Tempted By Fate

by Cynthia Eden

  Her smile stretched.

  “You never intended to scry and see the future.” His wings stretched behind him. “You wanted payback against me.”

  Mora stepped closer to him. “Actually, I was trying to see the future. But my emotions got the better of me.” Her head tipped back. “Besides, how is my pain possibly payback? How could it hurt you?”

  It does. More than anything else could. He cleared his throat. “That was why you left, too. Why you hid all these years—to hurt me. To punish me.”

  “You think I don’t know of all the things you’ve done over the centuries, Leo? You don’t care who gets caught in your wake of destruction, you don’t care—”

  He dropped to his knees before her.

  Silence.

  His eyes squeezed shut. “Show me the rest.”

  “Wh-what?”

  “Show me and give me the pain.”

  He kept his head bowed before her.

  Mora didn’t speak.

  “I want to feel everything that you felt, every single damn moment of pain—give it to me.”

  Mora’s fingers fluttered over his shoulders. “What are you doing?”

  His head tilted back so that he could stare up at her. “Give me the payback. Give me a way to take the pain from you. Give it all to me. We both know I fucking deserve it. And I’ll take it.”

  Confusion showed on her face. “Why?”

  “Because you mattered. You mattered then, and you matter now. I want to take every second of pain away. I want to change—”

  “Fate?” She finished, and a sad laugh scraped from her. “Still playing the same old song, huh? Trying to trick me again? You want out because you can’t—”

  “I used you.” A brutal truth. He was on his fucking knees before her, her scream still echoing in his ears, and he could give her nothing but the truth. I will never let her hurt again. No matter what I must do. Never again. “I wanted to change the end I’d always been told would come. The final fight between me and my twin brother? I needed a way out. I needed—”

  “You didn’t want to die.”

  “I didn’t want to kill my brother!” His words were a rasp. “What do you think I’ve fought against so long? I’ve never wanted to kill him—because I’ve always known that when it comes down to the final battle…I can’t kill him. He’s the only family I have. I knew, I knew that you’d see a future where he killed me, because I know I won’t be able to lift my hand against him.”

  Her eyes had gone wide. His darkest secret, finally revealed for everyone. He’d been a fucking bastard for centuries because I needed to save my brother! “And if Luke kills me, despite the appearances to the contrary, I know it will wreck him. I needed a different ending. I was trying to find that ending.” Her hands were still on his shoulders. “But I never, fucking never wanted to sacrifice you to get that ending. I never wanted you to be in pain.”

  Her gaze searched his. Fury was there, in the depths of her gaze. Betrayal. So much sadness. “Collateral damage?” Mora whispered. “Isn’t that what they call it? From what I’ve seen in my mirror, you’ve left plenty of collateral damage on this earth.”

  He stiffened. “You’ve watched me?”

  “I’m Fate. I can see anything or anyone I want. Sometimes, I needed to see you—to show myself that you were still truly the bastard I remembered.”

  “I’m the bastard who is on his knees before you. I’m the one who is telling you I will never let you be hurt again. I will find those who tortured you. They will die. They will—”

  “Get out of my home, Leo.”

  His lips parted.

  “Out of my home and out of my life. I think, given all that I’ve endured for you so far…you owe me that, don’t you?” She pulled her hands from his and stepped back. “And I don’t want you on your knees for me. I never wanted that.” She turned her back on him.

  Slowly, he rose. “I need to make this better.” Each word was torn from him.

  She didn’t look back at him. “There are some things that can’t be changed. There are some things that just are. Fate.” She stood near the table and her hand trailed over the mirror. “I can never see my own destiny. Did you know that? It’s a little quirk. I can’t see what’s coming for me. Because if I could have seen it…” Her shoulders sagged a bit. “I would have run the minute our paths crossed.”

  “You’re saying it was your fate to suffer because of me?”

  She was staring into the mirror. “I’m saying it was my fate to fall in love with you…and the pain that came after was the price for trying to claim something that I should never have.”

