Fated Origins: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 4)

by May Freighter

  Table of Contents

  1 SUFFOCATED

  2 POSSESSED

  3 THE PAINFUL PAST

  4 THE ROYALS

  5 THE SECOND FATE

  6 THE FOURTH REALM

  7 HARTWIN’S ARRIVAL

  8 FATHER & MOTHER

  9 STONEHENGE

  10 THE ORIGINAL

  11 BLACK MAMBA CLAN

  12 HISTORY LESSONS

  13 CONTROL

  14 FATELESS SOUL

  15 WHEN DEMONS COME KNOCKING

  16 COMPROMISES

  17 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

  18 FEELINGS

  19 DINNER DATE

  20 THE FORGOTTEN

  21 NO WILL TO LIVE

  22 THE WELL OF SOULS

  23 TOUGH DECISIONS

  24 THE NEW COUNCIL

  FATED ORIGINS

  Helena Hawthorn Series Vol. 4

  MAY FREIGHTER

  Table of Contents

  1 SUFFOCATED

  2 POSSESSED

  3 THE PAINFUL PAST

  4 THE ROYALS

  5 THE SECOND FATE

  6 THE FOURTH REALM

  7 HARTWIN’S ARRIVAL

  8 FATHER & MOTHER

  9 STONEHENGE

  10 THE ORIGINAL

  11 BLACK MAMBA CLAN

  12 HISTORY LESSONS

  13 CONTROL

  14 FATELESS SOUL

  15 WHEN DEMONS COME KNOCKING

  16 COMPROMISES

  17 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

  18 FEELINGS

  19 DINNER DATE

  20 THE FORGOTTEN

  21 NO WILL TO LIVE

  22 THE WELL OF SOULS

  23 TOUGH DECISIONS

  24 THE NEW COUNCIL

  Copyright © May Freighter, 2017.

  The right of May Freighter to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.

  This work is copyrighted. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously. All statements, descriptions, information and material of any other kind contained herein are included for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Design: May Freighter

  NOTE: This book is written in U.K. English.

  Some spelling may be different to U.S.

  www.mayfreighter.com

  1

  SUFFOCATED

  HELENA

  S weat beaded on Helena’s forehead as she ran to the upbeat pop music blasting into her eardrums. Morning sun kissed her slightly tanned skin. Her muscles ached from the long jog and her throat was starved for a sip of water. Breathless, she stopped and unscrewed the cap off of her water bottle, letting the cool liquid pour into her dry mouth.

  It had been three months since she moved to Clearwater with her parents. After the accident, strange emptiness resided in her soul. No matter how hard she tried to fill it with exercise and fun, nothing seemed to help alleviate her loneliness. It was as if something was missing—a piece of her that she couldn’t remember.

  Once her breathing evened out, she resealed her bottle and jogged for the last two hundred metres before arriving at home. She pushed open the metal gate and made her way to the orange-roofed house while contemplating an excuse or two to do another lap around the block. Everything here seemed so different to Dublin. The roads were wider, palm trees littered the front gardens of their neighbours, and sun burned her skin when afternoon arrived. No matter how she looked at it, she preferred the overcast Irish weather.

  She entered the bungalow and headed to the kitchen where she knew her mother would be waiting for her. With another sigh, she managed a smile and set foot on the tiled floor. “Hey, Mum. How are you feeling?”

  Her mother rubbed her baby bump with a concerned expression Helena had grown used to over the past couple of months. “I’m doing fine. As happy as I am about your newfound need for exercise, I’d rather you stayed at home more.”

  To keep from talking, Helena poured a glass of water and drank the contents.

  Her mother drew closer. “I worry about you, Helena. After your accident, you should take better care of yourself.”

  Helena carefully wrapped her arms around her mum. “I’m exercising to get healthier.” A lie she liked to tell her family as well as herself. She didn’t know why exercising became important to her. The moment she was out of the hospital, and they moved to Florida, she had this need to move and get away from her mother’s suffocating regime. Not only did she go to college where Richard worked and liked to ‘visit’ her during lunch breaks, her mother wouldn’t let her stay out past ten.

  What kind of twenty-year-old has a curfew in this day and age?

  “I guess you’re right…” her mum said.

  Helena beamed at her. She rinsed her glass and checked the time on her watch. “I have to take a shower. Britney is picking me up in thirty.”

  “Tell me when you’re leaving,” Sasha called after her. “And don’t forget to check in when you get to college!”

  “I won’t forget.”

  Helena slipped into her bedroom where she stripped out of her sweaty tank-top and shorts, dropping them on the messy floor. She started running the water in the shower. While waiting, she undid her ponytail and her dark brown hair reached her shoulder blades in soft waves. Glancing in the mirror, she contemplated getting a haircut at the mall. Britney Martin, her new best friend, had relatives almost everywhere in town. It helped, especially when she wanted to get a discount.

  She stepped under the warm spray of water. When was the last time I laughed? She couldn’t remember expressing happiness without forcing it since they moved. Her hand rested over her steady heartbeat. Am I unable to adjust to living in the new country?

