Destined to Run

by J. Kearston

  Osiris helps me out of the truck, gripping my hips and lifting me easily as I settle my palms on his shoulders with a surprised squeak. “It’s really not that huge of a jump down, you know.”

  He doesn’t remove his hands, his touch practically burning through my clothes. “I know.” He leans his forehead down to rest against mine, but doesn’t try to kiss me, just taunts me with his proximity. “But you took such good care of me when we met, I’d like to return the favor. Humor me?”

  Cole steps in behind me, sliding his hands down my stomach slowly before cupping between my legs, his knuckles brushing against Osiris.

  “Something wrong with your dick that you find the need to play with mine?” Osiris asks smoothly, not sounding upset, just annoyed at the interruption.

  Cole nips at the side of my throat and smiles. “I take my role as chastity belt seriously. Be gone, you heathen, for she does not want your cock.”

  I burst out laughing, even more so as Ares bats them away and throws an arm over my shoulder to guide me towards the house. “Hell, if they were left in charge, nothing would ever get done.”

  Smirking, I turn my head to kiss his arm. “I know, right? Endless orgasms; the horror.”

  He snorts. “There’s enough time for both. If it’s taking that long to get you off, they’re doing something wrong.”

  Zora pulls open the front door, already scolding us. “You know the children aren’t deaf, right?” But her eyes are lit up with tentative hope despite her chastising words. “Osiris,” she breathes with relief, meeting us halfway and capturing him in a crushing embrace.

  “Motherfucker!” I glance back to see Ian eating a facefull of dirt, kicking off his shoes in a huff that we forgot to untie. “For fucks’ sake; one rule!” he gripes, throwing his arms up and fighting with his shoelaces and bruised ego. “Now what’s to keep you from murdering me?”

  Cole rolls his eyes. “Quit being so damn dramatic for five seconds, why don’t ‘ya? You fix the kid, you’ll have the gratitude of everyone in the area. No one is going to let us kill the mage that pulled off a miracle.”

  “Wizard Jesus,” I cough, mocking him.

  He narrows his eyes at me, but the dynamic changed the second he agreed to try and help Osiris. Even if he can’t do anything for Sarah, I’ll make sure he gets home safe. It was a Hail Mary in the first place and I have nothing to go on but a hunch that this is even what’s wrong with her, so I can’t fault him if he fails.

  All anyone can do is try, and it’s not like he owes us anything. Still, he agreed to give it a shot and that’s all that I can ask.

  Freya appears, eyeing Ian warily, but talking to Ares. “What if he makes it worse? She’s been having more good days lately…she might be finally beating this. We should wait.”

  Zora wraps her arms around Freya, pulling her close. “I’m scared, too.”

  She doesn’t say anything else, doesn’t have to. There’s so much riding on this and after countless disappointments, allowing yourself a sliver of hope again can do more harm than good.

  “My theory might be wrong,” I admit quietly, “but he’ll be able to check and rule it out at least.”

  She bites her tongue before jerking her head sharply, shoving her emotions behind a practiced mask that I hate she had to perfect. “Right. I’ll go wake her up.”

  She heads into the house first and Zora leads us in after, eyeing Ian with tentative hope. “So, you’re some sort of mage doctor? Why’d you agree to get mixed up in our problems?”

  Ian glances around the house, hands shoved in his pockets. “Oh, I didn’t. They kidnapped me and threatened to tear my face off,” he retorts flippantly and Zora whirls on him, hand around his neck and eyes flaring like twin suns before I know what hit us.

  “If you think to use her to barter your way out,” she hisses, blood welling around her nails as they pierce his skin.

  Ian’s eyes are wide as he puts his hands up in surrender, but his fear makes him mute. Osiris intervenes while Ares pulls me back a step, tucking me behind him subtly.

  “If she shifts, run to the truck and lock the door,” he commands, and I grip the back of his shirt.

  Why? She’s upset at Ian, not me…right? Oh shit, it’s because it was my idea. She blames me.

  “No, it’s just him, love,” he assures. “It’s just that Zora’s other half is rather…feral, for lack of a better term. She’s a force to be reckoned with, but her emotions and instincts override rational thought. If she feels there’s a threat to her home, anyone not in her pride nearby is in danger.”

  “All in the past, though,” Osiris continues. I missed the first part of the conversation, but he seems to be making some progress. “We’ve all kissed and made up. Ian here was even just saying how much he prefers us to his other friends. Weren’t you, Ian?”

  Ian nods his head frantically, swallowing. “Yep, best abductors I’ve ever had. A bed, food; what more could a guy ask for? Even on a first name basis now, so not to brag, but it’s getting pretty serious.”

  Zora starts to relax before finally releasing her hold, Ian stumbling back since she’d lifted him off of the ground with strength that I envy. She turns to Ozzy with a raised eyebrow. “You’re a shit liar, anybody ever tell you that?”

  He grins, unrepentant. “I have plenty of other skills though.”