  Fall in love with you. A dull ringing filled his ears as Leo lurched forward. He lifted his hands toward her.

  “Don’t. Don’t touch me right now. I’m at my limit.” She exhaled a shuddering breath. “And I’m breaking my word. I’m not scrying for your future. I did that before. I saw what will come.” She finally looked up at him. Her eyes appeared to be made of glass. No emotion was in her stare at all. “You’re going to die, Leo. At your brother’s hand. The dark wins.”

  “Mora, give me a chance, let me change—”

  “It’s so strange. Looking at your brother—at his life and yours—I would have thought Luke was the good one.”

  His beast was roaring inside of him. “I want to make this right—”

  But she shook her head. “You won’t see me again after this day. I’ll vanish and it will be the end.” Her eyes still held no emotion.

  But a tear slid down her cheek.

  “Good-bye, Leo,” Mora whispered. Another tear followed the path of the first.

  And in the face of her tears, he was helpless. Leo turned and walked away.

  ***

  Mora waited until Leo was gone. Only then did she grab the table’s edge for support. Her knees were shaking so hard that if she hadn’t grabbed the table, she would have fallen.

  Over.

  In the midst of her fury, she’d planned to show him those visions, to force him to face their past—she’d planned to show him every single moment of her pain. She’d planned for him to relive it all but…

  I couldn’t.

  Because something had happened once he saw their shared past. She’d felt the trembles that shook him. Heard his breathing turn guttural. Seen the shock and pain that had crossed his face.

  He hadn’t known at all. She’d thought he’d sent those men after her. But his shock had been real.

  Revulsion and fury had darkened his face. His reaction had been so visceral that his beast had sprang to the surface. She’d never seen him change fully, but Mora knew Leo had come very close during those dangerous moments. Scales had appeared just beneath his skin, she’d all but felt them. His eyes had turned blood red. Dark wings had stretched from his back. His teeth had sharpened and his nails had become black claws.

  She’d stared at him, and a rage-filled monster had stared back at her…

  Only to kneel at her feet.

  Her eyes closed.

  Leo kneels to no one. That was what the paranormals always said. That he bowed to no man.

  He bowed to me.

  Her hands flew out, and she shoved her mirror to the floor. It shattered, breaking into a dozen pieces. Her revenge. For so long, she’d wanted him to hurt. She’d wanted payback. She just…

  I don’t feel any better. The hole in her chest just seemed to have gotten worse. Mora shuffled away from the table, and her foot pressed on a shard of glass.

  Yes, she knew what waited in Leo’s future. She’d seen his future before, and it had broken her heart.

  Death. A death I can’t stop. She never planned to look at his future again. Despite everything, she couldn’t stand to see him dying.

  Not Leo.

  Because maybe part of her still cared for him.

  Chapter Seven

  Leo hunted. He rushed back to the basement of that shit-forsaken house—the house that Mora had been imprisoned inside of
by the redheaded bastard. He didn’t try to approach quietly. He flew right inside, bursting through the ceiling and the walls, but he quickly realized that the prey he sought wasn’t there.

  He let power swell inside of him, a power that seemed fueled fully by his rage. It burst out of him in great surges of fire, consuming that house. Leo stared, watching until it burned to the ground around him. Until only ash was left.

  Just the way Mora’s bar burned.

  Mora…

  He caught the scent of the fools who’d taken her. Their scents lingered in the air, like a taint on the day. He followed that scent, snaking over deserted roads, staying away from the city, and going toward the woods. A cabin waited out there, a building that was little more than a slanting shack. He stared at that cabin a moment. The men he sought were in there—he knew it with certainty. He’d followed their scent trail, and it had led straight to that location.

  The fools. Had they not expected him to follow?

  Did they think that because he was the Lord of the Light, he would show mercy?

  Not to them. Not to any who hurt her.

  He sent the fire out first, letting it lick against the walls of the cabin. He wouldn’t bother going inside. The prey he sought would come to him.

