TWISTED FATES BOOK 2: EVEN MORE TWISTED

Later in the evening, everyone reconvened in the library to discuss their next steps. Shay and Astrid announced to the others that they had conferred with their coven the circumstances regarding Sammie’s condition. The two had been advised that a possible solution may indeed be attainable. The spell in question was designed to eradicate Justin’s existence from Sammie’s mind completely. It would be as if their paths never crossed. Also, since Sammie no longer dealt with any clients within the human realm, the likelihood of any reference to her past interactions with Justin seemed rather unlikely. Despite Devon’s slight trepidations, it appeared that Shay and Astrid’s spell was the most logical choice if he wanted his mate back. Which he did wholeheartedly.

The two women and their mates went about obtaining the particular necessary objects needed for them to conduct the spell. Devon was charged with anointing the interrogation room with sacred oils and setting candles along the circumference of a consecrated circle that had been scribed with coal on the concrete flooring. Once the room had been prepared, Devon had to obtain some of Sammie’s hair from her hairbrush. He also had to procure a few of Justin’s teeth that he’d managed to salvage from the pyre that had incinerated Justin’s body. Once acquired, he placed the items on the makeshift altar that Shay had already assembled.

Just before dawn, everybody was once again gathered together within the confines of the interrogation room. A solemn stillness permeated the room as each of them regarded each other distraughtly. While this spell was quite powerful, whether or not it worked remained to be seen. Shay and Astrid directed Michael and Aiden to join them as they stood outside the circle. Meanwhile, Devon went to retrieve Sammie from her cell. The girls had made sure to cast a sleep spell over her in order to ensure that Sammie posed no threat while they performed their ritual, but Devon still made sure to keep her shackled as a precautionary measure.

*********************************************************

Sammie was placed in the center of the circle, and all five participants clasped their hands. Breaking through the stillness, Shay and Astrid took a deep breath and shut their eyes only to reopen them, revealing two sets of entirely milky white irises. As if the two women were somehow one combined entity, they began to recite their sacred incantation.

si vocare te de terra aquilonis custodes audi nos

si vocare te ad orientalem custodes audi nos

si vocare te ad meridianam custodes audi nos

si vocare te custodes ab occidente audi nos

Sana sororem nostram in gravibus vulneribus

Nunc per buried memoriam sepulchris dealbatis

Qui irrogaverit ultra

Signatum auferet sempiternum ostium post eam mentibus

Once the two witches had recited the initial incantation, Michael, Aiden, and Devon joined in repeating the chant, slowly at first, until the level of their voices elevated towards a powerful crescendo echoing throughout the small dismal room. Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind billowed around the room’s inhabitants, causing the candles to flicker erratically. The surging winds blew until eventually each candle, one by one, had been blown out, plunging the room into complete darkness.

“Nobody move.”

“Are you kidding?”

’No, I’m not Aiden.”

“But I can’t see shit.”

“News flash, babe, none of us can see shit.”

“Hey … did you hear that … what is that?”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously. Why are we just standing here in the dark anyway?’

“Shh.”

“But- “

“Shh”

“Ewww … do you smell that?” Michael choked out.

“Yeah …what the hell is that foul smell?”

“I don’t know, but it smells like death. I thought you guys cleaned up the room.”

“We did.”

“Well, something obviously got overlooked. I mean … DAMN, that is seriously just disgusting.”

“Yeah but, if that were the case, then we would have smelled it the whole time. Are you sure it wasn’t something to do with your spell?”

“Michael. Astrid and I aren’t novices. That stench isn’t from something we did. That ungodly odor is from something else.”

“Well, this really sucks! We’re stuck standing in the lingering bog of eternal stench until who knows when and I can’t even plug my damn nose. Lovely.”

“Quit whining like a bitch, Mikey. We’re all suffering. Not just you.”

“Aid?” Astrid suddenly chimed in, sounding wary of her uncharacteristically quiet mate. “You’re awfully quiet over there, babe …are you hiding something?”

Aiden quietly cleared his throat. “What me … No?”

“Aiden?”

Silence.

A brief giggle.

“Aiden Jeremy Templeton, are you hiding something from me?”

“OK. OK. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It was me. But it wasn’t my fault. I couldn’t control myself. I plea the TB Defense!”

