Chapter 1
Hidden Prophecies
Staring at my mother in disbelief, my body floods with both relief and apprehension. Who the hell is at the light council if she's here?
"Start at the beginning, and then tell me why you're here in Drackus's house," I whimper through restrained sobs while throwing my arms around the real mother I've missed more than I realized.
My tears start pouring out, rush my face with their heated flow. Her arms hold me almost too tightly, proving she's missed me as much as I've missed her.
"Shh. It's okay, Alyssa. I'm okay. I'm here."
"But where were you?"
Before she can answer, there's a loud blast against the side of the house, telling us someone just tried to walk through the barrier. I jump in reaction, and Mom's grip becomes protective.
"Drackus," she whispers warily, looking to him for answers about the intruder.
He doesn't have to investigate. The slightly open window gives us the chance to hear the feverish cursing going on outside. My heart pounds heavily in my chest when I realize it's Gage who is spewing profanities.
With the door being solid, I can't see him, and I'm really, really thankful for that. My whole body is tensed up right now. Both he and Kane make me physically react to just their presence.
"Since when can't I materialize inside your damn house?" Gage gripes through the closed door, apparently noticing the open window as well.
Mom cocks her eyebrow questioningly when she feels my reaction to his mere voice, and I refrain from rolling my eyes.
"You can come back later, Gage. I'm dealing with other matters," Drackus says dismissively, seeming bored with the dark user's presence.
"I know she's in there, Drackus. I saw her car. Let me talk to her and clear up the bullshit you've stuck in her head."
"Call her," Drackus says with a haughty grin and a shrug.
"Been there. Tried that. She won't answer, and I need to speak to her. You have no right to—"
"I have every right, and you bloody well know it," Drackus growls, letting his usually subtle British accent roar free with more of a distinguished air.
"She needs to know everything, and I'm sick of covering it up. Just let me in so I can talk to her."
My head jerks to Drackus, and my mother stiffens against me. Drackus grips his head, and my mother avoids eye contact when I look to her for answers.
"Go upstairs," he whispers to my mother, keeping his voice too low to be overheard.
He doesn't want Gage to know about my mother?
"Do you trust him?" Mom whispers back.
"Do I trust him? That's a rather gray area. I don't have a blanket answer."
She rolls her eyes, casting her disapproval of his vague response.
"Fine," Drackus mumbles. "I trust him with this—just not with our daughter. Don't tell me you're siding with him."
"Absolutely not, and you know that. He's right about telling her, and I want to be with you when you do. He should be here as well."
What the hell is going on?
Drackus groans as Gage pounds on the door, impatiently demanding an invitation.
"Very well. Gage can come in," he begrudgingly strains out through gritted teeth, and the door swings open to reveal the dark user I thought I was doing well to avoid.
His jet black hair is the perfect bedroom messy style that makes my knees wobbly, and his blue eyes find mine instantly. It's hard not to want to taste the cool silver of his lip ring right now. It's even harder not to think of the hot steel in his tongue.
He looks to Calypso, seeming confused by her presence.
"Does the light know you're here?" Gage asks, moving toward us as he speaks.
"The light is living with an imposter," I snarl. "Just like I said to begin with and you told me it was impossible."
His brow scrunches in confusion. "It is impossible, or at least...it should be."
"It's apparently not," Mom says, releasing me before she turns to walk toward the study. "But that's not what you came here to discuss. This is something we'll handle. My daughter needs to know about who she really is, and since you're part of that prophecy, you've been let in."
"Part of what prophecy?" I ask while turning to Gage. "What's going on?"
He breathes out heavily, and my mother leads Drackus into the study, giving me some privacy with the dark user. Drackus relents with a begrudged motion, but he flashes Gage a warning glare before the doors shut.
Gage doesn't waste time pleading his case. He walks over and pulls me to him, letting the back of his hand caress my cheek.
"Alyssa, I swear I wasn't working for Drackus when I came to be with you. I haven't lied. He wanted me to stay away until after Thad was killed. I told you then he asked me to come. Considering you couldn't have pried me away, I gladly went along with it. I swear everything I've told you has been true."
I sigh in relief, as his lips find mine, pulling me into the kiss I didn't know I wanted quite so badly. My hands tangle in his hair, tugging at his incredible locks, and he jerks me up to wrap my legs around his waist.
"Alyssa," he murmurs against my lips, barely able to pry himself away, "I lo—"
"Don't," I interrupt. "Don't say it."
I pull back to see the sting in his eyes from my preemptive rejection.
