The Fire of the Fated (The Chosen Series Book 3)

by K. C. Hamby

  “God, you’re tall,” she breathes, thighs tightly squeezing my sides.

  I turn my head and gaze at her from the corner of my eye. She’s an angel on the back of Death, a white light taming dark shadows.

  She catches me looking and grins. “Um...giddy up?”

  I buck a little and she yelps, grabbing on to my neck and lying her stomach against my spine.

  “Okay, no horse jokes. Got it.”

  When Nina rights herself, I start trotting around the edge of the trees, letting her get use to the feeling of riding on my back.

  I’m no expert, but I’m sure it’s a little different than horseback riding. I haven’t ridden either a wolf or horse, so what the fuck do I know?

  Eddie and Ash lie in the middle of the clearing, watching the both of us with wolfy grins. Ash suddenly plops on his side and licks the bottom of Eddie’s chin and she playfully nips at his ears, turning their attention away from us.

  “Can you go faster?” Nina asks, a little unsure, fingers digging into my fur and scratching the skin beneath.

  Hold on, gorgeous.

  I pick up the pace and glide into a steady run. Not full out, but probably the equivalent of full speed of a horse. Joy flows to me through our bond and I can hear Nina giggle as the wind whips around her face.

  Goddess, I wish she could shift. When she started gaining Lupi traits with the immortality from Persephone—speed, strength, and the inner voice telling her to protect her Mate—I was hopeful. But we tried over and over again to get her to shift. We went at it from every angle I’ve ever learned to trigger it; Nina meditated, pictured herself as a wolf…hell, we even got Ash to scare the shit out of her—at her request—to see if the fear would spark the flame of her inner wolf, but nothing.

  It hurt me to see the disappointment grow in her every time our attempts failed. I can’t imagine the pain it caused her.

  She stopped trying to shift about six months ago and now…now she gets jealous when we all shift, and I wouldn’t blame her if she did resent me a little for it. I understand. I can’t even begin to comprehend what it’s like to be in her shoes.

  If there was anything I could do to change it, I would in a heartbeat. No one deserves a wolf more than Nina.

  “Faster!”

  I bark once and push to full speed. Her legs tighten on my sides, but the joy grows and grows. She throws her arms out like she’s flying.

  If I could do this forever for her, I would.

  Chapter 28

  Nina

  This morning, my butt was so sore from the ride last night until Fal healed it all away. I’d compare the soreness to what I would get if I rode a white tiger on a rainbow into a hurricane.

  But it was amazing. I’ve never felt so free. I still wish I could shift, but what Fal did last night was more than I could ever hope for.

  “I’m going to be late,” I groan, attempting to unweave my legs from Fal’s to get out of the bed.

  The blankets have been thrown off, sure, but Fal won’t relent. Her arms tighten around my waist when I move again to get up. She pulls me back to her bare chest with a playful grumble.

  “Five more minutes,” she growls and kisses my neck, knowing she’s being manipulative.

  I mean, it’s not like I mind.

  I lean into her lips with tingles all down my spine and press my butt back against her hips. “You’re not playing fair.”

  “Oh, Nina,” she whispers against my skin, her words coaxing shivers all over my body. “You should know by now I’m not playing at all.” Her sharpened canines nip at my neck as emphasis.

  “Faligator,” I plead, but only a little. There’s no real conviction behind the reprimand. “I wish I could stay. I really do. But I have to go welcome the new Council member.”

  We needed someone to replace Alex on the Council. Althea texted me earlier this morning to let me know about the new arrival. Someone she’s known for a long time is what she said. I was excited…but now…

  Fal holds me for a few more seconds before releasing me with a lot of reluctance and dramatics. “Okay, fine. But this isn’t over.”

  “Oh, I don’t doubt it,” I giggle as I slide out of bed, nearly falling on my face until Fal’s arm catches me. “In fact, I’m going to hold you to that, Thana.”

  She makes sure I can stand by myself and rolls on her back, crossing her arms behind her head with a giant smile. She doesn’t respond to my promise, but I’m so caught up in the electricity pulsing in my blood from how gorgeous she is, I don’t mind.

