Fated Betrayal: A Paranormal Erotic Romance (The Twisted Destiny Saga Book 2) (11 page)

CHAPTER 15

Shaye approached the cavern carved into the edge of the cliff down by the beach. The waves crashed against the shore in a thunderous roar, just behind her. The sun was high in the sky now and it beat down on her. But the robes that she wore, courtesy of her trip to the White Realm, soothed her and protected her against the sweltering heat.

As she reached the cavern, she felt the magic immediately. Only supernatural beings could see the location. To humans, there was no cavern—the cliff appeared completely solid with no sign that there was actually a hole carved through it.

She stopped in front of the magical barrier that shimmered before her. She knew she could pass through it with ease, but to do so would be disrespectful to the beings within. It was
their
home, not hers.

A moment later, two men, their faces hidden by the oversized hoods of their golden robes, stepped forward. Warlocks. They nodded at her in greeting.

“Do you have what I seek?”

Each one of them held out their right palms to her.

She smiled as she saw the two rings. They were a bright golden color with dark brown lines encircling them—the mark of the earth itself. “Perfect,” she breathed in awe. “Let us discuss payment.”

The two men shook their heads and the taller of the two responded in a gravelly baritone, “Gifts for the Wolf King and the White Realm Princess. To celebrate the long-awaited coming of the
bridge
—the imminent birth of their child.”

“Thank you,” she said, taking the rings. “I—wait—
imminent
birth? How imminent?”

“A matter of days,” the smaller man responded.

Before Shaye could utter another word, they disappeared back inside the dark cavern. She sighed and turned on her heel. She stowed the rings in her pocket and made her way back across the beach. As she did, a sudden rush of dark energy stopped her in her tracks.

“Shaye!” a familiar voice called to her.

She spun around to see Josh running towards her, coming from the other side of the beach. “Josh? What is it? Is it Ryan?” she asked, surprised to see him so far from the wolf compound.

He reached her and took a moment to catch his breath before saying, “No. It’s Cora.”

“The baby?” she asked, concerned.

“David. He’s…doing something to her. I’m not sure exactly what, but my instincts are never wrong. And…I sensed a strong sexual energy coming from her and Ryan’s room. David was with her.”

“Cora can barely stomach his presence. I don’t think—”

“Against her will, Shaye!” Josh cut in. “She was fine a few minutes before she went to her room. But, when I went to check on her and found him with her, she was suddenly exhausted. Even pregnant, she shouldn’t be tired. She’s carrying a wolf child. She should be energized.”

Shaye felt sick at the suggestion that David was possibly taking Cora against her will. Sick for Cora
and
for Ryan. She took a moment and racked her brain, trying to determine how it could be possible,
if
it was truly possible. If Josh had sensed sexual energy, she didn’t doubt that something had happened between Cora and David. A wolf was never wrong about that sort of thing. “If he’s spelling her, someone with her power, he would need—oh my God!”

“What?” Josh pressed urgently. “What is it?”

“The tea!”

“Tea? Yes, there was a mug on the floor of the bedroom. What about it?”

“When we were in the White Realm, he made her the same tea. Ryan asked me to check out one of the leaves. He was suspicious of David. With everything that has been happening, I haven’t been home yet to check in with my coven to see if they’ve figured out what the leaf is.”

“Then let’s head there now.”

“I can teleport us there, but it will make you sick.”

Josh held out his hand to her. “I’ve been through a hell of a lot worse.”

Shaye nodded and took his hand. “As you wish. Don’t let go.”

“All right.”

She heard a buzzing sound and he pulled back. “Sorry. One second,” he said, fishing out his phone from the back pocket of his jeans. He eyed the call display. “It’s one of my wolves.”

Shaye released his hand and stepped back to give him some space.

Josh answered quickly, “Yeah? What? Roy, relax. I’m not Ryan. Just spill it. What’s wrong? Excuse me? She’s what? Cora’s gone? Shit! Fuck! She must’ve teleported. Ryan’s gonna kill us all! No! Don’t move. Just keep that faerie fucker there? What? He went after her? Look, she probably left to go find Ryan. She’s carrying his child. Because it’s a wolf, the need to be near him right now will be overwhelming for her. The wolf will demand it and she will be feeling its cravings to be near its father. We’ve seen it before with other wolf pregnancies. Stay where you are. Keep the wolves safe in my absence. I’m with Shaye. We’ll find Cora.”

Shaye watched Josh hang up. He ran his fingers through his hair with frustration. “Shit,” he breathed, eyeing her.

“I’ll see if I can tap into her essence and locate her,” Shaye said, closing her eyes tightly.

