Undone By Destiny

by Allyson Young

  Her speech impacted by those teeth, she lisped, “He wants you? He can have you, but certainly not alive.”

  “You killed him.” Desi hardly recognized her own voice, wooden with despair.

  “He’s not dead, bitch. Not yet. If he concedes and becomes my consort, I’ll let him live. But he can’t join me with you in the picture.”

  Slowly gaining her feet, she stared at Peyton. “Consort?”

  The scent of blood was cloying and Desi swayed, even as the other female confirmed it. “They tried to keep me a secret. Like I was something shameful. I’m vampire, Desiree. Well, half. The better half. Better than wolf shifters.”

  “What have you done to Jett?” She could have bitten her tongue out, drawing attention to him like that, but she needed information.

  With a graceful shrug, despite her blood-soaked appearance, Peyton said, “I compelled him. And them, my grandfather’s guards. I haven’t wasted my time locked up, taking the medications for my so-called psychosis. All to keep the secret.”

  She had nothing in common with this, this, shifter hybrid, Desi decided, regardless they both kept secrets. Mind-numbing fear filled her over her baby. She couldn’t let this crazy bitch win. Her child was going to live.

  “I’m not going to let you hurt anyone else.” Or take Tahl.

  On another dreadful laugh, Peyton sneered. “I can’t compel females as easily, or you’d be dead already. But no one is going to stop me. I’m going to rule. Maybe starting here, instead of Dawnfall. With Tahl, if he chooses me over death.”

  “No.” That darkness descended again, this time imbuing her with a strange sense of confidence and well-being, as though she was in control. Peyton came at her, wild and insane, and Desi’s vision narrowed to that one sole focus.

  She flowed, seamlessly, to meet the other female, taking her down in a flurry of limbs. She heard herself growl at the sting of claws, the prick of teeth, but those things felt distant and trifling. Using her superior strength and weight, she persevered. There was a resounding crack and Peyton flailed once with a soundless scream Desi heard in the deep recesses of her being, and then lay boneless beneath her.

  “Holy fuck.” Jett urged her aside, throwing his shirt over Peyton’s face, those wide eyes staring.

  Tahl groaned and the room brightened around her, colors becoming evident. Desi crawled to him as he pushed up, his eyes widening as he took her in. “Baby,” he rasped.

  She shook as he awkwardly embraced her, aware her clothes were but mere rags, hanging from her body.

  “She fucking shifted,” Jett murmured, his voice incredulous. “She shifted and took down Peyton.”

  His voice rumbling in his chest beneath her cheek, Tahl said, “Is Peyton…”

  Alpha Leaf struggled to his knees, and Desi closed her eyes against the sight of his torn flesh. He was already healing, as Alphas were wont to do, far quicker than ordinary shifters, but he’d been badly injured.

  The old male said, “She’s not dead. Not unless your female took her head. That’s one story that’s not a myth. It’s how I dispensed of her father, though it took half a dozen males to manage it in an ambush. Peyton’s likely incapacitated. For now.”

  “She can’t be allowed this opportunity again, Ashton,” Jett spoke quietly, but his warning was clear.

  “I know. I know. She’s my flesh and blood, but a monster. Her father wanted to rule as well. It can’t be allowed. Not another attempt at insurrection. We’ll take care of it.” He motioned to his guards who were now on their feet, groggy, but functioning.

  “She can’t compel you.”

  “Nor Tahl,” Ashton replied. “We share DNA, so I expect that’s why. As for your lieutenant, well, she made the mistake of trying to turn him and instead made him immune. We figured that out and he stayed in Dawnfall to help us get back on track. And manage Peyton. We owe him for keeping our secret. And you. But you must know all that.”

  “I do, although not the details.”

  Desi wanted to know the details or maybe she didn’t. It was sinking in that she had shifted. In extremis, but she’d shifted. And that maybe she hadn’t influenced Tahl and Peyton’s relationship at all. Her brain worked busily, sifting and sorting, at odds with her wolf who was bewildered yet complacent.