"So you're still in love with the night stalker? You're choosing him?"
The hurt in his tone is undeniable and heartbreaking, and he slowly slides me back down to where my feet touch the floor. I shake my head, my whole body tingling with uncertainty.
"I don't know, but I can't do this now. Why are they saying you're part of a prophecy that deals with me?"
His lips tighten, and he pulls my hand in his before kissing the back of it.
"Let's join them, and you'll see why the night stalker isn't the one you're meant to be with."
I tilt my head, but he pulls me to the study, avoiding my questioning eyes. Drackus glares at our contact, but Gage simply ignores him as he tugs my hand, leading me to a large chair near the fireplace. He doesn't give Drackus the fear he desires or deserves when he pulls me onto his lap.
"What the hell do you think you're—"
"Just drop it, dear," Mom interrupts. "Let's focus on the prophecy and then let her decide, since he obviously isn't going to be of much help."
Dear? Since when does she call him dear?
Drackus curses under his breath, but he walks over to a picture and pulls it down to reveal a safe. With quick strokes, he keys in the combination. A clicking sound drums out, and then he pulls out an old relic of a book. The pages almost look too fragile to be touched, but he turns them anyhow, searching for something.
"I'm not going to be of much help because you don't know for certain you're right," Gage chimes in before dragging his lips over my knuckles and pulling me closer. "As a matter of fact, I think you're incredibly wrong."
Mom tightens her lips to a thin line as she sits down on the edge of the couch adjacent to us. Her eyes find mine as I give into the comforting touch of my dark user and lean against his hard body.
"I'll start while your father searches," Mom says softly, focusing her sole attention on me. "Alyssa, you're not a typical witch, but that's something you've known for a while. You're an anomaly for which there are no words to describe. I didn't realize the cross you would bear when I fell pregnant with you, and I never believed the prophecy when I learned of it the third month you were inside me. It wasn't until you started showing signs of your powers... all of them...that I realized the proverbial promise held merit. Now...now I don't know what to tell you."
I look at Gage and his lips gently stroke mine the second I give him the angle. Fortunately, Drackus's head is buried in a book, so he doesn't notice.
I pull away, gently patting his chest, and then I sit up and move to the arm of the chair, distancing myself slightly from the distracting dark user. Though I really enjoy his touch, I still can't stop thinking about Kane.
My phone hasn't stopped ringing since the other night when both men had deal-breaking issues. It's either been Kane or Gage calling me at all times of the day and night. Now that Gage is here, I simply wish it was Kane.
"How about you tell me what prophecy," I murmur softly as Gage's hand comes to rest around my waist, pulling me back onto his lap against my silent protest.
Kane's probably at home with Amy, but Gage is here—for me. He has been since he met me. Perhaps I should just get over Kane despite how much I still want to be with him.
Oh this is so frigging frustrating.
"Very well. I'll start at the beginning. You've heard of Freya and her two daughters—Estella and Dragona, correct?"
"Um—yeah—Gage told me about them. How did you know I knew?"
"Because I told Drackus I told you," Gage answers, letting his lips start trailing over my shoulder through my shirt.
I shiver against the heat of his breath, and I feel his smile as his hands grip me a little tighter than necessary.
"Anyhow," my mother continues, further showing her distaste, "I'm the daughter of Estella."
My whole body tenses. She said it so casually, as if it wasn't a bomb being dropped.
"But—no. Estella died. I knew Grandma and Grandpa up until they died. They were your parents. You even look like them."
"They died?" Gage asks.
"An execution gone wrong," Mom says with a sigh, denying her tears their right to fall.
I continue with confusion. "But—"
"I didn't look like them that much," Mom interrupts, getting back on topic, "but when people expect you to look like someone, they tend to find similar features. Gwyneth and Palo raised me as their own child, and I loved them for that. They also kept my identity secret from everyone, including myself. Hilly never even knew, and she was their daughter. She even thought I looked more like Mother than she did.
"Hilly still doesn't know, Frankie only recently found out, and Shay is the only one I trusted with this secret other than your father. Drackus has only told his most trusted associates."
I sit back, letting Gage support me as I soak it all in. Drackus continues tuning out everything and everyone as he flips through the pages of the old book, his brow furrowing from his intense study.
"What does any of this have to do with me?" I ask, feeling weighted by truth and uncertainty as they mingle within me.
"You're the daughter everyone fears," Drackus murmurs dispassionately, so engrossed in the book that he doesn't even realize how unemotionally he just rattled that out.
