TWISTED FATES BOOK 2: EVEN MORE TWISTED

by Jacklyn Scott Rogers

  I wasn’t sure if I should go over there. I mean technically, Sam and I weren’t very close but Jericho, my wolf, was growling at me to go over to her. He was insisting that she was hurting, which kind of made me feel bad. I carefully walked over to where Sam was sitting and what I saw broke my heart.

  She had blood all over her small hands and knuckles, and they were currently just bloodied bone protruding through raw meaty flesh. Her wounds were totally blackened from busted blood vessels in the surrounding areas of both her hands. The heavy punching bag, now split half, was splattered with a lot of blood and I could hear the faintest whimpering from Sam.

  OK. Well, at least I know she not all dark Willow because pretty sure she would have killed me the moment I came near her.

  I don’t even think she realized I was here.

  I ran my hand through my hair not sure of what to do. I mean this is more of the girl’s expertise, not mine. But I was here, so it’d be kind of a douche move of me to just stand there and not say anything.

  I stood there for a bit shifting from one foot to the other uncomfortably.

  Think Aid …. Think …. What would Astrid say ..?

  I cleared my throat and licked my parched lips.

  “Sam?” I whispered.

  “Go away Aid.” She replied softly without even looking at me.

  “Hey…Hey Sam … um what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing Aid…just please leave.” She didn’t even lift her head up to look at me.

  I was about to say ok, but again Jericho made me stand firm where I was.

  Clearly, someone is being a massive turd burglar.

  I sighed and sat down next to Sam with my back against the cold concrete wall.

  She just kept softly crying and I didn’t know what to say. This was super uncomfortable.

  I scratched my head trying to come up with something, anything to say, and yet nothing…nada.

  “Hey, Sam … you know you can talk to me about whatever’s bugging you right?”

  “Nothing’s wrong Aid. Just leave me alone. Please.”

  “Well um, from the looks of this whole scene here, I’m going to have to disagree with you. Something’s obviously wrong Sam. Please talk to me. I mean, I know I’m not Dev or Shay or Astrid but I’m your friend too. Maybe I can help huh?”

  Silence.

  “Please Sam say something. I can tell you’re hurting. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

  Slowly she lifted her tear-soaked face and looked at me hesitantly.

  “I-I-I’ve been … lying to all of you.”

  What What??!

  OK settle down Aid. This could be about anything hear her out. Breath and listen.

  I nodded my head slowly as a gesture for her to continue.

  “I actually remember everything Aid. My memories were never erased.”

  Well Damn … I did NOT see this coming.

  I sat there with my jaw open like a fish out of water.

  Crap … she remembers.

  But why has she been acting like she doesn’t? Oh, Goddess why have you placed me in such a Drama Induced nightmare? I have no idea what to say in response to what she just told me. I mean pretty sure “Good for you” is far off the mark.

  I blinked,

  and blinked,

  and blinked.

  A small laugh came out of Sam’s mouth. Not like a psycho, I’m gonna slice you up into little pieces because you know my secret laugh, but a real genuine laugh.

  Way to go me.

  Don’t start mentally giving yourself a high five yet moron. She still needs you to help her. Jericho chided

  He could be such a dick. I mentally rolled my eyes as I returned my attention to Sam.

  “So, um Sam... if you still have your memories … um if you don’t mind my asking, why are you acting like you don’t? “

  She shrugged her shoulders and sighed. “I didn’t want anyone to know. I didn’t want any pity, nor did I want you all to be afraid of me because of … you know. I just … I just wanted to handle everything myself. “

  “Is this,” I pointed to her hands and the blood-splattered heavy boxing bag splayed on the ground, “how you’ve been handing it by yourself Sam? By beating yourself up and crying all alone?”

  “It’s fine Aid. Everything heals up eventually anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

  “But it does matter. It does Sam. You’re hurting yourself. WHY?”

  Silence.

  “Why Sam? Why are you suffering here all alone every fucking day and hurting yourself? I know that’s what you’ve been doing too Sam so don’t even try and lie about it.”

  For some reason, I could feel my anger building and I didn’t know why. I was just so damn pissed off at myself because I wasn’t there to help her. Like I failed my baby sister, and I couldn’t understand where any of this crazy emotion was coming from.

  “Sam. Tell me. Why are you hurting yourself? I know you’re hurting, and I get you’re in a really bad place right now. But Sam, no matter how lost you get, if you look carefully, you will see that the hearts of the ones that love you, will always sparkle like fairy dust through the darkness and guide you back home.”

  Silence.

  “OK I know it sounds hokey, but my dad used to tell it to me whenever I got upset. At least he did before he died. I thought it seemed appropriate.”

  And more silence.

  “Dammit, Sam!” I ran my hands through my hair. I was seriously angry and so was Jericho.

  What the hell was wrong with me?

  I glanced over at Sam who was looking at me with a confused look on her face. Clearly, she couldn’t understand where all this pent-up anger from me was coming from. Warily she placed her tiny hand on my forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze which surprisingly calmed both me and Jericho down.

  What the hell is going on with me?

