Destiny sealed, p.1
Destiny Sealed, page 1
Destiny Sealed
Fate Bound Saga #4
Madeline Freeman
Copyright © 2018 Madeline Freeman
Cover Art © 2016 Steven Novak
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All rights reserved.
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First Edition: February 2018
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
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For information:
http://www.madelinefreeman.net
Contents
Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Traces of Sulfur
Also by Madeline Freeman
About the Author
Ava's world is in turmoil.
As the new alpha of the world's only pack of hybrids, she's barely able to get a handle on her new responsibilities when a threat emerges. Ava's rival, the witch Kiara, is obsessed with restoring balance to the world by any means necessary--even if it means wiping out life as we know it.
Ava believes she can face anything with her soulmate Jack by her side, but every day that passes without them merging drives them farther apart. When the time comes to stop Kiara, can she depend on him to fight with her?
Chapter One
The sun shines down on me as I stand in the field where Jack’s pack celebrated my first night here. That night, I was still a stranger. But now these grounds are as familiar as the back of my hand. My life now is unrecognizable from what it was just a couple of months ago—back when I was friendless and unwanted, working in a call center and dealing with people’s frustration over things I couldn’t control. In that life—my human life—I had come to grips with the fact that I would always be alone. I had accepted that I should never get attached because people inevitably leave.
My life changed when Jack accepted me into his pack. The werewolves at the enclave became my friends, my family. To them, my past didn’t matter. My mortal life was gone, and all that mattered was the new immortal one before me. They celebrated my arrival with a party unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
My eyes stray to the place where Marisol and Fiona twirled flaming batons, treating me to a routine they had been perfecting for who knows how long. Neither of them are here today. Turned into hybrids, both are now dead. I still ache where their presence used to be.
The clearing fills more by the minute. As more people file in, my gaze flicks to Echo, who stands with Dagny, Luke, Lola, and Brady. Despite her nearness to them, an air of separateness clings to her. She looks different from the girl we saved from the void two days ago. Can it have only been two days? Some of the gauntness in her face is already disappearing, no doubt due to virtually limitless access to food—something I get the sense was more of a privilege in the void. It’s also clear she’s had a shower. Her dark hair, which before had been oily and unkempt, is now smooth and shiny. However, despite all these improvements, one thing that is missing is the sparkle in her eye—the one that appeared when she met Mel. The two have of them had only just begun to get to know each other when Mel died in battle. Now the they’ll never merge—to rejoin the two have of their shared soul.
I glance at Jack. Will he and I ever have that chance?
As the last stragglers file in, one of them catches my attention. Dr. Ostler hovers on the edge of the group, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet, reminding me of a child waiting in line at a carnival. But the doctor is no child. The oldest werewolf I’ve ever encountered, he was in his late sixties when he turned. Like Echo, we met him only a couple of days ago. He has devoted his supernatural lifetime to studying werewolves and vampires. Jack and I discussed it this morning, and we decided there would be no better person to look at the hybrids to make sure there was no lasting damage inflicted on them by Kiara, the witch who created them, or Gavin, their former alpha.
“If I could have your attention.” Jack’s voice isn’t loud, but it carries. As his words ring through the clearing, the quiet shuffling of those assembled dies down. He looks at the group to his left—his pack, his werewolves. “I know you’ve all had to put up with a lot these last several weeks. I thank you for continuing to trust me. Our enemies are still out there, but I am confident with your continued help, they will be over soon.” He turns his attention to the smaller group of nineteen individuals who stand apart from the main body. They look from Jack to me and back again, clearly unsure what will happen. Jack nods to me and takes a half step back.
“When I killed Gavin last night, I became your alpha.” An unfamiliar sensation sweeps through me, but somehow I can identify it with no problem. Each of these hybrids is connected to me, and their agreement that I am their leader pours into me. I push back to them my sense of gratitude before going on. “We are a small pack—only twenty of us. And there will never be more. There can never be more. We all know too well the horrors our kind can be used for when directed by people with evil intents.”
I almost wish I had said nothing. The waves of shame and hopelessness left in the wake of last night’s massacre fill me nineteen times over. None of them was in control of their actions last night. They were all under Gavin’s alpha command. I’ve tried to convince them not to carry the burden of guilt for their actions, but the memories are too fresh for them. More than anything, I wish I could take the feelings from them so they would never have to experience them again.
“What matters is what happens as we move forward. Our pack is small, and strength comes in numbers. That's why I’ve decided to join our pack with Jack’s.”
