Fated
Chapter 17

Eve

I am jolted awake by the sound of an alarm as I open my eyes to find Dante is no longer in the bed with me and his side of the bed was already cold to the touch. I slowly slide out of the bed and make my way to the door as I hear a scream rip through the halls over the sound of the alarm. I fling the door open and look to the right as another scream erupts from downstairs. I run down the hall and rush down the stairs to see what is going on and I find two of the guards lying on the ground with blood pooling around them. My heart begins to race as another scream echos through the hall to the kitchen. I run in to see Martha pinned to the ground by a shadowy figure who had no discernable features. It was as if the creature was made of shadow. I run toward her and throw my hands out before me as fire shoots from my chest and collides with the creature, sending it flying into the kitchen. Martha looks on in shock as I run to her and help her to her feet.

“Run!” I shout at her as I move past her and into the kitchen. The creature stands behind the center island as the shadows cast in the room move with it. It lunges at me and with the flick of my wrist it goes flying once again with pots, pans and dishes crashing to the ground around it. I do not even hear as Martha approaches as she whispers a few words that I am certain are not in english and she smacks her hands together causing a blinding light to fill the room as the creature screeches out before disappearing. I look at Martha in a mix of confusion and surprise.

“We all have our little secrets don’t we.” she gives me a small smile and then hurries back down the hall.

“There is one more that went upstairs!” one of the guards shouts as he sees Martha enter the foyer. I follow her closely hoping that I will see Dante, but find myself disappointed.

“You should go back downstairs, miss Eve.” Martha looks back realizing her words will not sway me. After a moment of hesitation she motions for me to join her.

“I did not see any of them when I left my room!” I shout as Martha quickly veers right toward Dante’s study.

“Stay close and keep your eyes open.” She whispers as she reaches out and opens the door. We both pause as we see Dante sitting behind his desk with one of the shadow creatures standing before him as if they had been holding a meeting while chaos was erupting just beneath their feet.. There was something eerily familiar about this show as we watched it quickly fade and vanish.

“What the hell was that Dante?!” I shout.

“That, Eve, was a warning.” He turns away from me showing he is not willing to say anything more on it. In a fit of anger I march out of the room and rush downstairs to help see to the wounded. I immediately recognize one of the downed guards as Victor and rush to his side. He lets out a moan as I roll him off of his stomach and onto his back so that I can evaluate his injuries.He has a large gash across his chest and one of his hands , but he will live.

“I will be fine, please go check on Kyle!” He points over to the other guard as I quickly crawl over to him. I roll him over and see his throat had been slit. I have to choke back the vomit that is trying to push itself out at the grizzly sight of the air bubbling through the blood in his windpipe that is fully visible through the cut. I fall back and quickly slide myself back away from him and draw my knees to my chest.

Dante descends the stair looking over the debris and blood that fill the foyer. His eyes search until he finds me and he rushes to my side.

“It’s okay Eve, just close your eyes.” I do as he says as I feel him lift me from the ground as he takes me upstairs to my room. I relax a little as I feel him lay me on the bed. He turns and sits down on the edge of the bed and lets out a heavy sigh.

“What did you mean that this was a warning?” my voice is more than a little shaky.

“She made an offer.” his vague response instantly angering me.

“And WHAT did she offer exactly?” My voice emerges much louder than I intended, but at this point I honestly do not care.

“She offered to stay away from you and vowed to never so much as attempt to harm you.” his words are dark and angry. “In return for this she wants something of equal value.”

“What does she feel would be equal in value?” I ask even though I think Ialready know the answer.

“Me.” He says it so quietly as if he was anticipating my response before it was even spoken.

“NO! Absolutely not! She must be crazy if she thinks we would even consider such a thing!” I am quite aware of how hysterical my voice sounds at this point.

“What choice do we have, Eve? How could I not do what is necessary to protect my family?” I can smell the salty tears filling his eyes.

“You can have faith in me. You are right, we are a family now and because of that we need to be strong for each other. Do you really think that she would stop once you are gone? ALL she has EVER wanted is to be more powerful. She is truly like the darkness and will continue to drain everything until she is the only thing left!” I practically jump out of the bed before flinging the glass doors open and stepping onto the balcony. I hear the sound of the bed shift under his weight as he gets up followed by the sound of his footsteps as he makes his way toward me.

“I do have faith in you Eve. So much so that I am willing to stand by you through whatever this bitch throws at us, but I would be foolish if I didn’t say that I am terrified of what we stand to lose if we should fail.” His voice broken and weak, but his meaning clear..

