Resisting Fate (Predetermined)

by Heather Van Fleet

  “Well believe it Em, because you are fated to be with a wolf, whether you like it or not!” He jumped off the counter, closing the distance between us. I froze when he grabbed me by my waist. His fingers dug into my hips, “And there’s nothing you can do to change it, it’s inevitable.”

  I focused fully onto his face, wondering to myself that all-too important question…if I wasn’t meant for him, then who in the holy hell was I meant for?

  “So who is it then? If it’s not you, then tell me…who’s the lucky guy?” I smirked, feeling.

  He shook his head. “No, don’t make me answer that.”

  My body went rigid, “You know who it is? You actually know who my supposed mate is? Scratch that, this is ridiculous, I don’t want to know because it’s never going to happen!” I pulled out of his grasp, darting from the room to head towards my bedroom. He could let himself out for all I cared.

  He was super quick, wolf speed quick, and he beat me to my room, only to stand in front of the door seconds before I actually got there. He pushed his hands on both sides of the frame, his elbows bent so I couldn’t apparently crawl underneath them. I scowled; he scowled back, unmoving and pissed too of course.

  “Get outta my way, Zachary.” I growled. My teeth gritted together in anger.

  “Emmy…” he moan–whispered. He did that a lot anymore. The whining, the moaning. Ugh, was that, like, a hidden Zachary trait that his wolf side had brought out, or was it always there and I never noticed until that recently?

  He pressed his hands against my face; his lips were so close I could almost taste his breath on my mouth. I didn’t want him there. I wanted him gone.

  “I think you should go, Zachary.”

  Apparently there must have been some sort of universal code out there that said when a guy got this close to you, and you closed your eyes, that he had to kiss you or something because that’s exactly what happened next.

  I fought him, hands pushing, fingers scratching, but all that did was make him wilder, fiercer with his kisses. His mouth was almost violent as he sucked on my lips. He used his tongue to break through the opening that he no longer was allowed to visit. I saw red, so I did what I had to do…I gave his man junk a quick introduction to my knee.

  “Shit Emmy, what the hell?” He groaned, and fell to his knees. Oops…that was probably a bad idea, wasn’t it?

  “Um. sorry?” I cringed, and slowly inched by him into my room, shrugging. That in itself was my first mistake. The second mistake? I didn’t watch my back…

  He rammed into me, tackling me onto my bed, and onto my stomach. All the breath left my lungs as his weight pushed down on me. I shoved my elbows back, but he caught on to my defense tactic fast, because he pulled both of my hands above my head. He pressed his knee into my back, and held me in place as he leaned over to whisper in my ear. I grunted and bucked, but I was still stuck.

  “He wasn’t supposed to do this yet. He told me he didn’t want you. Goddamn it…I was supposed to finish the transition process, go through with the training, and then you would be mine!”

  My body went still as I turned my face to the other side. What the hell was he rambling on about now?

  “Who, Zachary? Who are you talking about, let me up and then we can talk. I promise…I won’t hurt you again…” I pulled my lips in between my teeth and held my breath, trying to think and speak logically without letting the panic rise in my voice. He didn’t respond. He didn’t say a damn thing. His sudden silence became my new worst enemy…

  “Zachary?” I whispered; cringing as his grip tightened on my wrists. My throat went dry, my head was pounding.

  “He’s your mate, Emmy,” He finally growled. The sound was far from nice though.

  “Who, Zachary,” I whispered again, more tentatively this time, “…who are you talking about?”

  His breath went rapid, his chest heaved up and down against my back, and then his entire body began to tremble. Dammit, it was happening again. I couldn’t see it, but somehow I knew, without a doubt, that he was going wolfy on me.

  “Your mate…is Jack.”

  “Oh, hell no!” I grumbled low under my breath; I couldn’t breathe for an entirely different reason that time. No. No way. Oh Christ, no wonder I was obsessing over motorcycle boy the way that I was!

  Wetness seeped onto my neck, sharpness pierced my hands, but I was paralyzed in both fear…and yes, shock. Then things turned furry, literally, as a soft coat of hair brushed against my backside. And then something pointy pressed against my neck, something animal, incisor teeth pointy.

