Marked by Destiny (7 page)

The rest of the
page looked the same to me as it did six months ago. I must have
somehow missed the writing by the drawing. Or it magically
appeared. With the book, there was no telling.

I began
flipping through the pages, going backwards. I wanted to find the
Red Riding Hood story again. My thumb caught too many pages or I
flipped too fast and ended up right at the beginning, on the second
and third page.

I glanced down
and my breath stuck in my throat. “Nooo…” I double checked to see
if a page might have slipped out while Caleb had the book. Maybe he
just stuffed it back in the beginning. Except all the pages lay
sewn in with the same antique thread – probably wolf hair – nothing
was loose. I blinked several times to try and clear my eyes. It
made no difference.

“For Pete’s
sake…” Words once written in some unknown language were now in
English. On both pages! My heart hammered against my chest.
“Impossible,” I whispered. Last January I could only read the
middle section of the book, or the ‘heart’ of it as my graduating
English teacher would say.

With shaking
hands, I slowly turned the page over. More English! My shoulder
muscle twitched. It could have come from my hidden mark or maybe my
brain unconsciously triggered it. I flipped to the back pages of
the book and released a breath I didn’t know I had been
holding.

The foreign
language was still on those pages.

I slammed the
journal shut and tossed it across the bed. Dropping onto my back I
shook my legs to relax my muscles as I tried to calm the hysteria
building inside me. Why hadn’t I looked at this sooner? For the
stupid reason of wanting to feel like a high school kid for a few
months? No wonder Caleb wanted me to look and Michael had grown
impatient. I’d have done the same. What if there were things in the
journal to stop the Weres once and for all?

Or I could be
completely wrong and reading the opening chapters would turn me
into a Grollic. My mouth went instantly dry. “That can’t happen,” I
told myself unconvincingly

Maybe the
middle section of the book had given me the power to keep the
shifting at bay. “Like some voodoo witch spell.” If werewolves
existed, why not witches?

I grabbed the
book and held it tight in both hands. “
Please, please… just let
it be back to normal.”

I opened the
book again to the first page and sighed. English. I scanned the
first page and realized what it was. I had just bought one of these
and decided to try and write one.

A damn
journal.

My annoyance
spurred a degree higher when I noticed the signature at the bottom.
B
entos
. I banged the book closed a second time, this
time throwing it against the wall as hard as I could.

I stood. “Damn
it! Why? Why me?!” I hollered.

A millisecond
later the door swung open and Michael burst through. “Rouge! What’s
wrong?” Half crouched, ready to attack, his eyes darted around the
room trying to access the situation.

Surprised by
his sudden appearance, I jumped back, lost my footing and fell onto
the bed. I lay muttering a string of obscenities while I pummelled
my fists against the mattress.

“Rouge, what’s
wrong?” Michael rushed to my side, touching me to make sure I was
alright.

I pushed his
hands away and sat up feeling guilty to cause the concern etched on
his face. “Check the book. You’ll see the problem.”

He paused
before walking across the room and picked the journal off the
floor. “Did Caleb do something to it? I told him if he did…”

“It’s not
Caleb’s fault. At least I don’t think so.” He couldn’t have changed
the words, could he? “Hey,” I said pointing to his hands. “Where’s
my latte?”

Michael rolled
his eyes as he glanced quickly up from the book before returning ha
bewildered gaze to me. “By the front door currently being enjoyed
by the grass. I was more concerned about your safety than your
latte.”

“Darn.” Totally
my fault.

“So
what
was the screaming about?” He held the book open and came back to
the futon.

“I wasn’t
screaming.”

“Stop stalling
and answer the bloody question.”

The irritation
in his voice annoyed me. I knew it wasn’t his fault but I had to
blame someone… or take my frustration out on someone. “Look at the
beginning of the freakin’ book!” I snarled.

His face
softened. “You can’t read anything can you? Nothing’s changed? It’s
alright, Rouge. It doesn’t matter.”

I didn’t need
his sympathy. It just aggravated me more. “I wish! Look at the damn
first page!” He was going to freak when he saw it was from
Bentos.