“I know I’m going to kick myself for falling for it but, what the hell is the TB Defense, Aiden?” Michael asked, exasperated.

“Duh … two words, buddy – Taco Bell.”

Groans filled the dark room.

“C’mon, seriously! No judgment, people. You all know it’s true. I dare anyone of you to try and deny it. As a matter of fact, I know for a fact that Mikey and Dev can back me up. Am I right, guys?”

Silence.

“Dev…Mikey? Aren’t you going to back me up? Because you both know I’m right about the dark forces behind Taco Bell burritos.”

Silence.

“Seriously, guys?”

Silence.

“Dicks … whatever you ass-butts! I’d like to see any of you eat that stuff and not get the rumblies.” Aiden shrugged.

Laughter rang out.

As if on cue, flames re-ignited on every candle, suddenly casting a warm, illuminating glow over everyone.

“Alright, peeps, that was our sign; we can now release our hands and close the circle. Oh, and can someone please get Aid some Gas-X.”

***********************************************************

Devon picked Sammie off the floor and gently laid her unconscious form back on the cot in the tiny cell so that they could clean up the area.

Shay sauntered over to Michael and smirked, looking over at Aiden. “Told you it wasn’t us.”

“I know. Sorry babe … you were right.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I said you were right, Shay?”

“Oh no, no, no baby. Plain sorry just doesn’t feel quite good enough for this situation. You doubted your mate’s abilities and insinuated that Astrid and I were responsible for the chemical warfare your buddy’s ass released upon the earth. What do you think, Astrid? Do you think plain little ol’ sorry cuts it?”

Astrid giggled then shook her head no.

Shay placed her hand on her hip and arched her eyebrow as she stared directly into Michael’s grey eyes. “Unless you plan on taking a cold shower Michael Mixon, I suggest you say the right words, and maybe that will convince me to forgive you.”

Despite his muscular 6’3” built, Michael seemed to try and shrink into himself as he stuck his hands into his pockets. He slowly leaned forward and softly whispered into Shay’s ear while taking her hand in his own. “Awe, come one, baby. Are you really going to make me say that now … in front of everybody? Can’t we just do this later … you know I’m sorry.”

“Nope,” Shay responded, making sure to pop her P.

“Please, baby?” Michael tried using puppy dog eyes, which were clearly not working by the looks of Shay’s unresponsive expression.

“Still waiting, Michael.”

Michael ran his hand through his disheveled locks and gripped his neck as he sighed.

“Fine. I, Michael Mixon, apologize to my beautiful mate Shay De Rocher. I was wrong, and she was right. I am lower than low. I am the piece of gum stuck to the bottom of her Manolos until she decides to grace me with her forgiveness.”

“Thank You, Michael. Being that this is your first offense in a while, you are forgiven.” Immediately Shay snaked her long slender caramel-colored arms around Michael’s neck and gave him a quick peck.

Every head in the room stood speechless as they all stared at Michael in shock. This was a Michael that none had ever seen.

Not one to miss out on such a rare opportunity, Aiden took this as a chance to tease his friend.

“Hey, Mikey. It looks like someone had a big ol’ helping of Whoop-ie PIE this morning … Hey, hey, hey Mikey, who’s your favorite actress? Is it Whoop-ie Goldberg … Hey, hey Mikey– “

Michael’s fist began to tighten as he clenched his jaw. If looks could kill, Aiden would undeniably be six feet under at this moment.

“That’s enough, Aid,” Astrid interjected.

“But babe- “Aiden whined.

“If you keep on teasing Mike for being whooped, may I remind you about what happened the other night?”

Shay and Michael quickly looked over at the couple, visibly interested in Astrid’s statement. “What happened, Astrid?” Shay inquired.

“Well, the other night- “

“Nothing! Nothing happened. Forget it. My bad. Forget I said anything, Mikey. Baby, I promise I won’t tease Mikey at all about being whooped.” Aiden pretended to zip his mouth closed and looked pleadingly at Astrid.

“Fine, Aiden. I’ll let you off the hook this time. But next time, I spill the tea. You’re lucky you’re so damn pretty.” Astrid teased while she pinched his cheeks.

Aiden immediately perked up and gave Astrid a quick peck on her nose. “Not as pretty as you, babycakes.”

“Both of you idiots are whooped. Now can we finish getting this cleaned up so I can take Sammie back to her room?”

