Unwanted Fates~ Book Two

The reverberating slapping of sex quieted as the night pitched into darkness. The only light reaching Sylvie’s eyes was the bonfire blazing in front of her.

Rolling over, she lay pressed against Kian, whose eyes flickered open.

“You okay?”

“Mhmm. You?”

Kian nodded and kissed her forehead lightly. “Just tired.”

“Sleep then,” Sylvie whispered, tracing her index finger across his cheek. “I’ll be fine.”

Nodding once more, Kian closed his eyes, and she listened as his breathing deepened, signalling sleep.

She let his soft snores hypnotise her until a familiar figure weaving through the trees caught her eye. Then, slowly, she rolled away and sat, squinting to find her again.

Natalie.

While she didn’t regret slapping her in the face, a conversation was probably due. Sylvie stood and padded away from the warmth of the firelight and the burning eyes on her back towards the dark tree line.

Natalie’s lithe frame zigzagged along the edge, and Sylvie sighed, admiring her as she sped-walked to catch up. She looked good, a little feral and dirty, but both suited her, which was surprising considering how prim and proper she always looked at work.

Consumed in her thoughts, Sylvie jumped when Natalie rounded a tree and stood square in front of her, arms crossed.

“What do you want?”

“Quite a bit of attitude for someone who let me get kidnapped.”

Natalie had the grace to blush and look away, embarrassed, before rolling her eyes. “Well, it all turned out alright, didn’t it? You and your three mates... How does that even work?”

Sylvie scoffed; the turning hadn’t taken her nosiness regarding sex.

“Quite well, actually,” Sylvie said with a suppressed smile. “Still. I ended up tortured because you let him take me.”

“Alpha would never allow that. Even before he turned me, I knew he wouldn’t harm you. His Beta, or ex-beta, on the other hand, I didn’t realise was a bastard. But-” she hesitated and rubbed her bicep.

“I am really sorry. I was so caught up in getting what I wanted that I let him take you. I’m sorry. And now you’re Alpha’s mate, that means you’re in charge too, so if you want to exile me or kill me, I’ll understand....”

“Woah, hold on.” Sylvie stepped back with wide eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you. And I- I appreciate the apology. Even though you were super fucking annoying most of the time, it was nice having you in the office.”

Natalie froze, mouth open, before bending over with a wheezing laugh. “Damn, you don’t mince words. Where was this woman before?”

Sylvie let her lips turn up in a wry smile. “She grew up.”

“And got three drop-dead-gorgeous pieces of arm candy.”

Turning towards the lake, both women walked slowly, surprisingly enjoying each other’s company.

“Why did you want this so badly?” Sylvie asked softly. “Why did you give up on your human life for this?” she gestured to the woods, dirt and makeshift tents around them. “You were doing well, right?”

“Are you kidding?” Natalie laughed. “I fucking hated corporate, the city, the people. As soon as I knew the paranormal existed, I knew it was what I wanted. I just want to be free, you know. To have no one to judge how I look, talk, my career, my choice of partners, any of it. I just wanted freedom. And now I have it.”

Natalie turned with glistening eyes, and Sylvies misted along with them. Only then she realised how little she knew her and how touching her sentiment was.

Sylvie hadn’t thought of her mate bonds as freeing. Lately, they had felt binding. Suffocating. A trap. But maybe she was looking at all wrong. Despite the position her men put her in, she didn’t have to become a stuffy leader type. A queen. Maybe she could just be herself and enjoy the ride—the freedom.

“Thanks for sharing that with me.”

“Of course. Thank you for not murdering me.”

Sylvie laughed that time, fully, with a wide smile. Maybe it did all work out how it was supposed to... Perhaps she needed to see Rowan and try to make amends.

“I’ll talk to you later?”

“Totally.”

Natalie spun and weaved away with a graceful poise while Sylvie watched after with a soft smile. She did look free. Happy.

Walking onward towards the lake, she spotted a massive, tattooed body submerged to the waist in the lake, washing under the light of the waning moon.

Taking a deep inhale, Sylvie approached him, tracing her fingers along the scratchy lichen when another face appeared in her vision. Rosie.

“Hi. I just needed to tell you I’m sorry I lied to you about Rowan. I didn’t realise you were mates.”

Hand to breast, to steady her racing heart Sylvie raised her brows. “Lied about what?”

“About when he attacked you. I realise his mate bond to you was driving his protective instincts crazy. You must have been really scared going back to the holding cells after what Jace did....” Her face twisted into a sad frown.

“I guess I was.”

“Well, to apologise, I wondered if you wanted to train with me tomorrow. You’re staying, right?”

“I am staying, yeah. Just until Elias gets back...” She bit her lip, watching Rosie’s face play out every possible emotion.

“But, I’d like to train with you. Yes. I’ll take any practise I can get.”

“Amazing! We’ll start with melee and groundwork, then I’ll take you to the archery slash shooting range, and then we can go for a run, and I’ll show you around, and then-”

“Alright. Settle down, Rosie. Are you trying to kill me?”

Rosie’s brows shot up. “What? No! I just-”

“It’s okay.” Sylvie shook her head, realising the sarcasm went right over Rosie’s head. “That sounds really fun. Just make sure you don’t wake me before nine.”

“Absolutely. Eeek! I’m so excited!”

“Shh, you’re gonna wake people up!” Sylvie chastised with a soft chuckle. Rosie nodded, pressing a finger to her lips and ran off, looking half-ready to write up an itinerary for the next week.

She exhaled sharply with a breathy laugh and breached the tree line next to the lake. Luckily despite their conversation, Rowan appeared unaware or perhaps indifferent to her approach and continued washing in the lake.

