Fate Knows Best (Kindred of Arkadia Book 1) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Other Books on Amazon

  Fate Knows

  Best

  _________________________________________________________

  Kindred of Arkadia

  _________________________________________________________

  ALANEA ALDER

  Copyright © 2019 Alanea Alder

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed "Attention: Permissions Coordinator," at the address below.

  PUBLISHER'S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  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 piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.

  www.sacredforestpublishing.com

  P.O.Box 280

  Moyock, NC, 27958

  Digital ISBN- 978-1-941315-24-8

  Print ISBN- 978-1-941315-35-4

  Sacred Forest Publishing

  Dedication

  ~Omnia Vincit Amor- Love Conquers All~

  To everyone who waited... the wait is over.

  PROLOGUE

  "Why are we here?" The voice of the high-pitched hyena grated on his nerves. If only there was another way. The gentleman sighed. No. His kind weren't permitted in Arkadia, and this group had access.

  "You are here because I require something from you," he said quietly.

  "Who the fuck are you?" the hyena demanded, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly. The gentleman moved faster than he knew the shifter could track and appeared behind the man. He straightened his fingers and plunged his hand into the hyena's back, wrapping his fingers around the spine. The hyena's screams filled the room. The gentleman sighed happily.

  "Shush or I will kill you," he warned softly. The hyena quieted down but kept whimpering.

  "I bought the debt you incurred when you lost the last shipment meant for your associates. I work with them from time to time as well. They were most eager to take my money. So you see, that makes you my little puppet," he said, shaking the hand that was still fisted around the hyena's spine. The hyena's body jerked from side to side.

  "Now, what I need is very simple. Totally within your capabilities to get. I almost feel like it's too easy for you. What I want is Arkadion blood," the gentleman said, savoring the name Arkadion on his tongue as if it were a fine wine.

  "How do we get it?" the hyena asked gasping in pain.

  "I don't care. Find a way. Bring me Arkadion blood or come back and face me," the gentleman said, ripping his hand out of the hyena. He brought his hand to his mouth and began to slowly lick his fingers.

  "Face me or face the Arkadion. Now go," the gentleman said and then nodded to the large shadow in the corner.

  The figure grabbed one hyena in each hand and took them from the room.

  "Thank you, Payne," the gentleman said cheerfully as he continued to clean each digit.

  CHAPTER ONE

  "Made a wrong turn, once or twice. Dug my way out, blood and fire." Rebecca sang along to P!nk as her bright-blue Smart car made its way down the dark mountain highway. She had ignored the small clanking sound she heard from her tiny car all the way through South Carolina, and it was now making itself known.

  "Just get me to the closest city and I promise to get you the works. I'm talking new belts and detailing, just please don't leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere in the North Carolina mountains." Rebecca pleaded with her car. She glanced down realizing she was almost out of gas as well.

  Afraid to pull over in case her car decided to cut off on her, she was scanning the GPS on her phone to find the closest town when a deer followed by a fairly large animal darted into the middle of the road. She slammed on her brakes, lost her grip on the phone and heard a dull thud as it landed. When her car came to a complete stop, she looked around to find neither animal was visible.

  Breathing heavily and with shaking hands she retrieved her phone from under the gas pedal just in time to see the battery die.

  "Oh come on, please!" She shook the phone as if that would breathe new life into the battery.

  Looking out the window, she tried to recall what was close by. It wasn't hard to do. The nearest place, a rest stop, was about thirty miles away and forget about cities that would be another hundred miles of driving. She sighed as she saw one snowflake, then another hit her windshield. She glanced to her left and blinked. Was that road there a second ago? She squinted and could clearly see a well-kept paved road. On the horizon beyond the trees she saw the faint glow of lights. She was contemplating going down the unknown road when her car began to sputter. She quickly put it in gear deciding to take her chances with a nearby unknown rather than an impossible-to-reach certainty.

  She drove down the dark road and was just about to turn around when she came upon an open archway. Hanging from the center of the arch was a sign that just read "Arkadia."

  She frowned. I don't remember an Arkadia on the map. She shrugged pushing on the gas pedal to urge the car forward. The snow was really coming down now. As she looked around to get her bearings the gargoyles on the top of a large white building caught her attention. She felt a smile tug at her lips. The sign out front let her know it was used as the townhall, courthouse, and church among other things depending on the day.

  Now that makes sense and is a perfect use of space.

  The jukebox in the window of "Ma's Diner" came into view as she continued.

  I bet they have amazing food. She made a mental note to go back there for dinner.

  When she came to an intersection she looked around trying to decide which way to go. She chuckled when she saw the aptly named electronics shop, "Johnny 5's".

