Cursed by Fate

by Renee Shearer

  Suddenly, her door flew open. Avery came running in and jumped on the bed, smiling widely. Ariana shrieked, yanking her hand out from between her legs and pulling the covers up. She discreetly wiped her hand off on the bed. Breathlessly, she admonished Avery, “Avery! What did we talk about? You need to knock before coming into my room!”

  Avery looked down and the smile slid from her face. “I’m sorry, Mommy.”

  Ariana sighed heavily, feeling guilty. She gathered Avery in her arms for a hug. “It’s okay munchkin, you just scared me that’s all! Please remember to knock next time.”

  Avery nodded, then smiled widely again. “Someone made breakfast already! There’s pancakes, bacon, and cheesy scrambled eggs!” Avery was practically bouncing in Ariana’s lap in excitement.

  Ariana laughed. “That’s awesome! But who made all that?”

  “I don’t know, the guy with spiky hair who came over a while ago.”

  Ariana thought for a moment before replying. “Do you mean Jayden?”

  Avery shrugged. “I guess. The other two guys came over first thing this morning, and then the spiky guy started cooking.”

  “Oh, is that so, huh? The spiky guy?” Laughing, she started tickling Avery, making her giggle loudly. Stopping to let Avery breathe after their tickle fest, Ariana decided to have a quick word with her about what had happened last night.

  “Munchkin, about last night. You haven’t told anyone what you can do right?”

  “No, Mommy. It hasn’t come up yet.”

  “Now I know this is going to sound weird, but please don’t say anything yet, okay?”

  Avery looked confused. “But why, Mommy? Are you ashamed of me?”

  Her mouth falling open in shock, Ariana gasped out, “What?! No! I could never be ashamed of you, Avery! Where in the world did you get that idea?”

  Looking down and clasping her hands together in her lap, Avery responded quietly, “You’re always telling me not to use my gift in front of other people. But I had to last night!”

  Gently hugging her, Ariana felt tears gather in her eyes. Was she a bad mom for denying her daughter the use of her gift? Should she tell the others? Should she allow Avery to explore her gift more?

  No, not right now. It’s too dangerous for her.

  She turned Avery’s head so she could look her in the eyes. “I know you had to, sweetie, and I am so thankful and very proud of you. Never doubt that. I will always be proud of you, no matter what. Understand?” When Avery nodded, Ariana continued in a softer voice. “It’s just that some people in the world are bad, honey. They might try and take advantage of your gift. I’m trying to protect you. I’m sorry you feel that way; I never meant for you to. I’m just doing what I think is best to protect you, okay?”

  Sitting up straighter, Avery smiled. “Okay, Mommy.” Avery jumped up from the bed and ran to the door but stopped and turned around. “Oh, and Mommy…”

  “Yeah, Munchkin?”

  “Why are you naked?”

  Blushing, Ariana stuttered, “Um, it… It was hot in here last night.”

  “Okay,” Avery said happily and ran out of the room, slamming the door in her wake. Ariana winced. She wished Avery would stop slamming doors. She slid from underneath her covers, making her way to the bathroom to take a quick shower. She knew the girls would be safe with Jess in the house.

  As Ariana got into the shower, her mind drifted back to last night. She never did find out what was in the box. She would have to ask the guys when the girls weren’t around. Ariana shuddered even with the hot water streaming down her back. With the events of last night, she was seriously reconsidering her decision to stay. It would be safer if they left, but again, she had the problem of where would they go? Shaking her head to clear it, Ariana decided to let all of it simmer for right now. She never could think straight before her first cup of coffee.

  Stepping out of the shower into her room, Ariana turned on the t.v. to the news station. She sat on her bed to brush her hair. When a news story came on the air, Ariana went still as stone, a strangled sound coming from her throat.

  Oh God! It’s happening again.

  She slipped to the floor; far away someone was making a god-awful sound. Ariana grabbed her head in her hands, trying to block it out. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not again. When will it stop?

