The Mark of Fate: Book 3 of The Marked series

by Ford, Rinna

  I felt him nod sharply, then he gave me one more squeeze before gently pushing me away, guiding me back to my chair before returning to sit himself. Silence passed between us all before Devlin cleared his throat.

  “What else did you learn from the scientist?” he asked, his voice steady and strong.

  Since Ainsley’s death, I learned my uncle was really good at deflecting his emotions. He had moments of weakness, like that moment only minutes before, but then he always changed the subject as fast as he could, wanting to talk about anything else. I realized he did that when I knew him before. That was how I knew him as a homeless man, but never really knew him at all. He always turned questions around on me so he didn’t have to share anything personal. I really wanted to get to know my uncle better and I made a promise to myself that I would, even though I would never push him.

  Amos looked from me to Devlin and back to me before continuing. “She told us she had never met anyone from the Council, and never questioned why everyone she came in contact with, besides the prisoners, were all casters. But she fully believed what she and the other scientists were doing was for the greater good. Her only regret was that she won’t be able to be there to complete the task.”

  My nostrils flared and my vampire side emerged as I thirsted to end Dr. Edgebert’s existence in the most violent way possible. I locked eyes with Matias when I saw his predator slip in and out before going back to normal.

  “Dr. Edgebert ended her own life before we had the chance to stop her,” he seethed, as if reading my thoughts. “I’m sorry, little one, but your thirst for vengeance will have to wait. I know you wanted to be the one to do it, and I wanted to give that to you.”

  With deep breaths, I was able to calm myself enough to listen to what my mate was saying.

  “What? How is that possible? I thought she was stripped of her magic?”

  Matias looked away and clenched his jaw.

  “I made a mistake by leaving out a blade. She grabbed it off the floor when our backs were turned and jammed it in her throat.”

  “It’s not his fault,” my grandfather spoke up. “She was weakened to the point of death anyway. We didn’t expect her to be able to have the strength to do it.”

  My eyes didn’t leave Matias as my grandfather defended him and waited for him to make eye contact with me again. He wasn’t used to failure, I could tell and the fact he felt as if he failed me, it was more than he wanted to ever bear. But then, he looked back up into my eyes and saw I wasn’t angry, at least not at him. It was an honest mistake, even for a vampire such as he. His expression softened as did the rest of his rigid body as he relaxed a bit more against the arm of the sofa.

  “Is there anything else?” I then asked, looking toward my grandfather.

  “Yeah.” Amos looked at me and his eyes grew exponentially more tired in a matter of seconds. “The detention facility, it vanished.”

  “More likely it was shrunk down and moved to another location,” Devlin sighed. “Even with all the people and things inside of it, it’s almost impossible to make something disappear completely, even for the more skilled casters.”

  I furrowed my eyebrows and remembered the way Ingrid shrunk the cars before we broke into the facility. It really was a nifty trick and in this case, put us back to square one. I wasn’t sure what intel the other team collected, but I was pretty sure the team I was on didn’t gather anything concrete. Well, other than what we saw and the supes they saved.

  I was so lost in thought, I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation around me, and I definitely didn’t notice Dev got up and left the room. When I did finally come to my senses, I thanked my grandfather for the information, grabbed my mates by the hands, and began walking toward the door.

  “One more thing, Emelia.” Amos’ words made me stop dead in my tracks. I slowly turned on my planted feet until I was looking back into his solemn eyes. “There was no sign that Ronan Young had ever been in the facility, either as a prisoner or as a representative from the Council.”

  I took in a deep breath and let it out before replying. “Thank you.”

  Matias was the one to lead us out after that, as I retreated back into my mind to think about everything I was told. Ronan wasn’t there. That was a good thing, right? That meant he hadn’t been a part of the experimentation and that he wasn’t being experimented on. But then again, we were no closer to finding him or at least finding out what happened to him after the battle at the cabin.

  “Emi?”

  My faraway eyes snapped to attention at my nickname, and I saw that Xander was sweetly holding my hand, waiting for me to walk into my bedroom. Matias was already in there, at least that was what I thought until I heard the sound of the water turning on in the bathroom.

  “What are you thinking?” Xander asked me, making my attention go back to him. He could tell the wheels in my mind were turning.

  I squeezed his hand and then let go and closed the door behind us and walked toward the bathroom. Matias had his hand stuck in the water to check the temperature. Then he rose and walked over to the closet, retrieving a couple of fluffy towels. After depositing them on the side of the garden tub, he walked over to me and began removing my boots, one at a time.

  I watched as he and Xander removed my clothes and led me over to the tub where I slid in and sighed audibly. They were waiting for me to answer Xan’s earlier question, but they were not pushing me. I decided to try, as best I could, to tell them what I was feeling. I wasn’t sure if I could do it but I knew that I needed to try.

  “I knew there was a possibility that Dev and Ainsley were hurt or possibly worse, but I never truly considered it,” I told them, reaching for the bath sponge. Their eyes which usually would have trailed the sponge along my body, stayed on my face as they waited for me to continue. “Not when I learned more and more about what the Council has been up to, not when I would continue to learn nothing about their whereabouts...I mean, I knew it was a possibility but I never believed it. Not once. When we got Dev back, he was fine. Underfed and a little beat up, but fine. So I didn’t think...”

