Fate Succumbs

by Tammy Blackwell

  I expected a lot of things, but a gun wasn’t one of them. I darted to the left, grabbed Makya’s arm, and used his momentum to throw him over my head… and directly into the outdoor fireplace Liam had lit earlier in the evening.

  “You might want to stop, drop, and roll there, buddy,” Jase said when a flaming Makya jerked himself back onto the porch.

  Toby tossed a throw around Makya’s shoulders and threw him to the ground.

  “Fourteen minutes.” My voice sounded cold and firm despite the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

  Makya threw off the blanket, and I could see burns all down his left arm and across his back where his shirt had been charred off. They looked painful, but not life threatening. With one final declaration that we could all perform sex acts on ourselves, he jumped off the porch and started walking in a ridiculously leisurely fashion towards the road.

  Chapter 27

  “How are you really doing?” I asked Charlie, flopping down next to him on the two person glider. The adults had all found their way to various beds and inflatable mattresses, leaving the under twenty crowd to hang on the porch.

  “I’m fine?” He looked genuinely confused. “Why?”

  I grabbed his cane and twirled it like one of those wooden rifle things the marching band chicks have. “No reason.”

  Jase, who was once again snuggled up with Talley, reached over and took the cane, which never stopped spinning as it passed from my hand to his. “His left leg and back are jacked up. The back was broken, and the leg is from the gunshot wound. He was supposed to shoot his inner-thigh. He missed.”

  I made my hand into the shape of a gun and pointed at my leg. And then I tried a different angle. And then another.

  “Okay, I give up. How did you miss?”

  Charlie scooted down in the chair and then kicked up with his good leg. The cane went flying. He caught it before it smacked into his head without even looking up.

  “Guess I’m just clumsy.”

  I laughed, because that was what I was supposed to do, but it didn’t feel right. I hooked my arm with his and laid my head on his shoulder. At one time, sitting like that with Charlie would have sent my heart into spasms of excitement, but now it did the opposite. Being able to touch him, to know he was okay, calmed me. “You know I’m really mad at you, right? What kind of moronic move was that anyway? What were you thinking trying to take on the Alpha Male and three members of The Alpha Pack on your own?”

  “I was thinking, ‘I’m not going to let them kill one of my best friends,’ at first; and then I was thinking, ‘I’m not going to let them kill me’; and by the end I was thinking about how the cake is a lie, but I’m pretty sure that was the brain injury taking over.”

  “First, the cake is a lie? Thanks for that vote of confidence. And secondly, a brain injury? Seriously?”

  Joshua, who was about three-quarters of the way asleep, allowed a single eyelid to slit open. “Did someone say cake?”

  “It wasn’t so much a brain injury as a concussion,” said Jase.

  “A concussion is a brain injury, genius.”

  Jase looked at Talley, who confirmed my facts.

  “Well, he’s no longer brain injured, so unwind your knickers.”

  Again Joshua’s eye slit open. “Did someone say Snickers?” And then he snored.

  “Is it an eating disorder or sleeping disorder?” The guy seemed nice enough, and I was all for an enemy of my enemy being my friend, but Joshua was about three steps to the Russell Brand side of weird.

  “It’s a circadian rhythm issue,” Joshua said without opening his eyes. “This staying awake all day is killing me.”

  “To be fair, it’s also an incurable sweet tooth issue,” Talley said. “Apparently living forever means you can live off a steady diet of sugar and starch without having to worry about diabetes.”

  “You’re just jealous.”

  “And you’re somehow snoring and talking at the same time. Go to bed.”

  “Talley Matthews, I am old enough to be your grandfather. Do not tell me what to do.”

  We all just sat there and watched Talley stare him down.

  “Fine,” he finally relented not thirty seconds later.

  Not long after Joshua shuffled into the house, everyone else began succumbing to exhaustion. I was tired, too, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go inside. With the influx of people, Michelle redid all the sleeping arrangements, throwing Liam and me in the same room. That was not a situation I wanted to walk into. So, instead I stayed on the porch, watching the stars from a cocoon of blankets.

