by Karen Lynch
Fated
Karen Lynch
Copyright @ 2018 Karen A Lynch
Smashwords Edition
All Rights Reserved
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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Disclaimer: The persons, places, things mentioned in this novel are figments of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to anything or anyone living (or dead) is unintentional.
Cover Designer: Nikos Lima
For Ednah Walters
Writers aren’t supposed to be at a loss for words, but there are none to say how much I miss you, my friend.
About Fated
Christian Kent has many labels – warrior, protector, friend, lover – but the one label he never wanted was mate. In his lifetime, the only girl he has ever loved, was the one he couldn’t have. He left her to protect her heart, but his own will always belong to her.
As a girl, the one person she believed would never hurt her broke her heart. Now a warrior, she’s loving life and living for the next adventure. She’s put the past behind her, including the man who walked out of her life.
Fate brought them together once, and it’s not done with them yet. When they are suddenly thrown together to battle a lethal new foe, sparks fly and old feelings resurface. Chris will have to work hard to heal the rift between them. But will she be able to let go of the old heartbreak and open her heart to him again? Can they come together before the threat they are facing tears them apart forever?
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my family and friends for their love and support, and to the indie community that has embraced me and my books. I’ve made so many wonderful author and reader friends in this business since I published Relentless that I can’t possibly name them all. I couldn’t do this without you.
Prologue
Chris
Fourteen years ago
“IS EVERYONE OUT?”
“God, I hope so.”
I approached the two firemen shouting over the roar of the flames engulfing a four-story apartment building across the street. The five hoses aimed at the building were doing nothing to stop the fire that was blazing out of control. All the men could do now was try to keep it from spreading to nearby buildings.
I’d been on my way to meet up with Nikolas when I heard the alarms and saw the fire, and I came to see if there was anything I could do to help. But it looked like there was little I could do here.
Glass broke on the top floor of the building, followed by a child’s scream.
“Jesus Christ! Someone’s up there,” one of the firemen yelled. “Get that ladder over here.”
One look at the flames licking at the curtains of the broken window told me the firemen wouldn’t get there in time. Engaging my demon speed, I sped across the street and entered the lobby of the old building. The place was an inferno, and smoke burned my throat and eyes as the intense heat surrounded me.
I raced up the burning stairs that would have collapsed under the weight of a normal man. Only my speed kept me from falling through them and protected me from the worst of the flames. I’d have a few burns, but nothing that wouldn’t heal in a few hours.
The top floor was just starting to burn, but thick smoke made it difficult to see, even with my enhanced sight. I had to find the child and get out of here before this whole place went up.
“Where are you?” I shouted as I ran from one apartment to the next.
A shrill cry answered me, and I followed it. Inside the apartment, I spotted a middle-aged woman lying on the living room floor, and a quick check told me she was dead. Was I too late?
My Mori stirred, telling me there was another of my kind nearby. I whirled around, my gaze scanning the room until it landed on a small form huddled in a corner. I ran over and swept the child up in my arms, relieved when she cried out, letting me know she was okay.
I turned to see flames licking at the doorframe. I could withstand the fire, but the child’s Mori was too young to protect her. Running to the closest bedroom, I grabbed a quilt from the bed and threw it into the bathtub to soak it with water. The child didn’t move or speak as I wrapped her in the wet quilt and hugged her to my chest. She was in shock, but there was no time to comfort her. We needed to get out of here, now.
I ignored the sting of the flames as I hurried out of the apartment, carrying my precious burden. At the landing, I stared down at the gaping hole where the stairs used to be. If I were alone, I’d jump to the first floor and sustain minor injuries. I couldn’t do that with a child unless it was our only option.
At the end of the hall was a door I hadn’t tried, and I yanked it open to find the stairs to the roof. Seconds later, I burst out onto the roof and took a few gulps of fresh air.
Smoke billowed out of the doorway, reminding me we weren’t out of danger yet. I ran to the edge of the roof and looked down. Between the flames and the thick smoke, it was difficult to see the people on the ground, so I knew they couldn’t see us either.
My gaze moved to the next building, and I judged the distance to be around fifteen feet. Backing up, I tightened my hold on the child.
“Almost there,” I said to her before I sped forward again and jumped.
I landed easily on the other roof. The child whimpered when I set her down and pulled out my phone. A few seconds later, Nikolas answered, and I wasted no time in explaining the situation to him. I hung up to see to the little girl.
I pulled back the edges of the quilt to reveal a tear-stained face framed by messy blonde curls that glowed like a halo in the late afternoon sun. She couldn’t be more than five or six, too young to lose all she’d ever known.
“It’s okay,” I crooned. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”
Her eyelids fluttered open, and frightened gray eyes met mine. She stared at me without speaking, most likely in shock after what she’d been through.
