Viola's Risk (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 2)
Read Viola's Risk (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 2) Online
Authors: Cheryl Davis
Viola’s Risk
Written by, Cheryl
Davis
ISBN Number:
978-1-312-05824-8
Edited by: Christina
Escue @ C.E. Editing, email:
[email protected]
Cover Art by: Cora
Graphics, email:
[email protected]
or website:
www.coragraphics.it
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of
both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This is a work
of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author
acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products
referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission.
The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or
sponsored by the trademark owners.
To the most fantastic mother in the world, the woman who
showed me that there were no limits to your imagination if you picked up a book
and read it, I love you and thank you so much for the gift of loving to read.
Really, my journey as an author began there. You are my inspiration, Mom, and I
thank you for everything!
A huge thank you goes out to my wonderful editor and best
friend Christina with C.E. Editing for tolerating me through the writing
process, understanding what I’m trying to convey in the story and being willing
to tell me, without hesitation that what I wrote is crap and needs to be
rewritten! None of my books would be anywhere without you!
I have to say that I have some of the most fabulous beta
readers in the world! Donna Bossert, Michelle Williams, Christina Escue, Raygan
Taylor, Caryn Santee, Holly Collins, Tarnya Rutherford, and Jessa Markert, I
thank you all from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read this book
and give me your honest opinions and critiques! You all help to keep me on
track and make me a better writer!
Thank you to Cora Graphics for making yet another amazing
cover for this book! Your work is gorgeous and your talent is greatly
appreciated! I look forward to each time that we get to work together!
To Chrissy Peebles, Erica Stevens and Wanita May, you all
are amazing! Thank you for all of the time that you take to answer questions
when I have them! I have no words to describe how much that means to me in this
journey.
Tarnya Rutherford, thank you so much for all of your hard
work with my fantastic street team and your beautiful swag. You are one of the
kindest, sweetest people I’ve ever met and I appreciate everything that you do!
To the best street team in the world, Dayron Colon,
Catherine Liddemore, Linda Shafer, Raygan Taylor, Stracey Charran, Echo
Navarro-Dysart, Michelle Williams, Caryn Santee, Holly Collins, Janet
Juengling-Snell, Jessa Markert, Peggy Frese, Donna Bossert, Jon Davies, Joy
Whiteside and Kendall McCubbin, I thank you for all of your hard work sharing
and getting my work out there to the world! You have no idea how much that
helps!
Last, but certainly not least, my wonderful husband and
children, I love you and wouldn’t have made it this far without your love and
support through this entire process! Thank you so much for sticking with me. I
know it can be a bumpy ride sometimes but I hope that it’s all worth it! You
all are my heart and soul and I do this for you!
To one of the best women that I’ve ever known in my entire
life, Grandma Jean Clark, you will be missed each and every day. I dedicate
this book to you because you accepted me into your family with a warm smile,
open arms and loving heart without question. I know that you shared a love and
passion for reading and tried to pass that on to all of your children,
grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren as much as you
possibly could. This one’s for you! Heaven’s a brighter place with your spirit
shining bright up there! We all love and miss you.
Destiny Begins: The
Twin Destinies Saga Prequel Novella
Cora’s Kismet: The
Twin Destinies Saga Book One
Viola’s Risk: The
Twin Destinies Saga Book Two
Viola had never felt more alone than she did right now,
lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and
thinking
about everything that had happened the night before. Cora hadn’t even taken her
stuff with her when she’d suddenly been mated after their unbinding ceremony
had ended, and left her to be with Liam.
Her mind whirled with everything that had taken place in the
last few days. The new power coursing through her veins was making her uneasy.
It was foreign and she didn’t feel as if she could control it the way Cora had
done a few times already, even though they’d had their powers bound until last
night.
Rolling over onto her side, she stared toward the window,
wishing she wasn’t so alone. Her mind kept wandering back to when Anna had
kidnapped her and held her hostage. The most awful part of it had been the
awful recording that kept playing over and over and
over again, trying to convince her that fulfilling her destiny was wrong.
Closing her eyes, a handsome face hung behind her eyelids.
With her mind, she traced his strong features, feeling like a traitor to her
sister, Liam, Sage and her newfound parents. He was on Anna’s side, yet she
felt pulled to him the same way Cora described feeling pulled to her mate Liam.
