Cursed by Fate
Renee Shearer
Copyright © 2018 by Renee Shearer
All rights reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously
The author acknowledges the trademark owners of various products, brands, and/or music references in this work of fiction. Which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher. Except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Warning
Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About Renee Shearer
Warning
Cursed by Fate is a reverse harem novel, which means our heroine doesn’t have to choose between any of her men.
It is recommended for readers 18+, as there is foul language, sex, and violence. Some content in this novel may also contain possible triggers.
Blurb
Haunted by her Past.
Stalked in the Present.
Terrified of the Future.
Ariana isn’t just your averaged twenty-one-year-old.
She’s also cursed!
For five hundred years her family line has been cursed to insure there would never again be an All-Seeing Eye. They are balancers of Light and Dark, with abilities beyond anything the world remembers. To break it she must pass three tests and find her soul mates.
Easy right?
One problem… she must do all of this before she turns twenty-two, or she’s dead.
She’s already passed two out of three. They almost destroyed her, but the result was two beautiful daughters, who she wouldn’t trade for anything.
With a sadistic killer stalking her every move, can she trust the six devilishly handsome men tasked with her and her daughters protection?
She knows deep down they are the final piece of the puzzle to break the curse. But how… when she can’t even stand the thought of a man touching her?
One
Ariana
Ariana hated springtime in Chicago. They were in the grips of the biggest storm of the century. The thunder and lightning were so close together she couldn’t tell which came first. Rain lashed at her windshield, beating the glass like an angry toddler. Her wipers could barely keep up even at a standstill. Booming thunder rattled her car windows at the same time a flash of lightning lit up the darkened sky. Even the streetlights downtown barely illuminated the night. She saw human shaped shadows, dashing here and there, running to get out of the rain.
Ariana despised nights like this. The already shitty traffic stood at a near standstill which meant the club would be all but dead with just a few diehard partiers. Ugh. Less tips to go in my savings. She hadn’t touched it in two years. She was just barely squeaking by with her full paycheck. At least the girls never want for anything. So what if she went days without eating. The girls got their fill and never wanted for food; that was all that mattered. She sighed. If desperate enough, she could always dip into her savings.
Fiddling with the radio, Ariana tried to find a station that played actual music instead of talk shows. She inched forward and let out another sigh. At this rate, she was going to be late for work. Again. She had already been late twice this week, waiting for the babysitter to show up. I may have to try finding another one. But where the hell am I going to find someone willing to just stay at the apartment from eight until three in the morning?
Looking at her clock, she blew out a heavy breath. Yep, called it. Five minutes late already. Even though she had called to tell them it was a possibility, boss man was going to kill her. Only two blocks to go, she mused. Finally finding a decent station that played her favorite rock music. Finally finding a decent station that played her favorite rock music, she turned it up and started singing along to Wrong Side of Heaven. Prepared to inch along the next two blocks.
Pulling into Club Solstice fifteen minutes later, Ariana made a mad dash for the door in the pelting rain. She wished some of her magic would be the ability to control the weather. If it happened to be one of her abilities and she had not known it, the knowledge of how the hell to use it would be welcomed. Since gaining her first abilities at fifteen after her first attack. Ariana had gotten pregnant and her father to save his own pristine image since he was running for Senator, dumped on her aunt Sara in Montana. Then gaining even more abilities and another pregnancy at eighteen after her second attack. She didn’t really have a complete handle on her powers. Since there wasn’t anyone she could talk to-- not in the present anyways, she had no clue just what she was capable of. Of course, it also didn’t help that she was afraid of using them.
Reaching Danny, the bouncer who was an ex-seal that had gotten hurt during one of his missions, she nodded in greeting. He now had the glamorous job of keeping the riff raff out of the club and took care of any trouble inside.
“Boss is on a rampage little one, better hurry,” Danny grumbled to her.
“Shit, thanks Danny.” She smiled and ran to the back to put her stuff in her locker and clock in. Hurrying out to the floor, she tried to sneak behind the bar, when she heard her boss and froze.
“You’re late again, Stone!” shouted Ricky from across the bar. At a stocky 5’7 with the biggest beer gut she had even seen, her boss was shorter than her own 5’9 slender frame but still managed to seem imposing. With his slicked back, greasy looking black hair, he reminded her of a sleazy mob boss. Or a pimp… more like a pimp.
Never one to back down, Ariana straightened her spine and did what she did best—throw sass like it was nobody’s business. “I know, but seriously have you even looked outside Rick? It’s like a fucking hurricane out there! I may be a lot of things, but a weather god is not one of them.”
