How It's Meant to Be

by T. S. Joyce

  Wait…what? Aurora moved to stand and follow him out, but Trinity bustled over. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  Aurora fingered the edge of the folded picture. “Of course. I’m fine. Confused a little as to what’s going on.”

  “Trinity,” a woman yelled out of the kitchen window. “Table eight is waiting on their check.”

  Trinity pulled out a paper and pen and gave her a too bright smile. “My boss is a fartbasket.”

  Aurora snorted and looked at the boss-lady in question. “She seems like it. She’s glaring at us.”

  “It’s her favorite thing to do. Listen, are you in trouble?”

  “What? No, I’m here for a French toast date, but my dude has vamoosed. Pretty sure he left me here to chat with you.”

  “But why?” Trinity asked.

  “Uuuh I have no idea. He says he can’t answer any of my questions. That it’s against the rules or something.”

  “Does he like you? Or is he using you?”

  “What would he be using me for?”

  Trinity shrugged up one shoulder and sighed. “All I know is Moore Bane doesn’t have feelings like normal men, and he just shocked the hell out of me bringing a human woman in here with him.”

  She frowned at something outside of the window, but when Aurora followed her gaze, she only saw a trio of crows gathered on the top of a civic parked outside.

  “Well, you’re in it now, girl.”

  “I need a little less mystery right about now,” Aurora admitted.

  “Do you like him?” Trinity asked. “I mean…is he likable?”

  Aurora told her, “He’s made of brimstone and red flags. He’s just my type.”

  She let off a little accidental giggle. Aurora could tell it was an accidental giggle because she covered her mouth so fast, she drew on her cheek with her writing pen.

  “I’m supposed to show you this,” Aurora murmured, unfolding the picture. But what she saw in the picture didn’t make any sense.

  It was a black and white photograph of a man kneeling down in the middle of a field. And all around him were the dead bodies of crows. His hands were outstretched, and blood ran down his arms. He was looking up at the sky.

  With a gasp, Aurora dropped it onto the table. “What is this?” she whispered.

  When she looked up at Trinity, something unfathomable swam in the seriousness of her eyes. Realization? Dread? She swallowed hard and put her notepad into her pocket. “That is Moore’s father.”

  “What did he do?” she asked.

  Trinity blinked slowly at the picture, and dragged her eyes back to Aurora. “A better question would be what was done to him.”

  “Look, no offense to myself, but I’m not smart enough to figure out all these riddles. So, if you could dumb it all down and talk real slow for me, I would sure appreciate it.”

  Trinity chewed on the side of her lip before she spoke again, looking thoughtful. “How does he treat you? Moore? How does he act around you?”

  “Sometimes distant. Sometimes overwhelmed by the things I say, but he comes back and tries to stay in conversations. He made me a rocking chair with one of my favorite animals carved into it. Sometimes he shows me nothing of himself, and then this morning, in my house, he showed me enough. He said things that made me…sad. For him.”

  Trinity narrowed her eyes. “That man isn’t what you think he is.” The diner door opened with a ding of the bell above it, and Trinity called out, “It’s okay! He’s not in here.”

  Huh? Aurora twisted in her seat to find…Moore. But not Moore. He was wearing different clothes, but his face and beard looked so much like Moore’s, she had to do a triple take. His eyes were just as strange as Moore’s and they were wide and scanning the restaurant.

  “Dang, they look just alike,” she muttered as the giant man strode for her table.

  “Where the fuck is he?” the man asked in a much grittier voice than Moore’s. Okay, when he spoke, she could definitely tell the difference between them. Plus, Moore had a big scar down one cheek. This man had no scars that she could tell.

  “You must be my future brother-in-law,” she joked, offering her hand for a shake.

  Trinity snorted while broski-in-law frowned down at her hand. “Um, Aurora, this is Brick. Brick, this is Aurora…she’s Moore’s…well…she’s Moore’s.”

