Set To Start (Morningstars)

by Destiny, Sam

  “You told her?” his voice rose in disbelief, but he couldn’t keep it in. Colbin had feared something like that, but sometimes Kaden just hoped that he would be wrong, too.

  “He didn’t tell me. I can tell who is vamp and who’s not from a mile away,” she fussed, pouting. Kaden couldn’t help himself and smirked. She was too damn adorable. He shook his head, grinning slightly while already realizing that this girl wasn’t just something special to Jaden, but to him as well. He couldn’t help but like her.

  “I’m gonna get dressed,” Jaden announced, sounding irritated. He gave Kaden a long look, obviously thinking about something to say, but then decided against it, turning on his heel and disappearing towards his room.

  “I wonder what’s wrong with going out in a towel,” Kaden whispered quietly towards their guest and she surprised him by chuckling. Kaden didn’t smile, noticing a few lines that looked like flames spanning right over Jaden’s shoulders. Maya had obviously seen it, too, but didn’t comment on it. Kaden wondered if she knew what it meant. He needed to ask Jaden about that, but for now he had a totally stiff girl standing next to him and he wanted to see more of her smile.

  “Last time he went out in less than suitable clothes, he only wanted to get a package. We don’t usually have delivery, but imagine the look on the woman’s face when he opened half naked. She stared at him and then said something about being glad that he had the decency to pull over pants. He offered to lose them, grinning, and she totally didn’t know how to handle that question, so Jaden dropped his pants and…” Maya’s eyes were sparkling with humor and it made him feel good because she finally relaxed a little, that was, until his twin interrupted.

  “Are we done with the tea party? Colbin’s waiting and I’d rather have her out of there … be out there before morning comes.”

  Obviously Jaden wasn’t keen on leaving Maya there. Unfortunately, there was something that needed solving before they went anywhere anyways.

  “You have the beginning of a tattoo, brother. A pair of flames,” Kaden accused, knowing what he wasn’t saying: How could you? Not that one could know who they were about to touch before they came in direct skin contact. As it was, only your one true made could mark you the way Jaden now was marked: with a tattoo that would only fully develop once a mating bond was fulfilled.

  Jaden looked absolutely taken aback. “Tat?”

  “It’s purple and chocolate brown and…” Kaden didn’t let Maya finish.

  “Been with any woman last night?” he asked, his eyes going back to the girl next to him. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t really like the thought of Jaden having slept with her. Besides, Maya seemed to be so breakable, he wasn’t sure Jaden would be able to make her happy if she turned out to be his Origin. For whatever reason, Kaden couldn’t stand the thought of her being hurt.

  Defiance entered her purple eyes. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. He wanted to, but I don’t sleep with every handsome man who begs me to,” she bit out, crossing her arms. Kaden wanted to kiss her forehead, but suppressed the impulse. There was no doubt that Jaden didn’t want to answer, but Kaden wasn’t ready to let him go, just picking up an eyebrow.

  “Maybe,” his twin finally admitted and Kaden took a deep breath, anger burning his way through his body. He couldn’t believe Jaden had let that girl walk away.

  “I take Cupcake back and you better find her,” Kaden ordered, wanting to turn away.

  “Them,” Jaden corrected and Kaden’s eyes instantly went to the girl next to him.

  “Excuse me?” he asked, looking from Maya to Jaden and back.

  “I need to find them,” Jaden explained and Kaden felt Maya move closer, flinching at the words. What little color had entered her face, vanished almost instantly and his heart broke for her.

  “Cheap booze and even cheaper women,” she whispered and Kaden could hear how disgusted and hurt she was.

  “Cupcake,” his twin started, looking as hurt as Maya seemed to feel. It surprised Kaden, but it almost looked as if Jaden felt guilty, yet Maya didn’t let him finish.

  “Don’t,” she snapped and then reached for Kaden’s hand. Her skin was ice-cold and Kaden couldn’t help but hold his breath. She was shaking from anger most likely. “Get me out of here,” she demanded towards him and no matter what he was thinking, he found himself walking with her.