“No way,” Viola exclaimed into the empty room. “There’s no
way I’m meant to be with someone who’s loyal to the other side.”
Sitting up, she tried to pull herself together and put the
handsome guy out of her mind,
with little
success. She wiped her face with her hands and left the bed, heading for the
shower. One bright side to having the room to herself now was no fighting for
shower time with her twin. That was Liam’s battle now.
Viola dragged the hot shower out as long as she could, hoping
it would help her feel sleepy. As the hot water started to fade, she turned it
off, frustrated that her mind was not slowing down in the slightest. She still
kept seeing the face of the man from Anna’s place.
Putting on her pajamas, she crawled into bed and tried
everything she could think of to block him from her mind, but it would not
cooperate with her at all.
Giving up, she let the memories of him run their course.
She remembered how she’d felt the electricity flow
between them when he’d put his hand over her mouth and taken her from the room
she and Cora had been sharing in the first house their parents had taken them.
He’d been so gentle with her as he carried her the back ways through the house,
as if he knew the exact layout and had been there many times before.
As much as she’d wanted to scream for help, she’d been
caught up in his smoky gray eyes. The world had seemed to fade around them
both. She knew he felt it too. There was a deep connection binding them
together, even though they’d never seen each other before now.
Her brain would not form the thoughts and commands for
her to call out for help as he quickly navigated through the house and out
through a secret entrance. He loaded her into the waiting vehicle with no
resistance, because she’d been so captivated
by
him and their undeniable connection. She knew in the back of her mind that she
should be fighting him, but couldn’t seem to make herself do so.
She wasn’t even feeling the fear she knew should be
running through her. All she could process was him, his strong muscles wrapped
around her body, holding her tight and how much she’d love to taste his
perfect, kissable lips.
As he slid into the vehicle next to her, she had a brief
moment of fear, which
faded as soon as
his eyes returned to hers. He reached across her body to pull the seat belt and
latched it securely in place to keep her safe, before buckling his own belt.
She heard the driver ask him a question and saw his lips respond, but didn’t
comprehend anything that was being said.
Shaking her head, she pulled herself out of the memory of
him
that was flooding her senses. She needed to
find a way to move on from him. There was no possible way her parents would
approve of her mating someone who was loyal to Anna and Patrick, and their
cause. She couldn’t even believe, after everything that had gone down, she was
still thinking of him.
With a deliberate focus, she turned her thoughts away from
him and tried to focus on the events of the past evening during their unbinding
ceremony. Things started off well enough until that old hag showed up and
crashed the party.
She’d seen the exchange between Cora and their father, but
couldn’t hear anything that had been said. Wishing she could have, she rolled
over onto her side and wondered why the woman had tried so hard to steal their
powers.
The woman was old, but extremely strong-willed and
determined to succeed in her mission. It took both Sage and Liam to fight her,
and had killed Liam for a few minutes, before Cora
had performed her little miracle. Everything was such a mess.
Avoiding the crushing loneliness that came with thinking of
Cora and Liam’s impromptu mating ceremony, she switched her thoughts back to a
few days ago when her major summer plans had included getting paid to sleep.
Things had changed so much from that day until now.
There was a soft knock on the door before it cracked slowly
open and her newfound mother poked her head inside.
“How are you doing my dear?” she asked with concern filling
her voice.
“I’ll be okay,” Viola said, not wanting to confide in
someone that she didn’t know all that well.
It was more than obvious that Angelica didn’t believe her
daughter because she came further into the room and closed the door with a soft
click behind her. Before Viola could object, Angelica was sitting on the edge
of the bed and smoothing Viola’s hair back from her face with a mother’s touch.
All she could do in response was close her eyes as the touch
she’d longed for her entire life stroked and soothed her in a way not even Cora
had soothed her.
“Baby girl, I know you are wary of us and I can’t say that I
blame you. Both of you have lived hard lives no matter how much Thomas and I
tried to make sure you had everything either of you could have ever wanted.
Please don’t shut me out right now. I know you are lonely and pained. I would
like to help in any way I can,” Angelica said in a gentle, imploring tone.
At first, Viola said nothing. She considered her mother’s
words, wishing she had Cora here to be a buffer between them. Cora was better
at all of this than she was.
“What can I do to earn your trust?” Angelica asked. Viola
felt the emotion behind her mother’s words.
“I don’t know,” Viola answered. She wished she had a
definite answer for her mother but she didn’t.