  God. Why do I have to go?

  Do I have to?

  Like right now?

  Maybe…

  “You know,” I start after warring with myself, stepping closer to the bed.

  Her eyes flick to me like a predator, and she becomes still, calculating every tiny movement I make.

  “I could be a few minutes late…”

  The growl in her chest stills me. I’m a bunny in the grass, knowing a fox is nearby.

  “You shouldn’t play games with me, Nina,” she whispers, and when I look in her eyes, they are wide and dilated.

  I take a step closer and drop my voice as low as I can, taunting the predator like a fool. “Who says I’m playing…?”

  I blink and Fal is gone, no longer in the bed.

  “What the…”

  Strong arms wrap around my waist and soft lips kiss my neck. I squeak in surprise and she laughs against my skin, low and dark. Her fingers run up and down the sides of my stomach with her fingernails slightly scratching.

  “You should get back in bed, then,” Fal whispers in my ear.

  ***

  “Sorry! Sorry I’m late!” I yell and skid to a halt in the Council Chamber. “Fal needed…uh..help with something,” I fumble, nearly tripping over the flat, white marble floor, and my face catches on fire.

  Everyone knows. They must know because I’m given smirks and chuckles as I gain everyone’s attention.

  Great.

  “Hmm,” Hida grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest, judging in that way she does.

  And by that, I mean her normal face. She’s always judging. Always.

  Hida’s dark, hooded eyes watch me with mild annoyance as she flicks her black, braided hair behind her shoulders, minimizing the contrast of the dark locks and her bisque-colored skin.

  “That’s alright, Prophetess,” Althea interjects and I’m forever grateful she’s always here to combat the crappiness of Hida’s attitude. “Nina, I would like you to meet my long-time friend, Winema, Pack Alpha and Medicine Woman of the Sioux Pack in North Dakota, new member of our High Council, and master of tomahawks.” Althea gestures to the woman beside her, a knowing tilt in her lips when she winks at me.

  God, this is embarrassing.

  “Hello,” the woman greets me with a smooth, strong voice as she bows her head a little in greeting.

  She is gorgeous with her red, tan skin and long, black hair. Her eyes are dark brown, soft, and friendly just as her pouty-lipped smile shows off her high cheekbones and white teeth. She is lean and muscular in her light jeans and blue shirt.

  “It’s so nice to meet you!” I announce and take her hand.

  Her energy touches mine like the brush of grass against my feet. It is green and strong. She is honest-minded and loyal, leading with reverence and unwavering power. There is nothing sinister in her energy other than the typical bloodlust I find in all Lupi.

  I blink a few times and try not to seem like I’m staring when I watch her and process the strange tingles in my mind.

  Sometimes, I can’t help staring. It’s always a weird experience for me to touch someone’s energy. I learn a lot about a person in just one graze of skin and—most of the time—they know nothing as intimate about me.

  “And you can just call me Nina.”

  “Nina, you have a beautiful, lilac energy coursing through your veins. You always do what you believe in your heart to be right,” she tells me, looking o
ff at nothing. And then her dark eyes find mine. “May I call you Ichante?”

  “What does that mean?”

  “From the heart.” She smiles down at me.

  “Sure, I’m okay with that.” Then her words register. “Wait, hold on. You can read energy like me?” I ask, bewildered, raising a brow at a slightly amused Althea.

  “Yes. I was given the gift of True Sight and Healing by our lovely goddess. As you and Althea were. Of course, I am not a prophetess. I do not see into the future as you do. I can see someone’s soul and energy; their true intensions if you will.” She pats my hand and lets it go.

  “Wow. I’m so glad to have someone else who understands that part of my weird abilities. Althea, you, and I can make a club,” I say, giggling a bit when she laughs at me.

  What are you giggling about, babe?

  My eyes widen. Sorry, I didn’t mean to project on you. The new Council member is super nice, that’s all. And she thinks I’m funny.

  How could she not?

  “Tell your Mate hello and I cannot wait to meet her,” Winema tells me with a sly smile lighting up her face.

