by May, W. J.
Marked by Destiny
Hidden Secrets Saga
Book III
By
W. J. May
Copyright 2014 by W.J. May
Smashwords Edition
Book IV coming 2015
Hidden Secrets Saga:
Download Seventh Mark part 1 For FREE
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-_vVYC1gvo
Website: http://www.wanitamay.yolasite.com
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Cover design by: Book Cover by Design
Edits by: Chelsea Jillard
Book IV – Compelled - Coming 2015
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2014 by W.J. May
Cover design by Book Cover By Design
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PREFACE
MY FIRST NOTE TO SELF
Well, it looks like I finally have bragging rights:
I’ve completed something in my life which I’ve done all by myself.
I finished high school!
The graduation ceremony is tomorrow afternoon – they call it “commencement” here in Port Q. As of tomorrow afternoon I will officially be done with high school. Just need to walk down the school auditorium in some silly cap and gown, pick my diploma up and it’s done.
Then the next chapter of my life starts. Scratch that, a new book is beginning. I can close the door of feeling like nothing and start planning my future – with Michael.
The day after graduation Michael and I are heading across country, back to Niagara Falls. I just hope the trip won’t be a total loss and I find what I’m looking for. The real problem is I don’t really have any idea what I’m searching for – at least it won’t be too hard to avoid disappointment then.
Correct that. There is one thing I know I plan to find out. Who is my mother? My father? Was what Daman told me true? Is there a way I am related to this Bentos—Ancient Journal guy? Okay, that’s more than one thing. How about I simplify it…
I want to know why I ended up in the “system.”
I figured the best way to keep track of the millions of questions I have is to start keeping a journal. Maybe I can find the answers to a few of them, and maybe some answers to the ones I’m too afraid to ask.
And I guess it’s is time to open the Wolf Book up again. It totally annoys Michael, and Caleb even more, when I refer to Grollics as wolves but they are. They’re shifters. Werewolves.
I’ve spent the past three months avoiding the book, but the time has come to face my future and find out what I really am. OR should I write, what I am supposed to be?! I have a terrible feeling the Wolf Book is going to tell me more than I really want to know… that’s why I’ve avoided looking at it the past few months.
Past is past. It won’t define me. I need to focus on what lies ahead, but if I want to be part of Michael’s future, I need to find out who (or what) I am.
Gulp. Now comes the hard part.
Rouge
Chapter 1
I needed to know where I'd been in order to find out where I was going.
It was hard to believe I would be graduating from high school tomorrow. It felt as if I had been impatiently waiting for this moment the past four years and now I couldn’t believe it was finally here. It had been my one goal for so long that I almost felt disappointed I didn’t have a bigger sense of accomplishment. It has always seemed that graduation was going to be the key to my freedom.
Except everything had changed.
Not overnight. It had taken most of my senior year with a few very memorable nights and they weren’t all pleasant.
I knew my goals and expectations had changed since meeting Michael. Michael was the most important thing in my life – more important than my so-called freedom. After spending my entire life in moving from foster home to foster home, I had been on countdown to turning eighteen and graduating from high school. Graduation had represented freedom from the system. I had started school a year later than most - I wasn’t sure if that was because of one of my foster parents or if it was just from moving around in the system. All I remember since I was little was that my freedom would be obtained when I graduated and became of age.
Then I met Michael and my entire vision changed perspective. I spent my entire life refusing to feel hope or happiness. He had changed that. It had been one wild year. Almost a year ago I was miserable because my foster parents were dragging me across the country, a new town and a new high school. I didn’t want to move from Niagara Falls to Port Coquitlam but like most of my life up to that point, it didn’t matter what I wanted.
Fate seemed to have other plans.
Moving turned out to be the best thing that could have ever happened to me.
At least, that is what I knew now – someone else looking in on my life would probably disagree.
It had been a rollercoaster ride since arriving in Port Coquitlam. I met Michael’s twin sister, who was also finishing her last year of high school tomorrow. Michael was already in university and this is where the rollercoaster ride starts hitting all those crazy twists and turns.
After the strangest incident Bonfire Night during the beginning of the school year; I learned something that would shock my world. There was a war going on that we humans knew nothing about - a century’s old war between werewolves and… and… well this is where things grew even more complicated and I needed a journal to map things out. Hollywood would call it a war between werewolves and vampires, but Michael and Grace were not vampires. Sort of. They didn’t need blood or have fangs. They weren’t exactly dead. I think. They had died, but they had some kind of angel blood inside of them or something that prevented them from actually dying. I sighed and played with the necklace around my neck. They were, in a sense, a kind of modern day vampire.