  “Move you stupid son of a bitch!”

  The loud growl behind us was none other than my heroine of a best friend. I blew out a breath in relief. Yes! I definitely didn’t mind being rescued by a girl.

  “Go away witch, this doesn’t need to get messy, and if you got involved, then you know, as well as I do, that’s exactly what would happen…”

  Before I could speak, before I could even blink and question their ridiculous argument, he was gone, his weight, his wetness, his heat, it all went away as he crumbled onto the floor.

  I moved quickly, sitting back on my elbows, ready to thank Kelsey for her sudden kick ass moves. She stood over the bed, her hands outstretched, her arm shaking, but my words wouldn’t budge when I focused fully on her face, her eyes in particular. I blinked. Her eyes were white. Um, why in the hell were Kelsey’s eyes white? I shook my head, sitting up completely on the side of the bed.

  “Get out of my way, witch,” I jumped as Zachary reappeared by her side. They were in a stare down, their eyes held, nobody moved for a few minutes, or was it seconds really? Did it really matter though? He stood on only two legs, the extra hair on his arms had disappeared, but his eyes, they were still golden as he studied Kelsey’s face.

  “Not gonna happen, pretty boy.” With a smirk and a little wave of her finger, Kelsey began chanting something. Something that was very, very…un-Kelsey like.

  “…I take the power in my hands from air and fire, water and land…” Before I even realized what was happening, Kelsey’s hands shot out in front of her. Powerful, kinetic energy floated from her body, shimmering through the air like tiny, electrical particles. It reminded me of glitter strangely, and it sparkled even brighter the longer it slid through the air. It rammed into Zachary, sending him flying across the room, and into the legs of my favorite chair.

  I chewed on my lip. Was it bad that I was worried more for my chair then his head?

  Holy balls though. I so did not expect that to happen.

  “Okay, Em, you’ve got about ten minutes to get out of here before your wolf lover boy over there wakes up.” Her lips twitched with malice as she stared down at Zachary’s unmoving form. Her eyes, thank freaking God, were finally back to the normal chocolate brown hue I was used to.

  I moved forward to stand, unsure of what to say to her. My movements were jerky, stiff, and I couldn’t quite comprehend much past the simple movement of my feet as I walked towards her body. Somehow, I did happen to notice an odd emotion pass over her face as she stared down at his still frame. It almost looked like sadness, guilt too, but I couldn’t tell due to the fact that when she turned back to face me, she was the perfect vision of composed again.

  “What in the hell did you do, Kelsey?” I whispered, placing my hand on her forearms to lower her still outstretched arms.

  Her smile curled up at the side. “Leave now, chat later, K?” She grabbed my elbow and pulled me quickly behind her. I tripped over my feet as I followed. I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to follow her, but really, what else was I going to do? I couldn’t exactly wait here and offer up a Band-Aid to Zachary when he woke up and all. Still though, I couldn’t help but look back over my shoulder at him again, to make sure he wasn’t leaking blood on my floor.

  That was a bad idea because with my one last look, a sudden wave of panic joined my already freaked out nerves. Shit…I sure as hell hoped he woke up at all!


  “He’ll be fine, quit worrying.”

  I whipped my head back to face Kelsey as she pulled me down the steps, through the living room, and out towards her car. I blinked about a thousand times as she casually opened my door. “Seriously Emmy, you need to relax!” She grunted, motioning me in.

  Sure Kelsey was relaxed, but she was also angry, damn near murderous even, as she pulled us out of the driveway. I eyed her as she glanced back at my house through the rear view mirror several times. I sat there next to her, my hands on my lap, my knee nervously jarring up and down. She was calm and murderous, I was on the verge of beating my head against the dashboard to try and see if it helped me make sense of everything.

  Seriously, was I going nuts?

  “Oh God, my mom, Jamie,” I panicked, pulling at my seatbelt, wondering if I should either A: jump out the window, or B: open the door altogether and escape that way, action movie style. I knew if I tucked my shoulder, it might not hurt as bad, but the road rash would burn like a bitch! “We have to go back, Kelsey! Or I’ve got to at least call her, tell her that she can’t go home! I mean what if Zachary is still there when she brings Jaime home?”

