Marked by Destiny (11 page)

By the
carefully neutral tone of his voice, I immediately knew it was a
much bigger deal than he was making it out to be, but I didn’t push
him to tell me more. We had a long drive ahead of us. He’d talk
about it when he was ready.

As we pulled
onto the highway and drove away from Port Coquitlam, Michael began
to talk. “Did you read any of the Bentos’ journal last night?”

I leaned over
the seat and grabbed my backpack. Pulling the Wolf book out, I set
it on my lap. “I did. Let me read it to you.” I read the passage I
had read last night out loud. When I was done, I sat quietly for a
moment, waiting for some reaction. When none came, I asked, “What
do you think of him?”

“Madman. He was
evil the day I met him. All he wanted was power and control. That
wasn’t something learned. It sounds like he was like that since he
could think and reason.” He took one hand off the wheel to squeeze
mine. “You may have his gift, but everything else in you was given
to you by your mother.”

I wanted so
desperately to believe him. However, there was a part of me, hidden
deep inside, that screamed for that power that Bentos had written
about. I had spent so much of my life powerless to control what
happened to me, like Bentos had. I feared that it might one day
consume me as it had done to Bentos, and then, I would be no better
than him. The only thing I had that Bentos had lacked, was love.
Michael had shown me how to love, and how to be loved. Whatever was
going to happen, he would never leave me. Bentos had no
understanding of that concept.

We headed down
the main highway that would take us out of the State, on our route
towards the east. I slid the Wolf Book under the seat and pulled
out my journal so I could write.

Note to
Self:

Michael and I
have started our journey across the country back to where I assume
I was born. It seems a lifetime ago that I lived in Niagara Falls,
and that I was so angry about leaving. Amazing how things can
change when your eyes are opened. Aside from this year, I feel like
I have spent the rest of my 18 years inside a dark cloud, never
looking towards the sun. Words cannot express how I feel about
Michael; he has brought life back into this dead body. I AM ALIVE
NOW!

I read the
first entry in Bentos’ journal. He’s a terrible person. I’m scared
I may become like him. He talks of the hatred inside of him for the
wolf and I understand that feeling. I feel it deep inside of me,
like a burn that is a fire trying to break through. I have tried to
forget and avoid thinking about it since that awful day in January
when it started. I’ve pretended it didn’t happen for the past six
month. I’m tired of pretending. I want those beasts out of my
life!

I’m terrified
it is going to consume and change who I am. It’s just too much to
worry about right now, so I just want to get to Niagara Falls, find
out what I can about my past and get some closure. Maybe by getting
these answers, I’ll gain some insight or some kind of tool, to help
me keep control of myself, to make sure that dark part of me never
sees the light of day.

I wonder if
either of my parents know that I’m still alive. If they are, do
they care? What became of them? I’m 18 now so my records are no
longer sealed. I’ll be able to find out their names, and then find
out where they live. It’s both an exciting and a terrifying
thought.

Rouge

Chapter
10

The drive
across the country flew by. We decided to drive straight through,
Michael resting a bit during the day if he felt he needed it, and
letting me sleep through the night. He drove like a maniac, but
with his special talents, he had no problem staying under the radar
of police or avoiding causing any accidents. The trip took us fifty
hours, and that was only because Michael insisted that we stop so I
could stretch and we could eat. While it felt incredibly long, it
was still a lot more fun than the trip with Jim and Sally the
previous year from Niagara Falls to Port Coquitlam.

Early Monday
afternoon we pulled onto interstate ninety that would take us
through Buffalo and onto Niagara Falls. I recognized all the
landmarks I had grown up with, and began shifting and moving in my
seat as we neared, getting antsier by the moment.

“You excited?”
Michael had been very quiet the last hour, but had been constantly
glancing at me.

“Yeah—No,
actually. I feel kinda nervous. I’m sorta wishing we were back in
Port Q.” I bit my lip and looked at him. “Please tell me this was a
good idea – that I haven’t made a mistake in wanting to come
here?”

His hand
reached for mine and held it. “I don’t think this is a mistake at
all. Trust your instincts, they’re usually right.”

