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77- Letters and learning
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Strings of Fate 78- Sorting and singing
Eventually, I give Aaron a break and we head to my work. The shift drags on although there is a brief moment of amusement when a group of human girls stop and try to flirt with Aaron. I say try because they don’t really get very far. Talking to him really does take a lot of work. I still haven’t decided if he is intentionally not talking to people because he doesn’t want to or if he’s just really shy. Or maybe a combination of the two? Well, I don’t mind. Actions speak louder than words and his actions say plenty. He is always mindful of me and helpful in general. I’m hoping that I can become good friends with him, it will make having him around less uncomfortable. Besides, it would be nice if he enjoyed working with me. I stop by and remind him to send the check in message to Bellamy and to encourage the girls to move on and let him be. He gives me a nod of thanks then sends the message. Aaron showed no interest in the girls and they were pretty enough. I’ve asked him before if he’s
Strings of Fate 79- Drunk and daring
I shrug. I don’t really want to go home, I’m tired but having fun. “I don’t wanna leave. I wanna stay here.” I whine. Megan elbows me in the ribs.“Stay then, I bet Bellamy wouldn’t mind.” She waggles her eyebrows at me suggestively and we both devolve into giggles again. I haven’t seen Bellamy all evening except. Oh shoot! I was meant to check in and I didn’t. Did I? I don’t think I did. Oops, I better do that before he gets too worried. “I need to talk to Bellamy!” I declare as I struggle to get up off the floor. Megan’s clothes are extra slippery or something because it takes a couple attempts to get to my feet. Megan makes it up first and pulls me to my feet. I stumble into her and we both fall onto her bed. “My brother’s probably in his room.” Megan informs me. I nod. “I need to talk to him.” I insist. Megan stays lying on her bed where she is and nods at me, her eyes closed. I make my way across Megan’s room doing my best not to trip over anything on the floor which is now m
Strings of Fate 80- Hungover and horrified
Why does my head feel like someone is bashing it with a hammer? And why do I feel like throwing up? My eyes feel stuck shut but I force myself to open one. A dim light in the room makes me immediately squeeze it shut again, groaning in pain. Ugh I feel awful. I’m lying on my side and my right arm is numb under my own weight. I roll onto my back and try not to gag as my stomach rebels. “I hope girls night was worth it.” I hear Bellamy comment from beside me. My eyes fly open in shock and I bolt upright, the world spinning as I sit up. I press a hand to my head and find my hair is an absolute rat’s nest. I glance over at Bellamy who is lying in the bed next to me, the blankets pulled down far enough to see that he’s not wearing a shirt. I flush red and avert my eyes before I embarrass myself by staring. I glance down and realise I’m only wearing a bra and my underwear. With a shriek that does not help my headache, I grab the blanket and yank it over myself, tearing it away from Bellamy
Strings of Fate 81- Pants and painkillers
As I enter, Megan whirls around to face me, she’s holding an armful of clothes that she appears to be stacking away and she stops mid-note of whatever tune it was she was humming. She looks surprised to see me. “Ryann? I didn’t realise you were still here. I thought Bellamy must have taken you home already. Are you only getting up now? It’s almost eleven.” she rambles cheerfully. She drops her armful of clothes onto a large pile on her bed and pulls her curtain open a little. I flinch at the bright morning light and shield my eyes, groaning. “Of course I’m still here. And I drank waaaaay too much last night, of course I’m only getting up now. It’s a miracle I’m up at all.” I grumble. Megan tilts her head in confusion. “Are you really feeling that bad?” she asks curiously. I roll my eyes and regret the motion. Now that I’m standing up I feel a lot worse. Also her room is way too bright. “Of course I am! Aren’t you?” I demand. She shrugs nonchalantly. “Nope. my metabolism burned of
Strings of Fate 82- Planning and placating
Bellamy considers me for a moment then nods. “Fine. I might be mad, I can’t be sure until you tell me what’s wrong. But I promise I’ll get over it and I’ll help you fix it. Whatever it is. Now, tell me what’s wrong.” His voice is quiet, like he’s trying not to startle me. I relent and accept my fate. “Well… yesterday morning I found a letter under my door.” I start. I expect him to interrupt but he waits patiently for me to explain. I tell him what the letter said and about what I saw on the security camera. Bellamy drops his hands to his sides, closes his eyes and takes three deep breaths. I can tell he’s trying to stay calm, but his shoulders and hands are tensed up and his jaw is so tight I’d be surprised if he could get words out. I wait, giving him time to process. Without opening his eyes, he speaks again, his voice measured and controlled. “Why did you hide it? Why wait so long to tell me?” He asks. “I… I panicked I guess. I didn’t want you to be worried about me. Then I de
Strings of Fate 83- Build up and bathtubs
Darrien hangs around for a while until Megan chases him out telling him to go home and get some rest and that he can come get her in the morning to take her home. She’s stayed over a few times now but he’s never seemed very comfortable with it. I messaged to ask him once reminding him that my home is safe. He just responded that it might be safe, but it would be safer if I kept guards around. He’s been doing better now that Megan isn’t engaged or in a relationship, but the two of them have made no progress since. Understandably, Megan isn’t interested in relationships right now and has declared it several times, so he has been mostly keeping to himself. Still, her nightmares have been less frequent and she’s even decided she is willing to watch rom coms again. That’s the plan for tonight actually. To watch her first romance movie since her failed wedding. I already have the TV set up and the movie waiting. Megan plops down onto the couch dramatically holding a glass of wine from the S
Strings of Fate 84- Ideas and intentions
“Aaron isn’t coming.” I point out. “He has the day off. I figure I’ll be with you guys all day so he doesn’t need to hang around.” Megan nods absent mindedly, typing something into her phone. I’m not sure she’s really listening. Well, whatever, I’ll try again another time. I finish eating then go to shower and get dressed. Megan picked out a cute little sundress and sandals outfit combo for me. It’s a light blue colour that brings out my pale eyes and emphasises the blue in my hair. I’m still not sure about dressing in a way that emphasises my eyes but she is determined to convince me to. I agreed to try things her way for a while and see if it makes any difference in how people treat me. So far… she’s right. No one has been any different than they usually are. Megan insists on taking the time to do my face up with some light makeup and then she braids my hair for me. She then borrows my bathroom and gets herself dressed. While she is getting ready, I check my phone and realise I hav
Strings of Fate 85- Dance and display
I elbow Bellamy in excitement and he takes my hand to keep me from bouncing in place. Megan stares at Darrien a minute longer before giving a very slow nod. The grin that crosses Darrien’s face is gorgeous and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him so happy. He places his own order and pays for the food. While he does this Megan turns to me, her eyes wild and her face flushed. She looks beyond nervous and her furrowed eyebrows ask a clear question. ‘Did I do the right thing?’ I give her a reassuring smile and nod. Her tense shoulders relax a little. Then, ever so slowly, she turns towards Bellamy to see his reaction. He has a serious case of poker face going. I squeeze his hand meaningfully. He glances sideways at me then back to his sister before lifting one shoulder in a half shrug and cracking a hint of a smile. Megan relaxes further and I realise she must have been barely breathing because she suddenly draws in a loud and deep breath and lets it out with a slight shake. She looks a
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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
