Soul Bound (The Soul Mark Series Book 2)

by Cara E Holt

  She stills and I see her hand move to her stomach, which is where I presume is her mate mark. I pull off the shoulder of my jumper and show her my mate mark above my bra. She leans in to look at it and gasps and steps back.

  “Who are you people?” She looks at us all, a panicked expression upon her face. She grabs for her bag. “I’m outta here.” She looks at Megan. “No offence, but stay away from me at school.”

  She moves to go past me but I block her way and gently grab her arm.

  “I know this must seem crazy but how else do you explain the fact that we look exactly the same apart from our hair colour. Ask your parents. Then if you want to talk I’ll be here all day tomorrow.”

  I let go of her arm and she bolts out of the room as fast as she can. The front door opens and slams shut. Blaine stands and looks anxiously at the door.

  “I should go after her.”

  “No.” I tell him firmly. “She needs time to take it all in. We need to give her this space.” I give him a reassuring smile. “She will be back for answers. I promise.”

  Lorcen sighs and leans back into the sofa. “That was so weird. Sitting here watching the two of you together.”

  I sit down on the nearest arm of the sofa and take a deep breath in. I had just met my sister.

  “So now what?” Megan asks us all.

  “Now we wait.” Drustan replies and gives me a reassuring grin.

  Chapter Twenty Five.

  The next day passes painfully slowly. Lorcen and I sift home briefly to allow me to see my Mum. Drustan returns to the unseelie court as he has business to attend to. We wait out the day playing ultimate werewolf and cards.

  At around five that evening just shortly after we have ordered take away there is a knock at the door and we all fall silent and look towards the door.

  “I’ll go.” Megan tells us standing and heading out the room. We all sit there silently watching the door.

  Megan walks in and sure enough behind her is Alana. She looks around the table until her eyes fall on me.

  “I need to talk to you. Alone please.”

  I nod my head and look at the others who all silently stand and leave the room. Blaine looks hesitant to leave but I shake my head at him and gesture towards the door and he reluctantly goes.

  She comes and sits opposite me at the table.

  “So, you asked them?”

  She bobs her head in response. I can tell she has been crying as her eyes are all bloodshot and puffy. I feel crappy that I have caused her this pain. I knew what is like to find out that your parents aren’t actually your parents and it is a devastating thing to learn.

  “I am adopted. They aren’t my biological parents.” She plays nervously with her hands. “Are we twins?” She looks up at me and meets my eyes, the same colour blue as hers.

  “No not twins.” I take a breath before I tell her the next bit. “We have another sister. We are triplets.”

  Her mouth hangs open in shock. “Triplets?”

  “Triplets.” I reply. I want to go at her pace, so I allow her to digest this information and wait for her next question.

  “How do you know we are triplets?”

  Here goes the next bomb. “I know because our biological mother told me.”

  Her head snaps up in attention. “You have met our mother?”

  “And our father.” I confirm. She blows out a big breath and then stands and starts the pacing the room.

  “Okay.” She says and I think she is saying this to herself more than to me. “Can I meet them?”

  I bob my head side to side. “It isn’t quite as simple as that I’m afraid. You see they do not live in this realm.”

  She stops still mid pace, her eyebrows raised. “Sorry did you just say realm?”

  I nod in reply. Her response is to laugh and hold her hands up to the ceiling.

  “Oh god. You have escaped from some mental unit, haven’t you? I have a crazy sister.”

  I stand and walk around to where she is standing.

  “I promise you I am perfectly sane. Our mother is a fae goddess and our father is a fallen angel, otherwise known as a demon.”

  She laughs again. “Oh god you really are crazy. You expect me to believe this shit?”

  “This will be better if I show you.”

  I close my eyes and pull back my glamour. I open my eyes and pull my hair back from my ears so that she can see them.

  “Fae ears, my eyes are different too.” I tell her and she looks back at my eyes and squints at them but she still looks unconvinced.

