by Zoe Warner
Fated
The Fated Series
Zoe Warner
Copyright @2020
Moon Mystic Publishing
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five | Zander
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven | Zarrick
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two | Zarrick
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six | Caleb
Thirty-Seven | Cat
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty | Zane
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six | Blake
One
The road stretched out in front of me, even though I was almost to the coast, it felt like I was so far from my destination. It seemed like it went on forever. The desert was a dark place. The way it was pitch black even with the clear night sky. It was quiet and barren. In the distance the mountains touched the sky and caught me off guard. It was mix of beautiful and eerie. There was a vibration I hadn’t felt before. It felt good and right, but something else was behind it. Something dark and ancient.
I glanced at my speedometer and back up. In that split second, a large dog with scruffy fur and golden yellow eyes staring me down was standing in the road right in front of me. I slammed on the breaks, but it wasn’t fast enough so I swerved to miss it. My 1994 Camaro skidded into the sandy ditch to a stop. The dust rolling up around it.
“Shit,” I muttered. This wasn’t what I wanted to deal with right now. I groaned at the pain in my shoulder from the belt digging into it and rubbed at it before releasing my belt and opening my door to see what the damaged was. I cursed myself for choosing to drive the country road rather than the interstate and at night no less.
I glanced at the front of the car and sighed. The bumper had turned up and dented at the tire and the front passenger tire was now flat with a rogue tumble weed wedged into the side. It would take days for the damage to be repaired. I walked back towards the driver door and reached in for my phone.
“Are you all alone?” A voice said behind me. I jumped and banged my hand on the window. The hair on my neck stood up and I almost didn’t want to see who it was, but I also had this weird tingling in my stomach.
I turned toward the voice to see a man with dark hair and strange yellow eyes standing in front of me. He smiled and glanced at the car. I followed his gaze.
“Looks pretty bad. I have a guy that can help you with it?” He took a step towards me and I stepped back, running my back into the car. All of my alarms were going off. Talking to this guy was a bad idea.
He reached his hand out to me. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you stay safe.” He didn’t wait for me to take his hand. He grabbed me and pulled me towards him. I pulled my hand back but couldn’t get it free. I felt my hand warm with my fear. Something that had never happened before. Something woke up at that moment inside me, but I had no idea what it was. An ache to be free from all the things I thought I wanted and the fear that I couldn’t take care of myself, but another part of me slammed it back down.
At that moment, I felt a cold chill in the air and a man came up behind him and pulled him away. The dark-haired man's hand let me go and I fell back. I watched through a haze as a blonde fought with the dark haired one. They struggled for a bit before I felt something change. The hair on my arms stood up and the air got that same chill as before. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I rubbed my hand absently at the back of my head that hit the car a second ago. I could run if I could just get my feet under me, but where would I go. I was stranded.
The blonde stepped back and muttered some words under his breath before the other stumbled back in surprise. The ground glowed and a symbol was burned into it. I swallowed hard as I took it in. It was so familiar, but I had no idea where I’d seen it before.
I stood and felt arms reach around me and a hard body behind me. I tried to wiggle out of his hold but couldn’t.
“We have this one, Zarrick. You will have to wait,” the man’s voice vibrated in my ear and made me not just scared, but angry. I was mad this is what was happening to me when I was so sure I was starting a new life. I felt my body heat up. The heat was different. It didn’t burn, it made me feel alive. I closed my eyes and let it build, thinking about all the crap I’d dealt with to make me leave and let it go.
The silence was the first thing I noticed. It was almost worse than what I thought was going to happen to me. I opened my eyes and realized the man was no longer holding onto me. The ground was charred with bits of fire here and there and my car was nowhere to be seen. I glanced behind me, looking for the man that had been trying to drag me away a minute ago, but there was nothing there but ash.
My head felt like a brick and I felt dizzy. I started to fall when strong arms went around me and held me up.
“Don’t worry, Cat, we’ll keep you safe,” The man with the blonde hair said. The last thing I saw was his ice blue eyes before I passed out.
Two
I opened my eyes slowly and tried to focus. My head felt like it had been slammed on the ground and ran over and my mouth was dry. I blinked until I could see the light beaming in through the window and the breeze moving the light blue curtain to my left. I slowly sat up and took in the rest of the room.
It was painted a soft blue color with dark blue accents and hardwood flooring. There were several windows open and the air was warm even at this early hour. It took me a moment to realize I wasn’t dreaming and the panic of being someplace I didn’t know to set in.
I glanced at the window as I passed, hoping it was early enough there was no one awake and maybe I could sneak out of this place, wherever it was and get back to my car.