“Hurry. She’s in danger as long as she’s outside the wolf compound. Michael, Luca and, possibly, that fucker, David, are all gunning for her. Plus, if we don’t find her before Ryan gets back, he’ll rip my head off.”

CHAPTER 16

Cora pushed through the doors to Ryan’s biker bar. It was so different from the first time she’d walked on in there looking for Blane—the former Alpha of his pack. It was now completely empty and deathly quiet. Little had she known the turn that her life had been about to take as soon as her eyes had met Ryan’s across the room that night. She smiled to herself as she recalled their first conversation—full of tension and antagonism. They had come a long way since then.

“Ryan!” she called out as she strode through the bar towards the stairs at the back that led up to his apartment.

There was no answer. Her heart sank. He wasn’t around.

She’d woken up a couple of hours ago with an overwhelming need to be near him. She’d felt the need to be around him growing before he’d left the White Realm a few days ago. And now it was almost unbearable.

She didn’t understand it. She loved Ryan, but she wasn’t a needy person. She liked her independence.

But, right now, all she could think about was needing him beside her. It was like some sort of addiction, or obsessive dependence. A craving. She couldn’t control it. She’d tried for an entire hour before it had finally become too much and she’d willed herself out of the wolf compound so that she could look for him. To her surprise, her will had become reality and she’d actually teleported herself to the forest flanking the wolf compound. It was yet another ability she’d just discovered that she possessed.

As she opened the door to Ryan’s apartment, an awful, sharp pain shot through her belly.

“Shit,” she rasped, throwing out her hand to steady herself and gripping the door frame tightly.

It stopped after a few seconds and she breathed a sigh of relief. She made her way over to the couch.

And then it happened again.

This time it was a lot stronger. Excruciating.

She collapsed onto the couch and lifted her tank top. A glowing, silver mark stared back at her.
What the hell is that?
It looked like some sort of tattoo in the shape of a star.
Where did this come from?

She touched it and it burned her fingers. She pulled her hand away quickly and lowered her tank top.

“Fuck,” she hissed, seething as the pain assaulted her again. “Stop! Stop!” she willed it.

But it wouldn’t. It came at her full force and she screamed like she’d never screamed before.

“Help me, Ryan! I need you! Now!” she cried out.

“He’s too busy talking Dark Realm politics with that monster, Nathanial,” a voice came from the door suddenly.

Cora was in too much pain to move. She heard footsteps approach and then David came into view. He perched on the edge of the couch and eyed her calmly, as though nothing was happening and she wasn’t actually screaming out in agony.

“The baby’s…coming,” she choked out. “Already.”

“Not quite, my sweet.”

“What?”

He leaned forward and lifted her shirt enough to expose the glowing mark on her belly. “This will deal your child another fate.”

“You…know…what it is?”

He smiled maliciously. “I gave it to you.”

“No…I…you didn’t.”

“I spelled you to forget…and to forget the other delicious things I did to you,” he said, licking his lips at her.

Her eyes widened in terror.
Oh my God. What has he done to me…and to my baby?
She summoned every ounce of strength she had to climb off the couch and move away from him. She staggered towards the bathroom, knowing there was a lock on the door. Gripping Ryan’s bed frame tightly, she struggled against the excruciating pain to make her way to her safe haven.

“I cannot allow a blasphemous
hybrid
to be born into the world. The light and dark should not mix,” David said, sauntering towards her slowly.

“You’re…wrong…the bridge….”

David scoffed. “Bridge? You think it will bring peace? You are all fools! It will taint the White Realm and bring us nothing but the death and destruction that the Dark Realm personifies, Cora. I am trying to protect us all—to protect you!”

“No…you…you touched me…and….”

“And what? Violated you? Mmm…yes. I did and I enjoyed every pleasurable second of it. I had you begging me to do wicked things to you, begging me for my cock, for—”

“Stop!” she screamed. “Stop it! I will…
kill
you!”

“Doesn’t look like you can do much of anything right now,” he said as he reached her.

She cried out and collapsed to her knees at the foot of the bed, gripping her belly. He knelt down beside her and asked, “Tell me: is the pain as bad as the rumors say?”

Her eyes narrowed in fury and she shot out her hand. A bolt of white magic slammed into his chest. He bellowed in agony as it propelled him across the room. He hit the wall hard and collapsed onto the floor. The impact knocked him out cold.

“Ryan!” Cora screamed. “Ryan!”

#

“I need to see the situation for myself first,” Ryan told Nathanial as he perched on the edge of the couch while Nathanial leaned against the fireplace.

“All right. Then I will take you to the Dark Realm. Now.”

“Now?”

“The sun has set, so I am no longer in danger of bursting into flames when I step outside.”

“Funny,” Ryan commented dryly. “I didn’t know the almighty Vampire King had a sense of humor.”

