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  Fighting Destiny

  The Fae Chronicles Book One

  By Amelia Hutchins

  Warning: Mature language and sexual content. This book is not intended for anyone under the age of 18, or anyone who doesn’t like lip biting, throw your ass on the bed, tear your clothes off and leave you panting dominant alpha male characters. This is a dark, dangerous, intense, gritty and raw book. Scenes are dark, disturbing and scorching HOT. This is a soul crushing, tear jerking and leave you hanging on the edge of your seat fast paced book. Side Effects may include, but are not limited to: Drooling, biting lip, wet panties, crying and screaming at the author. If any of these things happen, do not seek medical attention—get the next book in the series and enjoy the ride!

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  FIGHTING DESTINY Copyright © 2013 by Amelia Hutchins.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the express written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

  Cover Art Design: Chelsea Vera

  Cover Art Illustrations: Chelsea Vera

  Copyright ©2013Amelia Hutchins

  Edited by: Gina Tobin

  Published by: Amelia Hutchins

  Printed in (United States of America)

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  Dedication

  To my husband who is my best friend and my biggest fan. Who has stood beside me from the very beginning of this journey. To my kids for being patient while mommy sat glued to her computer writing. To my grandmother and mother who never limited my imagination and for the endless stories that made my own imagination soar to endless boundaries. The beta group who read the story many times over until it was perfected, there are too many to name but ladies you know who you are. And to Gina, for her endless hours of dedication, editing, tossing ideas and dealing with me while I spoke Atlantean. Without you this book could not be what it is. And to Gina’s husband for allowing her to work with me through endless nights of editing and the kids for being art gurus.

  One

  “Comm. Check. Adam, come in?” I said over the traffic noise I was hearing through the small device hidden in my ear.

  “Roger that,” Adam said from his safe distance behind the old shipping warehouse a few blocks away.

  I pulled the leather coat up tighter around my neck as a woman and child passed me on the street beneath the Dark Fortress. I’d been given an unusual assignment from Alden, the leader of the Guild where I worked.

  Break in and steal the Dark Prince of the Fae’s crown. Normally, given my past history, I would have walked away or given this particular assignment over to another from the Guild, but Alden demanded it be me who took it. It was an overly risky and stupid assignment as far as I was concerned, but I had no say in the matter.

  Adam and I typically worked as enforcers and assassins for an organization of Witches that kept Otherworld creatures on the right track and out of the local newspapers. Thirty some years ago, those of the Otherworld crept out of the shadows and made it known to the human race that they were no longer alone here on earth.

  Of course, Witches had always been among them, but we’d been content to just watch from the shadows. Until the Fae, taking the matters into their own hands came out and let the humans know they were no longer the top of the food chain. It had changed everything. Governments were now run with the help of the Otherworlder’s.

  It had been a huge adjustment for the humans but eventually most had come to terms with it and those that were considered royalty of the Otherworld creatures had been given safe passage and diplomatic immunity. Even now, I was walking on sovereign land that had been legally declared a section of Faery.

  Normally my job was easy, enforce the laws and protect humankind from becoming food for the Otherworld creatures. Today it wasn’t that simple, I was stepping out of my comfort zone and into the realm of the Fae where no human rules could be applied. If I failed they could kill me and no one would ever know it.

  It was a small price to pay for what I had been given. When I was young, my parents had been brutally murdered by the Fae. I’d gone to live inside the safety of the Guild soon after and while it hadn’t been ideal, it had become my home.

  I had more than what most orphaned children had and I’d been trained to take my place among the Guild. We were taught that life wasn’t about being selfish, it was about giving back to those who needed it or those who couldn’t protect themselves from the deadly creatures who wanted to feed off of them. That’s where I come in. I keep them safe even if they never realize it. I’m not looking for payback, or gratitude, I’m in it to keep this world safe.

  I turned, watching the wide glass doors open as an entourage of Otherworld beings that guarded the Dark Prince emerged from the embassy. Ryder was reported to be a notorious playboy, right up until last week when he announced his engagement to the Heir of the Light Fae who had seemingly appeared from thin air.

  The Fae normally kept their lives out of the spotlight, but this story had hit every major newspaper around the world in a matter of hours. It wasn’t every day that the Fae announced weddings or anything for that matter and this one was going up on a grand scale. Two royal houses combining together was big Fae business. The papers loved it.

  “I got movement, seven guards and a male in a dark leather trench. They’re heading for the black limo, over.” I said, pulling my magic around me and making myself look like one of the everyday humans on the street just milling about for a paper, or a look at the royal Prince.

  One of the challenges for the Guild was how little we knew about the Fae. Incredibly secretive, what we did know came from rumors. The Dark and Light Fae were friendlier with the humans, however, there was grapevine chatter that there were other castes of the Fae that we had less information on. There was even one caste called the Horde that was supposed to be the stuff of nightmares and there were whispers that the Horde King had gone walkabout a little over twenty years ago.

