Forged by Fate

Forged by Fate by Reese Monroe Page A

Book: Forged by Fate by Reese Monroe Read Free Book Online
Authors: Reese Monroe
Tags: Fiction, Coming of Age
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being she held on to so tightly. He scared her more than anything she’d ever encountered. Yet so far, all of his actions had been focused on her. Saving her.
    “Justin!” His voice bellowed off the walls.
    “Meet you at the entrance!”
    The bike raced forward so fast, the darkness blurred into nothing. Silence filled her ears despite riding such a powerful vehicle. And the wind whizzing by her should have made some sort of noise. But she heard nothing.
    She’d often taken rides to clear her mind, to relax, or just for the rush of speeding up and down the curvy mountain roads, but at this moment, it wasn’t working to settle her.
    She buried her face in Theo’s back and squeezed her eyes shut. Everything in her world had changed. Starting four days ago with the marking, and now this. Whatever this was.
    Hell. Creatures. Whatever Theo was… She felt her life slipping away, changing beyond repair. She’d been set, had her future planned out. She was even set up to have two weeks off after graduation and before starting her new job to investigate a lead in Colorado about her parents.
    Shit!
    “You can open your eyes now,” he said.
    She did and saw that trees surrounded her. Faint light from a pole a distance away didn’t do much to cut through the darkness.
    His powerful legs held the bike steady in an empty lot just off Hiseman Street. Holy hell, they were only a mile from campus.
    She gulped down the panic congregating in her throat. What to say? What could she say?
    A warm hand massaged hers where they were clamped together, resting against Theo’s firm stomach.
    “I’m sorry, love. You’ve been thrown so much so quickly.”
    She yanked her hand from his touch and leaned back. “Don’t call me that.”
    His body tensed, but he said nothing. He tilted his head back and drew in a deep breath. An uncomfortable silence weighed on her. So many questions whirled, yet she couldn’t grab one. More like she didn’t want to hear the answers.
    It was too much.
    “Are you injured?” he asked.
    She took mental inventory. “No.”
    The creatures had threatened to pierce her with their nails but never did. She glanced at her forearm, which hours earlier had been sliced nearly to the bone.
    She shivered. Midnight in May, though in the low desert there was still a chill in the air.
    Theo reached behind and tugged her hand so she leaned against him. She flexed, resisting.
    “I will not have you shivering. Use my warmth.”
    “Take me home.”
    “I can’t do that, love.”
    So much for him not calling her that.
    “You rescued me only to hold me hostage?” Her muscles tensed, preparing for a fight. She’d handled herself against those creatures back there, even stabbed one. “What were those things?”
    “Demons. Vanquished to Hades for eternity.”
    “Obviously not. The one with the red eyes who seemed to be bossing around the others came and got me.” He’d appeared directly in front of her a quarter mile from campus. He’d moved so fast and so unexpectedly she’d had no time to fight.
    “I’m not sure how Aggie gets out. I’ve banished him three times now.”
    “Aggie’s a wimpy name for a demon.”
    He laughed, and his entire body vibrated the bike. The sound caressed her ears like a familiar tune she’d heard her entire life.
    “He hates it when I call him that. His name is Agares. He was a vicious human and is even more so as a demon.”
    “I’d say.”
    “But you weren’t cut? They didn’t harm you?” He peered over his shoulder. Swirls of orange circled his black pupils. His chest swelled and jaw clenched as the air around him vibrated with electricity. Power.
    “No.”
    “You’re not to run again, you hear me?” He pivoted at the waist, and she was able to get a better look at him, at least what she could see in the dim light.
    “Well, shit. What’d you expect me to do? You—” Black lines on his neck caught her attention. “Hey. What’s that?” She nodded to his neck.
    He

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