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54- Return and relax
Last Updated:
2024-03-14 11:48:09
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Strings of Fate 55- Bedrooms and boundaries
I wake to a light tugging in my hair. The room is still dark, so I have no idea how long I've been asleep.“Hello.” Bellamy says quietly, stroking my hair. I guess that explains the tugging. I stop and take in my situation. Once again, while sleeping we have moved around so that I am lying half on top of him, one leg pulled up and crossed over his. One of his arms is wrapped around my waist while the other is stroking my hair. I take a deep breath, trying to stay calm. I don't know why I'm so freaked out. This is very different to the other times we woke up next to each other. Those times Bellamy backed off as soon as he realised what was happening, but now...“Hi?” I answer him nervously. Bellamy doesn't say anything. He just keeps lazily stroking my hair and lets out a deep breath. He moves a little adjusting his legs, shifting me slightly.“Sorry, I'm probably crushing you, I'll move I-” I am about to roll off of him when he runs his hand down from my hair. He runs it lightly over
Last Updated : 2024-03-14Strings of Fate 56- Courage and courting
He heads into my room and I take a minute to think. I'm proud of myself, sure I wanted to avoid that conversation, but I survived it, I didn't run away. I follow Bellamy into my room where he is tucking his phone and his tie into his pocket.“What time is it anyway?” I ask, I'm so out of it. I feel like I slept a long time, but there was daylight coming through the windows, which means either we slept for only a couple hours OR we slept through the night and it's daytime again.“It's about one, we slept almost 24 hours. I'm not surprised I slept that much, you're like a knock out drug to me, but you must have been really tired to have slept so long.” He looks at me contemplating something. I just shrug.“I did say I haven't been sleeping well.” I sort through my drawers looking for something comfortable to wear. I haven't really been doing much laundry lately either. I really need to catch up on my housework. Eventually I settle on a pair of leggings that I'm pretty sure are clean and
Last Updated : 2024-03-14Strings of Fate 57- Worries and worth
“I didn't use ALL the methods of courting, there are three main aspects to Shifter courting. First I show that I can provide for you with gifts of food and clothing. Second I show I can protect you, I got the rules about shoes changed at your workplace and literally fought the Vampires to protect you so that counts. That just leaves proving that I will do the same for our children.” He concludes. I choke on my water. Bellamy is out of his seat in a second. He moves onto the bench next to me, patting and stroking my back as I regain the ability to breathe. He looks like he is trying not to laugh.“Breathe Ryann, hypothetical children, relax.” Bellamy chuckles and I glare at him.“And just what kind of new and confusing behaviour can I expect from you regarding this?” I demand. He sobers up a little. “I'm not entirely sure, usually this would be proven by making an effort to be active in the family, taking care of younger siblings, or elderly family members of the female being courted.
Last Updated : 2024-03-14Strings of Fate 58 - Distraction and denial
Without missing a beat Bellamy hops out the car and runs around to open my door for me. Before I can so much as blink he’s leaning down over me and pressing his lips against mine. Just for a moment but I'm not expecting it and I freeze in shock.“For luck.” He states calmly, a click at my side tells me he’s undone my seatbelt. I flush red as I scramble out of my seat and take the arm Bellamy is holding out for me. There’s a smirk on his face and I can tell he’s enjoying how flustered I am.I take a few deep breaths as we approach the front door and try and relax. Megan is the one who has the right to be freaking out, not me. Things are actually looking up for me, I really have no right to complain. Bellamy unlocks the door, I did plan to head straight up to Megan’s room but I can hear noise coming from the kitchen. Is she… humming? I glance at Bellamy who shrugs and gives a confused expression which tells me he doesn’t know what’s going on either. I peer around the doorway and see Meg
Last Updated : 2024-03-14Strings of Fate 59 - Sleeping and shrieking
“So Bellamy was telling me about some of the things Shifter men do to court women. Food and clothes and stuff. You had to have known this whole time!” I complain. Megan smirks. “I figured if it was meant to be you would already know and if it wasn’t... Then why force him to go through the rejection? Besides, I only knew about him buying you a dress, Darrien has been filling me in about your meals together though. Did you really throw money at him?” She asks. I frown.“Darrien wasn’t even there for that part. He left when we went to dinner.” I point out. Megan shrugs.“Just assume all the guards gossip. Except maybe Aaron. He barely even talks. I think I’ve mentioned before that Shaun is a gossip. He told Darrien and Darrien told me.” I groan. So much for privacy. I think Aaron might be my new favourite purely for his apparently unique skill of keeping his mouth shut. “I get the feeling I’m going to end up being embarrassed by all you guys a lot in the future. Well since I’m already
