Marked by Destruction (The Marked Series Book 3)

by Cece Rose

  Boys.

  I look over in the corner and see Daniels sitting on a chair, folding napkins up into little swans. I manoeuvre past the other guys to go to him. I see them watching me from the corner of their eyes, but they carry on with whatever they are doing.

  “Hey, I have a question,” I ask.

  “I’m not your teacher anymore, you know?” he teases, but he pulls me onto his lap at the same time.

  “Oh, I know,” I say, kissing him gently. I pull back, and move my hair out of the way, showing him the little egg mark that is glowing purple.

  “This mark started glowing, and I don’t know what it is. Do you?” I ask, but Daniels doesn’t say a word as he stares at the mark for ages in seemingly stunned silence. I look up to see the twins, Enzo, and East have stopped what they are doing to come and stand next to us.

  “What did you say to break him?” Locke asks, poking Daniels shoulder.

  “Is that mark glowing?” East inquires, drawing all the guys’ attention to the mark, as Daniels whispers one sentence that silences us all.

  “It’s a pregnancy mark. They glow when you’re pregnant. We’re having a baby, Kenzie.”

  THE END

  Authors’ Note

  If you’re reading this, thank you. Thank you for seeing Kenzie’s story through to the end, and for supporting us on our crazy journey of co-writing by reading our books. Thank you so much for leaving amazing reviews, and for sharing about our books everywhere. (It’s so amazing to see posts on fb and twitter about the series! We get so excited every time!)

  The two of us enjoyed co-writing so much, that this isn’t the end for us. Despite this being the last Kenzie book, we have lots more books in the pipeline together. (Including a spinoff about one of the characters from this series!)

  Our next co-authored adventure however will be Immortal Choice, which is available for pre-order now! (It releases in June!) It’s about a sassy vampire called Alyssa Rae who works night shifts in a supermarket… until she gets a sexy new boss and bodies start showing up anyway! Immortal choice is a standalone RH, which we’re really excited to do as there aren’t many standalone RH books.

  You can grab Immortal Choice here.

  We’ve also got another series which we hope to complete this year, a shifter one! Eeek! Her Wolves will be the first book in the Fall Mountain Shifters series, and it will release sometime in August! So keep your eyes looking out for that one!

  Again, from the bottom of both of our hearts, thank you. We couldn’t do this without all of your support. <3

  About the Authors:

  Cece Rose is the proud owner of one dog, four turtles and one annoying boyfriend.

  She hails from Devon in the South-West of England but dreams of sunny skies and sand between her toes. Although, whenever abroad she will moan about the heat and the sand that gets everywhere.

  She has largely convinced all who know her that she is a vampire, mainly due to her nocturnal habits. In reality, it’s because her creativity only ever strikes when the sky is dark, and the stars are shining. (Plus, it’s actually quiet enough to concentrate on writing.)

  You can find Cece on Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to join her Demon Den!

  G. Bailey lives in rainy (sometimes sunny) England with her husband, two children, one slightly strange cat.

  When she isn't writing (which is unusual), she can be found reading one of the many books in her house or talking to her amazing readers.

  Please feel free to stalk her, in her group, Bailey’s Pack.

  Facebook---Twitter---Website

  Other Titles by Cece Rose

  The Desdemona Chronicles

  A Demon’s Blade (Book One)

  A Demon’s Debt (Book Two)

  An Angel’s Defiance (Coming Soon)

  Fated Serial

  Fractured Fate (Part One)

  Twisted Fate (Part Two)

  Rejecting Fate (Part Three)

  The Last Siren’s Song

  Blood Sea (Book One)

  Blood Song (Coming May)

  Blood Moon (Coming May)

  Souls of Creatures Series

  Vengeance (Book One)

  Justice (Coming Soon)

  The Marked Series (Complete)- with G. Bailey

  Marked by Power (Book One)

  Marked by Pain (Book Two)

  Marked by Destruction (Book Three)

