TWISTED FATES BOOK 1: THE FIRST TWIST

by Jacklyn Scott Rogers

  Whatever.

  Bitch.

  "As I was saying before being rudely interrupted."

  Jesus, someone liked to hear themselves talk, I see.

  "In all honesty, I am over a century old. I have been finding stupid women such as yourself," eye roll here please. "and I seduce their men for my own pleasure, of course. I coax these idiots into making a deal using magics. And as usual, no one ever actually pays attention to the fine print.”

  See what’d I say about reading the fine print, people.

  “All you foolish women were wallowing so deep in your stupid self-pity that you never even bothered to pay attention to the fact that you all forfeited your lives to me. Every forfeited life span was added to mine, allowing me to maintain my youth. But then YOU had to go and fuck it all up! You and that damn vampire. Which, by the way, what are the odds that he would show up and save your sorry ass? Pretty sure that's a discussion I'll need to have with Maleyna once I'm done with you..."

  Holy shit! She just keeps rambling on and on. At this point, I'm earnestly begging for someone to put me out of my misery.

  "... so, any last requests?"

  "Huh...did you say something?" I yawned, then looked up at Dasha, feigning utter boredom.

  The scowl on her face looks like she figured out her repugnant rambling fell on deaf ears.

  Ha hah!

  It’s the little things…

  **********************************************************

  3rd Person POV

  Dasha rolled her eyes and began walking over to a black leather bag a few feet away. She knelt down and reached in until her hand clasped tightly around her coveted item, an ornate silver stake. The calculating woman stood up and turned to face Sammie. Dasha tossed the silver stake up in the air and caught it repeatedly. She giggled to herself as if playing a game.

  Sammie leaned her head back against the cold concrete wall of the roof and smiled. "So, what? Is this your big bad weapon Dasha? This is how you plan to kill me? Newsflash Dasha, I'm a friggin’ vampire. It'll take a bit more than a stake to do that, you know."

  Dasha cackled. "Now see, this is why you should have been listening to me, Sammie." She pointed the stake in Sammie's direction. "I told you this isn't an ordinary stake. Nope, this one is special. It was crafted by the first coven and was used to kill the first vampire. So, trust me when I say it'll work just fine, my pet. Besides, this whole banter thing of yours is giving me a headache. So what's say we get this show on the road, shall we?"

  "That's fine with me. You're a shitty hostess anyway, and I'm bored with your whole Dr. Evil plotty thing already. Oh, and before I forget my pet," Sammie countered, "reality called and wanted me to tell you that it will be you that dies tonight. NOT me."

  The two women stilled in silence, glaring at each other; Dasha's grip tightened around the silver stake until her knuckles turned almost white.

  Suddenly the thunderous crash of a metal door exploding off its hinges and being hurled across the rooftop breached the stillness. Immediately four men emerged. Devon was flanked by his Beta and Gamma and then Jareth at the forefront. The four men stood ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Jareth bared his fangs as a warning to Dasha, whereas a low powerful growl erupted from Devon's chest.

  A sneer snaked across Dasha's lips as she glanced over at Devon. "Seeing that you're here to join the party, I suppose it's safe to assume we're breaking up, huh, Dev baby?"

  Aiden and Michael tried to hold in their laughter. This bitch was clearly off her rocker.

  "Let her go, Dasha, don't make me kill you," Devon growled through gritted teeth.

  Dasha sighed, then returned her gaze to me. "I'll take that as a yes then."

  Devon's eyes looked at Sammie's for a split second, and she was able to discern what he was feeling at that moment - sadness, regret, pain, and loss.

  He remembered.

  Instantly Dasha's stance shifted as she began to chant in the direction of the silver stake which rested in her palms.

  Once it became apparent what Dasha was planning to do, the four men sprang into action at lightning speed. But for Sammie, it was as if time had slowed to a frightening pace, where she was able to witness the events that were occurring around her.

  Devon leaped at Dasha, shifting in mid-air, followed by his pack members. He lunged towards Dasha with such force that the two suddenly ended up falling over the edge of the rooftop, sending them plummeting twenty-four stories to the ground below. During that time, the stake which Dasha had been holding had already been propelled in Sammie’s direction. Instantaneously Jareth dashed in front of Sammie, intercepting the deadly weapon.

  Jareth's body stood motionless for a brief moment, causing Sammie to gaze up at his back. She caught sight of the pointed end of a sharp silver tip protruding around a slowly forming dark stain. Soon after, Jareth collapsed at Sammie's feet.

