Fated Read online

  My eyes zone in on the nameless woman on the left. Danner has come to stand behind her small figure, his snake-like fingers sliding around her waist while one hand wraps tightly around the base of her throat. Amelia’s eyes are like fire, the heated blaze sparking her features into sharp and distorted angles. Whether it’s from fascination, or anger, I do not know. But I do know that if this girl is immune to Danner’s influence, there is absolutely no way she will be allowed to leave alive.

  Danner throws his head back in a fit of maniacal laughter as he drags her body flush against his own. Amelia watches with a sadistic amount of appreciation coating her features, enjoying the show of her bonded mate stealing the life of someone who holds an undoubted amount of power over her.

  Unexplainable fury builds in my gut and eats at my organs as I watch Danner’s hands seductively caress her bewitching figure. “We’ll have to do this hard way, I see. But I appreciate that in a woman such as yourself, little Luna. It’s been a while since I’ve had to conquer a true challenge.”

  Luna.

  I hear his words this time, while my body and mind awaken in indescribable ways I’ve never experienced before. Hearing her name sends an influx of adrenaline surging through my chest. All of my senses have sparked to a new level, not incredibly higher than before, but enough to hear his words and feel the incredible power warring in the room ahead of me. My vision is slightly clearer, time slows by just a fraction of a second as I step forward, letting the dim lighting illuminate my massive stature as I reveal that I’ve been lying in wait.

  I am risking and possibly ruining everything I’ve worked for.

  To intervene on behalf of a faceless girl I know nothing of.

  “Amelia.”

  The girls around me are dead. Clearly, as they lay scattered around the room after fighting to catch their own breath. Fear finally rushes through my mind and overwhelms my body, effectively replacing the false confidence I was so sure I could fake through this. I don’t understand how this awful and evil man standing behind me did it. While his cold and chilling fingers glide over my skin and possess my throat, I struggle to decipher any logical explanation to this entire experience.

  His words barely register as they skirt across my ears. His lips brush the shell of my ear, sending a breath of chilling air slithering across my neck. I don’t know what he’s saying, but the feeling of his grip growing tighter and tighter across my throat is overtaking my mind and body in a way I can’t control.

  “Amelia.”

  A new voice. A masculine, deep, radiating voice booms from behind us and envelopes me like a thick blanket of heavy velvet. It replaces the cold chill behind the revolting man’s fingers, with something much more sultry, akin to the scorching heat on your skin in the middle of July.

  For the first time, I see a clear spark of fear light the woman’s eyes in front of me. Amelia, it must be her name. One she never offered to the likes of us, discarded, valueless people who were a simple means to an end for her.

  Immediately, I’m twisted around in the same arms of the man I wish so desperately to escape from. His grip on my body has grown incredibly harder. I’m practically bolted to his chest with a strength I didn’t realize someone of his lean stature could hold. Amelia stands to the right of me while the grip on my neck remains, continuing to constrict my airway just enough to barely keep me conscious.

  I meet the new arrival’s gaze in an instant. One that scorches through my skin as his emerald green eyes quickly rake over me. A strange sensation of kinship flourishes in my chest, as if a thin tether between the two of us is connected. I can’t explain it, but suddenly that fix I needed as a hypothetical addict comes breaking back to the surface of my mind.

  Amelia steps away from me and toward the man ahead of us. A feeling of defense builds in my mind as she nears him. It doesn’t make any sense, this unfamiliar feeling of, what? Jealousy? It can’t be that. There’s nothing to be jealous of. I have no idea who any of these people are.

  As she closes the distance between them, I’m given a quick moment to process the man who interrupted my impending death. He’s tall, astonishingly so. Taller than the man who I’m currently pressed tightly against. He’s also much broader and wider than anyone I’ve ever met before. His thick arms showcase his bulging muscles as they cross casually in front of his chest. He’s wearing a black, long sleeve thermal that clings to his defined pecs before it falls over his low slung, dark denim jeans. His legs are just as impressive, solid and clearly tense with restrained power.

