Changing Fates: A Sons of Satrina Novel (The Sons of Satrina Book 3) (2 page)

Being confronted by the woman and her revelations, it was the first time in a long while that Kayleigh felt like she was losing control and that scared her nearly as much as the thought of losing Kelton. She couldn’t be that person. She’d worked so hard to be the person she wanted to be and to build the kind of life that was perfect for her, there was no way she was going to succumb to being the monster that lurked within her.

He hadn’t been overly pleased when she had enough control over her urges to go back to check on her human family and it wasn’t something he had ever agreed with. In his mind, she had needed to cut herself off from them, let them get on with their lives as she got on with hers. It wasn’t that easy for Kayleigh, though. The humanity within her was stronger than the evil of the Mortourum.

Tonight, the Lamia Mortuorum had threatened to take all that away from her.

For a moment there, her vision had clouded and all she could see was blood. Blood raining down on them all as she destroyed the woman that tried to break everything she’d believed in. It had taken all of her concentration and energy to keep it locked up inside.

Obviously, the main reason she’d run was because she couldn’t bear to look at Kelton a moment longer, not while the evidence of his infidelity was standing in front of her. The other reason was that she was slipping and losing control for the first time. Her emotions were heightened and her control had slipped. She had to leave and take the time to breathe, to compose herself so she wouldn’t fail in all that she’d worked for.

Over the years, she had seen her human family grow and mature into people that she was proud to bring into the world. They did wonderful things with their lives and although the pain of leaving them was as strong as ever, Kayleigh was pleased that she was able to live in the shadows of their lives. Kelton could never understand why she would put herself through the pain of seeing them, but the joy she felt at their achievements heavily outweighed the heartache she felt.

Even through the pain, Kelton was always there for her. Their love had grown beyond anything she had ever expected out of life. Who would have thought that the big, badass warrior that had scared the living hell out of her on first sight would be the one man that she would want to spend the rest of her life with?

And now this.

It was the betrayal that cut her deeply. Sure, everyone had problems in their relationship and they were just the same. They weren’t perfect. But, in Kayleigh’s mind, it was as close to perfect as she could have ever wished for. She’d thought that Kelton had felt the same.

Obviously, something had gone wrong somewhere for him to do that. You didn’t run into the arms of another if you were perfectly happy with your partner.

She’d run. It was all she could do at the time. Flying to their rooms, grabbing what she could and taking the back stairs to make sure no one could catch up with her. The last thing she wanted was to see anyone. Kayleigh couldn’t bear the thought of seeing Kelton and having that betrayal flung in her face.

Grabbing a set of car keys, Kayleigh didn’t even think about what she was doing. Running out the back of the mansion, the cold wind had whipped around her. The chill of the night had brought her to her senses and she realised that there was nowhere for her to run.

The rest of the night passed in a blur. She found herself sitting in a motel room, all alone with tears pouring down her face. All she could think about was the pain she was feeling. She knew that being this emotional would be good for the pregnancy, but she couldn’t stop crying. Of all the things that had happened in her life, this was what had hit her the hardest.

Perhaps it was because they’d been together for so long and had worked hard to build what they had. Kelton was the only person alive that knew of her true nature and they’d worked hard to conceal it from the rest of the world. In him, she trusted. Now that trust had been broken. 

Kelton stood in the window, as he did every night. Well, every night he wasn’t out on the streets searching for Kayleigh. He stood there waiting for her to come home.

He’d taken on more shifts than usual to go out in the field. It gave him more chance to search for her. Sitting around at the academy only meant that he got more frustrated and found his tempter boiling out of control.

So far, he’d had no luck. Kelton knew that it was a dangerous thing, but he was keeping one eye on his job, and the other looking for the love of his life. He knew that he was putting the others in danger by doing so, but he couldn’t help himself. The sooner he found her and had the chance to talk to her, to make her see that he would never willingly betray her, the sooner his life could get back on track.

It was like he was in limbo. Without Kayleigh, none of this made any sense to him. It was making him question every aspect of his life.

The moment he realised that she had left him had shattered him. It was almost a physical pain, the cramps in his stomach at the thought of losing her making him double over.

If only she had stayed and given him the chance to explain, not that any of what he could say to her would make sense. He still couldn’t get his head around what had happened. This was a royal nightmare.

How easily his life managed to fall apart in mere minutes.

Kelton would do everything and anything in his power to find her. What he would do when the time came that he set eyes on her, he didn’t know. He knew Kayleigh well enough to know that this was going to break her and that she’d need some time to herself to put the pieces back together. But, that was what he was there for. He was the one who wanted to hold her while she cried. He wanted to be the one to make it all better.

But, that wasn’t something he could do.

Seeing the girls walking around the mansion was a stab in his heart every single time he saw them. It was uncanny how much they looked like him. There was no denying that the woman he hated with a passion had been telling the truth. But, still, he couldn’t bring himself to speak to them yet. It was still too raw, too hard.

How was he supposed to be a ready-made father to teenager twins? He had no experience with that kind of thing, and frankly, he didn’t want it. Of course he knew that it was cold and that he should have been feeling something for these two girls that he had helped to create, but he didn’t want anything to do with them. To him, they represented everything he had lost in Kayleigh.

She was everything he had ever wanted and ever needed. She was more than he realised he’d ever wanted. All his live, he’d been devoted to the warrior-hood, training to be the best and making his way to the top. That night he found her had changed everything for him.

