The Loner (Daughters of Destiny Book 1)

by K. R. Grace

  Every damn bit of it.

  Yet, I had to stand back and watch someone else love her, someone else marry her, someone else raise children with her.

  Being tied to a boulder and forced to live at the bottom of the Atlantic for the rest of my life sounded more appealing.

  With an angry roar, I picked up a fallen log and tossed it as hard as I could. It crashed into two other trees, knocking them down, they all exploded into sawdust.

  The wind shifted and I turned to see Bugsey walking toward me in her human form. She held a bag of pistachios to her chest as she nervously searched her surroundings before sitting down on a bed of dead leaves.

  “What’s wrong, Drake?” She whispered.

  I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

  “Word in the forest is Destiny paid you a visit.”

  Damn animals. They were worse gossips than old church biddies.

  “Yeah.” I let out a puff of air, mentally willing her to leave me alone. Unfortunately, I had a soft spot where Bugsey was concerned, so I kept my mouth shut and waited for her to say what she needed to say.

  “Something’s wrong, Drake. I can’t explain it, but I can feel it. The squirrels say Destiny gave you an order: to turn Star away. Why would she do that?”

  A thick knot formed in my throat as I struggled not to break down in front of her. “I’m not the one Star’s supposed to end up with.”

  Bugsey frowned, dropping her bag of nuts. It shocked me that she didn’t hurry to gather them up again. She just stared at me, confusion dominating her small, narrow face. “But, Drake, I…what does that mean?”

  I studied the ground in front of me as I answered, “I have to remove myself from the equation or she’ll do it for me.”

  Bugsey gasped as her eyes darted towards Star’s darkened window. “But, but, why? If there is already love for you in Star’s heart, there’s nothing you can do to change it. And trust me, Star loves you. Last night during my shift I heard her talking in her sleep. She distinctly told the dream version of you she loved you. Why wouldn’t you be the one?”

  I shrugged, not sure what to say. Maybe the problem was Star made herself love me. It was possible she thought if she gave her heart to me, it would solve all our problems. If I wasn’t such a selfish bastard, I’d leave her alone and let her mend so she could pick the right guy. But I was selfish, and until Destiny manually removed me, I wasn’t leaving Star’s side.

  “Drake, something’s not right. I know I just said that, but it’s not. This isn’t like Destiny at all. She’s never made commands like this before. She usually handles things passive aggressively.”

  “Sometimes even supreme beings have to change their MO when the situation calls for it.”

  “Forget whatever Destiny said and listen to what your soul’s saying. It will never steer you wrong.”

  “It already did once.”

  “No it didn’t. I think if you searched deep within, you’d find you never really loved Helena. The only reason you were drawn to her was because one of her descendants would give birth to your soul mate. Nothing more.”

  If I listened to my heart, Star and I would be separated forever. Then what would be the point in living? But, God, I wanted her. I wanted to be able to wake up every morning with her in my arms. I wanted to know what it felt like to be connected to her so deeply we didn’t know where I began and she ended. I wanted to see her round with my children. I wanted to grow old with her. I wanted us to make the cross-over from this life to Heaven…together.

  “The Creator made us human, Drake, which means, like humans, we have the freedom to choose who we love in this life. It’s not something designed by Destiny or Fate. It’s a gift directly from Him. Don’t fight your heart’s choice. I know for a fact you’ll never be happy without her.”

  Her mind flashed to a skinny guy with mousy brown hair and thick-rimmed glasses. She was sharing a jar of peanut butter with him as they laughed and talked. Then, it flashed to him driving away in a little beat-up Pontiac packed with all his worldly possessions.

  “I let my own fears stop me from following my love across the country. I can’t ever get that kind of love back, Drake. Don’t do that to yourself. It hurts like crazy.”

  She picked up her nuts and gave me a gentle smile before walking away. I focused on Star’s dark window. Could I take the chance of losing it all in hopes of gaining the only thing that mattered?

  In the stillness of the night, I heard Star mutter in her sleep, “You’re my air, Drake.”