  She shouldn’t have been able to calm me or Jericho because she isn’t our mate, but she did. This made absolutely no sense. I know she was just as shocked as me, but neither of us knew what to say. She went to calm me by instinct from her being Dev’s mate, but she also knew that technically it shouldn’t have worked on me.

  And yet it did.

  We sat in silence as we tried to process this odd turn of events.

  To be honest, this was the first time that Sam and I actually spent any time alone with each other. Normally any interaction between us had involved our group, so we were on completely unchartered territory. Her confiding in me made things even more awkward.

  I leaned with my back against the cool concrete wall and closed my eyes, trying to process everything. I heard a small giggle come out of Sam which totally caught me off guard. I tilted my head slightly, as I peered over at her, making sure she wasn’t taking a trip to loony town. She seemed to be completely normal.

  Sam sighed and did the one thing I never would have expected, she leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder then shut her eyes. The odd thing was it didn’t bother me. Somehow I knew that her actions weren’t in any way meant as some kind of flirtatious action but rather a seeking of comfort and security. Weirdly, I knew it was something I could provide for her.

  Yeah, things are definitely getting bizarre.

  “You know,” Sam broke the silence and began speaking with her eyes closed as if in a trance, “I don’t have a lot of memories of him when I was a little girl. My mother and I adored him. Despite the inadequate visits we received from him, somehow, I knew he adored us too. Even at my young age, I could see it in the way my mother and he would hold each other and gaze into each other’s eyes with such love and sadness whenever it was time for him to leave us. She was never bitter nor angry and always remained loyal even until his death. Honestly, before we found out that he had died, he was rarely ever around, aside from mine and my mother’s birthdays, and other rare occasions. But there was this one time when he came to visit, that I could remember perfectly. It was my seventh birthday and I recall that my mother had wan
ted to throw me a huge birthday party. I refused it because I knew my dad was going to visit me and I didn’t want to lose any of my rare precious moments with him. I could care less about any of the gifts he would bring me; it was always about spending time with him. That day, I waited all day for him, and he didn’t show up. Thinking he had forgotten, I cried myself to sleep on the couch and was awoken at five minutes to midnight by the sound of him barreling through our living room and sweeping me up in his big strong arms. He was thanking the Goddess that he had made it before my birthday had passed. I could see the guilt in his eyes, as held me tightly, apologizing for being so late. It was that night that he told me something I would never forget. He told me that I had an older brother. He explained to me that my older brother had been playing in his treehouse with some friends and fell out of the tree, breaking his leg from a very bad fall. My dad told me that he had to make sure that his son was going to be ok and was settled into bed before his mate would allow him to come and visit us. I didn’t understand what my father was telling me. I had no idea what a mate was and the fact that I had an older brother shocked me. I asked him where my brother was, and he explained to me that he had another family. I cried so much. I didn’t understand how my dad could do this to my mother and me. I felt like my entire short life was a lie. With those few words, I felt angry and cheated by some family that I had never known. In my mind, they had taken precedence over my own. I was so angry at my dad that I screamed at him and punched his chest with my small, clenched fists, telling him that I hated him and to leave. He obliged my request. But before he left, he looked at me with the saddest look in his eyes and told me …I know you’re upset little Sammie but please remember I will always love you. No matter how lost you get, if you look carefully, you will see that the hearts of the ones that love you will always sparkle like fairy dust through the darkness and guide you back home. That was the last time I ever saw my father.”

  My jaw dropped open as I stared at Sam in disbelief. At that moment I just knew; Sam was my father’s daughter.

  Sam is my half-sister.

  Chapter 23

  Aiden’s POV

  The moment I heard Sam’s words; the hairs raised on the back of my neck. Immediately I realized who she was.

  It’s about time dumbass. Jericho decided to pipe in.

  Goddess why is my wolf such an asshole?

  I had heard enough heated discussions between my parents when I was younger to know exactly who she was. My half-sister. Despite the mate bond, my father had cheated on my mother once with a human. Sam’s mother. It had confused me at first when I was younger, but I actually had the balls to confront my own father about his infidelity. The story he recanted was not what I had expected at all.

  I knew my father’s family was strict and held a strong belief in the purity of our bloodline, especially since he was a Gamma, as was his father before him. Of course, it was only natural that his heir should follow suit. Well in order to do that, his father, wanting to ensure strong bloodlines, forced my father into a chosen mateship with my mother. Apparently, Sam’s mother and my father had met while he was a Senior in high school. That’s where he discovered that she was his true mate, and all hell broke loose. I guess my grandfather was less than pleased that his son’s mate was a mere human, so he told my dad that he needed to ignore their mate bond and choose another immediately or he would get rid of the problem in his own way. My dad complied and ended up choosing my mother, the daughter of a Gamma from one of the neighboring packs. He told me that eventually, he did end up loving my mother. Sadly though, because there was never any rejection involved, he and his wolf missed their true mate. A couple of years after I was born, while on a business trip, he ended up running into Sam’s mother again. He said it was as if time stood still for both of them. The instant their eyes met their bond pulled them together and they ended up having sex and poof instant sister.