  “Okay, maybe this will convince you. Please don’t freak out.” I beg her as I stand back and give myself room. I haven’t done this for some time, so I hope it will work. My wings unfurl from my back slowly. They are sore and stiff from being unused for so long.

  She takes a step back, her mouth still hanging open and takes in my wings. “Holy smoke.”

  “I know this is a lot to take in. I struggled with it at first, I mean I like you believed as all us humans do that this stuff is only fairytale. It isn’t Alana. Fae, Demons, Witches they are all real.”

  “Vampires?” She asks me and I nod in response. She looks over my shoulder at my wings.

  “Do I have wings?”

  I smile. “Not yet. You haven’t awoken yet but when you do then yes you will have wings.”

  “Crazy.” She says with awe in her voice.

  “Can I try something?” I ask her and she nods her head so I slowly reach out my hands and take hers In mine. This worked with Blaine so it should hopefully work again. I close my eyes and pull on my memories, selecting the ones since I had arrived in America. I give her a whistle stop tour of everything, from meeting Lorcen to my time in the seelie and unseelie courts and everything that had happened since. I hear her gasp as she sees all the different memories and reacts to them. The vision does not however stop where I ask it to. Suddenly we both see a vision of our mother with a red-haired baby in her arms and her handing it over to a lady. The vision shifts and it is our mother again and this time she holds a small basket with a light haired baby inside that she places on the doorstep of a convent. The vision ends there and I open my eyes to find hers on me looking at me incredulously.

  “This really is true. We are sisters.” She shocks me when she reaches out and pulls me into a hug. “I always felt like something was missing you know. Like a part of me.”

  I smile into her hair. “I felt exactly the same.” My magic hums inside of me and wraps itself around us. Something in my heart clicks complete. I can’t explain it but it’s like finding the missing piece of the puzzle.

  We sit down and spend the next half hour talking. She asks me about my adopted family and tells me all about hers.

  She is silent for a moment and looks at her hands. “That mark we share. I saw in your vision that Blaine has it.”

  “He does.” I can see her mind putting two and two together.

  “Does that mean that he is my mate? Like Lorcen is yours?”

  I smile, I can’t help it. “I think so yes. How do you feel when Blaine is around?”

  She sighs and smiles blushing slightly. “It’s an odd feeling. I mean obviously he is totally hot, but it is more than that, it’s like I know him even though I don’t. I feel his presence, my body buzzes when he is around and my heart flips. I sound crazy now, don’t I?”

  I smile and shake my head. “No not at all. I felt the same around Lorcen.”

  She grins and a dreamy look crosses her face. “Soul mates huh.”

  The door to the kitchen opens and Megan pops her head around and gives us a hopeful smile.

  “Hey, everything going okay in here?”

  We both nod and smile. “Yeah.” I reply. “I have broken her in as gently as possible.”

  Megan looks at Alana. “So, you know everything now?”

  Alana sighs. “Yes, I know everything. Demons, fae, Lucifer, all of it.”

  “Are the rest of us okay to come bac
k in? Blaine is pacing a hole in the carpet.” Megan jokes.

  Megan shouts the others to come through. Blaine comes first and comes straight to Alana’s side.

  He crouches down, so he is level with her.

  “Are you okay?” You can hear the concern in his voice. Alana smiles at him and pats his hand and assures him she is okay.

  Lorcen looks at me and gives me a look that asks me how it went and I smile in response, letting him know things are okay.

  “So, what happens now?” Alana asks and everyone looks at me to reply.

  “Well we were kind of hoping that we might be able to convince you to come back to Weston with us. We need to find a way of awakening your powers and then well we need to prepare you for a war against an undead army of fae soldiers.” I bite my lip and look at her apprehensively. That definitely sounded better in my head.

  “Sounds fun.” She says joking and I like that she feels comfortable enough to joke with me about this.