  And they did. A panther burst from a window, running toward him with great, heaving strides. The beast’s mouth was wide open, saliva dripping from its teeth. It surged toward Leo—

  He caught the beast around the neck. Held it easily. “You’re out of your league,” Leo said simply. “And you were a fool to ever touch her.”

  He tossed the beast aside—and then he let his flames out. The panther didn’t charge again.

  Two more soon-to-be-dead bastards came from the cabin next. They flew out, bursting from the ramshackle roof. Their wings were fully extended. Did they think they’d get to escape by air?

  Leo lifted his arms. Power swirled around him, and the clear sky darkened. A storm—his storm—swept through the area in a blink. Wind howled. Lightning crackled. And the two winged bastards were hit by those giant bolts of lightning. They fell back to the ground, their bodies twitching. Jerking.

  Leo walked toward them. They were still alive. For the moment. He lifted his hands and he smiled as—

  “It feels good, doesn’t it?” A mocking voice called from just a few feet away.

  I know that voice.

  Leo shook his head, even as his gaze cut toward the speaker—the redheaded bastard who’d actually put his hands on Mora. The one who’d wanted to hurt her. The one…

  “Killing gives its own rush, doesn’t it?” The redhead smiled at him. “I’ve always thought that the only other thing to compare, well, that’s a really good fuck.” He took a step toward Leo. “Know what I’m talking about? Oh, wait, you’ve fucked Fate, you have to know—”

  Leo was on the guy before he could say another word. Leo drove his claws right into the other man’s chest. But the redhead…

  Just laughed.

  “Feels…good…doesn’t it?” His blood pumped out. “Letting…rage loose…killing…”

  The world stilled. His voice. “It was you.”

  The man smiled. “R-Reever…name is…”

  “Do I look like I fucking care what your name is?” Leo snarled. He jerked his hand up, his claws tearing deeper into the man’s chest. “You were the one who hurt her so long ago. The bastard in the hood who snuck into her chambers. I know your voice. I heard it…in her vision.”

  Reever had blood dripping from his mouth. “W-waited…long time…for this.”

  The storm raged around them. Lightning plummeted into the earth, again and again, shaking the land. The scent of sulphur filled the air. Leo could feel the bastard’s heart beneath his fingers. “You hurt her.”

  “She was in…your way.” Reever didn’t look afraid. He looked—satisfied. Happy, even as he stared at death. “Lying…always lying…didn’t want you to see…what we…knew.”

  Leo leaned closer to him. “The only thing you know…is death.” She screamed for me. “You will never threaten her again.”

  But Reever gave a broken laugh. “You…are…only threat…to her…now.”

  Fucking bastard. Leo’s beast surged forth as his claws ripped into Reever’s heart. The change couldn’t be stopped. Scales exploded over his body, and bones snapped as Leo transformed. The wind howled around him.

  “L-Lord…of…th-the…” Reever’s eyes were closing.

  The sun was gone. Clouds covered the sky.

  Leo dropped Reever’s body.

  “Dark…” Reever’s final gasp.

  Leo stumbled back. Then he was hitting the ground, falling onto all fours as the body of a man became a beast. And in moments, a roar filled the air, a roar of stark fury and deep hate. A roar that shook the ground as the dragon rose.

  And then the beast opened his mouth. He swept fire over the bodies of his enemies. The enemies who’d dared to hurt what was his.

  No one will ever threaten her again.

  No one.

  ***

  Mora slid out of the shower. She reached for the nearby towel, drying off quickly and raking the towel over her hair. She’d needed the shower because she hadn’t been able to stop feeling Leo’s hands on her. His touch had seemed to brand her skin. She’d wanted to erase him but…

  I still feel him.

  She wrapped the towel around her body and crept toward the sink. The mirror above the sink was fogged, cloudy, and her hand lifted. Her palm—still bearing the cut because she’d sliced herself too deeply and she healed too slowly—slid across the smooth surface of that mirror, clearing a space so that she could see—

  Leo.

  Surrounded by darkness. Surrounded by death. Fire raging.