  She snorts. “Keep telling yourself that, runt.”

  The tension bleeds away gradually, and only our rapidly beating hearts and the marks on Ian’s neck are proof anything happened at all. We follow her down the hall to Sarah’s bedroom, a couple of kids peeking out of a door before Zora barks at them to play in their rooms until the mage leaves.

  By the time we get to Sarah’s room, Ian looks pale and nervous. He drags a chair over to her bedside with a shaky hand, Freya watching every twitch of muscle like she’s ready to pounce if he so much as breathes wrong. There’s no point mentioning that he might be able to work better if they weren’t trying to laser his face off, because I doubt there’s a single thing any person could say to make either of them leave. This isn’t a hospital and trusting in professionals, this is desperation and deals with the devil in their eyes.

  But any person in this room would gladly sell their soul if they thought it would get them a cure, or at least answers.

  “Sarah.” She introduces herself, stretching out a hand. “Stop freaking out, okay? I know the chances of this actually working, so you don’t have to lie to make me feel better.”

  He shakes her hand, still looking nervous. “Ian. I’m going to have to put my fingers on either side of your neck so that I can take a look at your energy levels, alright?”

  Freya starts to protest, but Zora places a hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright. No one would be so absolutely stupid as to try something with this many of us in the room. He’d never make it out alive.”

  Ian shares a conspiratorial look with Sarah, winking. “I’m not sure what I’d do if someone wasn’t threatening to murder me at least once a day anymore.”

  She giggles and Ian shakes out his hands, huffing out a breath. He gently places his fingers beneath her jaw on either side of her throat, closing his eyes and concentrating. Sarah’s eyes drift closed, and the rest of us are stuck holding our breath.

  My hand finds Ozzy’s of its own volition and he squeezes it in silent reassurance. Each second that passes has my heart beating faster, praying for this to work. I can’t even bring myself to spiral; I’m just frozen and waiting for the moment to shatter.

  He lifts his head and glances our way and the heartbroken look in his eyes makes my stomach lurch. “She’s in a lot worse shape than he was. I don’t think I’d be able to fix her before completely draining myself.”

  Cole’s voice comes out rushed. “What if you did part of the work now, slept a few days, then finished? That could work, right?”

  Ian bites his lip, eyes flicking towards Zora and Freya before sighing. “I told you before; it’s like surgery. I c
an’t do some, slap a band aid on it, then pick up where I left off three days later. The body just doesn’t work like that, and there’s an awful lot of damage already. She wouldn’t survive that much trauma. Remember the way he passed out after I fixed him? And he was an otherwise fully healthy, adult male.”

  Silent tears streak down Zora’s face while Freya’s remains hard, already braced for the news and not getting her hopes up. Sarah, on the other hand, just gives him a sad smile.

  “Thanks for being honest.” She nods to herself before glancing in my direction. “At least he was able to fix Osiris. I didn’t like feeling guilty for him getting hurt when he was just trying to help. So I’m happy.” A sincere smile covers her face that has my eyes burning as I fight tears. “Because not knowing was the worst part. At least we know I’m not contagious so my brothers and sisters won’t get sick too.”

  Even Ian’s crying at this point. “I’m so sorry,” he apologizes, his voice a rough croak.

  “What if you were stronger?” Ares asks abruptly and I startle.

  Ian turns to face him. “What are you talking about?”

  Ares’ face is hard with determination as he sits on the foot of the bed, clenching his jaw. “Pull from me. More energy you have, the stronger you are, right? That’s what the assholes that started this whole thing were after; more power. So take what you need and then fix her,” he commands, infusing his voice with such power that it begs even me to submit, and I’m just a human.

  Ian’s eyes widen nervously. “Are you sure?”

  Ares gives him a glare dark enough to flay skin. “Do it.” Then he shuts his eyes, implicitly trusting this relative stranger when he barely even trusts his own kind.

  Ian lets out a shaky breath before readjusting his position, moving slowly like it’s a trap. Gradually, he relaxes, and I’m hyper attuned to how unnaturally still Ares is able to remain. When he clenches his hand I almost intervene, but the last thing I want is to distract Ian while he’s rooting around in there.

  When he finally pulls back, Ares is pale and doesn’t immediately get up, but is still conscious. When he opens his eyes though, my heart nearly stops. Instead of the bright orange I’ve become so familiar with, his eyes are a dull copper laced with restrained panic.

  “You won’t be able to shift for a while,” Ian states gently, his gray eyes swirling unlike before. “But it’s not permanent. It could take a couple of days to a few weeks for your energy to naturally replenish itself, but I promise it will.”

  Ares jerks his head in understanding and I work my way over to him. I almost offer a hand to help him up before realizing he should probably stay seated and climb onto his lap instead to cover my blunder. He wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on top of my head. The only sign of his discomfort are his labored breaths that he tries to conceal.