Contemplating her options, Sylvie gnawed on her lip. She could call out to him, or she could join him. She needed a rinse, so with a shrug, she slipped off her top layers until only her underwear remained and slinked quietly into the water, its frigid temperature nearly forcing a yelp from her lips. Then, pressing onwards, she bobbed down, wetting herself to the belly button and swished behind him nervously.

He didn’t turn, but he knew she was there if his slow movements were anything to go by.

Soon enough, she stood at his side, keeping her soft gaze on the rippling moon reflecting off the lake, their shoulders almost brushing. His body heat radiated across the gap and drew her closer as the rest of her froze from the icy water.

“What do you want?” Rowan said gruffly.

Clenching her teeth against the question and cold, she shrugged. “Thought we should talk.”

“About?”

She shrugged again, a frown creeping onto her face. Why should she be the one putting all the effort in?

“I don’t know. Just stuff.”

“You know I don’t have time to decipher your words, woman. I have a pack to protect.”

“So that’s it then?” Sylvie asked incredulously. “All that sweetness earlier was just putting on a show? You’re still the same asshole who kidnapped me.”

She didn’t honestly believe it even as she said it, but his rejection stung. It hurt more than she would ever admit, even to herself, and she fought the urge to reach out and touch him.

She tilted her head back to see his face, but he remained stoic, staring away from her; the only sign of his frustration was the repeated ticking of his jaw. What was he thinking?

“Fine,” she sighed, turning with chattering teeth. She didn’t think this through, she didn’t have a towel, and now she would probably get hypothermia.

“Whatever.” She wadded back to her clothes, grumbling and ruminating over Rowan’s rejection, when a hand clasped hers. She gasped and looked into Rowan’s eyes, unsure what to expect but certainly not what she saw there. Distress.

“What’s wrong, now?”

“Alpha!” A gruff voice called from the shadows, one Sylvie didn’t recognise. “Surprised you didn’t invite us to your little get-together.”

Rowan pulled Sylvie behind him and pushed her towards her clothes.

“You chose your path, Mattias. You didn’t want to recognise me as Alpha, so you live as rogues.”

“Yes, but perhaps we might reconsider since you found the little Fae trinket.”

Emerging from the darkness, an older man, perhaps late thirties with dark features and a strong scent of death, eyed Sylvie. “Is this your precious mate?”

“Stay back. You are exiled from this pack. Leave now, or you won’t see the sunrise.”

Sylvie pulled on her clothes quietly, flinching as the dry items clung and tangled with her wet underwear. Mattias tilted his head back and laughed. “Your people are preoccupied. I’m sure no one would quarrel with little old me....”

Rowan’s muscles rippled as if on the verge of a shift, and Sylvie searched for help. Mattias was right; everyone else was too far away to be of use. The shifters nearby were asleep, and the rest were still spread through the forest, getting busy.

Where was Kian?

Sylvie took a steadying breath spotting Kian in the darkness of the trees, his dark eyes flashing indigo. A wave of irritation hit her, and her mouth twitched. Why would he send her those emotions? Did he want her to mouth off?

Another surge hit her, and she pressed her lips in a thin line, hiding the smile. She didn’t know what he was planning, but she had been waiting to kick off for ages.

With a theatrical sigh, she took Rowan’s hand and stepped beside him, raking her gaze up and down the raggedy intruder. “Speak plainly. What the fuck do you want?”

Rowan’s hand tightened on hers, but he said nothing. A flash of surprise hit her, expecting him to shut her down immediately. Why didn’t he?

Mattias chuckled, eyes wide and a hand to his chest in mock alarm. “Well, where did you find this one? A brothel? Or a pirate ship?”

“Wow. Original.” Stepping forward, Sylvie drew forth all her Vampiric energy, hoping she gave off a threatening demeanour. “I’ve got plenty more pretty words for you, you ugly, nosy cunt.”

Mattias bared his teeth, the words getting under his skin, and hissed. “Watch your mouth, whore.”

Detaching her hand from Rowans, she stepped forward, now only three feet from the contemptuous asshole.

“You watch it,” she whispered, lifting one finger to point to her lips. “Fuck off.”

With that, Mattias shifted into a tiger; his paws, the size of dinner plates, shot out to swipe but bounced off the air and forced him onto his back. It looked like he’d been electrocuted, the tiger phasing between human and animal form for a few seconds before he flipped over onto his belly and dragged himself away into the darkness with a roar.

Sylvie sagged back with a sigh of relief, and Rowan rounded her with an enraged expression. “What the hell was that?” By then, she was too tired to argue or explain Kian’s influence.

“Nothing. I’m gonna go rest now.”

“I’ll take her,” Kian said, appearing at her side.

“What was that?”

“I used her to distract him and his followers while I set up a small ward using Sylvie’s energy. It should be enough to keep them away from her.”

Sylvie’s eyes drooped, and her body started shivering again, the wet clothes sticking to the front of her mind. “Kian,” she croaked. “Can you take me to the fire?”

“Yes, my love. Hold on.” He scooped her into his arms and kissed her head. “Tell your pack there were at least eight rogues. They seemed afraid enough to stay away for the night, but I wouldn’t put it past them to try again in the next few days. If you are comfortable with it, I could set up a few wards, but I don’t have enough energy for the whole forest.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Rowan replied lowly. “But I appreciate your help. If she wasn’t here-”

“I know,” Kian replied quickly, cutting off his words.

Sylvie’s mind fluttered, and their words took on a dreamy quality. “What are you talking about?” she mumbled, waving an arm where she thought Rowan might be. “I’m right here-”

With only sighs to answer her, she let her following sentences die on her lips and snuggled in Kians swaying arms as the growing warmth of the fire burned away her chill.