Destiny Revealed (19 page)

“I’m in Pinetop. Woodcrest Apartments. Number two
twelve. How soon can you get here?”
“I’ll have to wait until he’s out running tomorrow night.
I have to go now, I can feel him waking up.” Ky grabbed
my face and kissed me even more fiercely than before. I
pulled away and promised, “Tomorrow night” before
waking from the dream.
“Damn it, Sofia, wake up,” Nick was shouting.
I opened my eyes and immediately ran to the bathroom
where I threw up in the toilet until my stomach was
completely empty.
Nick followed me in there and held my hair off my face
and rubbed my back. I leaned back against the wall and he
handed me a towel to wipe my mouth. I stood up and
brushed my teeth while Nick sat on the edge of the tub
silently. I saw his face in the mirror and knew I was about
to be yelled at—again.
“Are you going to tell me what the hell that was all
about?” I had only seen him look this angry when he was
facing Ky.
I walked back into the room and sat down on the end of
the bed. “Please don’t yell. I can explain,” I started.
“That better not have been what I think it was,” he
fumed.
“Um… well, what do you think it was?” I asked
without looking at him. I couldn’t look him in the eye after
I had just been kissing Ky.
“You told Ky you were leaving me,” he said flatly.
“Please tell me it was a lie.” It came out in barely a
whisper.
I looked up at his beautiful face and saw his anger turn
to grief. “Oh my gosh, Nick, how could you ever think
that?” I pulled him to me and held on as tightly as I could.
His arms went around me and squeezed back.
“Then tell me what that was.”
I didn’t want to look at him when I said it so I kept
holding on to him, my face in his chest. “I visited Ky. Like
he did with me. I got him to tell me where he is.”
“By telling him you were leaving me? He actually
believed you after everything you’ve said to him?” I kept
quiet. I didn’t want to confess anything further. He pulled
me away from him and made me look at him. “Sofia,
answer the question.”
I couldn’t help the tears that escaped when I answered.
“I had to convince him.”
“And how exactly did you do that?” I could see the
anger returning. His chest started to rumble and I
remembered that it was still the full moon. I was suddenly
afraid of him. Not that he would hurt me, but that he was
going to blow up and start destroying the apartment.
“Promise me you won’t go ballistic,” I pleaded as I
lightly touched his arm. His face softened slightly, so I
hurried to tell him before the anger came back. “I let him
kiss me.” I couldn’t even finish because he was off the bed,
growling. He grabbed the first thing he saw, a half empty
water glass on the dresser, and threw it at the wall. I
cringed and he looked down at me.
“Continue,” he growled.
“I had to, Nick. It was the only way to convince him.
He grabbed me as soon as I showed up. I told him I missed
him and was ready to leave you.”
“I heard all of that. How many times?”
“How many times what?” I played dumb.
“How many times, Sofia?” he practically shouted.
“Two!” I yelled. “It was two times. Nothing more. He
told me their complex in Pinetop and his apartment number.
He thinks I’m coming tomorrow night,” I rushed to finish.
His phone was on the dresser next to him and he threw it
against the wall, shattering it. “Nico Bartolini,” I yelled. “
I
bind you from doing harm to others or yourself
.”
I stood up and grabbed his arm hard. He practically
collapsed on the bed. His shoulders started to shake and I
realized he was crying. I sat down next to him and wrapped
my arms around him and held him for a few silent minutes.
When he finally looked up at me he looked defeated. I
had to reassure him. I had to let him know that there could
never be anyone but him, so I kissed him hard and pushed
him down on the bed. He had my shift off within seconds
and I showed him just how much I loved him.

Afterward, I lay there with my head on his bare chest.
“Is that why you threw up?” he asked.
“Oh, Nick, it was so awful. I can’t believe I managed to
hold it in as long as I did.” He ran his fingers through my
hair and sighed deeply. I looked up at him and whispered,
“I’m so so sorry, Nick. I had to do it. You didn’t see Gia’s
face tonight. She told me it was time. She’s going to take
you from me.” I started to cry.