"What?" I gasp, choking on the shock.
Mom slaps Drackus's leg, and he peers up from his book to offer her a shrug. "They shouldn't fear her yet, but they do. I'm just pointing that out."
His eyes dart back down to the book, never once gauging my proximity to Gage as he flips through the thick mass of pages one-by-one.
Mom sighs out as she explains. "You're Freya's chosen—the one who she bestowed her gifts upon—the embodiment of all enchanted beings."
That's laughable. All beings? I'm just a damn witch.
"No," I say while swatting at her ludicrous theory as though it has materialized in the air. "I can't do anything but witchcraft. That disproves all of this."
Gage speaks softly from behind me while rubbing my back affectionately.
"That's the only magic you control right now, and I'm not saying you'll be able to do everything every fey does, but you will encompass a great deal of their abilities in different ways. The closer you get to your immortality, the more you'll find this to be true. I've already seen it."
This is preposterous. None of this can be true. I'm just a plain and simple witch. Nothing more.
"Ah, here it is," Drackus says while sitting down incredibly close to my mother. "The daughter meant to harness the great will be one full of light and dark. Her powers will war within her, struggling to know which side to fight for.
"In the darkness, there will be only one there to truly guide her. In the light, there will be those who wish to betray her." He pauses and looks up to meet my eyes. "That's one part of the prophecy we don't understand. I'm not sure if it has something to do with what's going on in the light monarchy right now or not."
He looks back down to the book and continues on. "Light will surround her power, her magic, and her life, until she falls for her dark lover. He will be one who has descended from the greatest of his kind; one with unprecedented power that almost rivals hers. And his strength will only fuel hers.
"He'll represent power thought to have never existed, and she will gravitate to him until at last their eyes meet. The sparks will ignite a flame that will never fizzle, and their love could be the—"
He stops, looking at Mom, and then to me.
"Could be the what?" I prompt, literally sitting on the edge of my seat. Well, Gage's knee.
"This prophecy has missing passages. This book was torn apart long ago before we found it. Certain pieces are missing because someone wanted them gone. I assume Estella did it to keep anyone from finding out about you, but she must have been interrupted. I'll read what little bit we have though."
He looks down, flipping the partial page.
"The balance will shift, opening the door to the side of darkness she never knew she possessed. Together, their powers will grow, surpassing all fathomable predictions. But the war within her will only rage on stronger with each day until—"
"Until what?" I urge, feeling like I'm watching the most suspenseful movie ever filmed.
"Again, a missing passage. The rest of the page has been ripped out. The next thing it says isn't exactly warm and fuzzy, but don't fret," he murmurs softly, making me all the more tense. "Then she'll destroy us all."
Don't fucking fret? You have got to be kidding me.
My heart sinks to my toes, dizziness tries to settle in, and my chest aches when my terror tries to suffocate me. When I look back at Gage, I suddenly see something different. He's betrayed me once already, and now he's done it again. He's a fool for wanting me to hear this.
Since I've met him, I've used my darker half more than ever before, and it is getting worse each time. Now I know why.
"How do you know it's Gage?" I ask in barely a breath, staring into Gage's blue eyes while asking my parents to answer.
"He's the strongest dark user ever known since the days of Dragona and Damon. Dark users are opposites of light users. Roughly translated, that's who the prophecy announces the lover will be—your opposite."
My expression changes as it all settles down on me like a heavy awakening—a painful one.
"Alyssa, don't look at me like that. You can't have half of a prophecy. You and I were meant to be together, and it wasn't so that you could destroy everything," Gage murmurs defensively.
I dive off his lap, but he stands to grab me before I can fully retreat.
"You knew this before you came to see me—you knew," I choke out as the tears threaten to emerge again.
"Alyssa, I didn't come because of that. I came because you needed help. It's what I fucking do. I knew Thad wasn't capable of keeping you safe, and you were blaming my people. I came for all the reasons I said I came—not because of this. I never thought I'd fall for you, but I did. You fell for me, too. You just won't face it. You've been fighting me since the first day we met."
I wipe away the traitorous tears that have fallen despite my protests. I rip free from him, quickly feeling my anger burning all the stronger. He knew he would taint my light, possibly extinguish it all together. He willingly risked my soul.
"You bastard! You don't fucking love me! All you want is to complete a prophecy that could end everything. Of course you do. Dark user. I'm so fucking stupid!"
