage in shiny black. It’s sleek and stunning, and I want to run my hands over its smooth curves almost as much as I want to do the same to Micah.
He gestures like a flight attendant showing me the exit rows. I can’t move; I’m just staring at it, my hand loose in his.
‘But I have a car.’ I can’t fathom this gift. I love my Aston Martin, and I couldn’t bring myself to part with it, even when I was angry and humiliated. Seen years ago, I drove away from here in that car.
‘Yes, and you got that for your eighteenth birthday. It’s time for a new one.’ He says it as if it’s the most logical thing in the world. To him, it is.
I frown as another thought trickles into my mind. When did he buy this for me? I can see that it’s custom. He never buys anything from a showroom, and he always has them add extras. Which means he had to have ordered it weeks ago.
‘What’s wrong? Worried your Werewolf won’t appreciate me gifting it to you?’ He actually seems concerned at the idea, as if it hadn’t occurred to him until now that it could cause tension between Jake and me.
And yes, Jake would hate this because it would sting his pride at not being able to afford to buy me a gift this expensive, especially when it came from Micah.
But to Micah, cost means nothing. It’s always about the thought. He knew I would love this, so he got it for me. There are no strings attached, and he doesn’t expect anything in return. He never has. He’s been kind and understanding and generous with me from the moment we met.
I’m silent, staring at this beautiful car that’s now mine.
I fucking love it.
‘I’m sorry, Evangeline. You don’t have to take it if it will cause tension in your relationship.’ He’s frowning down at me, genuine concern shadowing his onyx eyes.
‘That won’t be a problem.’ I can’t look at him. Instead, I walk towards the car, running my hand over the smooth, shimmering black. I almost purr in appreciation, imagining sitting behind the wheel, feeling the power as it roars down the open road.
‘Jake broke up with me,’ I drop into the silence between us, like a stone into a mirrored lake.
I turn to see surprise flash across Micah’s face, followed by an entirely predatory look that makes my breath catch.