TWISTED FATES BOOK 2: EVEN MORE TWISTED

The group stared in skepticism at the brown paper wrapped package in front of them sitting on the glass-topped coffee table in the center of the room.

“So, who’s gonna open it?” Shay asked, looking at the five others in the room.

Everyone except for Devon immediately put their index finger to their nose and said, “not it.”

Devon rolled his eyes at the immaturity of his band of cohorts and chuckled.

“You’re the Alpha dude. That means you should do it,” Aiden joked as he looked at Michael, nodding his head in agreement.

“You guys are seriously sad. Afraid of a package from an old lady.’”

“First off, not afraid. Second, Maleyna was not just an old lady; she was a powerful witch. Lastly, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone on this, we all watched that movie Seven. Who knows what’s in the box. Personally, I don’t feel like finding Gwyneth Paltrow’s head. Just sayin’.”

” You’re an idiot, Aiden. Also, so that you are well aware, I’m pretty sure your chicken shit ass isn’t turning on your little mate over there … Just sayin’.”

Aiden’s pale cheeks turned bright red as he looked over at Astrid, who simply shook her head laughing.

Since Devon had been elected to open the box, he carefully lifted it and gave it a gentle shake seeing if he could hear any clue of its contents, which there wasn’t. So he went ahead and began meticulously tearing off the light brown wrapper. Once the wrapping was removed, Devon pulled the box open and removed the plastic bubble filler inside. He inspected the box’s contents, which consisted of two simple things, a 5X7 white notecard that simply noted: Watch me and a keychain of the little black cat, Gigi from Kiki’s Delivery Service, which turned out to be a portable USB device. Sammie chuckled to herself; who’d of thought that such an old witch would be so familiar with anime.

Devon let out a sigh and looked over at Sammie.

“Well, Sammie, your call. Do you want to see what Maleyna wanted us to watch?”

Sammie bit her lower lip then warily replied.

“Sure, I don’t think she would have sent us something, especially all of us, unless it held great importance. She wasn’t necessarily the type for idle chit chat.” Sammie responded while shrugging her shoulders.

Michael ran and grabbed his iMac laptop and plugged in the USB key chain after he had booted it up. Each of the couples was crowded on the large rustic brown leather sofa; the females were sitting atop their respective mate’s lap as they all huddled together and watched Maleyna’s video in silence.

It was a homemade video of Maleyna sitting inside her shop. The old woman somehow looked to have an aura of dismay as she took a sip of tea from her white and black porcelain cup. Maleyna cleared her throat, preparing to speak.

“Well, my lovelies, I suppose I should start by addressing the elephant in the room. If you are viewing this video, then I am indeed no longer in the realm of the living as this package was only directed to be delivered upon my untimely demise. I am sure by now that the six of you have all realized the bonds each of you shares. If not, spoiler alert, you’re all mates. As you know, this may seem out of place for some of you, but I assure you that your fates are proceeding just as the Moon Goddess, Selene, has conceived. I had the pleasure of conferring with her recently, and in order to prepare for the imminent war that is approaching, you six must remain fully united. Your strengths shall be the key to triumph over Dasha and her army. Yes, that is correct, Dasha still exists, and she is more powerful than you had perceived her to be. Despite her outward appearance, she is an ancient witch with powers that surpassed even that of my coven, as we were unable to bind her powers for very long. I expect that it shall not be long before she confronts me regarding my betrayal. However, I am resolved to the fact that it is merely my own day of recompense for all my past misdoings.

I admit, Samantha, that while you were not the first person I had aided Dasha in extinguishing, you were the last. You see, Samantha, I had received a vision of you prior to your arrival that fateful night, and it was revealed that you and your Alpha were of great importance. I also witnessed the destruction that Dasha would cause, should she have succeeded in killing you, as was her original plan. This was why I had charged Jareth with protecting you at all cost. He was well aware of the dangers you would face, and in time, his sacrifice would be inevitable. I know that he was genuinely fond of you and you of him. For that loss, I humbly apologize. But you must try to understand that his death was for the greater good, which must always take precedence above all else.

You six are the warriors that will lead in the fight against Dasha; A vampire, an Alpha along with his two strongest soldiers, and two very powerful witches. Please prepare yourselves as this battle is closer than you can conceive. Dasha has several unseen allies amongst all of your kinds, so you must remain wary of others outside your circle. You will all be tested but must be steadfast in your endeavors. Not all is as it seems, and betrayal will be your downfall if you trust those who should not be trusted, even if they are from your fondest memories. I leave you all now with one final warning to heed; Dasha still needs the blood of a very special Alpha for her plan to take form, Devon you are that Alpha, so you must never allow yourself to be overtaken. I’m sure you’re wondering why she hadn’t utilized you when she had you in her grasp, but it was not yet the predestined moment in time. However, that time will be approaching soon enough. Finally, I must advise you all that while your unity is the key to overcoming Dasha’s army, the sacrifice of one shall be vital to her ultimate destruction. I am not allowed to say who that may be, as this could affect the order of things as they should proceed. Now I shall take my leave, knowing that I can finally be at peace. My own fate has reached its conclusion.”

