Chapter 100: White Hair, Don’t Care

ARIEL

I wake up in a cold sweat.

Since Fate’s little visit, I haven’t been sleeping well.

I feel like I’m seeing her around every corner, but then she’s gone in the blink of an eye.

~Maybe I’m just losing it…~

I get up and hop in the shower, trying to wash my sweat—and my fears—away.

When I get out, I see my phone buzzing by the edge of the sink.

Amy

I’m baaaaaaack!

Amy

Where’s my royal welcome??

I almost forgot that Amy is back from her honeymoon today.

I should be more excited, but…

Fate’s threat still chills me.

***

I’m hurrying down the stairs when the front doors of the palace are blown open and Amy barrels in.

She envelops me in a big hug, then pulls away and looks at me from head to toe.

“What have you done with your hair? I love it! It is absolutely ~divine~!” Amy says, playing with my growing number of white-blonde curls.

“Thank you, I think so too,” I say.

~It’s actually my hair stylist that is the divine one!~

“How was your honeymoon?” I ask.

“Oh it was beautiful,” Amy says, linking her arm in mine. “Sun, sea, sand, sangria…and SEX!”

“So, what’s the plan for you two?” I ask.

“We’ll settle in for a few days before making our way to the Scripture Pack to see Angel’s brother.”

I see Marius entering the foyer, carrying several bags single-handedly. I give him a wave.

“So you’re definitely set on this one?” I say to Amy with a wry smile.

Amy’s jaw comically drops open.

“When have I ever NOT been looking for a long-term relationship?”

“I distinctly remember you asking Wilbur Willard in our second-grade class out at recess and dumping him at the end of the day because he wouldn’t kiss you at lunch.”

Amy shrugs.

“You just know when you know. And Wilbur is now happily mated to his husband, so it was definitely mutual.”

We both laugh.

“It is interesting though: it’s like this place is full of non-destined mates,” I say.

“Huh?”

“Well, there’s me and Alex, you and Marius, my parents, Steve and Louisa. Natalia seems to be the only one who is courting a destined mate.”

“Natalia has a mate?”

“Yeah, he’s sleeping outside.”

Amy does a double take.

“The buff hippy in the junky truck? That’s Natalia’s mate?”

I nod.

“Well, if it makes her happy, then she should go for it,” Amy says. “I think she’s quite lucky to find her destined mate. I never did.”

“You want to find your destined mate?” I ask.

“More out of curiosity, just to see who they are. But I don’t think I could love anyone more than I love Angel. Well, aside from you, babe.”

I give Amy’s arm a light squeeze in return.

~You see this, Fate? You’re misguided in trying to match us up to our mates.~

~We wouldn’t have it any other way.~

NATALIA

I feel like a princess, staring out my bedroom window in the palace tower, looking over the lawns at dusk, down at my prince and his noble ride.

~Well…Charlie and his truck.~

I love to watch him in his element.

He’s been working in the gardens and helping harvest food for the royal kitchen.

I swear I saw him earlier talking to a squirrel that was sitting in the palm of his hand.

We are so different—and not just physically.

For one, we have very different tolerances for dirt. Charlie loves it, and is usually covered in it… I, on the other hand, ~love~ to feel clean.

But more importantly, he is good-natured and honest…and I’m neither of those things.

I want to spend every second of the day with him—to hear him speak, to watch him work.

I can’t deny that I’m drawn to him, but is it because of our destined mate bond or…am I starting to fall for him for real?

~Why do we even need destined mates?~

~Ariel was Xavier’s destined mate, and look how they turned out.~

I’m roused from my thoughts by a two-toned whistle from below.

I look down and realize that Charlie is looking straight back at me, a cute smile adorning his face.

Even from this distance I can see the playful crinkle in his eyes.

I feel a wave of heat flush through my body. I instantly look away and begin playing with my hair.

I hear the creaking of the drainpipe beside my window and can’t help but peek outside.

My jaw drops open.

Charlie is climbing the pipe to my room.

He pokes his head through the window, and I can’t help but giggle.

~My very own mountain man, coming to save the princess from the castle.~

~Who does that make the dragon?~

~Probably Dianne.~

“Sorry, but I couldn’t help but notice that you were staring at me?” Charlie says.

My heart flutters.

~It never felt like this with Xavier.~

“Well, when there is someone as gorgeous as yourself, I can’t help but stare.”

“Hey, I want to show you something; come down to my truck,” he says as he starts to make his way back down the pipe. “You comin’?”

“Yeah, but I’ll be using the front door. And I’m bringing some cushions. My spine still hasn’t recovered from the last ride.”

I grab a few pillows and some blankets from the foot of my bed, and carry them down to the garden.

Charlie is waiting in the bed of his truck.

I throw the bedding into the back and fluff it up before lying down. Charlie joins me and nervously takes my hand.

He extends one of my fingers and points it up to the night sky.