Murmurs of surprise rise up—and not just from the hybrids. Some of the werewolves whisper among themselves as I continue.
“Not only was Jack my alpha before the magic of the sanctuary severed my ties to his pack, but he’s also my half. I trust him with my life. What’s more, I trust him with all of yours.” I turn to Jack and nod, and he takes a step forward.
“To the members of my pack, I’m positive you will accept these newcomers. You accepted Ava without question, even after you learned what she was. Remember, these hybrids, until recently, were weres just like you. I trust you will continue to make them feel at home as they adjust to our family.” Jack meets my eyes and smiles.
I do my best to smile back. I’m not having second thoughts. This was my idea. Still, I can’t help being nervous as Dakota, the pack’s alpha female, moves to Jack’s side. I drop to my knee in front of them and bow my head in submission. Unlike a challenge fight for dominance within a pack, when two packs join, the act of one alpha submitting to another is all it takes. My mind shifts to thoughts of all the reshuffling that will have to occur within the pack hierarchy. I have no frame of reference for how long it will take, but I can’t dwell on it now. This is the right move from my pack—for my hybrids—and that’s all that matters.
Jack and Dakota each place a hand on one of my shoulders. I prepare myself for some kind of sensation as my alpha bond transfers to the two of them, but nothing happens. I curse myself silently for being so unfocused and train my thoughts on all the reasons I want this to happen. The hybrids are already vulnerable. Not only am I unconvinced that Kiara will give up on her plans to use them to kill off humans to restore balance to the planet, but I can’t be sure how other werewolf pacts will react when word spreads that there are now twenty of us. When I was the only hybrid, multiple packs were more than willing to turn me over for a bounty. But it was more than just the money that fueled their desire. Many werewolves still think that what I am is an abomination. These hybrids will be safer once they’re assimilated into a pack of weres who accepts them as they are.
Dakota pulls her hand away. “Why isn’t this working?”
Jack’s hand slips from my shoulder, too, and a stormy look darkens his gunmetal blue eyes. He snorts and shakes his head. “I’m not sure why I thought it would.”
Whispers bubble up in the assembled crowd. I’m sure everyone has questions about what just happened—or failed to happen—but how can I give answers when I don’t understand?
Several seconds tick by before one voice cuts about the murmurs. “Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it?”
I turn toward the owner of the supple baritone to see Dr. Ostler surveying the rest of us like a teacher who’s convinced he’s given the answer away to the students. “Do you know what’s happening, Doctor?”
Ostler’s eyes widen as he looks at me, as if surprised I heard him speak. He takes several shuffling steps forward. “As a matter of fa
Dakota catches my eye, her brows furrowed, before looking at Dr. Ostler. “I don’t follow.”
Something like a smirk plays about the corners of Dr. Ostler’s mouth. “My dear, I’ve been around long enough to have witnessed several pack merging ceremonies. They’re straightforward, and what I saw here should have been enough to make these two packs one. And yet it didn’t.” He takes a step forward, raising a finger like a teacher going full steam during a lecture. “I postulate the reason Ava’s pack cannot merge with this one is the same reason a brood of vampires could not join a werewolf pack. They are simply too different. I understand when Ava first turned, she integrated with this pack—but that before there were more of her kind. I believe the creation of additional hybrids and their forming a pack of their own has caused the hybrids to become too distinct species to combine with a werewolf pack.”
His words steal the breath from my lungs. Is such a thing possible? But even as the question forms in my head, part of me suspects it’s true. Hybrids are very similar to werewolves, but we have fundamental differences. Maybe those differences are too much to overcome.
If the doctor notices anything in the reactions of others at his words, his expression doesn’t show it. He closes the remaining distance to me, Jack, and Dakota. “Before I examine the patients, I was wondering if I might have a word with you, Ava, and you, Jack.”
I open my mouth, ready to agree, but Jack shakes his head. “Dakota can speak for me.” He turns and is on his way down the hill before I can react.
Dr. Ostler looks at me expectantly. It’s obvious whatever he wants to say has to do with my pack, but it can wait. Without so much as an apology, I take off after Jack.
Chapter Two
I find Jack in a building I’ve only been once before—earlier this morning when I discussed combining my pack with his. While the general assembly meeting house at the top of the hill in the center of the enclave, this meeting house is smaller and nestles in an unsuspecting corner beyond the cabins where the alphas and betas live. Cecily, the pack’s beta female, had remarked that some people refer to this place as the war room. She’s only ever entered to discuss tactical maneuvers with Sawyer or Dakota.