“Shh, no more tears, Bella Mia.” He wiped my tears
away with his thumbs. “She will
never
have me. There is
no spell on this earth strong enough to take me away from
you.”
“Nick, you don’t understand blood magic. And she had
your fur!” I was starting to get hysterical.
“Sofia, look at me,” he held my face gently. “I
know.
There is nothing she can do. I don’t need to be a witch or
know anything about magic to know that there is no way
whatsoever to break this bond we have. We were pulled
together for a purpose. And not just to bring our people
together again, but because of love. There is no force on
this earth more powerful than our love.”
In that moment, I absolutely believed him. He was so
calm, so serious. I knew he was right. It didn’t matter what
Gia did. It wasn’t going to work. I nodded and he kissed me
gently. “Now, you must be exhausted. Between the scrying
spell and the
other
thing, not to mention you spelled me.”
He chuckled at the memory.
“Sorry about that. I know I told you I would never use
magic on you like that, but you were out of control. I was
afraid you would do something really bad. I mean, look at
your poor phone. It never did anything to you.”
He looked over in the corner at his phone lying there
with its cracked screen. “Wow, I really did a number on it,
didn’t I?”
“And you are absolutely going to clean up that broken
glass.”
“Yeah, my bad. I would blame it on the full moon, but I
probably would’ve done it anyway,” he smiled. I relaxed
back into him, and as he played with my hair, I let the
sound of his heart lull me to sleep for the second time that
night.

Way too early the next morning, my phone rang. I felt
Nick lean over me and answer it. “Hey, Nat,” he said.
“Yeah, she’s doing much better. Rough night, but she
knows where they are now.” He paused while Nat spoke.
“Not important and I don’t want to get into it. The good
thing is that she knows the exact apartment. He’s expecting
her tonight. What did your maman say?” I could hear her
voice on the other end, but not exactly what she was
saying. “Okay, sounds good. I’m going to let her sleep as
long as she wants. Last night was hell for her. Talk to you
later.” He ended the call and put the phone on the
nightstand next to his side of the bed.

“What’d she say?” I mumbled without opening my
eyes.
“Sorry, Bella. I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to
sleep.”
“K. But tell me first.”
“Well, your parents, hers, and Jack’s are all getting
together to find a way to stop Gia. They are contacting
Rosetta to get her involved as well. They hope to bind her
magic, at least temporarily until they can get her on a plane
back to Europe. They don’t think dirtbag will be able to do
anything on his own, so they are trying to decide if he
needs to be punished at all.”
“Mmm ‘kay,” I mumbled into my pillow. “What about
his parents? They aren’t going to help?”
“They don’t want to get involved. They aren’t
supporting him, but he’s their son.”
I sat up on my elbows, “They don’t think trying to kill
you was bad enough to deserve some sort of punishment? I
mean, I know they aren’t exactly thrilled that I’m with you
instead of him, but still.”
“Don’t worry about it right now. You really need to get
some sleep. It’s still so early. Close your eyes and rest.”
I lay back down, but mumbled, “Don’t leave me, k?
Stay right here next to me.”
“Always,” he whispered as he snuggled in next to me.
It was almost noon before I finally woke up and Nick
wasn’t in the bed anymore. I called out for him, worried he
might have left. “I’m here, Bella Mia,” he said, rushing in
to the room and sitting down on the bed beside me. “I had
to call Babbo to tell him I wasn’t coming in today and
didn’t want to wake you. I promise I haven’t left the
apartment.”
“Have you talked to anyone else?” I asked as I got up to
get in the shower. He followed me in the bathroom and sat
on the counter to talk to me as I showered.
“Your mamma called to check on you. She’s really
worried about you and your state of mind. You need to call
her.”
“Did she say anything more about them getting
together?” I asked.
“They can’t all get together until tonight. And they want
the location.”
I finished and Nick handed me a towel. “I’ll call
Mamma now and give it to her. I want them to do a
protection spell on you again.”