I smiled and withdrew my hand to show her she was safe with me. I had rescued a few orphans in the past, and I was good with children.
“I’m going to carry you down now,” I told her softly. “If you get scared, you just hold on tight to me.”
She didn’t say anything as I pushed the quilt off her shoulders and picked her up. Cradling her in my arms, I ran lightly down the stairs and stepped out into the crowd milling around. Without a backward glance, I hurried down the street toward the gas station on the corner where I’d told Nikolas to meet me.
Five minutes after I got there, Nikolas pulled up on his bike, followed by a white van. The side door of the van slid open, and Paulette jumped out.
“Is she injured?” the blonde warrior asked.
“Not that I could see, but I think she’s in shock.”
Paulette’s face softened. “I’d be surprised if she wasn’t. She’ll be okay once we get her home. You can give her to me.”
I moved to hand the girl off to her, but small arms wrapped around my neck, clinging to me. Not wanting to frighten the girl more, I tried to persuade her with gentle words to go to Paulette. But every attempt only made her whimper and hold on tighter. When Paulette tried to take her from me, the girl started to wail, quieting only after Paulette stepped back.
I smiled at Paulette over the girl’s h
ead. “I’m due for a visit home anyway.”
Climbing into the van, I settled in the back with the girl hugging my neck. Her clothes were damp from the quilt, and she shivered against me even after Paulette laid a thick blanket over us. My Mori warmed her, and I whispered reassuring words until she relaxed against me.
I couldn’t help but think of how close we’d come to never knowing of her existence. If I hadn’t decided to take that route to the restaurant, if she hadn’t screamed at that moment, I would not have found her and she’d be dead now.
She moved, and I looked down at her round, angelic face, streaked with dirt and tears. Her gray eyes watched me with so much trust it made my chest ache, and all I wanted to do was take away her sadness and fear.
“Can you tell me your name?”
She blinked but said nothing.
“I guess I’ll have to make up one for you,” I said playfully. “How about Goldilocks? You like that?”
She shook her head.
“Hmmm. You’re a quiet one, aren’t you? Maybe I’ll call you Mouse. How does that sound?”
Her golden eyebrows drew together.
“No?” I pursed my lips, pretending to think about it. “I know. I’ll call you Dove because of those beautiful gray eyes.”
A wisp of a smile touched her lips before she lowered her head and curled into me again.
I smiled down at the mop of blonde curls peeking above the blanket.
“Dove it is.”
Chapter 1
Chris
“WE’VE GOT COMPANY.”
I adjusted my grip on my sword as half a dozen cutlass-wielding gulaks ran into the basement, followed by two ranc demons with semi-automatic weapons. I grimaced at the sight of the guns. Ranc demons had terrible aim, and it would take a lot of bullets to kill one of us, but getting shot still hurt like hell.
I’d worked with Nikolas so long that no words were needed. My free hand went to one of the knives in my harness, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him do the same.
In one fluid motion, I pulled a knife free and sent it flying at the nearest ranc demon. He made a choked sound and fell to his knees as the blade buried itself in his chest. Next to him, the second ranc demon went down without a sound as Nikolas’s knife found its mark.
“That’s better,” Nikolas said, facing the gulaks. “Let’s do this.”
The gulaks shouted and charged us, and I found myself battling three of the lizard-like demons at once.
I blocked the first gulak’s strike with my sword and felt the force of the blow all the way to my shoulder. Spinning away from him, I swung low and slashed open the stomach of the second one. He bellowed in pain as I ducked the oncoming blade from the third one.
Coming around for a counterattack, I landed a kick on the first gulak’s knee, sending him staggering backward as my blade sliced cleanly through the wrist of the third one. He roared as his sword hit the floor with his hand still gripping the hilt.
Lucky for me, gulaks were known more for their brute strength than their skill with a blade, or I might have been relieved of a few favorite body parts before I was done with them. With the three of them disarmed, it was easy enough to dispatch them back to the hell they came from.
Too easy.
I looked at Nikolas, who was wiping his blades on the pants of a fallen gulak.
“You’d think a slave-trafficking operation as big as this would have a lot better security.”
He nodded as his gaze swept the basement. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“How’s it going down there?” Sara’s voice came over the comm she insisted we wear on jobs now. She could talk to Nikolas through their bond, but she liked us all to be in contact. He and I had never used communication devices, but Sara felt better with us wearing them.
“We’re good, boss,” I retorted.
“How are the humans?” Nikolas asked as he stepped over a gulak body.
We’d entered the four-story building from the roof, and the first thing we’d done was take out the guards on the top floor and free the captives up there. Once the floor was secure, Sara stayed behind with Paulette to reassure the terrified humans while the rest of us cleared the building.
