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167- Risks and requirements
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Bellamy and I head to the bar, just the two of us. Megan did complain about being left behind until I reminded her that we’re meeting Dr Dae’s unknown contact and we don’t want her to refuse to speak to us because we brought extra people along, although if the contact IS Cam like I’m hoping, then I doubt that will be a problem. Megan wasn’t thrilled but agreed that it wasn’t worth the risk. We arrive at Witches Booze about five minutes before eight and settle in on a couple of barstools, Bellamy moves his over a little so he can sit shoulder to shoulder to me, not comfortable with me being anything more than an arms length away.
“Ryann right?” Cam approaches me and drops two drinks off in front of Bellamy and I, ones that we didn’t actually order. Mine is a blueish colour with swirling glittery patterns in it. I hold it up to the light and watch it swirl.“Yeah, and this is Bellamy. Are you who I’m here to see?” I ask. Cam nods firmly, her blonde waves bouncing around her hRelated chapters
Strings of Fate 168- Books and backrooms
Uh, hi? Late for what?” I ask, a little confused. Did we make plans that I’m not aware of? I look at Bellamy to see if he knows what’s going on but he’s just as confused as me. Cam shrugs at my confusion.“Friend of yours?” She asks. I nod. “In that case. Hey, I’m Camille. You can call me Cam.” She greets her. Amber nods.“I know. I’m Amber. I used to be Ryann’s boss. Now I’m just here for the show.” She introduces herself with a wink. Cam seems delighted. “Lovely, I can get behind that. Let me get you a drink.” She dashes off. “Amber? Not that I’m not glad to see you, and I know HOW you know to be here, I was just wondering why?” I question. “Well, I missed out on drinks and meeting people last time. I didn’t want to miss out again.” She explains. So she’s here to meet Cam? It doesn’t take long for Cam to return with another drink for Amber. Her drink is as unnaturally bright red as her hair and it looks… fizzy?“Perfect, my favourite.” Amber beams.
Strings of Fate 169- Tracking and trading
“Well, that’s at least one piece of information confirmed. You wouldn’t happen to have a handy list of Witches or Warlocks that are secretly capable of murder do you?” I ask with false cheer. Cam grins. “Not on me no. But it would be a long list. The list of Witches I trust NOT to be secretly killers would be shorter. Those coven Witches are no joke.” She shudders.“You’re not part of a coven?” Harry asks curiously. Cam shrugs.“Nah, I’m not much one for rules. I’m not interested in secretly planning to take over the world or hoard millions of dollars or whatever it is those old crones do in their secret meetings. I’m happy on my own.” Cam responds, but I can’t help but notice a slightly wistful look on her face. Cam says she doesn’t want to have a Coven, but I suspect she is lonely. Most Witches are close with their families and Covens. Often the two are interchangeable terms. Without one… Well it would be lonely and probably limiting. Although based on her spells that
Strings of Fate 170- Nice and nighttime
Bellamy and I end up giving Amber a ride home. She is apparently only a few minutes out of our way. After we make sure she is safely inside we drive towards home.“I’m not sure if I feel guilty leaving Cam behind with Harry to pester her. I mean he does it every night anyway but still… he’s gotten into the back room once and he was waaaay too fascinated by everything back there. She’s going to have a hell of a time trying to keep him out now.” I point out. Not sure if I feel guilty or amused. Bellamy shrugs. “You did say they’re meant for each other right? It’s likely that she doesn’t dislike him as much as she says she does.” He suggests. “True. Or she does and in that case he probably needs the extra time with her to win her over. Well, whatever. Cam can handle Harry. If he gets too annoying she can just spell him again.” I joke. Bellamy looks just a little too pleased with that idea. We’re just pulling up in front of the house when my phone chimes. COCK TA
Strings of Fate 171- Perfume and progress
