Love Or Revenge

15

Draco’s POV

I was so angry at this moment. I was angry my brother was injured and it was one of my warriors' fault. I was angry because Aphrodite fussed at me. I was even more angry that my mother was not just as upset as I was! I stomped in my room, slamming the door behind me. Lenelle came in right behind me and gently closed the door. He was standing at the door, leaning on it while I paced around the room.

“What? You know I hate it when you stare at me like that”

“Nothing I’m just looking…” he deadpanned

“You know Aphrodite is right. You shouldn’t have flipped on Rosie like that. You should be upset with the warrior that hurt your brother.” he continued

“Ugh! Don’t you think I know that! However, Aphrodite needs to watch the way she speaks to me” I said, quicking my pacing around the room

“You owe Rosie an apology when you can calm down. As for our mate, I can see she cares deeply for Rosie so I understand her passion. We need to start trying to understand her if we want her to accept us, Draco” he said, calmly. I sigh because I knew he was right. We have been searching for our mate for years and it seems like everytime we.. no, correction, when I get around her I f**k everything up. I did not want to lose my mate again. It was a miracle she even decided to come with us after she saw my memories.

“I am such a f**k up” I whispered, running my hand over my face

“You are not a f**k up, Draco. You just want to protect her. I can agree with Dite, sometimes you do it in a selfish manner but I know you mean well. And, when she gets to know you she will know you mean well too” Lenelle said, smiling at me. When I looked at Lenelle's smiling face it made me a bit happier but when I looked in his eyes I could tell he was exhausted. Aphrodite was right. I am selfish. I was so busy looking for our other mate that I had neglected Lenelle.

“I’m sorry for being so selfish and for pushing past your limit. I should have been more considerate of your feelings and sleep.” I said

“No need to apologize. I wanted to find her just as much as you did”, he smiled

“However, I am not the one you an apology too” he deadpanned

I ran my hands over my face again, nodding “I know, I will apologize after the gathering. I know Rosie won’t be there she will be with Jermey”

“I’m going to shower. You should do the same and be presentable” he laughed, patting my shoulder

“Haha, am I not always presentable?” I asked, grining

“No.” I bundled over in laughter. Lenelle always made me feel better with his directness.

When Lenelle left my room, I stripped out of my clothes, grabbed my towel and went to the bathroom. I stepped in the shower, I washed my body and washed my hair. I dried off and sprayed my body with my favorite cologne, Versace Eros. I slipped on my all black button up and my black slacks. I decided on my loafers and put on my gold pendant necklace that had a wolf howling on it.

When I got downstairs I saw Lenelle had the same thing as me on. I laughed internally.

“Your always trying to be like me”

“Nah, great minds just think alike,” he said, laughing. We heard heels cranking on the staircase. We turned around to see Aphrodite coming down the stairs. She looked absolutely stunning. She was wearing a red Audrey lace a-line cocktail dress, that stopped just below the knee, with black ankle strap heels. She took my breath away. I looked over to Lenelle and he had the same look on his face, his mouth was damn near touching the floor. I chuckled, before I could say anything Aphrodite spoke.

“Too much?” she asked, looking down at her dress, adjusting it

“N-no, you look gorgeous” he stuttered. She gave him a small smile.

“Thank you. I wanted to dress nicely since everyone will be in attendance” she said, fixing her dress again. I grabbed her hand with mine. I felt so relaxed and calm. She looked at me, expectantly.

“You look absolutely stunning,” I told her. Her smile got brighter.

“I’m happy to hear that. Shall we head to the dining area?”

“We are actually going to the ballroom”

“Ballroom? You have a ballroom here? Isn’t that a bit old fashioned” she giggled

“In modern times, yes. However, when you have lived as long as I have and most people in this coven it becomes a part of our everyday lives” I stated. She nodded in understanding

“Well lead the way” she gestured for us to walk ahead of her

As we were going to the ballroom, I gave her a small tour of what we were passing. We finally got to the ballroom. When we walked in, her mouth fell to the floor. I laughed because she was absolutely adorable. She glared at me, playfully.

“This is absolutely stunning”

“Thank you. My parents have excellent taste”

“There's a stage. Do you have live music often?” she asked me

“Yes actually. Mother loves music, she use to be a singer” I stated

I guided Aphrodite to our table. Lenelle and I sat on either side of her. My mother finally came in and sat with us too.

