“Aurora came to me and told me about the situation, and I offered to help. The only reason she lied to everyone is because—”
Aurora interrupted. “If you mate with me, Jackson, you will die. I have seen it, and I want to change your future. I have never interfered with my visions before, but I cannot let you die. I told you all once that I would have to marry someone I didn’t love; that someone is you, Jackson.” I was proud of her for voicing her deepest secret.
“Wait! Jackson is not fucking dying.” I could hear the alarm in Dom’s voice. He wouldn’t lose another brother.
“If he mates with me, he will. I am born from wolves, and yet I cannot shift; I am a seer. Jackson is alpha to all wolf packs, and our offspring would be hybrids. No one will understand, and the packs will turn on Jackson. The pack is in uproar now, as they believe he has mated with a witch. No wolf has ever mated outside of their race before.” Chase, Alex and Ryan were deathly silent; Dom was trying to remain calm. Jax, on the other hand, just looked defeated.
Chapter 3
Ryan
I can see the look of heartbreak on Jax’s face. He’s devastated. He thought I was his mate, only to be told that I wasn’t, and to make matters worse, his true mate has rejected him. Jackson’s expression changes from heartbreak to betrayal. The woman he trusted so much has lied to him and broken his trust in the worst way possible. No one says a word as we wait for Jax to process the information and all its ramifications.
“I think we should forget about this conversation and move on to figuring out how to help Ryan.” I was grateful for the subject change, but at the same time I would love to slap Chase for bringing the attention back to me. So, I did what any grown-ass woman would do in that moment—I stalled.
“I think we should all take a break and reconvene tonight. It seems like we could all use some time to ourselves.” Everyone quickly agreed and started shuffling out of the office.
Jackson stayed behind, claiming he had pack business that he needed to attend to. Honestly, I think he just didn’t want to face anyone right now. I couldn’t blame him for that. I made my way back to the bedroom I was currently occupying. Once inside the room, I shucked off my shoes and headed for the bed. I needed to close my eyes and let my mind go blank. Just as I was starting to relax, and my mind finally stopped running away with all different kinds of possibilities, someone knocked on the damn door. Fuck me! I was so damn close! Not bothering to sit up, I called out.
“Come in.” I heard heavy footsteps and then the door clicked shut. Peeling one eye open, I turned slightly to see who had entered and groaned.
“What do you want, Nico?” I didn’t want to be alone with him; it wasn’t a good idea for either of us.
“I just want to explain and talk to you. I know I don’t have the right to ask this, but I had my reasons for skirting around the truth.” Oh, this should be good. Apparently fae can’t lie but Nico manages to navigate around this rule perfectly.
“You have five minutes.” I was already doing the countdown in my head. He made his way over to the single chair near the window, resting his forearms on his knees. The T-shirt he was wearing was stretched to its limits. Fuck, he was huge, and he could pull off a plain white tee and jeans like no other.
His beautiful, jet black hair was slightly longer now. I was glad he wasn’t looking at me, his deep violet eyes are like a vortex, they would suck me in and I would crumble.
That sounds so cliché, I know, but Nico had a hold over me; it was like there was a string constantly pulling me toward him. It was so hard to fight it but I had to, he lied to me and hurt me. Now that my mind was finally clear after years, I felt so much more for him than I should. I wanted to hate him but I couldn’t.
“I’m sorry I deceived you.” He was off to an okay start. “I never should have, but I was only trying to protect you from getting hurt. I had no idea your father put a failsafe spell on you after I locked your powers. I swear.” I could hear the truth in his voice, but he wasn’t getting off the hook that easy.
“You knew I had to marry you, though?”
“I only found out a few days before you came to my realm.”
“Aurora came to Farrarie?” I saw him tense and then take a few deep breaths. I could tell he didn’t want to tell me, but he knew if he didn’t I would kick him out.
“I went to Aurora, she and I would meet every month to re-do the spell masking her scent. She told me then.” What the actual fuck! He and Aurora had been doing this for months? Poor Jackson.
“Why let Jackson think I was his mate, then?”
“It was never meant to end like this. Aurora just needed some time to figure out another way. She wanted to find a powerful witch and see if they could break the mate bond. She knew it would be a challenge; if she and Jackson mate, she will need to carry an heir, and if she does that, she will no longer be a seer. She wants to keep her gifts so she can monitor Jackson’s future.” Oh, I didn’t know that part.
“She said in Jackson’s office not long ago that she didn’t love the man she was supposed to marry. But what I saw today was the total opposite.”
“You’re right, she is in love with Jax, that is why she will not mate with him.” Go figure, how bloody confusing.
“What makes her think she has to carry an heir? They can adopt.” As soon as I finished speaking, I wanted to slap myself. Of course they couldn’t adopt. Jackson was a fucking shifter.
“Forget I said that, I had a brain fart.” Nico started laughing, and I sat up to glare at him, but paused. He looked so carefree and relaxed. I was taken aback; he never looked like this, except when we were having sex, in my dreams. Just thinking about that made me blush. I looked to Nico, who stopped laughing immediately, and the way he was looking at me made me think he knew exactly where my mind had drifted.