“There is a lot you don’t know about me, wolf.”

Ryan glared at him, as he said pointedly, “But there’s a lot that I
do
.”

“You will never be able to forgive me for killing your father, so don’t waste your time trying. Instead, you need to see past your personal distaste for me. This is
business
.”

“Believe me, if I
wasn’t
seeing past my personal feelings towards you, you’d be dust by now.”

Nathanial smirked at him. “I like your spirit.”

Ryan moved to respond, but a sudden spike of pain ripped through his head.

He stumbled back.

Ryan! Help me! Ryan!

“Cora?” he choked against the pain.

Nathanial ran to him and pressed his hand to his head. Ryan jerked away. “Don’t touch me, vampire.”

“She is in trouble.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that. He grabbed his head. “Fucking
hell
.”

“It’s the child.”

“What?” Ryan asked, his gaze snapping to his. A look came over Nathanial’s face that made his stomach churn. “What? What is it?” he demanded, unable to conceal the desperation in his voice.

“The child is dying.”

Ryan bolted for the door, in spite of the overwhelming pain shooting through his head. He felt Nathanial’s hand on his arm, stopping him. Before he could respond, a thick, black cloud of magic enveloped them both.

CHAPTER 17

Ryan blinked hard to adjust his eyes to his newfound surroundings. Where had the Vampire King just teleported them to without his damned consent? Glancing around, he quickly realized that he was standing in his apartment above his bar. He felt something by his feet. He looked down to see David sprawled out on the floor, seemingly unconscious.

And then he saw the only thing that mattered.
Cora!
She was on her knees on the floor at the foot of his bed, screaming in agony and clutching her stomach.

He ran to her and skidded to his knees beside her.

“Cora!”

She looked up at him and smiled weakly. “You’re here.”

“I’m here, my love. I’m here,” he said as he gathered her gently in his arms and lifted her onto the bed.

He laid her down and climbed onto the bed with her. Her shrill screams were churning his stomach. He hurriedly lifted her tank top so he could get a look at her belly. He was shocked to see a tattoo there.

“What the fuck is this?” he exclaimed. He touched it and hissed at the sudden burn, pulling his hand away quickly. “Silver?” he gasped. “No, no. The child is wolf! It’s hurting him!”

“It’s doing more than that. It’s
killing
the baby,” Nathanial’s voice came from behind him suddenly.

Ryan’s gaze snapped to his. “Great, thanks for the helpful commentary.”

Nathanial ignored his comment and leaned over the bed. He batted Ryan’s hand away. “Move aside,” he ordered.

Ryan hesitated.

“There is nothing
you
can do. Do you want
me
to try to help her, or not?”

“Yes,” Ryan said, moving back a little.

Nathanial touched the tattoo and Cora flinched at his ice-cold hands on her skin. “Sorry, princess.”

A black glow emanated from his hand and he held it steady over the mark for several seconds.

Cora stopped screaming.

Nathanial pulled back and told Ryan, “It won’t last long. The wolf essence of the child responded to me, but the white sorceress essence from Cora did not. It needs white
and
dark magic to remove the mark completely.”

Ryan studied the mark. It
had
faded substantially, but it hadn’t completely disappeared.

“Thank you,” Cora told Nathanial in a breathless whisper.

Nathanial nodded. “I want this child to be born as much as you.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Vazra and I need to combine our magic to save the child,” Nathanial said, sidestepping Ryan’s question.

He wavered on his feet and gripped the bedpost for support.

“What’s wrong?”

“The longer I’m in the human realm, the more it drains my power. I’ve expelled too much already.”

“Sit,” Cora told him sweetly, patting the bed beside her.

She slid off it and Ryan wrapped his arms around her tightly.

Nathanial shook his head, smiling with amusement at her kind gesture. “It’s not necessary. Thank you, princess.”

“You might need to take the princess up on her offer, father.”

The three of them spun around to see Luca and Michael standing in the doorway. The two of them glanced at David lying by the door, at their feet. Luca reached for him and dragged him out of the room.

“You know him,” Cora accused.

Luca returned to his position beside Michael. “A great asset to our cause.” He turned his attention to his father as he said, “A cause all three of us believe in strongly. The White and Dark Realms must remain separate entities! What you and Vazra are trying to do is blasphemy, father!”

“You are misguided, Luca,” Nathanial told him. “And you, Michael, you will pay for your treachery.”

Michael thrust his magic at him, but the red bolt of lightning was stopped by a ball of silver light.

Ryan’s gaze snapped to Cora. He saw her concentrating on it.
Shit, she isn’t even using her hand, just her damned mind.

