He pulls me to him and whispers, "He will come back. Just give him time."
"No! I won't let him leave me! He can't leave me, Linc. I need him," I say and start to cry. Constantine pushes Lincoln out of the way to hold me, stroking my hair and crooning to me.
"He won't be able to stay away," CK says, obviously having realized that Devon has left me. Again. "You know he will come back. It's the way it is. He will come back."
I pull away from him and bring Devon's number up on my phone to call him. Voicemail of course. I leave a message, hearing the desperation in my voice, "Dev, baby. Please don't leave me. Please come back. I can't do this without you. I can't live without you. Please, my love. Please come back to me. Please come back so I can fix this." I start crying again and Constantine takes the phone away from me and hangs it up. I stare at him and turn away, sitting next to the fire, leaning my head on the wall and gazing absently into the flames. I zone out as the flames hypnotize me. I hear Constantine and Lincoln talking. I hear what they say but don't really take much of it in.
"You're back?" Lincoln snaps at him.
"Yes," Constantine says shortly.
"Good. You've punished her enough. She needs you. Especially now."
"Mind your own business, Wolf,” he snarls but then asks quietly, “Why did he go? Do you know?"
Lincoln sighs and says, "Things have been different since we moved here. With you punishing her and Cole on location in Toronto, he became the center of her world again. He is in love with her, but he wants…more than she can give him, I guess. He needed to get away to clear his head."
"It's all my fault," I say miserably. "I made him love me again and then didn't give him myself in return. I am a terrible sire and a terrible person. I don't deserve him; I don't deserve anyone."
"Aefre, don't say that," Constantine says, kneeling at my feet. "You are the sweetest, most wonderful person I have ever met and that's saying something. And you are a wonderful sire. Better than any I've ever seen. Including myself," he says wryly. I manage a small smile at his self-recrimination. "You treat your boys fairly and as equals, which is more than any of the rest of us do. This situation – our situation – is unusual. Your attentions are divided, and we all want more from you that you can realistically give. Don't blame yourself, my sweet. It is a testament to your relationship that for over five hundred years you have only been apart once, for half a century. Do you know how special that is? Not even you and I have managed that, and we are pretty special." He smiles gently and tilts my chin so I am looking at him while he says, "He will come back. How can he not?"
I take his face in my hands, needing everything to be all right with us again. "Tell me you forgive me. Tell me that you love me. I need you. I need things to be right with us again," I whisper to him.
"There is nothing to forgive, my sweet. You were right about before, I was just being a stubborn fool. I love you. I need you. I'm sorry," he says and kisses me tenderly. I feel better. My heart is still breaking over Devon but at least I have my sire back.
"Ahem," Lincoln clears his throat and we break apart. "So you just get to waltz back in here and act like nothing happened? Christ, I still don't understand you Vampires. Weird ass race."
I chuckle despite myself. Despite being stuck in a forest for fifty-seven years, Lincoln has taken to 21st century life like a duck to water. From technology to the changes in
vernacular, you would never know he had been away.
Constantine turns to him with a smug look. "You will never understand our bond as you aren't one of us."
"CK," I admonish him, "don't be rude." He looks delighted that I have nicknamed him again.
"You two have a lot of catching up to do. In fact, we all do," Lincoln says.
"Yes, so it would seem," CK says, narrowing his eyes at Lincoln. "You seem to have made yourself at home."
"It is his home," I say.
"Humph. I meant with you, Aefre," he says slyly.
Lincoln now looks smug and I roll my eyes. "It's new. Don't poke at it."
"New? How new?"
"Nothing to do with you," I remark blandly.
"Everything to do with you, is to do with me," he remarks back, just as blandly.
"Not this," I say through gritted teeth, while Lincoln just sits there casually as if we aren't discussing our sex life. Enjoying having my half-naked sire sitting in front of me at my feet, having a banter, I lean forward and wrap my arms around him, bringing my hands to rest on his chest as I lean my chin on his shoulder. "I missed you," I whisper, needing to tell him but also to distract him.
He looks pleased as punch at my actions and words and says, "I missed you too," as he tilts his head to the side so that I can kiss him. "But you won't distract me that easily, Aefre," he adds. He glimpses at me and I sigh. "What does Cole make of this addition?" he asks, not nastily, just interested.
Lincoln laughs and says, "He wasn't best pleased." I snort, remembering my husband's furious face when I broached the subject. "He came around though, in the end."
"I'm sure it didn't take much doing once Aefre turned on her charm," CK says with a laugh of his own.