Before You Love Me

"No!" She screamed, watching in horror as her beloved shielded her from the flying arrows.

Tears spilled as he dropped to the ground by her feet. She dropped to her knees and held his hand, not wanting to worsen his pain by hugging him.

She woke up then, shaking as the distant memory of her lover's death replayed in her mind.

She glanced at the time and sighed.

~Later~

"Hey, Miss Votrix?"

She glanced up at her lavender-haired advisor. "Yes, Miss Revendale?"

"I did my best to tell them you didn't want or need to have a husband. However, the rest of the council wants you to get married."

Miss Votrix's dark violet eyes narrowed. "To whom?"

Miss Revendale sighed. "They want you to get married to Marcus Blythorne."

Miss Votrix's eyes widened in surprise. "T-to Marcus?"

"Yes."

"I thought Amy Lazeer was engaged to him!"

"They were engaged, but Amy Lazeer never wanted to marry him. And same goes for Marcus. Rumors about Miss Lazeer having a lower class lover have been going around." Miss Revendale said.

Miss Votrix sighed. "I'll marry him but if he falls in love with me, I'll file a divorce. I can't fall in love with him. You already know why."

As Miss Revendale nodded, her lavender waves of hair moved as well.

Miss Revendale was fairly beautiful with her pale complexion, wavy lavender hair, and warm hazel eyes. She was Miss Votrix's childhood best friend, so she knew the reasons why Miss Votrix didn't want to get married.

"I do, and that's why I couldn't go behind your back like the council would've wanted. You're afraid of hurting people by falling in love, which is why you're so willing to surrender to the enemy."

"That's not--"

"It's true, Emmalyn. And that's what scares you."

"Megan, I wouldn't surrender to the enemy. But yes, I'd hate for my lover to die before my eyes like that."

Megan Revendale laughed softly. "Sebastian loved you and you loved him. You've rejected every single offer a bodyguard has made to protect you because you were, and still are, madly in love with Sebastian Ashkov."

Sebastian Ashkov had tanned skin, blue-green eyes, and ashen hair. He was technically more powerful than her, yet he'd chosen to train himself to guard her properly. He had been the last of his bloodline. At least until Emmalyn had given birth to a healthy set of twins, a boy and a girl. They were her little secret. The only ones that knew were Kristen and Sadia Olevere.

Emmalyn had made a difficult decision when she handed her children to them. In the end, she wanted them to live so she forced herself to give the twins to her distant cousins.

"Hey, Emmalyn, I know you're hiding something. Or rather someone. I sensed you were pregnant with Sebastian's child or children years ago. But...I didn't want to say anything with so many people nearby."

Emmalyn's eyes widened. "Y-you knew?"

Megan nodded. "Why do you think nobody questioned your 'sudden disappearance'? I convinced them to not search for you. I knew you left due to your pregnancy and you didn't want anyone to know. You only came back after you gave birth, right?"

Emmalyn nodded, still trying to figure out how Megan figured it out. She had been so careful to conceal herself entirely, she even used spells to make her look normal.

"And the thing is, nobody questioned your moodiness due to Sebastian's death."

"Yeah, and I figured it's only be a matter of time for everyone else to realize I was pregnant with the children of a dead man. And then, I'd be forced into a marriage."

Megan bit her lower lip in thought. "Yes. You said children...did you have twins?"

Emmalyn shrugged, at this point Megan must know everything. "I could let you come with me later today. I'm supposed to visit them today. It's their birthday."

Megan's eyes lit up. "Oh hell yes! How old are they?"

"Fourteen."

Megan groaned. "I dampen my powers just a tiny bit, and everything important happens right under my nose without me noticing for fourteen years!"

Emmalyn smiled. "I've kept them up to date, they know you exist. They referred to you as Auntie Meg when they were four."

Megan grinned. "Am I their favorite aunt?"

"Yes."

"Even though they haven't met me?"

"Yes...I may or may not have snuck here with them when no one was looking last year. The twins also heard you moaning --what was his name-- Adrian?"

All color drained from her face, which made Emmalyn laugh.

"Okay, that was only me. They were several feet ahead of me as they explored the ballroom's secrets."

Megan's eyes narrowed and tickled her best friend. From there, it turned into a pillow fight.

When they were both done and shaking with laughter, Megan got up. "I'll go pack for later. I want to meet the twins."

Emmalyn just smiled as her best friend fixed her clothes and left her room. The second the door closed shut, her smile fell and she remembered Sebastian's death.

She shivered. I didn't realize how cold it was in here....it's always warmer when I have company since I'm doing something. She got up and glanced out the window every thirty seconds as she packed all her essentials.

A soft gasp left her when she saw a dark-haired man get out of a black car.

Marcus. What's he doing here?! Usually, a man gives a woman 2 to 3 days to think about her answer to his proposal!!! What am I sup--wait. Megan Revendale, you're a genius! And a life saver.

She sighed in relief as Megan kept Marcus occupied while she finished packing. She then shoved her luggage through a portal that led to her Volvo XC60, a gift from Sebastian.

Her "official" car was a red Ferrari. She was secretly a danger junkie, but she'd been terrified of dying. Ever since she met Sebastian, she indulged in all of her secret desires. Why? To annoy the hell out of him. Each time she got caught, it resulted in him pinning her against something and great sex.

In fact, she'd returned to their secret love nest from cliff-diving and she'd forgotten to grab a change of clothes. So when she returned, Sebastian knew where she had gone to and was mad because she shouldn't be doing that type of thing. He was concerned for her safety, but she couldn't help herself. She loved the thrill her hobbies gave her.

In any case, as you can guess, their heated argument resulted in out of this world sex. However, something different occurred. They marked each other and in that instant, she became...pregnant.