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9- Fate and friendships
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Strings of Fate 10- Incubi and intimidation
Bellamy, once again offers me his arm. I take it and allow him to lead me out to the front of the building where a Shifter man waits patiently. He is dressed in jeans and a dark shirt, much like Shaun and Aaron. He is quite tall and bulky, if he weren't so polite he would probably be intimidating. He has chocolate brown hair. His eyes are brown too but seem tinted orange so they don't quite look human. He is well built and if I do say so myself, quite attractive. “This is Darrien, Megan's guard.” Bellamy says quietly. The guy is cute, but what really catches my attention is the red thread connecting his heart to Megan's. Interesting. I go out of my way to smile at him and shake his hand.“Hi, I'm Ryann Gale. You're Darrien right? It's nice to meet you.” The man smiles kindly and mumbles a quiet greeting. I can already see that he is the gentle giant type. Although I wouldn't put it past him to be seriously scary if someone threatened Megan. He assesses me with his eyes, as if determin
Strings of Fate 11- Arguments and agreements
Bellamy immediately turns to me.“Are you okay?” he asks in a hurry.“Of course I am. He's an Incubus sure, but he isn't going to hurt me.” I assure him. Bellamy looks doubtful.“You sure he didn't try anything? You know how Inccubi. can be.'' His voice is thick with implications. I glare at him.“Now that's just rude. He's a person like anyone else. He has a soul mate just like anyone else. I'm not sure who, I don't know if they've met yet. It just takes a while for Inccubi. and Succubi to settle down is all. He's basically harmless.” Bellamy looks confused.“I've seen people run into Inccubi. and leave with them after only a minutes conversation once they turn on their charm. It doesn't seem to affect you at all.” I shrug.“Harry wasn't really trying. Inccubi like games. As long as you let them know that you aren't playing, they lose interest.” Bellamy nods.“Fine, it's good that you aren't really affected by them. Just remember that I promised to see you home.” he reminds me. I gla
Strings of Fate 12- Messages and mornings
I go and change into my fluffy unicorn pyjamas. I plug my phone onto charge and climb into the very corner of my bed where I am most comfortable. I watch as my red thread fades from my view. Bellamy must have driven far enough away that I can't see it anymore. Considering that we are fated to be together, he is very annoying. He is definitely not the kind of person I expected fate to give to me. I still can't imagine being with him for the rest of my life. He is bossy and demanding, the complete opposite of me. I am pulled from my thoughts when I feel my phone vibrating next to me. I have a text from Megan.Megan- Hey, so I'm thinking brunch tomorrow followed by shopping. I want a dress for my engagement party!!! Pick you up at 10am???I responded with my acceptance and my address. I have never really been shopping with a friend before and I find I am insanely excited. I probably can't buy much given my limited income. But it should still be fun helping Megan pick something. I put my
Strings of Fate 13- Gifts and guards
Here.” She hands me a folded square of paper. I unfold it and read.Ryann,Since you will be attending my sister's engagement party and will be assisting me with the matter we previously discussed, it is only right that I provide you with the appropriate attire for the occasion. As such, I hope that while you are shopping with Megan today you will choose a dress for yourself which I will pay for. (Megan has my credit card)BellamyI am gaping at the note, totally confused. What the actual hell is this? Is Bellamy just super generous all of a sudden? Or maybe he is trying to bribe me to cooperate more or something. Either way, it is completely unacceptable. He might be my fate but that doesn't mean I'm comfortable going around spending his money. Particularly since we aren't actually together yet. I drop the note and turn to Megan, about to voice my objections when she hands me a phone. My phone which she apparently took from my bag while I was reading.“I added my brother's number. I
Strings of Fate 14- Trust and truth
It clicks in my head. I guess sometimes all it takes is to phrase something a little differently.“What you're saying is that ultimately, the men aren't in control because we control ourselves, but that we LET them have control in order to calm their protective instincts which in turn makes them less controlling and demanding.” I sum up. Darrien nods.“Yes, FINALLY. That's what I was trying to say. Really I think control is the wrong word. What they want is trust. If you show you trust them to keep you safe, they in turn worry about it less.” she smiles at me. I nod my acceptance.“But why is it just the men?” Megan shrugs.“It isn't really. Female Shifters are just as protective, particularly when it comes to children. However we are less prone to fighting and violent behaviour so we tend to focus more on taking care of people emotionally. Which sort of complements the Shifter men's issues with control as we feel that we are protecting them emotionally by allowing them to protect us
Strings of Fate 15- Shopping and sparkles
Shopping is exhausting, but fun. The first few stores we try, Megan can't find a single dress that interests her. In the third store, she finds a few things to try on but decides against them. As she searches for herself, I half-heartedly keep an eye out for a dress for myself. But mostly I focus on helping Megan find her perfect dress. We are in our fourth store and Megan is flicking through a rack of dresses and dismissing them just as quickly. I'm quite tired, I don't go out often other than for work and the threads floating around me are distracting. I do wish that I could turn my abilities off and on. A switch would be useful, or a button. Feeling a headache coming on, I decide to step back for a moment. I find myself standing beside Darrien. As he has been all morning, he is quiet and watches us both carefully, I notice his eyes flicking to the side every now and then. I follow his gaze as it does and realise that he is glancing over at a dress. And wow is it a dress. It is stun
Strings of Fate 16- Favours and formalware
Bellamy sits beside me as I finish off my ice-cream. Once again, he is well within my personal space. Is he doing this on purpose or does he not realise how close he's sitting? I can feel his warmth beside me. As I finish my treat he stands, although he looks a little nervous. I'm wondering why when he speaks.“So, did you ask Megan about that thing?” he asks me. I nod my head. He meets my gaze.“And? What did you think?” he questions. He looks like he expects me to be mad. I smile and stand up. His expression is wary as I step in closer towards him but quickly turns to relief when I take his arm which he automatically held out to me as I stood. In fact, more than relief, he looks quite pleased.“I think that it's different. Different, and confusing and might take some time for me to get used to.” I tell him with a small smile.“But you're willing to try and get used to it?”“As long as you're willing to try and understand that it is not natural to me and might take a bit of work.” I
Strings of Fate 17- Black and blue
This time the suit is plain black. It looks better and Bellamy seems happier. He is wearing a black shirt underneath. He shrugs at me.“Well?” he asks. I consider a moment.“It's very... black.” I observe. Bellamy raises an eyebrow.“It's a black suit.” he points out.“I can see that, but... it's just... I don't know. It's better. But not right.” I turn to Charlie for assistance. He is nodding along with me.“She's right. I have an idea.” He stands and vanishes yet again. When he returns he is holding two more shirts. A plain white one and a maroon one.“Try these with it.” He hands them to Bellamy. Bellamy sighs in frustration and returns to the dressing room. My phone vibrates in my bag and I pull it out. It's a message from Megan. She has sent me the photo of me in my dress that she took earlier.Megan- Send me mine!I text her the photo of her dress and she sends back her thanks. I flick back and forth between the two photos. Happy to have some kind of evidence that I got to spend
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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