“I am scared too, but we won’t lose…we can’t.” I speak the words with steady resolve and a storm begins to swallow the sky above us.

The next few weeks go by uneventfully, but I find myself jumping at every single sound…that is when I am not curled up around the toilet vomiting violently. I thought being pregnant was supposed to be such a beautiful thing, but so far I find that I am either exhausted, nauseous or feeling the need to eat every 5 minutes. My emotions have been up and down, but the goddess was right…Dante does help make me feel more grounded. My emotions have only gotten out of control once which resulted in a torrential downpour in the foyer. The guards and staff seemed more amused by the outburst than anything which quickly settled my emotions as we all laughed about it as we cleaned up the mess I had made. I also took the leap and got to know Martha better. It turns out she is a light fairy and the sweet old lady I see every day is a glamor she uses to blend in within our world. She has been so helpful with making sure I am as comfortable as possible and I can’t help but think of her as a kind of mother figure…very different from my own mother in every way. She has played a vital role in helping me keep sane during the weeks since the attack.

I am walking through the forest in the moonlight as I admire the land the goddess has laid out before me. I run my fingers across the rough surface of one of the trees as I pass by and am startled by a rustling in the brush ahead of me to the right. I pause staring in the direction of the noise and feel my breath catch in my throat as a shadow slowly emerges from the brush. This shadow is much like those that had found their way into the house, only this shadow seemed to be swallowing the light of the moon as it grew closer. The energy I can feel pulsing with it grows stronger the closer it gets and it leaves me feeling nauseous. This energy is nothing like my own. It is cold, dark and simply radiates its malicious intent. ‘It is time’ I hear the familiar woman’s voice call out from somewhere off in the distance.

I wake up in a cold sweat with the only heat in the bed being the heat coming from Dante as he lay beside me in a calm slumber. I slide out of the bed as carefully as I can, being sure not to wake him as I make my way into the bathroom and quietly close the door. I stand in front of the mirror as I pull my hair up and fasten it into a messy bun as I feel a flutter in my stomach. I slowly slide my hand down over my stomach realizing it is the first time I have felt any movement and a feeling of excitement and fear rush over me as I am reminded of what I stand to lose. I slowly p[en the bathroom door and make my way to the dresser and open the second drawer slowly. I pull out a light gray shirt quickly putting it on, then grab a pair of black jeans and slide into them. I pick up my white slip on shoes before quietly making my way out of the room and down to the foyer. I slide my feet into my shoes and carefully open the front door peering out to see if I can see any of the guards. Victor is just now making his way to the right side of the driveway as I slip out quietly, choosing to leave the door cracked open to avoid making any noise that might draw his attention and I then make my way to the treeline as quickly and quietly as possible. The moment I know I am out of range of Victor, I break into a brisk jog and make my way to the cabin. ‘This is where the end will begin.’ The words echo through my head on repeat as I push my way closer to the Cabin in the woods. As I enter the clearing where the cabin sits I feel the energy pulsing like a heart beat around me. The goddess had held true to her word. This place was charged fully and it was an energy that I knew was mine to bend to my will. ‘You ARE the energy’ the words rise up, giving me a kind of strength I didn’t even know I possessed. Though I could not see her, I knew the goddess was here to see my fate unfold. Whether I win or lose, on this day I do not stand alone.

“Oh foolish little Eve.” a wicked voice breaks the silence of the night.

“Mother.” my response is cold and laced with all the venom of the pain she has brought down on me over the years.

“You were quite foolish to come here alone, my child.” I hear her laughter around me.

“I am no longer the beaten dog that you once knew mother…and I assure you that I am NOT alone.” my words come out like a roaring thunder.

I see movement in the trees in the distance as she finally steps into the light of the moon.

“But you ARE nothing more than a dog, aren’t you? Just like your father.” Her words are surely meant to hurt me, but they only manage to fuel the anger that is already stirring within me.

“Oh mother…I am that…and SO much more.” as the last word escapes my mouth I see her face warp into a strange contorted mix of anger and amusement. She walks closer to me only stopping once she is only roughly six feet away from me.

“We shall see about that.” She hisses the words at me. She slowly raises her arms up as the shadows around us begin to slither toward her like serpents. In one fluid movement she pulls the shadows to her and throws her arms out launching them at me as they shift into thousands of black shards slicing through my flesh. I can feel a few of the shards embedded in my skin while most just grazed the skin leaving the feeling of the warm blood trickling from the wounds. I roar out in pain and throw my arms out sending a huge gust of wind at her that knocks her completely off her feet, sending her several feet back before she makes contact with the hard ground. She sits up with a wicked smile pulling at her lips.

