Page 9 of Forsaken By Fate
“I…” she inhales. “Yes.”
I stare at her, waiting for her to elaborate, but she doesn’t go on, much to my annoyance. “To where? You said you were from Oklahoma City. Why did you leave?”
I can’t help the deep suspicion from creeping into my voice as I inch toward her. She cowers back, clearly intimidated by me. The floor shakes again, and I stop in my place, staring down at the ground in dismay. “Are you doing that?” I snap. “Stop it!”
“I’m not!” she protests, her voice rising an octave. “It’s not me!”
The hardwood rocks as she speaks, and I reach out to brace myself against the post of the bed, realizing that her moods are destabilizing the room.
“STOP!” I boom, but my aggravation only enhances the tremors.
The door flies open, and Victor appears at the threshold. “What the hell is going on in here?”
“She’s screwing with the room!” I accuse furiously. “She’s messing with the energy.”
“I swear, I’m not!” Aurora insists. “It’s not me!”
“Get out here,” Victor hisses at me.
Incensed, I storm out of the bedroom, shooting Aurora a glowering stare over my shoulder as I pass by my brother.
“You stay put,” Victor warns the girl.
“I’m not going anywhere!” she cries. “I swear! He just burst in here and started hurling accusations at me. I didn’t do anything!”
I roll my eyes and lean against the banister as Victor secures the door behind him before turning to me.
“Oh, cry me a river. She’s completely fucking with us. Can’t you see how unstable everything is?”
Victor is pissed. “What part of tread lightly did you not understand?” he hisses at me. “You need to win her over, not go after her head-on.”
“She’s hiding something!” I insist, dropping my arms to confront him. “She has a witch’s talisman in her car, and it’s full of her stuff, like she’s running from something—or someone. She might be working with a coven.”
“A coven?” he echoes dubiously. “Unlikely. But her moods are affecting the magic in the house.”
Victor purses his lips thoughtfully. “I’ll put a call into the Apex Alphas in Oklahoma to see if they know anything about her.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Is that wise? What if they’re the ones who sent her?”
“Or if that’s who’s she’s running from,” Zane chimes in, sliding out of the shadows in his usual stealthy manner.
I grimace. “Why do you two care so much about her feelings and well-being? This woman is an intruder! You should have listened to me in the first place and gotten rid of her!”
Victor drops a hand on my shoulder. “You said yourself how unstable everything is since she got here,” he asks bluntly. “Something has changed since Aurora arrived. The more we upset her, the worse it gets.”
My mouth parts to argue, but I can’t deny he’s right. The shaking floor, the odd weather, and melting sunlight. Everything is on the fritz.
“More the reason to get rid of her,” I insist.
“Who’s to say that won’t make it worse?” Zane asks. “When we’re not antagonizing her, things are… better, not as rocky. Let’s go at her easy.”
I throw up my hands. “Then get rid of her. Cast her out!”
“She already knows where Oak Hollow is,” Zane points out diplomatically. “She can always come right back if you’re right about her being some kind of spy.”
I feel like I’m talking in circles here. “So, what’s your solution? We do nothing? We need to know who she is!”
My head swivels toward Victor imploringly. “Well? Are you going to call on the Oklahoma Apex Alphas or not?”