Cursed by Fate

by Renee Shearer

  This bastard didn’t know who he was messing with. Especially since Aiden had just gotten word that the drug kingpin they were trying to nail down might be the same man stalking Ariana. His boss had told him last week, but Aiden didn’t have the heart to tell her. It was their fault she was in this mess. The stalker had found her through them, and now because of them Zoey was gone.

  Aiden pushed himself harder, never losing the scent. Damn this fucker is fast. Aiden and Gray had already traveled miles with no signs of them. As they neared the edge of his land, he caught the unmistakable scent of a car. Oil, rubber, and exhaust.

  Shit! NO! If they had gotten into a car it would be harder for Aiden to track once they got to the main road. As Aiden and Gray burst out of the trees fifty feet from his property line, there it was. A dirt road with fresh tire tracks. Zoey’s stuffed lamb was laying in the road. Aiden had thought his heart was ash… but seeing the lamb in the road disintegrated it. He sent up a desperate howl. Answering howls came back to him, normal wolves responding to the sorrow from an Alpha’s call.

  Glancing at Gray he spoke telepathically. Get the lamb. Bring it with us.

  Grayson nodded his head, gently scooping the lamb up in his jaws. Both were breathing hard as Aiden sniffed the tracks once then tore off in the direction they went. For hours they tracked the car. When they got to the freeway, Aiden lost the scent. There were just too many damn cars on the road and they all smelled the same. Fuck! He raged internally. Snarling, Aiden paced back and forth along the freeway and retraced his steps to catch the scent all over again. But it was no use. No matter how many times he thought he had it, he lost it again. Frustration welled up inside him as he pawed at the ground, snarling and snapping. Aiden tried to shift back, but his wolf refused to let go of the reins. Refused to give up on finding Zoey. Slumping down in his mind, Aiden gave up control. He let his wolf freely out of its cage for the first time. Aiden became nothing more than a bystander in his own body. His wolf howled again, and it was then Aiden noticed something spectacular as his wolf backtracked one last time. Glowing softly was the scent trail. It was a mix of colors, looking almost like a smaller version of the northern lights, but it had brown running through it.

  He had never seen this before, didn’t know his wolf could see that. Aiden vowed then and there to let go of the reins more, giving his wolf more freedom. His wolf huffed happily in return. Yipping at Gray, his wolf sprinted away, following the trail that was now like a neon sign leading them straight to Zoey. They were going to find this fucker and take him down. His wolf chuffed at him, as if in disagreement. Sending pictures of Ariana to him. He was shocked at first and didn’t pay attention. Aiden had never had this kind of communication with his wolf, but as the images played over in his mind, Aiden got the message. It was her fight, she had to be the one to deliver the killing blow.

  He didn’t like it, but Aiden and the rest of the guys would be there to help her, and together they would take down this rat bastard who dared to take their child. No one and nothing would stand in their way.

  Ariana

  Ariana and Avery were sitting on the porch swing rocking gently when Jess came roaring up the driveway to the cabin, stopping inches from the steps. Hopping off, she took off her helmet as the guys came pouring out of the house. Easton and Roman had their magic at the ready, Mateo hand his swords out, and Jayden’s hands were in claws—he looked ready to shift at any moment.

  Ariana shook her head at them as she stood up from the swing. “Calm down guys. It’s Jess.”

  Shaking out her hair, Jess said, “Yeah. Relax guys. I’ve come to help.” Jess pulled two bags off the back of her bike. Slinging them over her shoulders, she walked up the steps. “Come on boys. I’ve got toys.” Jess pushed past them with a wink, striding confidently inside.

  They all walked in behind her and as Jess set the bags down on the dining room table, she looked over at Ariana and she her lips.

  “How you holding up girl?”

  “As well as can be expected. My daughter is missing, I have no magic, and two of my mates are trying to track this asshole down.”

  Nodding, Jess turned to Avery and held out her arms. Avery flung herself into them. “Shhhh… it’s okay, little one. Everything will be alright.” Jess’ hands suddenly glowed green and before any of them could jump into action, Jess patted Avery’s shoulder. “Sleep now.”

