Marked by Destiny (8 page)

Michael swung
around, pulling me to the side as he marched inches away from
Caleb. He stood half a foot shorter and Caleb looked down on him as
Michael glared up. “Nothing’s wrong with me.

“Do you forget
whose side you are on?”

“I know exactly
where I stand.” Michael’s hands moved emphatically as he spoke.
“I’ve known it all along. Nothing’s changed.”

“Like hell it
hasn’t.” Caleb’s crossed his arms over his chest.

“What are you
talking about?” I asked. It seemed like they were moments away from
tearing each other apart and I was the only one in the house to
stop them. Not an enviable position for me.

Caleb didn’t
even glance in my direction. “Michael’s my understudy. He’s not
yours. No lapdog is going to come around and take him away from
this coven.”

“She’s not a
lapdog,” Michael hissed. “You think she’s the weapon you need
against the Grollics. I’d watch what you say.”

“Why? She’s not
going anywhere. The Grollics don’t want her, her family didn’t want
her. We’re the only ones she has.”

I expected to
feel shock at the words, an immediate stab to the heart or
something. I didn’t have the chance, because Michael defended me
before I even realized Caleb had hurt my feelings.

“She only needs
me. Push me too far, Caleb, and I’ll walk away and never come
back.”

Caleb grabbed
Michael by the throat and lift his off his feet.

“Stop it!” I
screamed desperately scratching at Caleb’s arm, trying to force him
to release Michael. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Caleb
was supposed to be excited about the book. He’s the one who had
been pushing for me to see it. I was graduating soon and today was
supposed to be a fantastic memorable day. “Let go of him!”

Caleb released
his grip and took a step back. Michael charged at him the moment he
touched the ground. He tackled Caleb around the waist and the two
of them went flying, crashing into a table and against the wall.
They rolled on the ground and bumped into the couch. Michael stood
first and using both hands, picked Caleb up by his throat.

Caleb grabbed
and thrashed against Michael’s hands but could not break free. I
watched in horror. Could Michael kill Caleb? Would he?

“Are you done?”
Michael said in a quiet, demanding voice.

Caleb stopped
struggling and gave a curt, almost unnoticeable, nod.

Michael let him
go and turned away. The anger inside him burned his eyes a bright
blue that I had never seen. I stepped back as he came closer.

Caleb
straightened his clothes. “She’s not worth losing your family over,
Michael.”

Michael ignored
Caleb as he put his arm around me and led me through the kitchen to
the back door.

“She’s just the
messenger. She’ll turn on you for her pack. You’ll be left with
nothing. Or worse, left for dead.”

We left the
house and headed back to the pool house in silence. My mind was
reeling. What did Caleb mean?

Michael held
the door open for me. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “What’s
going on?”

“Nothing.” His
eyes had turned back to their normal shade of blue. “Caleb’s a
dickhead. He’s just mad you wouldn’t tell him what it says in the
book.”

What? Michael
was the one who told Caleb he could wait. “Why didn’t you let me
tell him Bentos wrote the book? That it’s his journal?”

Michael slammed
the door. “You said you wanted today to be about your graduation!
If you tell Caleb the book’s a journal, he’s going to want you to
read it and tell him what it says! He wouldn’t be satisfied – he
never is.” He threw his hands in the air.

So Michael had
fought with Caleb because I said I wanted to focus on graduation
today? That didn’t make sense. There had to be something more. I
knew it. “Will it change things if Caleb knows Bentos wrote the
journal?”

Michael let out
an exasperated sigh. “Tell him after the ceremony, then. It won’t
change anything if he knows that information later today or after
we leave. Do what you want.”

I nodded my
head, as if it made total sense. None of it did, but Michael was
obviously in no mood to talk and I had a feeling that if what was
really going on would hurt me in any way, he’d protect me from it
until his dying breath, which also meant it was going to be
difficult to find out the truth.

A knock on our
door made me jump.

Grace walked in
hands full of bags, oblivious to the tension between Michael and I.
“You ready for me to do your hair, Rouge?”

“Where you just
at the house?” Michael asked her.