His eyes narrow, his own rage now surfacing. "That's bullshit and you know it! How dare you tell me how I feel. I've been trying to find a way to tell you I love you for so long. I fell in love with you before I ever even kissed you. But you don't want to hear that. You're too stuck on the night stalker who does have his own intended mate. You're not going to destroy anything because I won't let you."
The hollow part of my chest becomes an endless abyss of nothingness. How many times can two men destroy me?
"Get out," I mutter in a barely audible whisper.
"Alyssa, don't do this. I realize you're scared, but this isn't all of the prophecy. You'll—"
"I said get out!" I say more forcefully, more tears falling from my eyes as I stare directly into his deceitful blues.
He looks to Drackus, but my silent father has already averted his eyes from the scene. Finally, Gage vaporizes from the room, leaving me in his wake. I stand there, barely understanding all that has just happened. It's like the depth of deceit only grows on a daily basis.
He wanted me to know because he thought it would provoke me to choose him. Instead, it only makes me all the more certain I shouldn't choose him. I ache for something though, and I don't know why. It's as if I've lost control of my mind and feelings.
"I'm going upstairs and sleeping this off," I mumble in a choked whisper.
"I'll come with you, honey," Mom says, rubbing her hand on my shoulder as she pulls me to her.
I just nod and try not to fall apart in her arms. She has an imposter posing as her, and I still don't know what happened. I need to know. Hell, I need a distraction.
"Why did they take you, and how did you get out?"
She sighs out as Drackus trails behind us.
"How about tea before you go to bed? There's a lot to tell."
I just nod, willing to accept anything to soothe me.
As Drackus sets a kettle on to boil, Mom pulls up a barstool and sits down beside me behind the counter.
"They took me from the training camp when I was getting ready for bed. I never heard them, felt them approaching, or even sensed a presence. A couple of words in a chanted spell knocked me on my ass like I've never been taken out before.
"I woke up in a cell; one with crested bars full of incantations engraved along the iron. It was complex and incredibly powerful – powerful enough to keep me imprisoned without fail.
"No one ever spoke to me, touched me, or even bothered to check on me. It's a good thing immortals can't starve to death, because I would have. I assume I'm only alive because they either couldn't kill me or they need something I hid with a spell.
"Drackus came for me two nights ago. He went to speak to me about you, and when the imposter spoke to him like a scorned lover—"
"I knew it wasn't her," he quickly interjects while pulling the whistling kettle from the stove. "No one knows how very much in contact your mother and I have stayed. Obviously, neither did the imposter."
"Apparently you two forgot to tell me, as well," I insert; not feeling too thrilled about that omission.
I've hated my father because I thought I was supposed to, and my mother has been on good terms with him? Why keep that a secret?
Mom ignores it as she continues. "The second I heard the screams and felt the power emanating around the room, I knew Drackus had come. He found a guy who knew how to undo the spells that had been cast to lock me away, and he tossed him in there to free me. I'll spare you some of the details, but he got me home."
"So you've been back for two days and you're just now telling me?"
"Honey, I didn't want you to know at all. Whatever is going on is big. They're looking for something, or they're trying to accomplish something from inside. I just don't know who to trust. I didn't want them catching on that you knew they were posing as me because I was afraid of putting you in danger. I should have known you'd figure it out. Frankie said you've been suspicious for a while."
"You told Frankie but not me?" I harp.
"I didn't tell Frankie; he figured it out. He's the one who helped Drackus locate me. He'd been sneaking in on the poser and listening in on conversations. He pieced together my whereabouts through several cryptic conversations. The second Drackus told him that woman wasn't me, he agreed."
"Wait. How did Drackus walk in without anyone knowing who he was?"
She laughs, smiling at him with dreamy eyes. "Your father knows a few spells to mask his identity for a few hours. He looked as light as anyone, and he was escorted in by Chaz, who he called ahead of time."
"Chaz was there?" I ask, surprised Shay's son would even be there.
"Chaz was investigating the imposter for Shay."
Considering Chaz was the closest thing to a best friend I had while growing up, I'm surprised he didn't tell me he and Shay were also suspicious. I haven't seen him since our moms had their big fallout, but I would have called him if the situation was reversed.
"So they never touched you?" I ask, feeling relieved to know that.
The imposter came in so beat up she spent weeks in healing. I suppose that was all for show.
"Never," she says reassuringly. "They knew your father was looking for me. That could have prompted them to send in an imposter to douse suspicion so they could move forward with whatever they're planning."
"Does this have anything to do with the black diamond of Roth?" I ask, remembering a theory once spawned by Gage.