  Chapter 28

  Sammie's POV

  "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

  I heard myself scream at the startling revelation of what had just taken place.

  Aiden and Michael stood in shock. Everything had happened so quickly. None of us were able to fathom the severity of it all until it was just the three of us that remained on the rooftop.

  I sat there crying as I heard Michael order a shocked Aiden to free me while he bolted down to where Devon was. It seems they had shifted, and I didn't even notice. My eyes were filled with tears as Aiden, despite receiving several burns from the silver chains that I was bound with, finally released me. His somber expression let me know that he had to leave me alone to check on his Alpha.

  "Go," I whispered as I yanked the Vervain IV drip from my veins so that I could crawl over to where Jareth's collapsed body lay. I held him in my arms and removed the stake from his chest, flinging it as far away as my weakened state could muster. I was so angry. I was mourning the pain of not one but two men. I had no idea what state Devon was in, and it was killing me. But Jareth was here, and I could not leave him alone. Fate played the cruelest joke on these two beautiful men by having them love me. All I brought was pain. I sobbed and gently kissed Jareth's lips. His hooded eyes parted and gazed at me lovingly even though the light in his Cobalt blue eyes was dimming.

  "Why? W-why would you do this? H-how could you sacrifice yourself for m-me?"

  A small chuckle escaped his mouth, causing him to cough up a bit of blood from his pale lips. "Samantha, my love, why wouldn't I? You are everything to me. There is nothing in this world that I wouldn't do to keep you from harm. "

  "NO! No Jareth ... you can't ... you can't die on me!" I began sobbing uncontrollably when I felt his soft cold hand caress my cheek. His thumb was tenderly wiping away my tears.

  "Please don't cry, Samantha. My Beloved. This was my choice. I knew when I sired you that my destiny was inevitable. Maleyna had warned me the consequences for defying fate; a life was to recompense it with another. I just didn't know when my demise would come to pass. You have all your memories now; I saw them through our sire bond. You shan't be alone in my absence. Your mate will forever be with you in my stead. I only aspire for you to remember me with fondness, my love."

  I leaned down and brushed his tousled blond hair as I gently kissed him one last time. His beautiful eyes gradually drifted closed, and a single tear slowly trailed along his peaceful face. I felt the sire bond dissipate into nothingness.

  My Jareth was gone.

  The mournful scream that escaped the confines of my mouth echoed uncontrollably in the darkness. I gently laid Jareth onto the cold concrete and forced my trembling body to stand. A cloud of smoke appeared, and soon after, Maleyna stood before me with a forlorn look in her eyes.

  She knew.

  "Maleyna, I- "

  She came over to me and wrapped me in her arms, sympathetically patting my back as she tried to calm my anguish.

  "Shhh, Hush my child. I promise you this too shall pass. Please believe me. Jareth would not want his sacrifice t
o be for naught. He loved you and wanted you to regain the happiness he knew you deserved. That was his final wish."

  I sobbed as I shook my head frantically.

  I didn’t want this.

  Jareth didn’t deserve to die; it should have been me.

  It should have been me…

  Maleyna gently lifted my chin as she stared into my tear-stained eyes. "Sammie, you may not understand this now, but there is a reason that you were to remain in this world. Reclaiming that which was originally meant to be, is part of it. Your destiny with Jareth was on borrowed time, and now that your memories have returned, your destined timeline has emerged. It is time, Samantha. You must return to your true mate."

  “Now I need you to go and see to your Alpha. I will take Jareth's body to his final resting place. Once I have prepared everything, we can partake in his final rites together.”

  I was numb.

  I nodded my head in understanding. My heart is aching for the loss of my vampire, but it also breaks for Devon. An uneasiness overtook my senses when I realized that I still had no idea what was going on with Devon after his fall.

  **********************************************************

  I frantically made my way to the sidewalk alleyway where Devon and Dasha had plummeted. The bloodstained pavement came into view, mocking me. The smell of peppermint and white chocolate mixed with the coppery smell of blood wafted into my nose.

  Bile formed in my mouth.

  It was Devon's blood.

  Oh, God. I didn't even know how to find him and see if he's even OK.

  Out of the shadows, I saw his Beta, Michael, quickly stride towards me. He donned a stern face as he clenched his jaw upon his approach.

  "I can't say I know what the fuck is going on, but Devon told me that I needed to bring you to him."

  "He's alive?"

