Cursed by Fate

by Renee Shearer

  She felt Roman come up behind her, settling his hands at her waist. She didn’t even stiffen up this time, his touch more of a comforting presence than anything else. Ariana felt more heat lick up and down her body. Easton in front of her staring into her eyes, as if she was the only woman he ever wanted to see. With Roman at her back, his hands on her hips, Ariana found she liked being between them. That was something new as well. It seemed she really was moving on from her past with the help of all of these men. To show her gratitude, she leaned back into Roman’s embrace. He bent down and skimmed his lips along her jaw.

  Whispering in her ear he said, “As much fun as this is, Ari-Lass. We need to be going. I’ll ride with Easton and help protect the wee ones. Dunnae worry your pretty little head.”

  Sighing she nodded, she was surprisingly reluctant to pull away. Aiden stalked over, grabbed her hand, and pulled her along to the other car. Jayden and Grayson were giving her cheeky grins. Mateo was on his motorcycle, and the heat in his eyes as he watched her made her shiver. She glanced back at Easton and Roman as they pulled away with her two precious babies and sent up a silent prayer that they would make it safely. Mateo tugged on his helmet and roared away into the night. He would be following them as backup if needed. Satisfied that they would be safe, she turned to get into the SUV.

  Aiden’s gruff voice came from behind her. “Hold on a second. My turn.” Confused, she looked at him. What was he talking about, his turn? She didn’t have long to wait as he spun her around and backed her up against the SUV. “Are you okay?” he whispered against her mouth.

  “Mmmhmm. For now.” Even though she was shaking, she pushed down her fear. If this last week had taught her anything, it was that she had nothing to fear from these men.

  “Good. Buckle up, buttercup.” She smiled as he kissed her lightly. He was almost hesitant at first, making sure she was okay. Ariana had had enough of the games and waiting. She was ready to move on. Needed to move on. Grabbing the front of his shirt, she crushed her lips to his. Taking control, she swept her tongue along his bottom lip, and he parted his mouth eagerly. As she dipped inside, his tongue dueled for supremacy with hers. She knew it would be like this with him. A battle for dominance and control. She was surprised that she really was okay with being pinned against the car, his hard body pressed into hers. So different than the Monster who was bigger and chubbier. But Aiden’s body felt like it was sculpted from marble. He thrust his hips against hers, and she whimpered softly in pleasure.

  Suddenly, Jayden yelled, knocking them both to the ground just as the window behind them cracked. Jayden yelled out again in pain. “Get in the car, now!!” Grayson roared as he ran around the car and slid across the hood.

  Ariana was so startled and frightened that her powers overtook her. She could feel herself shrink. That was new. She had never fully shifted before. But why are they looking at me with their mouths hanging open? They had seen her partially shift. They knew she could. So why did Jayden have mirth dancing in his eyes. Fighting a grin, now that he closed his mouth? She glanced down at her feet. They were not feet anymore but small furry paws. What the hell? She quickly glanced at the rest of her body. She was a strange mix of colors from reddish brown to white, and had a long tail that was swishing back and forth. She kept looking between her paws and her tail. Oh my god! I’ve turned into a fucking house cat!

  “What the fuck?” She whipped her head back around to Aiden and hissed at him. Narrowing her eyes, she dared him to say something about this.

  “Ariana. Seriously? Now is not the time to be a fucking cat!” Jayden huffed a laugh, grimacing when more shots hit the car and bounced off, almost hitting them.

  “Grab her and let’s go!” Aiden yelled as another round of shots fired, striking the pavement near their bodies. He rolled over and flipped up onto his feet, pulling a gun and firing back. Jayden scooped her up and yanked open the back door. She dug her claws into his shoulders. Trying to yell out to Aiden to hurry up, all that came out was a loud meow. Oh great! Just fucking great! I’m useless!

  She tried to change back, but her power slapped back at her. Ariana hissed at it, digging deeper inside herself. Aiden finally jumped into the back, and she was able to relax. Once she did, her powers released their grip on her form, and Ariana found herself sprawled across Jayden’s lap. Naked as the day she was born.