“Actually, we need to keep Sammie in the cell for another hour.”

“Why are we still keeping her back in the cell that long?”

“It’s just until we are sure that there are no aftereffects from the spell.”

“Why would there be aftereffects, Shay?”

“I’m not saying that there would be Dev. It’s just in case- “

“NO!”

“Look, Dev I- “

“I said NO, Shay, and I will not repeat myself.”

“I get that you’re being protective of Sammie. But Dev, you’re acting unreasonably right now- “

A low growl emerged from deep within Devon’s chest as his eyes flickered between their ice blue and deep violet-black hues. His wolf Slade was trying to push through. Sensing his mate’s immediate danger, Michael swiftly stood in front of Devon, maneuvering Shay behind him. Michael’s wolf, Sully, let out a threatening growl towards Devon.

“Back. Down. Michael.”

“You first Devon, your punk ass wolf threatened our mate,” he snarled.

Devon’s fist tightened, turning his knuckles white as he clenched his jaw. His eyes were no longer flickering between his and Slade’s. Instead, Devon’s eyes were two different colors. One blue and one violet-black. Devon and Slade were both at the forefront, focusing their sharp, menacing attention on Michael.

Once he noticed that the situation between his two friends had escalated to an extremely combustible level, Aiden ran over and stood next to both of them. Carefully he placed a hand on each of their shoulders in hopes of calming them down, only to have both men briskly shove his hands away.

“Hey! Hey guys. Come on. Let’s not be this way.”

Michael and Devon ignored him and continued their glare off.

“Dev … Mikey. Come ON! You guys don’t need to act like this. You’re friends. Look, Mikey, I’m sure Dev didn’t mean to be a dick to Shay. He’s just upset, bro. And Dev, I’m sure Mikey didn’t mean to get all up in your face; he was just defending his mate buddy. Now quit acting like a couple of bitches. Just kiss and make up before you both do something you’ll regret.”

Silence.

“Fine.”

“Whatevs.”

“See, now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Aiden once again placed a hand on each of their shoulders, looked back and forth to each of them, and smiled.

Devon immediately brushed Aiden’s hand away and walked over to the tiny cell where Sammie had been sleeping. He carefully picked her up and began heading towards the doorway leading back into the library.

“Dev… “Shay called out.

Devon stopped in front of the metal door; his back muscles tensed as he spoke without turning around.

“Not another word Shay. I am taking Sammie back upstairs to her room, and I am going to get her cleaned up. I don’t know if any of you actually thought about it, but I do NOT want my mate to wake up from all this shit, only to be covered in the filth that she has been laying in for several hours.”

Devon yanked the door open and carried Sammie out of the room without another word.

Shay went to call out to Devon once more, but Michael gently grabbed her shoulder and shook his head.

He knew Devon was at his breaking point.

“I don’t know about you, but I think this concludes our fun-filled evening. What do you think?” Aiden asked the remaining people in the room.

“Aid. We still have to finish putting this crap away.”

Aiden rushed over to Astrid and wrapped his strong arms around her encasing her in his warmth. “I think it’ll keep. I think we’ve all been through too much. I don’t know about you, but I think some nice downtime with you seems way better than picking up another mess. What do you think?” Astrid slowly nodded in Aiden’s chest.

“Fine. It’s settled, everyone. Let’s deal with this crap tomorrow. What do ya say, Mikey?” Aiden glanced over at Michael, who just so happened to be engrossed in a very passionate kiss with Shay.

“Huh? What?” A bemused Michael asked Aiden, never tearing his eyes away from his beautiful mate.

Aiden laughed.

“Exactly, Mikey. Exactly.”

“I think we’re going to head to bed now. Night guys.” Shay announced with a smirk as she gently tugged a grinning Michael out of the room.

“Well, babe, it looks like it’s just you and me.” Aiden stepped out of his embrace with Astrid and clasped her tiny hand in his as they made their way back into the house’s central part.

“Any idea what you’d like to do tonight, babycakes?” Aiden queried as the two entered their room, and he shut the door.

Astrid smiled as Aiden walked over to where she stood near the bed. Once he was close enough, Astrid gently pushed Aiden onto their bed and straddled him.

“Oh, I have quite a few ideas on the subject of what I’d like to do tonight.” She cooed seductively as she slowly trailed kisses down along Aiden’s jawline.