Adelaide's Fate (Her Fate Series Book 1)

by G. Bailey

  “Adie, there is someone at the door for you!” Sophie shouts up the stairs as I finish brushing my hair in the bathroom. I quickly pull up my black skirt over my hips and tuck in my white shirt. I know one of the guys is taking me to the base today, and I thought I might as well dress the part of receptionist. I slide the black heels on and glance at myself in the mirror. My red hair is in curls over my shoulders, parted in the middle, and I have put a little makeup on that somehow makes my eyelashes seem really long. The white shirt has little heart-shaped black buttons, which I’ve left the top two undone, as it looks good. I can do this. It’s only a tour of the Hunter’s Organisation base. Likely the deadliest place in the world for someone like me. No big deal.

  “Adie!” Sophie shouts, before banging on the bathroom door. I grab my phone off the side cabinet and open the door, seeing my sister with her arms crossed. “The guy is downstairs with Nath, and I’m going to repack my stuff for the move to the castle.”

  “Alright, sis,” I say, shutting the bathroom door as she goes to her room. I walk down the stairs, following the deep voices to the lounge, and I go to open the door when I hear my name and pause.

  “What the fuck do you mean you are going on a date with Adie?” the man asks, and it takes me a few seconds to realise it’s that Mich guy.

  “What I just said. I’m not going to apologise for asking her or pull out of it. I like her,” Nath states, making me smile a little. “Since when do you give a shit who I date? Who anyone dates? You don’t date anyone, Mich, ever.”

  “I give a shit because we are on a fucking mission, and she is clearly becoming a big distraction,” Mich snaps, though I can scent a lie on his lips. I frown, wondering what his real problem is because he is lying to Nath right now.

  “I can do my job and date her,” Nath replies.

  “This is a mistake. Rick is seriously protective of her, there is no way he isn’t going to lose his shit with you when you tell him,” Mich snaps, and I frown. Why would Rick be protective of me?

  “Rick will understand, and no doubt ask Adie out himself. I’m not selfish enough to stop them when I see the connection too,” Nath retorts. My eyes widen when I realise he is talking about me dating both of them. Is that even a thing? Don’t guys get jealous, or have I missed something by not dating? Is this normal now? I shake my head. I don’t know a damn thing about guys. Maybe supernatural ones have different rules or something. I’m not sure I could even handle one guy, let alone two.

  “You guys have all lost your goddamn minds over the pretty red head,” Mich mutters, sounding more pissed off. I decide it might be a good time to walk in and stop this. I push the door open and walk in, seeing both the guys standing by the window, turning to look at me. Mich has a white shirt on, tucked into tight black trousers that showcase his small, toned waist that goes up to his large shoulders that the white shirt just about manages to keep in. Mich looks ready for work—and modeling for an office magazine. I have a sinking feeling I might be spending the day with him instead of Rick or Nath like I hoped. Nath’s eyes seem to eat up my appearance, running over my dress and all the way up until he gets to my eyes. I briefly notice Mich looking at me strangely for a second before his emotions are blanked, and he is back to an emotionless expression.

  “Hey, Mich,” I awkwardly say, and smile at Nath as I’ve already seen him this morning when I made him breakfast as a thank you for dinner.

  “Adelaide,” he responds coldly. “I am taking you into the base today. I’m the safest as I can simply move us out of there if anything is wrong. We don’t suspect Graves knows what you are, but it’s better to be safe in these kinds of instances.”

  “Right, makes sense,” I reply, and there’s an awkward silence as Nath and Mich stare at each other for a little while before Nath walks over to me, pulling me into a tight hug. I didn’t know we hugged now, but I don’t pull away as he smells amazing this close. Like lemon and honey, I think. Whatever it is, my wolf is basically wanting to roll in it, and I’m not disagreeing with her as I press my head into his neck.

  “Be safe today, and Mich isn’t always a dickhead like he is acting like right now. Control issues,” Nath whispers to me, but he purposely keeps his voice a little louder than he should do.

