Impulsive
Destiny
~~~
Cassandra Lawson
Copyright ©2016 Cassandra Lawson
All Rights Reserved
Cover Image © bigstock/heckmannoleg
Proofreading by Kendra’s Editing and Book Services
This book is a work of fiction. All characters and events are creations of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental.
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by federal law enforcement agencies and is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Also by Cassandra Lawson
Moon Virus Series
Raven’s Blood (Book 1)
Embrace the Heat (Book 2)
Seducing Death (Book 3)
Shattered Restraint (Book 4)
Moon Virus Books 1-4
Psy-Vamp Series
Vampires and Vixens (Book 1)
Safe Hex With a Vampire (Book 2)
Vampires Prefer Blondes (Book 3)
The Vampire Will See You Now (Book 4)
Wanton with a Vampire (Book 5)
Psy-Vamp Books 1-5
Spells That Bind Series
Sinfully Spellbound (Book 1)
Acknowledgments
One of the greatest things about being a writer is that I get to meet so many wonderful people. Each time I sit down to write acknowledgements, I am overwhelmed with how many people help me with every book. Many probably have no idea how much they help me. Some, I have had the opportunity to meet in person. Others I know only online. Still, thinking about them brings a smile to my face.
First, I want to thank all of the bloggers who do so much to support me and other authors. Getting the word out about my books is a big challenge. There are many awesome bloggers who have helped me reach more readers and have taken the time to write reviews of my books. You are all invaluable to the indie author community.
Next, I am grateful for the wonderful writers in my life. Many of you, I only know on Facebook, but you still encourage and support me as well as other writers. I know there are occasionally stories of author bullying, but the majority of the authors out there celebrate the success of others, offer emotional support when their fellow authors are down, and even offer advice.
With each book, I have a special group of ladies who act as beta readers for me. I want to thank Kari, Levenia, and Ria for helping me work through any story issues in Impulsive Destiny. I also want to thank Amber and Trista who have helped me with other books and will continue to help me in the future when their lives are not quite so busy. My beta readers have done a great deal to help me grow as a writer throughout the years.
Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank all the people who read my books and take the time to tell me how they feel. Interacting with you through Facebook, email, or simply reading your reviews, gives me the inspiration to keep writing on those days when I start to doubt myself. Many of you also take the time to spread the word about my books to other readers. Thank you for being so awesome.
Table of Contents
Also by Cassandra Lawson
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Three
Chapter Sixty-Four
Chapter Sixty-Five
Chapter Sixty-Six
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Chapter Seventy
Chapter Seventy-One
Chapter Seventy-Two
Chapter Seventy-Three
Chapter Seventy-Four
Chapter Seventy-Five
Chapter Seventy-Six
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Chapter Seventy-Nine
Chapter Eighty
Chapter Eighty-One
Chapter Eighty-Two
Chapter Eighty-Three
Chapter Eighty-Four
Chapter Eighty-Five
Chapter Eighty-Six
Chapter Eighty-Seven
Chapter Eighty-Eight
Epilogue
Author’s Note
About The Author
Prologue
It was a glorious war.
While Talon had certainly seen gorier wars, the technology humans had developed made it possible to enjoy carnage on a grander scale. This was the humans’ second war that was described as a World War, and it was truly thrilling to watch the chaos and destruction. Humans were foolish toys put here for his amusement. Perhaps for the amusement of all Fae, but most of his kind didn’t really enjoy humans as much as he did anymore. Most preferred to remain in the Fae realms.
“What brought that smile to your face?” came the sexy purr of the woman he loved.
If someone had told him he’d fall in love a year ago, he’d have laughed at them. In many ways, love really was a fool’s game, and Talon was nobody’s fool. Still, one look at Satyana, and he’d known she was the woman for him. It wasn’t so much her looks; although, Satyana was beautiful, with porcelain skin and pale blonde hair cascading down her back. She was a petite woman with delicate features and deceptively innocent blue eyes. There was nothing innocent about Satyana, which was likely why she’d survived where other powerful half-Fae had not. Satyana would put a knife in his heart before she allowed any man to hurt her. That was exactly what she’d been gleefully trying to do when he’d first met her. She’d been playing a dangerous game by selling secrets to both sides in the war, just for fun—something he couldn’t help but respect. Unfortunately, a German officer had discovered her deception and taken offense to b
eing tricked by the little vixen.