  Without an ounce of energy, she watched as the big shifters carefully secured Peyton’s unconscious body, taking care to not only bind her limbs but blindfold and gag her. Vampire. Her body announced various aches and pains, small hurts and bigger ones. Tahl soothed her, sensing her discomfort.

  He made no move to assist with Peyton, and Jett escorted the group outside, pausing only to cast them a glance and say, “I’ll see you both tomorrow. You and Marlene. We need to decide if Council should meet.”

  Shutting the door behind him, his footsteps diminished and vehicles started up. Silence reigned.

  “Let me see you.”

  “No.” She hid her face against his chest and curled in tighter.

  “C’mon, baby. We need to get up. Jett will send the doctor and better he knows what he has to treat.”

  “No.” She might still be furry. She wished she could recall… Or maybe not.

  Groaning, he pushed up to his knees, pulling her with him. “I’m fucked up. Damn her.”

  Unwilling to make him struggle, she clambered to her feet, helping him stand. He touched his forehead and winced. “There’s two of you. That’s the good news.”

  “And the bad?”

  “My head might explode.”

  They staggered toward the bathroom, clutching one another before Tahl halted. “I have to set the alarm.”

  “Unless you think she’s coming back, I think it’s okay.” She doubted locked and armed doors and windows would deter that hybrid in any event and hoped the deed had been done, as distasteful as it would have been. She felt a flicker of sympathy for the grandfather.

  He locked the door and punched in the code before making his way back to her. Knowing she’d almost lost him made her sway and he grabbed her elbows. “Hang in there, baby. Where are you hurt?”

  His own injuries were beginning to clot, the bleeding stopped, although the massive bruise on his face was very evident.

  “I don’t know.”

  Walking her into the bathroom, he stripped the remnants of her clothing away, inspecting her under the bright light. She cautiously opened her eyes and examined her reflection. Her hair was a mess, tangled and damp. Blood covered her skin in weird patterns, some areas protected by fabric, others not so much.

  There was a gash near the base of her throat, mostly on a collar bone, and a few slices on her right bicep. Some tiny holes that could only have come from Peyton’s canines dotted her cheek and other shoulder. None of her wounds bled very much. No sign of fur.

  Tahl turned the shower on and stripped down himself, his eyes troubled and his features strained. He urged her into the tub and stepped in beside her, yanking the curtain shut. The warm water coursed through her hair and over her body, making her wince when it traversed the raw skin.

  Pooling pink around her feet, she suppressed a shudder at the sight and closed her eyes to tilt her face into the spray. When she opened them again, Tahl was studying her. “What?”

  “You shifted.”

  “I’m a freak.”

  “Baby. You shifted and saved us all.” He laid a hand on her belly. “All of us.”

  Reaction hit and she shivered, despite the warmth. Tahl cursed and quickly lathered her up, taking care with the more obvious damage. She stood, feet splayed and head down as he cleansed her, not even protesting when he used her body wash on her hair.

  Hurriedly doing the same, he then helped her out and clumsily wrapped her in a towel, working a smaller one over her head, before grabbing one for himself.

  “Wait here while I snag your robe.”

  She sank onto the closed toilet seat and put Peyton’s twisted features out of her mind, for now, studying her fingernails, thankfully fr
ee of blood. She’d shifted. Saying it over and over didn’t make it any less impressive—and freaky.

  “Leave the towels around you.” He drew her to her feet and bundled her into her robe, tying it over the bulk of fabric. He’d stopped to pull on sleep pants, his impressive chest still bare, his wounds healing.

  Desi reached out and traced the old scar at the base of his throat. “She did this.”

  “She did and infused it with her own blood so it would scar. Mark me as hers. Tried to turn me, but it didn’t work.”

  She stared into his eyes. “Did she compel you when she was here the first time?”

  “She did, although I think it was partly a form of hypnosis. She obviously honed her craft to take the guards and Jett down, and nearly deal with her grandfather.”

  “So you didn’t—”

  “I didn’t follow her to Dawnfall because I’d fallen for her, Desi. I followed because I had to. I felt I had no choice, although it didn’t feel horrible. Not until I saw who she really was.”

  “And you couldn’t tell me when you came back?”

