Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three) (7 page)

“I heard Tess scream.” His jaw tightened and
he swallowed hard. “I jumped out of bed and almost tripped over Dad
and Mom when I got to the living room. They were tied up on the
floor. Someone hit me over the back of the head and then I don’t
remember much for a while. Every time we would wake up they would
make us drink this awful tasting drink. It would knock me out every
time. Then one morning I woke up and I was in a cell, alone. I
called out and Dad called back to me. They had put the three of
them in a separate cell. I remember asking if Tess was ok. I could
hear her crying. Mom said she would be fine. That’s when he walked
in, Braw, acting all fatherly and concerned, telling me how I had
been misled but was about to see the light. I heard them take Mom,
Dad, and Tess out of their cell just after supper.”

His voice dropped and hardened. “They came
for me shortly after. They were even nice enough to give me front
row seats to the event.”

I put a hand on his shoulder and he glanced
at me. “You’ve seen it?”

I nodded.

“My dad was black and blue. His face was all
broken. Mom and Tess, well, I guess shifters aren’t good enough to
live, but they are good enough to fuck.” His jaw clenched. “Tess
looked at me and started crying. Her clothes were so ripped they
barely covered her. I tried to get to her. I tried. Someone tackled
me and I ended up tied to a tree that was close enough so I could
still see what was going to happen. Braw walked up to them with
that staff and they started to scream. Then there was two of each
of them. I didn’t see where the arrows came from, but the next
thing I knew their cats were laying there, dead and then they
collapsed. Just like that, it was done.”

He took a deep breath. “It took six months of
being beaten every day before I finally told him he was right. I
never believed it, mind you. I knew I had a better chance of
escaping if I was allowed to roam around. I was there two weeks
living among them when I ran into Beth. She had just crossed over
and had been brought straight to Paradin.” He smiled at the
memory.

“We lived outside of the keep, not too far
from the Wedelven River, actually. She convinced me to stay close
to her crossing; she was hoping to go back one day. We lived there
for six years. Then Braw decided he needed more men for his army.
He sent patrols out to collect all of the men in the area.
Mandatory enlistment. I refused. Two of them jumped me and Beth
tried to stop them. A third guy hit her over the head then helped
the other two beat me to a pulp. I think they left me there
thinking I was going to die. I managed to live. Beth didn’t. I
don’t know if he meant to kill her, but the blow to the head did
it. I spent the next year plotting my revenge. I was on my way to
the keep to try to kill Braw when I ran into William and his crew
who were on their way out. I had met him a few times in Paradin
when Beth and I went there for supplies.”

“I told him he was about to commit suicide,”
said William. “I told him if he truly wanted revenge that he should
come with me to find you; that you would do better than just kill
Braw. You would destroy the staff. Of course, I have to admit that
at the time, I wasn’t entirely sure what you had planned. But that
is what you have in mind, isn’t it Hayden? I mean, why else would
you be recruiting down here?”

I nodded. “That’s the plan. We’re on our way
to Howel to see if I can heal Damian. He’s the leader of the Majs.
Once that’s done, we’re heading to Paradin. Melana, the Namael
Queen, will meet us there with her army. This has to end.”

“Do you think you can do it?” asked
Steven.

“I’m not sure. Not by myself. But I do think
that if I can pool my powers with Rainen’s, Damian’s, and
Marilynn’s we should be able to do it. What I want to do is exactly
what Braw wants me for. I’ll channel all of our powers and project
them then keep my fingers crossed. Of course that means I have to
get close enough to the staff without getting close enough for it
to touch me because then I would be channeling its powers as well.”
I looked back and reached for Jasper’s hand. “If that happens…” I
took a deep breath. “It won’t happen. If Braw gets close enough to
use me, there’s only one way to make sure he can’t.”

Jasper growled low in his throat. “Don’t talk
stupid, Shlova.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do, Hun. If Braw
gets his hands on me, am I supposed to just let him use me to wipe
you out? I’m supposed to kill everyone I love?”

“He won’t get that close.”

“It’s an option we have to think about.”

“No.”