Clearing his throat he asked, “What is a brain fart, love?” Screw my life, he had to bring that up, didn’t he?
“It’s where your mind goes blank for a second, okay? Let’s never mention me saying that again, please.” He gave a little chuckle, then his face went serious again. I turned so I wasn’t looking directly at him; his beauty always distracted me.
“Aurora keeps the pack safe. She sees what will happen and when. If she were to mate and become pregnant, she would lose that advantage. She loves Jackson enough to never endanger his safety.” My heart kind of hurt for her. She would give up Jax for him to live.
“That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard; Jax wouldn’t care. I am so annoyed that you both felt the need to lie and then cast a spell to trick him. He was just starting to forgive you, Nico. Now you have gone and fucked that up again.” I saw him flinch at my words, but I don’t feel sorry for him. He knows how I feel about lies, and yet he still felt the need to do it, again. I know this wasn’t all his fault, but he could have come clean at any time. Poor Jackson.
“The spell was never meant to make him think you were his mate. I think his initial attraction to you made him feel all of the things he would feel toward a mate. I will not get involved anymore, I swear— she is going through enough as it is.”
He’s not wrong. Her brother is a fucking rat and a traitor. Tyler was Jackson’s right-hand man, his beta. We only found out that he betrayed us when Kai told us the truth.
Kai. Oh, my heart hurt just thinking about him. Kai was so beautiful. He had the most striking gray-blue eyes that I swear could see into your soul. He had light blond hair that you wanted to run your fingers through. I loved Kai, or I thought I did, but he was never mine to love. My twin sister killed him, with the help of Randall Cane, king of all vampires.
I learned recently that my heart needed to stay out of all this mess. My sister would use my love against me and hurt those I cared about. Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I ask Nico the question that has been bugging me for days.
“Did you know that Kai tried to make me fall in love with him so that I would never choose you?” I heard him gasp; clearly h
e didn’t know. I was hurt by Kai’s deceit. His betrayal burned like acid. I thought I loved him, and that makes me more angry. I understand why he did it, though. I can never tell the others how I am getting my information—not until the time is right.
Nico never got a chance to answer: my bedroom door flew open and in walked a goddess of a woman. She was rocking a navy crop top and skin-tight white jeans. She had beautiful, long black curls that were past her waist; full, kissable lips; and violet eyes like Nico. Oh God! It hit me like a freight train—she’s Nico’s sister, but she is also the lady in the painting that was hanging in Randall Cane’s office.
“Melakai was never yours to love. Your feelings are what clouded his judgment and got him killed.” There was so much venom and hatred lacing each and every one of her words, but I couldn’t stop staring at her, wondering why a portrait of her was hanging in Randall’s office.
“Sophia, that’s enough. Ryan didn’t cause Melakai’s death, you know this.” Nico addressed his sister like she was a young child.
“Do not try to soothe me, brother, your pet knows what I say is the truth.” Did she just call me a fucking pet? That’s it, she didn’t know me and she sure as fuck didn’t get to stand there and pass judgment and blame me for things that were not my fault.
I had enough guilt over Kai’s death, I didn’t need her rubbing salt in my wound.
Standing from the bed, I make my way over to her, only for Nico to jump to his feet and block my path. I glare at the beast of a man. Being this close to him made me feel things I shouldn’t; his proximity made my head go cloudy. He was like a drug to me. I wanted to touch him and let him hold me again. I wanted him to kiss me. I couldn’t go down that road, so I leaned my head around his shoulder so I could look his sister in the eyes.
“I don’t care if you are some fucking princess from a different world, you do not get to come in here and blame me for Kai’s death. He would never have been with Randall if it wasn’t for you getting your ass kidnapped.” She recoiled at my harsh words, and Nico flinched, and I regretted the words as soon as they flew out my mouth.
“I’m sorry, that was harsh. I should never have said that.”
“Don’t ever apologize for saying what you think; you will be an honorable queen and good match for my brother.” This woman is fucking crazy! One moment she hates me and wants to kill me, and now she is looking at me with respect. Clearing his throat, Nico spoke.
“Ryan meet Sophia. Sophia meet Ryan. I wish you both had met under better circumstances, but I guess luck was not on our side.” Ignoring his introduction, I asked Sophia, “Why did you say Kai was never mine to love?”
“Because you were always destined to be Nico’s, not Kai’s.”
“How could you know that?”
“I have premonitions.”
“So you’re a seer, like Aurora?”
“No, she can see future events and past events. I can only see people’s love lives. I know, it’s a crap gift to have, but it helped Nico.” I pull my stare from Sophia to look at Nico, gauging her meaning from him. He gives nothing away, as usual. His eyes are burning with desire, and I would be lying if I said that one look didn’t make me feel like melting on the spot.
“So, I guess I will just see you guys later then.”
Nico and I don’t acknowledge his sister’s departure; we just stand there staring at each other. I don’t know how long we stand there rooted to the spot but he is the first to pull his gaze away. I make my way back to the bed and sit down, trying to calm my racing heart. Nico reclaims his seat by the window.