  “I promised Alpha Leaf. She led a nearly successful take-over back then, and I foiled it. He had ground to recoup and fences to build. If his pack thought she was a real danger, they’d have killed her and he hoped to avoid that. He loves her. And if word spread about vampires infesting shifter packs, we’d be at war. There would be purges. Anyone different would be in the crosshairs. Like, Jett. And you. Marlene.”

  Tears swelled and spilled to wash over her cheeks and he groaned. “Don’t fucking cry. Don’t. I did what I had to do, Desi. And I came back for you. It’ll work out.”

  She welcomed his embrace and let him simply hold her, knowing they had a great deal to talk about and that it would have to wait.

  Chapter Eleven

  She’d fallen asleep in Tahl’s arms, in his big bed, still swathed in those towels and her robe, and she’d never felt closer to him. Her slumber had been surprisingly sound, without even a flicker of a nightmare, though the stuff of those surely lingered, waiting to pounce. She hadn’t allowed herself to think about Peyton when she awoke, and Tahl hadn’t made any effort to remind her. Her wounds had mostly healed, although Tahl still looked battered.

  And now they were driving to her brother’s. She nursed a go-cup of strong coffee, if decafinated, flavored the way she liked it, compliments of her mate. An awkward silence replaced the nearly comfortable one they’d mutually employed while getting ready for the meeting their Alpha demanded. Neither seemed to have to energy to broach the subject and in her case, she was now only too willing to wait.

  Tahl hadn’t treated her any differently, despite the fact he must have seen her in wolf form, or at least partly shifted, and while that lurked hugely at every turn, she found she couldn’t raise it. She was a total coward, she decided, unable to face any of the things that made her different.

  Marlene’s car was already there, and Desi realized she hadn’t even thought to contact her mother. Tahl had been all she needed. Her belly clenched when she considered how vulnerable that made her. Did he still love her? Could he?

  Parking near the door, he turned the engine off and faced her. The mounting tension reflected deep in his emerald eyes, but he spoke quietly. “Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  She unlatched her seatbelt and he was out and around the car to open her door. A young male shifter loitered nearby and Tahl sketched a wave. “That’s Benjamin Kraft.”

  “He’s all grown up.” And what a handsome young male he was, indeed. She made herself smile at him, and he nodded back before scanning the area. He gave the impression of being lazily alert if there was such a thing. Like a younger Tahl.

  “I trained him and think he’s the best we have. He’s been charged with watching out for the kids and River, or them and the nanny, whenever they leave the house.”

  He was probably waiting on them now, she decided. On cue, the front door opened and Andrew and Bella flew through it, a young female in hot pursuit. Not Glenda, but a pretty blonde.

  River had said her sister was coming for a visit, and the girl must have arrived first thing this morning. The timing sucked, in a way, but at least she wouldn’t be listening in, and she was wonderful with the kids.

  Cassie Fortuna gathered Bella up and hip checked Andrew gently toward the SUV, even as Benjamin hustled to intercept the little boy. Desiree forgot her worries and ran over to hug both children, viscerally aware she might have lost her chance to ever see them again, after last night.

  “Going with Aunt Cassie for pancakes and waffles,” Andrew announced, beaming at her and letting her kiss his nose.

  “Wawles.” Bella crooned.

  “Sweet girl, you have lots of whipped cream,” she said, kissing a chubby cheek, soaking in the baby scent.

  “Hi, Desi.” Cassie gave her a shy smile and flickered a look toward Tahl. “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you.” Her quiet acceptance was heartfelt and Tahl gripped her hand.

  She helped Andrew inside the SUV, buckling him in, and then reached for Bella. Cassie’s cheeks were scarlet, her eyes wide, as Benjamin took the child from her arms to hand her over. Desi looked between the two young shifters and hid a smile.

  Cassie was a few years from her mating heat, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t recognizing the potential of a fine male. A pang resonated in her chest when she recalled being exactly that age and head over heels for Tahl.

  Casting a critical look over Benjamin, a few years older than Cassie, she hoped he didn’t break her heart.