  I notice his tattoos next. They’re everywhere, trailing out from underneath his sleeves and leading to each of his fingertips. They even peek out from under the collar of his shirt, rising up his neck before stopping at a clean line under his sharp jaw. His dark hair is long on top, informally pulled back into a small knot while the sides are shaved close to his scalp.

  He’s attractive, in the most demanding and sensual way possible. I shouldn’t even realize this right now, but when his light, forest green eyes leave my gaze to meet Amelia’s, the distinct feeling of disappointment uncontrollably wells in my gut.

  “My Elijah,” she whispers.

  Elijah. Her Elijah? The knowledge of his name evokes something within me, something ambiguous and possessive that I can’t seem to place.

  Her voice shakes with a slight tremble that shocks me. I feel the man behind me tense at their interaction. I can’t help but think that these two must have a past, and if he’s with her, then my last shred of hope at escaping this place has been destroyed.

  Her small hand reaches up to gently rest against his cheek. His face is completely stoic, showing no signs of what his thoughts or intentions are. Slowly though, he uncrosses his arms and reaches for her hand, briefly taking it in his and pulling it away from his face. He leans forward, his soft, full lips mere inches from hers and I find myself anxiously shrinking away at their potential kiss.

  “Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me.” The words leave his mouth on slow, deliberate intervals. The ice dripping from his voice is unmistakable and I fight away the odd feeling of relief that washes over me.

  She laughs, a sweet giggle at his remark as she quickly turns on her heel and marches back towards us. She snakes her fingers into the thick strands of my hair, gripping and pulling tightly so that I’m pinned between both her and her partner.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Elijah? Come to watch the show? I’ve missed you.” She yanks my head towards her, and I swear I feel parts of my scalp tear under her unrelenting grasp. I refuse to cry, or yelp in pain so I bite the inside of my cheek to keep quiet.

  “I haven’t missed you, Amelia.” He turns his attention towards the man behind me. “How are you, Danner? Still as sickly as ever I see. Preying on young women was always your forte.” His tone drips with venom as he bites the words out through his clenched teeth.

  Amelia releases a bitter laugh and I can practically feel the tension rolling off of her body in waves. She’s uncomfortable, clearly unsure of where this is headed. “Leave now, Elijah and I’ll allow you out with your heart still beating inside of your worthless chest.”

  A deafening silence falls inside of the room, heavy and smothering between each of us. The smallest pang of fear sparks in my chest at the threat of his death. I’m a lost young woman, caught in the midst of something I know nothing of, experiencing feelings and emotions I don’t understand and there’s nothing I can do about it now. Danner’s grip on my throat has relaxed just slightly since Amelia holds my head firmly towards her. I’m conscious and present but I straddle the mental line of wishing I wasn’t.

  “Why are you doing this, Amelia? This wasn’t you before.” He completely ignores her threat and chooses to challenge her with this clearly loaded question. I understand now that they definitely have some sort of past between them and if I wasn’t mistaken, I’d say that I see it mostly in Amelia’s eyes. I can practically feel the war between hate and love blazing within her.

>   “Because it has to be done. You’ve never understood the importance of what is at stake. You’ve never cared about the throne until now, never cared to rule when it was just the two of us. Why now?” She’s pleading with him in a tone that spews toxic anger and fury.

  “There was never a threat as dangerous as you before now. You have no right to that throne, Amelia.”

  “And you do? You disowned your right to rule when you turned your back on your own race.”

  Amelia pulls me out of Danner’s grasp and into her own. Even with her slight figure, I’m surprisingly banded so tightly against her. There is a heat radiating from her skin, soaking through mine and infecting my body with whatever poison she can control.