“My sister is…she…she can be a lot to handle. Her time away from the fae realm has changed her.” I could only imagine the horrors that Sophia went through at the hands of Randall Cane. Randall was a disgusting, vile man, and to make it worse, he now has my sister by his side. She and Randall want to use my blood to seal the fae realm. My blood is also the key to allow vampires to walk in the daylight. Unlike full fae blood, where you have to constantly top up, one drop of my blood is all it would take for a vampire to walk in daylight for eternity.
The only way to defeat Randall and my sister is to unlock my fae side, I’m an anomaly, half fae and half witch. Randall killed Jackson’s father and drank his blood, the blood of an alpha.
We think he was the one to kill my father, for his blood as well. Randall drinking the blood of the alpha and the blood of my dad—a great warlock king and the best damn king the Knox has ever had.—means their power would run through his veins, making him stronger than almost everyone, except for me.
“I could only imagine the type of horrors she has had to endure at the hands of the Vampire King.” Nico has a faraway look in his eyes, almost like he is reliving the torture of not having his sister by his side. “Nico, I need you to tell me the truth, please. Why were you so mad when you found out about Kai coming to me in my dreams?” With a deep breath, he looks me dead in the eyes and shatters me with his words.
“Melakai was never supposed to have a relationship with you; he was supposed to kill you.
Chapter 4
Nico
I see the moment she processes my words—her face falls and her beautiful hazel eyes with the peculiar yellow ring start to glisten. I fucked up big time, and I know I have just broken her heart more than any person has ever done before. I just told her that the man she thinks she loved was meant to kill her, not love her. She was never his to love, and he fucking knew it; he betrayed me by seducing her and making her love him. My blood starts to boil as I think about his conniving ways, and I clench my fists, trying to control the rage coursing through my veins.
“Thank you.” What the fuck is happening here? Did she just thank me?
“I don’t understand? Why are you thanking me?”
“Because for the first time, you haven’t lied or given me half-truths. You were honest. I appreciate your honesty, even though it hurts me. Can you please explain why Kai was supposed to kill me?”
This strong, beautiful woman has endured so much in her life, and yet here she sits, accepting every burden placed on her. She is the most beautiful creature I have ever met in my life. Her long brown hair is falling over her shoulders, I would love to tuck those strands behind her ear and whisper sweet nothings to her. She deserves my honesty, and I must do what I can to earn her trust back, before I break it again.
“I wasn’t lying when I told you that I could never harm you, personally. Dom had gotten a message to Kai not long after I met with your father that day in the park; we told him about your blood and what it could do. We knew, no matter what we had all been through, Kai would never let our world die or let Randall and his vampires get your blood so they could walk in the sunlight. If vampires were allowed to roam free at all hours, they would cause mass havoc on the humans. So he offered to take care of it for us. Kai made a vow to your grandmother that he would protect her child, but he never vowed to protect the child’s children. When Kai realized it was you who had the blood to seal my realm, he went rogue. He got a message to us months later saying the job was done and the problem was solved. Years went by, and by the time I figured out what this nagging feeling was in my chest, Kai had already made his move on you.”
“I was sixteen when I first met Kai, and in the vision Aurora showed me, I must have been eight or nine. So Kai watched me for years.”
“Yes, I only figured out what the feeling was in my chest because you and I are linked.”
“Wait, we’re linked?”
“Yes, love. I bound your powers so part of me remains inside of you.” She opened her mouth, but I raised my hand to stop her. “Let me explain, then I will answer any questions you have, okay?” She gave me a stiff nod and I stifled a grin. My little spitfire didn’t like to be silenced.
“I felt your fear and then I felt your…need, when Kai first came to visit you. I am aware that Melakai didn’t attend to your needs until years later. I can feel when your emotions are heightened or when you
are being…” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence.
“You mean to tell me you could feel every time Kai and I were intimate?” I couldn’t form the words, so I just nodded. She blushed immediately, pushed up off the bed, and started pacing. I was coming to learn that she did this a lot when she was stressed or overthinking. “What am I supposed to say to that, Nico?”
“Nothing at all, love. It was never meant to happen. I didn’t even know that it could happen until it did.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
Obviously I sounded like a blabbering idiot. I needed a second to collect my thoughts so I could explain this better. After a moment of silence, I felt composed enough to continue.
“What I’m trying to say is I didn’t know I would feel your emotions or anything else. I only realized I could when you were scared or hurt or…” I knew the moment it clicked—she whipped around, glaring at me. I hung my head in shame, unable to meet her eyes.
“Stop, I don’t want to hear anymore.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry. You’re fucking sorry?”
She continued pacing, and I knew she wasn’t done yelling or being angry with me. She had every right to be pissed; I knew and had done nothing. I left her there, when I could have saved her. I was a coward. I sat on the sidelines and watched, never once intervening, fearing that if I helped her she would eventually turn against me. She has the power to kill my people, and I left her to suffer at the hands of her mother because I was scared of what she could do to me. If she was this angry now, learning this, she was going to light me on fire when she found out what I had done recently.
A Twisted Fate : The Dream Trilogy - Book 2 Page 2
