Fate Fixed (4 page)

She had not peeked into the master bedroom, but her

mother beamed with pride that it was her dream room with a large four-poster bed. As for the other two bedrooms, Alik and Nick shared one and Maxim, as the oldest, had his

own.

Lexie wondered what the day would bring. She expected it would consist of a whole lot of cleaning and unpacking. She looked at her nails and wondered if her pink polish would survive past noon. Another day of the guys hauling around furniture and boxes with disgruntled looks and attitude would not be worth grumbling about in an email to Liz.

Maxim did not say anything when she returned yesterday from breakfast with Liz. At first, she felt guilty thinking maybe she should have invited him to come along. Yet, the idea of him sitting with her and Liz sharing a muffin was just too much for her to fathom. Her guilt evaporated when he refused to make eye contact with her for the whole day even though he rode with her, El a, and Ruby.
Wish Alik
could have driven with us instead.

When she went to bed last night, she had hoped she would have her dream again. She would have enjoyed sleeping

peaceful y, being assured that he had not stayed behind like everything else that mattered so much.

It was funny real y, looking forward to a reoccurring dream.

He felt so real though, like the one person who could keep her safe and happy. She would breathe in his smel and feel him against her as he held her. His eyes could captivate her with their longing. If she were to find someone to love, she would want that connection. She desired more than

chemistry; she wanted her heart to be fused to another’s.

Lexie believed in love at first sight. It had never happened to her of course, but she was romantic enough to know the possibility existed. The closest she ever came to that was
when she and Liz watched a
My So Called Life
marathon and she fel for the irresistible Jordan Catalano. Over the years, she had a few boyfriends, but none that were more than a crush. She

had kissed them and a few tried to take it further than that, but she was just not interested. Even if she was old

fashioned, she would wait until she found the perfect one, her soul mate.

Lexie wondered about her brothers. Could they possibly be smooth with the ladies? She chuckled as she imagined

Maxim wooing a lucky girl.
Where would he take his date?

A cave and
make her skin a deer?

Alik wouldn’t be so bad. He at least smiled on occasion and he even complimented her last night for being so

helpful unpacking the moving van. She could see the two of them becoming friends. He was not unattractive either; most girls would find him cute. Al three of them had

Dragos’s blonde hair, but Alik had a gentler side the others didn’t possess.

Yesterday she discovered that she liked Alik’s varied

expressions. Lexie noted when Max wasn’t around, her

younger stepbrother was much more relaxed and cool. He was singing a classic song by Chris Isaak and when she
mentioned she liked the song, he said he would rip the CD

to her laptop. It could be cool having a brother who was fun to be around, unlike Maxim who was so intimidating.

She and El a had a bathroom just to themselves. She was relieved to be able to organize her makeup and hair

products without taking over the space. The bathroom had a double vanity sink and a large claw foot tub. A hot bubble bath was just

what she needed after al of the heavy lifting and scouring away of grime. She laid out a pair of jeans, her Dr. Pepper t-shirt, and her cute pink Victoria’s Secret bra with

matching thong onto her ful size bed.

Lexie sank into the soapy water and felt the tension leaving her muscles as she closed her eyes. The house was quiet, but it was early. She didn’t think they left her again, not that she would care if they did, but after spending the last month confined to a smal three bedroom townhouse, it was nice having room to spread out in. There was an old fashioned parlor, living room, dining room, library, and a smal family room off the kitchen. The old house was interesting with its architecture; she just wished the windows let in more light.

She closed her eyes and just floated about in the tub and thought maybe if she dozed off, she would dream of him
again.

Alerted from fantasizing, she turned around and looked towards the door.
Did the bathroom door just open?

She thought she left it closed. The bathroom was in the little hal between her and El a’s room – no one would come in without knocking. “El a?” she cal ed out. “El a, is that you? I’l be out in just a minute – I’m taking a bath.” She waited. No response from her sister. Knowing El a, she was

downstairs watching
iCarly
with a bowl of cheerios. The house is old, she

reminded herself. The door could have just opened.
Maybe
it’s
Casper the friendly ghost.