  “You..uh..” My cheeks fever. “How did you know…?”

  “Your energy brightens when you speak with her. And a bit of her darker energy mixes with yours.”

  Busted, Fal chuckles.

  So, she can tell Fal’s energy is dark even without meeting her. Is it because it is so overpowering? Is the darkness getting worse for her?

  “Well, that’s embarrassing,” I grumble, tucking the thoughts into the back of my mind for a bit, and twirl my hair around my finger.

  “Not at all, Ichante. Just endearing.” Her smile is beautiful and shows off the amazing kindness radiating from inside.

  I like her already. And Althea likes her when she’s known her for god knows how long, so she’s good people.

  Thane steps up, his penetrating seafoam eyes bright against his coffee skin, lips set in the disconcerting smirk as always. “Prophetess, the rest of the Council have had the pleasure of being acquainted with Winema for years. I’m sure you trust we have made the right choice.”

  Thane has never stopped calling me Prophetess, no matter how many times I insist. I think he does it to remind me I’m still the odd one out, here. He’s never gotten over me being human. No doubt it’s why he brought up how they all know the new member and I don’t.

  I’m being left out again. All because I’m not Lupi.

  “I can see into her soul, as I’m sure you are aware,” I reply sweetly, squinting a little to acknowledge his slight. “I can decide for myself if she is the right fit but thank you for your input.”

  Sloane, in all his scruffy, auburn-haired glory, slaps Thane on the back, yellow eyes meeting mine with approval. “Yeah, Thane. Don’t forget our Nina here can not only judge people herself, but she can put your ass on the floor with just a thought.” He winks at me and I grin. “You should watch the condescension, hmm?”

  Winema glances at me with a raised brow. “Now that is a trick I would love to witness.”

  I bask in the approval she shows in her eyes and wiggle my shoulders. “When they make me mad enough one day, you’ll get to be front row!”

  Everyone giggles but Hida and Thane, but I honestly don’t think Hida ever learned how to laugh. Her twin, Alex, was always the happy one.

  And Thane…Thane is just weird.

  “I also have someone else I would like to introduce,” Althea adds, cutting off the bright playfulness in the room, and clasps her hands in front of her stomach. Her energy is weird and tense as it vibrates from her skin. “Nina, this is Raven.”

  A gasp catches in my throat and nearly chokes me. The guest walks up from the side hallway, brushing her platinum blonde pixie cut out of her face. Those eyes are eerie blue as they look me over with a smirk lazy on her lips.

  Raven, Eddie’s old “friend”, prances up with mischief seeming to pour from her pores.

  “Nice to meet you, Prophetess,” she chides and holds out a hand, daring me to take it with that infuriating pierced smirk.

  I hesitate, trying to touch her energy before I physically touch her, but I don’t sense anything. I’m blocked. Just like those Poachers. Just like the Masked Man.

  My stomach turns, nausea rolling through me like my own energy is being shoved back down my throat by whatever is blocking me from her.

  I don’t like this. Not one bit.

  Fal.

  Yes? She answers almost immediately, probably sensing the anxiety smashing through my body.

  Raven is here.

  A growl rumbles in my thoughts as possession blankets over me. I’m coming.

  I try a smile and take Raven’s hand. Fal is coming. No matter what happens now, I’ll be safe.

  I tense, somehow knowing what’s about to happen to me before Raven touches my skin.

  A jolt shoots through my nerves, shutting down everything in its path, and I’m thrown hard into a vision. The nausea multiplies by 1000 and races up my throat like waves in a storm; its overpowering and threatening to drown me.

  My eyes stop seeing and I am cast into an infinite void.

  When I’m starting to panic and think I’m going to be stuck here, a haunting voice pierces the darkness:

  Death divides and a Nemesis will reign.

  The soul as a whole is not to blame.

  A Fury to lead as was Fated.

  A Mate to guard a heart as was stated.