  “Oh, this just keeps getting better and better,” she snarked as Jayden grinned at her.

  “GO!” Aiden yelled at Gray who took off in a peel of rubber and screeching tires, swerving a bit around a corner as he gunned it.

  Ariana scrambled off Jayden’s lap as fast as she could and huddled into the corner by the opposite door.

  Jayde yanked off his shirt and handed it to her. “Nice tattoo, babe.”

  Mumbling her thanks, she yanked the shirt over her head. Feeling a wetness, she looked down and saw blood. Snapping her gaze to Jayden, she immediately saw the hole in his side. “Oh my god! You’re hurt!”

  Jayden looked down and shrugged. “It’s not bad. It’ll be healed by the time we get to the cottage.”

  Grayson yanked hard on the wheel, screeching around another corner and throwing Jayden into her with Aiden landing on top of him.

  Jayden hummed low in his throat. “I like this.”

  “Get off me, you oaf!” Ariana chuckled. Aiden moved off of Jayden so he could get up, as soon as he did, she missed his warmth. She almost pulled him back, but he was already climbing over the seats to the front. Ariana’s eyes were glued to his ass as he climbed. She loved his ass.

  “Hang on!” Grayson yelled as he swerved hard again, throwing everyone to the side.

  As she righted herself, Ariana looked at the speedometer. They were going ninety-five miles per hour on the Chicago streets. Ariana grabbed for her seat belt. She frantically tried to get it on but couldn’t, so she just clung to the strap instead. Grayson was weaving in and out of the other cars on the road. It looked like they were heading for the highway.

  “Do you really think this is necessary?!” she yelled at Grayson. “You’re going to get us killed! Are they following us?” Ariana wrenched her head around to look behind them, but she couldn’t tell if they were being followed or not.

  “No, we’re not being followed. I still want to put as much distance between us and the shooter as possible so they don’t somehow track us to Momence,” Grayson calmly told her. Hearing him speak so calm helped her settle down enough so she could think.

  SHIT!

  “The girls? Call Roman! Are they ok?”

  “Already on it, Honey.” Aiden had his phone up to his ear.

  Grayson finally slowed to a more reasonable speed when they hit the I-94 Express. Ariana breathed a sigh of relief. Letting go of the seat belt, she listened in on Aiden’s conversation. Aiden glanced at her with heat smoldering in his eyes as he looked her up and down. She was keenly aware that she was practically naked but didn’t care in the wake of his look.

  “Rogue? We had a shooter. You all good?”

  “No, everyone’s fine. Did you have any problems?” Aiden paused again, listening to Roman on the other end and nodding his head. When he gave her a thumbs up sign, she nearly wept in relief, sagging against the seat.

  “Okay. Good, watch your six.” Ariana studied Aiden as he listened to Roman. His hair was more disheveled than usual, and his five o’clock shadow was more pronounced, almost as if he had skipped shaving that morning. She remembered the pleasant scratching of it when Aiden had kissed her. His eyes were so blue they glowed in the darkness of the car. Ariana was sure that his wolf was fighting to be free. She really wanted to shift into a wolf and run with him. Maybe she could convince him to let loose a little when they got to the cabin. If she could fully shift again; this time not into a fucking cat.

  Shaking her head, she turned to look out into the night while resting her head against the window. It was becoming clear to her that while she could handle everyday humans in a one-on-one fight
, supernaturals were another thing entirely. What with their sneaky attacks and lurking in shadows. The guys had told her that her stalker was a Dark Mage. Now I know how Sam and Dean Winchester feel, except less badass. Ariana chuckled to herself. That show was one of her guilty pleasures. She loved watching Dean’s antics, plus they were hot as hell.

  As the adrenaline from the escape wore off, Ariana suddenly felt drained. She closed her eyes to rest just for a moment. Now that they were out of danger and she knew her girls were safe, she could relax. She was asleep in minutes.