  Four little words from her, and I had my answer: I’d do anything, be anything she needed as long as it meant I would be with Star.

  God, forgive me, but I can’t live without her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Star

  I wanted to stay mad at him. It wasn’t fair! He could invade my thoughts, yet I was completely clueless as to what went on in his mind. Unfortunately, I was drawn to him. He blamed it on the whole, “I’m designed to attract you” thing, but I was beginning to think a deeper force was at work. One neither he nor I could control. Exhibit A: the Monday after our group date, I found myself scouring the halls for him when it should be the other way around.

  Silver blue eyes met mine, and I took my first deep breath since he left me on my front porch. He looked pissed, but I was still glad to see him.

  “What are you doing in this hall? Don’t you have Spanish?”

  Obviously, he wasn’t happy to see me. His eyes flashed with anger as his nostrils flared. His aggressive behavior completely ruffled my feathers. I wasn’t sure how to respond at first.

  “I just wanted to uh…” the words left my mouth. I knew we hadn’t parted on friendly terms but still…

  “Never mind,” I turned around and stomped off.

  He grabbed my arm and spun me around. “Nothing’s wrong?”

  I frowned, confused at his question. “Um, no. I just wanted to see you. To make sure we were still okay.”

  “That’s it? You just wanted to see me?”

  Why was it so hard for him to process?

  “Yes.”

  Drake tugged on my hand, causing me to lose my balance and crash into him. Before I could take another breath, his hot, demanding mouth was on mine. Never had I kissed a guy at school. It was a hard limit for me. But at the moment, the building could be burning down and I wouldn’t care.

  His lips were bruising, but I gave back as good as I got, biting his bottom lip.

  “Mmm, strawberry,” he hummed against my lips. Our tongues dueled against each other, fighting for dominance.

  He spun us so my back was up against a locker and his hard thigh was thrust between my legs. I sighed. So this was what it felt like to be consumed. God, never let it stop!

  “I’m never going to get enough of you.” Drake cradled my face as he eased back, placing quick, light kisses on my swollen lips.

  “Alright, break it up!” A female voice commanded. We both turned our heads to see Mrs. Whitacre, one of the math teachers, shooting daggars at us with her small, beady eyes. If there was such thing as a rat shifter, she would fit the bill.

  “Busted,” Drake muttered under his breath as he put some space between us.

  Before I could gather myself, he bent down to scoop up the books I didn’t remember dropping and wrapped his arm around me.

  “Better get to class before we get detention,” he whispered in my ear. He tossed a wink at Mrs. Whitacre as we walked past her. Her cheeks pinked before she turned and scurried away.

  Flirt.

  The right side of his mouth tilted up slightly as he kept his eyes trained on the hallway in front of us.

  Thank God my head by the time we were standing in front of the door to my Spanish classroom.

  “I’ve got some things I have to do after school, but I’ll call you.” He kissed my forehead.

  “Are you going to be in Band?”

>   Because, in all seriousness, he was the only reason I hadn’t dropped the class.

  “Yeah, but I have to leave early.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  He hugged me, brushing his lips over the shell of my ear. “Get to class, baby.”

  And with that, I was spun around and thrust into the room. By the time I turned around to shoot him a glare, he was gone.

  During class, my mind tried to process his odd behavior. In the matter of minutes he had gone from mad to making out with me in a crowded hallway. It was almost as if he’d been preparing himself for battle. Had he thought I’d sought him out to give him the “it’s not you, it’s me” speech?

  In band, he seemed more like the Drake I was coming to know. I spent the entire class period staring openly at him while he snuck in quick glances when he wasn’t playing. At one point, he even winked. I liked watching the muscles under his tanned skin flex as he effortlessly played whatever instrument he was standing behind…er in front…uh, you know what I mean. Regardless, he made playing percussion look sexy.

  Ten minutes before the bell rang, Drake grabbed his bag and left. Right before the door closed behind him, he turned and gave me a pant-worthy grin. Of course, no panting actually happened, but the urge was there.

