Broken fate, p.1
Broken Fate, page 1
Broken Fate
Willow Winters
Contents
Broken Fate
Prologue
1. Lena
2. Jude
3. Lena
4. Jude
5. Jude
6. Jude
7. Jude
8. Lena
9. Jude
10. Jude
11. Lena
12. Jude
13. Veronica
14. Lena
15. Lena
16. Veronica
Also by Willow Winters
About Willow Winters
Copyright © 2021 by Willow Winters
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Design: Lori Jackson Design
Broken Fate
With one glance my fists clench and my wolf snarls…she’s mine, even if she bears the enemy’s claiming mark.
Prologue
Jude
Even if my heart is racing, I blend in perfectly, just as I’ve been trained to do. The mud masks my scent and they have no fucking clue I’ve been watching them for hours. All the while an anxiousness fights against my instincts. Devin, my Alpha, tasked me with recon to get a good look at the enemy and their defenses. They targeted us first, threatened the Alpha mate… so they have this coming. I had my suspicions, but I never could have known how damn weak Shadow’s pack is. It’s unfortunate that addiction has destroyed their wolves. It’s more than obvious with their lazy sparring in between swigs of whiskey and snorts of cocaine. The arrogance that is Shadow, their Alpha, finally surfaced a few minutes ago with his young mate, and I hadn’t realized I could be shocked further.
I anticipated feeling pity for this pack, like I have so many others that have young pups and difficulties my pack can only imagine. Until last week, we were only a small pack of males—not a single one of us had found our mate. With the damage fate raised us with before bringing the Shadow Falls pack together, I thought it best there was no one to share this life with. So when it comes to other packs, ones with children, I have mercy.
Not this time. The longer I observe, the angrier I become. It’s a little too close to what was once my home.
The Alpha mate, a petite and rather thin brunette with slicked-back hair, smirks as she kicks the two pups to the side. “Move and wait your turn,” she speaks loud enough for the entire camp to hear. Although, I’m unsure the pups understand. They’re both in poor health and have poor hygiene. As are the half a dozen adults sharing the charred meal of venison around the open flames. With torn jeans and simple shirts stained with blood and dirt, the elders of the pack pay no mind to anything apart from their meal. Merely pushed to the side, the two pups seem to gather up energy to continue their efforts, desperate to get at the bones the males are tossing to the side around the fire pit.
I would be shocked if the pups were hers, although no other adult seems to care. Two men glance back over their shoulder before scooting down the makeshift bench to provide a spot for their Alpha mate. The two other women don’t spare the pups a glance, even with the faint yelp from the smallest.
It’s sickening to watch. My mind races with possibilities that the two are runts and are practically abandoned, or that the mother passed bringing them here.
Taking stock of the women gathered around the fire, I’m not given any clues to the pups, only to their addiction and poor health. I’m surprised their bones aren’t poking through the thin flesh covering their frail bodies.
A strangled sob from a hut on the left of the clearing captures my attention. It also catches Shadow’s mate’s attention, and she rises instantly, standing so quickly five of the six pack members around the fire watch her carefully. Not the Alpha though. Shadow doesn’t bother looking up from his food. “Leave her alone.”
“Why is that bitch even allowed to breathe the same air as me?” she hisses at her Alpha. Shadow blended into the pack before, but her comment raises his hackles, his spine stiffens as he straightens his shoulders toward her. There’s a menacing dominance about him, and the other men still, waiting and watching.
His cold eyes finally meet hers as he sneers, “Because she’s pregnant with my pup.” My heart beats once out of turn as I take in the scene. My emotions are far too high from the sight before me.
Her nose scrunches in disgust. “That’s your fault for taking a mate that wasn’t yours.” I suppress the growl growing in my chest. A mate is for life, yet he’s taken two. One of which isn’t his true mate? As the scene unfolds, my wolf paces faster and presses against my chest. So much is wrong, but holding my wolf back has never been a challenge before.
Shadow rises from his seat on the log bench around the fire and stalks to his mate. She stands defiantly before cowering slightly, seeming to resign herself to her fate. His hand whips through the air, slaps her cheek, and busts her lip open. The smack makes one of the other women flinch, but the men don’t move. No one says a word as the Alpha mate lands hard on her side in the dirt. I feel bile rise up my throat, but I stay still and will my disgust down.
“Don’t you fucking question me.” The rest of the pack continues to eat while they watch with little interest. It must be a common occurrence. Again, I get the feeling that it’s all too close to what my life was once like for me to keep my wits about me. If my wolf’s reaction is anything to go by, I shouldn’t be here alone. I don’t trust myself not to act.
“And when you finally get the pup you wanted?” She looks up at him with daggers, brushing her cheek but staying on the ground. A moan of pain echoes through the camp from the hut, but no one bothers to turn their attention away from their Alphas’ feud. Inside, my wolf muffles a howl of agony at the sound from the hut.
She’s not well and my wolf begs me to save her and the pups.