Her bath was growing cold. After towel drying her hair and rubbing her skin down with her favorite perfume scented lotion, she wrapped herself in the towel and padded out to her room.

Maxim was standing beside her bed holding her panties.

Lexie could feel al of her blood drain from her face.

He considered her and held up her thong, “This a

swimsuit?”

“Why are you in my room Max?” she snapped her panties from his hand. “Haven’t you ever heard of privacy?”

He just stared at her with a peculiar expression. “You haven’t come down to eat yet,” he stated as matter-of-fact.

“What is it with you and my breakfast habits? I skip

breakfast al of the time. I even forget to eat lunch

sometimes.

That doesn’t give you the right to come in my room and touch my things.” She glared up at him, wondering if he even realized how furious she was.

“We eat together Lexie – that’s what families do. You’re too thin, you shouldn’t skip meals.” He walked out of her room without an apology or a reply for his stupid excuse.

Lexie was seething with fury. He was in her room and he touched her panties. Did he look in the bathroom at her while

she was in the tub too? Her mother would hear about this one, and there would be boundaries established and a lock put on her door unless Ruby wanted her eldest daughter committing mass murder.

Torin no longer felt extreme temperatures. Although the weather crafted another hot and humid August day, his

body effectively kept him cool and free from discomfort.

He pushed his Yamaha’s engine to go faster and harder

over the dirt trail in front of him. He could sense that Cian and Teagan were close behind. Braden blew ahead of him, hitting the jumps and corners with ease and precision. Even a year ago, neither of them would have been able to ride at this speed. The closer Torin came to the change, the more power he had.

His heightened senses weren’t the reason he took such

extremes now, it was frustration. He could control his body at extreme speeds but he had no say in his future. It

awaited him in utter darkness – a constant mystery that taunted his thoughts daily. Torin did not have any future plans, none of them did. He

wouldn’t know that luxury until he knew what he would be capable of and if those around him would be safe. His

eighteenth birthday was two months ago, meaning he could change at any time. He could lose himself and everyone he
loved.

They al had such confidence: his parents, his three friends.

When he brought the subject up, he was constantly told not to sweat it. The change would come, like a thief in the night, and then he would be reborn into what he was destined to be, either to walk in the day or in the night. He hated that it was supposed to be that easy – because it was always at the back of his mind, burrowing into his subconscious.

His father once said: “It was painful, feeling the beast arise while the human stepped back into the history of what you once were – making room for a dual purpose and a choice of destinies…” Torin didn’t see how there was real y a choice. If there was, he would have been human al along, the same with Cian. They wanted a life of their own, free from a thousand year old curse.

He knew al too wel that he was different. When he was young, despite words of caution, he would make human

friends at his school and forget he wasn’t one of them, until something tragic happened.

Like Shane, when the riptide pulled him under…

Torin was different, he couldn’t get sick and he barely got
hurt. As he got older, he pushed away everyone in his life until the only friends he had were his cousins Braden, Cian, and Teagan. Each born with the understanding and

responsibility of what they were. No one else could possibly comprehend.

The wind roared past his face and he longed to go faster and harder than ever before. The bike continued to build its momentum as he pressed harder on the throttle. He wanted nothing more than to erase the pent up frustration pul ing his chest apart and antagonizing every waking thought. In his mind, he pictured himself soaring, no longer being trapped in his flesh.

Al at once, he was in the air, unable to feel the bike beneath him. A release so vast swept through every nerve ending, al owing him to push forward. He could just keep going and never land, but then in his mind was her face….

The ground raised up to hit him like a cement mixer. He groaned as a brief explosion of pain sent shockwaves

through his body before it began repairing itself. He laid stil looking up at the treetops and the blue sky and suddenly laughed. “What the hel was that?”

