Gabe's Destiny (Alien Mates Book Three) (2 page)

She bit her lip. She would not be the stupid chick in the movies who got so frightened she ran right into the arms of the killer, although she now had sympathy for that woman.

She looked down the trail. Her heart was beating so fast she wanted to let tears of joy fall when she stumbled back over the path, there wasn’t time for that. She needed to get out of there. Her joy disappeared into despair when a large branch came out of nowhere and knocked her to the ground. She tried to stand and fell again. She could feel it coming closer whatever it was or whoever he was, was almost on her. Flipping over, she started to crawl. There was no way she was just waiting to be killed. Her heart was in her throat as she heard the whisper soft movements through the woods. She crawled faster and thought of trying to get up on her feet once again.

Curling her fingers around the slender trunk of a tree, she pulled herself to her feet. Her body swayed saying this may not have been one of her better ideas, but her desperation to get away was prodding her on. She grabbed a broken tree branch and used it as a walking stick.

She wasn’t going to make it. His breath was almost close enough for her to feel. Propping up against a tree, she would use her branch as a weapon. Just as the trees in front of her began to shake, she heard a sound to her left. Her head snapped toward it. A couple came out the woods making kissy faces at each other.

“Are you okay?” the male asked.

“Yes, just lost. Can you help me?” Her eyes were still glued to the woods in front of her. The trees had stopped shaking and now she could swear she heard those whisper soft steps backing up.

“Sure, we were just on our way back,” the female said. “Oh, you’re hurt, let us help you.”

“Thank you.”

It was slow going but there was comfort in numbers. Before she knew it she was back at the beginning of the trails. She thanked them again and hobbled painfully toward her home.

She limped into her apartment building and stopped at her mailbox only to find an eviction notice. It wasn’t a surprise; she testified for a couple that the supervisor had treated them unfairly. Although she was holding onto hope that a new place would open up before he chumped up a reason to get rid of her.

Sighing she went to repack the few things she had unpacked recently.

Her life wasn’t going well. She’d only been in Newburg for a year. This was the third apartment she had mostly due to the jobs. Honestly, she wondered how she even got here. Her last job before she came was as a hospital administrator. Maybe she needed to see a shrink. Mysterious things started happening, a cat was killed and left on her front porch. There were dead animals in her office at work.

She went to the police who said it was some freak following her, but she knew it was more. Whoever it was kept getting closer. Soon she couldn’t sleep and then she couldn’t think. Finally, she wasn’t in any shape to do her job so she walked away before they fired her.

Everyone agreed that was the best solution. Her parents couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her and the sadness in their normally happy faces was killing her. In the end she decided to take a vacation—it was a way of saying she wasn’t running away when she was.

She picked someplace that was at the end of the world as far as she was concerned, left Nevada, and headed for Pennsylvania. It was over two thousand miles away; whoever was following her would forget about her there.

But it wasn’t over. Someone had followed her or maybe she was back to being crazy. She packed her bag and set it by the door while she packed the second bag. Her comfortable house was gone along with her nice job and the clothes she used to think she couldn’t live without. Life had a way of showing you what was important and the only thing she ever had that meant something was her parents and she ended up leaving them behind. Now she had nothing.

Leaving the key on the kitchen table, she closed the door behind her. There was a cute bed and breakfast in town, she would go there. She avoided it at first because her inner voice assured her life would never be the same if she went there. It no longer mattered though because her life really would never be the same.

She stopped to hail a cab but it kept going because that was the kind of day she was having.

Darkness was settling and her heart was beating fast knowing she had been lucky to make it out the woods alive. She grabbed her bags making sure her purse was secure on her arm and started walking, more like limping. The bed and breakfast was on the other end of the town a couple of miles away.

A blue SUV pulled up next to her and began to match her pace. It crawled slowly down the street and the window that was partially down came all the way down. She wouldn’t turn her head to look not wanting to be bothered.

