Accepting Fate

by Rivers, Brandy L

  “Mmm, does this mean I get to sleep in here tonight?”

  “Hoping you want to.”

  She slid her leg over his thigh and drew his between hers. “Warning, I like to snuggle.”

  He pulled her closer and wound his arms around her. “Mmm. I could get used to this.”

  She tucked her head back under his chin and they both fell into sleep.

  Chapter 12

  “He wouldn’t talk to you?” Cole snarled at Amanda. His power washed over her like a weight pushing her to her knees as he stalked closer.

  Fear spiked, and she tried to remain silent but a whimper escaped.

  “Do I need to give you back to your master?”

  Shaking her head, she managed to keep her eyes on Cole.

  Shadows ebbed around him, reaching for her.

  “Please. I’ll try harder.” If only to save him from this fate. She’d probably die for what she was planning. True death would be better than this.

  “Will you? Or will you try to warn him away?”

  “I tried to talk to him. There was another woman.” Blood-tinged tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t do what Cole wanted, but he didn’t have to know what she planned. “I will get him alone.”

  His smile turned cruel. “And who is this woman? The one he was chasing chose another man.”

  Of course, he knew and didn’t tell her about the other woman. As always, she’d been used. Sniffling, Amanda answered, “I’ve never seen her before.”

  “Is she human?”

  She didn’t know the right answer. What made someone human? Not that it mattered. Mike had been happy while walking with her, his cares gone, until he saw Amanda.

  “I… I’m not sure.”

  He crouched down, roughly grabbing her chin to force her gaze back to his. “Then find out.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  “Get out of my sight.” He stood up and strode behind his desk.

  Amanda scrambled to her feet and streaked out of his office.

  * * * *

  Gwen woke to the sound of pinging in the other room.

  My phone?

  Glancing at the clock she decided whoever was sending message after message had urgent news. It wasn’t like she gave her number out to random people.

  She slipped from Mike’s embrace with a sigh. Warm, comfortable, and she’d be back as soon as she knew what was up. Pushing herself into motion, she left the room and sat down on the couch to pick up her phone.

  There were twenty texts. Most of which arrived in the last ten minutes. The final one said, Gwen, answer the damn messages or I’ll have Robert take me to you. You have 2 minutes.

  She typed back, Chill the fuck out. I’m looking. Forgive a girl for sleeping.

  After rubbing at her eyes, she opened the first from that evening and froze.

  Death’s Door is owned by Cole deLuna

  AKA Coltrain Darkmoon

  Call me. DO IT NOW!!

  Her phone pinged again and she dialed before bothering to check the message. Preston answered before she heard it ring. “Damn it, Gwen. What the fuck have you been doing?”

  She let out a yawn before answering, “Sleeping. Don’t tell me I can’t handle this case.”

  “Gwen, I remember how he broke you down.”

  “Do you also remember how long—or short—that lasted? Because unlike a lot of people, it took me less than two months to get over his sorry ass.”

  Preston heaved a sigh. “Need I remind you the reason you and I didn’t go more than one round was because you wound up in tears because of him.”

  “Shit, don’t go there. That’s not fair. That was less than a month after, and I was stupid drunk.”

  “This is true,” he grumbled. “Still, you were a mess.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ve slept with others since, without Coltrain being an issue. So excuse the fuck out of me for not worrying about that bastard.”

  “Except now you might have to confront that slimy piece of shit.”

  “Yeah, got it, but I can handle him. Don’t worry, I will wait for backup this time.”

  “Shit, Gwen, you scared both Robert and me with that stunt at Lamar’s. Remus could have killed you, or worse.”

  She winced as Mike came out of the bedroom with a sleepy frown on his face. Now wasn’t the time she wanted to be discussing the fact she was on the phone with a superior she slept with, or the fact she had a relationship with his superior too. She was feeling dirty, which had never been the case in the past.

  “Do I need to worry about this tonight? Can it wait until morning? I was curled up and sleeping peacefully when the phone woke me.”