I opened the door and made my way down a hallway and listened for anyone else awake, but it was silent. As I walked, I noticed the beauty of the building and how it had kept its look from when it was built. There were ornate wood pieces around all the windows and almost none of them had glass. They simply had shutters that would open to the let in the air and close on the rare occasion there was a storm. I figured it was from the late 1800s and some millionaire probably built it a long time ago.
I rounded a hallway and found the stairs but before I could even think about using them, my breath was taken by the view from the second story. It opened to an indoor-outdoor courtyard that had beautiful seating of rot iron benches and chairs as well as tables that sat against the wall.
I smiled when I saw a rose bush against the far wall, its flowers blooming in reds and whites. They were an odd thing to see in such a hot place.
“We added those a week ago and they are already blooming,” a deep voice said from behind me. I froze and slowly turned to see a man I didn’t know. His hair was a light brown with dark blonde highlights. His eyes were a bright blue, but with a hint of silver in them.
I turned back and made my way down the stairs where I ran right into him.
“Wait, how are you down here all the sudden?” I pushed myself away from him and
started to go around him.
He grabbed my arm. “You’re safer here.”
“Right, because you didn’t pretty much kidnap me last night,” I said not slowing down. I was almost at the door when it slammed shut in front of me. I’d had enough of this. There was too much mystery in all of it. One minute my car is slamming into the ditch and some asshole is trying to do god knows what to me and the next, I’m trapped in a house with a guy I don’t know.
I spun and ran right into him. He steadied himself which didn’t seem to take much on his part. He was quite a bit taller than I was and he was solid. I felt my body tingle at his hand on my arm and the anger and fear just seemed to fade away.
“We don’t want to hurt you. We want to protect you.”
“We?” I said looking into his blue eyes. “I only saw... One-man last night.”
“Right,” He said, glancing at the ground “There is a lot to explain. We should wait for the others.”
“Others?” I stopped and shook my head. "How many of you are there?" I glanced passed him but didn't see anyone.
“Please, sit and get some breakfast. I’ll explain everything once Zane and Zarrick are here,” he said with a smile and waved me towards the iron table and chair set closest to the rose bush.
I nodded, but a part of me was still making an escape plan. This is what I get for doing something different with myself. I thought about how I'd been before all of this. I'd never done anything out of the ordinary. Always follow the rules and now I everything was blowing up in my face.
Zander came back into the room with a tray and some eggs and toast and what looked like a small cup of coffee.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I went for the basics,” he smiled and sat the tray down before sitting across from me.
I glanced at the food and took the plate from the tray. I couldn’t say I wasn’t hungry, and it smelled much better than anything I could have fixed for myself.
“What made you come out here?” He asked watching me.
“I wanted something new.”
“So, coming to the desert was your idea of something new?” He leaned back in the chair and I could see how tall he really was. His shirt sat dangerously tight on his chest and I found myself leering in spite of myself.
“I just wanted to go somewhere no one knows me,” I said with a shrug.
“Unfortunately, that’s not true.” He sighed. “You really don’t know why you were brought here, do you?” He sighed.
“What am I missing?” I raised my eyebrows and pushed the plate away. “You promised you would explain everything.”
“I will, but it’s easier when we are all here.”
Right on cue two men that looked suspiciously similar but different than each other came walking down the stairs. I took them in as they stepped closer.
The first was a little taller than the second but still seemed inviting. He smiled as our eyes met and I instantly saw the mischief behind it. His dark hair fell into his face and he glanced to the man I was sitting with and back to me. His eyes were the same blue, but there was something different about them. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
Another man followed behind him. He was shorter but still taller than I was. His light blonde hair was cut short and he sported a different look from the others all together. He looked as though they had found him on the beach and just picked him up and brought him here.
“This is Zarrick,” Mr. Mischief raised his hand, “and Zane and I’m Zander.”
I finally had names to go with the guys who had apparently saved me from something. I just didn’t know what.
“What are you two doing down here?” Zarrick said with a smirk. I could see him a little better now in the light. He was taller than the other two men, and he was built. His shirt barely fit over his arms and it looked as though he could win his own version of a wet t-shirt contest.
“It’s time to come clean,” Zander said, leaning back in his chair. I instantly felt something in the air change. My arms got goosebumps at the cold air blowing in through the windows.
I knew something was wrong and Zander did too. He grabbed my arm and pushed me behind him as Zane and Zarrick stepped up beside him. The door shook in front of us and finally, the lock busted, and the door swung open.
I didn't know the man that walked through the door, but he was mesmerizing. My eyes traced the lines of his suit. He was dressed in a grey suit with a red pocket scarf. His dark hair was slicked back and his intense brown eyes caught me off guard as he glanced my way.
