Wayde raised pleading eyes to Derek. "If you cared at all for me you'd let me go Derek."
Derek waved his hand in the air, dismissing that statement.
"You've violated my trust Wayde, say goodbye to your friends. You won't be seeing them anytime soon."
The guards grabbed Rhimbrant, Quinn and the Professor pushing them towards the black cars.
"Quinn!" Wayde cried. She ran after them, reaching her hand out.
"No!" Derek ordered. He grabbed her arm and motioned to a nearby guard. "Take her back to her apartments. Guard the doors."
"Sir!" the guard said..
Wayde looked up at Derek. "I hate you."
He didn't even look at her while she was put in a car.
**************
Derek slammed his door shut, his fury nearly frayed to the last. He threw off his jacket and tie.
"God!!" he snapped at no one at all.
Ever since he'd been seven years old, he'd seen her. The beautiful girl who he watched grow into the beautiful woman who haunted his dreams and visions. She was here, now, in his very mansion.
Yet she was just an unattainable as a fictional dream.
"Wayde." he moaned, sliding into his desk chair.
He rubbed his face, haggard by a restless sleep and his fear of loosing her were all starting to take their toll.
She was his only light, the only pure thing that had been the force behind all his work. Especially after his parents had died, when he was 10, the girl in his dreams was the last person he loved. And he knew that she loved him back. Wayde, did love him, even if she was still...disorientated from all that had happened.
Unconsciously his mind went out and found Wayde, she was awake, fearful and angry.
Derek knew that tonight when she fell asleep she would learn the truth. That in the past life, he'd let her down and she died for his blunder.
"Damn it!" Derek slammed his fist on the table.
He wasn't going to lose her a second time.
He rested his hand against his forehead.
Wayde was still awake, restless with her anger and fear. Gently, he entered her mind and quietly nudged her to sleep.
Even the late Prime Oracle hadn't understood how much he had perfected his telepathic influence power.
He smiled as Wayde slowly but easily slipped into a quiet slumber. He disconnected the link and reached out for a glass of Brandy to calm down.
*****************
Wayde's eyes snapped open. She'd been killed, shot, and died in his arms. In Derek's arms as Kate!
Breathing her last breath while Derek swore to avenger her death and gain more power then his fathers.
Getting out of the bed, she put some clothes on brushed her hair and was walking to the door when someone knocked.
"Who is it?"
"The Prime Oracle requests your presence for breakfast Miss Wayde."
*******Wayde followed behind the guard and quickly arrived at the dinning room.
Derek sat at the head reading some papers.
He glanced up. "Good morning Wayde. Sleep well?"
Wayde kept quiet and sat down in the seat furthest from Derek.
"Do they have to be here?" she bit out, referring to the servants.
"No."
Derek waved them away.
When the room was empty Wayde spoke.
"I can't marry you Derek."
Derek nodded his head. "You had the whole dream didn't you Wayde? I knew that would be a problem."
"Problem? You just don't get it Derek. When I died as Kate you wished for power greater then your father's. Well, now you've got it and your using it just as ruthlessly as he ever did."
"Wayde-"
"Let me finish! I know you think I'll change my mind, but I won't. You can't make me love you Derek. Not even God can do that."
"I'm not trying to make you love me. You already do. And as for letting you go...I can't."
"You don' love me Derek. You don't even know me, all you know is the image of my past life. That isn't who I am anymore! It is just the image of me you want. The thing you've never had."
That statement caught Derek by surprise. Opening his mouth to answer back, he then shut it.
"See I told you." Wayde said.
"No, Wayde, I do love you. You're everything to me, it's just I've been, as I said before, in love with you since I was a little boy. You've only had really two days to understand this past life thing."
"I don't belong here Derek. I've got a family at home. I want to find home someday."
"Wayde, I can make this your home. I'm the most powerful man in the world, you'd never want for anything?"
"Or any one?"
"Yes!"
"Did you love your parents?"
"Yes," Derek replied hesitantly.
"Do you miss them?"
"Yes, but they've been dead since I was ten."
"Well, mine aren't dead, so think how much more I miss them." Wayde rubbed her palms together.
"Wayde what we have is so much deeper then anything you will ever know. This time, I swear, I won't let you be ripped from me."
Wayde turned her head from him arms crossed.
Derek went back to his papers, until he heard a choked sob. Jerking his head up he saw Wayde cover her face.
"Wayde?"
Derek stood and came around to her. He placed comforting hands on her shoulders.
Wayde shock them off and tried to stand up. She tipped the chair over and fell a bit, Derek reached out to steady her.
"Wayde I've only ever wanted you to be happy." Derek pleaded.
"Happy? How can keeping me a prisoner make me happy?"
"I'm not keeping you here to hurt you Wayde."
"I can't marry you Derek, I can't stay here." She pulled back from him.
She couldn't have hurt him more if she'd stabbed him through the heart.
"You can and you will." He replied determinedly.
Wayde shook her head. "You have so much power, how can you have so little insight?"
Derek shoved his hands into his pant pockets. "You want to know the truth Wayde? When I look at you, I don't see clearly and that scares me half to death."
Wayde turned her back on him.
Moving away from her he picked up his jacked and shrugged into it.
"Tonight is the first publicity event for us together. The dress is already hanging in your bedroom closet."
Taking his papers in one hand he gave her a weak smile. "The President will be here soon, I've got a busy day. See you tonight Wayde."
********
Copyright, 2000. Charmeye.