He looked down
and then finally at my face. Eyebrows raised, he glanced down at
the book again. “What do you see, Rouge?”

Double crap.
The words changed only for me. An odd thought crossed my mind: If I
spoke French, would the words have converted to French? Or any
other language?

I pressed my
lips tight together. I should’ve checked the stupid thing months
ago.

Michael looked
up, waiting for me to answer his question.

I let out an
exasperated huff. “The first part. It’s in freakin’ English. I can
read it!” I shook my head. “The middle and now the front.” I
collapsed back so my head hits the pillow. “I don’t know what I
did.”

“Why are you
disappointed? This is exactly what Caleb was hoping for.”

“I’m glad
Caleb’s so happy.” I snapped and then instantly regretted the
words. It wasn’t Michael’s fault that I could read the book. “I’m
sorry. I’ve been avoiding the book and had really hoped nothing
would change. I thought my reading the middle section was a fluke
and the incident back in January maybe a one-off.” It was all too
real and concrete now. I was mad because I had known it all along,
I just hadn’t wanted to admit it. Daman had wanted me dead, how
many more were lining up? I’d wasted so much time.

“What does it
say?”

“I haven’t read
it yet.” Suddenly I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell him whose book it
was.

“Oh.” He
sounded disappointed. It broke my heart.

I had to tell
him. “I know
what
it is.”

“Pardon?” He
scratched his head.

“The first part
of the book is a… journal.”

“So?” He
shrugged, not understanding what I was getting at.

“Written by
Bentos.
”

“So
wh—
what?!
” His eyebrows furrowed together. He dropped the
book like it burned him. It landed on the bed beside me with a soft
thump.

It was all too
much. I was graduating that day. I didn’t want this kind of weight
on my shoulders now. I let my head drop against my knees. The diary
by Bentos confirmed what I didn’t want to admit. If Bentos wrote
the book and only I could read it, then Damon had told the truth. I
was a direct descendent of Bentos. Michael would hate me. This book
found its way into my hands by fate, or destiny, or whatever. That
fateful day back in January when I spoke the ancient language and
controlled the wolves was not a fluke – it was in my blood.

I’m supposed
to be able to read it.
My eyes filled and I bit my lip, trying
to hold back the tears. I didn’t want this book or this
ability.

Michael kneeled
beside me. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Rouge, it’s
going to be fine. It’s a rare gift. It doesn’t mean
y
ou
are Bentos.” He placed a warm hand against my
shoulder.

I swallowed
hard. Images of Grollics, markings, pictures from the journal
swamped my vision. “What happens if reading this book changes me?”
I was on the verge of tears, desperately trying to fight them back.
I pushed the worry of Michael to the back of my mind, unable to
handle it at the moment. “What if it turns me into a werewolf?” I
whispered. Suddenly I didn’t want to know anything about my past.
Going to Niagara Falls seemed like the biggest mistake in the
world.

“It won’t. It
can’t. Maybe the journal part of the book will help you understand
what not to do. It might teach you how Bentos was able to control
the Groll—wolves.”

I tried to
smile. He was trying so hard to make everything be okay, even
referring to the Grollics as wolves. He still didn’t have a clue
about the mark on my back. “I don’t want to control them.” I
clenched my teeth tight, my jaw muscle twitching.

“It could be
useful, in the right hands – your hands.” He reached for mine and
held them in his. “You were destined to find this book.”

He was right. I
could do something useful with the journal. I could destroy it so
no one would be able to use it again. I just couldn’t tell Michael.
Another thought occurred to me. I was the last of the line – I
couldn’t have kids. This book and its ability would end with
me.

“Wait till
Caleb finds out.”

I laughed. It
started out as a giggle but turned into a fit of hysterics.

“What’s so
funny?”

I could barely
get the words out, “…I think… he’s going… to… want to be my… best
friend!” I held my belly. It hurt from the laughter.

Michael shook
his head. “You’re crazy.”

“You’re just
figuring that out now?” I threw a pillow at him, which he easily
ducked away from. I leaned forward and gave him a fierce hug. It
sobered me up. “I love you.”

