“Stop!” I dropped my arm to my side, glaring over her head at my best friend.
“He has it coming! Now move, love.” I was seething and so ready to unleash my pent-up rage on Dominic’s face.
“Step aside, babe, I got this.” He just fucking called her babe! That was it—he was losing fucking teeth for that. Shaking her head and looking at me, she said.
“I promised Dom I wouldn’t let you hurt him. Don’t make me break that promise, Nico.” The way she was looking at me was like a mother telling her toddler he couldn’t have one last cookie before bed.
“I didn’t promise shit!” Fuck, now I was starting to sound like a toddler.
“Nico, stop acting like a fucking child and sit your ass down.” Fucking Jackson was next on my “beat the shit out of him” list. I growled and made my way over to her bed and sat on the end next to Aurora.
“Where have you two been?” Jax asked, but Melakai answered for Dom and Ryan.
“Lake William, I presume?” Both Dom and Ryan shared a look then nodded.
“How did you know that? I masked my trail so no one could follow us.” Fucking Dom turned and winked at me, and I rose from the bed, ready to beat the shit out of him, when Ryan started to shout at us both.
“Nico, sit the hell down now! Dom, stop antagonizing him, you know he’s brooding. Don’t make the old man have a heart attack before we make it down the aisle.” With that they both started fucking laughing. She called me brooding and old! What the actual fuck. Well, two can play at this game, sweetheart.
“My brooding old ass still managed to have you screaming my fucking name last night.” She stopped laughing immediately. Everyone was silent, you could of heard a pin drop, it was so fucking quiet in the room.
“Wow, that was a dick move, brother.” Dom wrapped his arm around her and whispered something in her ear. I was trying so hard to bite my tongue and not make an even bigger fool of myself. She blew out a long exhale and then turned her hazel eyes to me.
“You need to stop saying shit like that, Nico. This isn’t a dick measuring contest. I am pretty sure everyone in this room knows our history. We’re about to get married tomorrow, so you don’t need to be so overprotective, okay?” I released the breath I didn’t know I was holding. She was right; I had to stop lashing out. But this bond between her and I was making me crazy. I needed to have her in my sight at all times just to ease this ache in my chest.
“Look we’re running out of time before Stevie arrives. Aurora, do you have any idea what she wants?” Alex asked.
“Only that she wants to speak to Ryan. I’m sorry, Alex, but that is all I could see. Well, that and Ryan needed to read the letter her dad had written her.” Shit, I really needed to know what that letter said; seeing how broken she was in Dom’s arms earlier nearly broke me. I could tell the letter had some hard truths in it. Ryan clammed up at the mention of the letter, obviously not wanting to discuss it with anyone. That notion burned a little, knowing that she didn’t want to share it with me. “Ryan, is there anything you want to tell us.” I could feel it in my gut that Aurora saw more in her vision, but she didn’t want to betray Ryan’s trust.
“Squirt, is there something you want to tell us?” Ryan turned to her cousin and then looked back to Dom; he gave her a curt nod and an encouraging smile. With a loud exhale she turned back to Alex.
“I don’t want to go into details, as that letter was something private between my father and I, but there was something in the letter. There is a way we can save my sister, maybe.” Alex and Chase exchanged a look of disbelief. I can’t blame them; there was no cure for crazy.
“I don’t think there is a way to save Stevie from herself, Ry…”
“You’re wrong, Chase. ‘The legend left out the part that one twin would be born pure of heart and good, while the other would be born of darkness.’ That’s what my dad said, if I can learn to control my powers, I can banish the darkness from inside her. I need your guys help, please.” Both Alex and Chase reluctantly nodded.
“We’ll help you however we can, Ry.” She seemed relieved that Chase and Alex were willing to help her try to save her sister, but I could feel there was more she wasn’t telling us.
“I will meet with Stevie today, and while she is distracted with me, Chase, I need you and Alex to go with Dom.”
“What? Go where?” Chase took the words right out of my mouth.
