A Forever Series Box Set: A Paranormal Reverse Harem-(Book 1-5)

“Oh, so I’ll always be Cole O’Dell?” he asks.

I nod. “Yes.”

He turns to Devon and asks, “What was your original name?”

Devon looks taken aback by the interest in him, but then he looks mildly pleased to be asked. “Always been Devon. Last name in 1506 was Sawyer.”

Cole flicks his gaze to CK, and I smile as he hesitates. I know his original name, he told me centuries ago when I asked, but he won’t reveal his private business in front of Cole and Devon. He takes a deep breath though, and I catch mine before he says, “Constantinus Kaius Aquila. It was Etruscan.”

My mouth drops open. Holy shit! That is unbelievable! I touch his arm, my face registering my surprise at him. He shrugs uncomfortably. “We are family now. It’s of no consequence.” He dismisses it, but yes, it is of consequence. This sudden change in his attitude towards Devon, and to Cole, is mind-boggling and the feeling of love bubbles up as I feel a massive wave fall over me. I grip his arm tighter and I see him, in my mind’s eye. I see him as a human. Quick, distorted flashes depicting the events that led to his becoming an Initial Vampire. I gasp in shock and horror. He looks at me with concern and I hear him say my name quietly. I look wildly around the room, my eyes searching for Eloise. As I find her, I see another series of images flash through my mind. I’m gasping for breath as my eyes search for Gregor. I find him and it happens again, searing the horror of their creation onto my brain. No wonder these events have been shrouded in secrecy. No sane person should ever have to know what happened to them. And yet the three of them do know.

And now I know.

What they went through to create our race makes me feel nauseous, and sobbing, I look at my sire and he knows what I saw.

“Aefre,” he says before I bolt from the room needing air.

A s I run from the room, the feeling gets worse. More information that I shouldn’t be privy to, enters my head. The records of every Vampire ever created and killed and by whom. A few of my own felonies jump out at me, along with the list of my own charges that I created. I quickly slam that closed as I don’t want to see it. The library of all the ancient texts, every prophecy, every piece of information stowed in the archive’s, crashes into my head. It is completely overwhelming and as I reach the door and stumble out into the cool evening air, I pass out.

Fortunately for me, CK has caught up with me and I fall ungracefully into his arms. I come to with my three loves, plus Eloise and Gregor, staring at me in varying degrees of concern and amusement.

“Aefre,” CK says softly. I blink and take a

moment to register that I am still outside in CK’s lap.

“I’m okay, really,” I say, struggling to stand up. “It was…” I trail off, smoothing down my dress and trying to recover some of my dignity.

“What did you see?” Gregor asks.

I glance at CK wondering how much I should tell them. He comes to my rescue as usual, my hero, and says, “She had flashes of us.” He points to the three concerned.

Eloise looks suspicious. “Flashes of what?” she barks.

“Images of you…before, Aìa.” I call her by her first name and look at her with pity at what she went through, but that soon disappears as she hisses and narrows her eyes, taking a threatening step forward.

“How do you know? No one is supposed to know,” she rasps.

I shrug. “I just do. I know about all of you.” I look at each of them in turn seriously and they shift uncomfortably.

“Among other things,” I say as a distraction.

CK’s eyes snap to mine and he shakes his head imperceptibly.

“What other things?” Gregor snaps.

“A lot of history about everyone. All the records were ‘downloaded’ into my head,” I say. They all look at me as if I have lost my mind.

I turn to Devon. “All this time, you never told me you had a sister,” I say hurt.

His mouth drops open in shock. “She died when I was a baby. I didn’t even know her,” he says eventually. “How would you even know that?”

CK takes over for me once again and says, “The Council archives has records of every Vampire that has been turned and their history. It’s automatically updated once the transformation is complete. Regardless, the fact is that Liv is now a Council member and is privy to such information. The nature of her knowledge however is somewhat unprecedented.”

“Anything else we should know about?” Gregor asks shrewdly and I shake my head.

“Very well. I say we take this back indoors. I think we have caused enough of a scene already.” With that said, he turns on his heel and leaves us to follow.

“I need another minute,” I say, sitting down on the bench. Eloise ignores me and goes back inside, but my three boys stay with me.