“Jasper…”

“No.” He let go of my hand and walked ahead
of me.

Dodge snorted behind me.
He’ll die before
he lets you do anything of the sort.

I swallowed hard. “He’s used to being able to
save me. There’s nothing he can do against Braw. If he gets close
enough to attack Braw, then Braw is close enough to touch him with
that staff.”

Gina, who was usually very quiet, put a hand
on my shoulder. “But if Braw is busy separating Jasper from his
tiger, then that gives you that much more time to do your
thing.”

I looked up at her, shocked, but knowing she
had tapped into what Jasper had been thinking. I glanced down the
trail in time to see him shift and bound into the woods.

“I’ll meet you guys at the campsite.”
Everyone nodded and I sprinted in the direction he had gone. Of
course, I had no chance of catching up to him. I couldn’t keep up
to him when he was a human, much less when he was a tiger.

“Jasper!” I called out into the forest, my
heart beating hard from the run and my emotions. I swallowed and
tried to keep the sobs from starting. The thought of watching him
being separated overwhelmed me and I sat on a rock, trying to catch
my breath. The pain that I would feel if he weren’t around engulfed
me. I put my face in my hands and cried.

“Hayden.”

I looked up to see Jasper standing a few feet
away, his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunched over. I
couldn’t remember ever seeing him looking this miserable. I ran to
him and wrapped my arms around him. He took a long shuddering
breath and tilted my head so I was looking at him. His face was
dirty where he had wiped his tears away.

“I can’t live without you,” he whispered. “Do
you understand? If you go and do a foolish thing like that, I may
as well die trying to stop it.” His eyes searched my face. “Do you
remember when I told you that you brought me back to life the night
you kissed me?”

I nodded and closed my eyes as he wiped the
tears from my face with his thumb.

“If you die, my reason for living is gone.”
He crushed me to his chest and I clung to him. “You can’t leave
me.” His voice was hoarse with emotion.

I took a deep breath. “I won’t,” I
whispered.

“Promise me.”

“I promise I won’t leave you.” I reached up
and put my hand against his cheek then did the same with the other.
His week-long stubble scratched against my palms and I smoothed it
with my thumbs. “But you don’t forget your promise.” I cleared my
throat. “You already promised me you wouldn’t leave me.”

He nodded and brushed some stray hairs away
from my face. “I did. And I won’t.”

I pulled him down to me and kissed him hard.
It was one of those kisses that held every emotion in the book.
Jasper’s lips answered mine. We were both breathing hard and my
head started to spin. He moved the kiss along my jaw line then down
to my collar bone. He pulled me close and held me against him, his
face pressed against my neck.

“Don’t ever talk like that again,” he
whispered.

I shook my head and ran my hands through his
dark brown curls. We stayed that way for a few minutes before
reluctantly letting go of each other. Jasper used a clean spot on
his shirt to wipe my face and I returned the favor. We stood there,
simply looking at each other for a moment.

“Should we head back?” What I really wanted
to do was spend some time alone with my mate though I knew we had
to get going.

He nodded, took my hand, and we made our way
back to the campsite.

Matthew was sitting beside Emelly. He looked
up as we approached, assessed the situation then smiled and, being
Matthew, turned to the business at hand.

“I was thinking that maybe William, Emelly,
and Steven should use a shifting stone. If they could shift, we
would make better time.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea,” agreed
Jasper. He looked to Emelly. “Any thoughts on what you might want
to be?”

Her eyes widened and she looked at Matthew.
She shook her head. “Well, um, I don’t know. Do you like being a
leopard?”

He laughed. “I’ve been one for thirty years
and I don’t have any complaints so far.”

“Alright, then, how about a leopard?” She
blushed and her freckles disappeared.

Jasper handed me the bag of stones and I
lifted them out one by one before nudging them. Namaels had a light
blue aura whereas Majs had a dark blue one. I had also started to
notice that each of the animals had a slight variation to its main
color. I found a stone that had a slightly more aqua colored aura
and passed it to Matthew. He smiled and gave it to Emelly.

“You just have to think about it,” he said
softly.

