Redemption of Fate (Fate Series Book 2) (9 page)

As a soldier, she had conditioned herself to see fear of any kind as weakness, and there were only two ways to deal with it. Accept and face it head-on, or run. Of course, under most circumstances she would have considered running to be yet another sign of weakness; but a soldier had to learn to pick her battles and, in her heart, she knew this was one she couldn’t win.
 

Without a word, Cami flashed away after Chloe. Jared stood there for a moment, barely seeing her move before she’d disappeared from view into the greenery. He let out a long sigh, realizing that the wall in her heart, at which he had been chipping away, had just received a new layer of bricks.

✧

“This is Pegasus,” Cami said as she lifted Chloe onto the back of the chestnut-colored quarter horse, “I think he got his name because he can fly,” she whispered dramatically.

Chloe looked down at her with eyes full of wonder. “Really? He can fly?”
 

“Let’s find out,” Cami challenged as she jumped onto her own horse, snapped the reins and took off out the barn door.
 

When they first arrived in the stables, Cami had given Chloe a quick riding lesson, showing her how to hold the reins and the basic commands to control the horses as Jared stood back and observed. Though it was Chloe’s first time riding, the fact that she was a vampire with supernatural reflexes and healing removed any need for worry.

Chloe was a fast learner and quickly followed her aunt. Jared walked over to the door and leaned against the wood, watching them race off across the pasture. He smiled as the beautiful sound of their laughter floated through the air.

As much as he wanted to join them, it had quickly become obvious that Cami intended to avoid him at all costs; so he decided to keep his distance and let her enjoy the ride with their niece. He would accept defeat for the time being, giving her the space she seemed to want so desperately; but no matter how hard she fought it, he was convinced that, eventually, he would win her heart.

CHAPTER 7 -
Waking Up

Ethan awoke in the dark; confused and disoriented, laying on the cold tile floor. The scent of dead blood completely saturated him as he dragged a ragged breath into his lungs. He moved to sit up, but paused as he felt the weight of the body in his arms.

Despite the darkness, his vampire vision took in the sight of the dead woman perfectly. Even in death, she was lovely. The beast which he had become wanted to toss her aside, to heed the summoning call of his master. Yet he paused; some part deep inside his mind telling him that he knew her, that he did not want to leave her like this, alone in the dark.
 

He looked around the small room, searching for some indication as to where he was, why he was there with this beautiful creature whose cold, lifeless form called out to the small remnant which was left of his soul. What he found was two more bodies, young women tossed haphazardly in the corner, a messy pile of torn flesh, clothing, and blood.
 

His focus shifted back to the woman in his arms. He studied her carefully, her nudity making him wish for something to cover her with. His eyes fell on the gaping wound in her neck and the delicate silver chain, which was miraculously still intact, hanging around it. He rolled her gently on to her back and reached out for the intricate dolphin pendant, feeling the need to move it from the cold floor and place it over her heart. When the cool metal came in contact with the skin of his fingertips, a searing pain shot through his hand and up his arm.

With the pain, flashes of images pounded through the haze in his mind; the woman alive, sitting across a table smiling at him while she gripped the pendant over her chest. Him carrying her up a flight of stairs. Their naked bodies lying together, limbs tangled in a passionate embrace. Their arms bound in red ribbon as they recited vows and became one. Her walking towards him on the beach.

He heard her name, a soft whisper in his consciousness.

Alexa.

Then the horrible truth crashed down upon him like a tsunami. This was his wife, his mate; and she was gone. The nightmare was real. He had taken her life.

The roar which erupted from his chest shook the room as he pulled her limp body closer. He held her there, in the darkness; surrounded by the carnage of his bloodlust, and wept for all he had lost.

✧

The light of the doorway called out to her, beckoning her to pass through; yet she remained, a silent, undetectable presence witnessing her husband’s, her mate’s, agony as he realized what he had done.