Braden ran to him, “Dude, you were flying!”

“I must have caught air on some jump.” he pul ed himself up into a sitting position and brushed off the dirt caked to his
elbows and knees.

“Torin, I’m not talking about the bike, you were flying.”

“Yeah right, we can’t fly.” He swiftly retorted.

“Gliding, whatever. I can’t even do that yet and I changed months ago.” Braden countered in disbelief. He pushed his blond hair out of his eyes and turned to point back at the dirt bike on its side fifty feet back.

Torin glanced back to where his bike was. He looked at Braden seriously for a moment and then they both laughed wildly. Life was unclear and not very easy, but at least it was interesting.

Once Teagan and Cian caught up, they loaded the bikes

back onto the trailers of two ful size trucks. Braden looked over at Torin, waiting to see if he would mention his latest ability to surface to the other guys. Torin didn’t want to try to explain something he wasn’t sure of himself. His father and the others in their coven were capable of doing it, but it was a skil that came in the later years.

“So, what did Endel ion pack for us?” Teagan pul ed out Torin’s cooler and began to unload sandwiches, Gatorade,
fruit, and granola. His mother was fond of them al and she treated each like a son.

“Mom spoils you,” he replied quietly. His mother was

amazing – she always made a fuss over them. He was

grateful

they showed her so much respect and love. She would

need them if he was no longer around.

Teagan stuffed half of a roast beef sandwich in his mouth.

“She just wishes she had gotten lucky enough to have had me for her child,” he razzed with a big grin and an over dramatic shake of his copper hair.

“Sure, she always wanted a daughter.” Torin smirked and threw an apple at his youngest cousin’s head.

Cian leaned against the side of the truck’s bed, “As much as I love hanging with you girls, I need to go see Brooke.”

Braden turned from the cooler and looked at him

speculatively. “How’s that going?”

Cian’s dark eyes narrowed, “Fine, I guess.” He stood up straight and his face stiffened with resentment. “She’s stil unaware if that’s what you mean,” he chal enged, waiting for their usual disagreement.

“We know you wouldn’t go there Cian,” Torin stepped in. If anyone understood any of Torin’s reservations about what they were, it would be Cian. “See if she has honeys looking for some excitement before school starts up again. I think Braden is in need of a little female companionship.”

The tension was thick lately between Braden and Cian.

Braden made the change first and now watched over his

cousins with a force that annoyed even Teagan with his good nature.

Braden was always warning them to keep a personal

distance from those in town, to protect the family, and to keep a low profile that doesn’t draw any attention. As soon as any of them got a bit carried away, he was always

cautioning them to take life seriously. Torin knew that Braden felt responsible for them, but even he could only take so much of the parenting act. Braden never cut lose anymore. The guy could use some fun.

As the youngest, Teagan never had a hard time getting lost in a wil ing female for a short while. He always managed to keep his dal iances purely physical. Cian on the other hand, was the only one who ever remained attached to humans.

Most recently because he had fal en for Brooke. Torin could see what a struggle it was for his friend. He was always concerned for her safety but couldn’t even share with her the most important part of his life, that his family and closest friends weren’t completely human.

Torin watched his friend getting ready to leave. He hoped Cian could enjoy a long life with Brooke without any pain or worry. He wouldn’t tel his friend about dreaming of his fate-partner, he hadn’t told anyone yet, but tel ing Cian was out of the question. It would be like rubbing salt into an open wound.

He did not blame Cian for finding a connection worth

fighting for. It was only natural to seek solace from

loneliness and love was never easy to find.

Lexie stomped out of the front door. It was for her own sanity as much as her mother’s that she took a break from the mayhem in the house. She expected her mother to take her side and give Max hel . Instead, her mother, always the diplomat, smiled and asked her to be patient and give the guys time to adjust to the sensitive needs of females.