TWISTED DESTINY: The Complete Saga

by Leia King

  “I know of your predilections. There is no need to promise what you cannot deliver.”

  “What are these predilections you believe I possess?”

  “You enjoy the company of many women. Several at a time, as I remember it. One woman cannot satisfy you.”

  “I see.” He shook his head, vehemently. “You do not understand.”

  “I don’t?”

  “No. I am also fairly certain as to where you acquired this fiction.” He sighed, resting his head back heavily against his pillows. “Years have passed, yet Oriana is still causing havoc in my life.”

  “I am not judging you. I knew this about you when I came to you the other night. I understand and I will make my peace with it.”

  He snarled, abhorring her words. Grasping her hips, he hoisted her up and planted her down on him, so she was straddling his hips. “That angers me greatly, Marella.”

  “What? Why?” She stroked his abs, gazing adoringly at him. “I care dearly for you. Of course, I accept you. Why does that make you mad?”

  “Because you should not accept that. Not from any man.” He rolled his eyes at her. “This explains so much. Your track record of toxic relationships makes sense to me now.” He frowned, hating the brutal truth. “You are so strong in many aspects of your life. However, when it comes to relationships, you submit to your partner’s will. You allow them free reign to walk all over you. You deserve better. You are special, one of a kind, Marella.”

  Tears pricked the corner of her eyes. “Nathanial, I—”

  He brushed them away with the pads of his thumbs. “I know. You desire to be loved. It transcends all else for you. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong men to find that with.” He drew her closer, holding her against him. “Until now.”

  “You know me too well,” she murmured, sheepishly.

  “Your knowledge of me has be skewed by your sister.”

  “I am sorry.”

  “It is not your fault. Oriana is a master manipulator. I expected issues to arise between us, due to her influence.” He took a beat, then went on. “It is true that I took whores to my bed, while she and I were married. I was open about it. I believed her to have her own, also.” He grimaced. “Our marriage was not the healthiest. We had a few good years, but that was it. I found out later that she wasn’t exclusive either. But whores weren’t the culprit with her. Cornelius Winters was. You know the story there. My point is that it was a disturbing situation. And there was one overarching reason. We could not satisfy one another. She failed to satisfy me sexually. She could not even come close. And I could not fulfill her emotionally. Only Cornelius could. Because he was her destined mate.”

  “You’re saying—?”

  “I am saying that things between us are wholly different. We are destined mates, Marella. We satisfy one another in every way. Why, then, would I ever need to look elsewhere? You are everything that I will ever need.”

  “Oh.”

  “You understand now?”

  She beamed at him. “Perfectly,” she breathed, before taking him in a wild kiss.

  He groaned in pleasure at her ferocity. He ran his hands up and down the length of her delectable body. An odd sensation travelled through his fingers, as they swept over her lower belly. It had him stilling. Could it be? He frowned in concentration and exerted a little more pressure. Let’s see.

  His quest was interrupted abruptly. The door flew open, smacking into the wall and reverberating through the room, as Ryan burst in. He held a tiny white wolf in his arms.

  “Nathanial, we have a problem. I—” His frantic cries came to an abrupt halt when his gaze fell on them in bed together. “What the fuck is happening? Marella, what is this?”

  Nathanial leapt from the bed and approached Ryan and the little wolf. “We will deal with that later. But this… development cannot wait.”

  “A wolf cannot shift this early on in his life,” Ryan said, pulling his son tighter to him. “Something’s wrong with my son, guys.”

  “Your son is no ordinary wolf,” Marella pointed out, joining them.

  “He’s reacting to something,” Nathanial realized aloud. He peered through the door, his gaze narrowing in concentration. There! “Something is wrong.” He turned to Marella. “Envelope the child in a field of protection and stay here. If there is trouble, promise me you will not engage. Just protect yourself and Ryan’s son.”

  “What? You are sidelining me? You know my power, Nathanial.”

  He held up a hand to Ryan. “A moment. Please excuse me.” He led Marella over to the corner of the room and told her, “Mind-link with me.”

  She nodded and he felt her connect with him.

  He spoke into her mind. I believe you may be with child. I am not certain. I need time to investigate what I felt from you a moment ago. Please take precautions, just in case.

  You’re wrong. It can’t be.

  Please, Marella. Just do as I say, for the love of all things dark and sacred.

  “Fine,” she conceded out loud.

  Ryan handed his son over to her. “Be careful, while he’s in wolf form. His claws may be tiny, but they’re sharp.”

  She smiled and adjusted his position accordingly. “Take care out there,” she urged, looking between the two of them.

  “Will do,” Ryan said.

  “Always,” Nathanial told her, as he headed for the door with Ryan in tow. He looked back at her, relieved to see her beginning the spell to envelope the wolf pup and herself in a field of protection.

  “Where are all the vamps? Down for the count after all those hours of hard fucking in here?” Ryan asked as he and Nathanial walked cautiously through the lounge.

  “Do you have to be so blunt?”

  “Do you have to be so… royal?”

  Nathanial glanced at the wooden stake that Ryan had drawn as soon as they’d left the bedchamber. He clutched it tightly in his right hand. “You brought that with you to my home?”

