Cursed by Fate (COMPLETE)

Chapter Twenty Four

I looked back at the little farm house I’d called home the last two months longingly. I didn’t want to leave. Didn’t want to leave the peace and familiarity I had found here, the home I had found here. But I had to, the alpha made his decision and was standing his ground. He stood on the porch with his arms crossed over his chest. His face was passive, stony as I walked away, but his eyes said the opposite. He cared and he didn’t want me to leave either, he didn’t want to kick me out. He was struggling with his decision. I couldn’t bring myself to care about his struggle though. He’d kicked me out without even giving me a chance. He’d thought that I might be a threat so he was making me leave. He should know me better than that though. He’d been around me the last two months. He’d seen that I wasn’t a threat and never would be. I couldn’t hurt someone, it just wasn’t in my nature. 

I shook my head with a sigh, turning from the alpha who has betrayed me and to my car. Lance and I were driving in my car, while Elias, Mathias and Uriel all rode in the car Mathias had driven here. Uriel wasn’t happy about that, he wanted to be with me not with the others. But we would have plenty of time together once we returned to my home town. My home, my castle was plenty big enough to accommodate all of us, with room to spare. The problem was returning to the place where all my past trauma had haunted me. My parents, my friends at graduation. And I still haven’t heard from Adam. How could I call a town like that home? 

I ended up letting Lance drive, following Mathias since he didn’t know exactly where he was going. I just stared out the window and let my thoughts run away with me. I was a white wolf, I had powers I didn’t know about, powers I didn’t even know what they did. I was an alpha wolf, a master vampire and an archangel. How was any of this even possible? All of this obviously being true means my parents weren’t actually my parents. There was no way, they were both human as far as I knew. They never said anything about being supernatural hybrids. I’d never seen wings or fangs on them. But did I really pay that much attention? Wings could obviously be hidden so they couldn’t be seen. Fangs were retractable which means they could easily have hidden it from me. What else did they hide from me? 

Was it possible both my parents were hybrids? Did the people in town know? Did Adam know? And why hide it from me all this time? Why not tell me? So many questions I needed answers to surged through my mind making me irritable and exasperated. If they’d just said something I wouldn’t be so ill prepared. If they had just said something I would have been ready for all of this, would have known what the hell I was doing. Instead here I was stewing over what I was, what I could possibly do. How could my own parents betray me just like everyone else? Was there no where or no one I could trust? Could I even truly trust my four mates? Did they actually care for me or was it this bond? I didn’t know how any of it worked and my nerves just kept ramping up going haywire with my thoughts. 

“Nicole.” I heard Lance shout, pulling me from my thoughts harshly. 

“What?” I growled without meaning to. I closed my eyes and sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose I said. “I’m sorry Lance, I didn’t mean to snap at you.” 

I looked up at him and furrowed my brows at what I saw. The sun had completely been blotted out by black storm clouds. Lightning flashed in the sky in rapid succession lighting up the area around us. Thunder crashed, shaking the car and making me wonder how in the hell I hadn’t noticed before. Rain and hail pelted down on the car. The sound made it seem like we were being fired upon by guns that couldn’t pierce the metal. 

“What’s going on?” I asked, my eyes scanning around us looking for Mathias’s car. 

“Nicole, you need to calm down.” Lance said taking my hand. 

“What?” I said, confused. “What do I have to do with anything?”

“Nicole you’re doing this, your sudden mood change brought this on.” 

“No.” I gasped, my eyes bulging. “There’s no way I’m doing this.” 

“Look at me.” Lance said pulling my face to him and cupping it between his hands. “Breathe for me Uwoduhi. Don’t think about anything but me, my hands on your cheeks, your eyes on mine. Focus on me love.” Lance whispered, pushing a stray hair behind my ear. 

Focus on him. My Lance. My sweet, protective and caring Lance. The man who had been there the past two months, the man who had stayed by my side. The one who would have movie nights with me, where we would make a mess with pizza boxes and snack wrappers. Cans would litter the table from where we would chug caffeine to stay awake to spend more time together. Lance held me whenever I was overwhelmed, held me just because he cared or wanted to. He would take me on cheesy dates and we would laugh. 

“There, see.” Lance smiled. 

I looked around us and sure enough he was right. The storm clouds had dissipated and slowly blue was once again covering the sky. What the hell just happened? How was that me? Before I could ask, my door was being flung open and I was whipped out of the car and into a hard chest. I knew by the scent of jasmine and amber it was Uriel. His arms were tight around me as his wings folded around us like a white feathered shield. What he was trying to shield me from was still indeterminate though. 