  “Got room in there for me?”

  I opened up one side of my blankets. “There’s always room for Talley-O.”

  My best friend snuggled in beside me, resting her head on my shoulder. “Go ahead,” I said when I felt the gentle push of her Sight. Since she was touching me, I knew each emotion she felt: surprise, sympathy, and finally, exasperation.

  “I did it again.”

  “Did what again?” she asked.

  “I screwed up with this whole mating thing.” I rubbed a hand over my face. “God, I hate this aspect of Shifter life. Aren’t relationships hard enough without adding in some supernatural life-long binding crap?”

  “Talk to me about it.”

  “Why? Didn’t you already grab it out of my head?”

  She burrowed in closer, the fragrance of her baby shampoo overpowering every other scent. The smell brought back so many memories I felt choked by them all.

  “Maybe I need you to explain it to me.”

  “Maybe you’re trying some sort of psycho-analytical bull crap.”

  A silent chuckle. “Maybe, but tell me about it anyway.”

  I sighed. “Rachel says Liam and I are mates, and since I get the same sort of snippets of emotions off of him that I do when you’re projecting to me, I tend to believe her.” Because, let’s face it, that’s what all those phantom emotions were. I wasn’t fooling anyone, myself included, by pretending otherwise.

  “And you don’t want to be Liam’s mate?”

  A star shot across the sky, and like a little kid, I made a silent wish.

  “Did you know Rachel says you’re a star? All Seers are. You’re stars, and I’m the moon. I’m not sure what Joshua is supposed to be. Maybe a cloud.”

  “Scout, you’re avoiding the question.”

  Yes. Yes, I am.

  “He’s not the person I thought he was.”

  “And is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

  “He’s not angry," I said. "Well, he is angry, but he’s also sad. And guilty. And overwhelmingly burdened with the weight of the entire world.”

  “Reminds me of this blond chick I used to know.”

  “He’s so Dominant and bossy you want to strangle him half the time, but when no one’s looking, he’s kind and thoughtful. He even has a sense of humor.”

  “Sounds like a pretty good guy.”

  “He’s a great guy.”

  “Not to mention incredibly attractive.”

  “Ridiculously so.”

  “Do you think you could love him?”

  “I know I do.”

  Good God. I said it out loud. That made it real, right?

  “So, what’s the problem?”

  “Take your pick. He thinks I’m betraying Alex. His wolf chose me as his mate, and he resents it. We’re in the middle of picking a fight with the most powerful Shifters on the planet, which isn’t exactly the ideal time to get involved in a relationship.” When I tasted blood, I removed the inside of my cheek from my teeth. “And let’s not leave out the whole ‘Scout is a love whore’ issue.”

  Talley tilted her face up. “What is a love whore exactly?”

  “You know, some reckless person who goes around falling in love with every attractive guy she comes across. Charlie. Alex. Liam. I’m all, ‘Oh! Pretty boy!’ and the next thing you know I’m ruining everyone’s lives because I want to curl up inside them and live
there forever.”

  “That is quite possibly the most bizarre and creepy description of what it feels like to fall in love I’ve ever heard.”

  “Falling in love is bizarre and creepy.”

  “And awesomtastically, amazingly wonderful.” A huge smile. “I know you think you made a mistake when you forced Jase to declare me his mate, but you didn’t. You did us both the biggest favor anyone has done for someone else ever.”

  You couldn’t argue against the joy radiating from her. “You’re going to have to tell me how exactly you two became the world’s happiest couple.”

  “I will. After.”

  “After what?”

  “After you become Alpha.”

  I couldn’t stop a chuckle from squeaking out of my throat. “Are you bribing me to stay alive, Talley Anne Matthews?”

  “And accept the position once you earn it.”

  “Jase really has been a bad influence on you.”

  “He says the same thing about you.” Her voice was laced with humor, but when she sat up, it was gone. “You’re going to survive this.”