  “And whom are you sleeping with?”

  She sighed and closed her eyes as Mike crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall.

  Preston gasped. “Mike? You’re fucking Mike already?”

  “He’s fine. In fact, I want to go curl back up with him. We’ll discuss what you learned tomorrow. It’s safe to assume I’ll be in Edenton at some point.”

  “He’d better be good to you.”

  Gwen laughed. “Don’t worry about me.” She hung up and crossed the room.

  “Who was that?”

  “Preston. I had him check something for me earlier. He gets impatient. Wanted me to see what he’d discovered.” Tomorrow, she’d go through the rest, but she had a bad feeling. Nothing to worry about tonight. It could wait a few more hours.

  He laughed. “They treat you like a little sister.”

  She groaned. “Not exactly. Better to get this out of the way because I’m not trying to keep secrets. I mentioned Robert earlier.”

  Mike’s nodded in acceptance.

  Wincing, she let the other shoe drop. “And I had exactly one drunken night with Preston forever ago.”

  One corner of his mouth twitched. “Tell me Tremaine isn’t on that list, please.”

  Blinking, she shook her head. “No. But, that’s it? No grief for having slept with two of my superiors?” she shuddered.

  “We both have pasts. You met two from mine. And you’re hard to resist. So I can live with your past.”

  “You’ve been upgraded from a good man to fucking amazing.”

  He pulled her closer with a smile. “Come on, it’s far too early to be awake if I’m not inside of you.”

  “Agreed.” She threaded her fingers through his.

  Chapter 13

  Mike walked into Jitterhouse and was surprised to find Jackie Oceans at the counter. They’d become friends in art school, they shared several drawing classes, though she focused on photography while he went for graphic design. She usually worked a later shift.

  Roxy wasn’t there yet, so he leaned against the counter.

  Jackie looked up from her sketch pad with a smile. “Hey, Mike. Haven’t seen you around lately.”

  He rolled a shoulder in a shrug. “Been a bit of a recluse, but you could say I’m finding myself.”

  “Good to hear. Hey, I can’t confirm it, but the rumor is Amanda’s back and has been asking around about you.”

  Do vampires come out in the day? He decided to ask Gwen later.

  “If you see her, please don’t tell her where to find me. Maybe it’s harsh, even selfish, but I have no interest in rehashing the past. I’m over her, and no good can come from a discussion.”

  “Your secret is safe with me. As for harsh? I don’t think so. You need a woman who isn’t going to run away because she blames you for problems she caused herself.”

  “Agreed, now, let’s talk about anything else while you make mine and Roxy’s drink. My sister should be here anytime.”

  He really hoped she would show up, and not bail, but there was always the possibility she might change her mind. Discussing the situation in front of Trevor wasn’t ideal, but if it came down to it, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

  “She’s finally back from her honeymoon?”

  “Mmhmm. She enjoyed herself.” He smiled slightly
. “They moved at the speed of light, but it works.”

  Jackie grinned. “Seems to me you’re feeling something you haven’t in a while.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Your smile is brighter than I think I’ve ever seen. Plus, you are more open than usual. Symptoms that come with finding the person who makes you more yourself.”

  “You could say that. I’m not sure where we’re going, but we’re open to exploring each other.”

  “Good for you.”

  “What about you? Find anyone who does that for you?”

  Her head shook slightly. “Eddie doesn’t count. He’s working up the courage to propose to his girlfriend.”

  “Well, that might be a blessing. Took Isa admitting what she always felt for Toryn for me to finally let her go. Maybe Eddie needs to take that next step with Kim before you can move on.”

  “Yeah.” She drew a slow breath and frowned as she made the drinks. “It sucks. One part of me wants to kick him out so I can find a man who’ll love me that way, the other keeps holding on to the possibility. Same damn situation.”

  “You ever want to talk, I’ll always listen.”