  She stood with Tahl, watching as they drove away, wishing fervently she’d gone for waffles too if only to avoid the people still inside.

  “We should go in,” he said quietly.

  Get it over and done with, she told herself. “I guess so.”

  The house was noticeably quiet when they gained entrance, Jett looking inscrutable while River studied them with a wary expression. Just as Desi’s spirits crashed, her friend rushed over and slid her arms around her.

  “Oh goddess, Desi. I don’t have the words. Jett told me last night, but he wouldn’t let me go over or even call you.” She slanted an angry glance in her mate’s direction.

  “She had her mate, River.” Her brother’s quiet assertion silenced her friend, but she hugged harder.

  Marlene sauntered in from the back of the house, a tall, thin man close behind. Desi blinked, forgetting to bask in the comforting hold of River who clearly wasn’t repulsed or shocked by whatever Jett had described.

  The male with her mother held himself regally, dark hair smoothly brushed, face cleanly shaved, his fit body covered in casual, but expensive clothes. He met her stare with one of his own, and she felt a spark of connection.

  Tahl stepped close, his arm wrapping around her waist, and he studied the newcomer.

  “This is Simon Hancock,” Marlene said. “He’s much older than I am and has learned to hide his Fae and manage his abilities. I met him last year on a buying trip—he’s based in New York but prefers to avoid all that glass and steel, for obvious reasons.”

  Simon didn’t look a day over fifty, near her mother’s age, and Desi wondered how old he really was. He had Fae blood, of that there was no doubt, now she studied him. Not that humans would notice, and maybe not many shifters.

  He nodded to her and Tahl but didn’t offer his hand. “It is good to meet you.” The syntax of his speech was off, somehow. Dated.

  “Hello.”

  Tahl merely nodded, and she felt his watchfulness.

  “After spending time with Simon, I decided to ask him to sit in as we discuss last night’s events.”

  Tahl gave his Alpha a sharp glance but didn’t dispute him, not that he would in front of anyone else, she surmised. If her mother and Jett were comfortable with Simon, then she was. She squeezed Tahl’s hand in reassurance and he relaxed a little.

  Gathered around the long table used for Council meetings, she
squirmed beneath the stares. “Can we just put it out there? Peyton is—hopefully, was—some kind of vampire shifter who set her sights on Tahl, who obliged her only to find out who she really was so he backed off. He helped the Dawnfall Alpha put things back together, kept the vampire thing a secret, came home and uh, pursued me. We’re mates now. Except Peyton didn’t get the message and came looking for Tahl who she thought should be part of some grand plan to rule her grandfather’s pack and any other pack she fancied. I didn’t care for that idea, so I went furry and took her down. End of story.”

  River hid a smile, as did Marlene, but the men looked at her as though she was insane. “What? So there're a few gaps, but I can’t fill those in.” Well, except for one piece she deliberately left out.

  “We’re all pretty much on the same page about Peyton, Desiree. Tahl was compelled by her and sacrificed a couple years of his life to help repair the damage. But it’s important you realize the implications impacting Blue Star.”

  “I know, Jett. I get it.” She looked at her mother. “It would only have been a matter of time before you and me, and Jett—probably Lizbeth too—would have been regarded as a threat to the status quo if Peyton wasn’t contained.”

  “Tradition,” Marlene muttered. “You call yourself progressive, Jett, and yet you hide your Fae side.”

  “And for good reason, Marlene,” Simon interjected. “Shifters accept their differences, celebrate them, from what I understand, but remain reserved from humans. We all know why. They wouldn’t want that status disturbed.”

  To Desi’s surprise, her mother didn’t formulate any kind of argument, probably because there was really nothing to dispute.

  Tahl had situated himself close to her, one big hand resting on her thigh, a heavy, comforting weight. She decided to use that as a barometer when the next revelation was discussed.

  “Do we know if Alpha Leaf took care of the situation?” River was trying to be delicate, and Desi searched for a softer feeling regarding the redheaded hybrid but couldn’t locate one. The female had planned to kill her and her brother, her unborn child, not to mention her own grandfather, and kill Tahl if didn’t comply. So if Peyton had become a situation, so be it.