  Avery slumped over as if she had fallen asleep standing up. Picking her up, Jess handed Avery off to Easton. “Put her in her room, add a locking spell to the outside. No one, except those here, get in.”

  All hell broke loose as Roman grabbed Jess by her throat, slamming her against the wall. “What the fuck did you just do to my daughter, Witch?”

  Mateo had his swords ready to stab her through the heart, rage all over his face as he growled. “Release her from your spell, Demon Woman!”

  Jayden had shifted, his shredded clothes still drifting to the floor. His fur was standing up and a growl rumbled from his throat. Suddenly, Jayden roared so loud that Ariana jumped, but Avery didn’t wake up.

  Easton was checking Avery over and glaring at Jess. If looks could kill, Ariana was positive Jess would not be standing.

  Ariana felt hot and cold at the same time. Furious at Jess, she had the urge to kill her. But worry for her daughters had her hesitating to let Jess explain. Ariana walked up to Jess, placing a calming hand on each of the guys as she passed.

  “Roman, she can’t talk if you crush her throat. I trust Jess. Even if she never told me about her magic.” Ariana glared at her. “But we need her.”

  “How do we know she isn’t your stalker?”

  Ariana rolled her eyes. “She was in the apartment with us when the package was delivered. Not to mention she was in some of the pictures.” Ariana placed her hand on his arm again. “Now, let her go.”

  With one last squeeze around Jess’s throat, Roman released her. Jess started coughing as she gulped in air with her damaged throat. “Bastard. I love these little girls. I would never do anything to hurt them!”

  “I believe you. Now explain.” Ariana pushed the guys back one more step.

  “I’m not really in security.”

  “You don’t say.” Ariana spoke dryly, her tone telling Jess to spit it out already.

  Smirking at her, Jess continued. “I’m an assassin. I hunt down all the evil in the world and kill it.”

  Holy shit! She was not expecting that. A different kind of cop, sure. Special ops in the military, possibly. But an assassin? No fucking way. Ariana’s heart sped up, her mind stopped and started trying to process it.

  “I have magic, yes. But I’m human.”

  “How is that possible?” Easton asked, walking back in from putting Avery in her room. He nodded at Ariana. She let out the breath she didn’t know she had been holding. His nod meant he had locked the door to Jess as well. Only the seven of them would be able to get in.

  “Let me show you.” Ariana studied Jess as she unzipped her jacket. Jess was dressed differently than Ariana had ever seen her. Leather pants, kickass stiletto thigh high leather boots, a matching leather corset, and a leather jacket. All black. No frills, no lace. It was a killing outfit, made to easily wash the blood out.

  What the fuck? How had I never known about this? This woman had been watching her kids for years. Everything clicked into place. How she would sometimes be running late, only to walk into the apartment with wet hair and fresh makeup. Ariana had even smelled blood on her from time to time. Ariana felt like a fool. How could she have missed everything? Was she really that blind? Or was Jess just that good of an actor?

  The men gasping had her snapping back to reality. Ariana’s eyes followed the men’s gazes. High up on Jess’s back, nestled between her shoulder blades, was an intricately drawn symbol. It had beautiful sweeping lines and looked like it had a window with an L on the bottom of it, with a backwards J off to the side. She had never seen anything like it.

  Stepping
closer, Ariana lightly ran her hand over it. “What is it?”

  Jess turned around, letting her hair fall back down. “It’s the Japanese symbol for a soul catcher.”

  More confused than ever, Ariana looked at Easton. If anyone would know, it was the Professor. He didn’t disappoint her. Clearing his throat, he gestured to Jess. “Your friend here was granted magic in exchange for a duty.”

  “What duty?” Ariana swung her head back to Jess.

  “I find evil, true evil. Corrupted souls that are too far gone to even go to hell. I take them and lock them away where they can never get out.”

  “Where the hell do you lock them that’s stronger than hell?”