  Jayden

  When he heard the high, keening wail coming from Ariana’s room, Jayden sprinted from the kitchen. The guys followed right behind him. Slamming the door open, he skidded to a stop just inside the room. He had halted so suddenly that the guys crashed into his back, nearly knocking him on his ass.

  “Hey, what the fuck, Professor?” Roman said indignantly.

  Ignoring him, Jayden stared at Ariana curled up on the floor, her hands buried in her damp hair as she rocked back and forth wearing nothing but one of those towels with the straps to hold it up. His dick jumped at the sight, but never made it up. The sound was coming from her. Looking around to quickly assess the situation, he saw the news was on. Spying the remote on the bed, he paused it. Jayden slowly knelt in front of Ariana, careful not to touch her as he tried to get her attention.

  “Hey, Sugar. Come on, come back to us.” He kept his voice as calm and as soothing as he could. But seeing her like this tore him to shreds. He just wanted to wrap her in his arms and protect her from everything. Jayden needed her to stop making that god-awful noise, his heart couldn’t take any more of the sound. It was filled with such anguish, despair, and fear that he felt as if he were going to puke. Why was she acting like this? What had set her off?

  Jayden raised his shaking hands and risked touching the end of her damp hair. “Ariana, honey, please come back. Focus on me, okay? Only me. I’m here and I’ve got you, everything is alright.” Her screams faded to whimpers. “Just breathe, Sugar. Take deep breaths and listen to my voice. Can you do that for me?” At her short nod, he started talking about anything that came to mind as the guys gathered around her in a loose circle. Close enough to give comfort, but far enough away so she didn’t feel threatened.

  He heard a small gasp from the doorway, and without stopping his incessant chatter, Jayden glanced over his shoulder. Jess stood with her arms wrapped around Avery and Zoey, preventing them from coming inside. He jerked his head towards the hallway, silently telling her to get them out of there. They didn’t need to see their mother like this. With a nod of her head, Jess gently gathered the girls, murmuring softly and leading them away.

  Turning his head to look at Ariana once more, he noticed that her rocking had slowed. He glanced up at the guys; he didn’t know what to do other than continue to talk. Slowly, after a nod from Aiden, all of the other guys sank to their knees. They all wore the same look of hopelessness on their faces that Jayden was sure was on his own face. Not only were her screams like daggers piercing his very soul, but he could see the top half of her back when her hair had fallen forward with her rocking. It was covered it scars. All faded but some were raised up and looked like they… sparkled?

  What the hell?

  After what felt like an eternity but was probably only five minutes, Ariana fell still and quiet. She leaned against the side of her bed, totally spent. Since her head still hung down, Jayden dropped even lower and tried to capture her gaze. But her eyes were closed, and her breathing was steady.

  Did she fall asleep?

  Even as the thought crossed his mind, her lashes fluttered open. As she gazed at Jayden, his heart broke. Her eyes held such a depth of sorrow, pain, and terror that he felt like he was drowning in them. Ariana opened and closed her mouth several times before she sighed and closed her eyes again.

  “Water, please,” she finally managed to croak out.

  Easton jumped to his feet and rushed out of the room. Jayden continued to look at Ariana with her eyes closed and her head tipped back.

  What the hell happened?

  Just as Easton came back in with the water and gently placed it in her sha
king hands, Jayden remembered the t.v. was on and twisted to take a closer look. On the screen he saw a news anchor with a smaller picture in the right-hand corner of a white sheet draped over a body. The words ‘Body of Redheaded Woman Found Tortured and Brutally Slain!’ were scrawled across the bottom of the screen.

  Oh, Fuck! Not good. Definitely. Not. Good!