  The Grey Witch Series

  Black Spells & Twisted Souls (Coming July)

  White Charms & Dark Secrets (Coming September)

  Grey Magic & Forbidden Love (Coming November)

  Other Titles by G. Bailey

  The King Brothers Series-

  Izzy’s Beginning (Book one)

  Sebastian’s Chance (Book two)

  Elliot’s Secret (Book three)

  Harley’s Fall (Book Four)

  Luke’s Revenge (Coming soon)

  Her Guardians Series (Complete)-

  Winter’s Guardian (Book one)

  Winter’s Kiss (Book two)

  Winter’s Promise (Book three)

  Winter’s War (Book Four)

  Her Fate Series-

  (Her Guardians Series spinoff)

  Adelaide’s Fate (Coming soon)

  Saved by Pirates Series (Complete)-

  Escape the sea (Book One)

  Love the sea (Book Two)

  Save the Sea (Book Three)

  One Night series-

  Strip for me (Book one)

  Live for Me (Coming soon)

  The Marked Series (Co-written with Cece Rose)-

  Marked by Power (Book one)

  Marked by Pain (Book two)

  Marked by Destruction (Book Three)

  The Forest Pack series-

  Run Little Wolf- (Book One)

  Run Little Bear- (Book Two)

  Protected by Dragons series-

  Wings of Ice- (Book One)

  Wings of Fire (Book Two)

  Wings of Spirit (Book Three)

  Wings of Fate (Coming soon)

  A Demon’s Fall Series-

  Runes of Truth (Book One)

  Runes of Mortality (Book Two)

  From the Stars Series-

  True Light (Book One)

  Dark Soul (Coming Soon)

  Mermaid’s and God’s Series-

  Heir (Coming Soon)

  Please continue reading for a short sample of Black Spells & Twisted Souls by Cece Rose… Coming July 2018.

  Every Witch for Herself

  Tapping my pen absently against the edge of my desk, I stare blankly at the computer screen in front of me. The sounds of the busy, London-based office barely reach my ears as I zone out. A hand waves in front of my face, trying to demand my attention back to reality.

  “Are you even listening to me? Hey! Earth to Kayla!” Lizzy chirps in her usual sing-song voice.

  “Huh?” I turn and look up at her, blinking as I pull myself back into focus.

  “I said, did you get that email about the meeting in the glass room? I’m on my way there now.” She gives a pointed look at the screen, which is on the locked screen from my lack of use. Oops.

  “When did he send it?” I ask, trying not to yawn as I stretch a little in my seat.

  “I got mine about twenty minutes ago,” she answers absently, picking at the vibrant, blue polish on her nails. I unlock my computer and check my emails, sure enough: Team meeting in the glass room @2:30pm. Received at 2:12pm. An organised affair as usual, then. Eighteen minutes was actually a pretty good notice time for my manager, the creep. Though, as I look around at the desks surrounding me, I’m not sure it will be enough.

  “He’ll be lucky if we’re all able to get there. Some of the guys are on break or stuck on calls. He never plans ahead for these things,” I mutter, leaning back in my seat. I’m not in any rush to be trapped in a room with my manager, awkwardly waiting for everyone else to show up. Even with Lizzy in there too with us, it’s bound to be awkward. Ever since the Chri
stmas Party a couple of weeks ago, I’d avoided the man at all costs. Not that I’d much liked his presence before then, but since I’d spurned his advances directly, he’d been hellish. I couldn’t imagine him being any worse than the way he was before the party, how naive and optimistic of me considering how the past couple of weeks have been.

  “I think he does it on purpose to drag out the meetings waiting for us, so he can avoid Clive.” Lizzy looks pointedly over at him, as he leans down over the desk of one of the other team managers. Jenna is staring straight at her screen, her resting bitch face game strong, as she listens to whatever Clive is telling her. Knowing him, whatever he’s telling her is completely incorrect, and Jenna is stuck humouring Mr Know-It-All until he goes away, and she can finish her work in peace. If only he was as strict on the male managers as he is the females. I roll my eyes in annoyance.