  After the shower, she packed her bag and waited for Britney in her bedroom. A familiar honk penetrated her windowpane, and she burst out of the house shouting, “I’m going out!”

  For October, the heat in Florida remained unbearable. Even with a thin grey T-shirt and black shorts, she cursed the sun with every trudge to her front gate.

  “Heya,” Britney cheered from her pre-historic convertible. Her fair hair shined almost as if she had a halo above it. She lowered her voice, “Did your mom give you hell again?”

  Helena collapsed in the passenger seat. Closing the door, she mumbled, “Not hell exactly. She’s become suffocating. Her paranoia seems to get worse as the days go by. I can’t say anything about it since she’s got one more month left before giving birth.” Helena groaned, relaxing into the seat. “One. More. Month.”

  Britney laughed and put the car in gear. “You’ll need to sneak out with me tomorrow to that Halloween Party our campus is raving about. Maybe we’ll find some hot football players there. I’m dying for some affection.”

  “I’m pretty sure everyone in this town is your cousin, Brit.”

  Britney snorted. Her coffee-coloured doe eyes sparkled with life, and she pulled out onto the road. “You could be right. We can go on a forty-hour road trip and pick up a guy or two in Hollywood. Maybe I can score a date with a Hemsworth brother.”

  “You’d h
ave a better chance becoming a Pop princess.”

  Her friend’s glossy pink lips pressed into a pout. “You have so little faith in my beauty. I used to be Clearwater Beauty Queen at one point.”

  “Oh, when was that?”

  “When I was ten…Yeah, let’s not talk about it.”

  Helena rolled her eyes. “Sorry. My outlook today is a little on the dark side. I’ve been single my entire life. With the way my mother is, I’ll probably end up as your average next door cat lady.” She turned on the stereo in the car.

  The rest of the way to the university campus, they sang along to the recently overplayed tunes on the radio. When the songs stayed the same for weeks at a time, it was hard not to memorise even the dullest of lyrics. Even so, Helena parroted the empty words.

  By four o’clock, Helena cursed her classes. Her mother was adamant on her changing majors. Until Helena did that, she couldn’t attend. Being out of the house was better than being confined between four walls with a mass of hormonal stress her mother had become. Seeing no other choice, she accepted her mother’s demand and took up Marketing as her major instead of History and Mythology. Yet, she couldn’t figure out why she wanted to study such subjects in the first place. The only good thing that came out from that change was meeting Britney who became the class representative through a popularity vote.

  Helena stretched in her seat after the last lecture ended.

  Closing her notebook full of scribbles and doodles of sexy men, Britney grinned at her.

  “What’s with the creepy smile?” Helena asked, suspicious.

  “Oh, nothing much. Just there’s this good-looking guy over there. He’s been stealing glances at you all day.” She pointed to the front row and frowned. “Where did he go?”

  “I’m guessing he was checking out the beauty queen and not the foreigner,” Helena replied.

  “Ha-ha. You’re hilarious. But, no. I’m pretty sure he was eyeing you up.”

  “If he was, he’d come over instead of running off.”

  Britney stood, draping her bag over her shoulder. “Alright. See it however you like. Want a ride back home or is your step-dad picking you up?”

  “I’m meeting Richard at the car park later.”

  “Awesome. I’ll get going. See ya tomorrow, hot stuff.” Britney bent down and hugged Helena. “Don’t forget about the party. Wear something sexy.” She winked and scurried out of the lecture hall.

  Helena checked the time on her phone. She had been unable to find her Irish phone after the accident and ended up buying a new one. It didn’t matter how hard she tried recalling what took place on that night three months ago, nothing came to mind. Her parents assured her that such a traumatic event was best left forgotten, but her curiosity kept growing like a weed. If she was in a car accident, why weren’t any of her bones broken? She closed her eyes, recalling the first time she awoke in the hospital.

  The bright fluorescent light made her squint, burning her eyes. She tried lifting her head, but it felt as heavy as a mountain. Instead, she rolled it to one side.

  Richard sat at her bedside in a plastic chair. His forehead rested against the crisp, white sheets as he clutched her hand. His complexion seemed abnormally pale like he hadn’t slept in days. More grey hair populated his head than she remembered. Since she was in a hospital, she guessed she had caused some of it to lose its dark shade.

  Helena shifted, making him sit up with immediacy. His gaze darted to her face and panic occupied his eyes.

  “Thank God, you woke up,” he croaked in an underused voice. He cleared his throat, and she could see his eyes watering with unshed tears. Even now, his evident exhaustion became visible to her in the form of dark circles. New wrinkles had formed above his brow. “How are you feeling?”

  “Where’s Mum?” She moved her head to the other side. The separation curtain prevented her from seeing the rest of the room. “What happened?”

  Richard’s hold on her hand intensified. “She’s resting at a hotel. You were in a car accident. We came as soon as we heard.”