She had lingered there in the dark room as he continued to drain her body, long after her heart stopped beating, still feeling the pull of their bond. It was not merely blood which tied her to him; he was a part of her soul. When the two frightened young women were pushed into the room, Alexa’s heart cried out for them as she watched Ethan attack. She felt his guilt and torment as he drained them completely, but more powerful was the sense of need, and then satisfaction, emanating from the beast which was taking control.

As she watched the gruesome scene, the light continued to call out to her and, though its force pulled her insistently, the sensation similar to gravity, she held tightly to the love that anchored her to Ethan. In her transformed state, Alexa knew with absolute certainly that, if she left this plane, if she left Ethan, he would be lost to his beast forever; and in life or death, that was something she simply could not allow.

So she stayed, softly whispering words of comfort to Ethan with her mind, longing to wrap her arms around him and soothe his pain.

Ethan stood suddenly, abandoning her body on the floor. She instantly felt the beast rising up again, knowing Lucias was near, his faithful servant awaiting command. It was as if Ethan’s soul was split in two; one part belonging to her, the other far more powerful part belonging to Lucias. With each passing second, she felt her Ethan slipping further and further into the background.

By the time the door swung open and Lucias stepped through, it felt as if she was clinging to what was left of her mate by a tiny, fragile thread.

✧

“How are you feeling, Ethan?” Lucias questioned rather politely; without so much as a glance at any of the three bodies strewn about the room. Kaleb entered silently behind him.

“Well, Sire,” he replied in an almost robotic fashion.

“Excellent; I am pleased to hear it. Kaleb, I want you to dispose of those two in the crematory,” he said dismissively, flicking his hand toward the dead women in the corner, “and deliver this one as we discussed,” he stated; indicating Alexa’s still-naked form. “Report back to me immediately after it is done.”

“Of course, Sire,” Kaleb answered before he tossed the two bodies over his shoulder and carried them dutifully out the door to begin his tasks.
 

Though their weight was slight to one of his strength, the gravity of their deaths pressed down on him heavily as he moved. He followed his father’s command without question, out of both fear and respect; but he had never agreed with Lucias’s methods or philosophies. He felt no ill will towards the humans; in fact, he never took the lives of those he fed upon. Unlike his father, who not only used human females to satisfy his hunger, but also to slake his lust and desire to kill.
 

Kaleb found humans fascinating and often spent his free time observing them with longing.
 

What would it be like to act so freely, to be driven only by my own needs and desires?
he often wondered.
 

For more decades than he cared to count, he had been bound to serve his father; bound by duty and by blood. His only divergent purpose had been to avenge the death of his brother, the brother whose life was taken by Ethan so many years ago, and now that had been taken from him as well.

For the briefest of moments, Kaleb had considered disobeying his father and ending Ethan’s life before the virus took hold and Ethan’s transformation was complete. He could endure the pain evoked from the sire-bond, or even death if his father’s wrath demanded it, but the thought which stayed his hand was that of becoming infected, of losing what little shred of free will he had left.

His father’s virus was a powerful and unforgiving weapon, stripping its victims of all prior bonds, those to mates and family, leaving a powerful and unyielding tie to Lucias in their place. His servants would cut out their own hearts if Lucias commanded it. Or worse, they could be forced to kill someone they loved.
 

Since his brother’s death so many years ago, Lucias was the only family Kaleb had; his mother having died giving birth to him, something which was practically unheard of amongst vampires. Lucias never spoke of her, but Kaleb had been foolish enough to ask about her one evening when he was six years old, despite his older brother, David’s, repeated warnings.

It was a rare occasion for Kaleb to even see his father back then, let alone speak with him. The words had come out in a quiet whisper he’d immediately regretted when Lucias’s icy glare landed upon him.

“You killed her and now I am stuck with you in her place,” he spat.
 

