He'd been in my head again during dinner. He'd listened in as I made my plans to leave. I brought my hand up fast and struck the side of his face. He never even flinched.

"Stay out of my head, Pallo ... and, you know what, I'm sick and tired of everyone blaming me for s.h.i.t that happened over two hundred years ago. If you ask me, you guys are the problem. I was fine before I met any of you!"

"Our destinies are intertwined, we are all linked ... you, Caleb, myself, and others. It is a sad truth and I am sorry for that. It does not change the fact that you cannot run away from all of this. Two hundred years of being gone did not solve a thing, what makes you think now is any different?"

"Because, last time around I didn't think I could survive on my own.

h.e.l.l, in those days a woman didn't stand a chance, but now, you said it yourself, I'm stronger. I'm not asking for you permission to go anywhere.I'm a grown woman. I'll do whatever h.e.l.l I want to. You two can go back to whatever it is you did before I showed back up."

He was about to say something else, but we were interrupted by the sound of someone laughing. Pallo backed away from me and Caleb came into view .

He looked past Pallo at me. Normally, he tried to take his anger out on Pallo, now he was going for the source. Apparently, he'd changed, too.

"You couldn't even make it through our engagement party before you were in his arms again," he said, his jaw clenched tight.

Pallo moved towards him and Caleb's hot energy filtered up. Pallo must have felt it as well, because his cold static essence flew up around us.

Caleb moved forward.

"Don't think you can fight me, vampire. I kill your kind for a living."

Caleb sounded dark and that was not like him. I made a move to go to him and Pallo's arm came out to stop me. He was right, at the moment Caleb shouldn't be approached.

"Old friend, if you wish to try to kill me, then it saddens me but I will accept your challenge. I think you are letting your emotions be your guide this fine evening. You should be celebrating the announcement of your coming wedding. It is one you have been waiting for, for many, many years," Pallo said in the calmest voice I'd ever heard him use.

Caleb nodded at me. "She'll never commit to anyone. She wants everything, but gives noting in return. She's a selfish b.i.t.c.h and a lying wh.o.r.e." He looked directly at me, and his eyes went cold. "You like to get in men's minds, in their hearts and f.u.c.k with them. You've always been that way.

The minute you open your f.u.c.king legs, men loose their minds, their will.

I'm thinking it would have better for everyone if you'd never come back, Gwen. Really, what greater good have you served? You've ripped my heart out. h.e.l.l, I don't even know if Pallo has a heart, if he does then I'm sure you did the same to his. Oh, let's not forget dear ol' James. 'He's just my friend, Caleb ... you're being silly, Caleb,' yeah, right. Have you f.u.c.ked him yet?" He put his hand up and I flinched. "Wait, don't'

answer that. Let's guess. Pallo you go first."I took a step back as hate radiated off him. I would not stick around and take this abuse. If he wanted free of me, then fine, he'd be free of me.

They could all be free of me. I was sick of being pulled in two different directions by men who were at least ten times older than me. They'd had centuries to dwell on the past, to think of what should have been different. I had a few fragmented memories and twenty-five years under my belt. They'd turned me into a whiny indecisive sh.e.l.l of a woman, and I'd had enough.

Pallo turned his head back towards me, but kept his eyes on Caleb. "You earned my respect and I am forever in your debt for caring for her and my unborn child while I was ... away. Because of this I tell you now to think with your head, Caleb. I can sense you do not mean the words that are coming from your mouth. You are hurt, it is understandable, yet you must set these feelings aside."

When hotheaded Pallo is the voice of reason, you know we have problems.

Caleb pushed against Pallo's energy with enough magic to show that he didn't care what words of wisdom Pallo had to offer. "How can you stand there and tell me to calm down? She's hurt you too. h.e.l.l, she's hurt you worse. You're no longer alive because of her. Don't stand there and try to make me see a light that you can't even walk out into. She didn't just run off with your baby--she ran off with your soul!"

"Say what you must, Caleb. However, when morning comes and you realize you were harsh and want to take it all back, Gwyneth will be gone."

Caleb looked past Pallo at me. He thrust a hefty dose of hot magic my way and it pushed me back into the wall. "Go, then Gwen ... leave now ...

save time and energy. It wouldn't be your first time running out on me.

You're good at that. I hope I don't draw the short stick again and be the one who stumbles upon your dead f.u.c.king body. Get the h.e.l.l out of here!

Do me a favor and go straight to Giovanni. I'm curious as to what creative way he'll come up with to kill you again. I've got a few suggestions."

"CALEB, consider this your last warning," Pallo said, growling slightly.

Caleb ignored Pallo and glared at me. "Run Gwen, heaven forbid you faceyour problems head on. Go, off with you!" He thrust another does of magic at me and I cried out.