“Few cuts and bruises, but alive.” Her voice sounded a little breathless, and I knew she was moving around checking on her charges. “We have fourteen human girls and three mox females up here. One of the demons needs medical attention… Hold on.”
She went quiet for a few seconds. “One of the girls said five more were taken away before we got here. They could still be in the building.”
“We’re on it,” Nikolas said. “Raoul, you copy?”
“Copy,” Raoul replied. “Three is clear, and we’re doing a sweep of two now.”
“We’ll work our way up to you,” Nikolas said.
Sara cut in. “Be careful. Don’t make me have to come down there and save your sorry asses.”
Nikolas smiled and shook his head, and I was struck by how much he’d changed in the year and a half since he’d met Sara. Dedicated to his warrior lifestyle, he’d been the last person I’d expected to settle down, but one look at my little cousin and my best friend had fallen hard.
He used to almost lose it when Sara was in any kind of danger, and I’d often wondered how he was going to deal with her being a warrior. Now they worked together, and he’d finally accepted that his mate could take care of herself. That didn’t mean he didn’t worry, though.
We moved silently through the basement until we came to a utility room. Nikolas reached for the knob and stopped, sniffing the air.
“You smell that?”
I sniffed and nodded grimly as the coppery scent of fresh blood hit me.
“Human,” I said in a low voice.
We positioned ourselves on either side of the door, and Nikolas turned the knob, easing the door open to reveal a dead girl inside. One look at her ravaged throat told me no gulak had killed her.
I crouched and touched the body. “Still warm.”
“We have a fresh vampire kill,” Nikolas barked to the team. “Stay sharp.”
“I’m not picking up anything,” Sara said.
No one questioned her because her “vampire radar,” as she called it, was never wrong. She could sense any vampire within a quarter-mile radius and even tell what direction they were coming from. Pretty useful skill to have in our line of work.
Nikolas and I left the room and continued our search of the basement. It didn’t take me long to find the open sewer grate in the boiler room where the vampire had exited the building.
I peered through the hole at the blackness below. “What do you think?”
“If Sara can’t sense him, he’s long gone,” Nikolas called from the hallway. “Let’s finish down here and head up.”
I headed for the door and let out a grunt when I walked straight into an invisible wall as I tried to pass through the doorway.
I rubbed my nose. “What the hell?”
Nikolas tried to enter the room, coming up against the same barrier. He pushed at it with his hand. “Force field. My guess is it’s warlock made.”
“Nice,” I groused. So much for the lack of security. “What now?”
He smirked as he spoke into his comm. “Sara, it looks like you have to save Chris’s ass after all. He got himself stuck behind a warlock barrier.”
Sara laughed. “I’m on my way. Give me a minute to –” She gasped loudly. “Five vampires, coming fast!”
No sooner had she spoken than the first vampire leaped through the sewer grate. Nikolas battered the magic barrier, and I heard Sara say something, but I was too distracted to listen.
I brought my sword up as the vampire rushed me without waiting for his backup. He screamed as my blade sliced him from navel to shoulder, and he fell backward onto the second vampire coming through the grate. His brethren threw him aside, and he slammed into a pipe, sending water gushing everywhere.
The newcomer sna
rled at me but kept his distance as three more vampires jumped through the hole in the floor. I quickly sized up the situation. These were not young vampires, judging by how fast they’d gotten here after Sara had detected them. That didn’t bode well for the good guys – namely me.
“I don’t suppose you guys are up for a fair fight?” I asked as they spread out in a semicircle. “You know, one-on-one?”
The only female in the group looked me up and down lecherously. She was blonde, and she’d been in her early twenties when she was changed.
“I’ll do some one-on-one time with you when the boys have had their fun.” She licked one of her fangs. “I’ll even let your friend watch.”
I shook my head. “Sorry, I have a rule. No sex with people I have to kill. It puts a real damper on the romance.”
Behind me, Nikolas snorted.
One of the male vampires snarled. “Enough playing around, Jen. Let’s do this.”
She huffed and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Fine. You want him, he’s –”
A white flash lit up the room. Out of nowhere a slender brunette girl appeared, sprawled on her back between me and the vampires. I couldn’t tell who was more shocked to see her there.
She sat up and looked around in wonder. “What do you know? It worked. Sort of.”
“Sara, what the hell?” Nikolas shouted at his mate, who had apparently added transporting to her ever-growing list of Fae powers.
She tossed a sheepish smile over her shoulder at him. “Surprise.”
“Who the fuck are you?” demanded the female vampire from the other side of the room. She and the others had been driven back by Sara’s arrival, but they were inching forward again.