Seeking Eternity Ch. 08

Cassandra heaved a big, dramatic sigh. "If I had known that you've got this irritatingly mischievous side, Nicholas James Collbreed, I would have been more grateful for the grim young man you once were. But alas! I did not know you well enough."

Laughter bubbled up his throat, but Nicholas managed to hold it off long enough to give Cassandra a chance to walk away and head toward the car driven by her chauffeur, who was waiting outside the front door. He did not think that the woman would have appreciated the sound of his laughter - but the small smile on Cassandra's lips when she stepped into the back seat of the car told him otherwise.

*****

Catherine knew she should probably get out of the car and at least stretch her limbs, but the day had been a long one and she was really not in the mood to enjoy the night. Any other day and she would have been happily tucked into bed right now, most likely already in dreamland. At sixty-nine, she found that staying up until midnight was a chore, and the only thing keeping her from driving away was the message from Amélie.

She still has a penchant for taking her time, she thought fondly, chuckling to herself. One would think that centuries of living in his world would teach that woman some manners, but it seemed that she was getting worse with time. They were supposed to be meeting up two hours ago, but there was still no sign of the vampire anywhere nearby. Not that Catherine minded. She would gladly wait the whole night as long as she could see Amélie again.

When was the last time I saw her? she wondered. She could not really remember now. It had been decades ago, and Catherine was almost sure that it had not been a happy occasion; otherwise, she should at least recollect some bits and pieces of it.

A rap on the window pulled her out of her reverie. Catherine turned to find a beautiful brunette smiling at her, awkwardly waving her hand in a gesture of greeting. With a dramatic sigh, she rolled down the window and spoke.

"I'm too old for this shit, Amélie," she said. "My joints are practically killing me now from being cooped up in this car for two hours."

"Well, good evening to you, too," Amélie said, rolling her eyes. Her British accent was still quite pronounced. "Was it my fault that you decided to stay inside the whole time?"

Catherine chuckled and cocked her head. "Get in the car before one of my friends finds you standing there. I'm pretty sure Collbreed has issued a kill on sight order for all vampires that belong to Hayes-Crowe's family."

"I'm not even a part of Ashford's family, for crying out loud," Amélie complained, but she walked to the other side of the car and slipped into the passenger seat all the same. "Besides, I don't think that the Ambercrest alpha is stupid enough to do that. He won't drag your pack to war for some personal grudge, will he?"

"Oh, you don't know Nicholas very well, sweetheart," Catherine said, starting the engine of the car. "Hell, even I did not think that the man could be impulsive, but the events of today proved me wrong."

"I think we're witnessing the same phenomenon, then? Horny boys raising hell over a girl?" Amélie chuckled and put on her seat belt - a habit that Catherine found so oddly endearing. As if getting into an accident and flying out of the window of the car could kill a vampire.

"The exact same, yes," Catherine agreed, sharing a smile with her friend before driving off. "Where do you want to go?"

"My house," Amélie answered. "I'll give you the directions."

"All right." Glancing at Amélie, she said, "It's good to see you again. You still look beautiful."

"I wish I could say the same about you," Amélie said with a chuckle, "but the years have not treated you kindly, my friend."

Catherine groaned. "You're still as nasty as ever, Amélie Lecourt."

The woman only laughed. "That's why you love me, my dear."

For a moment, the two of them were silent, and Catherine felt a pang of longing in her chest. Amélie had been her best friend ages ago - the only friend she made outside of the pack. It was Amélie who taught her how to live life and make merry, much to Thomas's chagrin. If her brother had gotten his way, Catherine would have lived like a nun, but Amélie's influence actually made her - well - human. All the senseless fooling around with boys had been Amélie's idea, and how Catherine enjoyed it back in the days.

Sometime later, Amélie gave her an overview of how to get to her house. Catherine repeated it to her, and when Amélie was satisfied that Catherine had it right, she asked, "How have you been all these years, dearest?"

"Well enough," Catherine answered, her eyes focused on the road. She proceeded on filling Amélie in, even though she was certain that the woman knew it already: that she married William Ackerworth, that their marriage was childless, that she had 'lost' William to Derek Maxwell, alpha of Silvergloom and grandson of William's sister Ava, who decided to make William one of his advisors.