“I don’t give a shit if it is a hurricane, you start at nine, Stone, not nine fucking thirty! Leave earlier next time and get your skinny ass in here on time!” Ricky snarled at her and stomped away.
Giving her partner in crime, Jazzy, a baffled look she asked, “Who spit in his coffee tonight? He’s a hell of a lot worse than he normally is.”
“The weather. He knows we won’t be seeing a lot of action if it doesn’t die down soon. Which it’s not predicted to, so he’s pissed.”
“Like it’s my fault the weather is shitty!” Shaking her head and covering her wide yawn, she moaned, “God I need caffeine!” Snagging a can of Red Bull from behind the bar, Ariana guzzled it down in one gulp, praying it would be enough to get her through the night. With a six-year-old kindergartener and a two-year-
old in her terrible two stage, she didn’t get much sleep on the best of days. Add in the weird dreams she had been having, sleep kept alluding her. A flash of dazzling color blinded her for a moment, taking her out of her thoughts. She looked around to see where it had come from.
Ariana did a double take at Jazzy, her mouth falling open. “Girl what the hell are you wearing?”
Jazzy grinned and spun around, making her short dress flare out as much as it could at the bottom. It was form fitting with a sweetheart neckline, showing a good amount of cleavage. With pink and white sequins shimmering on top, it flared at her hips with yet another healthy dose of glitter, this time in red and blue. It ended about three inches below her ass.
“Do you like it?” she gushed. “I got it this morning! Isn’t it a great dress? It matches my hair!”
“You look like a unicorn sneezed glitter all over you! The pastel colored rainbow hair was one thing Jazz, that looks hot. But that monstrosity you are calling a dress is giving me a headache! Not to mention, you are totally gonna own the tits and ass department tonight. But hey, you do you girl and let your sparkle shine. Just be careful bending over in that thing.” Laughing gently and smiling to let Jazzy know she wasn’t being mean, Ariana turned around to get a beer for Don as he slid onto a barstool at the end. He was one of the regulars, but only every second Friday of the month which was weird to her. Why a man in his thirties would choose to come to a nightclub with thumping bass and make your ears bleed music instead of a quiet little bar that showed the games was beyond her. But at least he was a good tipper and never made a pass at her.
“You’re just jealous that I’m gonna get more tips than you tonight!” Jazz stuck out her tongue and tossed her hair over her shoulder. She looked Ariana over, shaking her head. “You wear the same thing practically every night!”
Peering down at her black skinny jeans paired with a black V-neck t-shirt that only showed a hint of cleavage, Ariana waved her friend away. She didn’t look bad; there was no way she could. As long as I have clothes on. She grimaced. At 5’9 with a slender and toned body from doing kickboxing and martial arts, her wavy red hair just brushed the tops of her breasts and looked like a flame in the right light. Ariana’s gray eyes appeared nearly silver, and she enhanced them with a bit of mascara and eyeliner. She sported a creamy flawless complexion with full lips and high cheekbones. Ariana knew she was beautiful by society standards, so she downplayed on her looks with her wardrobe as much as possible. She hated attention. Her wardrobe consisted of black jeans, a few colored shirts that weren’t too tight—some with sayings—and her signature ass kicking boots, as Jazz called them. They were black knee highs that laced up the front with a chunky heel. She had to admit that she felt badass in them.
Ariana liked how she looked, but the clothes helped hide the scars of her past and allowed her to at least pretend nothing bad had happened. Nope not going there tonight Ari, get your head back into work. Wish I wasn’t so afraid of using my powers to get the hell out of here. I would rather be home with my girls. She sighed and checked to make sure her mental walls were in place, so she didn’t hear every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the joint tonight. Pulling her hair back into a high ponytail, she started to wipe down the counters as the bass thumped and the music blared with some techno crap they called dance music.
After two hours of slinging drinks and turning down propositions, she realized that she was seeing new people and not just the diehards out for a good time on a Friday night. Looking out over the floor, she was surprised to see that there were more people in the club than she thought there would be tonight. And it was steadily growing…what the hell?
“Hey Jazz, I’ll be right back. Gonna go check outside and see if the weather let up.”
Jazz was too busy making doe eyes at a handsome man to hear her, so with a shrug she went outside. Sure enough, what only two hours ago was a thrashing angry mess, was now only a slight drizzle; it made everything seem fresh. For Chicago, that meant a slightly less than normal smog smell. Puzzled, as she could have sworn that Jazz said it wasn’t supposed to let up anytime soon, she looked to the left where the line was. Seeing how long it was getting, she shrugged off her puzzlement and turned toward Danny with a smile.
