Cursed by Fate

by Renee Shearer

  She turned her gaze back to the living room; this room was the most interesting to her. You could tell a lot about people by the way their living rooms were set up—whether or not they enjoyed company or if they wanted to be left alone, even if they were surrounded by people.

  A small rectangular coffee table, also black with a silver design around the edges, sat in front of a huge and very comfortable looking couch. Two recliners were placed on either end of the coffee table, also black. Turning to the right, she saw a row of bookshelves. Neatly aligned games and books were on every shelf, giving the room a cozy and comfortable look.

  Ariana was completely surprised by the cabin. Instead of making the house look dark and foreboding with all the black and silver colors, the darker furniture offset the light color of the house nicely. All of the furniture looked well used, plus everything was spaced just right to invite people to sit and talk. Her gaze slid to the left and the closed off room. Well, maybe not everyone.

  Ariana was startled when Roman, Easton, and Mateo came down the stairs. Easton was just putting on a new shirt. The sight of his rippling abs and his muscular and tanned chest made her mouth water. She wanted to run her hands down his chest, nipping and kissing along the way. When his shirt completely covered him, she snapped out of her lust induced haze, disappointed.

  “Where are the girls? And why are you putting on a shirt? Were you hurt?”

  “Relax Love, Zoey threw up on me when we switched cars. They’re asleep upstairs, they didn’t even wake up when we carried them in.”

  Ariana was shocked. “They hardly ever stay asleep when I try to carry them.”

  Jayden slapped her ass lightly as he walked past, throwing a wink over his shoulder. “Maybe you carry them wrong, hot mama.”

  Ariana laughed and shook her head. Noticing that Roman, Mateo, and Easton had all stopped on the stairs and were just gawking at her. She cocked her head to the side and threw her hands up in the air. “What?! Will you all stop staring at me like that!” She huffed a nervous laugh to take the bite out of her words. She was trying hard not to be so bitchy towards them all the time. She liked their company and the easy camaraderie they had.

  Roman was the first to recover, clearing his throat. “Ari- Lass. What the hell happened?”

  “What do you mean? You know what happened. There was a shooter after you guys left.” Ariana frowned. She didn’t understand why Roman was asking her that. She knew Aiden had called him when they were hauling ass out of Chicago. So why would he… Oh! Looking down at herself, Ariana blushed a deep shade of red. She was still just in Jayden’s shirt. While it hung to mid-thigh, it did have a hole near the right side of her abdomen and there was blood on it.

  “Oh, this?” She frowned at them as she plucked at the shirt. “Jayden got shot. Well sorta. It was more of a ricochet hit. Is that the right term? But he’s fine now. His shifter healing took care of it. Right, Jay?” Looking at Jayden, her breath caught in her throat. Even with the blood smeared over his side, he was absolutely gorgeous. Standing in the low light, his skin was gleaming a light bronze. Jayden’s muscles where well defined, every curve and valley on display. His six-pack rippled with his laughter. Glancing up into his eyes, she saw heat and want in them. Jayden was looking at her like he was a man dying of thirst. All hunger and desire to have her, to drink her down to slake his thirst. Or would it be slake his lust? Not for the first time, Ariana felt a growing heat, and her own need answered the look in his eyes. Her breasts swelled of their own accord. Her breathing became labored and her pussy clenched, feeling wet and empty. She knew she was getting closer every day to filling that emptiness inside her. In fact, the men had been working their way into her heart ever since they first showed up on her doorstep and refused to leave.

  Slowly, day by day they had been erasing that small part of her that was lonely. Even though she had her girls and was happy when it was the three of them, she hadn’t realized how much she was missing out on. Someone to hold her and comfort her, to help her fight back, to be a shoulder she could cry and even rely on. Ariana was starting to see that there could be a future for all of them. If she was bold enough to take that next step. She knew they were waiting for her. They had been getting her used to them all week with their little touches and sly, wicked glances. With their playful teasing and smug innuendo’s.