“I need you to go with Dom back to the Knox coven and find a lady named Mya.” It was clear both her cousins knew who this Mya is. “You know her?”
“Yeah, Ry, everyone knows Mya.” Alex cut Chase off then and took over the conversation.
“She was the second in command to your father. She ran the coven while your dad was back in New Zealand. She is very old and wise, and if she went missing, everyone would notice.”
“Then ask her nicely to come with you and let her know the true coven queen needs her help.” To say I was shocked at my sister’s input would be an understatement. Since when did she get so wise?
I really needed to sit down and have a talk with my sister. She was continuing to not only surprise me, but Jax and Dom as well. Kai seemed like he was accustomed to this new Sophia. It pissed me off more that he knew my sister better than I did.
Everyone started making a plan on what was to happen. Ryan would meet Stevie, with Jax and I there, as well. Dom and her cousins would go find this Mya. Kai, Aurora and Sophia would finish the arrangements for the wedding tomorrow.
We needed to make sure Kai stayed out of sight, we couldn’t let Stevie get wind of him being alive, yet. I felt for Kai in this moment; Kai always thought we would find a cure for him so he wouldn’t be a vampire for all eternity.
He hated that he had to drink the blood of others. Dom and I had searched for years for a potion or a spell or something to return Kai to his fae form. Kai was the first fae to ever be turned into a vampire. We learned from Kai that a fae’s blood remains pure in their vampire form; it doesn’t dilute and disappear like a witch’s or a humans. Because of that, we thought we had a chance to save him. But his fae blood is gone, taken by the spell that brought him back to life.
∞∞∞
Ryan, Jax, and I made our way to the boundary gate where Aurora told us Stevie would be. Just before we cleared the edge of the woods to enter the clearing, Jax started growling. That immediately set me on edge, and I reached for Ryan, pulling her behind me.
“What’s going on?”
“Your sister isn’t alone; she brought the traitor with her!” Oh, that’s what Jax could smell. He must have caught the scent of Tyler. I released Ryan’s arm and stepped aside. She took a deep breath and straightened to her full height and held her head high. Jax and I walked on either side of her. We weren’t trusting of Ryan’s sister, so we made sure to have Jax’s best wolves stationed around the area in case of an ambush. I wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks with Ryan’s life. She knew there were wolves stationed in the trees, as we told her the plan before we left the compound, and surprisingly she didn’t argue with us.
We walked for a few more minutes and then finally emerged into the clearing. Ryan’s step faltered at the sight of her sister but recovered quickly and continued to walk toward her sister. I was so fucking proud of Ryan. She was growing stronger by the day. A few weeks ago she would never have been able to do this. She has grown within herself, and the change was so noticeable now. She walked taller and with more confidence; she spoke her mind and wouldn’t let others speak down to her. She was still scared and timid, don’t get me wrong, but she hid it better now. She was going to be the greatest queen Farrarie had ever fucking seen. I was one lucky son of a bitch.
Chapter 20
Ryan
As soon as we emerged from the woods and into the clearing, I stumbled. Seeing my sister for the first time since everything happened was hard. Stevie had changed, physically. She had cut her hair shorter now, into a pixie cut, and her eyes seemed dull and dark now.
Her face had hardened. Gone was the carefree look she used to have. Stevie wore jeans and a simple black shirt that was cut to show off her midriff. She wore black Chucks on her feet. How the hell was she not freezing? The temperature had dropped significantly. We stopped a few feet from her. I couldn’t stop staring at my sister, and she was staring right back. I felt inadequate in her presence; Before we left I had changed and dressed in my own clothes. It felt good to have my own things again. I was wearing black skinny jeans and my favorite Joker and Harley Quinn shirt, which was covered by my thick jacket. I wasn’t used to this type of cold; Alaska was kicking my ass. You could smell in the air that it was about to snow. The weather here changed so suddenly; it was warm and sunny yesterday, and today it was freaking cold.