My dream or vision or whatever it is, somehow is exactly the same as all the others and completely different at the same time. It’s the same because I watch Kiara sleep, I can see her nightmares and pain and it’s the same because no matter how much I scream and struggle, no matter how hard I focus, she can’t seem to hear me, although for once I think I might be able to hear her. It’s different because I know I CAN talk to her which somehow makes my inability to actually communicate a hundred times more frustrating. I have a feeling that I won’t be able to contact her while I’m asleep. Maybe my unconscious mind isn’t capable of it or something because I feel less connected too. Maybe it only works when I’m awake and actively searching and connecting to her as opposed to when I’m asleep and don’t really have a choice in the matter. Or maybe I’m just doing this wrong. It’s not like I have a manual or anything. I don’t know how long I spend mentally yelling at Kiara, trying to get her a
Strings of Fate 172- Confessing and committing
I alternate between feeling miserable and furious on his behalf as I listen to the Canine and Avian Alphas going on and on about how he is trying to fulfil a role that he, as a man, is just not suited for which is just completely sexist. Alpha Kohen chimes in with a slightly more reasonable argument. “While I don’t think this is the right time to be discussing this, the workload an Alpha has is intended for two people. I don’t know how I would manage without my wife.” He admits dryly. Okay, so maybe that’s a slightly better point. “I have help.” Bellamy mildly answers.“Your sister hardly counts. She’s not the Alpha, she can’t make any REAL decisions.” The Canine Alpha grumbles.“I don’t see your mate being permitted to make any decisions further than social events and taking care of your children.” Bellamy grumbles. “EXCUSE YOU?” The Canine Alpha growls. I can practically feel Bellamy repressing an eye roll. “Now, now everyone. We’re all here for a reaso
Strings of Fate 173- Fulfillment and fantasies
The moment Alpha Kohen leaves, Bellamy releases me and spins my chair to face him. I barely have time to breathe before he presses his lips to mine. This kiss is passionate and a little out of control. Bellamy doesn’t hesitate or hold anything back. He’s holding me so tight that I can’t even move to wrap my arms around him. I start getting lightheaded and he must be too because he finally pulls back, breathing heavily. I can feel him purring deep in his chest. Still squeezing me tight, he’s as breathless as I am when he breathes out his confession.“I love you.” He sounds absolutely elated. I am probably so bright red that I could outshine a stop sign. Even Bellamy looks a little flushed for once. I somehow end up in a slightly hysterical giggle. “I can’t believe I said it first.” I admit. Bellamy leans back to look me in the eye, his own eyes are practically glowing with pleasure.“To be honest… I can’t believe you said it first either. Although I might have thought ab
Strings of Fate 174- Striking and starving
Despite what I said about needing to avoid the kitchen, that’s actually my first stop when leaving the office. Bellamy got me a little well… hot. I desperately need a glass of water. Or one of those cold showers that Bellamy is so ‘fond’ of taking lately. Bellamy trails behind me, apparently not willing to leave my side just yet. I freeze momentarily when I walk in and find Megan sitting in the same bar stool at the bench that I vacated earlier. I force myself to keep moving. Darrien is on the other side of the bench. He’s apparently in a great mood and is humming along to a playlist that they have playing while he assembles what looks like the sandwich to end all sandwiches. Seriously, it’s already way too big for anyone to actually bite into and he is still adding stuff to it. Megan is watching on in awe. “Hi guys.” I drop into the second stool beside Megan while Bellamy gets me a cold drink. As he passes it to me, his phone vibrates. He checks it quickly and frowns.“I n
Strings of Fate 175- Admiration and alcohol
Just like I have every other time I’ve managed to communicate with Kiara, I come back to myself feeling dizzy and kind of like throwing up. Not sick exactly, more like I’ve pushed myself way too far. I don’t know why it’s so exhausting to speak to her when watching her, particularly in my sleep, it takes no effort at all. In fact I can’t seem to STOP doing that. It’s frustrating but worth it. I can feel a little tired and unwell if it helps Kiara cope with what she’s going through until we can get to her. My phone vibrates and I move too fast to grab it, making my head spin. Woah, that's confusing. I have a text from… Bellamy? Isn’t he downstairs? Unless he went out while I was meditating, but I doubt he would leave without telling me first. He’s way too freaked out about the psychos threatening me. I open the message.Bellamy- S.O.S. You have a guest…S.O.S? Why would me having a guest require an S.O.S. Unless… who would Bellamy want rescuing from? I suspect I know the answ