  At home, I was impossible to deal with. Not because I was mad or depressed, but because I stalked my phone like a freakin’ crazy person. Every time it chirped, beeped, or buzzed, I was on it. When night rolled around and there was still no word from Drake, I started to worry. What if something had gone wrong?

  Finally, I cracked and texted him. I didn’t want to be that girlfriend, but I wasn’t going to be able to sleep until I heard from him.

  Me: Hey, everything okay?

  Ten minutes went by. Nothing.

  Thirty minutes went by. Nothing.

  Two hours went by. Nothing.

  I fell asleep with my phone clutched in my hand.

  Unfortunately, my dreams weren’t any better.

  Drake and I stood on the edge of a pier, facing each other. Every time I tried to get near him, he would transform into a wolf and growl at me. I didn’t understand. Determination turned into anguish with every failed attempt. Then, just when I’d given up, he lunged, forcing me to fall backwards, freefalling toward the water. Just before my body hit the surface, I woke up with tears streaming down my cheeks.

  ~*~*~*~*~*~

  Drake

  “I checked Wayley’s house. Other than her obsession with Theo James, nothing looked suspicious,” Stella updated me as I paced in my kitchen.

  “Found a stack of dirty magazines under Giles’s bed, but nothing incriminating.” Bugsey blushed crimson red. I coughed to disguise my chuckle. Just the thought of sweet, innocent Bugsey looking at a centerfold of a naked girl was funny.

  “Mack sent Gina to Chris’s house. Apparently the kid needs to run for sainthood, according to Gina.” I sighed as I ran my fingers through my hair. With nothing turning up, I was starting to believe it wasn’t someone from Star’s circle. If that was the case, our search parameter expanded exponentially.

  “Drake, one of Mack’s guys just called. Someone is trying to break into Star’s house.” Meliena barged into the room, her brown eyes wild and her braid whipping into her face.

  “Shit,” I growled, charging out the door. In midair I changed in midair and charged into the woods. My eyes sharpened as I dug hard into the ground with each sprint. I was going to catch whoever it was and kill him for even trying to touch her.

  Just before I exploded out into the clearing to Star’s home, Mack and three others joined me. The Alpha glanced over at me as we stormed ahead.

  Let’s get this bastard, Mack grunted, nodding his head.

  I get to rip off his head, I growled. I didn’t have to give any orders. Two broke away, moving to the front while the others stayed in the tree line in case the idiot tried to make a run for it. I spotted the intruder hanging half-way out Star’s window.

  I dug in deep, picking up my speed. With a loud growl, I lunged, ramming my head into the person’s side. The guy yelped as his body flung to the ground. I immediately sank my teeth into his neck, daring the prick to move.

  Don’t kill him just yet, Drake. He might be able to tell us who the leader is.

  I looked into the guy’s frightened hazel eyes as they darted between Mack and me. I didn’t recognize him. Either he was good at keeping a low profile at school, or he was one of the college kids Liena had overheard. God, I wanted to end him off. The thought of him in Star’s room while she slept peacefully made me see red. I wanted his carcass on a platter.

  Drake. Mack barked, barely penetrating my rage-filled haze.

  As much as I hated it, he was right. I needed answers, and between my special ops experience and Mack’s years as a secret service agent, we would get this bastard to talk.

  Get him out of my sight. I don’t trust myself right now. I growled, releasing my prey and running off. I needed to get away until they were gone, then I was going to guard Star’s window until the sun came up. As pissed as I was, I invited the chance to kill anyone who even looked at her home funny.

  I heard Mack bark and glanced over my flank to see the asswipe trying to make a run for it. Two Wolves pounced on him while Mack applied force to the jerk’s neck. The guy kicked around for a few seconds before going limp. I could still hear his heart beating so I knew he wasn’t dead.

  He was safe for now, but as soon as I got what I wanted out of him, his ass was mine.

  Just before I reached the clearing, the wind picked up and the smell of lavender, vanilla, and hot need slammed into me. I tensed and tilted my head back as a howl erupted from my body.