It was starting to get awkward, just standing here between Jax and Nico while staring at my sister and Tyler. Tyler seemed like he wanted to be anywhere but here, and I found that strange. He betrayed his pack and his sister to help my sister and Randall. Why would he do that? I cocked my head to the side, staring at him, trying to figure out what his motive was for betraying his friends and family. Tyler started to squirm under the pressure of my gaze.
“Stop staring at me like that!” Tyler clearly didn’t like having the attention on him, which urged me to continue. He started shuffling from foot to foot.
“Why are you doing this, Tyler?” The question flew out of my mouth before I could stop it. I couldn’t let him or my sister see that I rattled my own cage by having no control over my vocal cords; Stevie would see it as a weakness and prey on it.
“We are not here to discuss him, sister.” The sound of Stevie’s voice sent ice down my spine. Her voice had changed. I know it sounds stupid, but it was deeper and sounded raspy. The girl standing in front of me wasn’t my sister anymore. The darkness my father spoke of has clearly taken a hold over her faster than he thought. Were we too late to save her now?
“What would you like to discuss, then, coven queen?” Stevie snapped her gaze to Nico. Gone was the indifferent look she had been wearing; she was now glaring and shooting daggers at Nico with her eyes, her lips pulled back in a snarl.
“You do not get to fucking speak right now, you fucking bottom feeding cockroach.” Ouch! That was fucking rude.
“That’s no way to talk to your future brother-in-law, now is it?” if Stevie was shocked by Nico’s admission, she didn’t show it. Instead, she started laughing. I looked to Jax and Nico, confused, but they seemed no more in the know than I.
“My sister will never marry you, once she finds out what you did.” I could see Nico out of the corner of my eye, and he didn’t so much as flinch or react in any way to my sister’s words. His lack or reaction made me suspicious; an innocent person would have some form of reaction.
“You know nothing, witch; get to the point of your unwanted visit.”
“I will speak to my sister privately.”
“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”
“No one asked your opinion, Alpha; this is between me and my sister.” I wanted to hear what my sister had to say, but I knew it would be difficult to get Nico to give me some space and time alone with her. I knew Nico was the more difficult of the two so I looked to Jax, pleading with my eyes that he give me some time with my sister. We stayed staring at each other for a long moment before Jax broke our little staring match.
“You have five minutes.” I mouthed a silent thank you to Jax.
“Like fuck!” I knew Nico would make this difficult.
“Stone, give them five minutes.” Now Jax and Nico were in a bloody stare off. Jax stalked over to Nico and gripped him by his arm; they were whisper arguing, and after that they took a step away from each other.
“Five minutes and not a second longer.” I didn’t verbalize my response to Nico, I only nodded, and they made their way back to the forest, with Nico turning back every couple steps like he wanted to change his mind and insist on staying with me.
I loved his protectiveness; it made me feel cared for, and I haven’t felt like that before. Once they disappeared into the forest and I could no longer see their retreating forms, my sister finally spoke.
“Well, well, look at you, little sister.” Stevie was looking me up and down with a disgusted look. “I see you are surviving well with the mutts and the fairies.” I hated how Stevie was referring to the Pack and the Fae like they were beneath us; she was so wrong.
“One, you’re older than me by a few minutes. Two, don’t speak about the Pack and the Fae like that. They’re good people, Stevie, and they’re innocent. Why do you hate them so much?”
“Because they are beneath me and need to learn their fucking place, like you do, sister.” I saw Tyler flinch at the way she spoke about the pack; his reaction was disturbing. Why the hell would he care, when he was the one who turned his back on them to start with? Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I focused my full attention back on my sister.
“They are not beneath us, Stevie; they are just as important as the coven and the vampires.”
“You are so fucking naïve, Ryan. No wonder mother dearest loved beating you.” Her words fucking pierced me; Stevie knew what saying things like that did to me, and she was enjoying hurting me.
I couldn’t let her see how much her words affected me. I took the advice she gave me the first night we arrived in Alaska: fake it till you make it.
“Get to the point of why you are here, Stevie.” A sly smirk graced her face.
