Page 41 of Called By Fate

"Viola!" Gerrard protests and tries to yank the picture away, but Viola prevails with a pterodactyl screech and tucks the picture into her pants. Kaos looks so much like his birth father it’s almost uncanny. From their face structure to their blue eyes. Not to mention Weavers don’t age much, so that’s kind of taking some getting used to. I’m also sensing he probably inherited the people watching from him too. "I told you to burn that picture, woman. Elian caught me off guard that day."

"That's what makes it such a gem, darling. Your expression was hilarious. Look at Elian's smile too! Oh, to go back to those days."

"All right, mother,” Kaos interrupts with a chuckle. “I think that's enough embarrassment for today. How are you all adjusting?”

His mom sighs dramatically and shoots me a wink before packing the pictures up into the album. “It’s a little strange being around so many Light Weavers,” she admits. “But I think we’re going to adjust just fine, and it seems like things are going smoothly for the most part. Everyone here is tired and ready for change. It’s refreshing.”

“Honey, I’m home!” A man calls from the direction of the doorway with a plate full of food from the mess hall. He sees all of us and a grin breaks out across his face, but his focus isn’t on me or his sons, or anyone else for that matter. No, his gaze zeroes in on Hemsworth who is chilling by my feet.

“Chris!” Viola scolds. “You’d be late to your own damn funeral. Come, meet Sadie, Kaos’ Link.”

Chris glances at me then back to Hemsworth. His eyes are alight with a childish wonder despite his age. Do I look that way when I see dogs too? Eh, probably.

Hemsworth stands and wags his tail and that’s all it takes. Chris crosses the room, setting the all but forgotten plate of food down, and immediately starts petting Hemsworth.

Hemsworth, like the little attention seeker he is, eats it up. Especially when Chris starts with the butt scratches. He’s a goner for sure, melting into Chris’ touch.

I look around at everyone like,are you seeing this?Dante looks seconds away from bursting out laughing, so much so his face is turning red from holding it in. Kaos’ face is morphed with shock and the others seem stunned like I am.

Viola reaches over and swats at her mate playfully, snapping him out of his dog fog. “And just who is this little fella?” Chris coos.

Even I can’t deny the irony of their names.

“Nice to meet you, Chris. The name’s Hemsworth,” my familiar says, startling him. Chris yanks his hand away and clutches his chest. Then he looks to all of us likeyou heard that, right?

Hemsworth chuffs. “I’ll never get tired of doing that.”

And cue the laughter. Dante can’t hold it in anymore. A guffaw so loud it’s contagious bursts out of his mouth, and we all dissolve into peals of laughter. Once someone stops for a second, someone else wheezes and gets them going again. It’s a never-ending cycle.

Eventually, Viola pulls herself back together to put her hands out. “Okay, okay,” she says between breaths and wipes a tear from her eye from laughing so hard. “If we don’t stop, I’m going to pee myself. My bladder isn’t what it once was before pushing a baby out.”

Kaos shakes his head and chuckles despite himself. “We should get started for the day anyway. Plus, Sadie has a date with a certain Weaver to begin her training with light, and we need to resume our campaign for allies."

Viola grips my hand in hers. "Welcome to the family, Sadie. I can see why my sons are so taken with you." We stand and she pulls me in for another hug. This is like the third or fourth one since I’ve been here. I'm getting the impression they are a very touchy-feely bunch. Which is fine, but more than I'm used to. It'll take me a bit for my people-o-meter to get back to normal after this endeavor.

"Yes, it was very nice to meet you," Gerrard adds.

“It was nice to meet your dog. I mean you. Ah, hell. You know what I mean,” Chris says.

I can’t help but chortle again. "Thank you, Viola. Likewise, Gerrard. I’m glad my familiar could bring some entertainment for you, Chris."

After everyone gives another round of hugs and goodbyes, Kaos takes my hand and leads me outside. "Come on, Little Flame. Let's get you to your training."

That wasn’t bad at all.

17

When Sadie puts her mind to something, she puts her whole self into it. Since my part of getting the shifters the message about the safe haven is over, I'm watching her and Reed train from the sidelines, and wow. She’s breathtaking.

Even when she's frustrated, like now, because she's having a hard time working with the light, she's still so adorable it makes my heart ache. And knowing I have a part of her inside me, and she also has a part of me inside her?

Words can't quite describe the feeling of utter joy.

Every time I shift into my wolf, or I look down at my wrist, or even when I look at her, I'm reminded I hold that piece of her soul. Sometimes I don't feel worthy of her soul, to own the truth, but I don't let my insecurities stop me from getting closer to her either. She willingly gave me that part of herself.

For Goddess' sake, she didn't even let death stop her from coming to get me.

Dying has completely changed my outlook on life. Even now, I can feel my wolf starting to exert Alpha qualities. Which haven’t gone unnoticed by Alpha Darren either. He approached me last night and offered to show me the ropes. He wants me to take over the pack one day, which completely shocked me. Meeting Sadie has changed my life in so many ways, and I wouldn’t do a single thing differently.

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