“Are you alright?” He asked, looking down at me in concern. 

“I’m fine Uriel. My thoughts ran away with me and I guess as my mood changed the weather changed. I’m not sure I understand how, but Lance made me understand it was me who did it. I didn’t mean to, I didn’t even know I could.” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. 

“We will figure out all of your new abilities and we will learn how to control and manipulate them together. You are not alone Nicole.” 

Not alone. He said I was not alone. When was the last time someone told me that? Was it Lance? Or did he just tell me he would always be here? Did it really matter? Uriel, an angel, my mate told me I wasn’t alone. And as happy and as giddy as that made me feel, there was still a part of me that wanted to keep my distance. From all of them. I don’t think I could handle it if one of them betrayed me. Trusting them completely meant giving them everything I had. Letting them in passed all the walls I had built. Did I trust them enough to do that? Did I trust myself enough? Because no matter how much I cared for them, no matter how much the bond pushed me to them, my heart was telling me to be cautious, to be careful. Because every person I have ever loved, every person I have ever let in has ended up dead. 

Knowing what I am I was beginning to wonder if that wasn’t a coincidence. I was wondering if someone was killing off everyone just to make me feel alone, make me feel like I was cursed beyond what I really am. Would someone be that cruel? Kill my parents? An entire graduating class just to get to my friends? No, I don’t think so, it didn’t make any sense. 

Realization crashed over me making me stumble away from Uriel. It was never about the other people. They were just there, just necessary sacrifices. No. Whoever was doing this was after me. They wanted to get to me before my birthday, before I came into whatever power I was supposed to. But why? I didn’t want to harm anyone. I didn’t even know what I was. So who in the town did? Who in Darkridge knew who and what I was? Obviously my parents had to have known. And by what I’ve been told the Legend family was notorious for hybrids, so that means the town was not in fact a town but a pack or coven, I’m not sure which. So it could be anyone if that were the case. 

“What is it?” Uriel asked. The others joined him in surrounding me. 

“The accidents. My parents, my friends. They were never the targets. I was. Whoever killed them was trying to kill me.” I told them, lifting my eyes to meet theirs. 

“But why?” Lance asked, pulling me into his arms. 

“Because someone in Darkridge knows. They knew what I’d be and they didn’t want it to happen.”

Mathias growled as he started pacing back and forth before us. Anger rippled off him in waves. I watched him curiously wondering what had him so riled up. I knew what I said would upset them, but this was different. He knew something and it was that, that was making him angry. 

“What is it Mathias?” I asked, pulling him to a stop. 

“Adam.” Mathias spat. 

“We never got the photos from the shooting. And he disappeared for a vacation right after you left for college. He was tracking you. If you hadn’t gone to the college you did, Adam would have gotten to you.” 

“No.” I denied shaking my head. “Adam has been in my life since I was born, he wouldn’t betray me like that. He wouldn’t want me dead.” 

“Think about it Nicole.” Mathias said flatly. 

And I did. Adam had been my parents' best friend. He had been around as long as I can remember. I even remember my dad telling stories about the trips and adventures they went on before I was born. So many exciting things I had wanted to do at some point. Adam and his wife would babysit me when I was little, would take me on vacations and trips for ice cream. They were the only people there for me when my parents died. But how had Adam known where we’d be? He was the one who pulled me from the car, barely a scratch on me. He had hauled me into his arms and hugged me tightly before leading me away from the wreckage. But how had he known? There were no other police there that night, no ambulance, nothing. 

He set the whole thing up, that’s how. Anger coursed through me at the realization. How could he? He was family and he killed them, tried killing me. What could have been so important that he had to go that far? My body trembled as the knowledge sunk deeper and deeper into me. No one could be trusted, I knew that now. It didn’t matter who they were, how much you loved them or how long you’ve known them. No one could be trusted. 

“I’ll meet you in Darkridge.” I said, shaking my head fiercely. My wings exploded out of my back and with one last look at them, I launched into the sky. I knew Uriel could follow me and there was nothing I could do about that. But for right now I needed this peace. I needed some semblance of being alone. I needed time to think before I got back to my family home. Because once I do things would have to change. The town would have to change. Whoever was alpha now would need to step down, or I would challenge them and they would be banished from my town. No one would walk over me anymore. No one would get close enough to betray me anymore. And people would soon learn who I was.