Fated (Forever Book 2)

by Regan Ure

  I gave Blake one last lingering look before I left my room. Even as hard as I was trying to stop myself from feeling anything for him, I didn’t want to leave him.

  My first stop was the gym. It was quiet. It was so early it was still dark. I began to train and felt better when my mind shifted from the emotional turmoil inside of me to the burn of my muscles.

  “You’re up early, Cinderella,” a voice behind me said, jolting me out of focus.

  Breathing hard and trying to calm my heart down, I turned to face Kyle. I hated that damn nickname.

  “Geez, you scared me,” I said while trying to catch my breath.

  “You should always be aware of your surroundings, especially with Richard still lurking around,” he lectured me as he crossed his arms over his chest, pinning me with a frown.

  He was right but I rolled my eyes at him.

  “I’m sorry about your mom,” he said softly, and I hated how the pain in my chest reminded me of the loss I’d suffered.

  I didn’t reply. Instead, I pressed my lips together and gave him a brief nod. A few moments of silence stretched into a minute.

  “So, you all loved-up now?” he asked, studying me carefully.

  I didn’t want to talk to anyone about what had happened between Blake and me.

  “It’s none of your business,” I shot back at him and I turned my back to him and faced the punching bag.

  “I just want you to be happy,” he said softly from behind me.

  I took a deep breath and released it. Why did so many people care?

  “I am happy,” I lied. I was miserable.

  I’d just lost my mom and I refused to accept Blake the way he deserved. Grief and guilt were eating away at me and there was nothing I could do to stop it. As much as I wanted to control my emotions, I knew it was only a matter of time before they broke free and it was inevitable.

  “I don’t want to talk anymore,” I admitted to him as my hands held the punching bag.

  “Fine,” he said and I expected him to leave me but instead he stood still, remaining beside me.

  “I could do with some training as well,” he explained when I shot him a questioning look.

  I shrugged and went back to punching the punching bag while doing my best to ignore Kyle.

  For the next hour, in silence, Kyle trained alongside me. At first it annoyed me that he hadn’t left me alone but as time progressed it was nice to have the company although we never talked.

  “So this is where you disappeared to?” I heard a voice say and I turned to see Blake leaning against the door.

  I couldn’t help the flutter of butterflies inside my stomach at the sight of him. The pull to go to him and run my hands through his hair and cover his mouth with mine was strong, but I resisted it.

  “And you have company,” he stated, glaring at Kyle. Even though we’d mated, he was still jealous of Kyle. It was such a guy thing.

  “Yes, I’m her friend. Nothing more,” Kyle stated in annoyance as he turned to face Blake.

  “She's mine,” Blake stated like Kyle didn’t already know that. I rolled my eyes.

  I didn’t have time for this type of crap. I walked up to Blake and kissed him hard on his mouth. The calmness that spread through me was like a drug I was addicted to.

  “I’m yours—you have nothing to worry about,” I assured him before I turned and left the two of them in the gym glaring at each other while I went to have a shower.

  Guys tended to be territorial about their girls but werewolves were something else entirely. It didn’t seem to mean anything to Blake that I’d mated with him and that we’d slept in the same bed together.

  I liked Kyle. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, he was a friend. He was one of the few that had seen the good in me when everyone had already judged me. And as much as Blake didn’t like Kyle being around me, I wouldn’t allow Blake to dictate to me who I was and wasn’t allowed to be around.

  Once I was showered, I dressed in a set of clothes I left at the gym. Blake was leaning against the wall and Kyle was gone when I walked back into the gym.

  “You should be taking it easy,” he told me as he pushed off the wall and walked to me.

  “I know but I needed to take my mind off things,” I admitted.

  “I understand,” he said softly, pulling me into a hug. I allowed myself a moment to lay my head against his chest and breathe him in. I wanted to be able to lean against him and allow him to take control, but I just couldn’t let myself let go of the control I needed.

  Looking up to him, he kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring the feel, then I pushed away from him and he released me.

  “I need to arrange my mother’s funeral,” I told him. He scanned my face like he was looking for something that was missing.

  “You seem to be handling your mom’s death really well,” he said as his eyes narrowed.

  I shrugged. I didn’t want to have that talk now. There was so much to do. A few moments of silence descended between us before he stepped forward and took my hand in his.

  “Come on, let’s go and do what we need to so you can have a little downtime before the change starts,” he instructed, and I nodded in agreement.

  As much as I didn’t want to admit it, it was nice to have someone by my side who was ready to help me shoulder the responsibilities I had and make my load lighter. Even though I’d fought it hard, I realized I loved him just a little bit.

  He hovered around me for the next couple of hours. He watched me closely for any signs of the change that we knew were going to start soon. I kept myself busy with arranging my mom’s burial. It didn’t leave me with time to stress over what was to come. I knew from experience that it was very painful and mine was going to be worse because I was an alpha.

  You’re beautiful, I heard Blake say through the mind-link. Startled, I turned to face him.