  “I’m not a dickhead, wanker,” Mich grumbles as Nath lets me go, winking at me before sliding around me to the door.

  “I will look after Sophie today, at least until you are home, and then Mich is staying for tonight’s watch,” Nath explains to me. “The sofa is pretty comfy to be honest.”

  “I’m sure it won’t be,” Mich grumbles behind me. Wow, this guy is moodier than I thought.

  “Oh, okay. Thank you for protecting me last night, and I’m glad the sofa wasn’t too bad,” I say to Nath.

  “Anything for you,” he says, flashing me a seductive smile that makes my knees feel weak. “I’ll literally do anything for you, or to you, my beautiful Adelaide.”

  “Enough of the flirty crap. Let’s go, we don’t have all day,” Mich says, making me jump as my cheeks burn red, and Nath walks out the room, chuckling low. Mich storms past me, and I quickly follow him out of my house and towards his driveway. Mich unlocks the black Jeep, which I’m not surprised is his car because it’s the most sensible. I’m getting the feeling Mich is the sensible one of the bunch. I quickly get into the passenger seat after struggling a little to climb in with the heels. I slide my phone into the side door as Mich turns the engine on and speeds out of the driveway. I struggle to clip my seatbelt in and notice Mich hasn’t put his on at all.

  “You should put your seatbelt on,” I inform him.

  “I can disappear anytime I want. If the car crashed, I would just leave. A seatbelt is pointless for someone like me,” he explains, making it sound like that was obvious and I’m stupid for not realising it. I really don’t like this guy.

  “Are you always a dickhead?” I blurt out. “I can see why you and Josh are friends.”

  “I’m not like Josh,” he replies sharply, looking at me for a second with his eyes narrowed. “You don’t know any of us to judge us this quickly, Adelaide.”

  “You sure do act like it, Mich,” I respond. “If you don’t want me to see you as a complete asshole, try being nicer.”

  “Why would I care what you see me as?” he asks, and I don’t answer him, choosing to look out the window instead. He is right, he doesn’t have to care what I think, and he clearly doesn’t. The man just frustrates me.

  “You worry me. I like to keep my pack in control. I’m the beta, the one that solves the problems and deals with anything that threatens us,” Mich randomly says, his voice quiet like he doesn’t want to tell me this, but some part of him feels like he needs to. He says he doesn’t care about my opinion, but here he is, telling me something to change it. Damn confusing man.

  “You think I threaten the guys?” I ask, assuming he is talking about me. I really don’t think I threaten them in any kind of way. They are all built like gods, and they can clearly protect themselves. How could I threaten them in any kind of way?

  “Simply, yes. Rick and Nath are going to argue over you because they are both falling fast. Josh is one stone’s throw away from losing his shit and doesn’t need any changes in this mission. Nath already won’t listen to my advice,” Mich says. “I could keep listing the shit that has changed in a week, but I think you get the gist.”

  “Maybe some changes are good?” I suggest lightly. “Maybe you don’t always need to be in complete control.”

  “Maybe not, and then maybe we all get killed protecting you, Adie,” Mich mutters, turning down a road that seems to appear out of nowhere in a row of trees. The road seems to stretch on forever, and in the silent car, it soon becomes uncomfortable.

  “I won’t get everyone killed,” I tell him. “I’m only here for a month, Mich.”

  “I owe Rick, Nath and Josh big time. I wouldn’t be the man I am without them, and this isn't just about control like you
are thinking. They are my family, and I won’t let anyone break that,” he tells me, glancing at me for a second as his hands tighten on the wheel.

  “How do you think you owe them?” I ask, wondering if he will open up to me and hoping to distract him from thinking I’m the wolf in the pigs’ pen. I mean I am a wolf, but I’m not going to kill everyone.