  My face turns serious. “It is your choice though Alana. We won’t force you to come. If you choose to stay here we will respect that and totally understand.”

  Alana nods appreciatively and looks briefly at her watch. “I need to go. My parents will be worrying.”

  I stand and offer her a piece of paper which she takes. “It’s my number. Take some time to think things through and well give me a call.”

  She nods and then looks to Blaine and ask shyly. “You wanna walk me home?”

  A big fat grin spread across his face. “I’d love to.”

  Lorcen looks at me and gives me a knowing smile. These two are so soul mates and I couldn’t be happier for them.

  Alana leaves shortly after and chat moves to finding someone who can awaken her powers. I sit there quietly listening, but my mind keeps drifting back to my sister. It is strange but I feel a connection to her even though we have grown up apart.

  “Do you think she will come back?” Noah asks me and I bob my head side to side considering his question.

  “You know I think she will.” I tell them all smiling. I can tell she feels the connection as much as I do and I also get the sense that my sister isn’t one to run away from things when they get tough.

  Two days have passed without word from Alana. The amount of times I have picked up my phone and thought about texting or ringing her are too many to count. I want to give her time but I also know that time is something I do not have the luxury of.

  Lorcen and Blaine to and fro a lot from here to the fae realms as they are busy trying to ensure the fae armies are ready for what may be coming. Blaine pesters me at every opportunity asking if I have heard from her and I hate the disappointment I see in his eyes when I tell him yet again that I have heard nothing.

  My mother is getting slowly better. She Is conscious now and the medical team are astounded at how well she is doing. Things feel normal again but I’m no fool and know this feeling won’t last for long.

  That evening after school Lorcen is back in the fae realm so I am home alone. I decide now is as good a time as ever to try to broker a deal with the devil. I take a steadying breath and stand before the fireplace in our home.

  “Lucifer.” I call out loudly in to the room around me. I feel the air change, it chills slightly and then he is standing there in front of me, appearing from nowhere. He is dressed casually today, his dark hair slicked back and he wears ripped blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt. Who knew the devil wore jeans!

  He takes a seat on the sofa without being invited to do so, resting one leg on the other and looking far too comfortable for my liking. He looks up at me where I stand. “You called?”

  “I’ll come with you.” I anounce and he simply nods in response. I expected him to be more surprised but then I guess he knows he has me over a barrel. “I do however have conditions.”

  He cocks a brow in response and smirks. “Conditions?”

  I stand firm and raise my chin. “Yes conditions.” I decide to get right on with it and tell him what I want. “First. I want you to swear that you will stay away from those I care about once I come with you.”

  “Done.” He replies, looking around the round the room as if he is incredibly bored with this conversation.

  “Second. If I go with you then you allow me time here on earth to help train and prepare for what is coming.”

  He frowns at first and then strokes his chin as if considering this. “Done, but, I have conditions attached to this.”

  I should have known there was a but. I gesture with my hand for him to continue.

  “When you are here on Earth you have no physical contact with your mate. One touch and I will revoke this agreement.”

  “Agreed.” I tell him firmly. Inside my heart dips, I’ll be able to see him but not touch him. “Third..”

  He laughs. “Oh, there’s a third.”

  “Third,” I repeat frowning at him, “I need my two weeks to start from today. I have things I need to plan and settle here before I walk away from my life and the people that I love.”

  He stands and folds his arms observing me. “Agreed.” He then offers out his hand and I simply look at it at first wondering if I should touch it. He frowns and looks at me expectantly, so I hesitantly place mine in his and a ripple of air passes through me. “The agreement is binding now.”

  I nod but shiver. I just made a deal with the devil.

  I decide to ask something that has been puzzling me for some time now.

  “My father seemed to think you valued the sanctity of marriage, yet you seem perfectly happy to have been by your son’s side when I am bound to another.”