  Taking a deep breath, he just hoped that he wouldn’t have to break his promise to his twin in the end.

  Cia opened her eyes and, just for a moment, was confused. Those weren’t her walls and she certainly didn’t … right, she was home, at her parent’s house and she had finally slept all day, not once waking up like she usually did when she was home.

  There was a soft knock at the door and her mother poked her head in, looking radiant. It made Cia smile since obviously someone was more than happy to have the whole family back home.

  “I brought you breakfast,” Joanna announced, coming in with a tray full of all the stuff Cia had loved when she was still supernatural. After all, fat and carbs couldn’t do anything to her hips back then.

  “You do realize that I cannot eat all that, right, mom? It’ll make me blow up like a balloon,” she laughed and her mother shook her head with a scowl on her beautiful face.

  “There’s nothing better for a broken heart than hearty food and all the good stuff,” she announced and Cia looked at the tray, admitting to herself that she wanted to eat the pancakes dripping with syrup, or the chocolate-covered strawberries she loved ever since she was a little girl.

  “I am not fully heart-broken, mom. I am sure he’ll come back to me and we can solve this. After all, maybe it was just something small for him to smell her like that. Maybe I smell special to him, too. Maybe he needs me more now than ever if his brother is getting seriously involved with that human girl. Maybe…” She stopped as she realized that her mother hadn’t brought her the food to make her feel better about last night, but to prepare her for this one.

  Rumors were traveling fast in the vampire world, probably faster with them than with anyone else, and it was something Cia sure hadn’t missed. Her life, or that of others, always had been private as long as they decided to keep it that way. Now she wished she could stay oblivious to whatever her mother was going to tell her just a little longer.

  “I’m not going to like what you’ll have to tell me, right?” she asked, her voice already breaking with unshed tears. Her mother shook her head, looking apologetic. “The sun had set when? Thirty minutes ago? How can there be anything circling already that’s directly concerning me? How do you know this will be directly concerning me? Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe nothing changed. I need to go and get home. He’ll be there. He’ll be looking for me.” She stumbled out of bed, almost falling over has her legs got tangled up in her sheets.

  “He won’t, daughter, I am sorry,” her mother said quietly, but with a conviction that made Cia pause.

  “How do you know?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear this, but it didn’t matter in the end. One way or the other, the news would find their way back to her and maybe this was like a Band-Aid, better pulled off quickly instead of the slow, burning pain.

  “I will tell you, but I’d prefer to discuss this family’s matters first. Your father and I want you to move back in. You were a warrior’s girl and people know that stuff. No matter how much you think you blend in, they’ll find you. There is something different about you because you’ve been directly touched by fate ten years ago. You leaving us had been what you wanted, but let’s face it – you can’t get out of this life. I want you to come back and help me with social work for our race. Move back in, Ciarda, and be our daughter again,” her mother pleaded, for the first time ever looking truly broken. Even when they had realized that Cia no longer was a vampire, she had been strong for her. Now, her mother obviously no longer was.

  “I…”

  “What is left for you out in their world?” Cia was about to correct them, telling h
er that it was her world, too, but her mother was right. Her view had shifted. She didn’t want a house and a child any longer. In fact, she didn’t want anything but to go back to bed and sleep forever. Maybe then she wouldn’t hurt as much. Yet, maybe staying at her parent’s house, going back to being a Morningstar even if she wasn’t going to live on blood, would make her broken heart heal easier. Social work was her calling after all, which she had realized at the daycare center and she wouldn’t be alone any longer.

  The longer she considered that, the more she actually liked the idea.

  “Well, I will have to get my stuff back though,” she explained, turning back to her mother. As expected, her mother grinned sheepishly.

  “Your father may or may not have already arranged for a moving business to go there and get your things. Your keys were in your bag,” she explained and Cia closed her eyes.

  “Mom, just because I’m moving back, I will not be pushed around. You need to ask me before making decisions that concern me,” she snapped, thinking about all those rather embarrassing things the movers could find. Her nightstand was filled with … she shook her head, figuring it was too late anyways.