“The day Thomas and I decided it would be safer for you and
Cora to grow up away from us, I held you both close to my body and cried my
heart out. I couldn’t believe that after the miracle of us having you both,
when we shouldn’t have even been able to conceive at all, I had to let you go
before you were even able to defend yourselves. My heart did not become whole
again until you both came home. I promise you, I will do whatever it takes to
earn your trust,” Angelica spoke in a gentle tone and Viola could hear the pain
in her voice.
“I wish it was that easy. I can’t tell you what you want to
know because I have no idea. All I know is that things are so confusing right
now. I wish Cora was here with me right now,” Viola said, pain and loneliness
creeping up into her voice.
“I know you do sweetie. Everything has changed for you so
fast your head must be spinning. I’m not Cora, but I’d be glad to help you try
to sort through everything,” Angelica said with hope in her voice. Viola felt
bad because Angelica was trying so hard to be there for her, but she just
couldn’t bring herself to open up to the woman just yet. She knew she couldn’t
mention the guy rolling around in her thoughts to her mother.
“I’m used to always having Cora here. None of this feels
right,” Viola whispered. It was the most she was willing to divulge at that
moment.
“I can relate to that. Before I knew what Anna was, she
and I were very close. She was the barrier between our
mother
and I. We told each other everything. I
never knew she had in her what you and Cora told us of your experience living
with her. She’d always been very loving and caring with me. She was my guide
and I looked up to her,” Angelica said with sorrow in her voice. “If only I had
known then what I know now. It would have saved you both a lot of heartache and
pain.”
“Anna is very good at making people believe what they want
to about her,” Viola said, anger lacing her words. “No one ever suspected what
she was like before it was too late.”
“We used to lie in bed for hours after dark talking,” Angelica
whispered. Viola could hear the pain in her mother’s voice. Anna had meant the
world to Angelica, in a way only a sister could, and now that the truth about
her was out, Angelica was mourning the loss of her closest confidant and
friend, her sister. It was something Viola could identify with her mother
about.
“That’s how Cora and I are…were,” Viola said with loss
filling her heart.
“The two of you will still be close in the way only sisters
can be Viola, don’t ever doubt that. Cora did not leave you and never would.
The two of you have just reached the next stage of your lives. Cora is not Anna
and will never betray you. She was frantic when you were abducted,” Angelica
told her with complete confidence.
“I don’t want to be a third-wheel,” Viola whispered. Part of
her fear being revealed, even though she’d have rather kept it locked tight
inside of herself.
“You won’t be. Cora would never allow that. She adores you.
I’m sure you know that,” Angelica said, doing her best to reassure her
daughter.
“I want to believe that,” Viola responded.
“You should believe it.
Keeping
Cora in that car while the rest of us came in to rescue you was very difficult.
Sage
was worried that he was going to have to
physically restrain her, and risk a fight with Liam in the process, to keep her
from going in there and risking her life for you,” Angelica confided.
“Really?” Viola asked, her voice perking up with hope.
“Yes. Without a doubt, even though it would have hurt Liam,
she would have entered that building, putting her life at risk to save yours.
Have no doubts about losing your sister Viola, because you have nothing to
worry about,” Angelica said and smiled.
“Thank you,” Viola replied.
“You’re very welcome my dear. Is there anything else
bothering you that I can help you work through?” Angelica asked.
“I do have a question…” Viola started but let her voice
trail off.
“What is it?” Angelica asked with extreme patience.
“Who was that horrible woman who showed up tonight?” Viola
asked and shuddered.
Angelica reached out and rubbed Viola’s back in a gentle
circle. She stayed quiet for a few moments before meeting her daughter’s eyes
with shame in her own.
“That was my mother, Camilla. She’s named after the ancestor
who started all of this horrible conflict in our race. I knew that she was mean
but never knew that she could be this horrible,” Angelica said with tears
building in her eyes.
“Well, I guess we know where Anna learned her cruelty from,”
Viola said trying her best to ignore her mother’s pain. “I’m glad you’re not
like them though.”
Angelica looked up and met Viola’s eyes and beamed at her words.
Her heart swelled as hope for the relationship between herself and her daughter
grew. Without saying anything else, Viola moved so her head was lying in
Angelica’s lap, letting her mother’s calming touch continue to rub circles on
her back and soothe the aching loneliness inside of her. In no time, she was
sound asleep.