  When he told me this story, I was really pissed. I mean, he cheated on my mom for Goddess’s sake. And with a human. And he had a child which made things worse. I wanted to kill him for hurting my mother and told him so. He told me he understood and knew that no amount of apologies could ever soothe the heaviness of his betrayal that weighed upon my heart. All he could do, was as he had been doing, which was to try and get through each day as he had been. My mother was well aware that he cheated with his mate, as well as the fact that he had a child. But she loved my father and knew that he loved her as well. She even allowed him to visit his daughter from time to time. Did it cause problems? Of course, it did. My mom may have been understanding, but that still didn’t mean she wasn’t jealous of my dad being around his true mate. Hence, the heated discussions they would have whenever he would return.

  After my parents died in a car crash, I thought my world came to an end. They were my only family. I had Mikey and Dev, but it wasn’t the same. My parents were my blood. As pissed off at my dad as I had been, he was still my dad and I didn’t want him to die. The few personal items of theirs were all that I had left. Well, now one less after I give it to Sam; the photo that was found in my father’s wallet hidden behind our family portrait. I assume it was a memento he must have cherished from a time before their innocence was stolen. It was a picture of a young couple in their teens, my father, and a beautiful girl. He was smiling from ear to ear staring at the camera, while the blond-haired beauty was leaning forward with her eyes closed. She was placing the most loving and innocent kiss on his cheek while the sun was shining behind them. It was the epitome of young love. I understand now why he would have kept it and who this photo really belongs to.

  Looking at Sam at the moment, I can’t believe that I didn’t even recognize the similarities before. She looks exactly like her own mother when she was younger, well other than the purple hair and tattoos, but still, they could be sisters.

  I cleared my throat, and she opened her eyes to stare up at me. Her glistening green orbs held so much emotion, the strongest being acknowledgment. Somehow, she felt it too, this odd connection that we two shared was genuine. We just never had the opportunity until this moment to actually realize it. But I did and so did my jerk wolf, who decided to keep me in the dark the whole time. With our close proximity, the scent of my father, though faint is apparent.

  Fuck me this is some crazy shit.

  “So.”

  “So.” She lifted herself back off my shoulder and rested her head against the wall behind her.

  “Did you know?”

  She laughed humorlessly.

  “Nope, I had no idea.”

  “Yeah me neither”

  “Should we tell everyone?”

  “No. At least not now Aiden”

  “Why?” I couldn’t help but feel a little hurt.

  “Because they will ask how we figured something like this out. I mean it’s not like you or I ever hang out on our own, so it will only raise questions that I don’t want to answer.”

  “Sam-”

  “No Aiden. Please…for me?”

  “But you can’t hide what’s going on forever, including your memories.”

  “Please Aiden. I am working on getting better. I promise. I just can’t deal with them knowing that I remember. Please?”

  She looked like she was on the brink of breaking down again. Damn this family bond thingy.

  I sighed and nodded my head.

  “Fine. BUT … I don’t want you to keep hurting yourself, Sam. Believe it or not, we are family now. You have me and if you want me to not tell them anything, then you need to promise me that you will come to me and we will work through whatever you are struggling with together. Yeah?”

  Silence.

  “Sam?”

  “You’re not gonna drop it are you?”

  “Have you ever known me to drop anything princess?”

  She glared at me then groaned.

  “Fine.”

  I clapped my hands together and smiled to myself. I felt like I had done something
really good for Sam.

  I got up and held my hand out for Sam to take as I gazed at her beautiful green eyes that seemed to hold so much pain behind them. As she placed her tiny blood-stained hand in my own, I carefully helped her stand up. Without warning her small arms wrapped around my waist as she buried her head in my chest.

  “Thank You, Aid.” She whispered.

  I found myself reciprocating her embrace and held her shivering form tightly. It was as if Jericho and I were making our own silent vow to Sam; no matter what, we would never, ever let anyone harm our little sister again.

  Chapter 24

  Devon’s POV

  I woke up in a beautiful green field.

  How the hell did I get here?

  I scrunched my eyes as I quickly scanned my surroundings looking for any tell-tale signs of where I was. Nothing but rolling hills covered in dew-kissed green fields and tall, majestic sunflowers swaying in the whisper of the soft cooling breeze lay before me as far as the eye could see. It was so serene. Slade and I felt at peace here. But the question still remained.

  Where the hell am I?

  A sudden movement emerging from amongst the sunflowers caught my attention. My eyes remained transfixed on the beautiful women who now stood before me. Her long silver hair cascaded along her glimmering porcelain skin. Her rose-colored lips formed a comforting smile as she regarded me with her silver-hued eyes. Her regal visage held an expression that appeared to be a mixture of love and sadness at the same time, but it was her scent that was the most bewitching to me. It was a mixture of Sammie’s warm spiced notes of cinnamon and chai scent intertwined with a hint of calming honey and vanilla one. Her soothing presence only heightened my awareness of her identity. She was Selene, the Moon Goddess, and Mother of all Wolves.

  Her smile widened resulting in tiny creases forming in the outer corners of her dazzling eyes.