At the end of her rather boring tale, Amélie sighed. "I wish I had never cut ties with you. You could have kept me updated on all things wolf-related."

"Uh-huh." Catherine understood the reason why Amélie decided to keep her distance, and it was that knowledge that kept her from reaching out to the vampire even though she had missed her so much. "Tell me about you. I hear you're posing as Hayes-Crowe's assistant nowadays?"

"That man needs someone to keep him on the right track," Amélie explained. "With everything that has been going on now, it's more crucial than ever that somebody's out there looking out for his wellbeing."

Catherine was certain that Hayes-Crowe could manage on his own, but then again, everybody needed company. Besides, what else would Amélie do? It was not as if she founded a family of her own, and Ashford was the closest she had to family after Iulius died.

They continued to talk about insignificant things, which made Catherine realize that nothing much had changed. No stretch of time apart could break a friendship as strong as theirs, and the ease with which they started talking to each other again was testament to that.

The chatter went on and on until they reached Amélie's house: a small bungalow in the quiet suburban neighbourhood. Catherine could not help but smile. The type of the house that Amélie chose was a far cry from the mansion that Catherine knew her friend preferred, but maybe the house was an expression of what Amélie wished she had. After all, it looked like the type that one would buy for a family.

Inside, Catherine marvelled at the beautiful accents that filled the rooms. That showed more of its owner's personality than the house itself. The design was in equal parts modern and rustic, and the atmosphere was definitely welcoming.

"Are you up for a drink?" Amélie asked.

"Quite, yes," Catherine answered, making herself comfortable on the couch. "That's the least you can give me after making me wait for hours."

"What can I say? I'm a busy woman," Amélie said with a chuckle. She came back with a bottle of scotch and two whiskey glasses filled with ice. "I hope that the years haven't slowed you down, because we need something strong if we're to continue our conversation."

Catherine smiled back at the woman, accepting one of the glasses. "I won't say no to a good bottle of scotch, Amélie. I thought you knew that."

Amélie smirked. "Of course I do." She filled both glasses before sitting down beside Catherine. "So, tell me, Cat. Have you met your brother's granddaughter yet?" When Catherine cocked an eyebrow, Amélie chuckled. "Oh, come on. We know that the Ambercrest alpha knows where Raine is. We just don't know exactly where he keeps her."

"I hope you're not about to ask me," Catherine said, lifting her glass to her lips. "As much as I love you, Amélie, I can't betray Nicholas like that."

"I won't put you in that position," Amélie said. "I merely wanted to know what you think of her."

"I haven't met her yet, but the girl's more trouble than I bargained for," Catherine answered truthfully.

Amélie chuckled. "What do you expect? Raine's got some of your blood in her veins."

"Don't remind me," Catherine agreed, widening her eyes as she took a gulp of the scotch. "If only Johanna took after Cassandra, then maybe Raine would not have turned out to be this way."

"You never would have developed such a close relationship with Johanna if she had taken after Cassandra," Amélie commented. When Catherine rolled her eyes, Amélie teased her. "Do you think Raine would have been less of a troublemaker if she had taken after her father?"

"Please." Catherine shook her head. "As if she hasn't taken after her father at all. She's as much his as she is Johanna's child. Why else would she be in this mess?"

"Oh, I don't know," Amélie said, winking. "Maybe because she's practically sex on legs? For good or ill, she got the Gridstone family's looks."

That, Catherine could not deny. She might not have met Raine in the flesh, but Catherine had seen the girl's picture on the slayer database countless of times. Once again, she wondered how they never managed to put two and two together: Thomas's granddaughter was the spitting image of Cassandra, as Johanna had been — except for her eyes, as Raine got her father's blue, in much the same way that Johanna got Thomas's green. But they were not expecting the girl to be a slayer: after all, when regular people were on the run, why would they 'hide' somewhere nearby? Why would someone running away from wolves — and vampires — join a slayer society?

What they forgot to take into the equation was the fact that Raine was a child, and she could have ended up anywhere. After all, didn't they assume that Johanna died? If that was the case, anybody could have taken Raine in.

It did not help that they did not know the girl's name. Her father obviously went to great lengths to hide Raine's identity. They weren't aware that Johanna got married, as well, or that she took the researcher's last name afterwards. Both of Raine's parents took great pains to make sure that the Council would not find their child.

