Fate Forgotten Read Free Page A

another date?”
    Glad for the company, she turned from her position on the couch and spotted Shari, her adoptive mother. She didn’t look like a mother. Like most immortals, Shari stopped aging at twenty-five, though she was more than four hundred years old. Tall, thin, and beautiful, all her sisters were in their own way.
    “How’d you guess?” Her voice laced with sarcasm.
    “Don’t need foresight to guess. It’s routine by now.” Shari sat beside her. “You know, you can just break things off with him…”
    Val bit the side of her lip. “I have to. I mean it’s obvious I’m not his.”
    “That’s not why I think you should break it off.”
    She smirked. She knew what would come next, but played dumb. “Why else?”
    Shari chuckled. “You’re a hopeless romantic. It’s one of the things I love about you.”
    No use denying the truth. “I know,” she muttered under her breath.
    “I don’t think you’ve yet realized, but you can have valuable and meaningful relationships with men who aren’t fated to you. We live very long lifetimes… Do you want to live that long alone?”
    “Not alone. I have you and the rest of the coven. You’re my family—the only family I’ve ever known.”
    Shari smiled. “And that’s the way it’s supposed to be, but we’re talking about male companionship here. You can fall in love with someone who isn’t fated to you. I have…” She winked. “Many times.”
    “Yeah, but what if—”
    Shari’s gaze softened. “What if he finds his mate, and you’re in love with him?”
    Valerie nodded.
    Shari grabbed her hand and squeezed. “What if he’s in love with you, and you find your mate?” She shrugged. “Love is a gamble. Life is a gamble.”
    Val nodded.
    Shari tilted her head slightly, her knowing gaze pierced hers. “Don’t live afraid, Val. Take chances. Live, fully and completely. And love …You’ll never regret it.”
    After a brief moment of silence, Shari said, “Besides, the probabilities of you finding your mate or him finding his are slim to none. Think about it… Casey is six hundred, and she’s never found her fated.”
    Casey claimed she didn’t want to find her fated. Valerie couldn’t understand why, but knew Casey felt that way. “I suppose…but…”
    The front door opened, and three others from their coven waltzed in: Dianne, Hanna, and Casey.
    “Speaking of the devil,” Shari said loudly, grinning broadly.
    “Are you talking shit again?” Dianne glared, playfully. “Always running your mouth.”
    “If you’re referring to shit as the truth, then yes,” Shari snapped quickly. “But it wasn’t about you. I promise.” She raised her hand in scout’s honor, then laughed.
    The three dropped their shopping bags on the floor and took seats around them. Dianne in a blue and green armchair she’d picked out that everyone else hated. Casey on the arm of the love seat, and Hanna sat Indian style on the coffee table.
    “What were you talking about?” Hanna asked.
    Casey analyzed her freshly manicured nails. “Glen, of course. She always has that frumpy, depressed look when he’s mentioned.”
    Dianne placed her feet on the coffee table beside Hanna. “Break it off yet?”
    Valerie shook her head.
    “What are you waiting for? The guy’s obviously not interested.”
    Hanna reached over and kicked Dianne’s feet off the table.
    “Ouch! I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”
    Her words stung, but Valerie didn’t take it to heart. One of the reasons she loved Dianne: she could always depend on her to spit out the truth without sugarcoating it.
    Shari cleared her throat. “Then perhaps you should rephrase.”
    Dianne’s charcoal gaze darted toward Valerie. “I’m sorry. What I meant was he…ignores you and…you shouldn’t be ignored.” She glanced at Shari, then Hanna as if asking whether she’d come across less harsh.
    “I thought you guys thought we made the perfect pair.”
    Casey smiled. “He’s a warlock.