I fell back against my bed and folded my hands behind my head. Thinking about everything made my brain itch. My boyfriend and my best friend were dangerous. They had strength and speed beyond natural human ability. Anyone in their right mind would have run without looking back. I did the opposite, I moved in with them. I moved in with an entire family – a coven – of vampires. To make things even more complicated, one of the leaders was Michael and Grace adopted father, Caleb and Michael was his understudy.
In fairy-tale terms, it was like dating the prince in line for the throne; except I was the peasant girl from the village – the very human girl. Michael loved me and had given me his Sioghra for my birthday in January. Everyone of their kind had a Sioghra pendant –created the day they died. The pendant was a small vile which held a bit of their blood – the last remains of their human blood. The Sioghra was to be given when they fell in love, presumable with someone similar to them because Sioghra was Gaelic for eternal love
– once exchanged the pendants were meant to be worn forever.
Michael had given me his. Deep down I had hoped one day I would be able to give him mine. Except that would never happen. Not now, not ever. Michael didn’t know yet, but I had the mark of the enemy, and one day he would hate me.
“Rouge, you ready to go shopping?” Grace came barging through the door into the pool-house-now-my-house.
I jumped off the bed grateful for the interruption. I didn’t want to worry about the future. I wanted to be happy in the present. I stuffed the journal into the drawer beside the futon bed. “Almost, just need to find a pair of shoes to wear.”
Grace went straight into the small closet by the door. She grabbed a cute little pair of maryjanes that would go perfect with my capris and blouse. Grace would know exactly where to look; she had filled the closet up for me.
“Thanks.” I sat down on the end of the bed to put them on.
“Where’s Michael?” she asked and glanced around. “He never seems to leave your side these days. I was shocked when he didn’t put up a fight about shopping.”
“He needed to talk to Caleb.”
“And he left you alone?” The mocking shocked look on her face was too much.
“The pool house is maybe fifty feet from your place. I think I can manage on my own.” I tossed a lone sock from the floor near the bed at her.
She easily reflected it and laughed. “I believe you. It’s the men inside that house,” she nodded in the direction of the large vintage house that Caleb and Sarah owned, “that need to be reminded.” She checked her watch. “We should get going if we want to get an outfit picked out and be at the school for the rehearsal this afternoon.”
“If we are running late we can always shop inside your closet or mine. Half my clothes still have their original tags on.” I smiled because Grace loved to shop and had filled up that closet because hers was already too full. I had never had money so I was thrifty when it came to spending money.
“I’m an excellent power shopper!”
“I have no doubt, Grace.” I grinned and reached for my keys hanging on the little hook near the door. I hesitated. I hadn’t driven the jeep since Damon had forced me to drive it into the woods. I hadn’t even gone inside it.
“I’ll drive.” She pressed her lips together a moment. “It’s easier to find a parking space with my little Beetle.”
I let my arm drop to my side. “Okay. Maybe tomorrow I’ll take the Jeep out for a spin.” I grabbed my purse and tried to hide the sigh of relief.
Outside, we walked around the pool toward the larger house. Instead of going up the wooded deck inside, Grace veered to the side and continued walking around the house. “Has anything changed with… you know?” she said quietly glancing up the windows by where we walked. We were nowhere near Caleb’s office but she still remained cautious. Grace knew about the mark on my back. It was the same as the one Grollics had on their chest, except mine lay in the exact same location but on my back as if it had been pierced through me and ended up on the other side.
I shook my head reminded that Michael would one day abhor me. Right now though, the enemy hated me more. I had a gift (or curse, depending on how you looked at it) which allowed me to control the wolves. I could turn a Grollic into a servant if I wanted, except I had no idea how I did it. I had found this antique journal-book that seemed to explain werewolves but it wasn’t written in English or any other language that anyone could read, except me. There were only a few pages that appeared to be in English to me, but not to anyone else. The werewolves didn’t want me to control them. They wanted me dead.
I hadn’t looked at the Wolf Book since Damon had nearly killed me back in January. Months had passed and I kept making excuses not to look at it, kind of like driving the Jeep. A part of me was terrified and the other part wanted to pretend things were normal, even if it was just for a few months. Graduation had been my mental count down. I should be excited to graduate but what would happen after, terrified me.
“Earth to Rouge.” Grace waved her hand in front of my face. “You need to move your legs in order to walk.” She slipped her arm around my shoulder. “I may be a speed shopping, but you need all the help you can get.”
