TWISTED FATES BOOK 2: EVEN MORE TWISTED

Sammie

Well, three days have passed since that horrible incident occurred at Devon’s pack, and other than a few texts here and there, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of anyone. Dev apologized for his inability to spend time with me, but their pack was on high alert because of the attack, meaning he had to make sure his people were prepared in case of another one. Apparently, the death of the three boys was only part of it. Shortly after the Mrs. Ramirez incident, Devon got word from a few males that their mates were missing as well as a few unmated males and females all roughly around the ages of twenty to twenty-five. A total of nine missing pack members in all. Evidently, this attack was calculated, and now the pack was in turmoil, leaving Devon to focus all his time and energy on tracking down the culprits. Astrid and Shay opted to help perform locator and tracking spells to assist but to no avail. We had a strong hunch Dasha had her hand in this.

I decided to see if there was anything I could do to help on my end, so I called the Vampire Council to see if they knew of any feral vampires that may have been spotted near the pack’s territory. It turns out, Devon’s pack was not the only one hit. Two of the vampire clans were also dealing with the same issues, only this time, the culprits appeared to be werewolves. It took all I had to explain to Lord Danesh, the chief council’s representative of our territory, that Blood Moon was not at fault. In all honesty, despite the newer generation of vampires and werewolves trying to maintain some seldom of peace between the two species, the older generations still have a deep hatred for one another. Needless to say, Lord Danesh was old school, so I really had to prove that the attack on the vampires was not the work of Devon’s pack. After I explicated the entirety of events surrounding the attack on Devon’s pack lands, as well as asserted the substantiation of extreme similarities between the two strikes, Lord Danesh seemed to consider what I had told him to be accurate. He advised me that he would notify the Council and her highness, the Queen, and take their own proper measures to investigate the matter.

I thanked Lord Danesh and informed him that should we uncover any new information that may be beneficial to reveal those responsible for the assaults that I would notify the Council at once, to which he hesitantly acquiesced to do as well. Once off the phone, I texted Devon and informed him of the latest turn of events and the open line of communication that we needed to consider to learn anything regarding the assailants. I truly hoped that if both our kinds were working on tracking down these psychopaths that maybe we’d be able to stop them. Although the feeling of dread I felt over these incidents didn’t seem to have confidence in it. I genuinely hoped I was wrong.

I wasn’t.

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I was awoken by the pale faces of my two best friends around three in the morning. Their swollen eyes were indicative that they had been crying—a Lot.

I immediately leaped out of my bed and wrapped my arms around my two BFFs.

“Shhh… What’s going on, babes?” I asked as I placed my hand on the side of each of their desolate faces.

“Oh, my Goddess Sammie … w-w-we just found o-out, and it’s bad Sammie … really BAD!” Astrid trembled as she crumpled to the floor, sobbing.

I dashed out of my room, immediately returning with two bottles of water for my dear friends. I hoped that I could eventually help them calm down enough to elaborate on what was going on. I knew whatever it was, it had to be awful, but what I heard was devastating.

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Sammie motioned for her two friends to sit on her bed as she knelt in front of them both. She held each of their hands in hers as she tenderly ran her thumb across each one attempting to calm their distressed demeanor. “Shhh.” She cooed again. “Whatever it is, I promise, we’ll get through this. But I need you to tell me what’s going on so that I can help you. Please. What happened to my girls? Hmm?”

It was Shay that broke the painful silence. She looked at Astrid for reassurance, who then nodded in acquiescence and spoke.

“As you know, Astrid and I belong to a coven, The Daughters of Hecate. It’s a powerful old coven that Maleyna and Dasha were also a part of. Our coven isn’t just a coven; it’s a sisterhood. We pledge our lives to each other and the Goddess Hecate. With that pledge, we are bound to one another by blood rites. This bond is meant to create a balance amongst our sisterhood so that none could harm the other. Normally when one of us harms the other, it would be felt by the other remaining sisters, and the power that once encompassed not only the fallen sister but the assailant as well would be spread between the sisters of our coven. The thing is, as, with all magics, there are loopholes, some more obscure than others, but they exist nonetheless. Seemingly, Dasha must have discovered her away around the bond.”

Shay paused and took a sip of water, pondering her next words.