  As Jess pulled out twin blades, Ariana studied them. They were the same ones Jess had at her apartment.

  “These are specially made and infused with the power to kill anything, and I mean anything. Once stabbed with either of these, their soul is sucked out. Trapped in the sword forever. Once it gets full, I take it back to Master Yoshi who always has another set already made for me. I exchange them, and the cycle continues.”

  “How long have you been doing this?”

  Jess shrugged. “Two- hundred years, give or take.”

  “How? You said you were human.”

  “I am. But there can only ever be one soul catcher. Much like you.” She gestured to Ariana. “I will continue my duty until another is called up. We are chosen.”

  “By who?” Ariana’s head was spinning. It was all too much, and she sank down into the nearest chair.

  “No one knows. Not even Master Yoshi. We don’t know when or how another is called up either. The mark appears on our necks when we are toddlers, usually around age three.” Jess shrugged. “When we hit twenty-one, our powers manifest. We are called to Master Yoshi and receive our blades.”

  “What happens to the other soul catcher.”

  Again, Jess shrugged. “No one knows that either. Now, enough about me. Are we going to go after this son of a bitch or what?”

  “Aiden and Gray are going to hopefully track them down. Then come get us.”

  Jess shook her head. “Too slow. It’ll waste time for them to come to us.” Her hands glowed green again. Waving them in the air, she created some sort of symbol that exploded like a mini firework when she clapped her hands together. Sparks rained down to the floor, disappearing before they hit.

  “What was that?” Roman growled. He was still on edge. Ariana knew he was not going to like it when she asked him to stay behind. He would fight her on it tooth and nail, but she needed him here. With his magic, he would be powerful enough to protect Avery in case the prick circled back around and tried for Avery as well. It would be the only way she would be able to concentrate on what she had to do.

  “A tracking spell. I placed it on the girls months ago when the stalker first showed up. I just activated it.”

  “WHAT?!” Ariana screeched and lunged at her, punching Jess in the face and knocking her down. “You mean to tell me this whole fucking time we were talking you could have activated that and found our daughter? You bitch! Why the fuck didn’t you start with that?” Ariana seethed, her rage building higher, threatening to explode as she glared daggers at Jess on the floor. Mateo grabbed Ariana’s arms, pulling her away from Jess. Ariana was ready to kill someone, she felt so betrayed. Guess I never really knew her at all.

  “You would have killed me, and since I’m the only one who can track her that would have been bad.” Rising to her feet slowly, Jess held out her hands in a non-threatening manner. “I did it to protect the girls. I also have one on you. You are too valuable to this world for anything to happen to you, and I couldn’t risk it. I love you all too much to let anything happen.”

  “Yeah? How’s that working out so far, Jess?” Ariana snarked at her.

  Jess winced at her tone. Ariana didn’t give a shit if she hurt Jess’ feelings. Ariana needed to find her daughter. That was the only thing she cared about. Maybe afterwards she could fix things, if she even wanted too. Ariana wasn’t sure at this point because Jess had kept everything from her. She had let her into her home, let her watch the most precious things to her.

  It’s not like you told her everything either, Ari.

  Shut up! I’m allowed to be mad. She shook her head to silence the voice in her head. Now was not the time.

  Thirty-Three

  Ariana

  Ariana had been pacing the floor for the better part of an hour. Jess couldn’t seem to pinpoint the exact location of Zoey. Ariana couldn’t stand the stress and anxiety anymore. She took the stairs two at a time.

  As she walked into her room, her knees buckled. She hit the floor hard, buried her head in her hands, and sobbed. Ariana had tried to hold everything in, to be strong. She had thought the Monster was her worst nightmare. Yet here she was, living it. Her arms ached to hold her darling baby girl in them again.

  Every time she thought her heart was already in shreds, someone would say Zoey’s name and her heart would shatter all over again. Ariana’s body felt like a punching bag. She was bruised and battered all over, yet not one mark showed. Her hands shook with the need to do something. Anything. She couldn’t just wait here anymore. She needed action. Raising her head, she steeled her spine once again.