“Hello to you
too, brother.” Grace laughed. “I haven’t been inside the house yet.
I left to grab some hair products and run a few errands. Why?
What’s up?”

“Nothing.” He
grabbed his car keys off the small table by the door. “I’ll get out
of here and let you get ready.” He brushed past her for the door
and then paused a moment before turning around. He glanced at me
but wouldn’t look me in the eye. “Have fun. What time do I need to
be back to pick Rouge up?”

Grace waved her
hand as she dug through one of the bags. “Rouge and I can drive
together in my car. You can go with Sarah and Caleb.” She glanced
up when he snorted. “Or on your own if you want?” Her last line
came out more as a question than a comment.

Michael nodded.
“See you there.” He disappeared out the door.

Grace held up
three kinds of hair irons. “You want it curly? Straight? Or
both?”

If Michael
wasn’t going to say anything to Grace, neither would I. “What do
you think?” I grabbed one of the stool chairs and set it by the
counter. “Do we need anything from the bathroom?”

“Nope. I have
it all here.” She set several brushes, combs, hair products on the
counter. “Sit and let me play dress up!”

Grace
straightened my hair, applied my make-up and got my dress out,
babbling the whole time. It was a blessing. It gave me time to let
everything settle and regain my equilibrium. She did her hair and
then ran back to the house to get dressed as I changed.

I waited
impatiently for her to return. I had no intention of going inside
the house to get her. I just wanted to get out of the pool house
and stop thinking about the Wolf Book and all the chaos that
surrounded it.

The book lay on
the coffee table where Michael had put it this morning before
everything had blown up uncontrollably. I checked my watch. We
didn’t have to be at the school for another twenty minutes. I ran
the warm, worn leather binding over my hand.

What would
happen if I read the first page, just to see what Bentos had
written? Would it give answers to what had happened this
morning?

Grace’s
silhouette passed by the windows as she came back up to the pool
house. It would have to wait. I set the Wolf Book on top of the
diary I had started writing. If I kept the two books together I
could pack them later that evening to take along in the Jeep. I
made a mental note to write something in my journal after
graduation. I should be trying to capture my feelings while they
were fresh, not later on when I would just tell the story and
forget the emotions I had felt while it happened.

Chapter
7

As Grace and I
drove to the high school in her little yellow Beetle for the last
time, I sat quiet, staring out the window lost in thoughts of
uncertainty. I tried not to think about what Caleb had said but I
couldn’t shake the fact that he was hiding something, and Michael
was too. I felt cheated. A little voice inside told me that I was
hiding things as well. We all had secrets.

Grace chattered
on about what the other girls would be wearing, that she was
looking forward to taking a few courses in university next fall. I
nearly laughed out loud when I tuned in to what she was saying. I
knew she wasn’t interested in the classes, but the boys that would
be on campus.

“I’m ready for
a little fun,” she said. “These high school boys are much too young
and can’t handle anything. I need to find a nice young professor
and play around a little.”

I turned away
from the window and stared at her. I’d hit the nail on the head. I
giggled and tried to keep a straight face at the same time.
“Interesting concept you have there on your university
education.”

“You go ahead
and laugh!” She shook a finger at me teasingly. “You have Michael
and I’ve had no one since Seth left.”

“Excuse me?”
Seth was part of the Higher Coven, like a way younger brother to
Caleb. He had helped us out last January but had also lost his
partner Tatianna, in a fight with the werewolves. “You and Seth?”
He was younger than Caleb, but still…

“Oops, I could
have sworn I told you.” She grinned at me slyly.

“You told me
nothing!” Seth seemed to be quite the lady’s man but there was a
unique connection between him and Grace. This morning’s incident
forgotten, I pushed her for info. “What happened?”

“Not much.”

“Liar!” I
laughed.

“Okay. Maybe a
bit of… lustful-limbo.”

“Lustful
limbo?” I laughed again. ‘Seriously? Did Seth or you call it that?”
Another thought crossed my mind. “Is this your first time with
Seth?”

She hesitated
before grinning. “No, and don’t you dare tell Michael! He would be
furious!”

Forget Michael,
Caleb would be beyond furious if he knew. At least I wasn’t the
only one in the doghouse. “So, what’s he like?” Virgin me knew
nothing, but Seth seemed so knowledgeable. So did Grace, even if
she didn’t act like she was.