  Jackie lifted her hand in a wave as Roxy stepped inside. His sister had a unique essence he’d learned since she’d been back. He turned to find her chewing her lip, hands stuffed in her pockets.

  “Hey, Sis. You okay?”

  She shook her head. “Caught that message, huh?”

  Jackie pretended like she wasn’t listening, but Mike knew she couldn’t resist.

  Mike paid and grabbed their drinks. “Thank you, Jackie.”

  “Anytime, Mike.”

  He carried their coffee to the farthest booth from the counter. No one else was there at the moment. It was after the early morning rush but before the late one.

  “Why back here?” Roxy whispered as she slid into the booth.

  Mike climbed in beside her. “Want to make sure we aren’t overheard. Someone might think we’re a couple nuts who need white coats.”

  Roxy smiled sadly. “Good point.”

  “So, a baby?”

  “With me being a werewolf, the full moon will kill it.”

  Mike put his arm around his sister and she leaned into him with a sniffle.

  “Hey, Rox,” he murmured, “I talked to Tremaine last night. I think we should go visit him. Apparently, there’s a chance you can have this little one, and not lose him or her. We need to visit him. With or without Trevor.”

  “Why did you call a mage for a werewolf problem?” she asked softly.

  “He has all those books. You could probably do some research for your writing there.”

  Roxy leaned back to look up at him. “So you know about how all this works?”

  “Not exactly.” He sighed. “Look, Gwen’s helping me figure out my stuff. When we got back to my place, I told her what you hid in the poem, and she made the call to Tremaine. Apparently, you’re not the first one with this predicament. Now, the question is, do you want Trevor to come with us? Or do you want to leave him here?”

  “On one hand, if I bring him, he won’t freak out. He has history though. He’s uh… shit… don’t freak, but he’s more than a hundred years older than me.”

  Mike nodded. “Yeah. Not really surprised. Your point?”

  Roxy blinked. “He was married before he was changed. His wife had a ton of miscarriages. When she finally carried a baby to term, it was stillborn. She died in labor.”

  “That’s rough. I don’t know, Rox. He’s your husband. What do you think?”

  “Maybe I should see Tremaine first. Then have Tremaine explain it to him.”

  “I have an idea. Maybe.” He took a slow breath and attempted to accept the craziness he was about to suggest. “How about you call Joey and Trevor and have them train me in my tiger shape. You and Tremaine, maybe even Gwen, can talk. We can meet up afterward.”

  Roxy smiled slowly. “You two went there last night, didn’t you?”

  He gave her a warning look. “You’re not going to get all growly on me, are you?”

  “After she sent Amanda packing, I kind of like her—a lot.”

  Mike nodded. “I can’t resist her. She brings out the best in me.”

  “I was starting to wonder if you’d ever let go of you-know-who.”

  “Ugh, can we not dwell on that? I knew I couldn’t have her.”

  “But you can have Gwen.”

  “It’s not even about that. She’s not anything like Isa. I don’t want Isa. She scratched an itch.”

  “Eww… don’t need to hear that from my big brother.”

  “Trevor obviously scratched yours well enough to knock you up.”

  Roxy combed her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath as her gaze drifted out the window. “Really think I can do the impossible?”

  “Well, Tremaine doesn’t seem think it’s impossible, so have hope. Whatever happens, I’m here for you. Like always.”

  Roxy squeezed his hand. “A girl couldn’t ask for a better brother.”

  “Don’t be scared.”

  She snorted. “You try having a bun in your oven, knowing it’s not supposed to happen in your present state, when your husband already lost a wife to similar circumstances.”

  “You got this. Nothing’s happening to you.” He pulled her back for a hug. “You want this, right?”

  She nodded. “I never wanted a rascal until Trevor, and not even then, until they told me I couldn’t.”

  “But you have one.”

  “I feel bad for the rest of them.” She sighed, closing her eyes.

  “Your baby is going to be loved by all of us. Don’t worry about that.”

  “I’ll call Trevor and get the guys ready. You call Gwen.”

  “You got it.”