The words hit Kaleb like a physical blow and he couldn’t help the tears which began to flow down his cheeks; a weakness which was not permitted in his father’s house. He cowered in the corner as he waited for Lucias’s punishing blow. Instead he only felt the soft breeze of David’s movement as he sped across the room and placed himself between Kaleb and their father.
 

“Father, he is still a child. If you must, punish me instead. I take full responsibility for him and all of his future training. I vow he will not burden you further with questions of the past or displays of weakness.”

“Very well, David; remove him from my presence at once,” Lucias stated coldly. “And remember; in the future you will
both
suffer for his lack of discipline.”

David immediately scooped Kaleb up in his arms and rushed from Lucias’s presence.
 

Safely in Kaleb’s room and out of range of their father’s preternatural hearing, Kaleb struggled to speak as he sat on the bed and continued to sniffle. “D-did, did I kill her?” he stuttered, looking up at David with panic-filled eyes.

David ruffled his hair, as was his way, before pulling his younger sibling against his strong chest. “No, little one; you did not kill our mother. She simply realized the fate of loving a man like our father.” He hadn’t really understood what his brother meant, but he was far too afraid to press the issue further.

Even after so many years, Kaleb felt David’s loss immensely. Since his death, Kaleb had known nothing of love. To his father, he was merely a tool; a talented soldier with the convenient obedience derived from the genetic blood bond.
 

Kaleb kept his infrequent encounters with females brief and clinical, only doing what was necessary to satisfy his basic needs for blood and sex. He was prohibited from taking a true mate, from creating a bond that would sever his tie to Lucias. Not that he would have done it anyway. In his heart, he feared that anyone he loved would be ripped from his grasp before he could realize any true peace or happiness. Lucias was unforgiving and cruel and Kaleb was certain that any female he showed an attachment to would be used against him in one way or another. But that didn’t stop the longing in his heart.

He blinked rapidly to fight the sting of tears as he pulled his thoughts back to the job at hand and continued down the long corridor.
 

His body tensed involuntarily as he sensed the human woman’s presence. She was the last person he wanted to see.
 

“Looks like somebody had themselves a good lunch,” Molly drawled playfully; as she rounded the corner and took note of the lifeless women Kaleb was carrying.
 

He did his best to keep his face impassive as he passed her silently. She was as responsible for the dead he carried over his shoulder as the vampire who had drained them. She had been more than willing, eager even, when Lucias made the request for her to lure the innocent woman to their facility; knowing very well the fate which awaited them there. And that had only been the beginning.

Kaleb quickened his pace as the hypocrisy of his thoughts washed over him. Was he really any different? He had killed countless humans along with his own kind, under the command of his father.
 

No, I do not take pleasure in it. I only do what is required of me; I have no choice,
he thought, trying to soothe his guilt. But in his heart, he knew there was a choice, there was always a choice; he was just too weak to make the right one.

As he gently laid the women down on the sliding steel slab, he began to whisper a prayer, the light of the fire from the crematorium casting a soft glow on his face.

Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Kaleb wasn’t really sure why he did it, always praying for the dead in this manner. There was no religion in his father’s house, and it was the only prayer he knew, having stumbled upon it once during a clean-up mission.
 

An injured human had escaped a team of his father’s soldiers, only to die shortly after, but not before her body was discovered. Luckily, none of her injuries pointed to anything other than a violent assault, no evidence of the supernatural; but to be certain, Kaleb had remained close, examining the police reports, watching the girl’s family, and even attending the funeral, on alert for any sign that his kind could be exposed before his father was ready.

He’d entered the church silently and had sat in the back, completely unnoticed by the other attendants as he carefully surveyed them all; paying no attention to the service in progress. Satisfied that there was no risk of exposure, he stood to leave, taking his first brief glance towards the coffin lying at the front of the long center aisle. It seemed so…small. Then his eyes fell upon the blown-up photograph to the left. The sweet face of a blonde girl smiling wide with her two front teeth missing stared back at him, hitting him like a punch in the gut. A child.