  “When I was a kid, I lost my hearing when my pack was attacked and witches cut my ears off when I was in wolf form. I was lucky to survive when the rest of my pack was killed, but I was too scared to talk to anyone, and I couldn’t hear a thing for a long time. Another pack adopted me from the human social care system and brought me up. I had always been able to speak in people’s heads, because I’m half witch, and I decided to use that even though my hearing healed over time. I wasn’t brave enough to admit that I didn’t know how to speak and ask for help. Rick, Josh and Nath spent months teaching me in secret, so I wouldn’t be embarrassed,” he explains, glancing at me with those deep brown eyes of his.

  “That’s so sweet of them,” I say, seeing the guys in a different light. Especially Josh. I never thought in a million years a guy like him would do that for anyone.

  “They are my pack, and Rick is our alpha. I don’t know what it is about you, but you are different,” he tells me. “I just hope different doesn’t destroy us like I believe it would. I bet half the pack wouldn’t even fight being destroyed for you.”

  “What does that even mean?” I ask.

  “Doesn’t matter, Adie. Here we are,” Mich nods his head in front of us, and I follow his movement to see the massive electric fence gate we are driving up to. There are three gates, each one lined with men in dark suits, only the yellow dragon symbol of the Hunter’s Organisation on their uniforms. They have guns held at their sides. “Time to enter hell. You best smile.”

  “You are clear to enter,” the hunter says through Mich’s window, and pats the side of the car before Mich drives us through the three gates as they slowly open one by one.

  “Don’t look so nervous,” Mich says, and I flash him a glare. “See, that’s a better expression.”

  “There I thought the dickhead side of you was gone for a bit,” I mutter, and he only laughs as he drives us down the gravel driveway. I’m surprised that the hunter base is such a small building, with five windows and only one level by the looks of it. There are dozens of cars parked outside in the parking lot so it takes Mich a few minutes to find an empty spot and park up.

  “It’s smaller than I thought it would be,” I admit, needing to speak as the nervous tension flittering through me is overwhelming.

  “You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover,” Mich warns, and then he gets out of the car. I undo my seatbelt and slide out, shutting the door before Mich locks it as he comes around the car to my side. We walk out of the cars to the main path and up to the building which has sliding glass doors that open automatically when we get close. The inside is one big room with a row of five elevators on the one wall. The walls are painted a gold fancy colour which matches the golden tiled floor in the room that shines under the bright lights. There is a big receptionist desk which is empty of anyone behind it, and there is a phone ringing out. It is creepy how the entire room is empty. There are lovely flowers in large vases all around the room and on the desk, and paintings of beaches on the walls. You would never expect this place kills supernaturals for a living. You’d never expect this place is full of horrors.

  I swallow the nervous feeling in my throat as I look around and tell myself that Mich would get me out of here if there is an issue. I expected it to be full of guards, but when I look around more closely, I can see the cameras everywhere and the no doubt hidden security. Mich nods his head to the elevators, and we walk over, going to the one on the far right. Mich presses the button for the elevators, and we wait quietly for them to come down. A few minutes later, it beeps and the doors open to reveal the empty, gold elevator with shiny gold coloured metal walls. We get inside, and there is only one button which says “BOSS” in bold white letters on a black background. Mich presses that button, which lights up red, and the doors close. There is a tense silence as we wait for the elevator to go down, neither one of us wanting to say anything, and I get more nervous by the second. I nearly jump when I hear Mich’s voice in my head, sounding like a whisper.

  I will keep you safe. Breathe, Adie. I look up at him, and he nods once at me, his strong, determined eyes making me realise I need to relax and let out the breath I am holding. It seems like forever before the elevator stops, and the doors slowly open again. Mich walks out first, and I follow, pausing to look around the new room we have come into. This room is just as nice as the reception room, but more personal and feels like a room in someone’s house with its dark red and brown painted walls and wooden floors. It’s almost homey. There are filing cabinets lining two walls, locked tight, and bookcases filled with old books on the one wall. It seems a bit odd to have a room like this in a hunter’s base, but I am pretty sure this is an office as there is a desk in the middle. There are two laptops on top of the desk, new expensive looking ones, and a few jars filled with pink glitter looking stuff next to a desk lamp. I will have to ask the others what that stuff is later.

