Free Destiny United by Leia Shaw Page B

if she could show him where it hurt
when the strangest thing happened. Her ears lengthened – the tips pointing
upward the slightest bit. Then she screeched again, and in her mouth two tiny
fangs formed in place of her canines. Blood flowed down her throat making her
cough and sputter. He tried to tilt her upright but her body contorted, arms
and legs growing rigid beneath him. She had been skin and bones before, but
only a minute later she gained at least ten pounds in muscle. Her limbs were
long and lean instead of the pitiful sticks they’d been.
    Pointy ears, small fangs, long lean limbs.
    Meirda! “You’re…you’re
fae.”
    She gave him an odd look right before she passed out.

Chapter 5
    “One day you will be a princess, my lovely Aila,” a silver
haired woman said. “You have an important part to play in the world.” The woman
placed a plastic tiara on the little girl’s head. She giggled with delight.
    “When Mari?” she asked spinning in circles as her frilly skirt
whirled around her.
    “On your twenty first birthday.” She smiled in the magical way
that made the girl feel at ease.
    The little girl smiled back. But then the old woman’s face
started to change. It became darker, with angry flames in her eyes. Black hair
grew in place of the woman’s silver, then sprouted along her chin, and soon the
little girl was staring into the face of a monster. “You’re fae,” the man
rumbled. Fangs extended from his mouth. “You’re fae.” His voice echoed and the
girl screamed in fright.
    “Jimmy…” Erin moaned. “Another nightmare.” She writhed in
the sheets, feeling hot and irritated. “Jimmy!”
    “Aila,” a strange voice said quietly from beside her.
    Aila? Her eyes popped open.
The man from her nightmare sat next to her on her bed. Wait, not her bed. She
looked around the room. A hotel. And the man next to her was not a man. A
vampire. The memories of the last twelve hours plunged back into her mind.
    “Nooo…” she groaned and closed her eyes, wishing it would
all disappear. Last night hadn’t been a dream. Room service, Marcelo’s cranky
ass, the bar, then…pain. Agony had consumed every nerve in her body. Her skin
had stretched painfully over bone and muscle, spasms raked through her so
harrowing she hadn’t known up from down. She remembered nothing beyond the
excruciating pain. Maybe the alcohol went bad. Can
alcohol go bad?
    Either way, the dread of the upcoming days weighed heavily
on her. She rolled over, curling her body inward, putting her back to Marcelo.
    He sighed impatiently beside her. “Aila.” When she
ignored him he grabbed her shoulder and gave a firm shake. “Aila, turn around.
We need to talk.”
    “Why do you keep calling me that?” she muttered into the
pillow.
    “Because that is your true name.”
    Maybe he drank too much too.
     “That’s what we need to talk about. Do you remember
anything about last night?”
    “Go away,” she grumbled. God,
can’t he give me a few more minutes?
    He sighed and shifted on the bed. Suddenly the blanket
was yanked from her grasp and she was forcibly rolled off the bed. Before she
landed sprawled on her ass like she thought she would, she ducked into a
reflexive crouch catching herself on the balls of her feet. She analyzed her
position. Strange. She’d never been particularly coordinated before. She looked
up to see Marcelo watching her, a flare of curiosity in his eyes. He wore a
black fitted t-shirt that looked damn good stretched over his bulky shoulders.
A loose pair of denim jeans hung on his waist. He looked as tasty as ever.
    Raven brows arched in his condescending way. “Ready to
talk now, hadita ?”
    Rising from the floor, she felt a strange sort of power
within her. She shook her head, confused. “I feel…different,” she admitted.
“And what did you just call me?”
    “ Hadita. Little faerie.”
Marcelo stood with his arms crossed and his chin resting on his knuckles. “And
you should feel