  I reached over the center console to grab her cell, already dialing the number with unsteady fingers, but Kelsey reached over and ripped it from my hands before I could even hit send. She tucked it in between her legs and sighed. Wow… Apparently that was her version of a no. I grumbled. Secrets…God dammit, she was the almighty keeper of them now apparently. The question of the day then was…what in the hell was she not telling me this time?

  “I can’t have my little brother getting eaten by a boy who turns into a wolf, Kelsey! Besides, you’re not telling me something, so spill it!”

  She rolled her eyes, glaring over at me. Boy-oh-boy, her attitude was suckier than ever, “He’ll be gone by the time they get home Em…trust me. My little trick doesn’t last very long, especially on the newly changed wolves.” She released an exasperated sigh. Apparently I’d annoyed her. Well, excuse me for being a little nervous! It wasn’t like she had gotten almost chewed on twice now by a guy she was once in love with but no longer knew.

  I wanted nothing more than to yell at her, to tell her that she had no right to be exhausted or annoyed or any other feeling beyond worry for me. She’d known about this crap her entire life, while I, on the other hand, only found out about it a few days ago! I had a right to be bitchy.

  This had to be a dream though! My best friend was not a superhuman witch girl, Zachary wasn’t a wolf, and I didn’t have a motorcycle riding, red helmet wearing wolf boy for a mate. I was going to wake up from this nightmare sooner or later and everything would be as it should be…right?

  “Hey, it’s going to be okay Em, I promise. Mrs. Martin will explain everything.” Her voice grew soft, reassuring…finally, but it was too late, I was beyond being reassured. “What Emmy? You look as though you saw a witch, or a werewolf, or both!” She giggled and patted the armrest of her seat. All I could do was blink at her. Wow. “All I ask is that you don’t puke in my car.” Double wow. Puke? In her car? That’s what she cared about?

  I shook my head, too emotionally charged up to laugh at her so not funny joke.

  And then ten minutes later, as we peddled on down the highway, she was singing along with the radio as if all that craziness we’d encountered hadn’t even occurred. I pursed my lips into a frown, wishing that I had that ability to be all cool and calm and stuff. Maybe I was more guarded from all the crap I’d endured in the past. Maybe eventually I could be cool with this, but not now, not when it was all so fresh, so…fictional.

  I laid my head back against the seat and let my head fall to the side, “How can you sit there and be so relaxed about everything Kelsey? You’re a witch, an honest to God witch! That’s some pretty messed up shit, you know…”

  Kelsey giggled, finally making the turn down Zachary’s parent’s road. Since they lived on an all-by-their-lonesome street, it took my speed demon of a friend only seconds to get to their driveway.

  “Come on Em, lighten up. I’m a witch, so what? Just be thankful that I’m not a vamp or something.”

  A what? I gasped, gripping the door tight, preparing to jump out of this moving car once again at her announcement. Vampires…? Seriously, there was no way…

  “Before you go all crazy nuts on me, you need to know that I’m only kidding. Witches and wolves, yes, vampires? Um no, well…” she tapped her chin with a finger as we pulled into the driveway, “…at least I don’t think so.”

  I was caught between shock and irritation at her wickedly, horrid sense of humor. I shook my head, and opened the door. I was done with her, with everything. I ran to the front door the moment she put the car in park. Yeah, she could joke all she wanted, but I was no longer in a joking sort of mood.

  Chapter Ten

  Drinking what Mrs. Martin called her special tea, I finally felt myself relax for the first time in days. Whether it was the warm smell of pumpkin bread baking in the oven or the calm reassuring voice of Mrs. Martin’s voice informing me that I wasn’t actually going crazy, I didn’t know. At least my hands had stopped shaking…

  “Okay, so I called the head master at Zachary’s school, and he had no idea that Zachary had left, which I find rather odd since they are all wolves and can practically smell each other a mile away.”

  I smiled at her blabbering. It was so nice to know I wasn’t the only chatty Cathy in the world. “Anyway, I couldn’t get Zachary on his cell phone either, but I’m pretty confident his dad will find him. He’s the one with the wolf nose you know?” Mrs. Martin winked at me as she tapped her nose.

