Redemption of Fate (Fate Series Book 2) (7 page)

Silently, one of the twelve took Cami’s hand and led her to stand in the center of a circle of four witches; the number typically required to perform the spell. Only the most powerful among them could cast it with fewer; or alone, like Barb.

“Reveal your mark,” one of them instructed in a whisper.
 

Cami unzipped her jacket and slid it off, tossing it to the floor outside the circle. She reached around her back and slid her hands under her black tank top, undoing the clasp of her bra and pulling it through the opening of each sleeve before adding it to pile on the floor. Pulling the strap of her shirt down off her shoulder, she slid her arm through and pushed the fabric down to reveal her faded tattoo, while still keeping her front modestly covered. She didn’t know how long it would be before the others arrived, or who would be allowed into the room, but the last thing she needed was for Jared to walk in and see her half- naked.
 

The four witches surrounding her joined hands and began to chant with their eyes closed, as they slowly circled her. After repeating the incantation several times over, one of the women broke from the group and retrieved a quill made from the feather of an eagle along, with a silver inkwell filled with ink comprised of the same dragon’s blood as the incense which filled the air. The remaining women continued to chant, rejoining their hands as they began to move again. The fourth witch joined Cami in the center of the circle and wordlessly pulled her down to kneel on the floor.
 

Setting the inkwell on the floor beside them, she placed her hands over the mark on Cami’s shoulder as her voice blended with the chanting of her sister witches. Cami could feel the heat of the energy pulsing through the woman’s hands as her fingers slowly traced each line of the tattoo. Though she couldn’t see it, Cami knew there was a glow emanating from the witch’s hands which would soon be transferred to her shoulder. Cami closed her eyes as the witch dipped the quill into the ink and placed the point against her skin. Ever so slowly, she traced each line, the burn of the ink quickly following the pressure of the quill as the magical liquid was etched into her flesh.

Cami felt a tear slide from her eye and quickly wiped it away. It wasn’t from the burn; she had never cried a day in her life due to physical pain. It was the ceremony, the mark on her shoulder, the memories of Barb which filled her mind and broke loose a small piece of the grief she had been fighting to keep at bay since her mother had shared her tragic vision only hours before.

Desperate to escape the pain, Cami did something she’d been fighting so hard to avoid. She thought of Jared and, like she somehow knew it would, thinking of him dulled her pain.

After what seemed like only a few short minutes to Cami, the witch beside her began the final stroke of the tattoo as the other witches ceased their circling and knelt down beside her. With the marking complete, each woman placed a hand over Cami’s shoulder, one on top of the other as they said the final words to the spell. With the end of the chant, a brilliant glow flowed again, its light filling Cami’s tattoo before each witch stood and removed some laurel leaves from a nearby bowl.
 

One at a time, they pressed the fragrant leaves over the intricate mark as the light faded, sealing the ink and the magic which would remain intact, as long as at least one of them lived.

“The spell is complete, darling,” one of them whispered; snapping Cami out of the daze she had slipped into thinking about Jared. “It’s best if you go get some rest now; the magic will draw on your body for a little while as the marking heals.”

“Yes, of course; thank you. Thank you all,” Cami said; gathering her belongings and making her way towards the door.
 

She’d been so lost in her thoughts of Jared, that she hadn’t noticed how much time had passed or that her parents had arrived. Glancing back, she saw each of them standing among one of the two other groups of witches. Her mother’s tattoo, also located on her left shoulder, was almost entirely covered by bay laurel leaves, while the mark on her father’s arm was still being retraced.

Suddenly feeling completely exhausted, Cami stepped through the doorway. She searched the room, wondering where Chloe was since she’d expected her niece to pounce on her for the little excursion she’d promised. The spell did take a rather long time to perform, so it was likely that the Ryans had taken her to get settled in for the night. With Chloe still growing, the witches would have to wait perform the permanent blocking spell for her until she reached maturity.
 