  She’d never seen shock quite as big as the kind that commandeered Brick’s face. She would’ve laughed if she didn’t have the creepy dead crow picture in front of her. “That was a joke. Moore doesn’t really seem like the marrying kind.”

  Brick lifted a finger and parted his lips to say something, but nothing came out, and his dark eyebrows created a big, confused frown. He tried again, and this time, all that came out was, “You like Moore?”

  “I don’t know about like-like him, but he’s very cute and I’m pretty sure if he took his shirt off, he would have a six pack.”

  “And like, sixty-seven scars.”

  “Oooh, sexy. From a car accident or something?”

  “No,” Brick said. “From fighting.”

  “Fighting who?”

  “Everyone.”

  Aurora shook her head. “Look, I see what you’re trying to do here. I don’t like forming my opinions based on other people’s feelings about a person. If you’re trying to turn me off of him, this isn’t the way to do it. I like bad boys.”

  Brick just stared at her. Her stomach growled. She stared back. She smiled. His face didn’t move a single muscle.

  “Aux is here,” Trinity whispered, breaking up the awkward silence as her gaze drifted to the big picture window.

  “You know what,” Brick murmured, backing away a few feet. “This is good.”

  “Seriously?” Trinity asked.

  “Yeah. Don’t tell her anything, let Moore show her who he is. This is good.”

  “Good, how?” Trinity asked. “She’s like a sad little baby duckling trying to hold hands with a starving lion.”

  “She’ll probably be fine. I know what Moore is trying to do, but it won’t work.”

  “Ooooh, what’s he doing?” Aurora asked, curious.

  Brick grinned as he backed toward the door. “Trying to build a bond and gain power. And he got you! Ha! Karma is funny. This is awesome.”

  “And I’m supposed to what?” Trinity asked, following Brick a few steps. “Not warn her?”

  “Nope! Let her have him. I’ll be across the street if you need me.”

  Brick walked outside and across the slushy street. He was laughing. She could tell from the puffs of frozen air that blew from in front of his face. On the other side of Main Street stood another Moore—probably his other brother since he didn’t have face scars either.

  “There’s more of them,” Aurora whispered. How had she not seen these hotties before now? They were very noticeable. And tall. And had lots of muscles and great big beards and shining gray eyes.

  Trinity was looking after her man like he’d lost his mind and maybe he had.

  Aurora told her, “If we’re going to be friends, I don’t think you should call me a sad little baby duck anymore.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean sad. I meant lonely.”

  Aurora scrunched up her face at her. “That’s kind of the same thing. Call me a more badass animal next time you talk about me like I’m not even here. I’m a middle-aged pigeon with some life experience at least.”

  Trinity pursed her lips against a laugh. “Okay, I’m going to give you my phone number. Please call me if you’re, I dunno, about to get eaten by a bear or something.”

  “That’s a weird reason to call you, but okay,” Aurora said, reaching for the paper Trinity had scribbled her number onto.

  Trinity went about her business serving tables, and Aurora texted Moore. Please tell me you aren’t banging some bimbo in the restroom. Send.

  Are you leaving? He texted back almost immediately.

  Hell no, I have French toast on the way. Want me to order yo
u some? Send.

  No, I mean leaving me. Or…leaving before the third date. You know what I mean.

  She searched out the window but didn’t see him. His blue Bronco was still parked outside though, so he was somewhere close.

  Depends on the third date. If it’s something boring, I’m definitely not going.

  Did Trinity not answer your questions about me?

  She and Brick might be crazy, and they like riddles. Your brother said to let me have you. So there ya go. Family approval. Shall we live at your house or mine? Send. Ha, ha she was hilarious.

  Mine.

  She frowned at the response. That had to be a joke but he wasn’t the joking type. You wouldn’t enjoy me moving into your place. I will rearrange all your furniture and demand you sleep naked so I can brush up on my math skills and count your abdominal muscles every night.

  Do you ever take anything seriously?

  No. Send.