  “Jay doesn’t even need to try to avoid him. Clive just lets Jay, Lee, and Kyle get on with it. They’re all idiots; it’s utter bullshit,” I mutter.

  “Come on, we better get in there anyway. Jay might check our call log, see we weren’t on call, and get pissy at us for being late,” Lizzy says, always the voice of reason. I really don’t want to get stuck alone with him, while he tells me off like a child for not being busy working. Considering he spends the day surfing the web and going for near-constant smoke breaks, it’s not like he had room to talk. Hypocritical asshole. Shuddering at the thought of his slimy hands going for my ass, I dart my eyes towards the glass conference room and notice two of the guys from our team heading in.

  “Fine, it should be safe now.” I nod in the direction of Paul and Darren walking through the glass door now.

  “Safety in numbers,” Lizzy jokes.

  “Safety with witnesses,” I reply, grinning despite our misery. I pull myself out of my swivel chair and walk silently with Lizzy to the glass room. She pushes the door open, allowing me to go first. I head in, quickly darting for the chair furthest away from our manager. I give Lizzy a smug smile when she drops down into the seat next to mine.

  “Is this it?” our manager, Jay, says loudly in an irritated voice as he looks around the mostly empty board table, while the skinny newbie takes a seat next to Lizzy. I think his name is Rhydian… or maybe Gideon. I squint at him, trying to think.

  As Jay starts talking, I zone out, and settle on skinny guy’s name being Gideon. Rhydian sounds like a sexy fae, not a skinny human. At least, I think he’s human. I concentrate on him, calling on my second sight. Colours swirl around the room, their auras shimmering over the bodies of my co-workers. Everything is blurred, and yet, somehow clearer. Gideon’s soul is plain, a murky brown. No magic spilling from him at all. Definitely human.

  I look over at the rest of my co-workers in the room. Darren’s soul is dark, but has shimmers that roll over him with the magical current that blows across those of us blessed with being more. His magic is subtle, not particularly powerful, but shifters’ gifts don’t usually lie in magic, more in their physical strength. Paul sits next to Darren, a human, with his dull-coloured hue surrounding him, but Paul knows what sits around the table with him. Paul was raised by a cousin of Darren’s, and he’d been allowed in on the secret of supernatural existence that few humans are permitted to know.

  He was trustworthy, though, for a human at least. He’d grown up grateful to shifters for saving his life and raising him as one of their own.

  Lizzy’s aura is golden, and her hair always seems to be blown by an invisible wind, tossed by the current that all magical beings know, but only some can see. Her soul is dazzling, almost blinding when looking at it with my second sight. I will never understand why she chooses to work in an office when she’s clearly powerful, much more so than myself. She could work using her gifts, instead of being stuck in an office with a split population

  Working for a company that also hires humans sucks sometimes. No magical amenities in the office. No using your gifts on site. The yellow tape they wrap around us all is suffocating, but we have to accommodate the unknowing humans.

  Darren, Paul, and Lizzy are the few people in this office I’d actually go for a drink with, and every Thirsty-Thursday night we do exactly that. I blame the cheap 3-4-1 drink offer at Rosie’s. How they make a profit on that is beyond me. Our Thursday nights always ended with me, Lizzy, and Paul splitting a taxi fare home and dying at work the next day. However, it also always ends with Darren pulling some sexy female shifter and taking her…well, wherever it is that shifters go to get it on. Maybe a bed, maybe the woods…who knows? I feel the smirk spreading across my face as I try to hold back the snigger that wants out.

  “Something funny, Kayla?” Jay asks, smacking his hand onto the desk to get my attention. I jump in my seat.

  “No, nothing. Sorry.” I look up at him, biting my tongue on all the things I wish I could say. ‘Yes, sir. Your attempt at pretending to be a real manager is hilarious.’ Or even a basic, but classic, ‘Your face is funny.’ I’m not sure how well that would go over, but it’s probably not worth finding out. Honestly, if anything, his face is kind of scary rather than funny-looking. Not his actual features themselves, but how he looks at people. His eyes are like creepy, little beads that watch your every move.