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Strings of Fate 203- Beads and bonding
“Well, I think that it might actually be nice having an extra person around the house. Extra security and company. Besides, you spend most of your time here anyway. Might as well save you the commute. That is, as long as no one else has any objection?” I say pointedly looking at Megan. Sure, Bellamy could object but I already know that he won’t. Megan briefly makes eye contact with me, gives a slight nod, then finds something to stare at on the ceiling. She is clearly trying to look like she doesn’t care but she is blushing bright red. True to form, Darrien is watching her closely trying to work out how she really feels about my suggestion. Realising that she isn’t going to provide any input, he decides to push it a little. “Megan? I would like to hear your opinion. I am still courting you and I don’t want to screw anything up by making a decision like this without your input.” Darrien says clearly. His voice is mostly calm with just the slightest hint of anxiety as he monitors her r
Strings of Fate 202- Calories and clothing
I wake up late in the morning, it might even be early afternoon. I wriggle around a little which prompts Bellamy to do the same, he is apparently already awake. He raises a finger to his lips to shush me before I speak and I can see why. Kiara is still sleeping, lying in the bed between us. She is still loosely holding onto my arm, even in sleep. I slowly disentangle myself from her light grip and slide out of bed. Bellamy follows, clearly doing his best not to jostle her and wake her up. She definitely needs the sleep. She was restless for a good part of the night and almost definitely was having nightmares, but she seems like she’s sleeping soundly now. My own sleep was blissfully quiet. No visions or anything thank goodness. I’m looking forward to having several weeks of steady sleep and so help me if anything tragic or dramatic happens for the next few weeks then whoever is responsible should probably be terrified of me. We step into the hallway to talk without disturbing Kiara.
Strings of Fate 201- Touch and trust
I cross my arms in irritation. “Kiara would never! How would she even do that? She’s just a kid!” I object. Dr Dae rolls her eyes at me.“Oh calm yourself girl. I’m not saying she chose to murder anyone. I assume that she was forced to comply somehow. You’ll have to ask the girl when she’s ready to talk. As for the how, the child is a Reaper.” She says it as if it’s obvious but it really isn’t. I know that Reapers exist, but they’re the kind of Magic that most people have heard of but no one has ever met. I suppose Kiara’s dad must have been a Reaper too and why the MRO was so secretive about her markings. Most people are kind of scared of Reapers, they’re kind of the boogeymen of our society. Mostly because they can kill on a whim. All it takes is one touch and they can free your soul from your body. Obviously with no soul you die, and I guess your soul moves on to wherever souls go when you pass on. I suppose that a Reaper would make sense for the representative of Atropos. Her add
Strings of Fate 200- Healing and hunger
Since Kiara probably isn’t up to braving the stairs and she really doesn’t want to be carried around everywhere, we decide to ask Dr Dae to come up to the bedroom. It’s actually kind of weird having so many people in here. Bellamy is a fairly private person, he doesn’t generally invite people to hang out in his… our room. Dr Dae shuffles in clutching her usual bag. I’m surprised that Bellamy isn’t carrying it for her because it looks kind of heavy, but I suspect that she wouldn’t hand it over anyway. I immediately greet her.“Thank you so much for your help. Your contact has become a great friend and she’s a huge part of the reason we were able to find Kiara here.” I nudge Kiara gently with my elbow and give her a little smile. She looks very small and delicate in the oversized, mismatched clothes with her hair dripping down her shoulders. She’s so pale that the bruises on her skin stand out and look even worse than they actually are. Dr Dae gives me a half nod of acknowledgement then
Strings of Fate 199- Clean and covered
