Set To Start (Morningstars)

  Set To Start

  By Sam Destiny

  A Morningstar Novella

  Set To Start ©2015 by Sam Destiny

  This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,

  photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of the copyright owner and/or the publisher of this book, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

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

  Cover Copyright © Airicka’s Mystical Creations

  Formatting © Airicka’s Mystical Creations

  www.AirickaPhoenix.com

  Edits by Bree Vanderland of Fire Hearts Editing

  SET TO START

  Somewhere in Helpston...

  The night was cold and yet Kaden could already tell that spring was coming. He should be home, trying to get some sleep, or back at the compound, training with the other guys, but truth was, Kaden hadn’t done that in forever. Nights like this he was everywhere except where he should be. This particular night, it was some balcony and yet the place where his heart wanted to be no matter what his head told him.

  He watched the girl on the bed from afar though she was sleeping and he wished she’d be awake even though it wasn’t her time.

  Kaden’s eyes went from the top of her sky blue pillow down her body, only half covered in a negligée. Her raven hair fell over the pillow and down to her shoulders, vanishing under the blanket that matched the pillow. The room was scarcely decorated with pure, white walls and a lot of papers hung onto the one over her head, papers that contained her favorite quotes from books, songs, and movies. It was a simple apartment with a bedroom and a living room, kitchen and a bathroom that wasn't even big enough for a bathtub, but Kaden couldn’t remember any place ever feeling as homey as her four walls did.

  His eyes returned to the sleeping beauty and he sighed quietly.

  At night, in those moments when he was more stalker than lover, he realized more than ever that they didn’t belong together. Hell, they weren’t even from the same world and yet Kaden was drawn to her like he never had been to another.

  “Are you comin’ in or what?” he suddenly heard her voice break through the thin air and his whole body went hot and cold at the seductive tone in her voice. Sleep made her always sound so sexy and he had a hard time thinking straight.

  He had been so focused on her that he hadn’t even realized how her breathing had changed. She had kept her eyes closed and yet she had known he was there.

  Only then did he notice that her balcony door was slightly open and anger swamped his body. How could she be so reckless? Didn’t she know what haunted the night? Shaking his head, he figured that most likely she had no idea what really was out there.

  After all, he was a danger and yet he would be in her bedroom soon enough.

  The good part about the open door was that he didn’t have to use his powers to get in.

  “You know, you smell like cinnamon and spice. I’d recognize your scent anywhere,” she mumbled, stretching out a little more, her pale skin looking almost illuminated against the light of the moon that crept through a window nearby. Moving inside, he locked the door behind him, knowing that the monsters he had in mind wouldn’t really be kept out by just a glass door. At least it would give him the advantage though if something decided to sneak in, especially since he hated fighting butt-naked, since getting out of his clothes was his goal, but still he double-checked the door. The lock would click loud enough to make him jump out of bed and hopefully pull over the boxers that rested in a crumpled pile beside the bed.

  He didn’t mind being naked, but he figured that people would be more inclined to go for his balls in a fight if they were hanging in plain view and he really liked having his balls.

  “I wanted to come in. It’s almost as if you read my thoughts,” he grinned, pausing next to the bed. She finally opened her deep blue eyes, peering up at him in a haze between being awake and still asleep. “And since you’re so good at it, why don’t you tell me what I am thinking now?”

  “You think that you should get naked or that I should get you naked, but you figure you’ll be quicker. At least that’s what I’d say by the way you look at me. You probably settled for that since I don’t look as if I was ready to move,” she teased and he loved the way her lips curled into a satisfied smile as she stretched.

  He was out of his clothes in no time, snuggling as close to her as he could. She was warm and soft against him and all his naughty thoughts vanished. He kissed her shoulder and then her back before nudging her to rest her head on his chest.

  “You have to work tomorrow, don’t you?” he wanted to know and she nodded, her raven hair moving against his chest like velvet. Closing his eyes, he wished he could stop the clock. It felt so right and, he wasn’t sure anything could ever come as close and yet, she wasn’t meant to be eternally his. In fact, she wasn’t even immortal.

  “I’ve got the night shift at the gas station,” she explained, then moved so she could rest her chin on his chest, a wicked glint in her eyes. “But I took off at the daycare center so that I could sleep in. That means…” She let her finger travel over his naked skin down to his navel and then even deeper as she let her sentence hang in the air between them. As much as he wished that would be possible, the room would be flooded with sunshine first thing in the morning. It would get ugly. Really ugly.

  He growled. “I’d prefer it if you would have done it the other way around.”

  She kissed the spot right over his heart, letting her lips caress his skin. Shivers ran up and down his spine and Kaden was ready to explode. Usually this would distract him enough to stop the conversation where it was, but today he wouldn’t have it.

  “I just can’t stand the thought of you in that shithole,” he went on, trying to explain why he was discussing this with her. He kissed the top of her head as she sighed, resigned.

  “I want my own house, Kaden, and you know that,” she replied and he grumbled even more, making her chuckle.