  “Of course I am.” I tried for a smile. “Me and Death, we keep going at each other, and I keep coming out on top. Why would this time be any different?”

  “This time, you have the hope of an entire species and the heart of a mate depending on your survival.”

  I glowered. “Thank you. Like I needed more stress.”

  “I’m just ‘keeping it real,’ as the kids like to say.”

  “What kids?”

  “The ones from 1990.”

  We sat in silence for a while after that. I was thinking about being “the hope of an entire species” while Talley might have dozed off a bit.

  “You realize the fault in your logic, don’t you?”

  Or maybe she was just staying super-quiet so she could scare the pee out of me when she finally decided to speak again.

  “My logic is always sound, but which particular logical explanation are you having trouble understanding?”

  “Liam’s wolf chose you to be his mate?”

  “Our wolves… they mesh. They always have.” He was the first thing Wolf Scout knew in this world, and her trust of him has never wavered. She considered him hers, and he didn’t seemed to have any problems with her claim. Their bond was undeniable. “Wolf Liam took the choice away from Human Liam.”

  It ripped my heart in two to admit such a thing, so it ticked me off a little that Talley found it so freaking hysterical.

  “Wolf Liam? Human Liam? You act like they’re two different people.”

  “They are.”

  “Are Wolf Scout and Human Scout different?”

  “Of course.”

  “How?”

  Why was she asking me? Wasn’t she the one who explained it all to me in the first place?

  “Wolf Scout is all instinct and acts without thought. I over think what I’m having for breakfast.”

  “But the base things - your beliefs, hopes, fears, and loves - do those change? Or is Scout always Scout, no matter how she may look?”

  I could see where this was going.

  “It’s different…”

  “And even if Liam’s wolf was the one to make the choice to take you as his mate - which I don’t believe for one minute - you’re ignoring the fact that if ever there was a wolf who sometimes took human form instead of the other way around, it’s Liam Cole.”

  This is why every girl needs a best friend. Sometimes you have to have someone to pull your head out of the sand and show you the stuff you’re too stubborn or stupid to see.

  “You think he does want to be with me?”

  “Seriously? You have to ask?”

  I collapsed against the back of the glider, relief and frustration vying for the top spot. “Then why is he being so difficult about the whole situation? Couldn’t he just kiss me and say, ‘Yay. We like each other and get to spend the rest of our lives together’? Is that really so hard?”

  “I didn’t say you guys don’t have baggage.”

  “Alex?”

  “Alex.”

  And back into a little ball I went. “I know he’s not Alex, Tal. Seriously, I do.”

  “I know that, but does Liam?”

  “Ummm….”

  “And what about Charlie?”

  “Confusing Charlie with Liam has never been a problem.”

  “You know that isn’t what I meant.”

  “Charlie and me…” How to explain it? “Until the day I die I’m going to feel responsible for Charlie’s emotional well being, and he’s going to keep doing stupid stuff like shooting himself in the leg to try to protect me. We’ll love each other forever, but like family. Any chance we ever had at a romance died along with Alex. We’ve both accepted that.” And while it still made my heart ache, I really had accepted it fully. “One day he’s going to meet someone I deem worthy, and their kids will call me ‘Aunt Scout’. Every time they get in trouble, I’ll tell them a story of something equally horrific we did as children.”

  “Remind me to keep your actual nieces and nephews far, far away from you.”

  “Not a chance, future sister-in-law.”

  Talley’s hand stroked through my hair. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say Liam doesn’t know any of this either.”

  “Stories about our energy-filled, misguided youth?”

  A classic Talley/Mom look. “That you and Charlie aren’t you and Charlie.”

  “It’s never come up.”

  “You have to talk to him, Scout. You can’t just go around hoping things will work themselves out. You have to do some of the heavy lifting.”

  “You know, he’s probably overheard this entire conversation, so I don’t really--”

  “Talk to him.”

  “How about after?”

  “How about now?”