Still, Catherine could not get over the fact that they missed the unnerving resemblance that Raine the slayer girl had to Cassandra and to Johanna. She was right under their noses all along! Then again, the Council and the packs never bothered to pay much attention to the slayer society; they all assumed that slayers were the vampires' problems. Nobody checked the slayer databases unless by accident. And if anybody looked at Raine's profile, they would probably not look beyond the girl's beautiful, hauntingly blue eyes — a feature gotten from her father.

If only her resemblance to her father ended there, Catherine thought unhappily. But, as fate would have it, Raine was like Johanna in that sense, too: Johanna, like Thomas, ended up getting embroiled in a forbidden relationship, and now Raine was in pretty much the same position, although the latter's case was much more complicated due to the circumstances of her birth.

"Things would have been so much easier if Raine's not that attractive, huh?" Catherine asked.

Amélie shrugged. "It might have helped. Maybe Ashford would not have fallen for her if she was a tad less attractive. Or maybe Melisande could have resisted her allure..."

"It would not have helped Collbreed, though," Catherine mused with a smile. "A wolf's mate is not determined by looks alone."

"I get that," Amélie agreed. Bitterness crept into her voice, alerting Catherine of her change of mood. "A wolf doesn't decide who his mate will be; it's already been decided before he was even born."

She's still hurting, Catherine thought. Not that she had any doubt about it. Was it not the reason why Amélie kept her distance? It was the cost of loving someone without reserve: losing them was bound to cause pain - the kind that would not easily go away.

"For what it's worth, Amélie, Thomas did love you," Catherine said softly.

Amélie nodded and blinked away the tears that welled in her eyes before downing the contents of her glass in one go. "I know that. The knowledge doesn't ease the pain, though."

"No, it doesn't," Catherine agreed, smiling bitterly. "It adds to the pain."

"I hope you're okay talking about him," Amélie said hesitantly.

Catherine chuckled. "I was hoping you will be fine talking about him."

She reached for the bottle of scotch and filled Amélie's glass, and in the smile that they shared, Catherine realized that both of them needed to talk about Thomas to start healing the wounds created by his sudden demise. Not that there were many things she could tell Amélie: she started keeping her distance after Thomas married Cassandra Gridstone. She had resented Thomas for marrying someone he did not love, but her brother had held Cassandra in high regard and would not hear of any of Catherine's objections.

Even now, decades later, Catherine could still not get over the fact that Thomas decided to let Amélie go for Cassandra. Cassandra might have given Thomas the greatest gift in Johanna, but she also gave him so much pain and heartache. In the end, Cassandra even betrayed Thomas, despite the fact that he had been nothing but accommodating to her.

"Cat, your brother visited me a few weeks before his death," Amélie broke her reverie. At the startled look on her face, Amélie let out a hollow laugh. "Quite surprising, isn't it? Before that meeting, I thought he never wanted to see me again."

Not knowing what to say, Catherine reached for Amélie's hand. "I'm sorry, Amélie."

"I loved your brother, you know," Amélie said quietly, sighing afterwards. "I loved him with everything that was in me, Catherine."

Of that, Catherine had no doubt. "I know, Amélie. And he knew it, as well."

"Yes, he did," Amélie agreed, a sad smile lingering on her lips. "That was why he visited me then. He wanted to give me closure, but he also wanted me to do him a favour."

This was something new - something that Thomas withheld from Catherine. "A favour?"

"He wanted my scent all over him to make it look like we had been together."

Catherine's forehead creased as she put her glass down on the table. She needed to be sober if she must listen to Amélie's explanation. "I don't understand."

Amélie also set her glass down on the table before reaching for Catherine's hands. "I know that you hate your sister-in-law because she ran off with another man just when everything was starting to fall apart. But, Cat...? You don't know the whole story."

It was as if cold water was poured over her. Catherine did not know how to react. Amélie proceeded on telling her every detail of Thomas's visit, all the while holding her hands tightly. She silently listened to the story and was forced to acknowledge that Cassandra had not been the only one at fault. Catherine so dearly wished that it was not so: it was so much easier to blame only one person. But, the longer she listened to Amélie, the more certain she became that Cassandra Gridstone was not the villain she painted her to be.

"She was hurting, Cat," Amélie was saying. "She had been hurting for years."