“Are you going to address them tonight Draco?” my mother asked me

“No. I will leave that to their queen.” I stared at my mother. She laughed. She got up from her seat and addressed the growing crowd.

“Welcome everyone. We are here tonight to celebrate the return of our King! Though we have lost a few great men and women along the way. They did not perish in vain! So let’s celebrate their life and not their deaths! Enjoy yourselves!” my mother said, raising her glass as everyone did the same, toasting. I turned to look at Aphrodite, she was smiling looking around at everything and everyone. My mother, Kayla, came back to the table as the servers started serving everyone their food. It was pan seared steak, garlic mash potatoes and broccoli. Aphrodite smelled the aroma around her plate and closed her eyes.

“This smelled heavenly but I thought vampires didn’t eat.” she said, taking a bite of her steak letting out a moan as she chewed.

“We still eat, we just don’t have to eat regular food as often as other species. As long as we have a good diet of blood we are fine”

“I see” she nodded in understanding

“So Aphrodite, what do you do for a living?” my mother asked. Aphrodite choked on the wine she was drinking. I patted her back asking if she was okay in the process, she nodded her head placing her hand gently on my hand that was patting her back. She cleared her throat and faced my mother.

“I sing at a club called Phoenix, part time. It’s a gentlemen’s club”

“A gentlemen’s club?” my mother looked at shocked

“Isn’t that a bit…unorthodox?” she asked

“Mother” I glared at her

“No no.. It’s okay. I agree it isn’t your regular 9 to 5 but I couldn’t work your regular 9 to 5 because I’ve been in hiding my whole life. When Poppa Red found me he agreed to pay me under the table and help me out so I took the help” she said, giving my mother a sad smile. My mother's eyes soften.

“I’m sorry dear. I didn’t mean to-”

“It is perfectly fine. Most people react like that.” she said, smiling and fidgeting with her fork

“Well.. on a lighter note, I used to sing as well. I was famous back in my early days.” My mother smiles happily remembering her artistry days. Aphrodite eyes grew wide as saucers.

“I knew you looked familiar! You're Kayla Vaning!” she practically yelled. We all laughed at her reaction.

“Yes I am. I didn’t think someone as young as you would know my musIC” she smiled brightly

“WHAT?! Of course! Me and my mother sang your songs all the time when I was growing up! You and my mother are the reasons I was inspired to sing!” she jumped giddy

My mother chuckled saying, “ Well, thank you I am so honored to be an inspiration”

*AUTHORS QUICK COMMENT: I KNOW THESE SONGS ARE NOT REALLY MADE BY HER, KAYLA, BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE STORY I WILL BE PRETENDING THEY ARE. THANK YOU!

“Especially your song Dr.Feel Good! It was amazing, that was the very first song I heard and seen my mother get into a song” she smiled so bright. It warmed my heart.

“Why don’t you sing a song for my mom?” I interjected. She widened her eyes at me again.

“Oh no no. Your mothers voice is magically I could never compare.” she smiled at me

“I would actually like to hear” my mother said, getting up from her seat and walking towards the stage

“OH MY GODDESS AH OH MY GODDESS OH MY GODDESS!” she began to panic

“Where is she going?” Aphrodite asked no one in particular, shaking Lenelle by the fabric attached to his shoulder. He chuckled

“I think she’s going to make an announcement, kitten” he said

“Oh no! I can’t sing in front of all these people!” She looked at me wide eyed. I couldn’t help but laugh

“Relax, you’ll be fine. Everyone here loved my mother’s music. They will be happy to hear her music again” I encouraged her. She looked so nervous it was adorable.

“Can I have everyone’s attention please?” my mother said, tapping the mic

“So as you all know, when I could blow down on the mic, I turned every celebration into a concert just for y'all. My real fans” she said, everyone cheered and clapped their hands.

“I was just sitting at the table with my son’s and our guest, Aphrodite Smitt, just so happens to be a singer and… a big fan of my music” she said, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

“Yall wanna hear her sing something?” she shouted, everyone in the ballroom erupted in cheers. They turned to us and clapped encouraging Dite to go up on stage.

Aphrodite POV

They were clapping and cheering me on. It was encouraging but they have to understand, Kayla Vaning is a damn legend. I couldn’t possibly do this. Could I? I smiled shyly and got up out of my seat and walked towards the stage. Darco and Lenelle both grabbed my hand as I walked away, giving me an encouraging squeeze.