Talon had intervened on her behalf, and since that day, they’d both been having a grand time toying with both sides. They made a striking couple—an angel in the arms of a demon. He was well over a foot taller than her, and his black hair was even longer than hers. With his pale skin and ruby red eyes, many were frightened by him, but Satyana only saw the beauty in his appearance. Satyana also knew how to make the human world more entertaining. Sadly, he’d felt multiple summons from the Fae, meaning his time here was coming to an end.
“We really should leave this place soon,” he murmured as he wrapped his arms around Satyana from behind.
His suggestion only made her laugh, and she spun to face him. “Not yet, Talon! We’re having too much fun!”
“It’s getting too dangerous, love,” he insisted. “Let me take you to the Fae realm. The Fae aren’t happy about what’s happening here, and you’ve drawn too much attention to yourself already.”
One of her pale eyebrows rose. “Then why would I want to go to your Fae realm? I’ve lived a long time by avoiding the Fae. Your kind will kill me.”
“Not if I claim you as mine,” he assured her as he massaged her arms. “You’ll be safe with me.”
“Just one more kill before we leave,” she begged, pushing her lower lip out into a pout. “There won’t be anyone for me to kill in the Fae realm. I’ll be bored to tears.”
How could he possibly deny her this one small request? It could easily be handled in a matter of hours if he rushed Satyana. She did love to toy with her victims for hours, sometimes days, but surely she recognized their time constraints.
“Fine, love, but you have to hurry with this one,” he insisted. “Before you argue, I would prefer that we leave now. This is my compromise.”
Lips curled into a siren’s smile, she leaned forward and pressed her breasts against his chest. “You really do understand me, don’t you?”
Yes, he understood Satyana. “Let’s hurry so I can get you to safety.”
An inky black mist floated across the room before forming into six black-robed figures. None spoke, but he recognized the execution squad. Not waiting for them to move or speak, he lunged toward Satyana. He had to get her to his domain in the Fae realm. The hooded figures obviously anticipated his move, because they jumped him, knocking him to the ground. The electrical shock that rippled through his body left him stunned, helpless to stop the slaughter as the executioners sliced through his love. Oriel’s servants did not come to release her soul, so he was forced to watch her suffer through death.
That’s when the bastard, Arawn, appeared.
“No!” Talon screamed. “You can’t destroy her soul.”
Arawn’s cold eyes appraised him. “The shadows will have her soul, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop that. Her black soul will feed my power. As for you, I’ve been asked to deliver the message that there will be no more interference and mischief in the human realms. While you will have limited access to the human realm, there will be no more crossing time dimensions.”
“I’ll do anything, just don’t destroy her,” Talon pleaded, hating that he was brought to this lowly position, but unable to watch his love be completely destroyed.
Arawn just laughed. “That bitch made me look like a nice guy. You should be thanking me for destroying her before she killed you.”
The shadows moved out of the walls and surrounded his Satyana as her tortured screams filled the room. Soon, all he saw was the black of the shadows surrounding her, and then there was nothing.
“If it is the last thing I do, I will make you pay for this,” he promised Arawn. “I will take the person you love most and make them mine. They will suffer at my hands, pleading for death.”
“That is the very reason why I’m stronger than you,” Arawn scoffed. “There is no one who matters to me.”
Chapter One
“She’s a perfectly nice female, Zane,” his father stated in a patient voice—as patient as his father could manage, anyway. As leader of the lynx clan, Max didn’t have to be patient most of the time; people did what he said without question. If you weren’t strong and a little scary, you didn’t maintain your position for long, and Max had been leader of their clan for more than three centuries.
Zane already knew that, as Max’s son, he should probably be more cautious than most, especially since he had a tendency to push his father to his limits more than anyone else in their clan, but what fun was there in being cautious?
Flashing a playful grin, he met his father’s eyes. “I don’t like nice females.”
Max’s eyes narrowed, and Zane was pretty sure he was pushing his father too far this time. For whatever reason, his father seemed determined to have grandchildren—and soon. Hence the perfectly nice female who was nearing her heat cycle.
“Why me?” Zane asked in utter frustration. The last thing he wanted was to get some female pregnant. Sure, he’d been tempted by females in heat before, and probably would have fathered children if his brothers hadn’t intervened. His older brothers, Jase and Cam, had always looked out for him and tried to prevent him from doing anything too impulsive. A female’s heat cycle was when instinct took over, and he forgot all his reasons for avoiding that trap.