  Blinking back her tears, Ariana slowly stood. Making her way to her closet, she pulled out the black nylon bag she had brought with her. Ariana didn’t know at the time she would need it but was glad she had it now. Unzipping the bag, she started pulling out the weapons nestled inside and laid them carefully on the bed. First were her twin daggers, black with blue inlay on the slightly curved blades. They each had a snarling black and blue dragon for the hilt; the dragons were exquisitely carved with so much detail they looked real. It seemed as if the dragons could come to life at any moment and bite your head off. They were her favorite daggers, sharp as hell and deadly. Next was her sword. It had been her great-great-grandfather’s sword passed down generation after generation. It has a curved jagged blade armed with a slightly blunted edge, leading to a deadly sharp tip. Vicious looking points jutted out of the sword by the hilt. The blade shined with silver interwoven with a gold inlay, and black runes were etched into the gold, meant to protect the wielder of the blade. The hilt was wrapped in black leather with a brutal looking golden arrowhead at the bottom and a black and gold sun welded to the top. Its beauty was undeniable and stunning.

  She caressed the sword as she laid it on the bed. Next was her dragon axe. About two feet in length, it also had a silver dragon. The dragon on the axe seemed as if it held one blade with its talons while the other was attached to its head. The middle was wrapped in brown leather, leading down to another sharp blade at the bottom. Giving the axe a test swing, Ariana spun around with the axe held out, almost taking Roman’s head off. At the last second, she jumped back so that it narrowly missed his throat.

  Her eyes went wide. “Roman! I didn’t hear you come in! I could have killed you!”

  Roman gave her an amused glance as she gingerly set the axe on the bed and reached for the last items in the bag.

  “So, I see, Ari-Lass. Gearing up for war, are we?”

  Ariana shrugged, not saying anything as she took out her twin Beretta ninety twos. Completely black, they looked simple in comparison to her other weapons, but they were just as deadly. Holding sixteen rounds each, double action and semi-automatic with a short recoil, she could fire all sixteen shots in a matter of minutes, reloading them just as fast.

  With all her weapons laid out, she finally got to the last item in the bag. It was a specially designed outfit, reinforced with a bulletproof mesh. It had been a gift from Jazzy on her twenty first birthday. She had never worn it, scoffing at Jazzy that she would never need it. Silently, Ariana thanked her for the foresight to give her the gift.

  Turning to Roman with the outfit in her hands, she finally gathered the courage to ask him to stay. “Roman… I need you to stay with Avery.”

 
Instead of answering her, Roman strode up to her and cupped her face in his big hands. He stared into her eyes before placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

  “I know, Ari-Lass. I know. It’s okay.”

  Roman

  Ariana stared at him, the surprise evident on her face. Roman chuckled and kissed her again.

  “Did you think I would fight you on it?”

  Ariana frowned at him. “Honestly, yes.” She looked at him suspiciously. “Why aren’t you fighting me?”

  Roman knew she was going to ask him to stay. Mateo had told him he had read her mind just to see if she really was handling everything well. When she had taken off up the stairs, Mateo had pulled him to the side to prepare him, even though he didn’t need to. Roman had already decided he was going to hang back and protect Avery. With his magic, he was liable to go Dark whenever they came face to face with the person who had taken his daughter. Their daughter. He didn’t want to accidentally kill the bastard when he was in a rage and deny that to Ariana. It was her fight, and she needed to finish it. He hated the idea of her going in without any magic, but there was nothing he could do. He had to trust in his brothers and in her.

  “I had already decided to stay back, Ari-Lass. With my magic, if I am not in complete control of my emotions, I’m in danger of the Darkness overtaking me. I would end up killing him before you even had a chance.” He brushed his hands down her cheeks and arms then tightly gripped her hands in his own. “While I don’t like the thought of you going in there without your magic, I have no choice. I will not mess this up for you. I will not mess up the chance you have of breaking this curse. I would die if something happened to you because I couldn’t control myself.”