  Without a guiding hand on that group, who knows what kind of trouble could happen. As it was, there were hints coming back to the Guild of skirmishes within the Fae castes and this is probably why we were experiencing such an increase in the Fae population in our world.

  The secrecy just contributed to the problems. Some humans were infatuated with the Fae, others terrified. It was a mess and some just wanted the Otherworld creatures to pack up and leave our world, or be shipped to camps where they could be monitored. Bad idea, they’re powerful, immortal and even with the sheer numbers of Witches being trained, it would be an all-out bloody war if we tried it.

  The comm device in my ear hit static before Adam’s voice came out clear. “Confirmed, it’s the Prince. You are clear to engage Syn. Chandra’s in play now as well. Good luck.”

  I let out a shaky exhale. No one had ever tried this before, nor should they. It was basically suicide. There was a reason this embassy was called the Dark Fortress.

  Five hundred highly trained Fae report
edly guarded this Fortress. Our sources told us the crown was inside a vault that had one of the most deadly security systems known to every Otherworld creature.

  I placed my finger to my ear, “Are we sure it was the DP?”

  “Confirmed, Syn…be careful. There’s no contingency plan,” Adam replied quietly.

  “Wouldn’t have it any other way,” I said with more bravado than I was currently feeling.

  If I got caught we cut ties. I would be stuck at the mercy of the Fae who were notorious for not having any. I waited until the door opened once more, slipping in as a tall blonde walked out with a radiant smile on her face.

  The Fae were beautiful, ethereal creatures. Many had taken jobs as movie stars, or models. They were the ideal creatures to be on the posters representing the Otherworld beings as they never aged. Timeless beauty, frozen right around the age of thirty.

  I scanned the room and found two sets of elevators against the far wall. There were guards stationed in front of the one I needed to get on. I scanned the faces of the Fae guards who were armed to the teeth and with dripping with testosterone. I checked the rest of the lobby before heading to the front desk. I had on a long flowing skirt that made me look similar to the other woman working in the lobby of the Dark Fortress.

  “Hi! My name is Angelica. I should be on the list for the walk through for the Embassy tour. I know I am a little late, but the press outside today was crazy,” my voice came out more calmly than I had thought it would.

  The busty blonde looked up and glared at me with annoyance. She probably wasn’t a fan of the Fae groupies. “First elevator, here is the badge, attach it somewhere security can see it or you will be removed from the building.” She handed me an identity badge that held the false name.

  “Thank you so much!” I said with a bright faked smile on my face, turning to make nice with the Fae guards—who didn’t play nice back.

  “Identification,” the taller of the two said, holding his hand out without even looking directly at me.

  “Oh, of course, sorry,” I smiled and handed him the picture ID. “Here you go.”

  “Angelica Jolie?” He mocked.

  Adam was toast.

  “My mother loved the actress,” I said over-emphatically shrugging my shoulders.

  The guard didn’t crack a smile. “Spread your arms and legs,” he said with little interest in his voice. I spread my arms and my legs obediently.

  His hands came up and patted me down, checking under both breasts as if I might have had a gun parked between them. When he was satisfied that I held no weapons on my person, he turned and hit the button for level 2 before moving back to his post.

  The elevator doors opened with a small ringing noise and I silently slipped inside after one male had exited it. Inside I scanned for camera’s and found one in the corner. Two more were beneath the glass two-way mirrors they had covering the walls.

  When the doors reopened again, I stepped out surveying the empty hall before heading in the opposite direction of the tour that would be rounding the corridor any moment now if they had stuck to schedule. The door to the next elevator opened and a tall male Fae stepped out smoothly with a radiant smile.

  “Are you with the tour?” He inquired.

  “Yes, I was a few minutes late though. The press outside is crazy thick today,” I gave him my best dumb-blonde smile and looked up and down the halls as if looking for the group.

  “You’re a pretty little thing, you sure you want the boring tour…and not something a little more personal?” His voice had lowered seductively.

  I fluttered my eyes and bit my lip. “You could do that?” I asked with awe in my tone.

  “And much more, if you like,” his smirk was all teeth.

  If I hadn’t planned on him falling for my act I’d be tempted to kick him into next week. I pretended to consider it for a moment, my teeth pulling at the fleshy part of my lip. “Are you sure we won’t get in trouble? I would hate to get kicked out,” I fussed, twirling a stray lock of my hair around my You Only Live Once OPI painted fingernails.

  He smiled, his gorgeous chocolate, brown eyes lighting up at my uneasy performance. He was tall and well-muscled. His black pinstriped suit made him look older than most of the Fae normally did. His thick auburn hair sat in silky spikes along his forehead framing his beautiful face. “Mmm, I promise you won’t get in trouble. I’ll take good care of you.”

  Oh I just bet you would lover boy!

  I smiled wider and agreed. He took me silently down a hall, through another corridor and into what looked like a lounge of some sort.

  The room held a long cream-colored couch and rich chocolate brown walls. The carpet was plush, extravagant and a matching brown.