“I thought you agreed that she couldn’t do anything to
me?” he asked as he sat on the bed.
“I know, but still. For my peace of mind, just do this for
me,” I said as I got dressed. He nodded. “Where’s my
phone?” He reached in his back pocket and handed it to me.
“I should probably get a new one at some point. Do you
think you can leave the apartment today, or do you want to
stay in?”
“I’ll be fine. I need to put my big girl panties on and
stop being so pathetic. We can go get you a phone after I
call Mamma and eat something,” I smiled.
“You are
not
acting pathetic. We’ve had to deal with a
lot of crap the last couple months. It’s getting to me too.
You are one of the strongest people I know, but sometimes
there’s only so much a person can handle before they
break,” he assured me. There was a knock at the front door
and Nick got up to answer while I dialed Mamma’s
number.
She picked up on the first ring, “Oh, Piccola, are you
okay? Nathalie told me everything.”
“I’m okay now, Mamma. Nick is confident that her
magic won’t be able to break through our bond. But will
you do a protection spell on him tonight? Just to be safe?”
“Of course. We have talked to Rosetta and she will be
there too. She doesn’t understand what has happened to
Gia. Babbo will be home by eight, so we are meeting at our
house and going to the altar in the woods.”
“Okay, Nick and I will be there. Should I have my
whole circle there too?”
“No, ours will be strong enough. We will bind her
magic and keep her from leaving until Rosetta can drive to
Pinetop in the morning and pick her up. She is taking her
back to Italy herself,” she assured me.
“What then? I mean, do you really think she’ll just give
up? Stay in Italy, leave Nick alone? She really thinks that
she can have his baby,” I sighed.
“You do not worry about this right now, Piccola. We
will take care of it.”
“And what about Ky? You guys never did anything
about him after he tried to kill Nick. Doesn’t he deserve
some sort of punishment?” I asked.
“We did nothing before because Enzo would not allow
it. He told us that Kajetan would never mean to kill Nico,
and Angelo and Carlo were only there to support him.”
“That is such a bunch of crap!” I yelled. Nick walked in
from the living room to check on me. “I’m fine,” I told
him. “They were
all
there to hurt us. Mamma, they were
throwing spells at me!”
“I know, Sofia. We will do something this time. Enzo
will not have a say over all of us. I am leader here in
America, so I will take care of it. You are my baby and you
will be happy. Now, go be with Nico and we will see you
tonight,” she finished.
“Grazie, Mamma. Ti amo.” I hung up the phone and
Nick pulled me off the bed.
“Nat and Jack are here,” he told me. “What did Mamma
have to say?”
“They’re meeting at eight tonight and then we’ll go to
the altar in the woods. They will do a protection spell over
you,” I answered.
“What are they going to do to her?” Nat asked as we
walked in the living room.
“Bind her magic and keep her from leaving. Rosetta is
going to go get her in the morning and take her back to
Italy.”
“How long will that stop her though?” Nat asked.
“She’s a psycho who wants Nick’s baby. Do they really
think she’s going to give up that easily?”
Nick cringed at the baby comment. “That’s what I
asked, but Mamma told me not to worry about it.”
“Well, I guess they know what they’re doing,” Nat
shrugged.
“What are you guys doing here anyway?” I asked.
“Just came to see how you’re feeling,” Nat answered.
“Meh. I’ll be better when this is all over,” I sighed as I
sunk into the couch next to Nat.
“Hey, we were just about to go get me a new phone,”
Nick said. “Do you guys want to come with and we can get
some lunch?”
“What happened to your phone?” Jack asked.
“Um…” Nick hesitated.
“He threw it against the wall in a major werewolf rage
last night,” I gave Nick a disapproving look and Nat
laughed.
“I had a good reason,” he defended.
“What happened?” Nat asked. “And are you gonna tell
me how you know where Ky is?”
Nick’s chest rumbled and I said, “It’s not important.