  Mouth agape, Jayden whipped his head back around to stare at Ariana. Her eyes were still tightly closed as she drank deeply, as if she couldn’t bear the thought of opening them and facing the world. Snapping his mouth closed, Jayden caught the guys’ attention, tilting his head towards the t.v. He watched as their eyes widened and fear flashed across all of their faces before swiftly turning back to Ariana, their mouths set in hard lines. Mateo was the only exception. He regarded her with sympathy in his gaze. Now, why would he look at her like that? Does he know something?

  Jayden watched as Roman frowned at Ariana and moved to sit in front of her. Jayden quickly shook his head at him. He wouldn’t allow Roman to start interrogating her right now. That shit could wait. Right now, they needed to get their own fiery redhead back instead of this wrecked and dejected one they had in front of them. He knew the perfect person to snap her out of it and get her back into the land of the living. Putting a hand on Roman’s arm, Jayden nodded towards Aiden, indicating they should let him handle this. Roman gave him a fierce scowl, but in the end scooted back a bit and nodded.

  Eighteen

  Ariana

  She could feel the presence of the guys all around her. Instead of frightening her, it comforted her and made her feel safe. Ariana sighed with her eyes still closed, and just basked in the warm feeling her guys gave her.

  Wait, what the fuck? My guys? No, they weren’t my guys! They are becoming friends though.

  Ariana didn’t even stiffen when she felt them moving around, drawing closer to her. She finally started to relax and picture how life could be with the guys. They would be there to support her and lift her up when she couldn’t handle it on her own. She loved her girls, but sometimes she just wanted a break. Being a single mom was hard. Being a single mother since her teenage years was harder. Sometimes she felt sad that she missed out on all the fun she could have had. The parties while in high school. A normal dating life. Going out drinking and dancing with friends without worrying who will take care of the girls while she was out. The guys could change all that if she let them in. They would love her daughters like they were their own. Cheering at their accomplishments, cringing when they got hurt. Wanting to beat the shit out of any guy who dated them as they grew older. It was a nice fantasy, and she just wanted to stay and dream for a while. Until Aiden had to go and open his mouth, ruining all of her fantasies.

  “Well? Are you done sniveling, Ariana? We have things to do and can’t hold your hand every time you feel like having a meltdown,” Aiden said snidely.

  Seriously, who the fuck did this guy think he was? Why the hell was he always talking down to me?

  Fury flooded her veins, washing away the lingering fear. She saw red as she surged to her feet and advanced on Aiden. She was going to show him what she did to assholes. She couldn’t take him anymore; he was a royal pain in her ass. Blowing hot then cold; nice one minute and in the next breath, just a complete and utter prick.

  Stepping into his space, she slapped him across his smug face with all of her strength. Though she was careful not to use her shifter abilities, Aiden’s head snapped to the side from the force of her blow. She refused to feel sorry as he slowly brought his head around to look straight at her. A deep red hand print marred the left side of his face already.

  Well, serves the jackass right!

  “Again, Aiden. Who the fuck do you think you are? I don’t need you bursting into my life and trying to tell me how the hell I should behave! I am not some fucking Stepford wife, you piece of shit! And I’ll have you know that I was doing perfectly fucking fine without you and your merry band of men. Then you waltz in like you own the fucking place, and all hell breaks loose!

  It’s your fault, you jerk. It’s been years, do you hear me? YEARS. Since I had a major meltdown. So, I slipped up. I was shocked, and it brought shit back! That fucking happens when you have trauma, you arrogant, self-centered, conceited, control freak, jackass!” Ariana’s chest was heaving with her rapid breaths as she fought to control her temper, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. If Aiden made one more snarky comment I’m going to punch him.

  Silence crashed into her ears; Ariana realized no one was saying anything. Her eyes widened when it hit her what she had just said, and just like that her anger faded away. Sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose, she ducked her head and gave herself a mental head slap. How could she of said those things to him? All he and the others had ever tried to do was help her. Okay, so yeah, they barged in and kept showing up and fucked up her nice and carefully ordered life, but if she were being honest with herself, her nice ordered life was boring. Ariana and the girls weren’t really living, only existing, constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Always waiting to run.

