Forged by Fate (Entangled Embrace)

by Reese Monroe

  “Wait,” he said, but the pointed teeth dropped.

  She flinched but didn’t pull away. Instead, she moaned. Her kiss intensified. He didn’t dare kiss back for fear of cutting her.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered, angling his head for deeper access. “Not sharp.”

  He dueled with her tongue and felt them. Dulled tips. Not lethal. Yes. He would never hurt his Mate; his body knew it, felt the connection with her. Wanted her.

  “It’s okay,” she hummed into his mouth. “I love it.” She kissed his lips. “It feels good.”

  Boy, did it ever. The energy coursing through him was electrifying. Nuclear.

  The plane shifted, signaling the descent of the plane. Except he flew. He held on tight and took her with him.

  Chapter Forty

  A dark-haired man stood before Theo, talking. His hands waved wildly, and the man nodded several times. Sadie focused on Theo and tried to jump into his head with her mind. Nothing happened, but she figured she should at least try. With all these other things happening with her mind, body, and soul, she felt like she could almost fly.

  Especially after the plane ride. It was so intense, and she felt so connected to him, but now, it was like he had a stone wall around his brain. Or maybe mind reading wasn’t one of her new abilities.

  “Who do you think that is?” Dasha asked.

  “No clue.” Sadie glanced at Justin. “Do you know?”

  “Nope. But I wish he’d hurry up. I’m starving. The food was in your part of the plane.” He glared at her, teasingly.

  “Jerk.”

  Dasha looked at Justin, then to Sadie. “Huh?”

  “Nothing.” Justin smiled.

  “No. Seriously, what?”

  “Let’s just put it this way. Remember how I said you never want to get in between a mated pair? Like, if you want to live? Well, that isn’t only when one of the Mates is threatened.” He grinned.

  Sadie knew what he meant right away, because she felt it. If someone would have come in on her and Theo while they were close like they were on the plane, she might have gone bonkers.

  “Okay,” Theo said, walking up to them. “Guys, this is Ramos.”

  After quick handshakes, Theo nodded for him to talk.

  “Vee haff found a lead.”

  His accent caught Sadie by surprise. She swept a look over this stranger’s sharp jaw, butch-cut hair, and thick neck. Intense wasn’t a strong enough word to describe his look.

  “What do you mean you’ve found a lead?” she asked.

  “Of da four leads offered, three ver dead ends.” He shifted his weight to his other leg and glanced around as if looking for something.

  A tingle ran up her spine and pooled at the base of her neck. Even though it was the end of May, the unstable Colorado weather had tossed in some stinging wind. The tank top she had chosen to wear was not the smartest idea she’d ever had. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms to try to chase away the chill.

  “It’s not a chill, love,” Theo whispered into her ear. “I feel it, too.”

  “Demons.” She whirled around, looking at the scenery. Across the street, pine trees shot up to the black sky, and buildings lined the other side. Windows were dim or dark and only a few people loitered outside what looked to be a small restaurant, two doors up.

  “Are they close?” She squinted into the trees, assuming the demons would come from there instead of walking down the street in plain sight.

  “Not here yet. The splice is opening.”

  “Unbelievable,” Justin said. “You’re feeling a splice, aren’t you?”

  Theo watched her with wide eyes, and she could feel the pride billowing off him. At least he felt good about this new little power display, because all this changing was starting to scare the shit out of her.

  “We need to get Dasha and Ramos out of here, then,” she said.

  Theo dipped his head. “Ramos. You have weapons in your SUV?”

  Weapons? Ramos was aware of all this?

  “Trouble coming?” He smiled, revealing long white teeth. They weren’t quite as long as fangs, but close enough.

  “Nearby.” Theo looked at Dasha. “Stay close to Ramos.”

  She nodded and stepped toward the towering man. He wasn’t so much tall as thick and powerful-looking. Like he could take down a building by ramming into it like it was a tackling dummy.

  “Dr. Carrigan and his wife, Nicole, live in a small house a couple of miles outside the city.” Theo glanced at Sadie. “We’ll ride over in Ramos’s SUV. Keep your eyes open and ready for anything. Aggie’s been a step ahead of us somehow, and I’m sick of it.”