Let’s just get out of here for awhile.” She got the hint and
dropped it. I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet so we went to eat
first.
“So how did you get the day off work?” Nick asked
Jack.
“The carpet guys were at the house we’re working on
today so I didn’t need to be there,” he answered.
“Is anyone helping Mamma at the store today, Nat? I
feel bad.”
“Luca went in. He wasn’t working at Monte’s today, so
he volunteered to help out,” she said. “If you can believe
that.”
Nat and Jack left us after lunch and we went to get Nick
a new phone. Fortunately, he had insurance on his phone so
he didn’t have to pay for a new one. He told the guy at the
store that he had accidentally run over it when it fell out of
his pocket. It pretty much looked like it had been. He didn’t
know his own strength sometimes. The guy told him to be
more careful, and after getting everything reset, we left
with his new phone.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at home. I found a
small dent in the wall where the phone hit it and made Nick
promise to fix it the next day. “You have to remember
you’re stronger than a normal person, Nick. You think stuff
happens when
I
get mad?”
He laughed, “That’s why I need you here to ground
me.” He leaned down and kissed the top of my head as I lay
in his lap on the couch. I had some mindless, reality TV
show on, but I had no idea what was going on. I was trying
to plan my escape tonight.
There was no way I was letting Gia get away that
easily. I was going to take her down. While my parents’
circle took care of protecting Nick, I planned to sneak
away. They would never stop in the middle, and if I
planned just right, I would be able to get out of there and on
the road fast enough before they could stop me.
She didn’t deserve to just get shipped back to Italy. I
had seen the look in her eyes more than once now when she
told me she would have Nick. She was convinced she could
bear his child, and there was no way in hell I was going to
let that happen.
I was hoping the circle would bind Gia before helping
Nick out. That way, I could get to her when she was
powerless. Either way, I was going and I was going to fight
her. I wasn’t the slightest bit worried about Ky. I knew he
loved me too much to try and interfere. He wouldn’t try to
hurt me again.
We left around 7:30 pm and made it to the house a few
minutes before everyone else. Mamma was already in “the
magic room” gathering candles and anything else they
would need for the spells. The spell I used on Marco to
bind his magic was a simple one and only lasted for a short
while. They would have to use something much stronger to
fight against Gia’s dark magic. That was the bad thing
about dark magic, it was more powerful than white magic.
“Mamma,” I called out.
“In here, Piccola,” she yelled. I found her and asked if
she needed any help, but she had everything ready to go in
a small basket. “Where is my Nico?” she asked as we
walked back out to the front of the house.
“Here, Mamma,” Nick smiled and walked over to give
her cheek kisses.
“How is my Piccola doing? Is she really okay? She will
never tell me if she isn’t,” she asked Nick like I wasn’t
standing right there.
He wrapped his arm around my waist and answered,
“She’s doing okay. I’m sure she’ll be even better tomorrow
after this is over.” She nodded in agreement.
Babbo came in through the garage door then and
grabbed me in a big hug. The doorbell rang and the rest of
the parents filed in. Babbo went to his room to change in to
his ceremonial clothes while everyone else headed out
through the back door.
“I need to use the bathroom really quick. I’ll be right
behind you,” I told Nick.
“I’ll just wait for you,” he said.
Crap,
I thought.
Now what
? “Um… k. I’ll just be a
minute.” I stopped in the magic room to grab what I needed
for a quick spell. I thought of it last minute so I wasn’t
really prepared. I really should have done it at home where
I could take my time, but there was no time left.
I went into the bathroom and plugged the sink. I turned
on the faucet and let it run long enough to fill the sink with
a few inches of water. I put a white candle in the water and
three black candles around the sink in the shape of an
inverted triangle. I blew on each one to light it and closed
my eyes to concentrate on Gia’s face. I whispered the
words,
Hear my power call out to thee,
O’ Mighty Goddess Queen Hecate,
Move against Gia and she to me,
Thus she blaspheme ever my name stub her tongue
upon thou teeth,