Page 43 of Touch Of Fate
“Why do you think this time was different?” he asks.
“I’m not sure. Maybe because this was from the victim's point of view, she didn’t flash through details. Her memories were filled with what she felt as she went through it. A woman remembers the emotions from the traumatic event, not just the act itself. I could relate to the things that happened to her. She didn’t get pleasure as Jerry did. He inflicted the pain, and Sofie suffered it.” I sigh. “Before we met, I thought maybe my magic was my punishment.” He jerks back, cupping my face.
“Why would you think that?” he asks, frowning. I try to drop my head, but he holds firm. “Your magic isn’t meant to hurt you.”
“I didn’t think that way when I was younger. Mom was there to guide me, and it wasn’t as powerful. When she was gone, I didn’t have anyone to help me. My sadness made me push it away as much as possible. I feared it, rather than embracing it. Hiding was the only option for me and Lace.” I have to tell him and give him the whole picture. “Two years ago, I met a man.” I drop my hands between us and move back. He props his head on his palm, his eyes intense. “We were living in Oregon, andI was working in an office. I did the filing and stayed secluded in a small room, away from people. I didn’t go to any of the parties, and didn’t make friends. Lace had a bookstore there, but I pulled away from her. I wasn’t happy. I was frustrated and sick of always being by myself.
“A man I hadn’t seen came into my office for a file. He was handsome and complimented me. I soaked up the attention. He didn’t comment on my gloves like everyone else did. I was polite but still didn’t encourage much conversation. He kept coming back, smiling charmingly, asking about my life and what I did for fun. I didn’t have any answers for him. I kept our brief interactions impersonal, yet he wouldn’t give up. Every day, he visited me, and I slowly began to trust him.” I exhale harshly. “He put on a good show. I agreed to go for a drink. I was so fucking lonely. Our date went well, but when he moved to kiss me at the end of it, I pulled back. I may have begun to feel something for him, yet I couldn’t allow the contact.
“He persisted, brushing it off as nervousness. Every day, he stopped at my desk. I just wanted something real. I knew I couldn’t have more with him. We went out two more times, and I would pull away when he reached out to touch me. He became frustrated, and I would catch him looking at my gloves. I had told my employer I had a skin condition that required me to keep them covered, so anyone who asked got the same story. I waited for him to ask. I couldn’t tell him I was a witch. How could I? He wasn’t my soul bond, and I knew it wouldn’t go anywhere. I thought he would move on to someone he could touch.”
“But he didn’t,” Rome whispers.
“No. He seemed to try harder. I went out to dinner with him again. I don’t know why, other than he seemed genuine in his interest, and I was lonely. I wanted to feel normal for once in my life. He chose a bar where we had gone for our first drink. It was loud and busy. We sat in the back corner, but he still had tolean in to be heard over the noise. It was a casual conversation through the first drink he bought me, and the second. I was feeling the buzz when he asked why I wouldn’t let him touch me. I stared at him, not knowing what excuse to give, and his nice guy persona melted away.” My stomach rolls thinking about it. “He told me he knew. I thought I was alone in my office and used my spells. It was a simple bit of magic. I was tired and did it without realizing it, moving a file from my desk to the cabinet. My magic found little ways to sneak out even though I tried to suppress it. He was in the hallway outside my open door with a clear view of the file floating in the air.”
“Shit, but he didn’t question it then,” Rome mumbles.
“He thought about it and became watchful,” I whisper. “My mind was racing, and I took too long to come up with some kind of excuse. He leaned in further and called me a witch. I froze. The drinks made me fuzzy, and I couldn’t make my body obey my command to run. He said there was a game he wanted me to play. I didn’t know what the hell he meant. He held the rest of my drink to my lips and forced me to swallow. I can still hear his voice;drink up, witch.He drugged the drink. I didn’t smell anything odd, and I thought my magic would’ve warned me somehow.”
“You can’t blame yourself,” he grits out.
“I do, though. I blame myself for everything.” Rome’s body is vibrating with fury, and I grab his hand. “I don’t remember leaving the bar. All I remember was staring at my feet, wondering why they weren’t working as they should. I must have passed out, because the next thing I knew, I was in a cage. Do you remember the Games?”
“It was whispered about in the supernatural world,” he replies, his body stiffening. “No.”
“Yes. I was disoriented and scared. When my eyes cleared, I saw a dozen shifters beside me. Their eyes were dead, until theysmelled what I was. The cages were small and bare. There was a dog dish in the corner, and nothing to cover their malnourished bodies. Before I could ask one of them where we were, the man I thought was a nice guy strolled across the clearing toward me. He was smiling.” I shake my head. “He demanded I be a good girl and meet his boss. He promised to treat me with care if I didn’t fight. I began to look around for an escape when he opened the door, but he said the one word that would keep me in line. Lace. She would visit me at work sometimes, and he saw her.”
“Fucker,” Rome hisses.
“I had to be careful. I decided to stay calm, watch, and wait. He led me to a small cabin away from the cages. There were ten men inside. The man in charge wasn’t who I had pictured. He had black hair and dressed nicely. The evil in his eyes and the sick aura around him were the only indications. He sat in a chair like a throne. The first thing he did was hold up a picture of Lace. He told me one of his men was watching her and listed everything he knew about her. The fear was suffocating. He explained about the Games and the men standing around him. They paid to participate, to chase shifters through the woods. The property was enclosed by a tall fence and barbed wire, and they used collars to keep them in line when they were released from the cages. They wanted to make it more difficult for them to escape. A witch could spell the area, and make it impossible.” My eyes shine, pleading with Rome to understand why I did it. “He would let me be in a bigger cage, give me a blanket and food if I agreed. Lace would remain safe even though his man would still watch her. He relished telling me that at any time, he could kill her. I knew she didn’t have powers, and he could do it easily without her knowing why. I had to protect her.”