We headed around the last corner of the house to the driveway where the cars were parked Michael’s mustang was gone from its usual parking spot. Funny, he didn’t tell me he had to go out. Just that he needed to see Caleb.
Sarah, Grace’ adopted mother, came out the front door as we were getting into the car. “Girls! Caleb just called and asked if you would mind stopping off at his office.”
“No problem. After we’re done shopping we’ll go by!” Grace replied.
Sarah shook her head. “He means now, Grace.”
“Fine.” Grace rolled her eyes at me as we got inside the car. “Great! Kiss shopping good-bye.”
Michael had obviously gone to the office to see Caleb. I had just assumed he meant the office inside the house. I waved to Sarah as Grace reversed and honked the horn at Sarah. “Do you know what he wants?” Caleb just oozed of power and authority. It made me nervous.
“Not a clue. Guess we’ll find out. It had better be quick.”
I had never been to the office building. I had a bad feeling this had nothing to do with Grace, but Caleb wanted to see me. My shoulder blade burned where my birthmark had turned dark. My heart raced. Could he know about the marking? Was it possible he had found out?
Chapter 2
We pulled out the driveway onto the main road spitting gravel, with Grace not even bothering to slow down; the fuzzy pink dice on her rear-view mirror swinging like crazy.
She zipped across town. I had no clue where we were going, so I stared out the window and watched the scenery whiz by.
“What’s up?” She pulled around a van to pass it and quickly back into the lane. “Why’re you chewing your finger nails like I’m taking you to prison instead of the office? It’s no big deal.”
I hid my hands under my legs to stop the nervous habit. “Sorry. Why does Caleb want to see us? Why couldn’t it just wait until we got home from school or he got home from work? What does he do, by the way? I thought he basically worked from home.”
Grace smiled and shot me a sympathetic glance. “He wants to see me. You’re part of this family now. He’s beginning to see that, so why not have you see the office building he owns?”
“He owns an entire building?” Seriously, why did this guy do?
“It’s a medical building. I’m surprised Michael or I haven’t mentioned it before. You know how a few years back there was this huge breakthrough in the news about no longer needing blood donors?” She didn’t wait for me to response. “That was all Caleb. The man is beyond brilliant. He’s the scientist who figured out how to clone plasma and blood.”
I laughed. I didn’t mean to, but come on, I joked about them being modern day vampires and they were the creators of synthetic blood? It was kind of ironic.
We were at Caleb’s office in about ten minutes. Built completely of dark glass, the office building had a very modern look to it. I couldn’t quite tell if it was five or six stories tall, as the glass architecture had a very unique design and it was hard to tell where one floor might end and a new one begin.
Grace parked in the restricted parking area, a few spots from Caleb’s car. She leaned over me and reached into the glove compartment to pull out a parking tab to hang by the pink dice.
“We’ll have to go through the front doors since you don’t have a pass to wear inside. Next time, we can get one made up. We don’t have time to do that today.” She shook her head and muttered, “Let alone shop. We’ll be lucky to even get to school.”
I nodded, too anxious to say anything. I wanted the butterflies in my stomach to settle down before we were inside Caleb’s office.
We walked around the parking area, to the front walk, and into the building. I stopped and stared. No medical building I had ever been in looked lik
e this. Breath-taking. The main lobby had marble everywhere – on the floor, the pillars, the front desk and a gorgeous waterfall. The cascade of water was made up of a huge slab of agate that stood over eight feet tall and the pond at the bottom had koi and goldfish swimming around in it. The dark windows and incredibly high ceiling reminded me of an ancient, reverent cave. Soft music echoed softly from hidden speakers, filling the space with relaxing tones. The view almost made you not notice the cameras or security guards standing in several places strategically located throughout.
Grace led me to a room that required a security code to entire. She flashed her badge at a guard who obviously recognized her and didn’t need to see it. He nodded and then looked at me with open curiosity. I wondered if he was one of them, or human like me. He looked pretty indestructible. The sunglasses didn’t give me a chance to see his eyes.
We headed to the elevators. Inside, Grace hit the fourth floor, the top floor, and then put a small key into the hole above the numbers and turned it to the right. She left the key in until after the doors opened and we were about to step out. Caleb’s office was obviously not open to the public –like a hidden penthouse.
The minute we stepped off the elevator it felt like we were stepping into Caleb’s office inside their house. It had the same style, lighting, atmosphere, all of it. You couldn’t tell if it was early evening or morning. The high ceiling lobby and glass explained why it was difficult to tell from the outside of the building how many floors there were. The windows were double layered here and his office was hidden from plain sight.