  “I knew I’d be walking into a castle full of vampires. I figured it could come in handy.”

  Nathanial sighed with exasperation. “Just keep it well away from me. I am no ordinary vampire, so it cannot kill me. But, those things are incredibly painful.”

  “Got it,” Ryan conceded.

  “Good.”

  Their conversation came to an abrupt halt the second they reached the Great Hall.

  The sight before them had Nathanial snarling and Ryan growling.

  There, draped over the two thrones, were Luca and Michael.

  Luca smirked at them. “Incredibly comfortable.”

  Nathanial strode into the hall, glaring at his disgraced son. “The throne does not belong to you. You are not King of the Dark Realm, Luca.”

  “Yet, Ryan will be? Sitting beside you?”

  “It is his birthright.”

  “And when you are dead, it will also be mine!” Luca hissed.

  “How did you get in here?” Ryan growled.

  Luca pushed off the chair and approached. “It appears my father didn’t want to face the disgrace of reporting my defection to anyone here in the Dark Realm. They responded favorably to my impromptu return home.”

  “Of course, it’s always a good idea to bring backup,” Michael said. He whistled. Moments later, six of his ravenous wolves bounded into the room.

  “I brought a little something with me, too,” Luca announced, gesturing to the blood-red pendant around his neck.

  “Not that fucking thing again,” Ryan grunted.

  Nathanial eyed him in surprise. “You know it?” It was a special gift he had given to his son for his birthday. It possessed a portion of Dark Realm magic. It had been intended as a means of protection, in case the need had arisen while he’d resided in the human realm.”

  “Yeah. He used it against Cora and me.”

  “You abused my gift?” Nathanial demanded, anger rising. His son’s disrespect never ceased.

  “I make use of all resources at my disposal,”
Luca said.

  Nathanial held up his right hand and made a crushing gesture. The pendant crumbled to dust.

  Luca gazed at him in horror.

  Nathanial snarled. “You are on my territory now.”

  Michael thrust his hand out. Nothing happened. “What? What is this?”

  “Your magic will not work here. It is an abomination that is not tolerated by the realm.”

  “Attack!” Luca bellowed to Michael’s wolves.

  On his command, all six of them launched into a wild attack.

  Nathanial watched, impressed, as Ryan shifted instantly and launched himself at the wolves. He tore through the throats of the nearest two with ease, his claws slicing at another.

  As Michael and Luca came at him, Nathanial thrust a bolt of red fire at Michael. The power of it blew him right through the wall. Luca lunged for his neck. Nathanial grabbed at his hair and tossed him aside.

  As he turned to Ryan battling the wolves, Luca rushed him from behind and tackled him to the floor. He drove something through his shoulder.

  Nathanial roared at the searing pain, kicking Luca back. He forced himself to his feet and ripped the offending object free. It was one of the bronze candelabras from the wall.

  “You dare to wound your own father!” he thundered. “You do not possess the strength to end me, boy! You refused to learn! You ignored my teachings! That is why I banished you! You will never become king!”

  “You’d really kill your own son?”

  Nathanial lunged at him, driving him to the floor. He held him still beneath him, his weight bearing down on him. “As sure as you would kill me, Luca.” He called out behind him to Ryan. “Stake!”

  Still in wolf form and in the process of finishing off the final wolf left standing, Ryan broke the neck of his final opponent, then bounded to the stake he’d dropped when he’d shifted. Nathanial watched him pick it up with his teeth. He swung his head, tossing it to Nathanial with perfect aim.

  Nathanial caught it and brought it down towards Luca’s heart.

  “Nathanial!”

  He froze at the sound of the voice shrieking at him, the unwelcome voice echoing off the walls of the Great Hall. Unfortunately, he’d recognize it anywhere.

  A flash of bright, white light obscured his vision for several seconds. When it cleared, he looked up to see her standing before him.

  “Oriana,” he snarled.

  FATED TIES

  Book 3

  1

  Marella had no idea how long she’d been pacing up and down the lounge in the Dark Realm castle.

  Every few moments, she shot a glance at Ryan. She was seriously concerned about how he was taking the shocking news of his mother’s untimely return. So far, he hadn’t spoken a word. He sat slumped back against one of the many couches with his son nestled on his lap, as he knocked by a bottle of scotch.

  Another bellow of fury from Nathanial reverberated through the room, sending both Marella and Ryan’s gazes snapping towards the Great Hall.

  Nathanial was holed up in there, arguing with his former wife, Oriana, about her sudden return to his kingdom. She had also interfered in matters of the realm, by forcing him to show their son mercy, instead of letting Nathanial plunge a stake into his heart. A fate Luca had brought upon himself several times over.

  “So, she’s… back,” Ryan finally spoke.

  “She most certainly is.” She stopped pacing and made her way to him. “It will only be temporary, Ryan,” she told him, perching on the arm of the couch.

  He frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “It is dangerous for her to remain in the Dark Realm. In fact, it was dangerous for her to come at all.”

  “If Nathanial wanted her dead, he would’ve made an attempt by now.”

  “He was never the threat to her, Ryan.”

  “She went into hiding to protect herself from him.”