  “They have order to tape your things and not take anything out, so your closet and everything else will be carried over exactly the way it was in your apartment,” her mother promised, not even asking what things Cia could be hiding, and she was glad about that. “We know, child, that you are no longer the impressionable little daughter we had. You have grown up to be an amazing woman, independent and sweet. Trust me, we don’t want to change you back in what you used to be, but we want to make this life –”

  “Mom, I won’t die today or tomorrow, so stop acting as if that would happen,” Cia snapped and her mother looked hurt. “I’m sorry,” she instantly said and then knelt in front of her mom, bracing herself for the next topic. Resting her head in her mother’s lap, she took a deep breath.

  “So, break my heart, mom, before we start making me whole again.”

  “Colbin, the leader of the warriors, is looking for a mansion. Something big. Something really big,” her mother said, her voice foreboding. Unfortunately, Cia had no idea what exactly that meant.

  “Oh … wow,” she said and the irony obviously didn’t get lost on her mom.

  “Oh sweetie, there’s so much you and your generation need to learn,” her mom sighed, going through her hair. “I don’t know for sure, but your father and I agree on one thing. Your story about your warrior and his brother, and the fact that Colbin needs a house that’s huge can mean only one thing: They found the Queen.”

  Shock knocked the breath out of Cia. “How sure are you?” she wanted to know. Kaden wouldn’t leave his brother’s side if the girl were not only Jaden’s Origin, but the damn Morningstar Queen.

  “He never cared to bring all the guys under one roof, especially since they love their independence. Besides, he has a house big enough for all of them if that should be what he wants. But a house the size he’s looking for? Nah, he’s most likely planning for a lot of people to live there and for one person to have an entire wing. No warrior would make a fuss like that for just any girl, especially not if that girl won’t live long enough to enjoy it,” her mother explained and Cia pulled back, her eyes wide at the implication.

  “If she is not the Queen, she will die. It would break Kaden’s brother, right? That’s what you said last night,” she whispered and her mother nodded.

  “Worse, if she’s the Queen, Kaden’s brother will only be allowed to watch her from afar. The Queen and her mate barely ever meet. I’ve met the last Queen and she was cheery, but you could see she really only presented that exterior. In truth, she was a shell. If this all comes to be true, Kaden will have his hands full dealing with his brother, especially the way I know connections between mates. My heart breaks for that boy. Every notion, every emotion she feels, every heart break, every lonely hour he will live through her. All the pain, all the tears … he might not see them, but he will feel them, each and every single one. And he won’t be able to do anything about it but go out and fight for a race that keeps him from her.”

  Cia pressed her hands over her heart, hurting for the twin she didn’t know and even more for the one she did know. She had never known this part of their traditions and if she was any indication, surely neither had the twins. What she liked though was the fact that there would be a next generation of Morningstars.

  “Maybe I still get to be a kindergartener, only it’ll be a nightcare center,” she smiled gently.

  “I sure hope we are right, but imagine this: A new generation of Morningstars is set to start now. Crazy.”

  There was excitement in her mother’s eyes and as much as Cia was hurting for the lover she no longer had, she knew that things would get good one day.

  Nodding, she gave her mother a watery smile.

  “Thank you for being the most amazing mom ever,” she whispered, hugging her tight.

  “Always, child. Always.”

  Cia knew that this was a lie since she wouldn’t live half as long as her mother, but it didn’t matter because sometimes a moment of true, uncensored love was all you needed in life, no matter where it came from.

  The End

  Acknowledgements

  Since this is just a small book, I'll keep them small as well.

  Thank you to my Betas (who I sadly don't can't name for sure anymore since it's been sooo long since I've written that and handed out. I think it was Staci, Lucy, Yvi and Erica!), you know who you are!

  Thank you to my best friend, who will always be my go-to person.

  Thank you to my street team, Destiny's Morningstars, for being a great bunch of girls.

  Thank you to Bree for showing me how good it can feel to be edited 'professionally'.

  Las but not least, thank you to YOU because you stuck with me and read yet another one of my books.