Page 3 of Broken Fate
“I’m going, I’m going,” I muttered at her nuzzling insistence in my brain. “Don’t get uppity on me today.”
The mixed sigh andwhoofthat echoed in my head translated loosely as “I wouldnever.” I rolled my eyes but got out of bed, nonetheless. There was no point in trying to put off the day by staying in bed. It wouldn’t help.
After stretching to the sky and then down to the floor, I moved to the glass door and pushed it open, welcoming the cool touch of the breeze.
A shiver puckered my skin from head to toe, the abrupt temperature change dragging me to full alertness. Dropping to all fours, I let the change come over me, and then I leaped from the second floor to the ground, four legs easily absorbing the landing.
Happy now?I asked the bestial part of my mind, where my wolf lived full-time and had ever since I was sixteen.
Her joy flowed over me like raging water, and I laughed mentally in agreement. It was one of the only times that day I would be able to. One of the last times in a long time.
Trying to shake off the gloom of the disaster that would be tonight, I loped through the grass, quickly covering the mile and a half, though nowhere near my fastest. No sense in wasting energy. I wasn’t entirely sure what tonight would hold for me. It was best to be prepared.
I let the forest envelop me as I moved under its canopy, the hugefilmoretrees towering above the other vegetation, making them look like weeds, choking off much of the sunlight. Stealing a glance back at the field of grass, I ducked deeper into the dim light, moving into the gloom that matched my mood.
My wolf didn’t understand. In fact, she broadcast her confusion repeatedly, but it was useless to try to tell her. Understanding concepts such as guilt and unintentional harm were beyond her capabilities.
A mental snort expressed her disdain at my placing limits on her intelligence.
My lope turned into a run as we cleared the forest and came into sight of the road that led back to the house. Dry-packed dirt flew in clumps as I accelerated down the straightaway, reveling in the power that my wolf form packed. There was a freedom on all fours that just didn’t exist when I walked on two legs.
It was like I could go anywhere. Be anyone.
I wish. If that were the case, I could go somewhere other than into the city tonight and be anyoneotherthan myself. I wasn’t ready for the looks. The whispers.
Murderer. Sister killer.
They would eye me when they thought I couldn’t see. Tell stories to their friends or children about how I’d conspired to kill my sister. To “get her out of the way.” They would say that my mother had told me to do it. That she was jealous of my sister, the child of my father’s late first mate.
A snarl ripped from my snout. They could say whatever they wanted aboutme, but if anyone dared to say a word about my mother, they’d certainly hear about it from me.
Returning home, I shifted and climbed the ladder to my balcony. I poured a bath, grateful for the cool water after a run, and washed up. I stayed until my fingertips became prunes.
“Jada, hurry up! We have to get going. Arcadia waits for no one!”
“I know, Mom,” I called back, sinking lower into the giant metal tub and closing my eyes, wishing I could escape and go somewhere else.Anywhereelse.
But with a heavy sigh, I lifted myself from the tub and finished getting ready.
“Good morning, dear. How was your run?”
“It was fine,” I mumbled as I entered the kitchen. My mother was bustling over the stove, making food for all three of us. I saw no sign of my father.
“Are you not more excited? Tonight’s all about you. Your Fate Night.”
I grimaced instead of smiling.
“Oh, it’s going to be magical, my Jada. You’ll go up before everyone and touch the stone, and then you’ll see him. Your mate. You’ll be bonded and can start a life together. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Heavy footsteps signaled my father’s exit from his study. My mother’s smile fixed into place as she directed it at him.
Oh, yes, a mate bond was so wonderful, wasn’t it?
“Tell her, Dax.”
My father just grunted. “It’s going to be a good night.”
The enthusiasm was …overwhelming.