  “Kady,” she whispered, her voice down to a sensual purr. Cia probably was the only one ever to get away with calling him that because … he loved that she took the time and freedom to give him a nick.

  “Ciarda, you can have whatever you want from me, so please…”

  She was away from him and at the end of the bed so fast, he wasn’t sure it was humanly possible, yet that wasn’t really on the forefront of his mind. “Cia…?” he carefully asked, reaching out for her, but she evaded his touch and now fully moved off the bed as she reached for her dressing gown, pulling it over.

  “Cia!”

  “I’ll … I’ll be right back. Just … right back,” she called over her shoulder and he heard the tremor in her voice. Hell, he could feel it deep in his bones, deep in his aching heart.

  He got up as well, pulling his boxers over because suddenly it felt weird being naked.

  “What did I say?” he inquired, following her out and finding her in the living room.

  “I can have everything I want from you, huh? Sometimes I wonder if you even listen to yourself. There is only one thing I want from you,” she explained and finally Kaden realized what he had said, and how deep she was looking into his words.

  “Cia,” he whispered; hoping, begging, and pleading with one word only.

  “You know, all those times we’ve had this exact discussion vanishes from my mind the moment you are a
t my door because I missed you so much and you always seem to miss me as well. I’m always convinced you must feel something for me, too, but then…” She threw up her hands, not even turning back to him.

  She wanted his heart and that was probably the only thing he couldn’t give her because, as it was, it had never been his to give. One day, it would belong to his Origin and no matter what he wanted, fate would interfere and Cia would be the one breaking apart while he would be walking away without as much as a second thought. He had no idea how it would really feel since the only guy he knew ever to fall in love with an Origin wasn’t around to tell the tale any longer. Damn, Kaden missed Lucas.

  By the Creator, how much he wanted to say those three magical words to her! Only he had no idea how long that would really be true. He’d have a mate eventually and even though there was no Queen…

  Shaking his head, he stopped his thoughts from wandering where they were about to go, focusing on the girl in front of him instead.

  “Ciarda … beautiful Cia, you have all that is freely mine to give,” he told her, stepping a little closer. He wanted to touch her, wanted to hold her, but she seemed so tense he was worried he’d hurt her.

  “What is that even supposed to mean?” she wanted to know, not turning back. “Do you have a girlfriend? A wife? Which part of you exactly is mine? Your head? Your body? Your soul? Because it sure ain’t your heart,” she snapped as the urge to pull her close almost overwhelmed him.

  “I’m in love with you for now. Isn’t that ever enough for women?” he fussed, feeling defensive. Suddenly she turned to him, her face falling. Only then did his own words sink in. “Cia, that wasn’t what I meant. I swear,” he rushed to say, but she simply gave him a calm smile.

  It chilled him to his bones.

  “I understand, Kaden.” Oh hell, he could tell she didn’t. “You know, my day tomorrow will actually be quite long. It might be better if you leave now. Oh, and I meant to tell you that I won’t have much time over the next weeks. I mean, I know that this is nothing set and that you just drop by whenever, but … if you find yourself wanting to come…” Of course he wanted to come. He had shown whenever he wasn’t on duty, even though that hadn't been the case much lately, but he knew where this was going. “I just wanted to let you know I most likely won’t be here. I’ll have a lot of shifts, daycare and all. Uh … you know where the door is,” she finished, still having that same fake smile plastered all over her face. Turning away, she locked herself in the bathroom.

  Kaden followed, feeling pathetic. He stood in front of a closed door in his boxers, touching the wood with the palm of his hand, just because the woman he wished could hold his heart was on the other side. There was nothing he wanted more than to make her his, but besides the Origin matter, she was only human. They would never be what he wanted them to be, what she wanted them to be.

  Pulling on his clothes, he proceeded to throw the front door close loud enough so she’d be hearing it, while in truth he slipped out of the balcony door again.

  He locked it after him, making sure it was secure, then he shrank into the shadows, watching and waiting.

  Cia came back in, wiping tears that rapidly kept falling down her cheeks.

  He stayed until the sun came up. Leaving was the hardest thing he had ever done, because until his forced retreat, Cia had neither fallen asleep nor stopped crying.

  Five days, twenty hours and twenty-three minutes had passed since the door had fallen close behind Kaden, not that anyone was counting, especially not Cia. Sighing, she looked away from the clock and back down to her hands.

  She could still remember the first time Kaden had entered the gas station and looked at her. Time and space had ceased to exist during that short moment and her heart had picked up speed. She had never seen anyone so handsome and found herself smiling before she even had realized it.

  The little bell over the door jingled, pulling her from her thoughts, but still she took a deep breath, not yet looking up.

  Kaden had always worried about her job at the gas station, but she wasn’t ready to let it go. It was high risk, which made the pay all the better. It didn’t change the fact that she agreed with Kaden. It was a shitty job and her heart started to race every time someone came in at night. It was dangerous at best and life-threatening at its worst, but in the last weeks, hell, even the last months it had been quiet in her corner of the city. There hadn’t been any robberies since … probably the day Kaden had entered her life. It was as if his appearance had changed her luck.