“You have grown strong, but not nearly strong enough, you pathetic half breed. I should have killed you when I found out what your father was!” as she spews out the words I see the darkness gathering around her as it seems to be slowly swallowing the light of the moon and creeps closer with every breath she sucks into her lungs. My anger has boiled over and is now manifesting before my eyes as the storm clouds roll in with lightning flashing and thunder cracking all around us.

“I am stronger than you know mother.” as I speak to her I let the emotions take over as the energy around me becomes not only something I can feel, but I can see it all around me. Her eyes grow wide as I see something in her that I have never seen before…fear. She must have sensed my momentary surprise because she quickly whispers something that I cannot make out and then slams her fists to the ground as the darkness shoots forward like tentacles wrapping around me and squeezing so tightly that I cannot breathe. I pull at them as I gasp for air, feeling my vision slowly starting to fade. I am about to lose consciousness when I hear a loud growl and I open my eyes just in time to see a black wolf jump out from the trees behind my mother and latch onto her arm, tearing through her flesh and breaking whatever hold she has on me. I crash into the ground as I sit gasping as I try to get back to my feet. As I look up I see Faros go flying into a large rock where he lies motionless as blood begins pooling at the ground below him. I let out a scream that morphs into a howl as I feel my bones cracking and bending as my wolf takes over.

“Oh goddess, you really ARE a dog.” She is clearly surprised, but also seems disgusted by it. She raises her hands once more, but my wolf moves into action faster than even I knew was possible. She leaps through the air, wrapping her mouth around my mothers neck and sinking her teeth in. I hear the soft gurgle as she attempts to scream just before my wolf Whips her head to the side causing silence to fall all around me as my mother’s head falls to the ground and rolls away from where her body now lies in a heap on the ground at my feet. My no longer white fur is glistening red in the moonlight as I quickly make my way to where Faros fell to see that he has shifted back, Dante’s naked body now lying lifeless against the rock with the ground beneath him stained crimson. I shift back and drop to my knees in front of him, pulling him to me as the skies thunder and rain begins to fall. My emotions flowing like a tidal wave as I seek any sign that he is still with me. ‘Please don’t leave me. I can’t do this on my own.’ my thoughts call to him.

“You were very brave, young one.” her voice meant to bring me comfort, but instead it crushes me as I look down at Dante. “The darkness has been cleansed, child. This is a glorious turn of events as this was not one of the futures I had seen unfold. While I had hoped you would succeed, all the futures I witnessed were filled with the darkness of your failure.” Her words anger me.

“Glorious?!” I choke out the word as I run my hand across his cheek that is already growing cold.

“Love, in itself, is a sacrifice. We give of ourselves everything for a happiness that is fleeting. He sacrificed himself so that you and yours might live.” her voice sounding confused as if my feelings of sorrow make little to no sense.

“I cannot do this without him. WE cannot do this without him.” the pain in my voice is clear. “I need him, I will always need him. Please, there must be something you can do.” I plead with her.

“I cannot unravel the balance more than I already have by allowing your existence, young one.” her voice now weighted and filled with sorrow.

“Balance?! You call what my mother did balance? What she did was unholy in every sense and yet it was left to me to handle her. You did nothing about the upset of the balance then!” I shout.

“I was only able to guide you. The gods cannot interfere with the matters of man.” Her words anger me more. As I am about to lash out at her I feel energy pulsing from my hands as a bright light engulfs me. The energy pushes out of me like a tidal wave and I hear it…faint at first, but growing louder by the second. What once was the sound of pulsing energy, is now replaced by the unmistakable sound of a heart beat…HIS heart beat! I look quickly to the goddess that has manifested before me seeking confirmation of what my heart already knows.

“I told you that I cannot meddle in the affairs of man, but I never said that you could not.” Her smile is almost playful.

I look down to see Dante’s eyes slowly open as he pulls his lips into a weak smile.

“What took you so long?” His voice is trembling, but it is the most beautiful voice in the world.

It has been 3 years since my mother fell. I have made amends with the elder of my coven and she has assisted greatly in helping me to further gain control of my powers. As I lay in the middle of the meadow with the sun shining, it’s warmth caressing my skin as I hold my hand on my swollen belly enjoying the movement of the little one inside, I hear the sound of my sweet Oddessa giggle as she runs through the flowers with her ebony curls bouncing on her shoulders and back. Her beautiful green eyes sparkle like emeralds in the sunlight. She plops down on my chest and gently kisses my cheek and she catches sight of something that has her smiling, her dimples indenting into her little cherub cheeks.

“Daddy!”

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