Everyone sat in silence after listening to Maleyna’s final words. There were no comments that could encapsulate what we were all feeling at the time. Unable to fathom the implications of Maleyna’s words, that these six people were bound by destiny to fight some war was overwhelming, to say the least.

Michael ran his fingers through his light brown hair and reached over to shut his laptop, finally breaking the stillness that hung in the air.

Sammie got up from Devon’s lap and stood in front of the group regarding everyone, thinking of how she could lighten the dismal mood.

“Well, I don’t know about you all, but I am totally starving. Who’s with me?”

“You’re always starving, Sammie. I don’t even know where the hell you put it all.” Shay blurted out.

“I am not!” Sammie huffed as she stuck her lower lip out, pretending to pout.

“You totally are.” Astrid chimed in.

“No way! I didn’t think vamps could eat food?”

“Aiden, you’re such a newb. Vampires can eat food too. They just choose not to since it serves no purpose. Sammie here is one of them who still clings to her naughty vices. It seems that even death couldn’t keep her from her Oreos.” Astrid nudged her mate Aiden in the rib, and the duo started laughing.

“Whatevs Astrid. You’re just jelly because I won’t share my Oreos with you. Sorry but my love for them runs deep, too deep to share with anyone.”

“Dude. I think your girlfriend loves Oreos better than you,“ Michael teased Devon.

“Fact.” Sammie piped in.

“Hey! I’m pretty sure I hold a higher ranking over Oreos.”

“False.”

“Well then, it looks like I’m going to have to find myself a new mate. Sammie, you’ve been replaced by my new studs, Ben and Jerry.”

Everyone burst out laughing when they saw the look in Devon’s eyes as he wiggled his dark brows and stuck out his tongue.

With the lightened atmosphere, the small group of friends happily made their way into the dining room for some dinner and jovial banter.

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

Sammie

After a rather noisy dinner, due to the whole Michael Meyers versus Jason Voorhees debate which Michael and Aiden incited; Ish… boys were so childish sometimes; the girls and I invited Devon and the boys over to our place to spend the night. I knew the two newly formed couples needed their time to bond. I also felt that it would be more relaxing in the comfort of our home, as opposed to the packhouse, since the pack members were filtering back to their rooms

Devon agreed, thankfully, and the six of us returned to the vampire territory shortly after that. In lieu of the gloom and doom we were preparing for, my BFFs deserved a little time to enjoy a private moment with their new mates. At least for tonight, we all needed some sort of normalcy.

The calm before the storm, if you will.

Maleyna’s words rang forebodingly true. An icy chill ran up my spine when the thought finally occurred to me, Dasha was still alive. Not only that, but I also know she killed Maleyna, and now she wanted Devon back in her clutches. I looked at Devon and swore to myself whatever it took; I would never let that happen.

I said good night to my girls, hugging them both tightly and jokingly let them know that they should feel free to be as loud they needed; all the rooms were soundproofed so no one would disturb them. With a wink and a smile, the two couples made their way to each of their rooms, leaving Devon and me on our own.

A devilish grin spread across his lips as he reached over and tugged me into his arms. He nuzzled his face into my neck as he traced small kisses around my ear. I could feel the heat radiating from him.

“Since the kids are off on their own, how about we head upstairs to your room and follow their lead. “

I pulled back my face staring intently into his beautiful ice blue eyes. Devon and I hadn’t actually been sexually active since … well, since before the whole timeline thing. When we reunited, he gave me my space and waited patiently despite the apparent toll it took on him at times. I mean, yeah, we kissed, had a few make-out sessions, and even once even made it to third base. But that was as far as our physical intimacy had gotten. I realized he’d been patient long enough. It was time for me to move on. He deserved it, and I deserved it. Jareth would have understood.

Without a word, I took Devon’s strong hand in my own and led him upstairs into my bedroom.

I locked the door and stood with my back against the off-white door frame, eyeing him intently, then led him to the bed and gently pushed him down.

I observed as his lust-filled eyes turn a deep, almost violet-black color.

“Mate.” He growled.

A fiery need filled me. My insides ached to feel him inside of me. It had been so long.

I dashed over to Devon and straddled him looking him dead in the eyes.

“Mine,” I snarled.