Redemption of Fate (Fate Series Book 2) by S. Simone Chavous Page A

her favorite ways to pass the time, but right then she didn’t need a peaceful retreat. She needed pain.  

    It had been nearly a week since she’d returned from the refreshing ride with Chloe and was called into a meeting that changed everything. The civilian resource who’d been sent to Eleuthera had finally reported back, having discovered the bodies of the pilot and flight attended Ethan had hired. Beyond the two dead humans, there was no information to be found nor had anyone seen or heard from Ethan. Starting that night, Commander Claesson ordered Elite security patrols in every major city in which the group had a presence. It was a long shot, but they didn’t have anything else to go on.

    Instead of joining those patrols, Cami was stuck on lockdown, along with the rest of her family, and it was driving her crazy. After decades of self-imposed separation, she had finally repaired things with her brother, only to have him ripped away again. The thing that infuriated her most was that while she was hopelessly worried about Ethan, her thoughts were almost constantly consumed by Jared. Knowing he was always nearby, thanks to his father’s mandate prohibiting anyone connected to Chloe from leaving the compound without express permission, her mind constantly wandered to him.  

    More than anything, she felt guilty for indulging in some silly school- girl infatuation when she should be out looking for her brother. When she went to Commander Claesson, practically begging him to speak to the High Commander on her behalf only to be told that he saw no reason to challenge the mandate, it took every ounce of her willpower to keep her insubordination in check and not tell him to fuck off. She couldn’t deny that his reasoning was solid, when he said she was too close to the situation and that her attachment could be a liability. Reasonable or not, it still pissed her off.  

    At least he still allowed her to attend the debriefings every evening after the patrols, and he had assured her that if any situations arose which required her expertise, he would see to it that her skills were properly utilized.

    Cami swung her arms back and forth to loosen her tight muscles, and reached up to rub the knot in her left shoulder. Touching the tattooed skin reminded her of Barb and, for the second time since returning to Boston, Cami felt the sting of tears in her eyes as she thought of the kind old witch who had been like a mother to her for so many years.  

    Wiping her eyes, and feeling pissed at her display of weakness, Cami turned back to the workout dummy and readied her stance. Jumping up, she spun around and kicked her leg out, connecting with the rubber man’s chest and sending the entire rig flying backwards to the mat as she landed silently, precisely where she’d started. The dummy smacked into the floor and bounced back up only to be met with Cami’s favorite sword straight through its painted red heart. With a yell, she ripped the blade out and spun around again, this time striking the side of the neck with enough force to cut completely through the rubber to the metal rod in the center.  

    “I think you got him,” a deep voice said from across the room. Cami sighed audibly as she looked up to see the soldier’s reflection in the mirrored wall and instantly felt irritated by the amused look on his face.
    ✧
    Since the day she’d joined The Elite nearly two centuries ago, Dante had taken more of an interest in her than she had been comfortable with. Based on the way other women responded to him, vampire and human alike, she should have been flattered by his attention.  

    Standing at six feet, four inches, with well-toned muscles, spiky, jet-black hair, and piercing blue eyes, Dante was unusually attractive, even for a vampire; all members of the race being blessed with above-average good looks. Yet another positive side-effect of the genetic mutation which had spawned their race.

    Cami found his advances