“Then you can do what you want with her.” He murmurs the words casually as he retakes his seat. A cruel smile forms on his mate’s thin lips as she rises and takes a seat next to him, once again kicking one of the pups before she sits. Pure evil washes off her body in waves. A sickness rises inside of me as I gather her intent for Shadow’s pregnant mate.
Questions gather as I watch them eat in relative silence until the pained cry interrupts them with nothing but annoyance.
“Someone drag that bitch out here and shove some food down her throat.” Two wolves rise at the command from their Alpha, but with a quick glance at each other, one sits back down and continues ripping meat off the bone to gorge himself. I watch the other take long strides to the dirty hut and disappear for a moment before dragging out a woman by her hair. Her feet barely touch the ground.
My heart stops and all the air leaves my lungs. Her brunette hair is matted, her dull skin is covered with dirt, and her belly is swollen with Shadow’s child. She whimpers as the wolf roughly shoves her down on her knees in front of the fire. A fury of rage boils inside of me.
I clench my fists and resist the urge to barrel down the hill and rip this pathetic pack apart. A snarl fumes in my chest, but I leave it there to flame the rage burning inside me. I watch as she stumbles in his grasp and sobs from the pain he‘s causing her. My wolf fights against my firmly planted feet. Frozen, afraid of what I’d do if I dared to move, I barely breathe until his hands are off her. I can’t break the secure hold I have on my body. If I move an inch, fuck, even if I breathe too deeply, I’ll let my beast out and devour as many of the useless wolves below me that I can.
But I’ll fail.
Although they’re weak, there are far too many of them for me to defeat. I’d make a dent in their numbers, but I will fail. My knuckles turn white as I clench my fists. The blood rushes in my ears as my heart pounds with turmoil.
I need to get a hold of Devin, but I can’t leave her. It feels as though a thousand spikes are tearing through me, splintering my very being as I watch her suffer while I stay hidden in the shadows.
My body shakes with anger and a sense of failure and weakness. I struggle with the need to go to her, to my mate, to save her from the fucking nightmare she’s living. I know she is my mate. There is no denying this pull. My wolf claws at me to be free, but I push him back, refusing to let him have the vengeance he so desperately wants.
Mine. My heart frantically beats in my chest as my wolf rages.
Soon. I tell my wolf and it’s the only thing that keeps me sane in this moment.
I refuse to look away from her as I make a promise to my wolf who whines in agony. Soon we’ll go to her. We’ll destroy this pack and make sure they suffer. Soon our mate will bear the mark of my claim to her. My gaze focuses on the silver scar on her neck as anger brews inside of me. How dare he claim what’s mine. I’ll kill Shadow and claim my mate if it’s the last thing I ever do.
Lena
I bear down and wince at another hard kick to my ribs. It’s only slight pain, but I can’t help the reaction. My little pup is so strong. His tiny foot pushes against my stomach and I gently place my hand against the print to feel him. The warmth and content that flow through me are all that keep me going. My lips curl up with a small smile as his foot disappears. Although it hurts, I love the feeling of him moving and stretching his legs. When I don’t feel him, I worry; he can kick me all day long if he’d like. I’ll take the pain and discomfort to know he’s well.
A rousing
The chill of the night creeps through the holes in the mud bricks and I huddle under the tattered blanket to protect myself from the breeze drifting through. I’m intent on simply surviving for the sake of my pup. The clay floor is bare and cold, yet it helps my swelling. I’ll take this if it means I can be left alone. I want to be as far from them as I can.
Right now, I’m safer than I was before I carried the Alpha’s child, but I know my days are numbered. I want to stay out of sight and out of mind for as long as I can. My mate has ruined me and the proud wolf I once was. I’m thankful that fate sent him another to bear the brunt of who he is. She was made for him, enjoying him and his dark ways. It offers me a reprieve.
I don’t belong here, and I wish I didn’t belong to him. The only good he’s ever given me is to let me be alone in this cramped shelter. He made me watch as his new mate pleased him, made me sleep on the floor of the same room while he gave her attention and care he’d never given me. I’m grateful she convinced him to leave me alone here, but I’m terrified to sleep. She’s come multiple times in the night while I’ve been pretending to sleep. Each time he’s come up behind her and told her to leave me alone. I suppose that means I owe him a bit of gratitude.
She doesn’t want me to carry his pup. I know she wishes me dead.
It’s only a matter of time. She’ll either defy Shadow and come to kill me in my sleep, or once my baby is born she’ll end my life and no one will bother to stop her. I know this is true, yet I no longer fear it. There’s a challenge buried inside of me. It does bring me grave sadness, knowing my child will be born into this. I have a plan though. Once I’ve delivered my pup, I’ll run. I won’t stop. I need to get my baby out of here. I will. That’s the last hope I have. I’ll do my best to fight them off and run as fast as I can. It may be the last chance I ever get, but I cling to the hope that I can try to free us one more time before I take my last breath.