Catherine closed her eyes and swallowed back her tears. Amélie continued sharing stories that were slowly redeeming Cassandra in her eyes. It was as if the foundations of her world were getting smashed one word at a time. Amélie was right: Cassandra had been hurting, and, as a woman, Catherine felt for her, but she was not strong enough to take it all in. It was all too much.

Opening her eyes again, she locked her heart away. She continued to listen and take in every word that poured forth from Amélie's lips, but she was not ready to process them yet. She needed time - to grieve, to heal, to forgive - and she could only do that one step at a time.

*****

Amélie watched Catherine's reactions very closely, and she knew the exact moment when Catherine decided to stop feeling. It broke Amélie's heart, knowing that the information she was sharing could have this much impact on Catherine. She wished that she did not need to say anything, but Catherine deserved to hear it as much as Amélie needed to share it. Only then could both of them move on.

When she was done talking, a heavy silence followed. Catherine had yet to say a single word, and Amélie was starting to worry. Should she not have said anything? She squeezed the woman's hands, which she was still holding tightly.

"Thank you, Amélie," Catherine said after a while. "I needed to hear that."

Now, that was a surprise. "You did?"

Catherine flashed a quick smile and squeezed her hands before pulling them away. "I did. I can't deal with it yet, but just knowing that I have a more accurate picture now... It makes a difference, you know?"

Amélie let out a breath that she did not even realize she was holding. "I'm glad you feel that way."

A smile touched Catherine's lips. "Is this the only reason why you wanted to talk to me today?"

"It's been bothering me for more than a decade and I knew I had to tell you sooner or later," Amélie said, "but I admit that it is not the sole agenda of this sudden reunion."

"It's about Raine, isn't it?" Catherine asked.

Catherine's ability to switch gears from one emotionally charged topic to another was worthy of admiration, and Amélie could only be thankful that the woman was strong enough to weather the storm that their earlier conversation might have released. She needed Catherine to be strong for the difficult days ahead, and knowing the truth about what happened fourteen years ago might be beneficial for the woman. As for Amélie, just getting it off her chest felt liberating.

"I need to ask you for a favour," she admitted. At Catherine's prompt, she continued. "As I said earlier, we know that Collbreed has Raine, and Ashford is raising hell over the fact that he has lost the woman. He wants her back."

Catherine looked thoughtful. "What is Raine to him, anyway?"

For a while, Amélie wondered what she could divulge. Would Ashford find it presumptuous of her to tell Catherine that he was in love with Raine? Probably not. Besides, it was not as if that information was held secret from members of Ashford's family.

"He cares for her," Amélie answered, "and he is willing to lay down his life for her."

"Does he love her?" Catherine asked.

"Do you really think Ashford would go out of his way to protect Raine if he does not love her?" she asked in return.

Catherine smiled. "Yes, I think he would. She is, after all, Raine."

With a nod, Amélie acknowledged the truth of Catherine's words. "Fair enough. Still, for the record, yes, I truly believe that he loves Raine."

Catherine nodded. "Good. Collbreed talked to the congress earlier, asking us for help. In return, we asked that he gives Raine back to the vampires."

Surprised, Amélie raised an eyebrow. "And will he agree to that?"

"I'm not sure," Catherine answered with a shrug. "The truth is, even if he doesn't comply with our request, we have no choice but to do as he wished. And he must know that. We owe him too much."

Interesting. "How so?"

"We asked him to do us a favour a few years ago," Catherine answered. "The man gave up his freedom for us and irreversibly damaged his relationship with his sister."

"Sister," Amélie repeated. It took her a moment to realize who Catherine was referring to. "Aryanna Everett of the Council of the Wolves?"

"The one and only," Catherine confirmed.

Amélie nodded. If she and Catherine had this conversation a few years ago, she would not have known who the woman was referring to. For the longest time, vampires thought that Nicholas James Collbreed was Walter's only child. It was only three years ago, after the commotion shortly before Walter's death, that Amélie found out the truth: Aryanna was born in the midst of the feud between Ambercrest and Bloodgrass, the pack historically led by the Vaughans. As she was Walter's sole heir at the time, Walter decided to protect Aryanna by adopting her out of the family. The Collbreeds gave Aryanna to Drew Bradbury, alpha of Sicklethorn and Elizabeth Collbreed's half-brother, who raised the girl as if she were his own.