“I love you,
too.” He hugged me back.

We lay on the
bed a moment, cuddled together. The wall clock chimed.

I untangled my
arms from around him. “Let’s go make Caleb’s morning and tell him I
can read more of the book. The freak-of-nature has a new
talent.”

Michael
grinned, probably beyond pleased I’m acting semi-normal again.
“Freak? You fit right in with this family now.” He sat up. “Do you
want to see what the pages say? You know, before we head over to
the house?”

I shook my
head. “Nope,” I said with more conviction than I felt. “I want to
graduate today. I want to do it with a clear head, not full of
werewolf mumbo-jumbo.” I don’t know why I had been so scared to
read it, but I had, and another day of avoiding it wouldn’t change
a thing.

“Tonight… or
tomorrow then… whenever, I don’t care right now.” Michael shrugged.
“I’m just happy you opened it and saw it had changed.”

“Thanks.” He
understood my hesitation, but I didn’t understand his new eagerness
in my looking at the book ‘finally’. “I don’t know what I would do
without you.”

“Probably be a
normal eighteen year old human girl.” He smiled ruefully as he
pulled me up from the bed. We headed to the front door of the pool
house. I squeezed his hand, realizing that he somehow felt
responsible for what happened to me – like being with him caused me
to be able to control the Grollics.

We walked into
the house through the back door, and into the kitchen. No one was
there, so we headed straight to Caleb’s office off of the living
room. Michael didn’t even bother to knock, he just opened the door
and stepped in.

Chapter
6

Michael barged
in. “Rouge looked at the book. She can read more.” Straight to the
point, no pleasantries.

Caleb’s head
shot up from the paper he sat reading. One moment he was behind his
massive desk and the next he stood in front of me, before I could
even realize he had moved. “What does it say?”

I hated how
Caleb always made me nervous. It made it hard to focus when he was
uber intense. I didn’t know if it was because I feared him or if it
was something else, but suffice to say, it never leant itself to
great communication between the two of us. “The first part of the
book’s in English now.”

“Same as
before?” He looked at Michael for confirmation.

“Yup,” I said
loudly, my nervousness giving way to irritation. I hated it when he
did that, like I wasn’t capable of answering a simple question.
“
Still
written in the ancient stuff but it’s English to me.
Same
as the middle section.”

“What did it
say?” He repeated

“Caleb,”
Michael answered for me, “Rouge just realized it. We came over here
to tell you. She hasn’t read it.”

I appreciated
that Michael made it sound like I wanted Caleb to know immediately.
Caleb turned to smile at me. The smile sent chills down my back,
but I made an effort to smile back. It was obvious he didn’t
believe I hadn’t read it. Either that or he couldn’t fathom why in
the world I wouldn’t and he took me for an idiot.

He walked back
around his desk. “Then have a seat and start reading it out loud.
Let’s all hear what it has to say.”

“The book’s
still in the pool house.”

“Go get it
then.”

Michael shook
his head. “No.”

Caleb rose his
eyebrows and looked at Michael incredibly. “Excuse me?”

“Rouge
graduates today. Let her do it with a clear head. We’ll start the
book tomorrow. There’s more to read, that’s all you need to know.
Now leave it alone.”

“What?” Caleb
roared.

“Tomorrow.”
Michael said firmly. “I’ve done what you asked. Leave her alone
today about it… and don’t hound me.” He took my hand and led me,
mouth hanging open, out of the office.

I had no idea
what just happened. I leaned toward him, about to whisper why he
didn’t just tell Caleb the first part of the book was the journal
written by Bentos, but Michael put a finger to my lips and shook
his head.

“Michael!”
Caleb hollered. “Get back in here!”

I paused but
Michael tugged my hand to keep me walking. “Let’s just go.”

Caleb barged
out of his office. I could hear him stomping behind us and I
cringed as the sound got closer. “What the hell is the matter with
you?”

I felt
Michael’s hand tense in mine. I had a feeling being the middle of
the two of them was not a good place to be.