As leader, his father was required to produce multiple offspring. He and his brothers all had different mothers. Jase’s mom had been rumored to be Max’s true mate, but Max refused to confirm or deny those rumors. She’d been killed long before Zane’s birth, so he only had the rumors to go by. Personally, he doubted the rumors were true, but he knew his father had loved Jase’s mother, regardless of whether she was his true mate or not.
Thinking about Jase made him wonder why Jase, as the oldest of Max’s children, wasn’t the one being pushed to procreate. “Why can’t you have Jase do your nice female? He’s the oldest, and he’d make a much better father.”
“Jase already has a mate,” Max explained with a dismissive wave of his hand.
That was news to Zane, and it had him wracking his brain to try to figure out who the female was. His oldest brother hadn’t been hanging around any particular female. “What? Since when?” Then a thought occurred to him. “Does he know he has a mate?”
“I don’t believe he realizes she’s his mate yet,” Max replied thoughtfully. “She’s too young at this point, but I’m sure he’ll figure it out when she has her first change. He’s already acting different around her, and he hasn’t shown interest in any of the other females since meeting her.”
If Jase really had met his true mate, he would definitely find other females less attractive, and he would fight against impregnating another female, even if he didn’t fully understand the reasons. At least, that’s how Zane had heard things were when you found your true mate. While he was happy for his brother on some level, a sense of dread washed over him as he realized he might not be able to get out of this.
“I can’t do this.” Zane hated the desperation in his own voice.
“You’ve been spending too much time around those vampires,” Max huffed. “They’re not like us, Zane, and it’s important that you remember that and not let their values interfere with doing the right thing.”
“Yeah, I get that they’re not like us, but even if I’d never met the vampires, I still wouldn’t want to father a child with your nice female,” Zane said, unable to explain all his reasons for not wanting to impregnate this female. Surely, his father had to understand how seeing the way Cam’s mother had acted would affect Zane. Despite the fact that she lived in their community, she never spoke to Cam. He’d known she was his mother his entire life, but she’d refused to interact with him from the time he was weaned. Zane had gotten lucky and had a mother who loved him, but there was no guarantee that would be the case with this female and the child they created.
Max studied him for a moment before letting out a deep sigh of regret. “Zane, I understand why you don’t want to do this. You’re young, and it’s n
ot fair of me to ask, but with all the turmoil in the area, and our new alliance with the cougars, many of the older clan members are worried that the clan is too unstable under my leadership. There’s been talk of needing new leadership, and I can’t just kill everyone who questions me. Part of the talk stems from fears that not one of my sons will be ready to take over as leader, and that you’ve all shunned the clan females. They worry that none of you will ever have kittens of your own. One of my sons either needs to find a mate or produce an heir with one of the clan’s unmated females soon. If not, I may need to resort to violence to stop the unrest, and you know I prefer to avoid taking that route. Even though Jase has a mate, he can’t claim her yet, which means the clan won’t accept that.”
Zane had heard similar complaints from some of the younger clan members trying to gain power, but he hadn’t realized the older clan members were starting to question his father’s position. That created a much bigger problem.
“Cam has a mate,” Zane argued.
“No,” Max practically growled. “Cam has a vampire who continues to refuse him. Even if she does accept him, she can’t get pregnant.”
There was silence between them because this was something Zane hadn’t heard. Oh, he knew all about Claire refusing Cam, but not about her being infertile. Of course, he should have realized that since she wasn’t the only vampire of her kind he’d ever met. There were two viruses that resulted in vampires. Vampires created using the newer virus, like Claire, were all infertile. The only exception was his cousin, Quinn’s, mate, Danny, but they believed that had something do with Quinn being part Mage. “Cam didn’t tell me,” he said softly.
“Cam hasn’t been thinking straight since he met that female,” Max muttered.
Zane let out a frustrated breath and raked his fingers through his tawny hair. He’d never been good at being the responsible one, and he really wanted to tell his father no, but he had an obligation to his clan. His father did his best to avoid violence for many reasons. If his father resorted to violence to maintain control, others would start to wonder if they were strong enough to take charge. It was a vicious cycle that other shifter clans had suffered through. Max might scare the hell out of his followers, but he rarely hurt any of them. Max was a good leader, and Zane knew he was right.
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