  Star was in heat.

  I skidded to a halt and jerked around to see the other Wolves staring at Star’s open window. Their tongues loped out as they started panting hard. I charged back to her house, sliding to a stop under her window, baring my teeth at the others.

  She’s mine.

  They all whimpered as I let the Supreme take control of protecting his woman. They quickly grabbed the guy by his shirt collar and dragged him off into the woods. I marked the parameter of the home as a precaution in case any other shifters caught her scent and prepared myself for a long night.

  One thing was abundantly clear: until Star completed her cycle I had to stay the hell away from her. As it was, I was a panting, agitated mess. My teeth ground together as I fought hard to keep myself from going in her room and sleeping with her.

  It was going to be a damn long night.

  ~*~*~*~*~*~

  Star

  I woke up needing air. I grabbed my comforter to keep me warm and slipped out onto the patio. Curling up in my spot on the swing, I stared up at the starless sky.

  I knew deep down loving Drake was impossible. He was a part of a different world, one I could never understand, no matter how hard I tried. He was a friend I desperately needed to help me get out of the emotional grave Clint buried me in.

  A rustle in the woods alerted me I wasn’t alone. I tore my gaze off the bleak sky to see a large, dark form break the horizon. As it came closer, I recognized it as the black Wolf: Drake.

  Why haven’t you returned my text?

  He walked right up to me and placed his head in my lap. I sat motionless, not sure what to do. His silver eyes were trained on me, but they were filled with so much sorrow. Not a fan of animals, I surprised myself as I began rubbing his ear. His chest heaved with a long, contented sigh.

  I’m sorry if I came off pushy. When you didn’t call like you said you would, I freaked a little. Last time something happened to me like that, it didn’t turn out so well for the other guy.

  Even though he didn’t verbally respond, I could almost feel his acceptance. He nudged my hand when my fingers stilled.

  Sheesh, aren’t you a little impatient?

  I could’ve sworn he smiled. He backed away and latched onto my comforter with his teeth. I frowned, trying to u
nderstand what he wanted. Then, as if giving me an answer, he tugged hard enough to make me fall out of the swing.

  What the heck?

  He grunted, motioning to my opened window.

  I feel like I’m talking to Lassie. You wanna go inside, boy?

  He flashed his teeth at me in warning, but I saw no malice in his eyes. I walked over to the window and climbed in. He followed effortlessly, jumping onto my bed with his dirty paws. Had it been any other animal, he would’ve been put outside. But this was Drake.

  I climbed onto the bed, spreading the comforter out over us. He burrowed himself against me, his eyes staring at the window like he was expecting someone to come in after us. I ran my fingers through his fur as I snuggled closer to him.

  It’s so easy to be with you, Drake. I couldn’t stay away if I tried.

  Drake ran his thick, slobbery tongue over my face, making me giggle.

  Knock it off, wolf boy.

  Even though he was being playful, I couldn’t shake the tension radiating from him. It felt like he was bracing for impact. From what, I didn’t know. Maybe one day he’d tell me. For now, I wanted to enjoy the moment.

  Promise me we’ll never go a day without speaking to each other, especially when we’re mad.

  His soft grunt was all the response I needed.

  The next thing I remembered, my alarm was going off. I glared at the offensive phone, willing it to shut up with my mind. Then, last night’s events came back to me, and I found myself jumping out of bed. The sooner I got to school, the sooner I would see Drake.

  I hurried to get dressed and met Mom out in the kitchen.

  “Let’s go,” I rushed.

  “Now, not so fast. I’m not taking you to school today,” she smirked. I finally looked at her, taking in the sight of her in her favorite cat sweater. God, I wanted to burn that thing.

  “Dad? Okay. Dad! Let’s go!” I needed to see Drake so I could ask him what last night had been all about.

  “No, Drake called while you were getting dressed.”

  “Wipe that grin off your face, Mom. We’re just friends.”

  “That’s him,” she giggled when the doorbell clanged throughout the house. You would think she was the one in high school.