We all turn to face Alex in confusion. I glance up at Bellamy to see if he has any idea what’s going on but he looks just as lost as the rest of us. I continue to stroke Kiara’s hair trying to keep her calm. “Explain.” Bellamy says firmly. Alex flushes red under the attention of everyone in the room. “Uh, well. I assisted Miss Gale in updating her registration with the MRO, and uh, since her position is one of… well almost authority, over the fate’s representatives the updated registration reflects this. So she should be able to make decisions about Kiara’s care like an Alpha would for their Shifters or like a Coven leader would for their Witches. Admittedly it’s a very small group of Magics, but according to the Magic Registration Office, she is in charge of it.” He explains, his voice starts off weak but gets stronger as he becomes more confident in what he’s saying. The police seem a little stunned but I guess Alex isn’t technically wrong. If Kiara were a Shifter, her Alpha would
Strings of Fate 198- Stolen and sure
When we pull up to the house, there’s a police car waiting. There are two cops standing by it, one looks bored and irritated and the other has a fake ‘customer service’ type smile plastered on his face that I know well from experience. Yeah neither of these guys want to be here. They’re probably pissed that we made them come down here. Not to mention uncomfortable being in the Shifter compound. Non-Shifters aren’t invited here often, although I suppose that isn’t exactly true anymore with all our new friends stopping by regularly. Standing beside them looking awkward and uncomfortable is Alex. I bet they’ve been taking their impatience out on him. I narrow my eyes at them and prepare myself. One snotty comment and I am going to tear into them, it’s been a long night. Bellamy parks the car and I wait for him to get out. He speaks with the police briefly and Alex escorts them inside the house. Bellamy returns and opens the door next to Kiara. “Hey, can I help you get inside? The police
Strings of Fate 197- Leaving and leaning
As we step outside, I’m confused to find that I actually have no idea where we are. I really was just running and following the tracking spell. I don’t know how far I ran. It’s a good thing the others are here to bring back the cars because I would be wandering all night trying to find my way back. I’m also fairly sure that I left my phone in the car when I jumped out in a hurry. Kiara clutches my hand tightly as the cars pull up on the street in front of us. “Megan, Darrien. You stay here and speak to the police when they arrive. Direct further questions to me. Shaun, you stay with them too.” Bellamy directs as Shaun hops out the car. At Megan’s insistence he stays a good couple of metres away from us.“Yes Alpha Kane.” He responds cheerfully. Aaron and Rio also climb out of the vehicles. Rio stops to chat with one of the other Shifters whose name I still don’t know. Aaron immediately approaches me. Actually a better way to phrase it is that he storms over. He looks almost angry. Or
Strings of Fate 196- Rescue and retreat
Darrien is the closest to her and he sees her at the same time I do. He takes a step towards her and she whimpers in fear. He freezes and backs away slowly, trying not to startle her. I gesture for everyone else to stay back and take a few steps closer. I stop a good metre away from the little table and then slowly lower myself to the floor. Kneeling down so that I can see her properly. Kiara is covered in soot and I can see little trails of tears smudging around on her face. She is still crying and whimpering. I am careful to keep my voice gentle and calm. “Kiara?” I call her name. She doesn’t answer or look up, but her whimpering quiets a little and I can see her tensing up like she’s listening carefully. “Kiara sweetheart. You’re safe now. You can come out. We can get some something to eat, you can have a nice bath and some clean clothes. How does that sound?” I try to sound soothing. Her crying stops and she looks up at me with wide, teary, red-rimmed eyes. She doesn’t
Strings of Fate 195- Smoke and smothering
Look, I’m no fighter and the Shifters move way faster than I can even properly process in this stressful situation. I watched the Shifter woman leap towards the redhead (I have got to learn these people’s names!) and the next thing I know, both women are screaming and the living room is lit up with blue flames that are steadily growing. I watch as Shaun and Darrien leap at the Shifter woman and help her tear off her burning shirt. Bellamy takes the chance to shift and a few moments later his large black cat form is launching towards the Witch in an attempt to knock her down. He pulls back at the last second as flames light up in front of him, spreading and essentially splitting the room in half with us on one side and the Witch on the other. She’s completely trapped, both by us and the fire which is steadily going out of control. There is smoke in the air making it hard to see what’s going on and the smoke in the air is making it difficult to breathe. My throat is so dry and my lung