  My throat burned with unshed tears, cutting off my sentence and making me take a deep breath to try and contain them. I sat up in the tub and curled my arms around my knees, hiding my face.

  “But now I know. I was so naive to believe everything would turn out like I wanted it to. That he’d be alive and well, and…And now, I can’t help but think that Ronan…”

  A sob wracked through me, and I knew I couldn’t hold it in any more. Ronan risked his life, he risked everything to save me. His job, his friends, everything. And since finding Ainsley and the other supes, I feared the worst. I really and truly feared it. What would I do without him alive and well in this world? How would I survive?

  There were so many reasons to find Ronan-claiming my fated mate, fulfilling the prophecy... but none of that mattered. I just wanted… him. I needed him, and if he was dead or worse…

  One of my men pulled me out of the tub, with my eyes tightly shut, and the other wrapped me in a towel and lifted me into his arms. It took me a second, but I realized it was Xander who carried me into the bedroom and slid me under the covers. I immediately curled into him when he slipped under the sheets after me and Matias got in on the other side, wrapping his arm lovingly around my middle.

  I didn’t know how long we all laid there, but eventually, the tears dried up and I drifted off to sleep as exhaustion won over.

  Chapter Ten

  When I woke up early the next morning, Matias was already gone from the bed, leaving me still wrapped around Xander. I slipped out of Xan’s arms and grabbed a pair of jeans and my boots, putting them on quietly and exited the room.

  In the time I had been bonded with Matias, he was always there, waiting for me after I’d woken, any time I’d spent the night with him. For him to not be there when I rose, made me a little confused.

  I went down the stairs toward the first floor and when I reached it, I
stopped and listened, hearing nothing. There was no one nearby. Not a single person, not even a vampire. There were always vampires milling around the mansion during the night because of their inability to sleep, but for some reason, I was all alone during that early hour of the morning.

  Even more confused, I walked into the kitchen and poured a glass of blood and began wandering in and out of rooms, looking and listening to the silence. It was only when I walked down the hall where the infirmary was stationed did I hear anything. Gentle beeping of medical devices and the rustling of sheets as the rescued supes moved around on their beds were the only sounds I heard as I put my hand on the doorknob, much like I did the day before. But this time, I was able to turn the knob and push the door open.

  I peeked inside and saw the dim light of a lamp in the far corner, but otherwise the room was bathed in darkness. Even with how dark the room was, I could easily see every person, every detail because of my vampire senses and they all looked calm, at peace. I didn’t want to disturb anyone especially after what they all went through, so deciding to try again during the daylight hours I began to pull the door closed.

  “Hello?” a husky voice asked as if just waking up.

  I heard it just before the door clicked closed. Pushing the door slightly back open, I peeked back inside and saw a pair of penetrating eyes looking in my direction as he reached over to turn on a nearby lamp.

  I opened the door further and took a step into the room, looking more deeply at the man who had called out to me. His hair was dark and it hung over his eyes. His cheekbones were defined, his eyebrows were high and sculpted, and his mouth could only be described as sensual. I had to admit, I was attracted to him, even with the look of sheer and utter exhaustion written all over his face and body. He would have definitely been my type before everything that happened.

  “Can, can I get a glass of water?” he asked in an almost breathy tone.

  I nodded my head and walked to a nearby table where a pitcher of water and several glasses sat. I filled the nearest cup and walked across the floor toward his bed. He made an attempt to sit up but his arms gave out and he collapsed back onto the bed.

  I rushed over and deposited the glass on his bedside table and reached forward to help him up. I grasped his strong, corded forearms and pulled him up to sitting, all while arranging his pillows behind him to help with this new position. He smiled weakly and grasped my arms in return.

  “Thank you,” he said and sagged back against the pillows. He reached for the glass and when I noticed what he was doing, I picked it up and handed it to him. He smiled a bit wider as he brought the cup to his lips and took a drink, never taking his eyes off of me.

  He drank half the glass before his hand began to shake from the weight of it. I quickly put my hand around his to try and steady it so he could drink his fill. When the glass was nearly empty, he pulled it away and sagged even further into the pillows, letting me take the glass from him.

  “Thank you…”

  “Emelia. My name is Emelia.”

  “Thank you, Emelia. I’m Alec. I thought for a minute there I’d have to get up and get it myself.” His smile was weak but genuine in a teasing kind of way. I couldn’t help but smile back.

  “Well, you’re welcome, I guess,” I replied. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

  “I’d like some company, if you don’t have anything else to do at two o’clock in the morning, that is.” He moved his leg over to make room on the bed, as if making a place for me to sit.

  I eyed the bed then looked back up to his face and awkwardly smiled. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a plain wooden chair and I snagged it instead, pulling it over to the side of the bed.

  “I don’t have anything else to do other than drink my breakfast,” I told him and sat down. “Are you sure you don’t want to sleep? It is pretty early.”