Grateful for the reprieve, Cami decided to heed the witch’s advice and get some rest. Oddly enough, she was actually excited, almost giddy, with the prospect of lying down quietly in her bed; though not to sleep, but to continue the little fantasy she’d started in her head featuring a certain young and maddeningly charming vampire. She had no intention of changing her stance on whatever it was between them when they were back in the light of day; but for the moment, even if he couldn’t ever know about it, he gave her something she needed.
 

While she was aching to fall into bed after an exhausting day full of tragedy, fighting, and Jared, her stomach let out an audible growl as her gums began to throb, her body’s way of telling her she was overdue for a feeding. Entering the elevator, she leaned against the cool metal wall as she descended, careful to keep her shoulder from touching, though the cold surface would have been soothing to her still- burning skin. She peered at her reflection as the elevator moved, her eyes landing on her lips as an image of Jared’s mouth, twisted up in that crooked grin of his, flooded her mind.
 

The bell dinged, signaling her arrival on the lower level and bringing her back to the task at hand. She stepped out into the darkness and sped off towards the residential wing, but bypassed the door to her suite, making her way instead to the blood storage room. While there was certainly a bag of O-negative left in the refrigerator in her room, she knew she’d need closer to three, given the strenuous nature of the day and the length of time since her last feeding.

Turning the corner, she stopped dead in her tracks, hearing the door to the cold room slide open as she was hit with a scent that was growing maddeningly familiar. Its impact on her was immediate.
 

Given the vast array of emotions that were already weighing on her, the extreme physical exhaustion, and the fact that she had spent the better part of the evening indulging in erotic thoughts about him, Jared’s scent set her blood on fire, and it pissed her off. Somehow, her choosing to think of him as a means of escape had been an entirely different and acceptable prospect because she could at least pretend it was within her control. Actually being around him was a whole different matter.

Knowing there was absolutely no way she could conceal her body’s response, or deal with Jared’s unwavering efforts to get close to her, Cami turned and rushed back to her suite praying that Jared hadn’t detected her presence, or worse, the scent of her arousal.

Guess one bag will have to do,
Cami thought as she quietly closed her door and breathed a sigh of relief, vowing to never again indulge in silly fantasies about something which simply couldn’t be.
 

She flashed across the room, retrieved the sole bag of blood from the refrigerator, and tossed it onto the bed. Swiftly unbuckling all of her holsters, she dropped them, weapons and all, to the floor, feeling too tired to bother putting them in their rightful places.
 

She considered showering as she stripped off her clothes in record time, but quickly decided against it and fell into bed. Rolling onto her side, she lifted the thick plastic bag to her mouth and pierced the lining with fangs that had elongated the minute she’d thought of feeding.
 

Cami emptied the bag in a few greedy gulps, tossing it expertly into the trashcan across the room before she rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. She attempted to retract her fangs, finding the task impossible as her stomach rolled, her body’s way of telling her she needed more blood. There was no way she was going to risk running into Jared again; so after tossing and turning for a while, she finally found the peace of sleep.

✧

Cami awoke with a start, to the incessant buzzing coming from the intercom on the wall beside her door. Given the acute nature of vampire hearing, soundproofing technology was standard in most vampire households to provide some semblance of privacy. As such, each room in the residential wing of the compound was equipped with an intercom.

Unsure how long she’d been asleep, Cami lazily rolled over and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. She groaned, seeing it was after nine; she’d been out for nearly ten straight hours. A lengthy slumber was to be expected, considering the toll that the magic took on the body and the fact that she hadn’t consumed enough blood in her attempt to avoid Jared the night before. Vampires required less than half the amount of sleep humans did; but if injured or blood deprived, their bodies tended to compensate with additional rest.
 

The intercom buzzed again, this time the high-pitched tone lasting several annoying seconds. Cami climbed out of bed, slipping her crumpled tank top over her wild hair as she ambled across the room. Standing at the door, she tapped the digital display panel, disengaging the locks and soundproofing without bothering to check who was calling. Cami could count on one hand the number of social visits she’d had in all her years living on the compound, so she had a good idea who was on the other side. She pulled on the heavy door and, as expected, was greeted by Chloe’s smiling face.
 

