abruptly. “What the hell is this? How dare you say this to me?”
“Maya, sit. I must hear him out.” The Praetor was upset as well. “We will get to the bottom of it immediately.” He motioned for Marcus to continue.
“I was preparing to meet or address the fate put upon me, one I did not feel. But, as you have said, much time has gone by and the boy is growing up. I had resigned myself to accepting the responsibility of claiming him into my household, and take Maya as well—”
“You act as if you are taking in a charity case,” Maya yelled. “I bore your son! Your son! No one ever forced you to bed me. You bed me several times a day for years. It must not have been too unpleasant. You are a dog, but you will pay for your cowardice.”
“It isn’t cowardice. I don’t feel you and I are fated. I enjoyed our time together, but never thought we were fated lovers. And I never took from you or made the oath.”
“Is this true, Maya?” the Praetor asked.
“I told him when I bled. I told him I was pregnant with his child. We were exclusive unto each other, or, at least that’s what he told me. I thought in time he would bring the oath and take from me. I thought he was a man of honor. Apparently, I was wrong. But my son is paying the price. Our son, Marcus! How can you be so cruel?”
Marcus did feel for the boy. He could have been a father to him, but now there was Anne. “Maybe there is something wrong with me, but I believe I am fated to another. Maya knows this. She tried to kill her.”
“Tried?” Maya’s face went white.
“She practically drained her,” Marcus said, his voice cracking from the emotion.
“Maya fed on your fated female? How did this occur?” Praetor Artemis looked back and forth between the couple.
“You thought you ended her life. But she lives.” Marcus was not happy to reveal this obvious surprise to her. But it had to be done.
“You turned that little trollop? You did it just to avoid your responsibility. Does she now bleed? Were you going to tell the Praetor and me that you made two women bleed for you, Marcus?”
“No. She has not adjusted. She is married to a mortal and I will not interfere with her vow of marriage.”
“This complicates things. How was it, Maya, you fed from her?”
“Tell her, Maya.” Marcus smiled for the first time. “Tell her what you saw.”
“She came into the chapel while we were talking with Jacobi. She must have been lost, and so stupid to go out alone, unprotected.” She flashed a hard look at Marcus. “I followed her. I took her in an alleyway. I was hungry.” She sent her chin out in a huff.
“Ask Jacobi,” Marcus responded. “I saw this woman and I immediately told both of them I felt the fate come over me. I declared it. Maya tried to destroy her. She tried to come between her and me. That carries with it punishment. I ask that I be released from this obligation to Maya and the boy in exchange for this violation. I need to sort out my true feelings for this woman, and her for me.”
Praetor Artemis nodded his head and scratched his chin.
“You cannot be serious, Praetor Artemis. This is blasphemy!” Maya spat out.
Marcus tried one more time. “You have my word. If it is not meant to be, I will return to Maya, and, if she will have me, I will accept the oath.”
It had been decided after a meeting of the Council that Marcus would have to wait one month after Anne’s turning before making himself visible to her. And he would have to verify she intended to be divorced. Affairs of the heart were always given a cooling off period, and one month was a mere flick of the eye to the immortal golden vampires.
Marcus agreed to allow the child to live in his home in a shared custody arrangement but refused to live with Maya. He would begin to father him, train him, as a proper father should. This part would not be difficult to do. He had genuine feelings for the boy.
But more importantly, Maya was permanently