Last Updated : 2024-03-14Strings of Fate 60 - Couches and company
I turn to Bellamy about to ask how he’s doing when he sweeps me up into a hug, pulling me right off my feet.“Thankyou so much. I thought I could handle her but then she started crying. Usually I don’t have a problem with dealing with people who get angry but it’s not like SHE did anything wrong and I just… got stuck.” I can feel him breathing into my hair as he places me back on my feet, holding me close. I stay still a few moments until he releases me.“Sorry if I overstepped. I just didn’t like seeing her yell at you. Also I was worried she would wake Megan, she’s finally asleep.” Bellamy shakes his head.“You didn’t overstep. I know you aren’t ready to be… well, all in yet. But helping with this kind of thing, emotional Shifters. That is what the Alpha female does. You are going to be so good at this, I just know it.” I take a step back in shock.“I…um. Didn’t mean to…this doesn’t mean.” I stammer out. Bellamy takes my hand and runs his thumb over the back of my hand soothingly.“
Last Updated : 2024-03-14Strings of Fate 61- Apologies and alarm
I shriek and leap out of his lap. Or I try to, I trip over my own feet and get caught by Bellamy’s hand in the edge of my top. Bellamy tries to catch me but we both end up overbalancing and the chair tips over. We both land hard, sprawled on the floor. Bellamy manages to slip a hand behind my head as we fall so at least I don’t break my skull. Bellamy groans as I sit up and I realise I landed hard elbowing him in the stomach. I jump up.“Sorry!” He sits up and rights his chair. Megan is in the doorway and is frozen. I make eye contact with her. I’m sure I must be tomato red and I can’t believe that just happened. Megan bursts out laughing. She laughs so hard that I can see tears in her eyes. Bellamy can’t help but join in.“You guys!” I whine but I can’t help but smile and I try to resist the desire to giggle. Megan throws herself into the recliner Bellamy moved in for me as she manages to calm herself.“Oh I needed that. I was going to come apologise for falling asleep and ditching y
Last Updated : 2024-03-14Strings of Fate 62- Nightmares and numbness
Darrien looks so lost. I start laughing. Megan and Bellamy give near identical smirks. “My brother stole it to make a nest for Ry in his office. Apparently he needs supervision while he works now. Although I’m not sure why he bothered because she wasn’t sitting on the recliner when I found them.” Her tone is suggestive and makes the whole thing sound a lot worse than it was. Still, I can’t help the blush that burns across my face. Seriously, I need to find a way to stop that.“I can go grab it.” Bellamy moves to stand but Darrien waves him back.“Don’t worry about it, I’m fine here.” He drops to the floor and settles in place resting his back against the edge of Megan’s recliner. Not touching her, but definitely more of a casual placement than he would normally choose. Megan’s gaze darts to mine and I try to arrange my face in a way that appears encouraging. Bellamy settles back in beside me. He checks his phone.“Food should arrive in about twenty minutes.” He informs us cheerfully.
Last Updated : 2024-03-14
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Strings of Fate 205- Sweethearts and safeguarding
My automatic reaction is to panic and to mentally scream NO ABSOLUTELY NOT! She is just a child. She is way too young to already find the person she is fated to be with, not to mention she has been through too much. What if he is immature or goes through a jerk phase as he grows up? Or worse, what if he is a lot older than her? Four or five years might not mean much when she’s an adult, but at her age that is a LOT. And who could it be? Is he going to be good enough? What if I don’t approve of him, what if he’s a bad influence. I’ve seen people with red threads who hated each other and were terrible for each other when they were young and as they matured became more right for one another. Is it too soon for them to meet? She’s just gone through an incredibly traumatic circumstance and she does NOT need some guy messing with her head right now. I take a deep breath and try to relax. I don’t know who it is, we might not even be meeting him right now. The thread just tells me that he’s s
Strings of Fate 204- Adapt and adjust
The next few days pass almost too quickly. Bellamy and I have our meeting with Sara and her father. He was a little curious as to why I was there, but he didn’t say anything. He wasn’t pleased, but he did agree to back off of Sara a little bit and seemed to appreciate the added security that we are arranging for the university students. On the drive home, Bellamy is grumbling about it. “He was barely polite to you.” He complains. I roll my eyes.“He was polite enough, how polite should he be to a stranger in his house telling him how to parent his child?” I point out Bellamy shakes his head.“You’re his Alpha, my mate, he should know better.” He continued to scowl.“It’s not like he knows that. We haven’t actually told everyone.” I remind him gently. Now it’s his turn to roll his eyes.“Of course he knows. It’s the worst kept secret around, remember? He’s just the traditional type. Isn’t sure how he feels about having a non-Shifter as an Alpha. He’ll get over it.” He says firmly. I f
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