  Steeling herself, she turned towards the costumer, putting a smile on that turned genuine once she realized it was a woman. She was blonde and so pretty that Cia had a hard time looking away.

  Checking outside, she didn’t see a car. This woman obviously didn’t want to pay for her gas. Then again, a lot of the nightly costumers came for milk or simply coffee.

  “Hey, I’m Cia. What can I get ya?” she asked, still smiling.

  “You shouldn’t be so hard on Kaden,” the woman said, making Cia’s blood run cold.

  “And you are?” she questioned, trying hard to keep the shaking from her voice. It was rougher than she intended and it more sounded like snapping even though she shouldn’t be fussing at any person coming into the station, but it was hard if someone came with a topic like that.

  “I’m something like his mom,” the blonde suggested and Cia stared at her, something nagging at the back of her head.

  “Mother? You don’t look a day older than he is,” she replied and it was true. If this was some twisted joke, Cia didn’t like it much.

  “My … husband and I took those boys in when their parents made them leave the house.”

  “Them?” Cia inquired, deciding to ignore the hesitant pause before the word ‘husband’.

  “Kaden has a brother, but anyway, this isn’t why I showed up here. Kaden loves you …” Cia snorted, but the woman just ignored it kindly. “The problem is that Kaden is promised in a way. No matter what he does or feels for anyone else, he cannot choose whom he wants to be with. Once his girl shows, he’ll have no other choice but to leave. Telling you how he feels won’t change a thing. Keeping you at arm’s length though … might not be the right thing, either. He’s lying to himself, pretending this will make it better. He’s a good guy. Staying away from you was your wish, I know, but it’s the hardest thing he has ever done, I think. He’s just thinking about how you’ll hurt least in this. In fact, you are all he thinks about.”

  Cia kept her hands busy, cleaning the counter while staring at the place she was wiping. She couldn’t form a coherent thought. Promised. He had meant it when saying his heart wasn’t his to give. He could never be hers.

  “Lara! What the fuck are you doing here? Colbin will have my head if he finds out!” Cia’s heart stopped, but once she looked up, she realized it wasn’t Kaden. Instead, she stared at his mirror image, a guy wearing a black leather jacket, jeans, and boots, with his chest bare, his muscles just as well-defined as Kaden's. It struck Cia as weird, but between everything that had happened in the past few minutes, it sure was the last thing for her to worry about. The twin didn’t spare her one glance, just focused on the blonde woman. Since he looked almost exactly like the guy that held her heart, Cia couldn’t help but feel disappointed and hurt.

  “I wanted some soda, but they don’t have my brand here,” the blonde mumbled, turning away from Cia.

  “I’m sorry that I can’t change it,” she called after her and the woman paused, giving her a sad smile over her shoulder.

  “Well then, I’m sorry, too,” she heard, but then the two were gone. The shift seemed to be never-ending after that. Her mind wasn’t on any of the tasks she was supposed to perform. Instead, she thought about how Kaden and she had left things the night she had kicked him out. She didn’t even have a chance to get in contact with him since their relationship had always been based on his visits first to her work here and then later to her apartment. Now she wished
she had thought quicker when the woman was here.

  All she had left was the hope that the woman would tell Kaden that she had seen her and maybe then he’d show. Maybe then she’d be able to apologize.

  The nagging in the back of her head got worse and finally she let her thoughts go where they hadn’t been in more than ten years. It couldn’t be possible, could it?

  Eventually her shift ended and Cia dragged her tired body home. She didn’t go to bed though, but instead stepped on the balcony and waited to smell cinnamon and spice, yet all that came to her nose were the scents reminding her that spring was coming soon.

  Kaden stepped out of the shower, washing off the scent of the woman that had jerked him off while she had satisfied Jaden orally. It only had worked because Kaden had closed his eyes, imagining those hands belonged to an entirely different girl.

  He hadn’t even been ready to go out with Jaden to find a girl, but then Jaden would have gone alone … and that was no longer acceptable. This time he had grabbed the woman’s hair so hard, Kaden had been worried he’d pull it right off with the skin.

  He shook those thoughts off, reaching for a shirt.

  “Kade.”

  Kaden groaned, having totally forgotten that they were back at the compound and not in their own home. Everyone just walked right into the rooms and even though most of them were men, this time Lara had waltzed in.

  “What?” he snapped, pulling over some jeans, not even caring for boxers. He was only going home anyways.

  “I went to see her. Ciarda, your girl,” she explained, settling down on the bed Kaden hadn’t used much in the last time. He whipped around, staring at her. How in the world had he ever thought talking to her about the way he felt was a good idea?

  “Does Colbin know?” he asked, his worries first and foremost for Cia, who would probably get a visit and a mental swipe if their leader knew. He needed to keep his mouth shut. There was a reason why Jaden didn’t know anything about her after all, especially now that she no longer wanted to see him. Her intention had been pretty obvious when she had told him she’d be busy.