Read Online Octavia's Choice [The Klawinken 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Natalie Rosewood - Free Book Online Page A

have broken up and for good, I’m afraid. Tobias saw to that.”
    “What are you talking about? I saw to it personally that she forgot her coupling with him, and I also made sure that he would be out of the picture just like we planned. He’s in Japan on tour, and believe me, he won’t be dreaming about her again. It killed me to hurt him so, but I told him that she would die if he continued to see her.”
    “That may be, but I doubt it will work. Their attraction is too strong. We can’t allow them to continue mating.”
    “They won’t.”
    “I have a really bad feeling about this. More drastic measures have to be taken.”
    “What kind of measures? What are you talking about?” Magda’s voice had become high-pitched. He knew she was scared.
    “Don’t worry. Tobias will be fine. However, Octavia can’t be allowed to continue. The risk is too great. We tried to do it the kind way, but I’m afraid we have no choice.”
    “You can’t be serious. Her mother and father were killed in the name of preserving our species. We can’t kill again, and she’s just a child.”
    “I’ve told you before, her parents’ death was truly an accident, regardless of what you seem to think. They were drunk and lost control of the car.”
    “They were drunk because we drugged them. The accident would never have happened if we hadn’t felt the need to tell them both they were the parents of a monster child who would bring nothing but death and destruction to our race if she were allowed to live.”
    “I didn’t force the alcohol down their throats that night.”
    “No, but it didn’t stop you from adding something to it.”
    “Listen, the past is past. They’re dead. There’s nothing we can do about that. However, now that Octavia’s twenty-one, the promise to her grandmother no longer exists. She knew her daughter was damaged, that Octavia was the victim of their mother’s genetics. We thought James was sterile, or we would have never allowed them to mate.”
    “Just like they thought my husband was a safe mate for me. However, Tobias was born, and he’s a Beaucomp, too. Lucky for me he was a boy.”
    “Tobias has the gift of healing, and that isn’t something we take lightly. Although, he hasn’t been called on to use it. Someday he will, and when that happens, we’ll all be glad he was spared. Octavia has become a very serious problem that has to be eliminated.”
    Pierce shut his phone and placed it on his desk. Magda would come around. She knew they had no choice, and she would do anything to keep Tobias safe. The council had been so careful to make sure the Beaucomp gene was never allowed to surface, and yet it had, twice and in a very short period of time. For two Klawinken with that genetic disposition to mate and have children was the one thing they had tried so desperately to keep from happening. It was written that this would happen, and the Council had felt they could control it through the manipulation of dreams. Unfortunately, in Octavia’s and Tobias’s case, it hadn’t worked. He hated the thought of ending Octavia’s life, but to let her live now would be pure madness.
    Luckily her sister, Evenela, had not been given the Beaucomp gene. At least he wouldn’t have her blood on his hands. The question was when and how Octavia would die. It would have to appear to be an accident. He would have to call a Council meeting. They had to be told.
     
    * * * *
     
    Tobias sat in his hotel room in Tokyo and took another sip from the bottle of scotch he had almost drained. He had a concert that night, and he didn’t care. All he could think about was Octavia. She was the love of his life, and he could never see her again. To do so could mean her eventual death.
    His mother had never lied to him. When he came out of the jungle and saw her on the beach instead of Octavia, he had never felt such dread. He had just stood watching her, not moving. When she had motioned to him to come to her, he had wanted