  I growled, but not because Talley was pushing me. It was because she was right and I knew it. I looked up to the second story as if Shifterdom came with X-ray vision.

  Talley stood and stretched. “I can see my work here is done.” She grabbed my hand, hauling me to my feet. “Now, get up there and claim your mate, Scout Donovan, Donovan-Hagan-Matthews Pack Leader and future Alpha Female.”

  ***

  There was a wolf in my bed.

  No. Not “a wolf”. I had to quit thinking of it like that. Liam. Liam was in wolf form in my bed.

  And if he could cheat, then so could I.

  “It was the day we fought the wolf pack,” I said, sitting down on the side of the bed. “I know I didn’t tell you before, but the only reason I was able to Change so fast in the daylight was because I knew if I didn’t, you would die, and I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t lose you.” I buried a hand in his fur, and he laid his head on my leg. “I almost died myself. I know that you know it was bad, but I’m telling you I was there, in that In Between place with Alex, and I was given the choice. I could go quietly into that gentle night and be with him forever, or I could come back and rage against the dying of the light to be with you.” I looked into his eyes, eyes that were one hundred percent human. “I chose you, Liam. I didn’t even have to think about it.”

  I brought my hand up to rub the fur on top of his head and tried to ignore the way it was shaking. “I know you don’t want this whole mating thing, and honestly, I think we’re way too young to be making lifelong commitments, but it’s over and done with now. Maybe it’s not what either of us planned on happening, and maybe it’s not the ideal situation, but it’s the one we’ve been given. And it may be selfish, but I can’t help but be happy that I’m going to get to spend the rest of my life getting to know you. I mean, I know it’s not going to be easy, and we’ll probably have such epic fights there will have to be an entire volume devoted to them in The Repository, but I want to be there for all of it.”

  Liam stood up. My heart clenched, certain he was going to go Change, but instead, he repositioned himself on the bed. At first
I thought it was another rejection, but then he lifted his head and stared at my pillow to say, “What are you waiting for?” Knowing I wasn’t getting anything else from him, I crawled onto the bed, eschewing the covers for his warmth.

  Chapter 28

  “They’re coming.”

  I landed in a heap at Talley’s feet, thanks to Joshua the Freakishly Strong Immortal.

  “They who?” I panted out. I held onto my ribs as I leaned to the right, and…

  Yep. Some of them were definitely broken. It was a good thing I was becoming an old pro at Changing whenever I wanted, since everyone was using training as an excuse to play the Beat the Crap Out of Scout game. In forty-eight hours, I had to heal a sprained ankle, two broken fingers, and a dislocated shoulder.

  “The Alphas,” Talley said. “Mischa just sent me a text.”

  While Jase was sucking up to Sarvarna, Talley had been getting closer to the Seers of the Alpha Pack. In many ways, it was the riskier endeavor. No one knew for sure what Sarvarna Saw - the most popular rumors pegged it as either opportunity or what a person desires most - but everyone in our camp agreed it was something which allowed her to manipulate those around her. Works pretty well when you’re playing politics, but it doesn’t really help you identify a spy. On the other hand, Talley was dealing with Seers able to pull thoughts from her head. One misstep and it would have been game over. Fortunately, she soon discovered two of the more powerful Alpha Pack Seers - Mischa and Lizzie - were already on Team Scout. Apparently Mischa Saw something very convincing when she touched me last summer, so over the winter they began passing along helpful information to Talley when they could.

  “And by ‘coming’ you mean…?”

  Talley twirled a piece of hair around her finger. “Here. They’re coming here.”

  “Do we know when?”

  Talley shook her head as Charlie swore from the corner where he and Jase had been lifting weights.

  “It was Makya,” Toby said. “Damn it, how could he do that? What the hell was he thinking?”

  I bit my tongue to keep from commenting on Makya’s ability to think. His slimy weaselness was hitting Toby hard. The Pack Leader felt as if he had failed us both. I’m not exactly sure what it was he thought he could have done for Makya, other than possibly removing his vocal cords.