  “My intentions with the throne are none of your business. And you’ve failed to answer my question. Why these women, suilean gorma?” I hear the slight accent in his voice for the first time but have no idea what he’s just called her. From the moment of hesitation within her body, I can only assume it’s a term of endearment and Danner takes a step to close the distance between us. His tall body comes flush behind mine as he reaches for my wrists and grips them tightly, pulling them up and over my head to hold me against him.

  “Enough!” he shouts into the darkness and Amelia’s guard quickly slips back into place.

  “These women all have the Angel race in their bloodstreams, they each had the potential to stake a claim to the throne. But they would never be able to rule. They would never be strong enough to maintain our stance against the cambion demons, let alone the entire demonic rule below. They had to be taken care of for the safety and well-being of the rest of us.” Amelia’s other hand rises to my cheek and her fingertips drift down my cold skin. She trails them along my jaw line and even further to caress my collarbone. Goosebumps break out across my shoulders in response to her icy touch. “This one is different though. She has the blood of Archophys and Estera flowing through her veins,” she pauses, turning her gaze back towards Elijah as she speaks. “Did you know they were Fated? It’s true.”

  I have no idea who or what she is talking about. They clearly have the wrong person. I am a simple young woman who was thrown into the foster care system growing up. It would be my luck that they incorrectly abduct the wrong person and I’m stuck here in this fatal situation.

  “Impossible,” his voice cuts through each of us as Amelia whips her head back towards him.

  “Must I prove it to you? Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t put all of the pieces together yet. Don’t you feel how long you’ve known her? Please understand, once I show you, I’m going to have to kill you as well.”

  Known me? Confusion flashes in his eyes for a brief moment, his lips turning down in a slight scowl as he tenses.

  A sadistic smile plays across her lips as she reaches for the long, thin blade nestled against her thigh. I instinctively stiffen my body, mentally preparing myself for my looming death, realizing there is no way I could ever escape this disastrous circumstance. But I will stick with my initial plan, I will never let them see me break. I won’t beg or cry or ask for mercy. I will die with my head held high, staring them in the eyes when they take my life.

  “Amelia, I am warning you now. I am taking the girl and I am leaving, do not force me into hurting you in the process.” His voice is clipped, short and intensely commanding with each word.

  She ignores him as her blade lifts to rest on the side of my throat. She pierces the thin skin below my ear just slightly at first, until she begins dragging the blade downwards, slicing and flaying me until blood seeps from the wound and flows down my neck from the shallow wound. I refuse to cry, but an uncontrollable whimper falls from my throat and I bite my tongue to hold it back. My eyes impulsively shut as the feeling of wet, thick blood falls over my chest and between my breasts, soaking the shirt that so ironically matches the color of my own blood. It’s as if it disappears, having happened and so quickly forgotten.

  I force my eyes open immediately, lifting my chin higher when my gaze meets Elijah’s once again. His body is restrained, a silent killer as he watches the scene unfold in front of him. Amelia’s fingers slide to my neck, effectively touching some of my blood and rolling it between her fingertips. When she turns her hand towards Elijah, I realize the color is drastically different than when it was on my own skin.

  On hers, the color changes to a midnight black, absolutely no hint of the deep red it was once before. She laughs humorlessly as she eyes her own fingers, relishing in the fact that she was indeed, right about her conclusion. Danner joins her, reaching around me to grip her face and bring her lips to his. I’m caught between them as they smile into each other in this brief second of celebration. In what is the slowest moment of my life, Danner releases her face to grip my own from behind, twisting my neck in a searing pain so that I’m angled towards Amelia.

  “It is time, my love,” he says as Amelia’s hands rest against my blood-soaked neck.

  “It is, sweet Luna. You have been a delicious surprise.” Her hard lips crash against mine in a powerful kiss. Immediately, I feel my body begin losing something instrumental to my survival. I have no control over the way she manipulates me, forcing my mouth open to hers as her tongue enters and strokes my own. It’s not an enjoyable kiss in the slightest, instead it reminds of that dreadful night seven years ago where I was forced into things I never wanted to experience. But instead of having the ability to fight back, my energy and strength is being pulled from my body in electrical waves.