  “This room is where the Prince holds more intimate meetings,” he said.

  “Seriously?” I asked letting the pleasure of the room show on my face. It really was a beautiful room with its rich, natural colors.

  “My name is Dristan. Yours is?” He asked, his eyes roving up my covered body. I removed my coat, letting his eyes travel over the tight black tank top I had worn today.

  “Angelica,” I whispered nervously, playing it up.

  He moved closer, his hand reaching for the jacket I still held in my hands. He gave me a reassuring smile, as if I had no clue on his intentions. “You’re beautiful. One would almost confuse your beauty for that of a Fae.”

  “Really?” I beamed.

  “May I touch you?” He asked, his words sent alarm bells off inside my head…but I needed him close to me.

  “I—I don’t know—”

  “I don’t bite, I promise,” he said moving over and touching my arm.

  He ran his long fingers over my forearm, moving up slowly. I gave a small shaky laugh, as my hand sank into the pocket of my jacket finding the small flat piece of magic vellum. “Your eyes are beautiful Dristan,” I said blinking slowly, as he allowed his eyes to change. The chocolate brown turned into a mass of lime green, outlined by a deep emerald.

  All Fae had double colored eyes and the ability to shield them when need arose. He smiled as my eyes grew wide from the true beauty of his. “I want you to see me, all of me,” he replied roughly cueing me that it was time to move before I ended up as his dinner.

  Fae were of the few creatures to feed from emotions. They had come to the human world since humans had emotions in abundance, unlike the other Otherworld creatures. The Fae’s preferred method to generate the highest emotion in humans was through sex. Seems there was some truth to those old stories about Succubi and Incubi and the Fae not only consumed emotions—they could also take all or part of the soul while feeding.

  “You’re beautiful,” I inched closer, as if I was being drawn in by his Otherworld attributes as some women were. I raised my hand, touching his cheek and almost smiled as he tried for a seductive smile—and failed. The hand holding the vellum came up and softly planted it on his neck before I allowed him to kiss me.

  His lips were soft, his kiss gentle. He pushed me gently towards the couch fully thinking he had me where he wanted me. His hands pulled against my skirt and I let him since I was ditching it soon anyways.

  His mouth started going slack and his voice murmured like he had been over-indulging in spirits. “Somnus,” I whispered sealing the spell on the vellum against his neck with the Latin word for sleep.

  I held his hand and it dropped like a rock. I stood scanning for camera’s knowing there wouldn’t be any placed where the Dark Prince held his personal meetings. Someone should tell the Fae that being secretive wasn’t always a good thing.

  I moved, pushing the sleeping Fae from my body and removed the skirt revealing black spandex shorts. It matched the skintight tank top I had allowed him to see. I quickly pulled my hair up and then removed the extra garments tossing them into a wastebasket along with the purse and speaking three words barely above a whisper. “Exussum,” I whispered the word for burn.

  “Syn, you still with us?�
�� Adam’s voice was loud inside my ear, but it pushed away the small ripple of fear that was encroaching into my stomach at the job I had ahead of me.

  “Copy that Adam, it’s raining men,” I whispered with a smirk on my ruby red lips.

  “Next floor, twenty minutes on the clock.” Adam replied.

  “On my way,” I whispered looking at the sleeping Fae. I walked back over and pulled the small special camera phone from my pocket before opening his eye and flashing the device silently. “Thanks Dristan, sorry,” I whispered before moving to the elevator and slapping another vellum onto the door.

  “Open, patefacio,” I said adding the Latin to intensify the spell. When I was inside, I quickly kicked from the side of the glass wall and jumped to the top. Luckily the glass double paned elevator window didn’t cave from my weight. I pushed the top open from where I stood with two feet pushing against the glass and removed it before making the small leap and grasping the opening with my hands to pull myself up.

  When I was on the top of the elevator, I paused checking for more cameras. I held my hand up to my ear and relayed to Adam. “Clear, heading up to the vault,” I whispered.

  “All is quiet outside Syn, good luck,” came back over the comm.

  “Who needs luck?” I gave a soft nervous laugh after the com had gone silent. I looked around, still kneeling since the elevator had yet to stop. There was an overhanging ledge from the top floor, which would mark his rooms.

  When the elevator had finally gone up close enough that I could jump, I did, sailing through the air with no margin for error. My fingers touched upon the thick metal and held. I inhaled slowly, letting it out even slower. After a brief second, I pulled myself up and used the small picture of Dristan’s eye at the sensor to gain entrance into the chamber.

  I held my breath and after a second that seemed to last for an eternity, it finally beeped and the doors slid open revealing the Dark Princes’ personal rooms. These were not warm and neutral, as the other room had been. They were masculine shades and vibrant. The walls were a bright shade of red with artistic Celtic designs that seemed to encircle the entire room. He had expensive white couches that had been strategically placed throughout the entryway. The large mirror that sat behind the couches wasn’t just for looks. It was expensive double paned glass that you could watch those who sat in the entryway without them knowing they were being observed. Shit.