  She opted to go straight when there was no garage in sight down the other street. At the next intersection she looked right to see an old metal sign with "Garage" in large bold font. She shrugged.

  I guess the name says it all.

  She pulled in front of the open bay doors as her car decided to die with a loud bang. Sighing with relief that she had made it to civilization, she picked up the backpack that served as her purse and hopped out of her car, leaving her luggage in the back seat. A mountainous man stepped out of the open bay door wiping his hands on a rag. His shiny brown hair was going grey at the temples, kindness showed in his green eyes, and it seemed the light lines on his face were from smiling or laughing. For some reason,
though they looked nothing alike, he reminded her of her father.

  The man smiled warmly and walked up to her. "It's so tiny it looks like a toy!" the large man exclaimed as he walked slowly around the car.

  "Right now it's a broken toy. It literally just died in your parking lot. Do you think you can fix it?" she asked.

  The man just absently nodded and kept circling the car.

  "You can leave it here and I will play with it. My name is Aaron Arkadion. This is my garage." He ran a hand over the hood as if he were petting the family dog.

  "Thank you. My name is Rebecca. Rebecca Morgan."

  When he finally looked up and really looked at her, she could see a flicker of shock in his eyes.

  "How did you get here?" he asked.

  Confused, she replied, "I drove here." He tilted his head and continued to look at her. She stared right back. Her stomach growled.

  "Are you hungry?"

  "I'm starved! My cheese crackers and beef jerky ran out sometime this afternoon."

  "Come on, I'll drive you to my wife's diner. She makes the most amazing food, as you can see," he said, laughing and patting his mid-section.

  "Oh no, I couldn't put you out like that. I can walk." She hefted her backpack up over her shoulder.

  The large man smiled again pointing to the sky where the snow was coming down harder now. "It's no trouble. I was about to head there anyway for my own dinner. Come on, little one, let's go get something warm to eat." He easily plucked her backpack from her shoulder and walked over to a huge truck.

  She shrugged and followed.

  In the end he had to reach over the seat to pull her in, since the truck was so far off the ground.

  "My dad used to call me that," she said, as she buckled her seat belt.

  "What? Little one?"

  She nodded.

  "Used to?" he asked, in a gentle tone.

  She nodded again as he pulled away from the garage. "He died a few years ago. There was a house fire. I lost him and the house. The only thing that made it was my car and only because it was with me at work at the time. Since then I've learned not to accumulate things." She watched as they passed the grocery store before making the left that put them back onto Main Street.

  "I am sorry for your loss. It must have been hard. You have no other family?" he asked frowning, concern and worry etched on his face.

  She shook her head. "Nope. Just me now. I lost my mother when I was three. She died in a car accident. They were both older when they had me, so I never knew my grandparents, and I was an only child, so no siblings. But it's okay. A lot of people don't have family." She turned her face from the window where she had been watching the small town go by to see his large green eyes filled with tears for her. Her eyes widened. "Oh! It's okay, really!" She patted his shoulder.

  He sniffled loudly. "It's not right, a tiny thing like you being alone. Not right at all." He easily pulled into a parking spot near the door. The street was packed with cars. She was surprised no one had taken the spot so close until she spotted the sign.

  Reserved for Pa.

  "You wait there. I will come around for you," he said before exiting the truck.

  She grinned as she watched him walk around the truck to open the door for her. He put his hands under her arms and easily lifted her out of the truck. She felt like a rag doll. Surprisingly despite his size, not once did she feel uncomfortable or afraid of him, but then again she had always been a good judge of character, and at the moment her gut was telling her she just made a really special friend. She tucked her hand into his elbow and let him escort her into the diner. She couldn't wait to see the menu. She was starved.

  When they walked into the diner everyone immediately quieted. Rebecca realized that she was a stranger in what was a typical small town. The quiet part didn't bother her as much as the staring. It was making her feel like a bug under a microscope. She had started to edge behind her new friend when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to stand beside him.

  "This is Rebecca Morgan. She is from out of town." He made from out of town sound as if she came from outer space.

  "Rebecca, why don't you tell them how you found our small town." He walked her to the counter and lifted her up onto the bar stool. Her feet didn't even touch the metal bar halfway down the stool, so her feet swung freely. The black-and-white checkerboard floor gleamed as though it had just been waxed and the entire placed smelled of comfort foods and lemon cleaner.

  Not one to be shy, she launched into her story.