She shakes her head in a shrugging manner. "I don't know. They never spoke, and they all wore masks. They more than likely knew I wouldn't give them any answers."
I feel like she's holding back—like there's more to the story than she wants to give me. My head is already about to explode though.
Picking up my tea, I stand to head out of the kitchen. "Will you be here when I wake up?"
"Of course," she murmurs softly.
"Your mother will be staying with me until we get this imposter situation sorted out. There's no place safer for her," Drackus says while placing a protective hand on her shoulder.
It's odd to see them so at ease with each other.
"What about Cruella... er... I mean... Amari?"
He lets a laugh escape, and Mom stifles a laugh of her own. Drackus just smiles as he answers.
"I only ever got close to Amari so I could get close to Gage. With your mother staying here, I went ahead and cut ties to Cruella."
Mom's haughty grin intrigues me a bit. I don't say anything else, though. Instead, I turn on my heel to head up to the room that once felt so much like a place of refuge.
My phone rings in my hand, and I roll my eyes when I see Kane's name. It's time I end things with him the way I just did with Gage. I'm sick of his baggage, just like I'm sick of Gage's deceit.
"Hello."
"Fuck, Alyssa. I've been calling nonstop. Where are you?" Kane scolds, making me cringe a little from his harsh tone.
"I'm with Drackus right now. Kane, I know you say you're not supposed to be with Amy, but I think we both know—"
"You don't know a damn thing, Alyssa. Go ahead and believe them if you want to. I'm tired of defending myself to you and everyone else. Amy needs me, but I sure as hell don't need her. The second she gets her shit under control, I'm leaving my whole damn coven. Zee's coming with me. Deke, Sierra, and Amy can live happily ever after for all I care."
I'm obviously taken aback by this. He's so close to Deke and Sierra. They've been together longer than he and Zee.
"I'm sorry, but I think you're wrong. Lycans and night stalkers have been tied for centuries. I've never seen the bond myself, but Drackus has. He knows the two of you are meant to be together."
The disgruntled groan he releases curses me more than words. "Whatever, Alyssa. I just wanted to know you were safe. You know how to reach me if Castine makes a move. Tonight's the red moon, so stay inside, please."
I forgot about the red moon. Mortals can't see it, but immortals can. It's the night the savage creatures of our world lose it a little. Well, more than a little.
"I'm sure Amy will definitely need you tonight," I sardonically release.
"Thanks for reminding me. Any more stabs you feel like taking, or should I let you go now?"
I wince, realizing how cold he can be when he's mad. I don't want us to go back to that place. We'll still have to see each other with Castine on the loose.
"Yeah," I huff with a clipped tone, hanging up directly after.
I stare at the phone, and I do as I always do after hanging up. Waving my hand over it, I listen in.
"Fuck!" Kane spews before something in the room crashes.
I can only assume he just lost his temper and threw something. Then I hear Zee's voice.
"That good, eh?"
"She's fucking impossible. One second she's mine, the next she's his. I'm sick of this shit."
"Then let her go," Zee says too casually.
"I wish I could. I love her. Apparently being in love makes you bat-shit crazy." He takes a steadying breath, giving my heart enough time to react and flutter, betraying me with an emotion I shouldn't feel for someone I can't have. "Make sure Amy's cage is reinforced tonight. I don't want to risk her breaking free, and I don't want to help her if I don't have to. The sooner she gets it under control, the better. I'm ready to get the hell away from her and our supposed destiny."
Sierra's voice interjects suddenly, seeming to surprise both of the night stalkers, given their sharp intakes of air.
"You can leave, but it won't change anything. You'll come back for her one day, Kane. You'll love her the way you're supposed to."
"I wish you'd get it out of your mother-fucking head that I'm going to be with her, because I'm not. Damn it, Sierra. I'm leaving because of this shit. I've come to hate Amy over all of this. I've come to hate you, too."
She whimpers, and I immediately feel a little sorry for her. I know how deep Kane can cut with his harsh words, but I almost understand his anger.
"You don't mean that," she whines.
"I do mean that. I mean it enough that I've already bought a house in Edgebrook."
"Edgebrook?" she scoffs. "Why? So you can stalk your witch a little better?"
I wait in silence, holding my breath after hearing the revelation. I keep waiting, only to realize the conversation has been cut short. Damn it.
I feel dizzy all of the sudden, like something's happening, but I don't know what. Lying down, I close my eyes on the spinning room. Maybe I'll feel better after some sleep.