  Aiden

  As he hung up the phone, Aiden looked at Ariana to see how she was faring. To his relief she was sleeping deeply. He watched her for a moment, marveling at how she could look so sweet and innocent in sleep. He knew she was not innocent. Life had a way of knocking the innocence out of even the most sheltered person. He was continually surprised by her warmth and caring towards others, even when she was trying to be a hard ass and keep everything together. She always thought of others first before thinking of herself. His eyes were drawn to the tattoo peeking out from the bottom of Jayden’s shirt. All he could see was two brightly colored blue feathers and a red butterfly flying in between them. The shading was spectacular. It made the feathers and butterfly look as if they were floating off her skin. He had no idea what it meant to her, but to him it meant hope and strength.

  Aiden knew Ariana was strong and a survivor, she had already survived so much. Still, he and his wolf needed to help her. He needed to make sure her and the girls stayed safe. Come hell or high water, that’s what he was going to do. Aiden would do anything for her and those two girls. Every day he had gotten to spend with them was like a breath of fresh air.

  He never thought he would be the family man type, but as he had watched Avery get her kindergarten diploma, he found himself welling up with pride. Avery and Zoey were already his and the guys’ as far, as they were concerned. He found himself wishing for the day when they called him Dad. Of seeing Ariana swell with their child. He wouldn’t care who the father was; the baby would be all of theirs to love and raise together.

  What the fuck are you thinking? If you lose focus like your dad, everyone you love will die again.

  Shaking his head from the thoughts that had nothing to do with the mission at hand, he decided he needed to stay focused. So what if the girls had him wrapped around their fingers? Even Ariana did, though he would never admit that to her. He enjoyed their little spats too much. But if he lost focus, people died. End of story. He needed to get her off his mind and back on the task at hand.

  Turning to Gray and Jayden, he sighed and ran his hands through his hair. At this rate he wouldn’t have any hair left soon. “The Professor and Rogue didn’t have any problems. They’re going to switch cars just to be on the safe side.”

  Shaking his head, Jayden looked at him ruefully from the front seat. “She is going to be so pissed.”

  “She’s always pissed at me for one thing or another. I’m keeping her and her girls safe. That’s all that matters.”

  Grayson snorted. “Yeah. How’s that working out so far? We still can’t find her stalker, and now someone, probably the same guy we’re looking for, just shot at her!”

  Aiden growled at the reminder that he had been distracted enough by the kiss with Ariana, that he hadn’t heard or smelled the shooter. If he could, he would kick his own ass for his slip up. He couldn’t let that happen again. His wolf growled at him, raking his claws down his insides at the thought of not being able to kiss her again. He didn’t give a rat’s ass what his wolf wanted, Aiden had to keep them alive, and sometimes that meant making sacrifices.

  “Guys, are we not going to talk about the fact that she turned into a freaking cat?” Jayden asked ruefully.

  “What was that all about?” Gray asked and shook his head.

  Smiling to himself, he pictured her shocked cat face. His gaze once again drifted over to Ariana. Her head had whipped back and forth from her tail to her paws for a few seconds, her eyes wide. It was a very comical look on a cat. He chuckled. She still had that death glare down even in cat form.

  “Capt? You okay man?”

  Snapping his gaze to the front, he saw Jayden and Grayson looking at him funny. He couldn’t blame them, he rarely, if ever, laughed. Until Ariana. He seemed to be doing a hell of a lot more smiling and laughing these days. If he was being honest with himself, he liked the new him in those moments, but he couldn’t trust it. Glancing at Ariana again before returning his gaze the guys, he just nodded and settled into his seat.

  The weight of being team leader weighed heavily on his shoulders. For the first time since he got his promotion two years ago, he detested the burden he carried of being the leader. Just once he wished he could be as carefree and happy as the others. Jayden used to go through girls like they were candy and would go to street races, often winning. Grayson was always up for playing a game or was pulling pranks on the guys. Aiden secretly loved his pranks because they always made him laugh. Mateo loved to play chess and could often be found clearing his head with Tai Chi. Easton was able to lose himself in his research and books. Roman loved going to the Karaoke bars, picking up women and drinking. Aiden had followed him one evening and, to his surprise, Roman was on stage singing Sugar. Roman had put a low rasp into the song and made it edgier, darker. Aiden had liked his take on the popular Maroon 5 song. He still couldn’t believe Roman had a secret voice and liked pop music. Aiden had always pictured him as a hard-core rocker. Of course, he couldn’t have known as Roman never sang around the house. But once a week he was at the bar singing different pop songs, having his pick of the women. Hell, they were always throwing themselves at him whenever he left the stage.