  Theo scanned the area and dug out his cell phone while a couple holding hands strolled by. Once they passed, he went on. “Nicole and her husband moved here due to her husband’s work transfer about ten years ago. They’re in their midseventies and appear to live alone.”

  “This vas the last known address.” Ramos grinned, his thick lips stretching wide into a thin smile. “Vee lucky they no move.”

  “How’d you do all this?” Sadie asked Theo.

  “Made some calls before we got here. Had Ramos and his team check a few things while we were in flight.”

  “Resourceful,” Dasha said.

  Another prickly, cold tingle raced through her and landed like a swift kick to her gut. She jerked and turned around. “Something’s wrong.”

  “I can’t believe you can sense that.” Theo moved beside her as they looked up the deserted street. “Ramos, this direction?”

  “Ya. Three blocks up. Turn vright at Johnson Street. Head out of city.”

  Theo nodded at Ramos. “It’s a couple of miles, but the pavement ends after about a quarter mile, and from what Ramos tells me, there are quite a few switchbacks.”

  “Great.” Justin shook his head.

  “Okay. If there’s trouble, Ramos, you take the SUV and get Dasha to the rendezvous.”

  “How do the demons know about these people?” Sadie asked.

  “They may not know,” Theo said. “They could be here for you.”

  “My guess is they do know about Nicole and they don’t want you to meet up with her,” Halena said. “Which I find very interesting.”

  “It’s like that damn Aggie has ESP or something,” Justin said.

  “I wouldn’t put it past him. They’re evil and have access to some serious magic. But it’s strange. I don’t sense him here.” Theo started moving toward the SUV.

  “Minions?” Halena asked.

  “Possibly,” Theo said. “Regardless, if they’re on the same trail we are, then the Carrigans are in danger. If they have information about Sadie’s parents, we have to assume the demons know that, too, and are here to get them, as we are.”

  “Agreed,” Halena said as she took to Theo’s side.

  “Let’s go,” Theo said and hopped into the driver’s side of Ramos’s SUV.

  Within minutes, Sadie found herself in front of a single-story house with brick columns on either side of the white panel door. A small window was in the middle, and it was illuminated, so she assumed the Carrigans must be home.

  Theo urged her up the five steps to the front door with a gentle nudge to her lower back. She knocked, and when the wood met her knuckles, her heart hammered almost as loudly.

  Another round of knocking ignited a porch light. Seconds later the door swung open and there stood a man, nearly six feet tall, with a shotgun cocked and aimed.

  “What do you want?” The white beard on the guy wiggled as he bellowed.

  Dasha squealed, and Ramos stepped in front of her.

  “Sir?” Theo said. “We’re not here to harm you. We only seek answers about a night eighteen years ago. Your wife, Nicole, worked at a group home down in Arizona.” Theo held eye contact as he squinted, as if picking through the man’s brain.

  “Sir,” Theo said as he stepped forward. The man relaxed, and Sadie knew Theo was trancing him. “We’re okay. Please invi
te us in, and we can ask our questions and leave. We mean you no harm.”

  The man nodded, finally lowering his weapon.

  “Richard, who is it?”

  A sense of familiarity came into Sadie’s being at the sound of the woman’s voice. Harmonic. Like a finely tuned violin.

  A skinny, hunched-over woman stepped into the hallway.

  “Nicole Carrigan?” Sadie inched forward.

  “Yes, honey. What can I do for ya?” She glanced at Richard and smiled. “Put that gun down, dear.” She waved her hand at the man and shook her head. “He’s so jumpy.”

  “He’s smart to be,” Theo said, standing next to Sadie. “May we come in?”

  “Sure, hon. Come on.” Nicole grabbed Richard’s elbow, and they shuffled into a small living room rich with dark walls, plush carpet, and recliner chairs that faced a small box TV.

  It was as if Sadie had stepped into the 1950s.

  Richard brushed Nicole’s shoulder with his massive hand. “Nicole, this gentleman wants to know about a night at work eighteen years ago.” He shook his head. “Like you could remember that.”