He could still clearly remember seeing her lying at the side of the road, a crumpled heap, already deep into the transition. His hand had automatically gone straight to the dagger that was sheathed to his belt. She was Lamia Mortuorum. She was the enemy. But, he couldn’t do it. There was something about her that called to him, something that told him she wasn’t what she seemed.

And how right he had been. Kayleigh was a fighter. She always fought for everything she wanted in life and he had fought by her side to keep her safe. They’d fought to keep their secret, the only other person that knew had been the Lamia Matris leader at the time, Bartholomew. He had also seen that fight within her and supported their desire to work against the monster within her.

But, now, when the going got tough, Kayleigh didn’t stay and fight for what they had. She’d run. She’d left him, standing there alone, feeling like the bottom had fallen out of his world. Well, he’d be the fighter now. He’d fight until his last breath to get her back and make this right. It wasn’t like he had intentionally gone out to hurt her and he needed to make her see that.

He needed to make her see that they were stronger than this.

He needed her to fight for them. 

Chapter Two

Ash loved this time of year. Everything turned magical. Who could resist the lure of the magic of Christmas? Not her, that’s for sure. Who says that Christmas is all about the kids? Some people didn’t want to grow up and leave all that behind.

She was sat in the middle of her bed, surrounded by wrapping paper and her fingers were stuck together with sticky tape. Ash laughed to herself as she tried to unravel herself from the festive mess, even that couldn’t damper her spirits. It was all part of the fun.

A knock on the door had her calling out, “Come on in if you dare!” and she grinned like a loon when Jackson popped his head around the door.

“What’s going on in here? What are you doing?” he asked, smiling at the state that her bedroom was in. Aisline was usually such a neat freak that he found the mess she was in highly amusing.

“I’m just finishing up wrapping the last of my Christmas presents.”

“Wrapping the presents or wrapping yourself?” he laughed.

Ash blushed at the implication. She couldn’t help it. He hadn’t said it like there was some hidden meaning behind his words, but as their relationship was progressing, the thought flitted through her mind that she wouldn’t mind being unwrapped by him. Or finding him under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning, waiting for her in nothing but a bow.

She blushed even brighter and grinned to herself.

Jackson made no further comment as he shoved a pile of presents that had been wrapped in bright green, red and gold paper. There wasn’t a spare space on the bed, everything piled up high in a disorganised heap. One present in particular caught his eye. “For me?”

Ash made a grab for the package, but was unable to wrestle if from his grasp. For one, he was stronger than her, even when they were just playing. And for two, her hands were still tangled up in the sticky tape.

When Jackson poked at it and shook it roughly, she yelped, “If you open it or break it, you’ll be in for a world of pain, Jackson. I’m warning you.” She glared at him, deadly serious. 

He held up his hands in mock surrender.

“Step away from the present.”

Jackson laughed, “Okay, okay.” He knew what she was like about Christmas, loving the old traditions and he loved to tease her mercilessly. They didn’t have time for that sort of thing at the academy and honestly, he didn’t know why she would want to waste her time on it. Christmas was a time for kids and they were long past that stage in their lives.

Placing the present back into the pile with the others, he turned to Aisline to help her get untangled.

“Thanks.” Ash flexed her fingers and smiled gratefully.

“Do you need a hand with any of this stuff? I can help.”

“No, thanks. I’m all done now.” She glanced over at the stack of gifts and her smile faded slightly. “I’ve got something for Kayleigh.”

They fell silent for a moment. “Do you think she’ll be back?” he asked in a quiet voice. None of them really understood what had happened to make her leave so abruptly. All they knew was what they’d been told and the official party line was that Kayleigh had gone away ‘on business’. None of them believed that. Kelton was a complete mess. It stood to reason that there was something more to the situation, but those that were in the know were keeping their lips tightly sealed.

Ash didn’t know what to think about it all. She knew that if this really was some kind of extended business trip that Kayleigh would have mentioned something to her before she’d left. She wouldn’t have skipped out without saying a word. Kayleigh just wasn’t like that at all. That’s what made this all the more worse. She hadn’t even had time to say goodbye to her.

They’d been through a lot together. They’d had their ups and downs, but that was expected in this extreme environment. Despite their problems, the two of them had forged a close friendship. Kayleigh had been Aisline’s mentor from the moment she had received the Sons of Satrina warrior mark and been dumped at the academy by her family. Kayleigh had been one of the main people that Ash had come to rely on in her time there.

Not only that, but they had the other two new recruits, Rhian and Cala. Kayleigh had done her little disappearing act on the night that they’d arrived, which was definitely not like Kayleigh. She was the kind of woman that would bend over backwards to make someone feel welcome, to make their lives easier. There was no way she would have run out and left the new students to settle in by themselves if it hadn’t been important. Only moments before, she’d been running around like a headless chicken, trying to get everything ready for their arrival, and then the next? She’d gone.

Of all the things that confused Aisline about the whole thing with Kayleigh was that she hadn’t said goodbye. She had just disappeared in the blink of an eye and no one seemed to know why or where she’d gone. Business trip? My ass. Ash wasn’t stupid. She didn’t believe that for one minute. It was one big mystery that she hadn’t yet managed to unravel.

“I don’t know what’s going on or what’s going to happen.”