  “That’s not what happened.”

  She braced herself as she saw his eyes narrow. “Unbelievable.” He scoffed. “Is he really that good of a fuck?”

  She flinched at his harsh words. Nathanial’s words came to mind. The way she appeased people in the name of holding onto love. As much as she wanted to build a relationship with her nephew, to forge the bond of familial love that’d been denied them until recently, she wouldn’t let his disrespect go unchecked. She snapped back, “I realize you are upset, but watch your tone with me, Ryan. I am merely trying to help. I don’t want you to get your hopes up about having your mother around. In regard to your comment, Nathanial actually means a great deal more than that to me. I care deeply for him. But, what I am telling you has nothing to do with our relationship. It is the truth. Plain and simple.” She took a beat, then explained, “When it came to light that your mother had been with Cornelius and, on top of that, had borne his child and hidden it for ages, Nathanial was under great pressure. His advisors wanted him to take immediate action against both of them. As King of the Dark Realm, he couldn’t be made out to be a fool, or a victim. They willed him to torture and kill them, along with the product of their betrayal. You.”

  “Why didn’t Nathanial tell me this himself?”

  “He told you what you needed to hear, because you weren’t ready to hear the truth. He saved her life that fateful night. He smuggled her through the Dark Realm gates. That same night, he banished you from the realm.”

  She watched Ryan take her words in. He downed half the bottle of scotch he held in his hand and then placed it on the floor beside the couch and released a heavy sigh.

  “I know her return is… unprecedented, Ryan. I am sorry.”

  “Yeah. It’s a major fucking shock,” he admitted. His words gave way to a nasty cough that lasted for several seconds, before he was able to overcome it. He leaned back tiredly against the couch, wiping sweat off his brow with the back of his hand.

  “Your sickness is worsening.”

  He waved his hand dismissively. “It’s nothing. My body is just trying to reacclimatize to being in the Dark Realm after so many years away.”

  “It is more than that, Ryan. The Dark Realm is a great distance from the White Realm, where Cora is. Your distance from her is causing you pain.”

  “I was away from her for centuries, Marella. I don’t think—”

  “You hadn’t bonded then. It is unnatural for the two of you to be apart. Once a bonding has occurred, mates are never to be apart for an extended period of time.”

  A sudden ferocious snarl came from Nathanial in the Great Hall.

  Ryan shot to his feet. “He might’ve vamped-out on her.” He looked to his son. “Watch my boy.”

  She stepped into his path, blocking his way to the Great Hall. “Oriana has a gift for getting under his skin, but he will not harm her.”

  “How can you be so sure about that?”

  “For one, he is trying to mend fences with you. Harming your mother would be a huge step back. He also won’t harm a woman. It’s a personal rule of his.”

  She watched Ryan hesitate.

  And then his son started to emit a series of tiny yelps. He was crying. Obviously, he was sensing his father’s upset. Ryan grimaced, then sucked in a harsh breath. “All right,” he said, hurrying to his son and gathering him up in his arms.

  Marella breathed a sigh of relief.

  “They will know you are here,” Nathanial warned.

  He glowered down at Oriana, abhorring that they were standing so close, almost touching, even. All because she had refused to step back when he had stepped into her personal space in a bid to intimidate her, hoping it would have been enough to make her heed his words. He had forgotten just how stubborn she could truly be.

  Her hazel eyes flashed at him with the same hatred he was sure was reflected in his. Her hair, which had once been purely white, was now tainted with black streaks. The marks of black magic. What had she been involving herself in? It was shorter, barely shoulder length. And, unlike Marella’s gorgeous curls, it was as s
traight as could be.

  Her pants clung to her thighs. They were a dark red, the color of dried blood. The material looked familiar. Dragon hide? Was that truly what it was? How had she managed to get a hold of that? Not only was it extremely rare, but it was forbidden across all the realms to hunt dragons. The cape hanging loosely off her shoulders was made of the same material. A short, black bustier that barely contained her breasts was so tight that it looked like it had melded to her skin. She looked the epitome of Dark Realm trash.

  She had never been as sophisticated as her sister, but she had clearly taken a dive, since they’d split. While Marella possessed a class and quiet dignity about her, Oriana never had. What had he been thinking? Why had settled for someone so far beneath the woman he had truly wanted. So many wasted years.

  She stared up at him, placing her hands on her hips and thrusting her breasts out for his viewing pleasure. “Like what you see, husband? Miss it, do you?”

  Sickening. “Do not flatter yourself. You cannot tempt me.” His eyes drilled into hers. “You forget that I know all you have to offer. It did not satisfy me then, Oriana. It certainly will not now.”

  “You dare to speak to your wife that way?”

  “I will speak to you however I wish when you are in my home. And, to clarify, you are no longer my wife. I nullified our marriage shortly after you left the realm.”

  “What?”

  “It was easy, given your betrayal. I barely had to lift a finger to make it happen. You are no longer Queen of the Dark Realm. You have no power here. No say at all.”

  “You son of a bitch!” She made a move to slap him, but his reflexes were far beyond hers and he caught her wrist with ease. “You are hurting me, Nathanial,” she said, struggling to break free.