  I’d forgotten that we were connected even though he hadn’t joined my pack.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said as he stood a couple of feet away from me.

  “It’s fine, I just forgot that was going to happen,” I said, feeling nervous about the reality of our mating.

  He reached out and took my hand into his. The feeling that spread through me calmed my excited heart.

  “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to touching you,” he admitted as he looked down to where our hands were joined.

  I felt the same way.

  “Hey,” Curtis greeted us as he walked into the room, shattering the intense moment I was having with Blake.

  “Sorry to interrupt you love birds,” he teased, flashing a teasing smile.

  I rolled my eyes at him as I pulled my hand out of Blake’s hand. Immediately I felt a loss.

  “So glad to see you guys have mated,” he added, and I felt my cheeks tinge with a blush. It was weird how an intimate thing like mating with my mate was common knowledge to everyone now.

  “At least you'll be able to protect yourself,” he said, his expression becoming more serious.

  “Yes,” I confirmed, still struggling to shake off my embarrassment when I thought back to the finer details of my mating with Blake. It didn’t help that Blake noticed my embarrassment and gave me a sexy smile. It was like he liked the fact that thinking about that made me react the way I was.

  I ignored Blake.

  “You still keeping a handle on the perimeter checks?” I asked Curtis.

  After my last attack, we’d discovered that Richard had someone on the inside feeding him information. It was the only way to explain how Richard had been able to slip through the security in my territory. It unsettled me that I had a traitor in my pack and none of us had any idea who the person was. That would be my next focus once my change was complete and my mom was buried.

  I had to fight the emotion that wanted to swell up inside of me at the thought of my mom. I pushed all thoughts of my mother from my mind in order to keep myself together.

&
nbsp; “Yes,” he confirmed, nodding his head. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine,” I replied, even though I was starting to get a headache.

  Let me know when it starts, he said through the mind-link, just to me, and I nodded my head.

  “I’ll check up on you later,” Curtis said before he left.

  “I hate it when you guys talk through the mind-link and I have no idea what you are talking about,” Blake muttered to me, looking a little annoyed.

  “You know it’s easier talking through the mind-link sometimes. It isn’t like we are trying to keep something from you,” I assured him.

  His forehead creased.

  “I thought mating with you would allow me to see inside your mind, but I don’t know you any better than before,” he told me.

  I was still getting used to the whole mating thing and I wasn’t finding it easy. My thoughts were my own and I didn’t know if they were something I was willing to share.

  “I’m used to keeping my thoughts to myself,” I tried to explain with a shrug. Having the life I’d had meant I was always aware of what I was thinking and I was good at keep them from prying minds.

  “I know that,” he said as he dropped his arms to his side. “I just keep hoping that you'll let me in.”

  I pressed my lips together as I held his intense gaze. I wanted to say I would try but honestly I wasn’t sure it was something I could do.

  “At some point you have to learn to trust me.”

  I was trying so hard not to be owned by what I was already feeling for him, so letting him inside my personal thoughts wasn’t going to happen. That would be like handing him a piece of my heart and trusting him not to hurt it.

  The throbbing in my head intensified and I rubbed my temple gently.

  “It’s starting, isn’t it?” he asked softly.

  There was no hiding it so I nodded.

  “Come on, it’s time to take it easy,” he instructed firmly, taking my hand into his.

  “But—”

  “No, anything you still need done someone else can take care of,” he told me, leaving no room for arguing. I let him lead the way back to my room.

  I didn’t like being bossed around but the fact that he was doing it because he cared made me go along with it. Once inside my room, I felt my body temperature begin to increase.

  “You're starting to burn up,” Blake said when he put his hand to my temple. A bead of sweat trailed down my cheek.

  “Lie down,” he instructed firmly, pushing me down to lie on my bed.

  I swallowed hard as I watched him disappear into my bathroom. No one had looked after me like he was and it was hard to keep it from opening old wounds of feeling unloved. He reappeared into the room with a damp washcloth that he wiped my face down with.

  I expected him to be worried but he was unusually calm as I felt the heat inside of me skyrocket. I gritted my teeth as the fire inside of me began to burn slowly through to the rest of my body. It seemed to suck up all the air inside of my lungs and I struggled to breathe.

  “It’s okay,” Blake soothed as he pressed the wet cloth to my forehead.

  All coherent thoughts disappeared from my mind as I tried to deal with the pain consuming my body.

  I moaned as I tried to ride the increasing pain. Pain like I’d never felt before ripped through every single cell in my body and I felt like I was going to die. Somewhere outside my daze I heard Blake say something to me, but I couldn’t hear what he said. All I could concentrate on was the steady and soothing tone of his voice. It was like a way of holding on while my body thrashed around, trying to escape the pain that was transforming me.

  As bad as the pain became, I refused to cry out or scream. To me it was a sign of weakness. Wave after wave of pain spread through me as my body temperature leveled out. I felt like my body was burning from the inside out and my breathing was labored.