  The only thing Aiden had was work. Hell, he hadn’t been with a woman in over a year. He just couldn’t make himself relax enough. The cases they handled were brutal, but kidnappings of little kids were always the worst. On those cases he ate, breathed and slept the case until they found them. His team had the highest success rate of bringing the kids back safely. But when the case was done, Aiden always wondered when he would burn out. He never really got a chance to destress; he was always on edge, always looking for the next potential threat.

  Until Ariana and her two charming daughters blew into his life with the force of a hurricane. Aiden wondered just what the hell he was going to do about that. If anything happened to them, he would never forgive himself.

  Twenty-Five

  Ariana

  Ariana snapped awake as soon as the car stopped. She was disoriented at first, not remembering where she was. Then she heard the guys chuckle and swung her gaze to them. Even in her sleepy state, they all managed to make her shiver in warmth and pleasure as their eyes held the heat of desire in them.

  “Morning, Princess!” Jayden practically sang. After only an hour nap following the adrenaline rush earlier, she needed coffee. Ariana could not deal with chipper people when she woke up, no matter if it was after eight hours of solid sleep or a quick nap. Some people weren’t morning people; she was not a waking up person.

  Ariana grunted at Jayden and flung herself from the car, stumbling a little as her legs refused to hold her weight. That’s what I get for sleeping curled up. Tugging down Jayden’s shirt, Ariana looked up and got her first look at the cabin. A gasp escaped her lips. This is no ordinary cabin! Three stories tall, light glowed from almost every window as well as the front porch, making the huge logs shine in the darkness. In a trance, she walked closer and saw that the front door was actually a double door. Almost like French doors, they had two windows, oval in shape, and had designs etched into the glass. Ariana’s mouth hung open as she stepped up to the entrance, her gaze darting to each window and taking it all in. She realized they were the same pictures and settled for looking at just one. With a beautifully etched wolf, tiger, and fox, it looked almost as if they were dancing around two twin flames on the window. Squinting her eyes, she saw that inside the flames were p
ictures as well. In one was a skull, and in the other what looked to be a stag. She knew immediately every symbol on there represented one of the guys. This was their home away from home. Their sanctuary where they could just be themselves without the pressure of the world intruding.

  Yet, here she was with her two girls, interfering in their sacred domain. Tears pricked her eyes at the fact that they were willing to have their home invaded by her and her little family to keep them safe.

  Ariana straightened her spine and reached for the door handle. Nothing was ever safe for long, she had better remember that. Sooner or later the rug was always pulled out from underneath you.

  As she walked into the house, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her mouth fell open, as she slowly took in the bottom floor. A huge staircase was directly in front of her, made entirely of wood and stained in a light tan color. She could see clear out to the back through the slates, there was a sliding glass door on the opposite side of the house directly aligned with the front door. The flood lights were on back there as well, and she could see a porch and a patio set. The floors gleamed with the same light tan color, almost the color of coffee with a lot of cream. Plush rugs were spread out everywhere, begging her to sink her toes into them. The dining room was ahead of her and slightly to the left. It looked like a separate room but was still part of the main floor. She could see part of a dining table and chairs. There was a room off to her left that was closed off, it was the wall of this room that created the divider for the dining room. The room had a black door that was closed. Probably Aiden’s office. The living room was immediately to her right, and boasted a huge stone fireplace with two long narrow windows on either side and a thick, plush, black and silver rug laid in front of it. She wanted to lay down in front of the fire on that rug. Possibly with one or more of her men. Another wall ran the length of the living room with a small window in the center. Through the window she could see part of a fridge. She figured that must be the kitchen, separate but still part of everything.