Soul Of A Woman (The Dark Souls) (23 page)

Chapter 3

Fate brought herself back to the present, the fresh air and the crying child a stark reminder of the path that had led her to this moment. She had recognized that Joro was not the same woman on her return home. She had always fought for what she wanted, either by outright confrontation or stealth; but as a human on Earth, she had at last learned compassion, loyalty, and above all else, love.

“I told you on your return that I forgave you
, and I regret the child you left behind. Take and raise Odin’s son as your own, and in repayment, I will see that one day a part of your child will come home,” Fate promised.

Joro nodded
while the child crying quieted as she soothed him. Fate forced back the sob in her throat and the desire to tear the child out of her arms.

“What shall we call him?” Joro
’s question brought tears she refused to shed to her eyes.

“Thor.”
As Fate disappeared, Joro barely heard her last whispered words. “Make him into the warrior he is destined to become.”

Destiny was waiting for Fate
, catching her in her arms and helping her into the bed that had been cleaned to remove all traces of the recent childbirth. They could not die, but their bodies functioned as humans, feeling pain and agony just as those they watched over.

“You should have waited. It was too soon to leave your bed. Now it will take you much longer to heal
,” Destiny fussed.

Fate buried her face in the pillow to keep
Destiny from seeing her ravaged face. “I had to. If I had waited a moment longer, I would never have let him leave my arms.”

“You cannot unseal his future or Odin’s
,” Destiny said. Fate felt her sit down on the bed next to her.

Fate said nothing
as she turned on her side, away from her sister. She would not spill any tears over her decision, however the sacrifice was another in a long line that she had made to keep those she loved safe, each one tearing another piece of her heart away.

Destiny sat by her side long into the night
, watching her fight the fever that overcame her body. It was almost dawn when Fate looked up to see Mother by her side.

Destiny lowered her head in respect as Mother knelt by Fate’s side.

“My dearest friend, it is beyond me to watch you suffer any longer.” Gently, she laid her hand on Fate’s forehead. Instantly, her body ceased moving fitfully and a sigh left her lips as she reached up to gently clasp Mother’s hand in her damp one.

“Please do not be angry with me
.” Fate murmured.

“Why
? Because you gave my gift to another to try to save those that cannot be saved?”

Fate’s hand tightened on Mother’s hand. “To save us all
,” Fate replied, firming her weakening resolve.

“Rest Fate.” Mother sat down by Fate’s side
, taking her into her loving arms. “The battle is near, but not tomorrow. For your sacrifice, I will grant you one reward when you wish. Even I do not know if the events you have set in motion will have the results you hope to achieve. We can only wait and watch over those we love and those who could destroy us all.”

Fate fell asleep as peace filled her
—a parting gift from Mother. She lay in the bed that her son had been conceived in, remembering the night of passion that had led to the birth of Thor. Regret blossomed in her chest that there would never be another night in Odin’s arms to experience the feelings he could still rise in her weakened body as it suffered the aftermath of birth.

G
azing out into the star filled night, Fate sought the sight that always comforted her. Instead of seeing the millions of lives she constantly watched over, she focused on the miraculous beauty of a night darkened sky with a lone tiny star twinkling.

“Sleep little one.” Fate closed her eyes and finally slept
, not seeing the curtain billowing in the wind, revealing a shadowed figure rigid with fury at being unable to enter.

H
is hands were clenched into fists because a God with his power was being held at bay. The desire to grab the stubborn woman and drag her back to his castle was palpable. Forcing himself to calm and take deep breaths, Odin whispered a promise on the night air over and over until the sleeping woman tensed beneath her silken covers and her dreams became nightmares at the revenge Odin would one day exact.

In her dreams
, he could have her over and over again. She was at his mercy. Fate saw herself in the dream, held tightly in his embrace of iron with a brutal hand in her hair, tilting her head back and forcing her to look into his intimidating glare.

“You will be mine.”

“Never again,” Fate’s teeth gritted out her response.