  “Nah. I feel like I’ve slept too much lately.” He rolled his shoulders and adjusted himself better in his bed. It looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but in that bed and I didn’t blame him. Being held prisoner in the facility and experimented on must have been draining, if nothing else.

  “I bet,” I told him. “But you need to rest… to build up your strength.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” He shrugged his shoulders. “So tell me, beautiful Emelia, are you a vampire? Because that’s the only reason I can understand why you’d be up so early and looking for breakfast.”

  “You could say that,” I chuckled.

  “I’m guessing that empty glass you brought in didn’t have orange juice in it.”

  “Nope. Definitely not orange juice.”

  I smiled at Alec, liking his sense of humor, although there was something else about him that had me on edge. I shrugged it off, having absolutely no intention of anything romantic with him, but it was nice to find someone I could get along with. I always felt like making friends never came easily to me, but I could see it being almost effortless with Alec. It was nice, to say the least.

  “Em?”

  Matias was standing in the open doorway, his tattooed arms crossed over his strong chest as his gray eyes were locked on my new friend. I didn’t even hear him open the door.

  “Your mate?” Alec asked, his eyebrows raised up his forehead in question.

  I shrugged my shoulders and stood from the chair. “Yeah. Well, one of them at least.”

  His eyebrows went up even further. “One of them?”

  I smiled at him again and returned the chair to the corner. “Get some rest, Alec. I’ll come back and check on you later. Do you need anything else before I go?”

  “Emelia,” Matias interrupted, rudely.

  I looked over at him and saw my mate was less than happy with what he was witnessing. I had never seen him act like that before. Protective and ferocious, yes, but rude? Never.

  Soliel nudged me, letting me know I needed to tend to my mate and not the new guy. She was all about keeping our mates happy, well that and destroying our enemies, whoever they may be. She had no problem with Alec until Matias did and she was letting me know in no uncertain terms that we needed to leave him alone.

  “One second,” I finally said to Matias, trying not to roll my eyes, then I turned back to Alec. “Do you need anything else?”

  “Maybe a little more water?”

  I nodded once and picked up his glass, taking it back to the pitcher before refilling it and setting it back onto his bedside table.

  “Thank you, Emelia,” he grinned.

  “Get some rest,” I told him and walked toward the door and my pissed off vampire mate.

  I walked out into the hall and when I turned back around, I saw Matias was still looking in Alec’s direction. What was wrong with him? I put my hand on Matias’ forearm that was still crossed over his chest, and that was when he finally looked away from the resting supe and toward me. He then stepped outside of the infirmary and into the hall with me, closing the door behind him.

  He gripped the sides of my face and kissed me desperately. My hands fisted his shirt at his waist and I melted into him, loving the feeling of his lips on mine. Man, I loved it.

  His kisses slowed and he opened his eyes as he gently pulled back. He looked down at me and I could see his anger from earlier retreating.

  “What was all that about?” I whispered.

  Matias sighed and I could see the edges of anger returning at my question. “He wanted you.” Those three words were his reply and after a few seconds of silence, I knew that would be all the answer I would get. Matias was jealous.

  I raised my eyebrows and the right side of my mouth turned up in a small smile as I decided to tease him a little bit. “He wanted some company and a little water, that’s all. But let’s say you’re right. What about it? Do you honestly think that I would take him up on any offer that he’d propose? Do you think I’d go behind your and Xan’s backs, or that I’d leave you both behind for someone else? I had hoped you knew me better than that by now.
”

  “Don’t do that. Don’t insinuate that my jealousy has anything to do with my expectations of you.” He narrowed his eyes in contempt but kissed my forehead anyway. He was always so unpredictable. “I did not like the way he was looking at you, the way he was smiling at you, and that he called you beautiful. He was flirting with you, Emelia.”

  “You don’t think I’m beautiful?” I teased. I looked up into his eyes and saw them softening. He knew what I was doing and was clever enough not to take the bait.

  Matias shook his head, his anger completely faded away and smiled down at me before turning me so I fit under his left arm and began walking down the hall. He knew where I stood with him and with Xander, and that even if someone flirted with me, which I wasn’t certain Alec was doing, I was completely content with the mates I had, which included the prospect of bringing Ronan into the mix. No one else. Honestly, I didn’t think I could handle any more than that, not that I’d ever considered it. Man, what would I do with three mates? My head spun at the thought.

  I shook my head and decided to talk to Matias about something else.

  “You weren’t there when I woke up,” I then said as we turned the corner toward the living room.

  Matias sighed. “I’m sorry, little one. I meant to be back before you rose.”

  “What were you doing?” I asked and looked up at him.

  Several seconds of silence passed before he answered. It was as if he was trying to decide what to tell me.

  “I was following a lead on the detention facility, but it was a dead end.”

  I stopped walking, which made him stop too.

  “You went by yourself?”

  “No. A few of the other vampires in the group went with me. Camille was our transportation. I needed to do something to redeem myself, so Amos sent us to try and find it but there was no trace of it, nothing that would lead us to its new location.”