  "Well, I've been driving around for a while, kinda on a sabbatical since my jerk of a boss decided I was 'redundant.' Anyway, my car started making funny noises somewhere in South Carolina. So when the noises started getting louder tonight, I bargained with her that if she got me to civilization I would make sure she got new parts. Right after that I was checking my phone's GPS, which by the way, didn't even have your town showing, so I know the software must be outdated, but then again it was only a ninety-nine-cent app so what can you expect, right?" A few heads nodded.

  "So I was checking my phone and when I looked up, a deer then this huge animal came darting out into the middle of the road. So I slammed on my brakes and my phone went flying. When I looked up both animals were gone. I'm glad I didn't hit them. I love animals." A lot of people were smiling.

  "Any hosier, I picked up my phone, which immediately died. Then it began to snow and my car started stuttering. I was just about to cry when I saw out of the corner of my eye this road with a glow up ahead like a town or city. I could have sworn it wasn't there before. So I decided a well-kept road like that had to lead somewhere, so I chose to go after an unknown nearby place rather than walk the miles and miles to the next rest stop. I found the garage and then my poor car died. Mr. Arkadion here offered me a ride to the diner and here I am." She smiled waving her hand about, pointing to the diner.

  A well-dressed man stood. He had reddish-brown hair and light amber eyes. He was a bit shorter than Mr.Arkadion and had a lean runner's build where the older man was more barrel-chested. Rebecca would have stared longer except there was also a pretty blonde woman sitting beside him. She was blonde and pretty, but field-hockey-player-blonde and pretty, not beach-blonde and pretty. Rebecca long ago differentiated between the two. The woman had an open smile and royal blue eyes which contrasted wonderfully with her honey-blonde hair. Rebecca thought about her boring brown hair and sighed.

  The handsome man spoke. "You didn't know our town was here at all? You just followed the road?" Everyone turned their head back to Rebecca waiting on her answer. It seemed to be very important.

  "No, I had no idea it was here, though I am very glad it was. I don't know what would have happened to me if I had to walk down the highway," she replied.

  "I shudder to imagine what would have happened to a tiny thing like you." A warm female voice said from behind her. Rebecca turned to look at one of the most "mom" looking women she had ever met. She was also tall and her brown eyes were kind and felt like they knew all your secrets. She knew this woman could put a Band-Aid on your knee while baking a homemade pie, lecturing you on why you acted foolishly in the first place to earn the Band-Aid and still have dinner on the table and the house clean. This woman epitomized home and family and love.

  "Bran, perhaps you can have someone check the perimeter, just in case there is a large animal out there on the loose," she said pointedly raising an eyebrow. The handsome man who had stood nodded then walked to the back of the diner on his cell phone. Rebecca got the feeling that wasn't exactly what she was trying to say, but for the life of her couldn't think of what else it could mean.

  The motherly woman turned to Rebecca. "We've been having problems with hyenas lately. I'm Margaret Arkadion, but everyone around here calls me Ma. Now, young lady, what can I get you to eat?" She smiled widely.

  "Get her something hearty, Margie. Poor little thing has no family or home. I don't think she's eaten right in months."
>
  Rebecca looked up into Mr. Arkadion's face and could see his concern as plain as day. The man was truly the most caring person she had ever met. She glanced around the diner. Even though Mr. Arkadion spoke to his wife in a low tone, she could see the empathy in the townspeople's eyes as they looked at her. Her eyes started to water, a direct result of the most kindness she had been shown in a long time.

  Ma's eyes went to Rebecca, and she reached out her hand to cup her cheek. Her rough work-worn fingers felt warm. "You're more than welcome here. If you need anything during your stay you come to me or Pa and we'll take care of it. Consider yourself under our care." She spoke the last sentence a little louder. Nearly every head in the diner nodded.

  "Now let's see, something hearty huh. I think you'll like my homemade beef stew and baking-powder biscuits. It'll put some meat on those bones of yours." She clucked, shaking her head at how small she was.

  Rebecca laughed. "I'm actually overweight for my height. I could stand to lose about fifteen pounds."

  A man near the door snorted. Rebecca wheeled around and looked at him.

  "What?" she asked.

  "If you were any smaller we'd have to tie a bell around your neck like a kitten so we wouldn't step on you." He grinned cheekily.

  The field-hockey-player blonde laughed out loud.

  "Liam is right, honey, you are already tiny enough. My name is Kate Edwards. That is Bran McGregor. Bran and I," she pointed to the man who returned from making his phone call, "our family looks after the lands to the east of here. That is Liam Lewenhart," she said, pointing to the smiling man. He had short blond hair and an easy smile. He looked like he would be right at home on the beach relaxing. "Liam there, when he's not flirting, he and his family look after the lands to the west of town. The Arkadions, whom you've met, well the parents anyway, they look after the lands to the north."