  I groaned and thrashed, trying to hold on to the soft tone of the voice that was murmuring soft words to me. It was like a flow of water through the blaze consuming me. It felt like it went on forever but never once through all of it did I ever give in to the darkness that offered to ease my pain. I never cried out or screamed once.

  Sweat poured off my body as the pain sliced through me again and again. The voice never stopped and the soothing sound gave me hope that the ordeal would end.

  My eyes began to glaze over with amber and I felt myself start to panic.

  “It’s okay,” the voice soothed. “It'll be over soon.”

  I trusted the voice as I looked into an amber-colored world. As the pain began to ease, I was aware of something cool on my face. It was Blake still wiping me down with cold water to soothe the heat.

  “It’s nearly over,” I heard Blake’s relieved voice say hoarsely. I felt a soft kiss to the forehead and I felt the love I’d been trying to fight flood through me.

  There was no more fighting the love that I felt for my mate.

  I closed my eyes briefly and then opened them again. I saw Blake’s concerned face and I reached out to touch him. The pain began to disappear along with the fire inside of me.

  “I love you,” he whispered to me as my fingers touched his face.

  Exhausted, I smiled as I dropped off into the darkness.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Keri

  My pillow moved and I groaned in protest. I was half asleep and so comfortable, enjoying the surrounding warmth. It moved again and I opened an eye to discover my pillow was Blake and he was looking down at me.

  “Hi,” he greeted as he softly brushed a stray piece of hair from my face. I realized I was lying with my head on his chest. Feeling a little embarrassed that I’d been practically sleeping on top of him, I sat up.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said as he sat up and put a gentle hand to my back.

  “No, it’s okay,” I said, enjoying his soft touch.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked as he scanned my features.

  The question reminded me of the change I had gone through. I was pretty happy I would never have to endure that type of pain again.

  “I feel good,” I replied, feeling stronger than ever before. For once I never felt that inadequate feeling of being physically weaker than my male counterparts.

  I looked down to my hands. They didn’t look any different. I felt stronger but the muscles in my arms hadn’t grown any bigger. It felt so weird. Then I noticed I wasn’t in the clothes that I’d worn yesterday. There was only one explanation for that.

  “Did you change me?” I asked as I looked to Blake. I don’t know why I felt nervous about it because he’d seen me naked before. It shouldn’t be a big deal but it made me feel vulnerable.

  “Yes,” he told me. “After the change, you were so drenched that I had to change your clothes.”

  Although it made me feel weird, I also felt a flutter of butterflies at the fact that he’d cared enough to do that for me.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled, trying to hide my feelings.

  He reached for my hand and held it gently in his.

  “Watching you go through that was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” he said softly. My eyes met his and I saw the fear and concern.

  “I’m okay,” I reassured him. There was no point in telling him that the pain had been so bad I thought I was going to die.

  It was then that I remembered the words he’d whispered to me just before I’d lost consciousness. He loved me. I could see it in his eyes, the way they softened when he looked at me. He really loved me—it wasn’t just empty words spoken in an intense moment. I wasn’t sure how to handle it. I loved him but I wasn’t ready to tell him that. I might never be ready to say the words out loud to him.

  “I need to shower,” I stated before I got out of the bed. I needed space to analyze how I was feeling about everything.

  “Sure,” he said. “I need to get cleaned up as well.”

  I stood by the bathroom door as he got out of
the bed.

  “I’ll be back here when I’m done,” he said to me. I gave him a nod. He stepped forward and gently raised my face to his with his finger on my chin. He kissed me gently on the lips. The kiss literally took my breath away and it was hard to not show how it affected me.

  He gazed at me for a few moments before he left me standing there trying to catch my breath. I put my hand to my chest as I tried to take another deep breath. I didn’t want to feel the way I did about him but there was no denying it.

  After I had a quick shower and I changed, I decided to hold off on shifting into my wolf. My body craved the feel of my wolf but I had one more thing to do before I’d allow myself to shift. I had to bury my mother.

  I tried to ignore the feelings of grief every time I thought about my mother but then I would try to remind myself that she was in a better place. It was the only way I could deal with her not being here with me anymore.

  The sting to my eyes reminded me that it still hurt to think that I would never be able to talk to her again.

  I also couldn’t stop the hatred for Victor. He’d done some terrible things to her and I would never be able to make him pay. It would be something I would need to make peace with at some point but not today.

  I left my room despite Blake telling me he would meet me back here. I wanted to be able to see my mom for one last time before she was buried.

  Everyone inside the medical center was busy and it was easy to slip past everyone unnoticed and go straight through to the room that my mom was in.

  A plain white sheet covered her body and I pulled it back to look at her one last time. She looked so peaceful, and a tear slid down my cheek as emotion I couldn’t control began to well up inside of me. Quietly, I cried for the last time. Afterward, I brushed my tears from my face and kissed my mom one last time before covering her with the sheet again.