  He didn’t reply again until her food came. She texted Trinity that she needed more syrup, and watched her reaction as the waitress pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the message. She laughed, thank goodness, and brought her more of the sugary goodness. They were definitely going to be friends.

  Her phone screen lit up with a text from Moore. You can’t rearrange the furniture. I’m very particular. Everything has to be in place.

  Cool. You didn’t say no to sleeping naked though so I guess you do know how to compromise. I ordered you a meat-lover’s omelet with extra sausage and bacon. I’ll bring it out when I’m done but you should know, I’m not rushing. I’m savoring every bite. Just because you decided to ditch me, it doesn’t mean I’m going to enjoy this date-for-one any less. Send.

  She giggled at her sassiness and then looked up to find Moore sitting across from her like he’d never left. She jumped hard. “Holy crap, how did you get in here so quiet?”

  “Back door, avoided the bell, my shoes are quiet and you have no survival instincts. I could’ve been loud and you still wouldn’t have noticed.”

  “Well, maybe you can take it as a challenge and teach me how to be more survivory on our third date.”

  He leaned back in the booth and sighed, his narrowed silver eyes trained on her. “You confuse me.”

  Around a bite of hash browns, she asked, “Confuse you how? I’m an open book.”

  “You make me want to walk away a lot. But then when I do, I think about you and the dumb things you say, and I like them sometimes and other times I hate them. And I think about you too much and my…”

  “Your what?”

  “The other side of me feels…protective.”

  “More riddles.”

  “I didn’t like Brick being so close to you.”

  “Oh God, are you one of those jealous types?”

  “No, it’s not that. I just know what Brick is capable of, and I didn’t like him that close without me in here. You humans are very fragile.”

  “Okay, well us humans aren’t that fragile and we get tired of being treated that way by other humans.” She shoved another bite in her mouth. “Trinity called me a sad little baby duck.”

  Moore snorted. He didn’t smile, but he almost, almost did when he made that almost-laugh.

  Aurora rolled her eyes. “I’m very tough. But she said I was like a sad little baby duck holding hands with a starving lion.”

  And there it was—the smile she’d been waiting for, and it. Was. Glorious. Straight white teeth, perfectly shaped lips, and his eyes lit up and danced. She’d never seen anyone with canines as sharp as his but it added to his dangerous appeal. She hoped he rode a motorcycle and knew how to talk dirty.

  “More like a three-legged platypus trying to hold hands with a pissed off grizzly bear.”

  She smiled around her bite of food and held her hand out on the table. “Platypussies are cute.”

  His smile got a little bigger. “I don’t think that’s the plural word for it.”

  “I’m going to needlepoint it onto a pillow for our new home.”

  He shook his head and sighed, but she wiggled her fingers. “Come on. You can do it, lover. Just hold my hand while I eat, and maybe just maybe, I’ll give you that third date. I’ll warn you though, the third one is a doozy.” She wiggled her fingers again.

  He growled. Growled! It was an animal sound deep inside of his chest. He shook his head hard, and the noise stopped.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  His eyes sparked with frustration, and he slapped his hand onto her palm and gripped it tight. That same electric current pulsed against their skin and she could only stand the ache for a few seconds. “Why are you so painful to love?” she gritted out, rubbing her hands together to try and work out the remaining tingles. “You have static in your body or something.”

  “It’s because we aren’t meant to be,” he said solemnly.

  Trinity came up slowly and set Moore’s omelet in front of him. Only she did it standing as far away from the table as possible.

  “I’m not going to hurt you today,” Moore gritted out.

  “Well, that puts me at ease.” Oh, her new best friend was sarcastic. She liked it.

  “You were supposed to tell her about the rules,” he said.

  “As a collective, we decided you can do that. Just like the boys had to do with me and Gwen. Welcome to the club, Moore. If you’re bad at communication, which I highly suspect you are, shit’s about to get difficult. This is mate-training one-oh-one. You have to spill your own damn secrets. Hot sauce?” she asked, her eyebrows arching high as she pulled a little bottle of Tabasco from her apron pocket.