  But the ashen face staring back at Sadie clearly said she knew something.

  “It’s you,” Nicole gasped, putting her hand to her mouth. “She said you’d come looking.” The elderly woman’s voice was barely above a whisper.

  “What?” Sadie’s lungs emptied of air as she struggled to snag one of the million thoughts bombarding her brain. “Who said I’d come?”

  “Ma’am. Please, what do you remember?” Theo asked.

  “I remember everything. Everything.” She grinned, cupping her face with her wrinkled hands. “All these years, it’s like a dream. One I couldn’t quite remember, but knew happened.”

  “She could never say anything.” Richard gulped as he looked at his wife with wide eyes. “You remember now? All of a sudden?”

  She nodded, keeping her focus on Sadie. “So many times I tried to tell my Richard what I’d seen that night. But I couldn’t quite remember. I tried and tried, but I couldn’t even speak about it.” A tear slid over the woman’s cheek. “I thought maybe I had gone mad or something.”

  “Angels,” Theo whispered.

  Nicole snapped her attention to him. “Yes. That feels right.”

  “They prohibited you from saying anything until due time.”

  “Please, tell me,” Sadie said.

  “Come, sit.” Nicole shuffled toward a couch on the other side of the room.

  “We must hurry,” Theo said. “I’m sorry, we won’t have time for pleasantries.”

  “Then let me sit.” She plopped into a chair.

  Sadie knelt before the aged woman and covered her wrinkled hands with her own. Halena, Dasha, and Justin formed a half circle behind Sadie and Theo, while Ramos guarded the door. “Please,” Sadie whispered.

  “A woman with tall, flowing hair and a man just as tall but with cropped hair showed up at the front door to the home. The woman held a baby in her arms, claiming it was a newborn. But it looked older, was more coordinated. They’d said she was a princess and needed a safe haven until her Mate arrived. I tried to tell them they had to leave the child at the hospital per procedure.” She gulped and fixed her glazed-over stare on Sadie. “But they refused.”

  “You were chosen,” Theo whispered.

  The woman slowly nodded. She peeled her hand from beneath Sadie’s and cupped her cheek. The cold flesh startled Sadie, but she put her own hand over it, pressing the woman’s closer. “Please, tell me.”

  “I remember taking you into my arms. Holding you tight. The woman clasped her hand over mine and said, Blessed be.” Nicole smiled. “The next thing I knew, I was sitting in the chair before my supervisor, still holding you.”

  “Where’d my parents go?”

  “They gave me an envelope and said you would come looking for me when you turned eighteen.”

  “She got a good punishment for accepting the child like she did,” Richard said. “They have protocol, and Nicole here didn’t follow it.”

  “Why’d you take me in?” Sadie asked.

  “The woman’s eyes glowed.” A tear welled in Nicole’s right eye. “I saw the love and the fear. She said I was chosen to receive you. That it was an honor to protect the next Ahavah.”

  Sadie gasped. Ahavah. Theo’s hand rested on her shoulder.

  “The woman had your eyes and your beautiful long hair. She was taller, but you have the same build.”

  “And the man?”

  “He had wide shoulders, a square jaw, and striking brown eyes. Like the woman’s skin, his glowed as well. It was subtle, but I noticed it.”

  Sadie’s gut suddenly clenched, and Theo let out a grunt.

  “They’re here,” Justin said. “I smell them.”

  “Richard. Quickly. Get the envelope.” Nicole waved at him.

  The old man hobbled down the hall as Sadie hopped to her feet. The woman grabbed her hand. “Evil chases you, but your mother gave me something to give to you.”

  After all these years craving a family, Sadie would finally have something of her birth mother’s.

  A stench of sulfur rammed into her to the point of nearly barfing. The demons were close, and these two older people were in harm’s way because of her.

  She had to protect them.

  “Halena, Justin, get outside and fend them off as long as possible,” Theo ordered.

  Movement drew her attention, and she saw the back ends of the two Shomrei hustling toward the door, daggers drawn.

  Heavy footfalls sounded, and she found Richard hustling toward them, holding a manila envelope. Glass shattered from across the room, and he stopped, eyes wide. Blood spurted from his mouth, and that’s when Sadie saw that an arrow wobbled from his chest.