  I go completely lax against Danner as his arms snake around my waist to hold me upright. I have no stamina left to maintain my own stance. I can feel the edges of my vision going hazy and dark. I’m going to pass out, I can feel the heavy wave of obscurity quickly approaching.

  In the last second, I vaguely hear the sound of bodies slamming against others. I collapse to the cold ground below as both Amelia and Danner are ripped from me and my head cracks against the cement in a powerful blow.

  Finally, after wishing and begging to be alone seven years ago, I’m left alone now.

  But it’s the first time I have the smallest inkling that maybe I don’t want to be alone after all.

  “I don’t fucking care what you’re doing. I’m headed to your place now, fucking get there and be ready for us!” I shout into the small Bluetooth speaker of my Jeep. I’m trying to stay calm talking to my brother, but I need his fucking help and he needs to be there.

  I glance behind me, for the millionth time, to make sure Luna is still breathing. But I know she is, I can feel it, as if I’ve known her my entire life. It’s coming out of her in shallow, quick breaths that have my heart racing unexplainably.

  She’s there, lying on her back while blood stains her body in countless different places. Her hair is a tangled, thick mess of blood and sweat all rolled into one. Her shirt is torn and caked with it as well, plastering it to her stomach while she lays there unconscious.

  “All right, I’ll be there brother,” he finally responds. I can tell he’s confused. I haven’t shown this much interest in a single person for years. But I can’t explain it to him, I have no idea why I’m doing what I’m doing. All I know is that the quicker he can fix her up and get her on her feet, the quicker she can leave and get out of my fucking life. I don’t need this and I sure as hell don’t want it.

  My mind spirals with the information Amelia claimed. It doesn’t make sense, Luna’s supposed parents. Or the fact that she mentioned how I’ve known Luna for longer than I realize. Nothing tangible about her is familiar, I have no idea who she is outside of the mess I just pulled her from.

  After taking on both Danner and Amelia at once, I realize now that I suffered a few more injuries than I initially thought. I’m pretty sure Amelia stabbed me somewhere in my lower back—wouldn’t be the first time—and Danner was quick to try and choke me to death without laying a finger on my throat. Fucking coward. He’s always been afraid of me.

  Thankfully though, I caught t
hem off guard enough to land a few solid hits myself as well, until her guards heard the commotion and interrupted our little encounter. I snatched Luna up off the ground as quickly as I could and took off while Amelia struggled to regain her footing from my blows. I was never into hitting women, ever. But Amelia is a warrior—we all are—and in that case, I don’t discriminate.

  I race through the crowded streets of New York until I’m a decent distance outside the city and well into one of the small, surrounding towns where it isn’t full of tall, close knit skyscrapers. Instead, this is a quaint little area with homes that have larger property lines, scaling hills, and local shops. I love this area, close enough to the city when I need it, but far enough away to give me the privacy I crave. My brother and I both live out here, in separate homes, but near to each other nonetheless.

  When you’ve Fallen, and you find yourself shamelessly living in a world you simply observe from afar, you seek the closeness of anything familiar. For a while, that included Amelia for me. I sought out the relationship, her connection, and the fact that we had both Fallen and were struggling to find our footing in this world.

  Now, however, the only relationship I keep near is my brother’s. Even then, we aren’t as close as we could be. I’ve realized the farther I push everyone away, the less I have to worry about and the fewer responsibilities I have in caring about someone else’s safety or well-being. I don’t owe anyone anything at this point, other than the servitude and protection of my race. Which I will willingly give, as long as it is needed.

  As a Seraphim Angel, I was naturally in line to obtain the throne when I first Fell almost two decades ago. But I refused it, I didn’t want it and I didn’t want the responsibility of ruling over a mass race of Angels. I never questioned that decision until Amelia began showing interest in the throne herself. As time has passed, I’ve seen the destruction and chaos she leaves in her wake, and see that it may be time I stake my own claim.