I turned and ran down the long hall. I had to kick the heels off to keep from falling on my face. I ran, not because I couldn't stand to hear the nasty things Caleb was saying, I ran because somewhere in my past I'd known that type of hatred--that hatred that causes men to go blind with jealousy and rage and to do something so unforgivable that it is never mentioned again. Yes, I knew that, and my body recognized it for what it was--a warning. I ran for my life. The hallway felt as though it was closing in on me. So many times I'd dreamed about an event so similar to this that the lines between my past life and this one blurred.

Pallo shouted at Caleb, "Enough!"

"Let the b.i.t.c.h go, Pallo."

"This is the same ... think about it Caleb, this is how we lost her before. This is exactly how we lost her. She is not separating the two.

To her, the fear is real--death is coming."

"Are you telling me that she's reliving the last few moments of ... f.u.c.k!

Gwen, stop! d.a.m.nit Gwen, stop! I was hurt and angry...."

I rounded the corner and recognized the hallway. I ran down to my bedroom door. I ran full force into the room and slammed the door shut. I let my forehead fall against the door as I locked it. My magic flared through me and knew enough to guard the door. Great, autopilot worked for me. My breathing was heavy and my chest was tight.

"Bella, you didn't seem to enjoy the announcement of your own engagement .

Trouble in paradise so soon?"

I screamed and spun around to find Giovanni standing on the balcony. His long straight black hair hung to his mid-back and caught the eternal night's glow. He was dressed in a black tuxedo and even had on a top hat.

He was the only vampire I'd ever met whose skin wasn't pale. I looked at his black eyes and wondered what brought him here to me.

"Did you come to try and kill me again? That's getting old. Besides,you'd have to get in line. Caleb has first dibs this time around." My words sounded brave but on the inside I was scare beyond belief. I just wanted to start over, never go to Necro's World and never meet any of them.

"No, bella, I have not come to harm you. No one knows I am here. The King wishes me dead now, and Sorcha was not pleased with my refusal to kill you a second time, though, she was not the sole instigator in that," he said. His Italian accent was thick. "I only came because I sensed your fear and your confusion. I've no wish to cause you any further pain. I simply could not rest knowing you were in need of comfort."

"May I come in?"

"No."

"I give you my word that no harm will come to you."

I thought about Pallo and Caleb, they both hated me right now and I couldn't say that I blamed them. It was obvious Caleb would rather stick a hot poker in his eye than marry me and Pallo had his chance to voice his objection to the engagement but he didn't. I was tired of living in turmoil. Tired of it all.

"Bella, allow me to comfort you. I would leave you be, but we are connected and when you are in pain, I feel it. And, I cannot bear it."

I heard Pallo's voice from the other side of my door. "Gwyneth, who are you talking to?"

"Go away, Pallo."

Giovanni raised a jet black eyebrow at me and glanced towards the door.

"Now, may I come in?"

"No, Giovanni, you can't come in, but I'll come out." I walked towards him. Something slammed against the door. The castle was built for things with super-human strength. It would take a couple more slams to get in. I walked to the edge of the balcony door and stopped for a minute. Once I crossed that line that there would be no turning back. Both Pallo and Caleb liked to throw the past in my face when it suited them, whyshouldn't I throw it back in theirs?

I heard Caleb tell Pallo to move. The temperature in the room jacked up fast and the door burst open. Pallo stopped in mid-stride when he saw Giovanni standing there. Caleb just stared at me. The hate in his eyes had been replaced by fear.

"Gwen?"

The two of them stood side by side. My soul mates together at last and for once in agreement. I'd no longer sit around and try to struggle with fate. It had dealt me two matches, two mates for a reason, and that was clearly to make me insane. It had to stop.

"Are you ready?" Giovanni asked. I nodded my head slowly, slightly scared of what was to come.

"Gwyneth, no," Pallo said, his voice full of pain. "We can fix this, Caleb and I can come to terms ... do not do this."

"I didn't ask to be brought back and I didn't ask to be reunited with the two of you. I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you both and I promise to stay out of your lives for good this time. Do me a favor and stay out of mine."

I stepped towards Giovanni on the balcony. He took my hand in his and pulled me close to him. My stomach dropped when we left the ground but I think it was more out of relief than fear of heights.

He held me close to his chest and for the first time in months I didn't feel conflicted or confused--I felt safe.

Chapter 38.

Flying for an extended period with a master vampire was definitely an experience a person remembers. When we stopped I thought we'd gone only a few miles, in truth we'd gone thousands. Giovanni had explained to me how the portals from the Dark Realm work. They are set up much like a subway with various on and off points, however, they do not operate in real time. You can open one door and be in Michigan, open another and be in Australia. We'd picked the one that led back to Giovanni's house, or excuse me, his castle--his villa.

