Fated Connection (Book 1)

Chapter 24

AUGUST 

My boots echoed off the hardwood floor as I paced my bedroom, my mind raced and anger boiled beneath the surface of my skin. The tension in my house was thick, a nearly tangible thing that pressed against the walls and threatened to choke us all. No one had dared approach me since I had returned, not even Dominic, but his reasons may not be out of fear.

My thoughts drifted to the moment I had entered the house, my once white shirt turned scarlet and the sticky substance still glistening on my skin. I knew something was wrong as soon as I walked in the back door and the sound of raised voices met my ears. Gritting my teeth, I followed the angry voice of Dominic and found him in the living room along with Hatter and Alana.

All heads turned towards me as I entered, their words cutting off instantly as the three of them looked at me. Alana was standing beside the window, her elegant feature etched with worry as she looked back to the window and out into the night, not bothering to say a word. Dominic was tense and breathing hard, his face twisted in fury as he turned back to glare at Hatter who was on the other side of the room. 

With one glance, I noted that Hatter was pre-shift, his eyes glowing in molten pools of honey and silver as he bared his teeth at Dominic, dual canines extended as his body was poised to strike. Hatter glanced at me briefly but wouldn't meet my gaze. Neither Nevada nor Nova were anywhere to be seen.

I closed my eyes and took a deep inhale in through my nose, searching for the one scent I wouldn't mistake. Barely a hint lingered in the air. Nevada's smell was faint which meant she hadn't been here for at least a couple of hours. I opened my eyes and checked the time on the clock above the fireplace, realizing I had been gone longer than I had thought.

The pieces quickly clicked together. 

"Who let them leave?" I growled, my eyes flicking from one to another as I waited.

Alana continued to gaze out into the night, her back to the room and her shoulders slumped. Dominic and Hatter didn't move, their eyes locked on each other in a silent standoff, daring the other to make a move. No one seemed to be willing or planning on giving me an answer, but that needed to change.

"Do not make me ask again," I warned quietly into the tension filled room, the anger that was rising inside me making my voice cold.

"This fool of a fanger you made!" Dominic spat, stabbing his index finger at Hatter. "He did something that made them both leave!"

"I did something?! You ignorant prick, this is all your fault!" Hatter snarled, his eyes blazing as he took a step forward. 

I ignored the jab at my prodigy, wanting answers to the situation at hand more, and looked between the two of them.

"What happened?" I asked again through clenched teeth, attempting to keep my voice even as to not further the argument. "Why did they leave?"

Without looking at me, Hatter answered, "They'd had enough. Who would blame them?"

"Had enough of you probably. What the fuck did you do?!" Dominic roared as his hands began to glow with an incandescent light, the first tendrils of flames flickering in his palms. 

"I didn't do anything. Did you ever stop to think that maybe they couldn't stand to be in the same fucking house as you?" Hatter taunted angrily. "You're the one that turned your back on them. Not me!"

Hatter finally turned his seething eyes on me. 

"And you, don't even get me started on you," he continued, his tone laced with venom. "Putting this piece of shit first before anyone else, including yourself and her. And look where it's gotten us!"