“Of course,” he whispers, stroking my cheek.
“I pushed away my magic for so long, but I knew I had to do it. I’d never tried to hurt anyone with my spells, and I didn’t know how I could use it on them. I agreed. I planned to go along with the plan until I could find a way to regain control. He showed me the property, and I spelled the boundary. My magic knew I needed it as I called on it, my desperation pulling it out. He gave me a meal and watched me while I ate. My skin was crawling from their attention. A bigger cage was placed a little apart from the others. I could stand up in it, and they put a comfortable chair inside, and blankets. I was allowed to read and use the bathroom, but I had to sleep inside it. I had to suffer the hateful stares of the shifters when they realized why I was treated differently. How could I explain? They wouldn’t want to listen, and I don’t blame them. They hated me. I hated myself.” I swallow a sob.
“No, my Mara,” Rome says, pulling me close. He settles on his back, securing me against his side. His heartbeat under my ear reassures me that I am not there.
“I was cautious, but I tested my abilities. My cage was locked. I tried to concentrate on it, seeing if I could break it open. My magic was shaky, and the most I could do was rattle it. It was taking all my concentration to hold the property sealed. Lace was depending on me, and I couldn't allow her to get hurt.” I exhale harshly. “The first time I saw what they did, I threw up. The desperation of the shifters when their cages opened was devastating. The hunters weren’t supposed to kill them. They carried tranq guns, and the sport was the victory of catching them.”
“They didn’t follow the rules,” he guesses.
“No. I saw a shifter being carried back to the clearing. They killed him. I thought Gill, the man in charge, would be angry. I should have known better. A man who ran an organization like that wouldn’t ever feel remorse. They laughed. They laughed,and I knew I had to do something. I asked him if I could message Lace. She would try to find me, and I told him he didn’t want the attention. Warning her wasn’t an option; he would read the message. I put it in a code we made up as children when we were in school. I demanded that she not look for me, but be careful that someone was following her. Stressing that she couldn’t fight, she had to stay safe, and that I would come back to her. It was the best I could do.” I wrap my arm around his waist, anchoring myself to the now. “I waited a few days, pretending I wasn’t a threat, and went along with what they wanted. I had to watch several more Games, seeing the humiliation on their faces.
“No one talked to me, and I understand why. The Hunters relished their power over shifters who could have killed them instantly without the collars and cages. I would hear their laughter and the cries from the shifters. I would cry with them. They didn’t deserve any of it. My date would watch me with glee. He wore a walkie-talkie on his belt, and as he walked by, I heard the others in the woods celebrating their win. Many of the shifters were carried back to their cages, thrown inside, and barely able to recover. Our kind has always had a distrustful relationship with vampires and shifters, yet I wouldn’t wish their treatment on anyone. I knew they would never like witches again,” I whisper.
“If they knew you, they wouldn’t judge,” he says.
“Unfortunately, I’ve met several of the shifters affected by Gill. Their hatred for me has barely cooled.” I shake my head, knowing I will share about them. “The seventh day of living in a cage, there was a game scheduled for that night. I knew if I was going to do something, I had to do it before. After a Game, the shifters would have a harder time escaping. Gill watched me carefully, unsure if he should trust my compliance, so I had to time it right. I dropped my spell on the boundary and began towork on the locks. The first cage swung open, and I told him to run. I got the second and third open before an alarm sounded. The hunters burst out of the cabin. None of them had tried to touch me since the first day, and my leather jacket had protected me as they gripped my arm. When he carried me to the cage, I wasn’t aware, so my magic didn’t engage, and if it did, I don’t remember. I don’t know if they were afraid, or since I was complying, they didn’t push it. Several of them carried real guns around and pointed them at me if I left the cage. They knew I would do anything to protect my sister, and they didn’t know I avoided touch until that day. The hunters captured the first man, shocking him with his collar. Gill hit me with the butt of his gun and dragged me from the cage by my hair. He threw me to the ground in front of the writhing man. When I fell forward, my hand connected, touching his arm. I screamed. All of his pain and humiliation transferred to me.”
“Jesus, Mara,” Rome rasps, tightening his arms.
“It wasn’t hard to connect everything, and I saw the calculation in their eyes. I couldn’t hide anything while in his memories. They realized another way to control me. Gill threatened to force me to touch every shifter there if I tried something again. Once my sight returned, he showed me a video of his man following Lace. He said he would give me one more chance. If I used any magic except what they wanted, he would kill her and torture me.” I turn my head, pressing my forehead to his chest. “I had no choice,” I sob.
“I know, baby.” He rolls, cupping my face. “I wish I could take away your pain,” he says, gutted. “How did you get away?” I pull away and lie on my back.
“They brought a woman to a cage, which wasn’t unusual, but she was human. The only humans were the hunters. Gill kidnapped her to get to his nephew. She was his mate, but they hadn’t bonded. She talked to me and asked me why I couldn’thelp. I didn’t give her many answers, and she turned away from me like the others. It didn’t take long for her mates to come for her. They brought many shifter friends. There is a vampire who discovered she had witch blood, and she helped them find the location. I could feel her probing the area. Her power was very minimal, so I lowered my spell just enough for her to find the boundary.” I remember the rush of relief. “They killed the hunters, and a dragon shifter cornered Gill. All of the shifters in the cages were released, and they attacked him together. The vampire guarded me from the anger of the shifters. She took me home and didn’t judge me like the others. I will always be grateful to her.”
“Is she still in your life?” He caresses my arm.