“You see that, where the tip of your finger is?” he asks. I squint and see a row of three stars: two small and one large.

Charlie moves my hand slightly down, coming to rest on another set of stars.

“Do you know what that is?” he asks.

I shake my head.

“That is the constellation Lupus, the wolf,” Charlie narrates. “I would always look to that constellation when I was searching for you. Whenever I worried I wouldn’t find you, I would look to the night sky to remind me I was on a journey.”

“A journey?” I ask.

“Trying to find my mate—you. Destiny and the stars guided me to your side.”

“You trusted the stars?” I whisper. “You waited for me…but you didn’t even know who I was.”

Charlie turns to me.

“True, but I have thought of nothing else since I caught your scent all those years ago.”

“I followed the stars, and now I see them in your face.” He draws a finger across my cheek and the bridge of my nose.

“Constellations of freckles, galaxies in your eyes.”

~Is that just what he thinks his destined mate wants to hear?~

~What will he say when he finds out the secrets I’ve kept from him?~

“Do you think a relationship can really stand the test of time just because two people are fated?” I ask.

Charlie shrugs.

“Why would destiny bring us together if we weren’t compatible with each other?”

I look away, trying to hide my worry.

I didn’t think we were compatible when I first saw him.

~Will we still be compatible when he finds out who my ex-mate is?~

~When he finds out I chose Xavier over him…~

Charlie picks up my hand again and begins tracing the sky above us, naming the pinpricks of light in the dark.

I pull one of the blankets around the two of us.

For the first time in forever, I feel safe and warm against another person’s side.

Soon, Charlie’s husky voice slowly sends me off to sleep.

ARIEL

I receive a letter at breakfast, handwritten on parchment paper.

~Dear Luna Ariel,~

~My mother is sick. She is seventy and had a bad fall recently.~

~The doctors say there is nothing we can do, just make her feel comfortable.~

~We wanted to attend the ceremonies, but we’ve missed out on them time and again.~

~I assume you probably get many messages like this daily, but I call upon your empathy now.~

~My mother is all I have left. I have no mate, no children.~

~I just want her to stay for as long as possible.~

~I hope you can help.~

~Jacqueline N.~

I stand, not even finishing my food, running off to my wardrobe to get ready.

~This is what my power should be used for. Healing those who Fate is trying to take away.~

I smile.

~Come on Fate—think you can beat me?~

***

Alex orders a whole squad of wolves to escort me to the elderly woman’s house.

“This is a top secret mission,” he says, staring at each of them in turn.

“Be careful,” he says softly. “I just don’t want someone to find out about this and then you become overwhelmed with requests.”

“I’ll be fine,” I say, giving him a peck goodbye.

The wolves work in diamond formation, guarding me as if I’m some head of state or royalty.

~It’s strange to think about, but I’m actually both of those things...~

We get to the house, and the squad leader insists on searching the house before I’m let inside.

After being satisfied that the occupants—a bedbound seventy-year-old and her fifty-year-old daughter—are harmless, the squad retreats outside.

I go inside the humble dwelling and sit down on the bed next to the old woman and take her hand in mine.

She’s so frail. I feel if I put even a tiny amount of pressure on her body, I’ll snap her in half.

I close my eyes and focus my power. Heat floods through me and into the woman…but something is different.

Something is wrong.

When I heal other people, I can feel their life force getting stronger with each second. But with this woman, it’s getting dimmer with each passing moment.

My healing powers aren’t working as they should.

Then I hear that ominous voice pervade my mind.

~“It’s her time to go, Ariel.”~

~“She’s too old and too weak.”~

~“You tried your hardest, but you can’t cheat death.”~

I shake Fate’s words from my head and concentrate even harder, gripping onto the old woman’s hand like a vise.

It feels like fire is coming out of my hands as I put all my energy into her.

~“Just give up.”~

~“You can’t beat me.”~

~“I have already woven the final thread on her web.”~

“NO!” I shout, startling the woman’s daughter.

I concentrate all of my power into the old woman’s hand, praying to Selene.

I’m worried that I’ll hurt her, but I have to try; I have to beat Fate.

My chest starts to tighten as I continue to push.

The pressure builds in my heart, until I feel an explosion detonate deep within me, the energy reverberating out of my hands and into the old woman.

“Oh Goddess!” she shrieks, jolting up in bed.

I let go of the woman’s hand and she slowly gets out of bed, testing each leg.

She’s wobbly at first, but then she stands up straight, a smile spreading across her face. The daughter screams in delight, and the two embrace.

~“She was supposed to die!”~ Fate screeches at me.

~“Looks like I’m more powerful than you!”~ I reply in my thoughts.

~“You are not more powerful than a goddess!”~ Fate screams. ~“You altered her fate when she belonged to me. Now I’ll take someone else.”~

~“Go ahead and try, bitch,”~ I retort.

~“Next time it will be someone close to you. Even the powers given to you by my sister won’t save them!”~ Fate whispers, before severing our connection.