  “No. Takes away from the flavor of the meat.” Whoo, he was growly now.

  “He meant ‘no, thank you.’ You’re doing a great job,” Aurora called after Trinity as she walked away.

  She pushed the photograph toward him. “You heard her. Spill your secrets. What is this?”

  The anger faded from his face as he stared at the photograph, and was replaced with a sadness she didn’t understand. “That is a story for date number three.”

  He got really quiet after that. Quiet and he kept his eyes down on his food. She didn’t know what to say to pull him out of whatever he was thinking about, so she slipped her ankles around one of his work boots and just rested there, encasing his leg with hers.

  He didn’t flinch away, and the static didn’t hurt when she touched him like this, separated by their clothes, so that was good.

  With Moore, she was learning that even small things could be victories.

  Chapter Five

  Moore’s phone sat on the workbench near the door. He couldn’t keep his attention from drifting to the damn thing, and right now, he needed to focus.

  The day was snowy and the wind blustered outside. He worked on the chair with the barn doors wide open. Why? Because his psychotic animal grew claustrophobic after about an hour in an enclosed space. Stupid creature would rip straight out of his skin if he caged him. Even at nights, he had to sleep with all the windows open.

  How would that even work? With Aurora. He’d toyed with the idea of her coming to his den, and now what was he doing? Fuckin’ panicking.

  She. Wasn’t. The. One.

  She wasn’t the one. It hurt to touch her skin, and it hurt her to touch his. There would be no bond formed and that’s why he was doing this. That’s why he had tried to find a girl. He would have to find another one. Find the right one and then kill his brothers and the crows and everyone who fucked with him.

  He couldn’t fight destiny. He’d tried.

  Until this day, he’d never thought anything was unfair. It was just the life he was born with, he was supposed to live it and then die, and then get eaten by worms, end of his story.

  But he’d watched his brother, Brick, charge into that diner to protect his mate from Moore, and he’d watched through the window how her face had lit up when she’d seen him, and that was the part that seemed unfair now.

  A lit
tle stupid ugly awful weakling piece of him wanted that. He wanted Aurora to light up like that. He wanted to secure a bond with her for a different reason now. So that she would keep annoying him. He liked her annoyingness. It was a break from the monotony of his life.

  But…his skin hurt to touch her.

  And he hurt her.

  His mind was racing. He didn’t want to hurt her. Didn’t want to hurt her? No. This was just a bond for power, nothing more.

  He frowned and scrubbed the arm of the chair harder with sandpaper to smooth it out. He just needed to kill…his brothers. And the crows. Killing was what he understood. It was what he was good at. Not feeling. Feeling was horrible.

  What could he gain from her? No bond.

  What could Aurora gain from him? Pain when she tried for affection? He couldn’t sleep with her. Couldn’t make her feel good. He was shit at giving compliments or dealing with emotional baggage. Hell, he barely understood her at all. What was he going to do? Drag her through the hell that his life was about to become? For what?

  She wasn’t the one.

  She. Wasn’t. The. One.

  “Fuck!” he roared, as threw the chair against the wall and shattered it to splinters. “Why?”

  Why was the one he wanted not meant to be his?

  Aux and Brick had stumbled onto their mates with almost no effort. Stop. Stop! He wasn’t looking for a mate like that. Just a bond. Just a bond!

  He felt crazy. Confused and crazy and his skin was tingling and he needed to change, or hunt, or punch through a dozen walls, or something that would make him feel like he wasn’t shattering into something he wasn’t.

  Moore wasn’t good.

  Wasn’t good for Aurora. He hurt her when he touched her, and he would hurt her more if he kept bringing her closer. She would see what a monster he was when he had to turn into the man-eater he was destined to be.

  He was going to damage her beyond repair, and what was the reason? Because he wanted to be around her? Because he didn’t want to be alone when he had to sit on the throne of his fate? A few days ago, he wouldn’t have given a single care if he hurt her, but now?

  Now, things were different.