  “Richard!” Nicole yelled, thrusting herself from the chair. “Richard.”

  Sadie pushed her to the floor and covered her with her body. “No. Stay down. We’ll get him.”

  More glass shattering rang out. Crackling glass sounded beneath Theo’s feet as he hurried to Richard’s prone body. The old man lifted the envelope toward Theo as he sagged to the ground. “For her.”

  An arrow darted through the air and pierced the envelope, snatching it from Richard’s grip. Thirty feet away it was fixed to the wall, just below the window.

  “No,” Sadie yelled and pushed off Nicole. “Nicole, stay down.”

  “Get the ring. Get the ring,” Nicole yelled.

  There was a ring in that envelope? A wave of heat roared through Sadie as she sprinted to the wall.

  Theo knelt beside Richard, absorbing the injury as he looked at Sadie. His eyes widened, and his fangs dropped. “Watch out!”

  Sadie turned to grab the envelope, but two big hands reached for her before she could get the treasure. She went to deflect with her forearm, but the massive fingers clamped onto her shoulders and hauled her through the window.

  Heat streamed down Sadie’s arms as the broken glass shredded her skin, but she grabbed the windowsill. One hard pull brought her close enough, and she reached over and grabbed the envelope.

  Jerked back by her hair, she was dragged outside.

  Now out in the darkness, she was clamped in a bear hug when another demon rammed into them and ripped the envelope from her grip.

  Sadie slammed her booted heel into his foot, rammed her fist into his groin, and smacked her head back.

  His grip loosened, but not enough, so she clawed at his forearms and kicked her heel up, hoping to cause some damage.

  He bellowed and went slack behind her. Sadie dropped to her knees, rolled, and hopped to her feet.

  Completely fanged out, Halena rammed her Mavet dagger into the demon’s throat.

  Sadie snatched her weapon from her ankle holster and turned a circle, searching the ground for the envelope.

  Shit. It was gone.

  Chapter Forty-one

  “Sadie!” Theo yelled as he ripped his hand away from Richard
’s injury.

  “Go,” Nicole said. “Get the ring to her.”

  The envelope tethered to the wall was gone. Had Sadie gotten it? Five long strides took him to the window, and he dived through, dagger in hand.

  He tucked and rolled into a somersault, then hopped to his feet.

  A horde of demons converged on Halena, Justin, and Sadie. Blades flickered in the moonlight. Cries, screams, and growls filled the night air.

  Sadie. Fangs burst through Theo’s gums, and a roar sliced up his throat and out of his mouth. The two demons kicking Sadie flinched. She took the opportunity and stabbed one in the thigh as she yelled the vanquish and kicked the knee of the other.

  A third descended upon her and buried his dagger deep into her chest. Her scream shredded Theo’s heart. With a speed he’d never known, he rammed into the demon and sank his teeth into the monster’s neck. One quick twitch, and the demon’s throat lay on the ground.

  Theo whirled around in time to see Halena take a blade in the shoulder defending Sadie’s prone body slumped on the gravel yard.

  A short, stout demon sprinted away, but the moonlight flashed on something in his hand. The envelope.

  “Justin, go.” Theo pointed to the demon. “Get that.”

  In a blur, Justin darted after the demon. Metal meeting metal rang out, and Theo turned his focus to Halena. She fended off two creatures while three more approached Sadie.

  Theo exploded into a sprint. He met them with the force of an atom bomb, cracked his blade through the skull of one demon, and chanted the vanquish. A knife pierced his chin from the bottom up, right through his tongue. A demon he hadn’t seen had come in from the side and effectively silenced him.

  Damn it. He elbowed that demon in the temple and shoved the Mavet into his thigh, but he couldn’t say the vanquish.

  “Reverto ut Abyssus,” Halena said, in between punches.

  The demon he’d stabbed vanished. He swiped the blade against the neck of the other, but no words followed. Halena had been grabbed from behind, mouth securely fixed closed.

  Theo ripped the blade from his mouth, but it would take a second to get his speech back.