“Glad it let up, huh Danny?”
“Definitely am little one. Just hope I don’t have to crack a few heads tonight.” He smirked as he cracked his knuckles.
Laughing, she smacked him lightly on the arm. “Yeah right Danny, it would ruin your whole night if you didn’t get to and you know it!”
Chuckling and nodding at her with a twinkle in his blue eyes, Danny started to let the next people in. Ariana turned to go back inside, when a group of men laughing caught her eye. She counted six in the group, all tall with rippling muscles. They were all handsome in their own way. Their age seemed to be close to her age of twenty-one, possibly a bit older. A chill of foreboding slid down her spine, making her shiver. The only blonde, though it looked almost white in the overhead lights, caught her looking and winked at her with a knowing smile.
Oh, he is handsome alright, and knows it. Her thoughts started to wander into dangerous territory. Shaking her head to dispel the thoughts running rampant, she put her game face on with the little smile that didn’t reach her eyes and headed back inside. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were more than just clubbers coming to unwind on a Friday night.
Please don’t let them be trouble, I’m begging you! She sent up the silent prayer as she got back behind the bar, mixed a Long Island iced tea for a patron, and tried to forget the six devilishly handsome men that would be in the club before too long.
Jayden
Staring after the sexy as hell redhead who just walked back inside, Jayden didn’t see the punch one of his brothers threw at his arm, clocking him right in the shoulder. “Oww, you bitch!” He snapped his head around to look for the culprit. When all of them only smirked back at him, he grunted and said, “Any of you lowlifes see that amazing redhead that just walked out here?”
“You mean the one with the smoking body in skinny jeans and a V-neck t-shirt, and shit kicking boots?” his friend and brother at arms Grayson asked with a knowing smile.
“Yeah, she was spectacular. What I wouldn’t do to get her under me… or over if she preferred,” chimed in Mateo, grinning wickedly. There was a reason the group had given him Sin as a call sign.
“There was something different about her though. Don’t you agree Roman?” mused his other brother Easton. Jayden still couldn’t believe he called two Mages his brothers-- even after two years together on the force. One being a Dark Mage to boot!
“Yeah, her aura was off a bit, a mix of colors that were clashing with each other. Almost like they were fighting for dominance…” Roman said quietly, though with their shifter hearing the rest of the guys heard him clearly. Roman had that look in his eyes. The one where he wanted to go off on his own and figure out the puzzle. His call sign wasn’t Rogue for nothing. He tended to disappear for days at a time when he was trying to figure something out.
“Think she’s the target?” Easton replied just as quietly, cocking his head to the side.
“No.” Aiden, their leader whom they affectionately referred to as Capt, glanced up from his phone. “New intel says the target is a man. A Dark Mage selling Fae drugs to humans.”
“Shiiit,” whistled Mateo. “What the hell is he thinking? Humans can’t handle that toxic crap. Hell, we can barely tolerate it! Oh, and thanks Professor for dealing with that nasty storm. I for one didn’t want to stand out here getting soaked,” he added looking at Easton. Easton earned the nickname Professor because he was always researching something. When he had gotten his PhD in Psychology last year, it was a done deal. Having a boy genius on the team who could settle any arguments that arose and was a whizz with all the tech shit, was damn awesome. Jayden and technology did not get along. It was a love/hate relationship. He loved to hate it.
“Anytime, mate,�
� Easton replied, clapping Mateo on the back. “Now, back to the matter at hand.” He nodded towards Aiden.
Running his fingers through his hair like he always did when he was agitated, Aiden grunted, “Right.” He cleared his throat. “Which is why we were brought in and not the local LEOs. There have been twenty confirmed deaths this month alone. Took us a bit to track him down since he operates out of a couple different clubs, but my CI says this is where he hangs out every second Friday of the month. So, keep your eyes off the women, Playboy. We are here to do a job.”
Grinning widely, Jayden purred, “But I’m so good at multitasking!” Dropping the smile, he focused his attention on the matter at hand. “How are we gonna play this Capt?” Jayden knew the local law enforcement officers wouldn’t be able to handle a Dark Mage. It would just end up getting a lot of those that served and protect killed.
“That’s Trick’s call tonight boys,” Aiden said as he turned toward Grayson.
As a fox shifter, Grayson was naturally crafty. Plus, he could get into places no one else could. Jayden glanced at Gray. He loved the little spymaster, except when he was playing a trick on him. Then not so much. Which reminds me, I still have to get his sorry ass back for the shaving cream prank.
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