We headed
towards the tollbooth and bridge for Grand Island. The large, blue,
twin bridges has always seemed beautiful to me. Now they looked
like mountains I was going to have to climb. We drove through Grand
Island in silence. I had nothing to say because my mind was running
through everything that had happened in the past year, while I was
trying to remember my first memories from when I was little. I
couldn’t come up with anything significant. The twin blue bridges
appeared again to take us into Niagara Falls. I pointed to the
Niagara Boulevard exit. “We can find a hotel here if you want.”

“Sure. Good
idea.” He pulled into the right lane and then headed onto the exit
ramp. He headed south on the boulevard. A couple miles down, past
all the shops and restaurants was a brand new Holiday Inn that
advertised an Indoor + Outdoor pool on its welcome sign. He parked
the car under the entrance by the office. “Give me a sec to grab us
a room.”

I waited in the
car, rubbing my temples with my fingers, trying to get myself to
relax. I tried concentrating on my breathing and counted even
numbers until my racing heart slowed and I began to feel calm. I
took one more deep breath and looked up as Michael walked around
the Jeep and got into the driver’s seat.

“We are on the
first floor, just around the corner. Let’s get our stuff inside and
grab some lunch.”

“Good idea.
I’ll give my old Foster-Counsellor a call and see if I can set up a
meeting for tomorrow. Mrs. Hawthorn always left Tuesday mornings
open for kids who needed to see her without an appointment. I’m
pretty sure she won’t have a problem with me coming in.”

Mrs. Hawthorn
had been my guidance-foster counsellor before I had moved to Port
Coquitlam. She was a woman who would do nothing without your case
file in front of her. She was a good lady, just beaten down by
years with the system.

We walked into
the hotel room and threw our bags down. Michael went back to the
Jeep and made a few trips with the rest of our stuff. He flopped
down onto the king size bed. I dropped down beside him – he on his
back and me on my belly. I folded my arms across his chest and
rested my chin between my hands.

“So… is there
anything you would like to do?” I leaned my face closer to his and
my lips brushed lightly against his as I spoke. I’d brushed my
teeth and freshened up while he ran back and forth to unload.

“Hmmm… I can’t
seem to think of anything at the moment.” He brought his hands from
behind his head and rested them along my ribcage. Ever so gently,
he pulled me so I lay on top of him.

I brought my
lips towards his neck and nibbled my way to his ear. I heard him
sigh, and it gave me courage. I brushed my hand across his chest
and undid a few of his buttons. His skin was cool but it created
heat inside of me as I ran my fingers along his abdominal muscles.
I brought my lips towards his and felt his tongue instantly inside
of my mouth. I groaned and pressed my body closer to his.

In a flash,
Michael flipped us so he was on top of me. It only created more
burning heat inside. I opened the remaining buttons on his shirt
and ran my hands over his chest and stomach. It was
intoxicating.

His hands
pulled at my shirt. His mouth never left mine as his hands touched
my stomach and reached higher towards my breasts. I wanted this,
badly. A desire burned inside me that I had never felt before. I
broke away from his kiss so I could sit and pull my shirt off.

The moment our
lips parted and before I had time to sit all the way up, Michael
was on the other side of the room. I sat frozen in surprise, my
hands crisscross, fingers holding the bottom of my shirt. “Why did
you…”

He face
tightened as he struggled to gain his composure. His chest heaved
ad he was pressed up against the wall as if trying to disappear
into it. His eyes were the deepest blue I had ever seen them. He
shut them tight and clenched his hands into fists by his side.

“Michael –”

“Please… Rouge,
give me a moment. I just need a moment.”

“Is something
wrong?” I had no clue what had happened. Was he reacting this way
because of me? Had Grace sent him a terrible message? “What’s going
on?” I stood and walked over. “Is everything alright?”

He nodded
curtly, his eyes still closed tight.

When I reached
him, I put both my hands on top of his clenched fists. I didn’t
move, I just stood there until I could feel his hands begin to
relax. I laced my fingers into his and watched his face. He slowly
opened his eyes to look at me. They were still blue, but a much
lighter shade. I leaned forward and stood on my tippy toes to rub
my nose against his.

He smiled, his
body still pressed tight against the wall.

