Fragments of Fate (The Hunted Omegas)

Chapter 1

ONE

Shay

“Alpha! We need to split up. Shay and I need Lisanne to show us how to get to the fae gate,” Dirge said, hesitating as the rest of the pack moved toward the rear gates of the enclave.

Kane turned, clasping Dirge’s hand, something unspoken passing between them as Brielle hugged me. I had a terrifying feeling in my bones as I hugged her back, almost as if it might be the last time I saw my friend in the mortal plane.

I won’t let that happen, I thought, determined even as the rest of the pack we held so dearly pulled away in the black SUVs. Dirge and I exchanged weighty glances.

They’ll be okay, he assured me, squeezing my hand.

“They will,” I said out loud, as if speaking it could make it so. Please, Goddess, let it be so.

Lisanne strode over, strapped to the nines with weapons like I’d never seen her before and wearing a more typical maiden’s uniform instead of her usual priestess robes.

“You two ready? I wouldn’t pack much, but remember, you don’t want to use, damage, or consume anything you don’t have to while you’re there.

Everything can and will be used as a trick or a trap. ”

Right, this was happening. We were going into the fae realm, alone, where neither of us had ever been, because of my mystery bloodline that tied us to the realm. No biggie. Not at all terrifying or dangerous.

Muzic? mea. Dirge practically purred the nickname into my mind, his tone a warning.

I know, I know, I shot back, rolling back my shoulders and adopting a calm pose. “We’re ready to go.”

“Excellent. This way.” Lisanne turned and strode off, and I had to hustle to keep up with her. But even so, I had questions.

“So, you get to the fae realm through a gate?”

Lisanne cast a curious look back over her shoulder. “That’s what it’s called, but few people actually consider it a gate. You’ll see. There’s one dangerously close by.”

Odd turn of phrase, but okay. I glanced at Dirge, but he just shrugged, keeping pace more easily with his longer legs.

Lisanne took us through the gardens and through a side gate that led out of the enclave. The forest on this side of the enclave was thick, untamed, and forbidding.

None of that stopped the determined priestess, who drew a machete from a sheath at her hip and began fiercely chopping her way through the brush.

We followed at a safe distance, making our slow way into the heart of the imposing woods.

After a few hours of slogging through it, Lisanne stopped, wiping sweat from her brow with the sleeve of her tunic. “We’re here.”

“Umm…” I glanced around, but there wasn’t a damn thing in sight I’d have classified as a gate, faerie or otherwise.

Lisanne chuckled tiredly. “The tree. The fae are creatures of nature, so they work their magic with nature.” She gestured to a giant oak I hadn’t noticed before. But now that she had, I saw the cavern in its trunk.

The dark, spiderweb-crisscrossed, menacing cavern that seemed like something a badger with bad breath and a worse attitude might call home.

Yay, Dirge said, his sarcasm dripping even inside my mind.

There’s no alternative, I reminded him, quickly checking the daggers I now carried. I wasn’t much of a weapons girl; I would always prefer to just take wolf form. But Dirge had insisted I bring something, in case I wasn’t always able to shift in the fae court.

I hated the thought of ever being out of touch with my wolf, but I had to agree it was smart.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Lisanne prompted.

Dirge grabbed a stick and scraped away the spiderwebs. We both paused in front of it, peering into the darkness. A tree could only be so large, and we should have been able to see the back of the trunk, but the closer we looked, the more nothing we found.

It gave me the creeps, but our pack needed that stone shard. I took a deep breath, grabbed Dirge’s hand, and stepped into the darkness.

Traveling to the fae realm felt a lot like falling, but it didn’t take long. One second, I was cringing away from the damp, spider-infested tree-trunk cavern, the next, I landed on my ass on spongy moss, surrounded by bright lights and oversized plants.

“Well, shit, it worked,” Dirge muttered. He quickly dusted himself off, then offered me a hand.

He pulled me to my feet as I looked around, wide-eyed.

Everything was larger than life, and while we’d been in a thick, thorny forest at home, this place practically breathed magic.

The air tingled as if power permeated everything so thickly, you couldn’t help but feel it in every tiny way.

Giant elephant ears with purple stripes hung on thick stems, trees with strange, papery bark filled the area, and bushes in every height and shade of green surrounded us.

Under it all lay thick, bouncy moss. It even smelled green, almost like fresh-cut grass, but sweeter, more caramelized.

