True. The presence I felt in my head was less intrusive and the voice wasn’t my sister’s. She stayed on the surface, just communicating without really entering.
— She’s a telepath!
I’m surprised. I never thought I would see another fatel. I thought my sister and I were the last of our people and that they would die out along with us.
— I am a fatel, yes, just like you. I am a prophetess. Well, among other things.
Ashley nods at her and I don’t quite understand. A silent conversation ensues. Magic crackles in the air like an intangible, invisible fog. I’ve always been able to feel it, like a sixth sense. Another quirk of mine. Perhaps because I am always on the alert, waiting for potential danger, and the power of fatels can be extremely dangerous. I find it hard to bear being kept away in my own home.
— Can I know what’s going on?
It’s obvious that Sevana wants to tell me something and my sister is against it.
— Ashley, I can hear everything. I’m solid.
She frowns. She doesn’t believe me. Neither do I, but I want to know what’s been going on for the last few days and this fatel has the answers, I am sure of it.
— You trust me, don’t you?
Of course. She is my sister. The only one who will never betray me.
— Forever.
— So, promise me you will listen to the end without getting scared.
I don’t like where this conversation is going. However, I trust my sister’s judgement. Besides, listening does not commit you to anything more.
— I promise to listen.
Ashley is undecided, but her friend makes the decision for her and drops a bombshell I wasn’t expecting.
— I am the alpha female of the Guardian Angels pack.
I instantly tense up. This fatel is linked to a shapeshifter. I know exactly how she got there. I was only five years old, but I could see and understand everything. I too should have been bound by force to one of them. So what does this woman want? Is it help? Or does she intend to betray us and feed us to her clan as if we were nothing more than animals being led to slaughter?
— Sam stop.
Ashley squeezes my shoulder, but I only have eyes for Sevana. I unconsciously move closer to her and now see the bite on her neck. I know what it means. Peter explained it to me a long time ago so that I wouldn’t be frightened when I saw the couples in his pack proudly displaying it. How can someone be happy about being bitten? How can you enjoy suffering?
— Sam, that’s enough!
I blink, regaining some semblance of control over my emotions, and realize I’m way to close to Sevana, I could touch her by reaching out my arm, and her nose is bleeding. I should feel bad about it, but I can’t. Too many dark thoughts are racing through my head. Promises of retaliation that a child should not have heard. Besides, Sevana doesn’t mind and wipes her nose with the back of her hand without further ado.
— I’ve never had a nosebleed in my life. This is a first. I’m all for new experiences.
I’m completely taken aback by her thinking. Even more than her smirk.
— Now that you have demonstrated you power to me, it’s my turn to show you one of mine.
One of her? I don’t have time to question Ashley before my coffee table begins to rise into the air, pitching and spinning. Sevana has her hands in front of her, making them dance like a conductor. She quickly stops and my table settles back into its place on the floor, as if nothing had happened.
My face must be funny, because despite her obvious fatigue, Sevana laughs lightly.
— Now that I have your full attention, we can talk. But first, I need to sit down and drink something sweet or I’ll collapse. And a tissue too.
My sister is quicker to respond than I am.
— Come on, I’ll make you coffee with double cream and sugar.
I watch as the two friends leave arm in arm towards the kitchen. Sevana relying partly on my sister to move forward, and I stand in the middle of my living room, unable to react to what has just happened. I don’t really know what just happened. How could I? I was very young when my parents disappeared.
I didn’t know much about fatels, except that each member of this people had powers that developed with age and practice. I should have started my training on my sixth birthday, but that never happened. Events did not allow me to gain the knowledge I would have needed and Ashley, only five years older than me, did not know enough to help me. She had been taught how to use her own power but had not yet been told about the others that existed. This knowledge was not acquired until the age of twelve or thirteen, as it was considered secondary knowledge. The fatels were not entirely wrong. What’s the point of knowing that someone can fly if we can’t fly ourselves?
So, I didn’t know that some fatels had telekinesis. But I know one thing for sure: a fatel has only one gift. So how is it that Sevana can also speak telepathically? Not to mention that my sister said she was a prophetess.
For the first time in a long time, my curiosity overcame my distrust, and I joined the two women who were sitting in front of a steaming cup, obviously waiting for me.
— Now that I have your full attention, we can talk like adults.
I don’t say a word, totally focused on her every move. Ashely squeezes my hand, but also remains silent.
— As I told you, I am a fatel. I am also the alpha female of a pack. Ashley gave me the broad outline of your story, but mine is very different. In a word, I have been living with humans, unaware of my origins. A few weeks ago, I was attacked by shifters at the hospital where I was working with Ashley.