“Are you
okay?”

He nodded.

“What happened?
Did Grace send you a message?” Their uncanny ability to talk to
each other inside their heads never ceased to amaze me. “Is
everyone alright back in Port Q?” With my luck a pack a Grollics
attacked the day we left.

He chuckled.
“No. I mean yes.” He shook his head. “Everyone’s fine. It wasn’t
Grace.”

“Then what
happened?”

He grinned but
avoided looking me in the eye.

I stood on my
tippy toes, trying to catch his gaze.

His fingers
left mine and trailed up my side and across my collarbone to the
pendant around my neck. “I think it came from this.”

“What? What
came from it?” I had no idea what was going on. “Did I shock you or
something?”

“In a sense.”
He smirked. “I’m not exactly sure if it came from the pendant.”

“Did
I
shock you? What the heck happened?” I couldn’t stop the frustration
from entering my voice.

“We were…
kissing. One moment our lips were pressed against each other, the
next… Wham! I felt everything you were feeling. Like this massive
balloon of desire coursed through you and burned into me. It was…”
He smiled, one very sexy smile. “Incredible. It was unbelievably
incredible. Could you do it again?”

I grinned, but
shook my head. “I’ve no idea what I did.”

“You didn’t
feel it?”

“I’m not sure.
I mean, I was…” I whispered the next word, embarrassed but didn’t
know what other word to use, “horny. But I didn’t try to send you
any feeling.” My fingers curled around the Sioghra. “Maybe it was
the pendant.”

He leaned close
and pressed his lips softly against mine. “We’ll have to see if you
can do it again.”

A tingling
burned deep in my belly. “Now?”

He smiled
wryly, taking a deep breath. “How ‘bout we eat something
first.”

“Are you
feeling light headed and faint?” I teased.

He looked at me
with that sexy-smile that always melted my heart. “In a totally new
way.” He tickled my ribs.

I jumped away,
laughing. “Let me give Mrs. Hawthorn a shout before we go. Then
let’s drive down to the Falls and do some sightseeing. My legs are
dying to walk around after being stuck in the Jeep for so
long.”

“Sounds
perfect.”

I pulled Mrs.
Hawthorn’s card out of my backpack and dialed her number.

“Hello?”

“Mrs.
Hawthorn?”

There was a
pause on the phone. “Rouge?”

“Yes!” I
smiled. She remembered me. “I’m in town and was wondering if I
could stop by and see you? I know you used to keep Tuesday
morning’s open…”

Paper shuffled
and a filing cabinet clicked shut in the background. “I have one
appointment now and will be done in about forty minutes. Why don’t
you came by in an hour?”

“Today?” I
hadn’t expected to see her today.

“If that works
for you.”

“Sure. I’ll see
you in an hour.” I looked at Michael whose eyebrows shot up in
surprise.

“See you then.”
Mrs. Hawthorn hung up before I had a chance to say good-bye.

Michael checked
his watch. “She can see you today?”

“I guess so.” I
stood and grabbed the duffle bag I’d packed my clothes in. “I need
to jump in the shower. I’ll be super quick.”

Michael knocked
on the door as I turned the water on. “I’m going to go and grab us
some food. I’ll find a drive-through of some kind.”

“Okay. Thanks!”
I called out.

When I walked
out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later, Michael sat at the desk,
talking on his cell phone giving the address of our hotel with the
room number. “Check the area and let me know what you find
out.”

“Caleb?” I
asked when he hung up.

“Yup.” He
pointed to the dresser. “I just grabbed a sub. Wasn’t sure what
else to get.”

“That’s fine.”
I straightened my skirt. “I’m not that hungry actually. Maybe I’ll
wait till after.”

“Eat a little.
Please?”

Not wanting to
show my anxiousness, I unwrapped the sub and took a small bite.
“Why did you ask Caleb to check the area?”

“I don’t know
how many Grollics are in the area. Caleb was looking into it. It’s
not really something we have on a file. There are no Higher Coven
members in this area so Grollics might be here because of that – or
they may not be here for a completely different reason. I just
don’t want to tick anyone off because I didn’t respect their
squatter’s rights.”