“I’ve come to collect her,” he said in a deep voice that both frightened me and intrigued me at the same time.
“We haven’t told her who she is yet. She’s not ready to make a choice,” Zander said, staying in front of me in a protective stance.
“That isn’t just yours to tell,” he said. I felt like I couldn’t speak for myself. I didn’t know what was happening anyway, but I hated when I couldn’t tell what was going on.
"You're welcome to join us, Caleb," Zander said. I didn't know if I wanted to stick around, but it seemed I didn't have a choice. I was very outnumbered and had no clue what was going on. It was time to find out.
“I don’t know what you guys want from me,” I whispered to Zander. He just smiled and pointed at the chair I was sitting in before. My discarded breakfast was gone and I sat down with visible unease. The rest of the men pulled up chairs of their own and gathered around me. I met Zane’s eyes first. They had a sad feel to them. As though he wasn’t willing to tell me what the others where.
“I’m just going to cut to the chase,” Zarrick said first. “You are a Witch. So are we.”
I had to try hard to repress a laugh and in the end, it escaped my lips anyway.
“So, you are telling me I’m a Witch? And I’m supposed to be okay with that?” I shook my head. “You guys are crazy.” I glanced at each one who held a straight face. “All of you.” My eyes stopped on Caleb and he raised his eyebrows.
“It’s the truth,” Zander said. “You decided to move towards the Desert to start a new life and here you are, doing just that.”
“This isn’t what I meant and I wasn’t ever going to stay in the Desert. I was just passing through. You guys found me and pulled me into this mess.” I was getting angry and the heat in my blood was building. My skin tingled with something I didn’t understand, but I liked.
There was a buzz in my ear that caught me off guard. I felt a flicker of something as I tried to close my eyes and calm it, but I couldn’t. I glanced passed Caleb to the roses hoping they would help calm me, but they started smoking and withered. The buds fell to the ground. I clenched my fists to try to calm my mind, but it wouldn’t. I felt a hand on mine and glanced to Zane holding onto me. The heat cooled and my breathing slowed.
“See what we mean,” Zarrick Quipped.
"What was that?" I said, my heart racing as though I'd run a mile.
“It was the power you hold inside,” Zane said without missing a beat. “You have to make a choice if you want to share the load or keep it and be one of the most powerful Witches of our time. It’s your fate.”
Three
Judging by the looks on their faces, my laugh wasn’t what they expected. “This is just great. I can’t get a life for myself no matter where I go,” I said through fits of laughter.
Zander glanced at the others before stepping forward and putting his hand on mine. I instantly felt better and my emotions calmed.
“So, if I’m a Witch and you are too, then this is a Coven?” I figured I already knew the answer but was still trying to figure all of this out.
“In a manner,” Zander answered, not letting go of my hand. Zane still had the other and between the two of them, I felt relaxed and almost at peace even with all this information coming at me.
“Caleb also has a coven, but his works differently,” Zane said with a smile. “It’s hard to explain all at once. You have time to learn about it more before
you make your choice.”
"She doesn't get to spend any more time with you than my coven," Caleb said after being quiet for so long. "That's the rules."
“That’s up to her,” Zarrick snapped.
I shook my head and stood. “I’m not something you guys get to fight over. I will make my own choices.” I felt my anger rising, but it wasn’t just at the whole situation, it was at the fact I was being ignored.
Caleb gave him a hard look and it seemed like they had known each other and didn’t really like each other.
“I know where Cat is now and will be checking in while you have your time. Then it’s my turn and I won’t be passive about it,” Caleb said, not looking away from Zarrick. “You know how this works better than anyone, Zarrick.” Caleb smiled and continued. “Did you think I’d forget about what you did?” He stepped closer to Zarrick. “The more you fight for her, the more I will. I’ll take anything you want.”
“You can try,” Zarrick replied.
“Again, I’m a person and I’m right here,” I almost yelled.
Caleb glanced at me and then back to Zarrick. “See you around.”
I sat down and took a breath. I'd never been one to believe in this kind of thing. Magick was never an interest to me. I mean one of my friends had brought a book to a slumber party once, and we’d laughed at how absurd the spells were. We might have even tried one or two, but I would have never thought this was what, as Zane said, my fate would be.
I watched Caleb walk passed me and through the open door. He didn’t even bother to turn around.
“I hate that guy,” Zarrick said under his breath.
Zane turned to me and smiled. “You can stay here if you like and learn more about who you are. We’ve been waiting a while for you.”
“What do you mean awhile?” I said it before I had even thought about what I was asking. All this information was hurting my head, but I wanted to know.
“We were brought together in the same way as you were brought to us,” Zander said.
“With some exceptions,” Zarrick said from my left.