She nodded, closed her eyes, and shifted. The
leopard looked up at Matthew. He smiled and shifted also. The two
cats rubbed heads and Matthew started to purr.

By this time I had already found the next
stone I had been looking for. I tossed it to Steven. “Here, try
this one.”

He caught the stone and took a few deep
breaths before shifting into a cheetah.

“William?”

He looked at me uncertainly. “Um, I don’t
know.”

“Give him a wolf, Hayden.” Rainen smiled at
me.

I picked through the bag until I found a wolf
stone and passed it to him. He shifted and stood there, looking
from me to Rainen. The grey wolf shook before turning back into
William.

“Man, that is the weirdest feeling ever.”

“Alright. Let’s move out.” Jasper gave my
hand a squeeze and kissed me softly before shifting. I hopped onto
Dodge and we all started off at a trot deeper into Maj
territory.

*****

Jasper was just starting to fall asleep when
he felt Hayden’s shields drop. He pushed himself to wake up and
concentrated on her feelings. He frowned.

Matthew walked by their blankets and stopped.
“What’s wrong?”

“She’s dreaming again.”

“That’s two in just over a week.”

“She hasn’t done that since she first crossed
over.”

Jasper concentrated on her feelings, trying
to get a feel for what she might be dreaming about. He felt her
annoyance and her fear which quickly turned into two emotions; her
battle calm in the dream and an anxious fear that she was feeling
as she dreamed it. This was followed by a dual feeling of
overwhelming relief.

A sob shook her and tears flowed down her
face. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She
turned and held him tight.

“Thank god!” she whispered.

“What was it about?”

“It was the same dream.” She looked up at him
and smiled. “You don’t die.”

He frowned. “How?”

“Damian. In this dream he’s there. He’s with
you. When I push the energy out, he shields you.”

Matthew pushed away from the tree he was
leaning on. “Why would it change?”

“I don’t know. Maybe after I made up my mind
to go after Braw things changed. Maybe we get there sooner. I’m not
sure.” She took a deep breath.

Matthew smiled and gave Jasper a pat on the
back. “Well, either way it’s nice to know.”

Jasper smiled back. “I can’t disagree.” He
noticed some movement by a bush a little ways away. Emelly took a
step toward them then stopped, as if unsure she was allowed to come
closer. A breeze blew through the trees and he felt Hayden shiver
against him.

“Care to join us, Emelly?”

Matthew’s gaze moved in the direction he had
looked. His friend’s face lit up with his smile. Emelly gave a
small nod and smiled shyly. She made her way to their blankets.

“I just, I heard Hayden cry. I was making
sure someone was with her.” She turned red enough that her freckles
disappeared.

Hayden smiled. “I’m fine, thanks. Jasper’s
never too far away when I start to dream.” He felt her love for him
and warmed all over. He realized, however, that Hayden wasn’t
feeling the warmth.

“Are you cold?” The night was cooling off
quickly and the temperature was dropping lower than it had all
week. He actually thought it might snow.

“Always,” she laughed. She leaned back
against him and he wrapped them both in a blanket. “If I had known
it was still this cool here, I would have brought my winter
coat.”

“Don’t you have a jacket, Emelly?” asked
Matthew. He frowned as another gust of wind blew by and she
shivered.

She shook her head. “When the human pack
attacked us, dad yelled at me to run. I didn’t grab anything, I
just ran.”

Matthew pulled his tunic over his head.
“Here. Put this on.”

“But…”

“It’s alright. I have another one. This one
is the thicker of the two.”

“But, what about you?”

“It’s fine. Shifters aren’t as affected by
the cold as humans are. Really. Take it.”

Jasper noticed Emelly take an appraising look
at Matthew’s bare upper body from under her eyelashes. She finally
took the tunic and pulled it over her head then rolled the sleeves
up.

“Thank you.”

Matthew flashed a smile. “No problem.” He
frowned again. “Do you have blankets?”

She nodded. “William and Steven each gave me
one of theirs.”

“Alright. Well, if you need another one just
come find me.”

“I will. Thank you.”