  Ariana had been telling herself for a while that she needed to take back her life once and for all from the Monster. Now she needed to stop telling herself and act on it. Was she brave enough to take that second step nearer the cliff’s edge? Could she trust these men to catch her if that edge crumbled beneath her?

  Yes. I think I can. And I know just who to start with.

  Jayden

  Ariana was looking at him with a wicked gleam in her eyes. Jayden’s cock went from limp to rock hard in thirty seconds flat. It was the first time she had looked at any of them like that. He had no idea what was running through her head, but he could guess, and he wanted to be part of it. Jayden still had his fantasy of her every night. In his mind he had taken her everywhere. On the table, on the floor in front of the fire. Hell, even in the lake that was on the property. Jayden was getting tired of just fantasizing about her. He wanted the real thing, but he was waiting for her to make a move in that direction. Hell, we all were. They knew that she would choose one of them to start with. She was not ready for all six at once. Maybe she never would be, and that was okay with them. Whoever she did choose the others wouldn’t be jealous. They knew she loved them all equally, even if she didn’t want to admit it out loud yet. They could tell with how comfortable she had gotten with them. The glances she threw their way when she thought they wouldn’t see. The biggest difference though, was their touch no longer made her jump out of her skin or want to fight them. Ariana had even started leaning into them. She could still get defensive and snap. But he loved that about her—she was a fighter to her core. He knew it was just a matter of time before she was ready. Jayden hoped she would pick him first but wouldn’t begrudge any of his brothers if it was one of them. Mateo cleared his throat, snapping everyone’s attention to him.

  “What Roman was asking is why are you just in Playboy’s shirt? What happened to your clothes? Not that you don’t look lovely. If I knew you wouldn’t try and bite my head off, I would pick you up right here and carry you to my bed.” Jayden watched as a flush stole across her cheeks. Ariana was shifting from foot to foot and playing with the hem of his shirt. Fuck. She really was beautiful. He used to jump from woman to woman before Ariana, never completely satisfied. Now he understood he was just killing time until she came along. There was no one more perfect for him. Or the rest of the guys. Jayden loved her sassiness and her snark. She was quick witted, confident, and tough, yet vulnerable at the same time. Ariana was certainly a complicated creature and that was the best part for him. He loved figuring out puzzles.

  “Why do you call Jayden playboy? Is it because of his looks?” She cocked her head to the side, dodging Mateo and Roman’s questions. Jayden felt laughter bubbling up his throat, realizing she didn’t want to tell them what she had turned into. While it had surprised him at first, he thought it was wonderful. He could only shift into one animal. With Ariana, there was an endless combination that she could do. If her powers were a bit stronger and she could control her full shift, she would be a force to be reckoned with, and he couldn’t wait to see what else she could do.

  “Partly. But also because he jumps from woman to woman.” Mateo shrugged. “Now answer my question, Ariana. What happened to your clothes?”

  “Used too. I used to jump between women. I haven’t for a while, you know that.” Jayden shot a glare Mateo’s way, irritated that Mateo would out him like that.

  Ariana looked at him with a small smile, telling him silently that it was okay. Jayden breathed a sigh of relief. “Well we may need a new nickname for him then, if he’s no longer a playboy. Don’t you think?”

  Jayden chuckled. He really
did love her. With that simple statement she had defended him and acknowledged that he was hers. Mateo rolled his eyes and Roman growled low in his throat. Easton pushed past them to stand directly in front of her.

  “Love, what happened to your clothes?”

  He watched as Aiden quirked his lips, fighting a smile. When Ariana mumbled, “I may have fully shifted when the shots started.” She was looking at everything but the men. Jayden found that hilarious and couldn’t keep his laughter inside anymore.