He was tucked safely away in his room because the sun was rising. That left me free to roam about his home. Big, big, and big basically summed the place up. I felt like I'd stepped into the pages of a magazine.

Everything had a place and everything jived. When we'd first arrived Giovanni had made an attempt to offer me something to eat. It was a good thing that I wasn't hungry because the man only had blood in his refrigerator. I laughed and I could tell that he felt badly about it.

There was no way he could have foreseen me joining him so it was fine that he wasn't prepared.

Giovanni also kept trying to apologize for the state in which his house was in. There was only a thin layer of dust on everything but by the way he acted you'd have thought that he was asking me to make do in a city dump.

I headed up the curved staircase to the room he'd told me was mine. I opened the door and walked over to the large French doors that opened onto a ma.s.sive balcony. The balcony overlooked the backyard. A huge in-ground pool was there, a tennis court, and several large gardens. I especially liked the box hedge maze, from my viewpoint it looked amazing.

I had to laugh, Giovanni couldn't go out into the daylight yet his home was equipped with endless daytime activities.

I sat out on the iron chair with a matching table and watched the sun come up. I closed my eyes and let the first morning virginal rays touch my skin. I savored every second of it. My mind wandered for the first time since I'd arrived. I fully expected my thoughts to go to Caleb and Pallo instead I thought of James. I would miss him most. We'd becomeextremely close friends--and a friend was what I needed most right now.

Epilogue.

Giovanni and I have been living together for close to two months now. I think that surprised him as much as it surprised me. We aren't sleeping together. I'm positive he wants to but I have no interest in starting another relationship. So far, he's been fine with that. I was quick to let him know that if he got out of line with me I'd kill him. He thought that sounded fair, since I warned him and all.

I sometimes think of the engagement party. I haven't tried to contact anyone. I need a break from Pallo and Caleb. I've felt so free of guilt and responsibility with Giovanni--I don't want to go home. He doesn't judge me or ask me to make a choice, and he's never once brought up our past together. He seems perfectly content to just be in the same room as me, and that's what I need most right now.

I do find myself missing James more and more. It's funny how you can miss your friends more than your lovers. An old friend of mine once told me that intimacy is a vital part of a healthy relationship. I hadn't understood what that meant until now. I've been thinking about calling James but he'd be forced to tip Pallo off on my whereabouts.

As far as I know, the wedding is still set to take place four months from now. I don't see it happening. The groom can't stand me and I'm not sure how I feel about him. I wish it was cut and dry. I wish I could say that our situation can be summed up fast and wrapped up with a neat little bow--that I have no feelings for Pallo or Caleb, but they would both be lies, and we've already had more than enough of those.

THE END.

Unedited excerpt from BELLA MIA: Book III in the Gwyneth Stevens Series by Mandy M. Roth

Chapter 1.

"Check mate," Giovanni said.

I looked across the board at him and rolled my eyes. "There's a shocker!"

He'd beaten me three times in a row. He had perfected the art of annihilating his opponents in the shortest amount of moves possible. No surprise, he'd had almost five hundred years to master the game of chess.

I'd had less than thirty. Guess who was better.

He twirled the end of his long black hair and gave me a wicked little smile.

"I could let you win next time," he said. I had a sneaky suspicion that he had tried to let me win the last one, which had ended in much the same fashion as the rest--me as the loser.

"Oh, yeah, I want a pity win, thanks ... but, no."His rich laugh moved over me as he stood up. He put his hand out to me, his eyes darting over my body as he pulled me up to him. My long burgundy colored belled-slacks gave the look of a skirt and the flow of a gown. My overly exaggerated b.r.e.a.s.t.s were pushed up towards him in the matching corset top. I looked like I could be starring in a late night soap opera.

Giovanni looked down at the mounds of white flesh and bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment of my beauty. No, I wasn't being c.o.c.ky. He'd done it so many times over the past four months that I was almost used to it. Trust me when I say that getting used to being treated like a queen is friggin' awesome.

The first time he'd acted like that, I'd stopped and made a point to question his behavior. He simply explained that he was paying his respects for "being allowed to be near me." I laughed him off. Giovanni was one that I was never able to read well. I knew all about him being a big-bad-vampire and I knew all about his role in killing me my first time on this earth. That was over two hundred years ago. Wait, it gets even more confusing. He also played a key role in saving my life on two different occasions this time around.

Being reincarnated was hard enough to live with, try adding the fact that ninety percent of the people I knew in my past life were immortal and still around. Yeah, I was beginning to think I'd make a great movie of the week.