I’ll save my child in a way my parents couldn’t save me.
Suppressing the hum of an almost forgotten lullaby, I rub my belly and remember how I used to dream of the day my mate would come and take me from my pack. The seers told me my mate would be an Alpha. They told me he would need me to create a worthy pack and to maintain strong ties with his previous pack so that they would join together and be an unstoppable force. They said a war was coming and I would bring a way for victory and peace. They told me lies. They filled my head with a fantasy that I was compelled to agree to. For the best of everyone else.
I remember the first time I saw Shadow. I remember my heart swelling with hope. The hope that my Alpha would take me away, make me his, and together we would do good in this world. I anticipated feeling a pull to my mate. The pull my pack always told me I’d feel. Like gravity didn’t exist and your soul was meant to merge with the other. The heat that would come and the need to be held by my mate. My sister told me it was like an electric spark and magnetic force that got stronger as you got closer to your mate. Like you were so physically drawn to that person that air no longer existed.
Shadow said he felt it. Felt the need to give me everything, to make me happy, and give me all his love. It’s not what I felt. There was something there, but it wasn’t what they told me it would be.
We were alone in the woods with the full moon hanging above us, as it is supposed to be. Merida arranged our meeting. My sister was full of hopes and dreams back then. She was ecstatic that we were going to be in the same pack. That together we would raise a family of wolves that could rival any other pack. I followed her into the darkness. I trusted that Shadow’s pull to me was enough, even if I didn’t feel a great pull to him. I let him claim me that night while Rayne claimed my sister.
The memory of that night brings a chill over my body, and my breath comes up short. Another holler from outside brings me back to the present. My fingers brush against his mark and my eyes close tightly remembering how much it hurt. My legs tremble, remembering the burn that scorched my entire body. It took hours to go away.
If I could go back, I’d never be claimed. I’d run from my mate and hide away where no one could ever find me.
I tried to be resilient for him. He told me it was shameful that I would react to the pain. That I wasn’t strong enough to take his mark. He said I didn’t deserve the honor of being an Alpha mate even though it was already done. I wish I’d let him leave me rather than promising to be better. I think, that very first night, I broke a promise with fate by not loving him as a mate should. Even if he had made his claim, I shouldn’t have clung to him and promised to be stronger and a worthy mate. I believed the words of the seers and tried to be better for him.
I was a fool.
Because of that, because of me, my family and old pack are dead, all but my niece and nephew, and they aren’t far behind. They don’t deserve this life. They’re so young and innocent. They didn’t choose this. I wish I could save them. I wish I could protect them. Most of all, I wish I could go back and not listen to a word from the seers. I should have trusted my instincts, but all the wishes can’t take a damn thing back.
For now I protect the pups as best I can. I don’t understand why their father keeps me away when he doesn’t care about them. Rayne lets them starve, but I’m beaten and chained for trying to give them my food. He won’t let them see me. He keeps them away only to hurt them further. Or to hurt me. My body shakes with agony, and my hollow chest tightens in pain. I hate Rayne. My shoulders hunch in anger and defeat as I bring my knees further into my belly. I hate my mate. My lungs heave with a harsh intake of air. I hate this pack.
The spiral haunts me daily as does the guilt of what I’ve done.
This isn’t a strong pack as the seers foretold and as far as ties with his previous pack, he’s tried to kill them, tried to cause them pain. I heard what they were planning to do to the pack mates. I’m so thankful they failed. I have no remorse that the members of my own pack are dead. Their hearts have turned black with greed and they delight in harming others. They thrive from one another’s resentment and brutality. Tears brim in my eyes as my throat dries, making it difficult to swallow. It got worse and worse, and I couldn’t stop it from happening.
There’s a sting of pain and then a small push against my belly reminds me of my reason for living. My baby. I let out a hush of a staggered sigh and rub my swollen belly. I close my eyes and imagine a future better than this. My little one apparently has the hiccups, bumping against my pelvic bone with each little jolt of his body. A small, sad laugh escapes me as my whole body warms with the tiniest hint of happiness.
Sleep begs to take me, but with these contractions I know the time is soon. I pray it is. I have to stay alert, and as soon as I’m given the chance, I’ll run. I have to believe it’s possible. Without it, without that small scrap of hope, there’s no reason to take another breath of this dirty air.
I wish I was stronger. I wish I was faster, but with this extra weight and exhaustion, there’s no way I could outrun Shadow’s pack. I tried once. Before I was pregnant. Once I realized what kind of wolf Shadow really was. The seers had told me lies, great and horrid lies. Once I opened my eyes and realized what hell I’d been given, I tried to run. It was late and the pack was asleep. I thought if I got a good head start then I could reach my family. I delivered death to my old pack. When he found me just a mile from them, he decided I deserved to be punished. He made me watch, bound and gagged, while his pack crept through the night and murdered every wolf. They hid in the shadows and ambushed my family. I could do nothing to save them. I was as weak then as I am now.