“Mmmm…
Excellent! Very thorough and
very
enjoyable!” She glanced at
me and then back to the road. “You and Michael still haven’t?”

“No.” I thought
back to that morning, and how mad Michael had seemed. Combined with
the mark that I was sure would make him run away from me screaming,
it felt like we were probably never going to.

“I think I am
going to need to be mated with someone like Seth.” Grace must have
sensed something was up and threw me a curve ball.

I laughed as I
pressed my hands against my cheeks. “I wouldn’t tell Michael or
Caleb
that,
I’m pretty sure both of them would tear Seth
apart!”

“I’m not
interested in Seth, just someone like him – or at least with his
qualities in the bedroom department!” She laughed her Tinkerbelle
laugh, the mischief still in her eyes. “One day you are going to
understand what I mean.” She shot a glance at my shoulder. “The
beast inside needs to be released and satisfied.”

I stared at her
wide eyed. Did she mean the Grollic in me? She knew about the
birthmark on my shoulder blade but if I was a Grollic it would have
been just below my collarbone and I hadn’t turned into a Grollic on
my eighteenth birthday. So, we effectively had no idea what it
meant. Or was she just teasing me about my lack of experience and
I’d turn into a beast once I had a taste for it?

Thankfully the
school came into sight. I pushed the thoughts out of my mind as we
pulled into our usual parking spot and then made our way towards
the gymnasium. Students, faculty and family were arriving at the
same time. Rushing, we made our way to find our cap and gowns on
the racks inside the gym. Grace found hers and brought them to
me.

“I’ll be right
back; I just need to do something for a moment. Can you hold my
gown and cap?”

“Sure, where
are you going?”

Grace leaned in
and whispered, “Going to put your diploma beside mine so we can sit
together and receive our diplomas together. I’ll be right back, no
one will notice me. Scouts honor.” She held up two fingers and then
walked out of the gym. She returned shortly after, and winking at
me as she put her cap and gown on. “Good to go.”

I laughed as
not even a hair had been misplaced from her perfectly styled
head.

“Attention
students,” Ms. Graid picked up her microphone “Can everyone get
into alphabetical order so we could head into the auditorium? The
graduation ceremony will be commencing in ten minutes.”

Grace took my
hand and led me to line up to the right of her. Then she scratched
her head, and switched me to the other side. In single file the
students made their way to their spots inside the auditorium that
was already full of parents, family and friends.

I twisted in my
seat, trying to find Michael. It seemed near impossible amidst the
sea of faces behind us. “Do you know where…?” I asked Grace
suddenly afraid the argument this morning would stop him from
coming.

She sat quiet
and then turned to look to her left. I followed her direction.
Sarah stood up and waved in our direction, about ten rows back from
us. Michael sat beside but there was no sign of Caleb. I didn’t
care, my only focus was on the blond blue eyed boy who smiled at
me. The pendant around my neck warmed against my skin.

The vice
president of the school came on stage and began speaking to
everyone. Several teachers and coaches stood up to make speeches,
and finally the President began calling the graduates names. Grace
and I cheered as Simon stood on stage to accept his diploma; he
turned and opened his gown to reveal a hot pink Speedo underneath
with a Superman S painted on his chest. The auditorium erupted in
laughter.

I waited for
Damon’s name to be mentioned. Guilt washed over me that no one
seemed to notice his absence, believing he had left school or
moved. He had kidnapped and planned to kill me. Instead, he was
lying on the bottom of the lake near Caleb’s cottage. He had
attacked me in Grollic form, but I had no idea if his body would
ever be found, and if it was, if it would still be in werewolf
form.

“Rouge Thomas.”
A voice called over the loud speaker, followed by Grace Nightly. I
couldn’t stop myself from grinning as we stood. Grace had gotten
our seats mixed so we quickly switched around as we walked up the
aisle towards the stage. We shook hands and accepted our diplomas,
and walked off stage…feeling nothing. This massive moment I had
been waiting so long for didn’t feel so monumental. It kind of felt
like… no big deal. What a let-down.