  An explosion rocks the ground beneath my feet as the vision begins to focus. I can’t look around here. I have no control in this vision and I’m a prisoner in the body I’m occupying. Gunshots find my ears; there are way too many gunshots. Screams follow them, but I—the person I am occupying—don’t care at all.

  “What the hell?” my mouth asks, and my eyes watch as fire shoots from the explosion. Smoke fills my lungs and burns my throat. I cough, trying to extract the shadowy poison, but it only hurts more.

  God, who even am I? I’ve never gone this long without figuring it out.

  “Did you find out anything?” a man beside me asks. I turn to him and frown.

  It’s that guy from the bar. Angus. But he is…different in some way. The Scottish accent isn’t in his voice. He is more menacing. More…everything. The energy swells with his presence and presses against my skin, little shocks crawling through me, but I still can’t get a read on his energy.

  “Cannae you just wait until the fun is over?”

  Wait, now I know that voice. It’s Raven. I’m in Raven’s body.

  Angus roars and grips my throat, lifting me off the ground. My breath is halted, and I sputter against the strain on my trachea. My eyes water immediately, and my tongue turns to stone in my mouth.

  “Do you think this is a game?”

  “No,” I gasp, and he throws me to the ground. Air scrapes down my throat and into my needing lungs with the force of hurricane winds. I cough a few times before looking back up at Angus. “Yes. It’s true. You’ve been betrayed. By both goddesses. She is the one you thought she was when you saw her.”

  Angus grits his teeth. “Fine. Have your blood party. I have no more use for you.”

  Angus walks out of my line of sight and I growl. Bastart.

  I stand, pulling my gun out of its holster at my hip, and run into the fray. Everything around me is a blur, people running everywhere and fire burning in the air. And then all the Poachers drop around me, and they don’t move again.

  The first Lupi I see, I don’t even focus on their face. They don’t matter. I just pull the trigger, aiming right at their chest, until my gun is empty.

  ***

  “Nina?”

  My eyes flutter open at Fal’s voice above me. The light of the Council Chamber is nearly blinding to my sensitive eyes.

  I’m safe. That’s all that really matters right now.

  “Hey. You okay?” She smiles and rubs a thumb under my nose. Her skin is smeared with red when she pulls it away.


  “I…” I try to sit up, but nausea has me back on the floor. “Well, my stomach definitely isn’t.” The white tile is freezing beneath my skin, but it calms the sickness swimming in my gut and cools the clamminess caused by adrenaline sweat. When my eyes no longer burn, I glance around, and all the Council members and Raven are staring down at me. Raven, specifically, glares like I’ve grown a tail on my face.

  Cool. Just what I wanted.

  “A vision, mija?” Althea asks as she bites her lip and squats beside me. Her hand is warm when she wipes it across my brow.

  “Yeah, but I...uh, I can’t really remember it,” I lie. “I think…I think I need to get some rest. Maybe that will help my memory.” I look up at Fal and Althea, trying to convey with my eyes twitching over to Raven that I can’t tell them now.

  They both already know I’m lying. Hopefully, Althea will understand why for now.

  “Are you plagued by these devastating dramatics as our Prophetess here?” Thane asks like he’s almost amused, looking to Raven, of all people.

  She chuckles and shakes her head. “I have more control over my…situation, it seems.”

  Fal growls at Raven, exposing her teeth.

  “Will you take me home? I don’t think I can walk,” I whisper to her.

  “Yeah, sure. You know the drill,” Fal whispers, pulling her attention back to me.

  I do. I put my arms around her neck, and she lifts me without even a sigh of exertion.

  “Sorry, guys,” I murmur. “I’ll let you know when I remember whatever just happened.”

  Winema snorts. I think she can see right through my lies, too. “No rush. Feel better, Ichante.”

  I wave goodbye to everyone and eye Raven. She has the audacity to seem concerned when in the line of sight of the Council.

  So, what the hell is going on? Fal asks in my head.

  I stare deep into her lovely eyes and bite the inside of my lip.

  I think we are in trouble.

  Chapter 29

  Edelina

  The blade of one of Lilith’s katanas slices by my face, cutting the air so sharply, it sings at the metal.