Jack unfurls a long tube of paper atop a rectangular table that dominates the room. He sets fist-sized rocks in each of the four corners before stepping back and taking in the whole picture. It’s not until I step next to him that I recognize what he’s looking at.
“A map of Michigan?” There are markings all over the map, shading areas in different colors. “What’s this for?”
Jack is quiet for several seconds and I wonder if he’s lost in thought or planning to ignore me. I’m about to ask another question and he blows out a breath. “I’m trying to figure out if there’s a large enough area of undisputed territory near here for you and your pack to claim.”
I turn his words over in my head. “You mean we can’t stay here anymore?”
He sighs, turning. “Just trust me on this. This life is still new to you, and things have been more than a little complex since you turned, but having weres from a different pack in the enclave is just going to cause problems. It’s not a long-term solution.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You’re kicking me out?”
He runs a hand through his dark, wavy hair, making it stand up like he’s been running in the wind. “That’s not what I want. But I have to do what’s right by my pack. Just like you have to do what’s right by yours.” He takes a step closer to the map, but I catch him by the crook of the arm and turn him to face me.
“No. I refuse. I’m not leaving you.”
He shakes his head. “This is bigger than you and me.”
“Nothing is bigger than you and me.” I cup his cheek and duck so I’m in his line of sight. “I’m not leaving the enclave. I’m not leaving you.”
He doesn’t break eye contact. “I don’t want you to leave. But it isn’t up to me.”
I blow out a breath. “Let me guess—the convocation has rules about this sort of thing. Well, can’t we—”
“It’s not the convocation. It’s just the way weres are. Each pack has its own territory because we need it. Too many weres in the same area can lead to fights and all kinds of trouble. Alphas from different packs can butt heads, leaving the weres confused about who’s really in control.” He covers my hand with his and tugs it from his face before lacing his fingers with mine.
Jack is right about me not having much experience in the supernatural world—especially not much that would be considered “normal,” but I have to believe there are more nuances than he’s allowing for. “What about Brady and Lola?”
He shrugs. “What about them?”
“They’re not members of your pack, but they’ve been living here for half a month with no issue.”
“Brady and Lola are a special situation,” he says. “Neither of them belong to a pack right now, and neither of them are highly dominant, so their presence isn’t throwing anything off. Yet. They can’t stay here forever, though—not the way they are now. Soon, they’ll have to decide whether they want to join my pack or find somewhere else to belong.”
“What about when the convocation weres were here?” I press.
Jack growls at the mention of Drew and his cronies. I can’t blame him. Although once seemingly fair and level-headed, Drew allowed his fear of what I am cloud his judgement and blind him to other legitimate threats. His refusal to believe Jack and me about the real threat—Kiara—almost cost us our lives. And it led to the death of over three hundred humans at the Mesmerize Music Festival.
“The convocation isn’t a pack unto itself. All those weres come from different packs and are on loan to the convocation. So, again, there was no secondary set of alphas to muddy the waters. And we both saw how well that went over.”
I sigh. He’s right. There may have been no confusion over which weres Jack’s pack members should listen to, Drew’s presence still caused chaos and unease in the enclave. “How about Cassandra? She’s been here for weeks and she’s not bothering anybody. And neither is Luke.”
A muscle in Jack’s jaw jumps and I regret mentioning Luke. If there’s one person his brother’s presence has affected, it’s Jack. “Neither of them are weres. Everyone has been fine with Cassandra being here because I trust her and I vouched for her. Besides, she’s been weakening since she got here, and wolves have a soft spot for the vulnerable. And Luke…” He shakes his head. “If you remember, they didn’t trust him when he got here. But he’s shown he’s willing to fight with us, so everyone’s accepted him.”
I nod as pieces fall into place in my head. “The pack accepts Cassandra and Luke because they’re different supernaturals.” I swallow. “If Dr. Ostler’s right, what’s to say they won’t accept my hybrids, too? If we are as distinct as he says, maybe there won’t be any hierarchy issues.”
Jack presses his lips together. “I don’t know…”
“Dakota asked me something earlier today. She wanted to know who my alpha male is. And who my betas are.” I hold up both my hands as I shrug. “I don’t think my pack needs those things. I’m not sure how to explain it, but the hybrids never had to determine their overall hierarchy. There’s no distinction between those who are more dominant and more submissive.”
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