“Without warning, she and her army mercilessly slaughtered our entire coven. We received word this morning from one of our sister covens who are the direct descendants of the Pendle witches; after they received a small token as a warning and declaration of what had taken place.”

“A token?” Sammie inquired while a feeling of dread slithered its way along her spine. Shay continued her recant of what had happened. “One of our sisters was … with child. We had planned to hold a birthing ceremony for her daughter in a couple of weeks. Whoever … Whatever murdered our coven, they … t-t-they took the unborn child and w-wrapped it in a cloth stained with the b-blood of our sisters and delivered her to them. The only saving grace is that the baby lived. Despite everything, that little girl survived. Goddess! Who could do such a terrible thing, Sammie? What kind of monster?“ Shay choked back on her words sobbing uncontrollably.

“I don’t know, Shay,” Sammie whispered despite knowing who was responsible but to acknowledge the level of mercilessness that Dasha is capable of would only instill fear in her. And that was an emotion that Sammie did not want nor need.

The women sat in silence. There were no words that could be spoken to alleviate the feeling of sadness, dread, or even anger that embodied their every being.

After what felt an eternity, Shay stood up and motioned for Astrid to follow suit. Sammie, who had been sitting on the floor, looked up at her friends and stood to embrace them in a tight hug.

“I’m so sorry, you guys. Do you need me to do anything? I’m assuming that Dev and the guys know since you were with them?”

“They know, but we wanted to see you before we left.”

“Left … where are you going?”

“Astrid and I have been summoned by the Grand Coven. They’re concerned about us and need to make sure that we receive special training for what is to come. Despite Dasha’s attempt to eradicate our entire coven, Astrid and I are the only ones that remain; our sisters’ strength was passed to us as well. We need to learn how to harness our newfound strength in order to try and level the playing field. Dasha has proven she is a formidable witch, and she is only getting stronger.”

“When are you leaving?”

Shay looked down; a tinge of guilt edged across her face. “Now, Sammie … we just didn’t want to leave without seeing you and warning you about what Dasha has done.”

Sammie knew that despite her trepidations, she needed to support her two friends. It wasn’t about her; it was about her friends and making sure they overcame their grief. This tragedy was a painful loss for them, and engulfing themselves in the warmth of their kind would help heal the wounds the lay deep within them.

Sammie nodded in understanding and looked at her friends to affirm that they were making the right choice by leaving.

“Well, my lovelies, I can’t say that I won’t miss you both. But I want you to take all the time you need. I love you both and only want what’s best for you two, and if that means being apart for a while. I’ll be ok.”

Shay and Astrid’s eyes glistened at the sentiment, “We love you, Sammie.”

Sammie chimed in, “I love you guys too.”

“You sure you’ll be ok while we’re gone? I know Dev’s been busy for the last few days, but he really misses you, girl.” Shay asserted.

Sammie nodded her head, making sure to keep up her peaceful façade. She didn’t want to make her girls worry on her account. They already had enough to deal with, including having to leave their own mates for a while. Everyone needed to make sacrifices. Sammie shrugged her small shoulders and smiled.

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Sammie

“I guess you two better get going. I’m sure the Grand Coven wouldn’t be too keen on your lateness because of me. You two be safe, and don’t worry; I’ll be fine. I promise. I love you two a LOT. So, you better make sure to text me every day or else face my wrath,” I smirked as I arched my shaped brow.

“No...”

“Yes”

“Please no, Sammie …. Not that”

“Oh yes, Shay … exactly that. If you two don’t text me at least once a day, then you will have to spend the entire day watching every single Twilight movie.”

Astrid gasped in horror. “No!”

“Yes, not only that, but I’ll make sure to sing along with the songs in the movies, and we all know how lovely my voice is.”

Shay cringed in horror. That’s right; I was a terrible, terrible singer. So bad, in fact, that my high school choir teacher requested that I transfer to drama instead. Not one of my finest moments.

The three of us broke into a fit of laughter. Once we finally settled down, my two friends stepped a few feet away from me.

“Well, I guess that’s time, buddy.”

I nodded and waved them my goodbye, to which they returned the same gesture.

Shay and Astrid clasped each other’s hands and began to chant in some ancient language native to their kind. In an instant, they were gone.