“Hi,” a female’s voice came out of the SUV.

She wanted to turn but resisted. What did it matter if it was a woman, they could be serial killers too.

“Where are you going?”

Taya stopped and looked into the SUV. There sat a female with black hair and green eyes who looked so ancient her breath caught before she remembered to breathe.

“I’m going to the bed and breakfast across town to see if they have a room.” She answered, unable to deny those eyes anything.

“You’re in luck. My name’s Selma and I own the bed and breakfast along with my husband, Victor. Why don’t I take you? That way you won’t have to walk.”

Taya waited for that voice to tell her to run but it was quiet. It approved of Selma for some unknown reason. She knew it was a mistake, but before she could help it she was placing her bags in the back of the SUV then climbing into the front.

“How long have you been in Newburg?” Selma asked as she pulled away from the curb.

“I’ve been here for about a year.”

“You only have two bags?”

“I guess I’ve been drifting.”

Selma nodded. “Looking for home, that happens sometimes. Not everyone comes directly to me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Most special people pass through my bed and breakfast, some stay like Paige and Aviana who you will meet when you get there. Some are only there for a season till they find what they’re looking for.”

“I’ll be one of those. I just need a place to stay for a few days. I’m glad you have a bed that’s unspoken for.”

“We definitely have room for you. Here we are now.”

Taya looked through the window. The bed and breakfast was in a beautiful old fashioned home. It had a grand porch that would sit multiple families at once with a beautiful stair-case leading up to it. She felt special just looking at it.

“Thank you.” She exited the SUV going around to the back to retrieve her bags.

There were several people sitting on the porch as she slowly followed Selma.

“Everyone, this is Taya; she will be staying with us for a while.”

“Taya, this is my brother-in-law Cal and his soul-bonded, Paige. Over there,” she pointed to the left of the porch, “is Rylan and his soul-bonded, Aviana. The laugher from the front yard is my son, Vick, as well as Rylan and Aviana’s daughter, Mckayla.”

“Nice to meet everyone.”

They waved at her as she followed Selma through the front door.

“You can sign in here.” There was a desk not far from a grand staircase.

She walked over to it and signed the book noting that the last name on the page belonged to Aviana. They must not have had a busy winter. She looked at her signature Taya Clark, which was her real name, not the fake one she had been using. What did it matter, whoever was following her seemed to have found her?

“Follow me.”

Taya grabbed her bags and followed Selma up the steps to the next floor.

“I have the perfect room for you.” She led her to the last door on the right.

The room was beautiful and peaceful. She hadn’t seen anything this nice since she left her house behind. Her parents were handling the sale of it for her. Her heart ached as she thought of them. She hadn’t talked to them in a year, scared that a simple phone call from her might put them in jeopardy.

“Thank you, Selma, this is a truly lovely room.”

“I thought you might like it. You missed dinner but I’ll cook up something for you. Come down after you get settled.”

“You don’t have to do that, I’m fine.’

“Then why do you look hungry?”

Did hungry have a look? Her doctor would say she looked like she should be losing weight. She was hungry even though she was trying to deny it.

“I could eat something.”

“Good, I love to cook. See you downstairs.”

Taya noticed her bags were still clutched in her hands. She released them and walked around the room. It was a suite and she was standing in the middle of the living room. It was done up in shades of blue. Soft and calming. She opened the door on her right to find a closet perfect for boots, coats and knick-knacks. The door on her left led to a large bedroom. The bed must have been a king and still there was plenty of room to walk around.

The bedroom was also done in shades of blue with silver accents. There was a large closet. Her clothes would look pitiful with all the unused space. The next door led to a large bathroom. She was already in love with the huge tube with a separate shower. It felt like she had gone to a fancy hotel. There was a new one that would be opening soon in Newburg but she doubted it had anything on the bed and breakfast.

She unpacked hoping she would actually be able to stay here for a few days. After stowing away her luggage, she made her way to the front door. No better time than now to see if the food was done.