“Aunt Cami,” she squealed; throwing her arms around Cami’s back. “You’ve been asleep a really long time.”

“Yes, she has,” Jared said with amusement, as he stepped into view.
 

Cami’s heart fell to her stomach as she looked at him, feeling incredibly exposed standing in nothing but a tank top and panties. She made the mistake of looking him in the eye and, before she could stop herself, flashes of the fantasy she’d indulged in the night before skated across her mind.
 

She had never been easily embarrassed but, around Jared, she found herself falling victim to the emotion more and more frequently. Fighting the urge to close the door entirely to hide the blush she felt creeping over her cheeks, she ducked behind it to conceal as much of her body as possible. Her heart was pounding as the seconds ticked by, each feeling more like an hour as her body’s response began to shift from embarrassment to something far more potent, and infuriating.
 

“Good morning, Mr. Ryan,” she said formally from her hiding spot behind the door, careful to avoid making eye contact again as she struggled to control her growing arousal.

“A very good morning to you as well, Ms. Kline,” Jared responded, mocking her formality; his eyes roaming hungrily over her exposed skin. With the cover of the door, he couldn’t see much of her toned body, but he’d already gotten enough of a glimpse to make his mouth go dry.

Cami could actually hear the grin which was plastered on his face as he spoke, but refused to give him the satisfaction of meeting his gaze. She kept her eyes trained on Chloe who, looking up at her uncle, burst into a fit of giggles.
 

Despite her better judgment, she attempted to steal a quick glance at him, finding his attention entirely captured as he was thankfully focused on Chloe’s antics. With him distracted, her quick glance became a lengthy stare with her eyes roaming freely over his lean body. A stylish black t-shirt revealed his toned biceps and met with a pair of perfectly frayed jeans hanging low on his trim hips.
 

Jared threw his head back with laughter as Chloe made a silly face at him, the deep rich sound causing tingly warmth to skate below the surface of Cami’s skin. With her next breath, his spicy scent invaded her lungs and the warmth moved and transformed, becoming an aching fire in the pit of her stomach. Jared’s laughter ceased and his body went rigid as his eyes shot to Cami’s. Knowing she was caught, her breath hitched and she immediately looked away, but not before seeing the recognition in his eyes, and the desire.

What the fuck is wrong with me?
she thought, knowing full well that the scent of her arousal was apparent in the small space and was no doubt the reason that Jared’s demeanor had changed so quickly. Backing into her room, she tried to come up with a plausible excuse to escape before she embarrassed herself any further.

“You promised to take me to your favorite place,” Chloe stated with a touch of disappointment in her soft voice.

Looking into Chloe’s sad eyes, Cami let out a resigned sigh. “I suppose I did, and I would never break a promise to my favorite niece.”
 

“But, Aunt Cami; I’m your only niece, aren’t I?” Chloe asked; somewhat confused. Given how big she had gotten over the last couple of weeks, it was sometimes easy to forget how young she was.
 

“Yes, squirt; you are. Your aunt was making trying to make a little joke, I think,” Jared interjected; giving Cami a wink that made her knees go weak.
 

Cami screamed at herself internally. Her body’s ridiculous response to his proximity and antics seemed to be getting worse, as was her frustration. On one hand, she couldn’t stop replaying a fantasy of slamming him against the wall and having him do God-knows- what to her body; on the other, she kind of felt like punching him in the face. Mentally grasping on to her feelings of irritation as a means to temper her physical reactions, Cami took a deep, cleansing breath.

Feeling as if she’d regained enough control to feel somewhat comfortable, she stepped out from behind the door.
 

It’s just skin; flesh over blood and bone. It doesn’t mean anything if he sees me,
she said to herself, stepping closer to her niece. Emboldened, she cut her eyes to Jared, and raising her chin; the silent gesture almost a challenge.