  She buttered up two slices of bread, and I was practically drooling when she placed them next to my folded hands. I gave her a small smile of thanks. She was beyond amazing.

  Kelsey had left about ten minutes after we got here feigning a headache. I knew the truth, saw it in her body language as she walked through the front door of the Martin house. Stiff, anxious eyes wandering from place to place, as if she was worried the boogieman, or a wolf, was going to pop out and get her.

  “They’re supposed to keep a more watchful eye on him, that way he doesn’t get those wild hairs up his butt, and come home whenever he pleases.” She settled her hands over my wrist as she stared up at me, sadness creeping over her face as her eyes met mine, “I’m sorry he spooked you, sweetie. The change…it was so sudden and he fought us until the end about leaving for that school. He loves you ya know. You’re everything to him.” Her eyes lifted over her cup of hot tea as she took a drink. I swallowed, and looked away, her truthful words only made my insides hurt even more.

  I knew Zachary loved me and all, but Jesus, I’d never be with him again, there was no way! Dating a wolf or worse yet, being a wolf’s mate, was all too much! Besides, the love…it wasn’t there anymore. I couldn’t tell Mrs. Martin that. She might hate me for it, might stop being the motherly person I secretly needed, adored.

  My gaze lowered to the table. Maybe I could run away, steal Jamie and go. Like I said, I was never going to let anyone chose the patterns I’d take in my life. And if I found a wolf free island, then that would be the place for me. This supernatural world and I were not going to get along, even if I was somehow linked to it.

  “Emmy? Are you okay over there, hon?”

  I jumped, forgetting that she was there; nodding as my face heated. Damn…I hated spacing out like that. “Yeah sorry, it’s been a long day.”

  “I know it has sweetheart, and I wasn’t trying to make this any harder on you, I know how happy you and Zachary were before the change occurred. I can only hope things get better for you two eventually.” She smiled, setting her cup down. Then her face turned stoic, completely, one hundred percent serious. Finally, was I going to get some answers? “Anyway, you didn’t come here to listen to me preach about your love life now, did you?” I shook my head. She was right on that one. I was not in a lovey dovey sort of mood by any means.

&nb
sp; She stood and moved towards the sink, her palms clasped together as she turned and leaned her back against the counter. “Do you know why Kelsey brought you her?”

  My brows pulled together. Really, why had she brought me here? I guess she figured it was because of Zachary, but still… “Um, no, not really.” I shrugged, leaning back in my chair.

  “You’ve got questions. I want to be the person to answer them.” Okay, now Mrs. Martin was going cryptic on me. Ugh. Why couldn’t anybody ever be straight for once?

  I nodded anyways, suddenly nervous at the prospect of knowing anything. I mean I do want to know, but ignorance was so much more blissful, right? And then my mind began to wander, and that’s not a very safe thing because I always envisioned the worst scenarios.

  I flinched, sitting up straighter, stiffening in my chair. “Mrs. Martin…? Are you like, a wolf too?” I blurted out the mush pile forming in my brain, poking my tongue against the inside of my cheek as I watched her grin down at me.

  “No Emmy,” she laughed, “I’m not. I’m actually a lot more like Kelsey than anything.”

  “You’re a witch?” Shock laced my voice and I leaned back against the chair with widened eyes. Crap…I knew she wouldn’t hurt me or anything, but now that I knew what these so called witches were capable of, I couldn’t help but squirm in my seat.

  “I am actually. Not a full-blooded witch, but I do have the ability to cast some spells, nothing major of course.”

  “So does that mean Kelsey is, like, a full-blooded witch, because her little spell thingy was pretty powerful with those few, simple words.” I shivered at the memory of Zachary crashing into my chair. That was brutal, and something I never wanted to see again.

  “Yes, honey. Kelsey is a full-blooded witch, from her mother’s side. Her dad is a human though.”

  “I don’t get it still. Why are you only half?”

  “Well…witches and wolves are a lot alike. We both embody a great deal of magic in us and when a witch and a wolf…get together, um…physically that is, things change in the chemistry of our offspring. The line somehow weakens instead of strengthens. I know it doesn’t make much sense, but it’s just nature’s way of somehow keeping a bit of balance, I suppose.”