  He smirks again. “Then your father is a fool.” He walks closer and takes a hold of my wrist holding it up so that my mate bond is visible. “I couldn’t care less about marriage. My powers thrive off encouraging humans to commit sin. The more the commandments are broken, the more powerful I become.” He looks out of our window, a hateful look on his face. “One day he will regret casting me out of heaven. One day I will take it back and claim it for myself.”

  “You really don’t like him huh?” I comment. “I think you need therapy.” I’m not quite sure when I have become confident enough to be sarcastic with the devil. To my surprise he smiles in response.

  “You are just what my son needs.” He looks intently at me. “Ebony – the dark one. Isn’t that what it means. The Morrigan was the nightmare queen.”

  I shift uncomfortably and hold my head up high. I wouldn’t let him get to me. “So they say.”

  He comes closer and prods at my chest. “If there is darkness in you little girl my realm will bring it out of you. It will grow like a fungus in your heart until you no longer recognise yourself. Two weeks.”

  As quickly as he arrives he disappears. I stomp my foot in frustration. I hate that I am a mere puppet in his plans and I know there is nothing I can do about it. I sit down and take stock of what I have just done. In two weeks time I will walk away from everything I love and care about and I’m not sure my heart will survive this. My phone ringing pulls me from my melancholy and I pause in surprise when I see it is her number.

  “Alana!” I answer anticipation thick in my voice.

  “Hi Ebony.” There is a quiet pause. “I’m flying down tomorrow.”

  My stomach does a somersault. “You are?!” I had fully expected that she would ring and tell me thanks but no thanks, that she didn’t fancy fighting by my side in a war against fae undead and she was happy being an ordinary human teenager.

  “I was hoping you guys could pick me up from the airport? I land at 11am.”

  I grin like a kid at Christmas. “Sure,, we’ll pick you up.”

  Chapter Twenty Six.

  The next morning I awake and I’m all wrapped up in my mate. My head on his chest, my legs entwined with his. I close my eyes and savour the feeling, inhale and memorise his scent. The feel of his heart beating against my ear. I would bottle this memory and in the days when I need it the m
ost I will relive it and it will help to keep that flag of hope flying. Hope that someday I will be back here with him. I would treasure how it feels when he touches me, the way my heart soars and reacts to his smiles. Loving him is as easy as breathing, leaving him will likely shatter my soul.

  I feel Lorcen stir and rest my chin on his chest to look at him.

  “Good morning beautiful.” He tells me with a sleepy smile on his face.

  “Morning pretty boy.”

  He grins that crazy gorgeous smile that curls my toes. “Big day today huh?”

  “Epic day.” I reply unable to keep the massive smile off my face.

  He moves to sit up, so I lean up off him. His pale green eyes find mine.

  “Shower.” He announces stretching out. He stands and holds his hand out to me. “You coming?”

  Now there was an offer no girl could ever refuse.

  A few hours later we are standing at the arrivals gate and I am chewing away at my lip in excitement. Then in the crowd I spot her red hair that is piled up on her head in a messy bun and yank excitedly on Lorcen’s sleeve telling him she is here. She spots us and smiles and waves and make her way over to us. As soon as she is near I reach out and grab her into a hug and she hugs me back. I pull back and Lorcen stands there smiling at us both.

  He shakes his head still smiling. “It’s still crazy seeing the two of you together.”

  Alana smiles at him. “Do you think you could tell the difference if we had the same hair colour?”

  Lorcen grins in response. “Easily. You see when Ebony smiles her nose does this cute little wrinkly thing here.” He taps my nose gently in between my eyes. We all laugh and Lorcen takes Alana’s luggage and we walk out to the car park. As Lorcen loads up the car Alana looks at me and smiles.

  “He adores you, doesn’t he?”

  I blush and smile a goofy smile. “He’s my soulmate.”

  Alana nods and lowers her head and plays with her sleeve which makes me laugh inside.

  “Does he know I’m here?”