“There’s nothing to mark this place when it’s time for us to leave,” Dirge said, bringing me back to the task at hand.

Mission, Shay. Focus. “Lisanne said not to damage anything, so we can’t mark the moss.

” A further study of the area around us showed nothing but living, breathing forest and lightning bugs.

Though, these were the size of bumblebees, and their multicolored lights blazed brightly enough to see even in the daylight, underneath the shaded canopy.

We were definitely not in Kansas anymore.

“Wait, there’s a stone. Do you want to grab it and put it back here? ”

“Good idea.” Dirge grabbed the waist-height stone from where it rested against the tree trunk as if it weighed nothing and placed it right next to where I still stood, out in the open where it would be easy to spot if we had to leave this way.

“So, that will help us find the place we came in, but I don’t see a gate to take back.”

“Me neither. Maybe the gates are one-way only.”

I shrugged, my wolf not liking the fact that there was no easy exit. And when she was antsy, it made me antsy. Easy girl, I whispered to her, and she settled a bit.

“So, what do you think we do now?” Dirge asked, taking my hand now that we’d marked the spot the best we could.

I bit my bottom lip, considering. “I guess we start looking for somebody. We need a greater fae to talk to about the stone. From what I’ve read and the stories I’ve heard, there’s a court. If we walk a bit, we might find it.”

He nodded, but I could see the tension in every line of his shoulders. He didn’t like walking into the unknown any more than my wolf did, but the area we’d landed in was devoid of anything but plant life and lightning bugs and a strangely close sun, and I didn’t see how we had any choice.

We didn’t get far before the sound of running feet piqued my interest. Dirge heard it too, stopping me and putting a finger to his lips for quiet as we both listened.

They’re coming this way, he warned, and I could feel his concern building in my chest from our bond.

We need to find them, so that’s a good thing.

I wasn’t entirely sure, but we had nothing else to go on. There had to be some faith involved, unfortunately.

We kept walking, but within minutes, we were surrounded.

It surprised me to see a few lesser fae in the group, in regular human forms. But the rest? Breathtakingly interesting and beautiful.

One male wore little more than a grass skirt, his leanly muscled chest on full display, nothing but swirling green body paint to highlight his impressive physique, and actual thorns through his ears as piercings.

His left arm was covered in a living vine, the leaves blowing in a nonexistent breeze, and his hair was a pale spring green.

One of the females wore a shining, clingy dress that appeared to be made entirely of iridescent fish scales. Her eyes were large, blue, and alarmingly wide-set, as if she herself were part fish.

But some of them wore more typically human forms, if you ignored the fact that power seeped from their pores, surrounding them all with a literal glow. And the fact that any one of them could have been a supermodel. They were so beautiful, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to stare or shield my eyes.

After I’d looked my fill, I realized we were locked in a staring contest of sorts, and someone needed to break it.

“Hello. We’re here to speak to the fae court.”

Nobody moved; nobody spoke. They all just continued to stare, and the prickling sensation at the back of my neck told me they were staring at me, not us. A highly uncomfortable distinction.

Dirge cleared his throat. “We’re sorry for just dropping in, but we have urgent pack business with the fae. Could you take us to whoever is in charge? I believe there’s a king or queen?”

Leaf man stepped forward, and Dirge half stepped in front of me on reflex.

The male raised one arched eyebrow, but otherwise didn’t react. “This way.” He turned and walked into the bush, and for the second time in one day, we trudged through a forest.

There was no hacking or thorny entanglements this time, though. The forest was densely packed and alive, brightly colored bugs and frogs catching my eye from time to time, but as the fae—who’d fallen into a sort of oval formation around us—walked through it, it seemed to bend around them.

Was it magic? Or was it a defense mechanism for the foliage?

I wanted to ask, but not badly enough to address the fae who walked to my left.

He was imposingly tall, darkly beautiful, and wholly intimidating.

The magic that shimmered over his pale skin was red, reminiscent of a hell gate, to match his black, reptilian, slitted pupils.

No, I’d keep my question to myself. Besides, the utterly silent reception was more than a little unnerving.

I squeezed Dirge’s hand tighter, keeping my observations to myself for the time being. We could feel each other through the bond, and that was enough.

The sounds of stringed instruments reached me first, and then a sweet, cherry blossom scent preceded the chatter of a large group of people.