  “Have you even been listening to a word I’ve said?” he asks, and I bite my lip. Fuck, I have no idea what this freaking meeting is about.

  “Of course, I have,” I answer with fake confidence, knocking my foot into Lizzy’s leg under the table. Save me. I push the thought into her mind, and instantly I feel a tingle flow over me. My mouth opens, speaking with my voice, but it’s not me controlling the words. “You were just explaining about the new CRM system that is being rolled out next week. And how we’d need to be trained how to use it sometime before then, so you’ll be pulling us out in smaller groups for the two-hour sessions,” my voice explains flawlessly. I feel the tingle fade and shoot a grateful smile at Lizzy. Darren gives me a knowing look, not fooled for a second, but luckily, the only one I need to fool is Jay, and Jay is human. His face turns disgruntled, clearly unhappy that his chance to get me in trouble has been ruined somehow. My smile grows wider.

  “Well, that’s everything then,” Jay says, his voice grumbly.

  “Did we really need a meeting for this?” the new guy asks quietly, and everyone turns to look at him. Poor little human. So new, and now he’s already doomed to suffer for eternity, or at least for his tenure here.

  Jay looks at him like a cat that’s just caught a mouse, and I know he wants to play with his kill.

  “What do you mean, Gideon?” he asks. I self high-five myself in my head. I knew his name was Gideon!

  “Um, I just meant that, um, wouldn’t an email have… We just have so much backlog at the moment…I don’t…” he finally allows his nervous explanation to trail off. Jay crosses around the table to stand behind him. It’s intimidating as shit to have your obviously pissed off boss standing right behind you, and Jay knows it.

  “Are you the team manager now, Gideon? Would you like to go sit in my seat over there? Do you want to make the decisions on which directives need to be given in person, and which over the group email? Do you want to make the decision on what new employee isn’t working out? Because I make those fucking decisions,” he Shouts, slamming his hand down. All of us cringe in our seats, other than Darren that is. He looks pretty relaxed as he leans back, tapping away on his phone, just ignoring the situation completely. Jay wouldn’t dare tell him off for it though, he’s way too scared of the bulky shifter. The dominance Darren lets off is enough to scare most people, even dumb humans.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  “I don’t give a rat’s ass about what you meant, newbie. Get the fuck out of here,” Jay says, cutting Gideon off. The new hire looks about ready to sink to the floor, in a messy puddle of melted human. Shit, he can’t seriously be telling him to leave-leave, right? He surely only means out of the glass room... “What are you doing jus
t sitting there? Go pack up your shit and leave,” he adds angrily, and my eyes widen when I realise he’s deadly serious. What a prick. He really can’t stand anyone correcting his bullshit.

  “Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh?” I ask, the words flying out my mouth before I can crush the fuckers with sense. He turns his glare on me.

  “Everyone except Miss Saren, get the hell out of the glass room,” he growls, and they all hastily get to their feet. The new guy is the first out the door, in a rush to escape the embarrassment of being sacked in his first week at a company I doubt he even wanted to work at in the first place. “Newbie, go sit by my desk. We’ll discuss this in a minute, once I’m done with Kayla,” he adds. Gideon’s eyes fly to me, and he gives me a small nod of appreciation. I gave Jay’s anger a new target, me. He may not get fired today, but I might. I sigh, watching everyone else file out of the room. Lizzy shoots me a worried look over her shoulder as she is the last to leave.

  I watch as Jay crosses the room, and slowly pulls down all of the blinds, cutting off the rest of the office to giving us complete privacy. Once they’re all closed, I hear the deafening turn of the lock on the door and gulp anxiously. This really can’t be good. He strides back across the room, strutting like a fucking peacock, before climbing up and sitting on the table close to me.