“You will be mine. Know that as you run through time trying to escape me
, every night you lay your head down to sleep, I will be waiting for you. I will bide my time—eternity is on my side. I will force myself to wait and watch. Until then, know I will not be denied. You will be mine.”

Centuries Later…

Fate leaned against the tree, watching her daughter with her new husband, laughing at something Valentine had said to them. Valentine beamed at the just married couple, proud as any father, both mortal and immortal. He had been asked by the couple to perform the ceremony, and it had been touching when tears had fallen from his eyes as he had announced them man and wife.

“You kept your promise.” Intent on the couple
, Fate had not noticed Joro’s approach.

“I did, as did you. Your progeny has returned home.”

“I am truly honored that he is married to your daughter.” Joro reached out a shaking hand and touched Fate’s hand, clasping it within her own. “I wronged you, Fate, and deserved the punishment I received. Your forgiveness humbles me.”

Fate looked at Thor now hugging Cara and thumping Jericho on his back
, nearly knocking the man over into the huge cake waiting to be cut.

“You paid your penance
, Joro, and repaid your debt. You made Thor into the warrior I needed him to become.”

“I did not do it alone; Odin trained him and gave him a place by his side. But that was your intention, wasn’t it
, Fate? Which one are you protecting, Fate? Everyone within the realms is aware you deny Odin, that you mock his desire for you, so it must be Thor whom you protect.” A worried frown crossed Joro’s forehead, fear entering her eyes. Thor had become a son to her in every way but blood, and the look on Fate’s face was raising her mothering instincts of protection.

“I cannot speak of the future
. Your lover and son will make their own path toward which destiny awaits them.”

Joro stared hard at Fate, seeing that she never took her eyes off Thor. Calm settled over Joro
. Fate loved her children. Just looking around the gardens outside Fate’s castle gave proof to that devotion.

Cara was in her new husband
’s arms, held tight and loved. The same man holding her was a descendent of Joro’s, looking just as the son she had left behind on Earth. A warrior’s heart and blood ran through that body. Yes, Fate protected her children well. If Thor was in danger, then there was no better protector than the woman who had given him life.

Joro smiled at Fate and stepped forward
, hugging the woman and reverently kissing her cheek. “I guess this makes us sort of in-laws.”

Fate was caught off guard by Joro’s reaction, not sure how to react. She wasn’t given a chance since Joro quickly released her and moved toward the other guests as they gathered around the gigantic cake about to be finally cut.

“By the way, for your information, Odin is not my lover. I would never touch another male of yours. I learned my lesson. Unlike you, I can give you my premonition of the future; although I do not have your gift, I am not blind.” Joro waved her hand at a glowering Odin standing with the other married couple. “I do not believe that you will escape Odin for much longer.”

“You couldn’t have learnt your lesson to
o well by trying to antagonize me,” Fate shot back sarcastically.

Joro’s laughter sounded in the air as she walked a
way, anxious to return to her grandson’s side battling back happy tears. They were expecting, she would find a way to repay Fate’s gift. She didn’t know how, but somehow she would find a way.

Enjoy
an excerpt from Jamie Begley’s boo
k

King (The VIP Room, #3)

Coming June, 2014

Prologue

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”

“No, Lily. Go home with your husband; Henry will stay. With all the medications they’ve given me, I’m just going to sleep anyway,” King answered his daughter while his eyes surveyed the occupants of his hospital room.

His daughter, Lily, sat on the edge of his hospital bed, holding his hand.
Her adopted sister, Beth, and her husband, Razer, both stood at the foot of his bed. The last occupant of the room was Lily’s husband, Shade. He stood in the open doorway of the hospital room, his attention on the people in the room and those entering it.

King hadn’t kept himself alive all these years in a variety of illegal activities without being a good judge of character. The man that his daughter was married to was a scary son of a bitch, and it took a lot to scare King. Fuck, he had stared down death since he was thirteen-years-old, but Lily’s husband had chills running down his back.

When Lily stood up, releasing his hand, King felt a brief moment of loss. It had been the first time she had ever voluntarily touched him. When he had kidnapped her from the church store she worked at, she had struggled against him, surprising him with how well she was able to defend herself. He had no doubt who had taught her those moves.

