Choices of Fate (Fate Series) (34 page)

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard as she reinforced her shields against his pain, knowing the time had come.
 

Opening her eyes she whispered, “Yes, my love, I know that I must die to save you. I made that choice a while ago.”

✧

Alexa nervously followed Ethan’s mother through the door to her parlor.

Josephine sat on the cream striped sofa and patted the seat next to her. “Please sit down, I won’t bite,” she said with a small chuckle. It was funny coming from an actual vampire.

Alexa did as requested and Josephine took both of her hands and closed her eyes. They sat like that in silence for several minutes before she opened her eyes and stood.

“You are a very strong woman, Alexa. That is very clear. I am going to share some things with you that will be difficult to hear, but I need for you to know. Perhaps I am being selfish, and for this you must forgive me, but I love my children and I would do anything in my power for them. As a mother, I am sure you understand.” She said looking to Alexa as if asking for permission to continue.

Alexa remained quiet and nodded.

“My son has told you of the prophecy, yes?” Again Alexa nodded.

“He has brought you here, to me, because he wants me to tell him it has changed or that there is a way to change it. One part in particular.”

“What part, he said you don’t know how Chloe ends the war or who wins, right? How can he know we would even want to change it?”

“I was afraid of this,” Josephine said as she began to pace. “He has not told you what happens to you. If I tell him he cannot change it, he will try to drive you away. But something he does not understand is that in certain matters, fate will find a way. You could leave here tonight and go into hiding, but somehow, you will both end up exactly where you are supposed to be, exactly when you are intended to be there. Except then you will have lost the time that you could have had together. You would both live in misery, separated from one another, from the other halves of your souls, only to end up in the same place in the end.”

She took her seat next to Alexa again and took one of her hands as she stroked her cheek with the other. “This is very difficult. I know that we have only just met, but I have already seen how happy you make my son, and for that I love you like a daughter.”

Alexa’s eyes welled up with tears as Josephine took a deep breath. “Please understand, I do not know exactly how long you will have,” she dropped her hand from Alexa’s face as tears gathered in her eyes as well, “you are going to die before the war is over.”

The tears spilled over Alexa’s lashes. “I cannot begin to imagine how hard this is to hear, but there is more you must know. You will have to make a choice when the time comes. Ethan can survive, but you will have to force him to,” a small sob escaped her throat, “he will have to take your life, to save his own. If he does not, you will both perish.”

✧

Remembering Josephine’s words, Alexa’s eyes filled with tears. She thought of Chloe, how she would miss the sweet sound of her laughter and the warmth of her embrace. She tried to picture her all grown up, to see what she would look like in her wedding dress someday, praying that no matter what happened, in the end Chloe would be safe and happy. For those last few stolen moments she pictured her daughter’s future knowing this was as close as she would get to seeing it.

And then she stood up straight, wiped the tears from her face, and took once last deep breath for courage before she walked across the room to Ethan.

She stumbled when she felt his pain spike as he continued to struggle to contain the beast that was consuming him. It was so acute he could no longer speak, not even to try to keep her away. He tried to turn away from her into the wall, all the while feeling it growing bigger inside of him. It was like there was a separate entity sharing his body, a parasite eating away at who he was to make room for itself to grow.

Alexa placed her hands on his trembling shoulders and laid her cheek against his back. She whispered against his skin, “Ethan, I love you. Even now, I wouldn’t change it, I wouldn’t trade a single moment of my time with you.”

She couldn’t see it and she wouldn’t, but even with the beast taking control, a lone tear streaked down Ethan’s cheek at her soft words.
 

“You can survive this, my love, you must, for Chloe,” Alexa said with conviction as she bit down as hard as she could into her own wrist and pushed it under Ethan’s chin next to the wall.

His battle was lost. The small part of who he really was, her husband, her mate, which remained was shoved into a corner of his mind as the beast bit down into Alexa’s injured wrist, the force of it breaking her bone. He pulled on her blood harshly, his primal side, growing impatient with the slow flow of blood from her wrist, turned and tore into her neck.

As she felt her life starting to slip away, so did the pain. She used the last bit of her strength to raise her hand to his hair, wanting to feel its silky softness on her fingers one last time. A single tear slid from her eye as a final picture entered her mind. She saw Chloe again on her wedding day, this time standing with her father, both looking up at the sky as a gentle rain starts to fall.

THE END…

The Next Installment

Coming Fall 2013

Redemption of Fate

(Book 2 of the Fate Series)

For updates on
Redemption of Fate,
please visit

www.ssimonechavous.com

Acknowledgements

Writing
Choices of Fate
has been an amazing experience and looking back over this long journey, there are many people that I need to thank.

First of all, I want to thank my wonderful boyfriend, Brian. Without his love, support, and encouragement, none of this would have been possible. I believe wholeheartedly, that one must know great love to write it. You are my Ethan, I love you baby!

To my girls, Cami and Isabella, you gave me the strength and motivation to do something that, not so long ago, felt beyond my reach. Having both of you in my life has shown me that I can achieve great things and seeing your beautiful, smiling faces every day reminds me that the sky is the limit. I hope someday, when you are both facing the inevitable trials of life, you can look back on this accomplishment, and know that you too can realize your dreams and that I will always be there to help you along the way.

To my mother Wanda, who when I said I wanted to write a book simply said, “I know you can do it and you will be great at it.” I love you mom.

Deb, thank you for taking such good care of my little pork chop and giving me time to write.

My dear friend Yuli, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading all of my first drafts, one chapter at a time, providing invaluable feedback and pushing me to keep cranking them out.

My wonderful neighbor Jill, you provided early encouragement being one of the first people I shared my idea for
Choices
with
,
a shoulder to cry on when I needed it, and even the inspiration for your namesake character. You are the best neighbor and friend anyone could ever ask for.

To my best friend, Paula, you have been there through many of the ups and downs in my life over the last twenty years, this journey was no exception. Whether it’s been a day, months, or even years since we’ve talked, I always know we can pick up right where we left off. Your friendship means more to me than I could ever say.

Ashley Truelove of Lookin’ for a Bookin’, you are too awesome for words! I am so grateful for all of your help getting the word out and look forward to working with you in the future.

To Kathy Krick of K² Editing, what can I say? We started this crazy journey into the self-publishing world together. You’ve been patient and supportive, not only in editing
Choices,
but also as a friend. Though we’ve never met in person, I know I can always count on you.

All of my other friends and family, April, Rebecca, Gregory, Kendall, Charlie, Ruth Ann, Melvin, Melisa, Michelle, Bryan, I love you all!

To all of the bloggers and reviewers that stay up way too late reading, reviewing, and going above and beyond to help authors, only to get up in the morning and go to work, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
 

And last, but certainly not least, I want to thank all of my fellow authors, especially R.L. Mathewson, Felicity Heaton, Caris Roane, Molly McAdams, Abbi Glines, Amanda Stone, Erika Ashby, Gail McHugh, Monica Murphy, and Kim Karr. You have all inspired me in some way, either through your own amazing stories or some much needed words of encouragement.

About the Author

S. Simone Chavous spent seven years as a tax accountant before deciding to pursue her true passion as an author.
Choices of Fate,
the first book in the Fate Series, is her debut novel. She lives in northern Indiana with her boyfriend, two beautiful daughters, and their rambunctious vizsla, Lily.
 

To learn more about S. Simone, please visit:

www.ssimonechavous.com

or connect with her on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/ssimonechavous