Shocking everyone, Michael failed to hold her power back and it slammed into his chest, dissolving his magic and causing him to stumble back in the process. “Bitch!” he screamed.

“My father’s protector are you now, Cora? The man that kept you and Ryan apart for centuries? The man that caused you to lose most of your life?”

“Shut up.”

Luca laughed. “By the way, David was only telling me a couple of hours ago, just how much he was enjoying his assignment. Being able to have you whenever he pleased, in whichever way he pleased, was a real bonus for him.”

What? He’d done what?

Rage gripped him and Ryan lost control, lunging at Luca in unrestrained fury. He slammed him against the wall and smashed his fist into his face, his chest, and his solar plexus, in a fit of wild rage. Over and over again.

Luca struggled against the brutal power of his hits and his whirlwind assault.

“I will kill you! You are dead, you fucker! Dead!”

Ryan felt an approach behind him.
Michael.
But it was ripped away quickly as Nathanial tackled him in a burst of vampire speed, driving him to the floor.

“Ryan!” Cora screamed. “We need to go! Now!”

Ryan gripped Luca’s shoulders and threw him into the couch. He turned to Cora and saw her clutching her stomach.

“The pain…it’s returning…quickly,” she told him.

Distracted by his pregnant wife’s suffering, Ryan didn’t sense Luca’s sudden approach. He lunged at him, driving him to the floor. Ryan grunted as his body smacked against the hard floor. He thrust his elbow behind him, forcing Luca back. He rolled to his side and jumped to his feet. “No one touches my wife, motherfucker!” he bellowed as he thrust his foot into Luca’s ribs. “No one! Do you hear me? Do you?” he roared at the top of his lungs, the sound of his fury shaking the entire room.

He thrust his fist into the end table by the couch and the wood splintered. He snatched up one of the sharper pieces and brought it down towards Luca’s heart.

But it never made contact.

Strong hands gripped his, holding the stake steady, just an inch from Luca’s heart.

He looked up to see Nathanial in full vamp mode—fangs and his twisted demon face, at the surface—snarling at him.

“He is my son.”

Ryan let out a frustrated growl and stepped back, throwing the stake across the room in anger. “Fucking hell!”

Nathanial ripped Luca off the ground and hauled him to his feet, as though he weighed nothing at all. He jerked him towards him and snarled, “I will come for you, boy. You are no longer my son.”

Before Luca could respond, Nathanial tossed him through the open door of the apartment.

Ryan hurried to Cora. As he did, her gaze snapped to something behind him. She thrust out her hands and he spun around to see a shimmering, silver barrier holding a dozen of Michael’s red, magic lightning bolts at bay.

Nathanial moved to Ryan’s side and told Michael, “The battle is lost for you. Walk away, or you die this night.”

Michael sniggered. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’ve already expelled too much power to be able to do a thing to me right now, haven’t you? Not a problem in the Dark Realm where your power knows no bounds. But, here, in the human realm, it’s a hell of an issue. And Cora, you’re wasting your power on me when you should be conserving it to save the life of that damned child of yours. The more white magic you expel right now, the quicker the pain will return.”

Ryan’s gaze snapped to her. “Cora?” he asked, concerned.

“I’m fine,” she told him.

But then he heard her thoughts:
Shit, I’m not. I can already feel the returning pain worsening. But if I drop my magic Michael will kill us.

“I can read your thoughts, remember?” Ryan exclaimed. “Pull back your power, Cora! Now!”

“If she does, Michael’s magic will hit us,” Nathanial cautioned.

“He doesn’t have the strength to kill any of us.”

“But it will most definitely be enough to kill your child,” Michael threatened, shifting his position so that all of his magic was aimed at Cora.

All of a sudden, another white light enveloped Cora’s silver barrier.

“You may pull back now, Cora,” Shaye’s voice came from behind them.

Ryan looked behind him to see Shaye standing there holding both her palms outstretched with bright, white light beaming from them. He was surprised to see Josh with her. He was hunched over beside her, retching violently.
Teleportation sickness.

Cora hesitated on pulling back her magic. Ryan could see her hands shaking. He could hear her pained moans.

“Cora! Pull back immediately!”

But, still, she hesitated.

“I can hold this. It’s okay,” Shaye told her gently.

Ryan looked at Cora for her reaction, but there was none. “She’s lost control,” he said. “Shit.” He wrapped his arms around her and physically forced her arm down. She cried out from the brutal force that he was using. “Release the magic and I’ll stop,” he breathed in her ear. “Please, my love.”

“No!” she screamed. “Michael must
die
!”

A blinding, bright light ripped through the room. As it enveloped them all, Cora screamed out, “No, father! No! Stop! Don’t interfere!”

But it was too late. It swallowed them all.