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178- Managing and measuring
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Bellamy sighs deeply and I can see he looks kind of frustrated. My question must show on my face because when he looks up and makes eye contact he explains.
“You know, I can kind of see why the girl didn’t want to approach me with her problem. I thought that I was doing alright dealing with the Shifter’s personal issues, that they all knew they could come to me. But my first reaction was to dismiss her complaint as childish whining.” He sounds very disheartened.“I’m now wondering if I’ve been failing all this time. I thought I was managing. Maybe the other Alphas are right and I can’t do this.” He says it like he is second guessing every decision he’s made since taking over as Alpha. His confidence has just taken a serious hit. I hate it. Bellamy is usually a fairly confident person. I frown at him.“Why is it that every time he second guesses himself it has something to do with me? With something I’ve said. I was trying to help and now it looks like you’re having anRelated chapters
Strings of Fate 179- Teamwork and timelines
Another night, another murder. I see Kiara is forced to reach out again. It has to be connected to her magic in some way. Her species magic. Not her magic as a representative of fate. The poor girl barely even made a sound during this one. She moved around like a zombie afterwards and when she was finally able to collapse onto the floor, she just sobbed until she passed out. I wake up seriously stupidly early in the morning. I don’t want to face the day yet and accept that once again, there is nothing I can actually DO. So I end up just curling up with Bellamy who is still sleeping. He does wake up and check on me. Peering at me through bleary eyes as I move around, but at this point I don’t really want to talk. So I just hug him close and for a while, I try not to think. It is probably another two hours until Bellamy really wakes up. He strokes a hand over my hair and pushes it away from my face, then moves back a little so that he can see my face. “Morning love.” He greets me
Strings of Fate 180- Increase and interactions
We all sit there in horrified silence, no one quite knowing what to say. Finally, Harry is the one to speak up. “Well, they don’t look EXACTLY like you. They all have long, black hair. Your hair is blue. Although it does look black unless you’re in the daylight. They also all have blue or grey eyes, your eyes are very different, so they couldn't match that…” He trails off, his false optimism fading as he reasons away his own arguments. His face falls as he gives up trying to reason away what we all know. “It’s all about you, every threat, every murder… they’re all directed at you. Even when they couldn’t get to you anymore, the threats didn’t stop. They just chose a different way of threatening you.” Darrien states the obvious. I feel sick. All these women, Kiara’s kidnapping. All because someone hates me? Someone who didn’t even make enough of an impression for me to know who they are, wants me dead. What could I have done? Up until a couple weeks ago I was a waitress! I
Strings of Fate 181- Hostility and hearsay
“Okay, so since you met Alpha Kane, what arguments or uncomfortable interactions have you had?” Alex prompts, laptop at the ready preparing to take notes. I make eye contact with Bellamy and grin. He suddenly looks VERY nervous.“Well, my first negative interaction since meeting Bellamy would have been… my first interaction with Bellamy.” Alex starts typing then freezes. “Uh… what? But you and Alpha Kane are… I mean… oh damn. Am I supposed to know that? I can’t remember if I’m supposed to be pretending not to notice. AM I supposed to be pretending not to notice?” He anxiously asks, staring up at me. I can’t help but laugh.“Alex… I’m literally sitting in Bellamy’s lap. I don’t expect you to act dumb or pretend everything. I just want to avoid gossip. I trust you, I didn’t think I needed to tell you that, but maybe I should have said something earlier.” Oops, I didn’t realise that I was making Alex anxious, although he does seem to be a pretty anxious person anyway. I’ll
Strings of Fate 182- Mothers and meltdowns