The pictures in the hallway were fantastic. They looked like someone had lovingly painted them. Oils maybe. Whoever did it should have been famous for the detail they put into them.

The staircase was so grand she could picture an epic kiss here. The man running up the steps as the startled woman looks down to see him, a smile lighting her face as she runs down to his arms. He tilts her backward, they kiss. The credits roll on the love of a life time.

A laugh escaped her lips as she pulled herself back together. Love like that wasn’t real. Counseling herself to stop dreaming, she descended the staircase and walked through the living room until she found the dining room. A large wooden table sat in the middle of the room. There were more chairs around it than she wanted to count. This was a quaint bed and breakfast that seemed to still cater to the idea of family.

“Selma?”

“I’m in the kitchen, come on in.”

She walked into the kitchen to see it was sleek and modern.

“This place is a dream; you must love it here.”

“It’s my home, I do love it.”

“Can I help you?”

“Nope I’m almost done, have a seat.”

There was a huge island in the center of the kitchen. Taya sat on one of the stools surrounding it and watched as Selma put the finishing touches on the meal.

“I hope baked pork chops, mashed potatoes, and green beans are okay. I can whip up a salad if you would like.”

“You have already done too much. I can’t say thank you enough. Please no salad.”

If she saw another piece of lettuce she might become one. Her days of salads were over. She liked herself even if the doctor didn’t. Her blood tests, as well as all her other tests, had come back saying that she was in good health. Yes, dropping a few pounds might have been nice but not at the risk of the good health she was already in. She looked down and smiled; she was totally hot even if her doctor didn’t realize it.

“I hope you don’t mind, Gabe is going to eat with you. He missed dinner tonight.”

“That’s fine with me.”

“All right, I will leave you to your meal. I am going to find my soul-bonded and my son.”

“Wait, what is a soul-bonded?”

“Ask Gabe, I’m sure he’ll want to explain it.” Selma was out the room before Taya could say anything else.

The food was on the table before her so she helped herself making sure she left enough for Gabe, whoever he was, to have some.

She looked up when the kitchen door opened; the male from the porch came in. What was his name? Rylan that was it.

“Hi Rylan, I was just eating…”

He looked at her, locking eyes, causing her hands to shake. Carefully she put down the spoon she was using.
Get yourself together. He’s soul-bonded whatever that means.
He had no effect on her when she was on the porch but now he seemed different, almost as if his entire being was calling to her.

“Sorry for staring,” she mumbled.

“That’s all right. Who are you?”

“I’m Taya. I met you on the porch when I came in. Selma introduced us.” She was going crazy, there was no way this was the same man she met earlier even though he looked just like him.

“You met my twin, I’m Gabe.”

Thank God she wasn’t lusting after someone else’s man.

“Hi Gabe, sorry for the confusion. You both look alike but you don’t feel alike, I guess that’s…” She let her words die off knowing she was about to start rambling.

“Sorry,” she mumbled feeling like a fool.

“That’s all right. Most people besides our family and intimate friends get us confused. The fact that you didn’t is nice.”

She looked up and gave him a shy look. He was handsome, where his brother didn’t disturb her, he did. His hair was brown with a rakish look that came a little below his shoulders. He had beautiful blue eyes that reminded her of the sky. She bet they got a deeper blue when he was drowsy or good Lord when he was aroused. A tingle between her legs made her want to suck in a breath. He was wide and defined like he was a linebacker. She had no idea how he did it, but his looks were drawing her in like bears to honey.

He was dressed in a pair of nice brown carpenter pants that showed off his behind making her want to swallow her tongue. The pullover shirt was just tight enough to emphasize a chest thick with muscle. There was definitely no way she was getting him confused with his brother.

“Selma said you haven’t eaten yet. I made sure to save some for you.”

“She cooked like the whole house hadn’t eaten yet.”