A dull anxiety rises inside of me. It could have been my sister instead of her. Why didn’t anyone tell me? The answer is simple: I would have set the hospital on fire, and everyone in my path, good or bad, would have died.
— Sam, Listen to the rest. It’s all good.
Ash has this hope in her eyes that I don’t know why. It’s important to her that I keep my cool. She’s used to my mood swings and has never blamed me for them despite the pain they cause her. This time, however, she begs me to control myself. This story is very important to her, and I want to know why. My voice is hoarse as I urge Sevana to continue her story.
— Your father, Peter, treated me remarkably well. And a pack, associated with the governor, has been assigned to protect me.
— What pack would be interested in that? You said you lived as a human.
— A pack that hates dissenters as much as we do.
— Like the Treat?
— Yes, they do. Except they fight them.
Chapter 2
Sam
A pack fighting its own? I can’t imagine that. I have to admit though that Peter has always protected us, Ashley and me, even in spite of my shortcomings, and I’m sure he would fight for us.
The difference is that he took us in when we were children. He bonded with us like a father with his daughters. It’s different for the pack involved. They fight to defend strangers.
— Why?
— Why are they defending innocents, regardless of their origin, against dissidents?
I nod my head.
— Each member of the Guardian Angels pack has his own reasons.
This is not an answer, but a dodge. She’s ducking. Her story must be false. A lie to convince me to join her cause.
— You’re not convinced, are you. For my partner, Connor, it’s about revenge.
I understand revenge. That feeling has never left me in twenty—five years, and it’s a need that’s slowly eating me up, bit by bit.
— A rebel pack killed his family because they were hiding fatels. When the governor announced his intention to counteract the shifters’ excesses, he joined the cause.
A question I have been aching to ask. I need to know.
— Is he using you?
— What?
Her look of surprise and disgust startles me.
— No. He’s overprotective to a fault. I had to threaten to hang him from a tree to get him to let me come see you. He annoys me, he snarls, but mostly he’s the best thing that ever happened to me.
It is mawkish and pathetic. Love really does make you blind!
— You’re just in love. You don’t realize anything.
— Connor is my soul mate, Sam. And I gained so much more than him when we sealed our bond.
— I don’t get it.
— You live in a pack, but I get that you’re pretty … independent.
That’s a nice way of saying I am separate from everything and everyone.
— Have you heard of soul mates among shifters?
— Not really. It’s like being in love, right? Only more bestial.
She smiles, obviously recalling a pleasant moment. When was the last time I had a moment like that?
— The bond between soul mates is much deeper than a classic love affair. Shapeshifters may have several mates in their lifetime, but they only have one soul mate. Once they meet her, she is the only one that matters. She becomes the center of their universe, their reason for living. Once united, soul mates can’t live without each other. No pun intended.
Which means that if one dies, so does the other. So she gained the assurance that he would not kill her.
— So, you can’t die.
— Eh?
Ashley takes over.
— Connor would never hurt his companion.
— Only because if he kills her, he dies.
— No, Sam. You haven’t been listening. He would never hurt her because she means everything to him. She’s the great love of his life. The one and only.
— And that I’ll kick his ass if he bothers me.
What’s that? I think they are forgetting one thing, the two obsessive romantics.
— Fatels don’t stand a chance against an angry, determined shifter.
— Normally, maybe, but there’s nothing traditional about me anymore. I’m connected to Connor. We’re linked, hence the bite.
I wince as I look at her again. The sight of this mark is almost unbearable and it shows on my face.
— This is the only way for a shifter to be permanently united with her mate. He has never bitten me ever since. He is not with me for my blood, Sam.
This is maybe what he made her believe. But in the end…
— As I told you, I gained much more than he did. I am a prophetess originally, but the bonding has given me other gifts.
I widen my eyes and watch her carefully. There is no sign of a lie. And Ash would have known if it were a lie. You can’t hide anything from her unless you focus on it.
— Are you stronger than the shifter?
— I am stronger than Connor. And although he continues to nurture me like a fragile little flower, I also know that he is relieved that I am able to defend myself against the rebels.
— That's all very nice, I'm happy for you that you found one of the few trustworthy metas, but why are you telling me all this story?
I look at them and Sevana waits apparently that Ashley gives me the end of the story. Only my sister does not loosen her lips and I fear the worst. A bad feeling crosses my mind. I get up with a jump, having suddenly the need to walk so much my blood boils in my veins.
— You want me to unite with one of them?
Ashley joins me in a rush and stands in my way so I can watch her.
— No, of course not! I would never ask you to do something like that.
My blood pressure is easing a bit, but I’m still waiting.
— So what?
— Sevana is returning to her new territory with the Guardians, and I’m going with them.