  She swept her memory for an accident or a car. When nothing came to mind, her head started to ache. Lifting her hand to her forehead took more energy than it should have. She set it back down. “How’s the baby? She shouldn’t stress.”

  “She’s okay.” Tears escaped him, and he wiped them away. “We’re all doing better now that you’re awake.”

  His words confused her further. She was too tired to press him for details, so she accepted his explanation and drifted off to sleep.

  Walking out of the campus building, the hairs on the back of her neck rose. An uncomfortable feeling that someone was watching her made her pause mid-stride. She glanced over her shoulder. A large group of students left their lecture. One of the girls had a dyed red bob that caught Helena’s attention. The students headed towards the staircase while chatting about the upcoming party.

  Helena shook her head. “Great, I’m becoming paranoid, too.”

  In the open car park, she found Richard’s white SUV with ease. She ran up to it and knocked on the glass window. The door unlocked, allowing her to climb inside.

  “Hey, sweetheart. How was your day?” Richard asked.

  “Nothing out of the ordinary. Britney, on the other hand, believes that some cute guy in class might be interested in me.”

  He shot her a nervous smile. “Do you know him?”

  “I haven’t even seen the guy. I think it’s just in Brit’s head,” she replied, securing her seatbelt.

  “Okay, but don’t tell your mother. You know how she gets when you start talking about guys.”

  Helena nodded and stared out of the window without needing to further their conversation. When they drove past tall buildings, she stole glances at his reflection in her window. Her step-father seemed to be brooding over something.

  “Richard…”

  After a long minute, he blinked and smiled. “Yes?”

  “Why don’t you or Mum talk about what happened on that day?”

  His shoulders tensed. “What can we tell you? We weren’t there.”

  As much as she wanted to believe him, every cell in her being told her he was lying. The tell-tale tapping of his index finger against the steering wheel only enhanced her suspicion.

  “Was the person who hit me caught?”

  Richard sucked in a long breath. His haunted eyes never left the road. “Let’s not talk about that. We live here now. Everything is fine. So, forget about the past and live a happy life.” Sporting a hopeful smile, he added, “Agreed?”

  He pulled to a stop at the traffic lights, and she undid her seatbelt. “I’m going to walk the rest of the way.”

  “Don’t be silly. We’re about an hour’s walk from home.”

  “Then it will be good exercise,” she replied, getting out of the car. She waved goodbye and started walking along the footpath.

  He rolled down the window with a scowl. “Helena, please get in the car.”

  Ignoring him, she rummaged through her bag and fished out her headphones. She connected them to her phone and turned on the first song on her playlist. After five minutes, Richard finally drove off. In a new place where she was supposed to forget everything, why were her parents so worried about her whereabouts and safety? Doubts wouldn’t stop forming as she ran the scenarios after the hospital through her mind for the billionth time. Her parents were never worried about her being near cars or roads. Their main concern was her location at all times. It didn’t make sense to her. And, if they weren’t there, why did everything they said seem like a lie?

  A light tap on her shoulder drew her out of her dream-like state. She yanked her left earphone out and lifted her face to find a handsome man with shoulder-length dark brown hair towering over her. Her heart constricted painfully when she focused on the snake tattoo around his neck.

  A dull headache started to cause her discomfort, so she rubbed her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand. “Can I help you?�
�

  His intense stare unnerved her. She thought she saw a flash of pity fleeting through his black eyes.

  “Yes,” he said with a strong European accent. “I am looking for a good place to eat. Would you happen to have any suggestions?”

  Helena blew out a breath. His tall frame and a menacing tattoo peeking out from under his tight black shirt should have frightened her. Somehow, calm washed over her instead. She naturally smiled at him. “If you keep walking down this road, there’s a nice Greek restaurant. It’s pink with tacky white pillars on the outside but the food’s awesome. I’m heading that way anyway if you want to come along.”

  “That would be great. Thank you.” He returned her smile with one of his own.

  Having strolled for the first five minutes in awkward silence, he offered her his hand in the form of a handshake. “I’m Ben. I am currently on holiday here to find a friend of mine.”

  Helena nodded, shaking his calloused hand. “I’m Helena. It’s a great place if you like the sunshine. If not, then you’re doomed to get a tan.” She turned her arms in front of her, assessing her sunburnt flesh. “Or become a red lobster like me.”

  He snorted, covering his laughter with his hand. “You haven’t changed.”

  She frowned. “I’m sorry. Have we met?”

  “No, it’s my mistake. I was thinking aloud.” He ran his hand through his dark locks. “I used to have a good friend like you in England. She had a similar sense of humour and saved me from making a couple of mistakes I would have regretted for the rest of my life.”

  “She sounds like a really good friend.”

  “She’s someone I came to admire after a lot of misunderstandings.” He stopped and pointed to the two-storey pink and white building on their right. “Is this the place you were talking about?”

  She adjusted the bag strap on her shoulder. “Yeah. Get the lamb chops here if you’re not a vegetarian. You won’t regret it.”

  “Will do.” He inclined his head. “Hopefully, we’ll see each other again.”