Page 7 of Fractured Fate

“I just don’t want to disappoint my moms.”

Her adoptive parents did a lot for her. They weren’t her biological parents. She didn’t even know who her father was, but her biological mother died not long after giving birth. Her mothers didn’t have to adopt her from Ireland when she was an infant, but they did.

Being not only a same-sex married couple, female business owners, and one of them being Native American, things didn’t always go smoothly for them. Charlotte saw racism and bigotry growing up directed at them whenever they traveled, or when they had to do business out of town, but the people of Rosebrook Valley embraced them and their businesses. They were accepted and treated well in their home community. Another reason she hated leaving for college.

Taking in an orphaned baby from another country spoke highly of their hearts and character. She could never do enough to repay them for that. Hopefully, getting a degree that benefited their dream businesses would be a start. The career path kept her close to home and took care of her family. A win-win in her book.

“I doubt you could ever disappoint them. They love you a lot. You don’t have to become an accountant to make them happy.”

“I know that much, but I want to do something to help.”

“Well, if you decide to come back, are you getting rid of your apartment? If you need me, I can come up there and help you pack and bring things back down here. Or are you leaving everything until you decide?”

“I’ll keep the apartment for now. I’m not even sure I can come back to Rosebrook now that I’m locked into classes.”

Even if she dropped her accounting major, she didn’t want to leave her group hanging on their own with the projects and the upcoming tests. She also didn’t like leaving things unfinished and wasting potential credits she could earn to finish out the summer semester and potentially transfer into another business-related program.

All she knew was she couldn’t continue with something that didn’t make her happy. She needed to speak with her advisor and see what options were available to her and go from there.

She yawned and rubbed her eyes.

“Sleepy?”

It surprised her that the answer was yes after everything she felt earlier.

“I think so. I have to be up in five hours.” She wiggled, nestling down in the corner of the loveseat against a plush throw pillow. “I don’t wanna go to bed though,” she half-whined.

“Why’s that?”

“Your voice is relaxing.” Did she really say that out loud? She winced at the silence on the other line. Maybe she was too tired to be on the phone.

“Your voice is nice too,” he said, voice dropping an octave, and the frequency went straight to her lady bits. That’s new. Their casual flirting never hit like that before. That voice. It had to be the sleepy, or sleep-deprived, voice. “Definitely preferable to nightmares.” He chuckled.

She bit the pad of her thumb. Oh, that lazy, deep chuckle sounded dangerous too.

When she didn’t respond, trying to get a hold of herself and ignore the way his voice sent her lower half into crisis with how long it’d been since she’d allowed her body any attention from the opposite sex, Aiden spoke, his voice clearer and free of the seductiveness from before. She wondered if he wasn’t even aware of how he sounded and only she was affected. Probably.

“Why don’t you call me tomorrow and we’ll talk more about it?” After a brief pause, he added, “I mean, if you want to. We can talk more about the apartment and stuff. Or whatever else you want.”

When they talked, Aiden sometimes seemed nervous and uncertain about if she wanted to talk to him. She found it strange. She enjoyed his company. He was her friend’s brother and had become a great friend to her. Why wouldn’t she want to be around him? Right now, she wanted to be more than around him.

She rubbed her face, warning lights flashing behind her eyes. Stop that line of thinking right now.

Taking a calming breath, she spoke soft and calm, and not like her libido was demanding recognition. It didn’t have to be him or anyone else, her libido could sit the hell down and chill for five minutes while she finished a phone call. “I have classes in the morning, but I will text you after lunch. I want to talk to my advisor to at least scope out my options.”

“Good idea.” He yawned. “Get some sleep. If you need me, you can call again. Don’t worry about waking me up.”

She wondered if he knew something happened beyond the school situation, or was he simply being the caring guy he acted like with everyone?

“Thanks, Aiden. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Charlotte. Sweet dreams.”

2

HAUNTED

The force of his knees smacking the marble floor sent a jolt through Aiden’s body. The pain from the tight grip on his hair couldn’t compare to the pain ricocheting in his chest at the sight of his best friend’s Korrena mate restrained against the wall. Pain from the knowledge he couldn’t protect her.