  One of the bookcases moves, opening up, and Mr. Graves walks in, clicking his walking stick against the wood floor as the door closes behind him. Even for an evil place, that is one cool door. Mr. Graves’s whole face lights up in a big smile when he sees Mich and me, and he walks over to us, his eyes drifting over my outfit in a way that feels creepy.

  “I am so happy to see you here, Adelaide,” he states. “Looking more beautiful than the last time we met.”

  If he keeps looking at you like his next meal, I’m going to break his face and screw this mission up. Mich whispers in my head, and I have to clear my throat, trying to pretend I didn’t just hear him say that to me. Since when was Mich protective?

  “I can’t wait to see around. It’s not every day you get invited into one of the legendary hunter’s bases,” I say, putting on the fakest happy voice I can and hiding how terrified I am in it. I’m not lying when I say they are legendary, but not in a good way. They are legendary because most people are scared of hunters and stay well out of their way.

  “Legendary you say? Well, I suppose we are. Everything we do is for the best of the human species! We will be remembered in history as legendary,” he says, sounding completely crazy. I suppose he would have to tell himself something so he could sleep at night.

  “I agree. That is why I have decided to accept your job proposal,” I say before he can say anything else. We might as well get this out of the way, so I can get the hell out of here for today.

  “Brilliant. Well, this day just keeps getting better and better,” Mr. Graves says, holding out a hand for me to shake. I shake his cold hand, feeling like I’ve just struck a deal with the devil, before dropping it as quickly as I can. I glance up at Mich, who doesn’t look impressed as he watches me with his arms crossed.

  “Why don’t I give Adie a tour, Graves?” Mich suggests. “I remember you saying you have meetings all day or I would suggest you come with us.”

  “Yes, that sounds like a brilliant idea. I only wish for Adie to visit the reception, this floor, and floor three. The others aren’t for her to see,” Mr. Graves says, walking away from us and going to sit on his desk, resting his walking stick against the desk.

  “Yes, sir,” Mich replies, nodding his head at the elevator for me to follow him.

  “Why not?” I blurt out to Mr. Graves.

  Adie, for god’s sake, don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answers to. You know why he doesn’t want you to see the other floors. They torture our people on those floors. Mich whispers in my mind as I stare at Mr. Graves and keep my expression as natural as possible as I regret saying a word now. Of course, Mr. Graves wouldn’t want me to see those floors, they must scare anyone.

  “A creature as lovely as you do
esn’t need to see the monsters we have to keep here. It is for your own good,” Mr. Graves smoothly answers.

  “Okay. I understand completely,” I whisper, not wanting to see that anyway. I know I would just want to break them all out, and knowing I couldn’t would haunt me. I have to remember that the end plan is to get them all out, and that’s what will happen if I just play the receptionist game well. That is what the guys are here for. They are the heroes, and I’m like their temporary sidekick.

  “Please start next Monday, and I will get your ID passes done in time,” Mr. Graves says, and I smile at him.

  “I can’t wait. Goodbye for now, Mr. Graves,” I reply with another fake smile and turn around with Mich, who presses the button for the elevator. We both get in, and Mr. Graves’s eyes stay locked on mine until the elevator doors close.

  “You did good,” Mich whispers, his voice almost silent, and I turn, looking up at him, and nod once. I’m almost thankful he used his real voice and didn’t speak in my mind. His voice is comforting. Mich quickly shows me around level three, which is filled with coffee machines, microwaves on counters and fridges. It is clearly the break room, and I can see why Mr. Graves wouldn’t mind me coming in here. When we have seen that, Mich leads me back to the car, and I quickly get inside, shutting the door and putting my seatbelt on as Mich starts the car.