Dark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology)(65)

Viola threw her head back and laughed. “This isn’t like that. You always had it. If you got it when she died, it’s because you stopped eating correctly. There must have been something she fed you every day. Think.” The blonde bitch touched her own head like she pantomimed the act of using her brain.

Chelsea wanted to punch her in the face. The only thing that stopped her was that, yes, in fact, there had been something her Gram had made her every day. The old family recipe. “Soup.” Her voice sounded small.

“Well, there you go. That’s kind of old-school, but I guess it makes sense if it was your grandmother doing it. Shakes are easier. There aren’t many of us with the Gift, but those of us who have it handle it in two ways. First, we keep it secret. No one needs to end up in an institution. And the second is that we eat a combination of vitamins and minerals every day. It lets us remember our visions, control how many we get, and stay in good mental health.” Viola drummed her fingers on the counter. “You probably did have visions as a child, but you were being fed properly, and it felt like dreams or whatever. Puberty makes the whole thing less manageable, but we all get it under control as adults. Your grandmother never told you anything about this?”

She shook her head. “We weren’t close. She kind of didn’t know what to do with me most of the time, and she died very suddenly.”

“Right, well, I guess I’m going to show you what your grandmother should have. It’s rather simple. It’s all about what we put in our bodies. Ready?”

For the next ten minutes, Chelsea listened to how she needed to combine gingko biloba, hawthorn, gotu kola, bacopin, rosemary, schisandra, DMAE, vitamin B6, and folic acid. She also needed to eat more fish, which finally explained her Gram’s preoccupation with fish bone soup. Viola put the whole thing in a juicer with kale and spinach. Five minutes later, Chelsea drank the whole thing down.

She nearly gagged and had to grip the side of the counter. Viola drank that combination of stuff every day and didn’t throw up all the time?

“There are ways to make it more palatable if the kale isn’t your thing. Some people add orange juice.”

“Um…”

The door banged open, and Hayden burst in—all the anger and tension keeping her on her feet fled. He grabbed her and pulled her against him. “You’re okay?”

He was worried about her? “I’m fine. Did they get to you in time?”

“I hadn’t even gotten to the front entrance.”

A noise caught her attention, and Savage entered, dragging Robert, the doctor, with him. “I’m putting you in the wine caves. You’ll be locked up. Then we’ll figure out who, other than my brother, will deal with you.”

Robert yelled something she couldn’t understand thanks to the gag in his mouth.

The room spun, and she grabbed Hayden tighter. .

“Sweetheart?” He squeezed her arm. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure…”

The room went black, and she heard Viola’s response. “Oh, this might happen the first time. “

A lifetime of visions she had forgotten flooded her mind. Then nothingness.

****

“I’m really fine. I wish you’d stop fussing.”

Hayden extended his hand again, and this time she took the shake. “You were out cold for twenty-four hours. I’m going to worry for a while. I can’t help it.”

She smiled. They had a True Believer locked in their wine cave, and he worried about her? “Viola says I’ll be fine now.”

“Viola can suck it. My brother knows some bad people. You and I will figure this out on our own.”

She smiled. “Fair enough.”

Things between them were different now. She had the memory of knowing him lifetimes, of seeing over and over again how spectacular a werewolf he could be. Thank the moon and the stars Savage and Sal had reached him in time.

She told him she’d seen into his soul during her visions. Every time he touched the darkness, it destroyed something in him. And she wasn’t going to let him do that again.

Hayden sighed and sat down next to her. She was his mate. Sometimes he knew her thoughts. “I would have done it for you and never regretted the torture. What is my past good for if not for protecting you?”

Her mind drifted briefly to the strange vision she’d had of Lucian talking to Hayden. His former Alpha had made a mistake in thinking he wouldn’t have made a good alpha. Someday when they were departed and with the moon together she’d tell him about it. But not right then. Things were too cozy, too easy, and she wanted a few moments like that for the two of them.

“There’s no need for either of us to ever sacrifice like that, Hayden.” She kissed his neck, bringing his male scent into her lungs. “Being together means that’s all behind us.”

“Fair enough.”

She ignored the shudder that travelled through her. If there was something dark coming, she’d see it soon enough. She’d been a girl with no future, nothing to dream about. But now she had her Alpha, and the rest would have to work itself out.

Hayden stroked the side of her face. She sighed, loving how connected she felt to him. She was a human, but she felt truly mated and had been in many parallel lifetimes. How lucky was she that she could actually remember them all?