When he had found out
who his daughter had married, he had ordered a background check done by his bodyguard, Henry. However, the report Henry had brought back hadn’t set off any of the alarms that were now shrilling their warning. In fact, he had been relieved that she had married a man in the military, whose assets included a large amount of property and a very healthy bank account. All the bare facts had been laid out before him.

Fuck. He should have known it was too good to be true. He must be slipping. Belonging to The Last Riders should have been a warning sign, but he had checked them out also. Their survivalist company was very lucrative, and they’d had a few run-ins with the law, yet that was i
t. Hell, he certainly couldn’t throw any stones because of that. His own police record spanned a decade before he’d become smart enough to cover his tracks.

All and all, he had been satisfied that Lily would be cared for until he had heard Digger had escaped. Trying to protect Lily, he had kidnapped her to keep her safe. Instead, he had almost gotten her killed. How was he to know The Last Riders had more connections than God? Lily had been safe where she was at; he had been the one to fuck up. The accusation and anger on Shade’s face made sure he knew it, too.

“I’ll come back and check on you in the morning.” Lily brushed a brief kiss on his cheek before moving away from his bed.

“All right.”

Beth moved beside the bed as Lily moved away. “It’s nice to learn that Lily and I both have a relative left.”

“I was sorry to hear about your mother and father, Beth.”

He saw the closed look that came over his cousin’s face. Beth’s father, Saul Cornett, had been his uncle. He had never been a friendly bastard—the over-righteous asshole had always gotten on his nerves—but he had provided Lily a safe home, which was more than King had been able to do.

Razer and Shade both said brief goodbyes before following their wives out.

King was still staring at the doorway when Henry came inside the room, shutting the door.

King lay back against his bed, wincing at the pain in his chest, no longer trying to hide the pain he was in.

“You okay, boss?”

“Tell the nurse she can give me something for the pain now.”

As Henry pushed the call button, requesting the medication for him, King gritted his teeth against the pain. He had wanted to be clearheaded with Lily in the room, and as a result, it was now well past time for his meds.

The nurse came bustling into the room, giving him an injection then King waited for her to leave.

“What did you think?” he asked his friend.

Henry closed the door again after the nurse walked out.

“I think there’s more to him than the bio I gave you.” Henry frowned. He would blame himself if something showed up that he’d missed, however he was going to have to deal with it.

King agreed with his assessment, though. He was willing to bet his fortune that Shade was hiding information from Lily. “I do, too. Do another check on him. This time, don’t go through our contacts on the force; use Jackal. If anyone can find out something, he will.”

He had used the Predators several times over the years when he needed to be discreet. Henry took out his cell phone, making the call while King listened to the one-sided conversation.

“He’s on it.” Disconnecting the call, Henry moved to stand beside his bed. “What are you going to do if he comes back with bad news?”

His head turned on the stiff pillow. “Depends. I don’t want to interfere because Lily loves him; it’s obvious just from the way she looks at him. But, if it’s as bad as I think it’s going to be, then I’ll have to step in.”

“And do what?”

“Get rid of him. I didn’t sacrifice raising my own daughter so she could have a better life just to see her get hurt again. She’s had enough of that shit.”

“It won’t be easy. Did you see the one with him? You’ll be taking on more than her husband.”

“Call
Jackal back. Include The Last Riders in his search. Tell him to find out anything and everything on them and their members.” King closed his eyes as Henry moved away to follow his instructions, feeling the drugs the nurse had given him finally taking effect. He would be more clear-headed when he woke, but it would take a couple of days for Jackal to find out the information he wanted. It didn’t matter, though; he would be stuck in the hospital at least that long.

When he was released, he would stay at the house he had leased since he had first brought Lily to Treepoint. He would get to know his daughter better, learn more about what kind of woman he and Brenda had created. For the first time in his life, he was going to be a father to Lily, whether she needed him or not. He had a lot to make up for, and if getting rid of a husband that didn’t deserve her needed to happen, then he would do it. He wasn’t going to let Lily down again.