  Gently, I stroke my hand over his arm. I’m proud of you. I can’t imagine making the sacrifice you did.

  “It wasn’t a sacrifice, I’m not stuck like this forever,” he reminds me and I lean back into his embrace.

  I meant trusting a mage and risking it. That had to take a toll when you’ve already been through so much, Ares. I know how hard it was for you to go to the towns in the first place, but this? You’re remarkable, you know that?

  He kisses the top of my head, tightening his grip. “Would you think less of me if I said I never want to set foot in one again? I gave it a try and honestly? Not a fan.”

  A humored breath slips past my lips, but Ian’s hard at work on Sarah and I don’t want to risk distracting him. Even the little shifter-run one?

  He mentally chuckles. “I could make an exception for Shady Grove. I just want to stay home and enjoy our lives in peace.”

  Cole cuts in. “Are you kidding me? With Rin as our mate, nothing will be peaceful again. She’s far too exciting for that.”

  “Okay,” Ian says, breaking the spell and withdrawing his trembling hands. Sarah’s already slumped back on her pillow, unconscious, and he looks about two seconds from following her lead. “Keep her hydrated while she’s out of it and have plenty of food on hand for when she wakes up.”

  Freya’s openly weeping now, and she looks at Ian with such gratitude that it hurts to behold. “How can we repay you? We don’t have much, but-“

  Ian shares a look with me, smiling softly. “I would have helped if you’d just asked, no need to be dramatic about it.”

  Then, with his signature flair, he starts to slump in his chair, pushed to exhaustion despite all of the energy he borrowed from Ares. Osiris catches him, dragging Ian up and getting Cole to help drag him back to the truck so that we can find somewhere for the eccentric mage to sleep it off.

  Climbing off of Ares’ lap, I smooth a lock of hair out of Sarah’s face. I may not be anything magical, but right now? Knowing that we’d never be here if I hadn’t taken the risk to run all of those weeks ago and set everything into motion?

  For the first time in my life, I feel like that’s enough; that I’m enough. I might not be able to change the world by myself, but I’m not alone anymore.

  Epilogue

  One Year Later

  “Hey, boss, we’re out of, well, pretty much everything again.” I turn to Ian, brushing the back of my wrist on my cheek to scratch an itch since my hands are still coated in flour.

  “Shit. Okay, the apple squares should be cool enough to cut. Can you go finish them off so I can get this bread in the proof box?”

  He gives me a mock salute before heading in that direction, snagging the icing to drizzle over the top as he passes the table. I adore the fact that I don’t need to hold his hand every step of the way like I do a few of the teenagers we finally were able to hire.

  After all, it’d just be too ironic if Happy Endings burned to the ground.

  I finish up just as Vin is pulling more donuts from the fryer and toss them in front of a fan on the rack to cool quicker. We can barely keep up today, but it’s an enjoyable sort of chaos. Time flies when you barely have time to take a drink, let alone think.

  Ian passes off the pan and I head through the swinging door, sliding it into the nearly empty case and glancing at the line with a mixture of joy and dread.

  “Rin,” Cole calls, skipping the line to come lean against the glass while ignoring the outraged mutterings.

  “Hey.” I rise on my tiptoes to kiss him quickly. “I think Vin would kill me if I walked out right now. I’m sorry, I should have reached out.”

  Osiris fights his way through the crowd to Cole’s side before leaning in with a soft smile. He brushes his thumb over my cheek, it coming away purple with frosting. I couldn’t even tell you where it came from at this point. The air itself is pretty much a hazard here.

  “Wouldn’t be much of a manager if you left during a rush,” he points out with a wink. “We understand, don’t stress.”

  I place a lingering kiss on his lips, pointedly ignoring the grumbling of people waiting in line. I’m not even working the counter today, so not like they’d get waited on any faster. Besides, I’ve been here since two a.m. They’re lucky I’m still standing, let alone baking.

  “Where’s Ares?”

  Cole grins. “Still looking for a parking spot, but we got sick of waiting.”

  “Then I guess it’s only fair if I ask him to come with me after work to drop some stuff off for Zora and Freya. I set aside a box earlier before things exploded and you know how the kids love it.”

  “For someone that doesn’t think she likes kids, you certainly have a soft spot for them,” Cole winks and I shake my head, chuckling.

  It’s certainly not the first time that any of them have brought it up, testing the waters, but I’m just not there yet. They’ve become such an intrinsic part of my existence, but I don’t want to lose myself to them either. I’d rather they add to my life than completely take it over, wanting to be able to love them without being forced to depend on them for survival so I know that it’s real. Fate may ha
ve urged us together, but it’s up to us whether or not we choose to put in the effort. It’s exactly why I took this job; so that I had room to breathe and be able to stand on my own two feet.

  And really, what does a girl have without her pride?

  Also By J. Kearston

  Interested in meeting the neighboring wolves? Check out Sterling Thomas’ book, Destined to Hide, here- https://books2read.com/DestinedtoHide

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