  Her breath caught as she stared at the image before her.

  Blood was around him. And the man he’d been…he was a beast, a dragon, with eyes that glowed with red fire.

  A tremble shook her body.

  Then the image changed.

  She lowered her hand.

  Twins. One born for the light. One born for the dark.

  One day…they would battle.

  “Hello, Fate.” The deep, drawling voice came from right behind her. As in…right in that bathroom. She spun around. A man stood behind her—a man who happened to look exactly like Leo. Only she could feel the difference. Her body didn’t react to him the same way…

  Fear filled her as she stared at his man. Fear, not desire.

  “My name’s Luke Thorne, and I figured it was time we met, face to face.” He smiled at her, and she stared at the face that was the exact same…Leo’s face. Leo’s twin. His gaze raked her. “You’ve probably heard of me,” he added. “I’m the Lord of the Dark.”

  He was as tall as Leo. His shoulders as broad. But Luke was before her wearing a fancy suit—in my bathroom! Leo never wore a suit. He was casual, understated. Like Leo, though, Luke’s eyes were gold, deep and gleaming, and a faint stubble of dark beard growth covered his hard jaw.

  “Didn’t know where you were.” Luke inclined his head toward her. “Until my brother rushed out here like he’d just found a pot of gold.”

  She swallowed. Her hand rose to clutch the towel tighter to her body.

  “And, of course,” Luke noted darkly. “I knew right away that you were that pot of gold.”

  He was in her house. The paranormal who was supposed to be the baddest threat out there. Right in front of me. Steam drifted lazily around them, a left-over by-product of her shower.

  “Where is my brother?” Luke asked when she just gaped at him. “To be honest, I expected to find him glued to your side.”

  Mora licked her lips. “I think he’s killing right now.”

  Luke blinked. And then he lunged forward. She backed up, fast, and her hips slammed into the sink. His hands came down on either side of her, curving tightly around the sink’s edge, but never touching her.

  “And just who is my sainted bro
ther killing?” Luke’s face had gone cold and hard. She could feel his power vibrating in the air around her.

  It was so strange, to stare into his eyes. To stare into eyes exactly like Leo’s and see a different man gazing back at her. With Leo, she’d always felt the pull of their attraction. A physical response that had always drawn her to him.

  She felt no attraction to Luke. She just felt like…I’m in serious trouble.

  “You don’t want me for an enemy,” Luke drawled. “I’m trying to be a nice guy here. But I need to find my brother. Time’s up for him.”

  “No, it’s not,” she said. Her chin lifted. “And I already have your brother for an enemy, so why not add you to the list, too?”

  His eyes became slits. “I don’t think that’s what you are to Leo. Enemy isn’t the word I’d use.”

  He was too close. She needed him gone. “What word would you choose?”

  His hand lifted. His fingers hovered over her cheek.

  “Lover,” he said, nodding slightly.

  Not in a very long time.

  “Obsession,” Luke decided, seeming to consider things. His fingers weren’t touching her cheek, not yet, but he was close. “Weakness—”

  A growl broke the air.

  And then a strong, tanned hand was grabbing Luke’s wrist. “Mora doesn’t like to be touched.”

  Leo. Leo’s snarling voice. Leo…standing in the bathroom doorway.

  Was the place just wide open to everyone?

  Luke gave a rumbling laugh. “Ah, see, I was right. Obsession. I figured you had to be close. Not like you’d just wander away after having lost her for so many years.”

  Mora turned her head and her gaze slid over Leo’s face.

  Something is different.

  A wild edge seemed to cover him. His smile was a little cruel. His eyes glinted with a power that seemed dangerous. His hair was tousled. He didn’t even have on a shirt, just a pair of jeans that clung low on his hips. His arms bulged with muscles, his chest appeared bigger than before and—

  “I can’t believe Fate lied to me.” Luke’s face reflected mock shock. “She stared me right in the eyes and said that you were out killing. Like I was supposed to buy—”

  Leo shoved his brother aside. “She doesn’t have on clothes.”