  “Dude, she turned into a house cat! A fluffy, pretty, house cat. She even hissed at Aiden! And meowed! It was awesome!” He doubled over laughing, gasping for breath, he just couldn’t help it. For as long as he lived, he would never forget the shock on her face. Wide eyes, mouth hanging open as she whipped her head back and forth. Jayden was so busy laughing that he didn’t see Ariana’s blue flame that lit up her hand. Suddenly, he found himself sitting on his ass halfway across the room. He looked up in surprise. Ariana was chuckling, and the guys were all laughing.

  Had she really… “Did you just toss me on my ass?”

  “Yep. That’ll teach you to laugh at me.” She sniffed and pouted prettily.

  “Oh, is that so?” Standing up slowly, Jayden decided to see if he could get her to shift again. He let his tiger out to play. Jayden felt his bones snapping and fur sprout all over his body. His face elongated to form a short snout, and his hands and feet turned into paws. The shift didn’t hurt as he had been doing it for years. From one breath to the next, he had transformed into his tiger. He stretched his legs and yawned widely, showing off his teeth. Ariana’s mouth hung open in awe. His tiger was happy, he liked her looking at them that way. It had been a while since he had let his tiger out, it was long overdue. Playfully, he bounded towards her with a small growl. Ariana let out a little squeak as her eyes became round saucers. She spun on her heel, pushed past Aiden, and fled outside.

  Silly woman. Didn’t she know better than to run from a tiger?

  Twenty-Six

  Ariana

  Ariana laughed as she fled outside, she knew Jayden would never hurt her. They were just blowing off steam now that they were safe. It had been a long time since she was able to play around with someone her own age. She knew her girls were safe in bed, and that the rest of the guys would guard them with their lives and never let anything happen to them.

  As she ran around the house, she dug deep for her shifter magic. Now that she had shifted once, she wanted to do so again to see what else she could become. Making it to the tree line, she got a firm grasp on her magic and pictured in her mind what she wanted—she let the magic wash over her. She found it easier to shift now that she knew what it felt like. Ariana was sad she had never tried to do this before because it was a rush shifting from one form to the next. The world grew huge as she shrank down yet again. Only this time she wasn’t becoming a cat, instead she had chosen something small but graceful. Something easily overlooked.

  Flapping her wings, she tried to get used to them as she flew in a circle back towards the house. Everyone was outside, looking at the spot she had just been, and Jayden had his nose in the air trying to catch her scent. Chuckling to herself, she hovered in midair. She didn’t know if her telepathy would work in this form, but she gave it a shot.

  Speaking to all of them she infused her tone with humor.

  What’s the matter boys? Can’t find me?

  They all whipped their heads around, searching for her. However, none were looking up. She flitted closer, bobbing up and down. Her wings were getting tired, and she would need to change back soon. Jayden’s gaze crashed onto her form, making her shiver. Ariana’s flight faltered—she hadn’t realized how taxing it would be to be a butterfly. Roman was closest to her, so she landed on his shoulder. Jayden growled playfully, bringing his front paws out in front of him with his ass in the air wiggling back and forth. His ice blue eyes never left her. He wouldn’t, would he?

  Roman chuckled. “Why are you growling at me, cat? I don’t want to play.”

  Aiden’s gaze was that of his wolf as he finally spotted her sitting on Roman’s shoulder. He shook his head and snickered. “Roman, you seemed to have picked up a hitchhiker.”

  “What? Where?” Roman whipped his head to the side, his long red hair smacking her small body. She was sent flying and couldn’t right herself. This is gonna hurt. She pictured her human body in her mind and let her magic wash over her again.

  “Oof.” The wind was knocked out of her as she landed hard on the ground. The guys rushed to her side, but Jayden was the first to reach her. He was naked, and she got a good eyeful of what he was packing. His cock was jutting proudly out from his body, bobbing slightly with his movements. It had to be at least nine inches long. His cock was so big around that she wasn’t sure how he could fit it inside anyone. Looking up at his dick Ariana could feel her eyes going wide. Her heart started to flutter, whether it was from lust or panic she didn’t know.

  “Good lord. He is huge.”

  Jayden flushed and the guys all chuckled. Well damn, another thing to slip past my filter.