  * * * *

  “They won’t hurt him, will they?” Gwen asked Roxy as she pulled onto I-90.

  “Nah, Trevor wouldn’t let them hurt my brother.” She turned and grinned at her. “And you say he shifts to a tiger?”

  Gwen nodded. “Absolutely stunning tiger, and so soft.”

  Roxy twisted in her seat. “Oh my god, he shifted for you?”

  “Mmhmm.”

  “He must trust you. I mean, he said Amanda left after he shifted.”

  “Tremaine didn’t give him an option. It was unleash his magic or unleash his magic.” Gwen snorted. “Stubborn bastard, but he’s always right.”

  “You’ve known him a long time, haven’t you?”

  “Yeah, and yeah, I’m twice your brother’s age. No complaints. I know how old Trevor is.”

  Laughing, Roxy shrugged. “I wouldn’t complain about that.”

  “You aren’t still mad he kept his secret, are you?”

  “Nah. I get it. It couldn’t have been easy. I know how bad Amanda fucked with his head.”

  “He was worried about what you would think.”

  “Yeah, I was worried what he would think about me, too.”

  “At least it’s all out of the way.”

  Roxy ducked her head. “Sorry about yesterday morning.”

  Gwen laughed. “No worries. You were protecting your big brother.”

  “I was bitchy.”

  “You’re hormonal.” Gwen gave her a sideways smile. “Really, Roxy, don’t worry about it.”

  “Well, thank you. I do appreciate everything you’re doing for Mike, and me.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  * * * *

  Me and my big fucking mouth. This was a really bad idea.

  Joey cleared his throat and taunted, “So, why’d your girlfriend run off with Trevor’s wife?”

  Trevor was tense. He knew something was up, but he wasn’t asking. Mike was beginning to wonder if he suspected.

  “Well?” Joey asked again.

  Sorcha shoved him. “Leave him alone, Babes.”

  Mike looked back with a smirk. “You missed the commotion yesterday. Roxy is probably drilling Gwen
for her intentions.”

  Sorcha perked up. “You’re into the mage?”

  “That’s an understatement. Look, it’s new. So let’s not go jinxing it. We’re not wolves, we don’t mate.”

  “Yeah, yeah. That doesn’t mean you can’t fall hard and fast,” Sorcha pointed out.

  “Doesn’t mean I have to promise undying love when I’m not ready.”

  “So you are tumbling hard!”

  “Give Mike a break,” Trevor said. “He has reason to be leery.”

  “And Roxy didn’t kill Gwen?” Sorcha snorted.

  He sighed. “Look, I’m not rehashing the past. You’re all taking me out to train me as a beast.”

  “Which you’re still nervous about,” Trevor mumbled.

  Mike sat back in his seat with a huff. “I told you what happened five years ago. Gwen has a point though. I need to learn how to control myself in that shape.”

  “That’s what we’re here for.” Joey slapped Mike on the back.

  “You can handle a tiger? Never mind, stupid question. You all have super-wolfie strength, don’t you?”

  Joey nodded. “Aye, but not to worry. You’ll be fine. We’ll go easy on you. Roxy would have my balls if I hurt ya.”

  Sorcha laughed. “Oi, can’t have that.”

  Trevor shot a glance to Joey. “I’d watch out for Gwen. We hurt him, she’ll come after us, and she’s meaner than she looks.”

  “Ooh, another feisty girl to add to the club.” Sorcha laughed.

  Trevor announced, “We’re here. Now we need to wait on Shane.”

  * * * *

  The old tome sat in front of Cole. He’d been ready to start slow and test how well his theory would work, but Mike wouldn’t cooperate. The fool had finally gotten over his nitwit of a sister.

  If only he’d known what Mike was years ago. However, until an old acquaintance started looking into Mike and his sister, he had no clue. He should have paid attention to Amanda’s ramblings the night she disappeared. Cole assumed it was the high talking, exaggerating everything. Mike had never seemed significant in the past, apparently by design.