  "Yeah, Dev was lucky he fell when he was still in his stronger wolf form; otherwise, he wouldn't have made it. Aiden took him to one of our nearby Pack Hospitals, and Dev said that he needed you to come with me. Not gonna lie; I'm not too keen on bringing you, considering I don't trust vamps. But since there seems to be some weird shit going on between the two of you, I figured I'd trust his judgment since he is my Alpha and all." Michael shrugged his shoulders while running his fingers through his messy light brown locks as he motioned me to join him.

  "Thank you." That was all I could reply.

  I needed to see Devon and make sure he was really doing fine.

  **********************************************************

  Michael brought me to a small clinic a couple of miles away from the hotel. To look at it, no one could have guessed that this was, in actuality, a small hospital dedicated to werewolves. It seems that this place was masquerading in the human populous' eyes as a veterinary clinic. I could smell the mixture of antiseptics and disinfectants amalgamated with lupine scents all over the area.

  I scrunched my nose as we made our way down the stark white tiled corridors until we reached Devon's room.

  Michael opened the door and looked at me, questioningly as if to determine whether I would enter. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, and nodded to him, indicating that I was ready to follow him into the dimly lit room.

  The moment I walked in, Devon's scent encircled me with its warm comfort. I warily approached the small hospital bed that barely seemed big enough to hold his athletic frame. There were machines to the side of his bed that were monitoring his heart as well as his vitals, and an IV drip had been inserted into his veins. Devon appeared to be sleeping.

  Once I was close enough, I slowly reached my hand over towards his hair. I felt the urge to run my fingers through his loose tresses but then quickly withdrew them. I was still unsure if my being here was the right thing to do. After everything that had happened, did Devon even want me to be in his life again? It wasn't very likely that he would.

  I sighed and decided that was a question that I was not ready to hear the painful answer to. At least not tonight.

  The moment I turned to walk away, a firm hand grasped my wrist.

  "Don't go, Sammie."

  "What ... you're awake? S-sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I just...I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I just needed to know that you were fine."

  "Leave," Devon spoke up. At first, I thought he was talking to me, but then Michael and Aiden's retreating figures made it clear that this was not the case.

  My eyes widened in surprise that he was still holding onto my wrist and staring at me. I felt the slight tingling sensation with the skin on skin contact. The mate bond was re-emerging.

  "Devon, I think I should leave too. I know the mate-bond was restored once our memories were returned to us, so if you are going to reject me, can you at least wait until tomorrow. I just don't know how much more I can deal with- "

  "Please … please don't leave me again, Sammie. " A tear slid down his cheek. "I am so fucking sorry, baby. I should have never listened to that fucking psycho. I should have trusted us, trusted you. Instead, I was an idiot who pushed you away. I know things aren't perfect right now, Sammie. But I feel like we've been given a second chance at happiness by the Moon Goddess, and I don't want to lose you again. Please, Sammie, tell me you'll come back to me."

  "Devon, I'm a vampire now, and you're a werewolf. So much has happened. I mean, how would this even work?"

  "Do you still love me?"

  "What?"

  "Do you still love ME, Sammie? Simple question. The moment my memories returned, all I could think about was how much my heart ached to be with you again. So, I’m asking you again. Do you still love ME?”

  I looked down at the floor.

  Did I still love him?

  All the memories we shared were now my own once again. Everything. The pain, the tears, the loneliness. But I also remembered the happiness, the joy, and the love.

  I looked up at the ceiling, wondering if this is what Jareth would have wanted for me. My heart ached for Jareth, but it also swelled with the memory of Devon.

  Did I still love him?

  "Y-yes, I do, Dev. I still love you."

  His eyes lit up with hope as a small smile graced his lips.

  "Then, no matter what comes our way. This time, I promise you. This time, we'll make it work."

  Devon tugged my arm, pulling me closer to him as he gently kissed away the tears that glistened on my lashes.

  I knew that the road ahead wasn't going to be the easiest, but I believed Devon was right. Fate was giving us a second chance at happiness, despite all the heartache of losing my Jareth. I knew that his sacrifice was for me and my happiness. Jareth’s hope was for me to return to my mate.

  Although it may take a bit of time to heal from our past wounds truly, I planned to embrace our new journey with open arms.

  Epilogue

  3rd Person POV

  Maleyna sat at her tarot reading table, sipping on a cup of tea. The cards revealed the fates of the prophecy's chosen one. Despite the sad loss of Maleyna's friend, sacrifices needed to be made. A war was coming, and Sammie's destiny was crucial in the upcoming battle ahead.

  The bell over her shop’s door clanged, announcing someone had entered the little building. Maleyna looked down at her tarot cards again as she took another sip of her tea and greeted her unannounced caller.