  Recovering quickly, Jayden bent to whisper in her ear. “Do you like what you see?”

  Ariana nodded as he stood up and held a hand out to help her up, and his cock jumped. Ariana could feel herself getting wet, and wondered if maybe he would be up to try something a little different. She still wasn’t sure how she would handle being naked with a guy and have him enter her, but she was willing to try other things and work up to that.

  Tearing her gaze away from Jayden’s massive and impressive erection, she looked at the others. They were staring at her with a combination of fierce desire, sadness, and anger. She didn’t understand where their anger and sadness were coming from. They were all having a good time until she got knocked out of the air. Aiden started growling low in his throat. It wasn’t his playful growl, this one had more menace to it. Easton’s jaw was clenched tight, and his hands curled into fists, blue flame dancing over the them. Roman was in a similar position, hands clenched, with purple flame dancing over them; Roman’s eyes were hard as flint. Grayson was fighting a shift, his teeth had turned small and sharp, and he was flexing his hands. Mateo was the one looking at her with sadness in his eyes. What on earth was wrong with them?

  Ariana started to back away. She had never been afraid of the guys till now.

  She tried to speak through her suddenly dry mouth. “Wha… What’s wrong guys?”

  Frantically looking back at Jayden, she tried to communicate to him silently with her eyes, asking him for his help. He must have gotten the hint because he answered her. “Ari. You’re naked again.”

  “Yeah, I got that and was trying not to be self-conscious about it. But why would that make you all angry?” Ariana feared they were angry with her for almost getting hurt, but she didn’t think that would make them this pissed off. Looking down at her own body, it finally clicked for her—they had never really seen her without clothes on for this long. She was standing still, and they could see every raised and puckered scar. Her face flushed red, and her eyes welled up with tears. They were angry because she dared to show herself. They hated the damage to her body. She should have known better than to get her hopes up because no man wanted such damaged goods. Ariana turned to go, but she didn’t make it two steps before someone caught her by the arm.

  Whipping her head around, she saw Roman had been the one to grip her arm. Ariana sighed. “What, Roman? Just leave me alone, okay? I’ll go put some clothes on and we will forget this ever happened.” She had just started to get her hopes up that maybe… just maybe all of them were different, and that they wouldn’t look at her and turn away. She should have been feeling their desire and love, not their anger the first time she bared herself to them on purpose.

  Ariana tried to rip her arm free of Roman’s grasp, but it was like trying to move a car. His grip didn’t loosen, and she was stuck. Ariana hated being stuck, and they knew that. So why was
Roman taking the chance?

  “We’re not angry at you or with your body. You’re absolutely beautiful inside and out. We are angry with whoever hurt you to that degree, and at the pain you had to have suffered,” Jayden said as he came to stand beside Roman and placed his hand on Roman’s arm.

  “Then why does Roman look like he’s about to tear my head off?” She tried pulling her arm again, this time kicking him in the shin for good measure. She was at the end of her rope with him and his hot and cold attitude. Why did both he and Aiden do this to her? They acted like they couldn’t get enough of her in one breath and in the next they were pushing her away. Only Roman was so much worse.

  “Dammit, Roman, let go of me! Why do you even care anyways? I’m getting whiplash from your pushing and pulling! Make up your fucking mind already!”

  “I am not pulling or pushing you, Ari-lass.”

  She huffed. “Not physically you’re not, but mentally you are. One minute you’re joking and laughing with me or kissing me senseless, and the next you’re as cold as fucking ice! I can’t take it anymore! Do you want to be my mate or not?” Ariana held her breath, her heart racing out of control. If he said no, that was it for her. She wouldn’t make it to see her twenty third birthday. Her very life rested in his hands, but there was no way she would tell him that. She wouldn’t let that influence his decision. She shot a look at Mateo as he started to open his mouth, and he snapped his mouth shut at her look and glared at her in anger. Either Roman wanted to be with her and her girls, or he didn’t.