  Well, shit. I’ve done it now.

  Puffing out her cheeks as she blew out a hard breath, Ariana snuck a look at Aiden from under her lashes, trying to gauge how pissed off he was. Aiden had to be ticked; she had just assaulted him. Instead of the anger and disgust she was expecting, Ariana was met with calm and understanding shining from his eyes as he gazed at her. Along with another emotion she refused to even contemplate. His mouth kicked up into a smirk. Ariana did another mental head slap; at this rate she was going to give herself imaginary brain damage. She chuckled at her own joke and shook her head at him.

  “You did it again, didn’t you?”

  Aiden rocked back on his heels, shoving his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “Yep, and it worked. Again.” Aiden winked. “I’m beginning to figure you out, Ariana.”

  Ariana placed her hand over her chest in mock astonishment. “Say it isn’t so!”

  Hearing the guys chuckle, she spun around. Mateo and Roman were in the same clothes they had on yesterday, though both men had sleep rumpled hair and looked absolutely delicious. Ariana blushed again when her sex dream of Mateo flashed across her mind. God, she hoped he was asleep when that happened. Ariana didn’t know what she would do if he had seen or heard anything from her mind while she was sleeping. Mateo smirked and winked at her, chuckling. Ariana blushed even harder, realizing he knew about her dream. Her face probably resembled a freaking tomato right about now.

  Clearing her throat, she looked at Easton and Jayden. Tilting her head to the side she changed the subject. “So, Jay, I hear you’re the one who cooked breakfast?” She looked around for the first time. “Where’s Gray?”

  Jayden nodded and smiled. “Yep. I’m usually the resident cook. None of these fools could boil water without burning it. Gray had, uh, some business to attend to.”

  Laughing, Ariana shook her head. “Well I’m a pretty good cook myself.” She decided to let the comment about Gray slide.

  Jayden perked up. “Yeah? What do you say we cook together sometime?”

  Ariana thought about it. Her and Jay in the kitchen. Him in his signature dark wash jeans and button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and an apron around his waist making him look sexy as hell. Getting wet just thinking about it, she smiled. “I’d like that.”

  “It’s a date then.”

  Glancing at Easton, she smirked. “I guess you’ve finally learned not to touch me when I’m in a… state shall we say?”

  Looking adorable as his checks stained pink, he ran his hands through his shock of blue hair. Who would’ve thought a sexy, geeky looking guy such as East would go the bold route with blue for his hair? But damn did it look good on him. Looking him up and down, she licked her lips, imagining running her hands through his hair and slowly taking off his black framed glasses, tossing them aside as she kissed him breathless. Maybe sitting on top of a desk. He was the psy
chologist of the group, so he would have to have a desk somewhere. She would be in a short skirt for easy acc… Whoa… hold up. Ariana shook her head. What the fuck was wrong with her? One time peeking into Jay’s head, seeing the guys pleasure themselves when she looked in on them, and a dream of her own and suddenly she was ready to toss all of her inhibitions to the wind?

  Yes. No. Maybe. No. Sighing, she glanced at the guys. Okay, so probably.

  Looking down at her floor, she suddenly realized she was still in her towel. Practically naked. In front of five extremely hot guys. Her head snapped back up, her gaze flying to all of them. Eyes widening, she spun and dashed to her dresser, snatching clothes. She ran past them to her bathroom as they started to laugh, and she slammed the door shut.

  Sweet baby Jesus! What was wrong with her lately?

  As Ariana dressed quickly, her thoughts inadvertently drifted back to the news. It was so eerily similar to what had happened in Michigan that she got chills.

  Ariana and Avery had been living in a smallish country town. Portland had been small enough that she felt safe, but large enough that not everyone knew everyone. She had been eight months pregnant with Zoey when the first report of a redheaded woman found dead had shown up on the news. At first, Ariana didn’t think anything of it as it had happened in Grand Rapids, some fifty miles from where she lived.