Megan does notice my suspicious glare at Darrien’s back. For a moment she’s confused and I can practically see her replaying the last several minutes in her head to see what bothered me. When she figures it out, she smiles at me. “Did you know that Darrien is very close with his mother. They speak on the phone pretty much every night, even if it’s only for a few seconds. It’s very sweet.” She confides. Oooohhhhh he was talking to his mum. That makes so much sense. I didn’t really think that he would be seeing someone else, but maybe that he had some close female friends that he is kind to. Not that it would be a problem, as long as it was clear that’s all they are. Either way, it’s far better. “He’s never mentioned his mother to me.” I admit. Megan shrugs. “He usually waits until he is alone to talk to her. But I’ve seen him texting her sometimes.” She says with a small smile. “Does she live around her?” I ask and Megan shakes her head.“Nah, Darrien moved do
Strings of Fate 183- Pacing and preparing
Even though he’s just left, Bellamy calls Alex. I feel kind of bad about it, he’s been here for hours and just when we finally let him go home, we call him with more work.“Hey Alex. I need you to track down Tristain’s mother. I need to know where she is, any properties she has and also anyone she might be close with, particularly magic users.” Bellamy pauses listening to Alex’s response. Man, it must be nice to be able to hear the other side of the conversation like all the Shifters in the room can. “Yes, she was here the day his mother came to see me, Ryann intervened when she became emotional. It’s possible that she might have interpreted things to believe that Ryann is responsible.” He glances down at me and hurriedly adds.“She isn’t of course. It’s ridiculous. But I don’t expect someone who thinks killing people to make a point is a good plan, to be reasonable.” He finishes. I smile at him, it was unnecessary, but I do appreciate his efforts to make sure I don’t f
Strings of Fate 184- Lifeless and lawn
The hour and a half that it takes for Alex to gather all the necessary information is somehow the longest hour and a half of my life and the shortest all at the same time. It drags on but is also over far too quickly. We all head downstairs to get ready to leave and meet the others.“Okay, so Darrien and Aaron will stay here with you guys and we will call you as soon as we have them.” Bellamy announces his plan confidently. I make eye contact with Megan who looks just as sceptical as me. Does he seriously think we’re going to just sit here and wait?“Yeah, no. That’s not going to work for me. Bellamy you can’t seriously think we’re just going to sit around here and wait. We’re coming with you.” I argue. Bellamy shakes his head adamantly. “Absolutely not. It’s not safe.” He refuses. I roll my eyes. “It’s not safe for you either.” I point out. Bellamy crosses his arms and stares me down.“You can’t fight.” He argues. “I don’t need to fight to be useful. I ca
Strings of Fate 185- Honesty and hatred
As I approach the house, I can see neighbours peering out their windows at us. I give one of them, a kid, a cheerful little wave before he ducks back behind the curtain. I guess the door breaking was a little loud and this is a bit of a weird situation. I’m surprised the police haven’t turned up yet. Not that they would do anything. A Shifter Alpha has complete authority over their Shifters. If Bellamy wants her in jail or something, all he has to do is parade her up to the police station, prove who he is and tell them how long she should be put away for. I swear, the only reason the different races don’t all have separate prisons is because they just don’t need them that often. When you add magic and other impressive abilities, most people who commit serious crimes go down swinging and end up dead, like Tristain did. If he had dropped it then he probably would have just been locked away. It’s one of the reasons the MRO doesn’t like having Unknown magics around. No faction is respon
Strings of Fate 186- Examination and exhaustion
I startle at the new thread, then freeze. I probably look ridiculous and I’m fairly sure I’m alternating between staring at my own chest and Cheryl’s. Ugh, I probably look like I’m staring at my own boobs. I have got to stop. I'm too stunned to speak and I vaguely notice that Bellamy has taken over the interrogation. Asking who Cheryl is working with and where Kiara is being kept. She refuses to give any kind of useful answer. I do zone back in a little when I realise that Bellamy is trying to use his whole Alpha thing to force her to speak.“Tell me where Kiara is.” He demands. But before he can finish the sentence, Cheryl slams her eyes shut and presses her lips together, flat out refusing to speak any further. I guess closing her eyes somehow stops Bellamy’s Alpha thing from working. That’s different I guess? I really ought to find out how it’s meant to work since I can actually do that to some extent. Or at least I managed to do something with it when Tristain was in the mid
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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