“Well, look who finally found their backbone.” Wow, what a bitch. “You need to stand down and stop this fucking game you’re playing. You will help us seal the fae realm. Those disgusting bastards killed our father. I guess you forgot that part, since you’re marrying the king of fucking murderers!” My sister was so delusional; Nico didn’t kill our father. I was starting to believe what my cousins said was right: maybe my sister was the one to end my father’s life, or at the very least she had a hand in it.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do, Stevie. I am not a child, and who I marry is none of your concern.”
“Look at you, spreading your legs for anyone. First it was the leech, and now you’re fucking the king of the people who killed our father. I’m sure Dad would be so proud of you, fucking his killer and all.”
Fierce anger coursed through my veins. How fucking dare she! I have never wanted to hurt my sister physically except when I thought she killed Kai. And she thought she had the right to speak about Kai, after what she did to him? Stevie had no right to speak about our father, when she had no idea what the truth was. I started to feel really hot, and I could feel my magic rising within me.
I looked down and saw my hands glowing. This time I didn’t freak out or try to calm down, I embraced the power running through my veins.
I walked toward my sister, leaving a foot of space between us. She didn’t react to my display of power, and she seemed almost gleeful.
“You don’t fucking ever speak about Kai, or my father again, you lying twisted bitch.” She had the audacity to smile, and I lost it. I only meant to shove her back to release some of my pent-up anger, but instead I sent my sister sailing through the air. The wooden fence didn’t stand a chance against the blast; the remains were mere splinters and my sister landed with a thud about a football field length away. Tyler ran to Stevie, but I didn’t give a flying fuck if she was hurt.
She needed a taste of her own medicine. She liked to hurt and boss people around. I wouldn’t let her do that to me anymore. No one was going to control me; I was finally free. I heard footsteps pounding the ground behind me, and I spun around to see Jax and Nico running toward me. I didn’t want them to stop me; I wasn’t done with my sister yet. I closed my eyes and called to the magic inside me, I envisioned a bubble so I could trap them inside of it.
I was shocked when I saw a dome of glimmering blue surround me, Tyler, and Stevie, but grateful that my power was starting to work with me instead of against me. I turned and started walkin
g toward my sister and Tyler; the dome started shrinking as I drew closer to my sister. Once I was a few feet in front of her, I saw that her leg was at an odd angle and she wasn’t moving. Tyler was checking her for a pulse, and it was then that I started to realize what I had done. Stevie wasn’t the only monster now. I nearly killed my sister! The rage inside me was slowing and starting to ease, the more I looked at Stevie. What the fuck have I done?
Chapter 21
Ryan
“Oh my God, Stevie.” I rushed over to her and knelt down beside her. Tyler started growling, but that didn’t deter me. I rolled her over so she was lying on her back and put my ear to her mouth so I could hear if she was breathing. I didn’t hear anything, so I started to do CPR. I kept pushing on her chest then blowing air into her mouth, but it wasn’t working. I killed my sister! “You don’t get to fucking die, Stevie, wake the fuck up now.” She wasn’t responding. Tears were running freely down my face, and I was sobbing so hard I could barely continue to perform CPR.
“Let him in.” I looked to Tyler, confused.
“L-let w-who in?” I could barely talk past the lump in my throat. Tyler raised his hand and pointed behind me, and I turned to see who he was pointing at and gasped. Behind the dome I had erected stood Jax, Nico, Kai, and about twenty other men, who I was assuming were the shifters Jackson had stationed in the trees in case my sister ambushed us. Why the fuck was Kai here? I turned to Tyler.
“If you say anything to Randall about Kai…”
“You have my word Ryan, I will say nothing.” I didn’t trust Tyler as far as I could throw him. The expression on my face must have conveyed what I was thinking.
“His blood can heal her. If she doesn’t heal soon, she will die. She has internal bleeding.” I looked down at my sister and saw no clear sign that she was bleeding internally. “I can feel her life draining.”
A Twisted Fate : The Dream Trilogy - Book 2 Page 11