“Come on up here dear. We can turn this celebration into a concert,” Kayla laughed. One of the servers gave me a mic, smiling at me with encouragement. I nodded at him, returning his smile.

“Uh Uh testing testing” I said, testing the mic

“Woooo, I heard that honey! Did yall?” Kayla said, hyping me up. I smiled at her. I turned to look at Lenelle and Draco, they both were smirking. They looked sexy as f**k, not gonna lie. It made me more relaxed, surprisingly.

“Kayla, you didn’t have to put me on the stop like this. I could have sang to you in your room” I giggled a bit. Everyone booed, shouting they wanted to hear.

“You heard the people they want to hear it!”

“Alright. Alright.” I stood a bit thinking of what song of Kayla’s I was going to sing. I nodded at Kayla and she left the stage. I went to the band to talk to them

“Okay guys, I need a bit of help. What song did Kayla usually sing?”

“Well, she never started with anything in particular. She just sang whatever she was feeling at that moment” said the drummer. I nodded.

“Do you want to start with Dr.Feelgood? You can put you own twist to it if you’d like.” the guitarist smiled at me. I smiled.

“Uh I am nervous as hell. Especially with that song.” I confessed

“Everyone here loves that song,” one of the background singers said.

“And you will do amazing, I have heard you sing before” the other background singer said

I was shocked by that confession. “Really?”

“Yes. We are all big fans” she said again, smiling brightly. They all nodded in unison

“Thank you so much that means a lot”

“Let’s get this going then, shall we?” I smiled at all of them.

“I am going to start on the floor, okay?”

“Got it, knock’em dead.” As soon as I turned around they started playing the music. I was bobbing my head to the right a bit, getting into the music, as I started walking around the crowd.

I don’t want nobody

Always

Sittin around me and my man

(Come on y'all)

Said, I don’t want nobody-y

All-Always

Sittin right there

Lookin’ at me and that man

As I said that line, I pointed to a random man in the crowd. He blushed at me.

Be it my mother, my brother or.. Or my sister, yall

Would you believe, I’ll get up, put out some clothes

Go out and help them find somebody for them themselves tonight

Yea yea

Don’t send me no doctor

Fillin’ me up with all of those pills

I got me a man named Doctor Feelgood (Yes, I do yall)

Oh oh oh yeah-

I used this portion of the song to hit my high note, the crowd went crazy!

That man takes care of all my pains and ills

Taking care of business

Is really this man's gain

Oh oh woohoo

After one visit from Doctor Feelgood

You, will understand

Why feel good is his na- na- name

Yeah yeah yeah

I turned around, dramatically, swinging my dress with me in one hand and the mic in the other. As I walked back toward the stage. One of the younger females lifted her hand to give me a high five. To which I obliged her with one.

Good god of mine

That man sure makes me feel

Real good-

I stretched out the last word of the song as the crowd went wild. Standing up clapping. By this time I had already made it back to the stage, so I took my bow. I mouthed thank you to everyone, blowing them kisses. They were going super crazy and it made me feel good and confident about my voice. I hugged the band and gave each of them a kiss on the cheek. I took one more bow and made my way off the stage, walking back to the table. As I walked back, people were telling me I did wonderful and it was very entertaining. Kayla stood up when I got closer.

“You did so amazing baby girl. Oh my goddess.” she said, she wiped away the tears falling from her eyes.

“Thank you so much, it’s an honor to sing one of your songs but I am nowhere near as good as you.” I said, giving her a tight hug. I pulled back and kissed her cheek. I walked around the table back to my seat. Lenelle stood up and pulled me to him, kissing my cheek

“You were amazing, I didn’t know you could sing like that.” he stated

“You’ve heard me sing before?” I asked

“Yes, at the club that night” he smiled. I didn’t even see him inside that night. I wonder why he was there. I’d ask him later. I flashed him my pearly whites and moved past him. Draco then embraced me, I tensed a bit. I’m still tryna get used to this. I assumed he felt me tense and he pulled back from me saying;

“You did my mother's song justice” he laughed lightly

“Thank you so much. I appreciate that.”

“You made it very entertaining to watch,” he said, a matter of factly. I smiled. I took my seat and grabbed my wine glass, taking a sip to wet my throat. The rest of the night went amazingly and I actually had a bit of fun. I knew tomorrow was going to be hell so I was going to enjoy this while I could. Before, the real work began.