Forbidden Fate Read online

  Forbidden Fate

  An Insta Love Bad Boy Romance: Book 4 in the Forbidden Series

  Vanessa James

  Contents

  1. Copyright

  2. Stay In Touch With Vanessa

  3. Free Book

  4. Join Vanessa’s ARC Team

  5. Introduction

  6. Chapter 1: Mary

  7. Chapter 2: Caleb

  8. Chapter 3: Mary

  9. Chapter 4: Caleb

  10. Chapter 5: Mary

  11. Chapter 6: Caleb

  12. Chapter 7: Mary

  13. Reviews

  14. Continue Reading

  15. More Books By Vanessa James

  16. About Vanessa James

  17. Stay In Touch With Vanessa

  18. Join Vanessa’s ARC Team

  19. Free Book

  Copyright

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Cover designed by Claire Meczes

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

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  Introduction

  When Mary learns the truth about her mom and that she’s the infamous thief Zephyr and is working with her lover’s dad, Mary doesn’t’ know how to feel. On the one hand, she’s happy to see her again, but she also feels betrayed.

  After all this time, she wonders what happened. The truth is there right in front of her. Mary wonders if they can really be a family again after her dad’s betrayal. She soon learns that her mom does care, but she doesn’t know how to show it.

  Caleb feels for Mary, and he’s happy she found her mom, but he understands the concern. As they talk more, Caleb discovers that his feelings for Mary are more than just a whim. He feels a connection with her. But he is worried about moving forward. With the stakes growing higher, and with the enemy growing stronger, Caleb wants to be there for Mary as much as he can. But, is he willing to take the plunge?

  The truth is revealed, and they soon learn about each other, and the reality of it all: That love is strong, stronger than anything else, and they’ll make it through together, no matter what.

  Find out if their love really is strong enough in the fourth book of this alpha bad boy series.

  Chapter 1: Mary

  I stood there feeling like time had stopped. My mom, the person my dad told me was dead, was standing there. I thought she was joking, but I definitely knew from the way that she looked at me, that this was definitely her.

  “Mom. But how?”

  “It’s a long story. I’m sorry for not telling you everything,” she said.

  “Why did you not tell me?” I

  She raised her hand, and then looked over at me with a smile on her face.

  “This is better discussed right here. Have a seat, and I’ll tell you everything.”

  I couldn’t believe this. I looked over at Caleb, who awkwardly shifted his hands around.

  “Did you… did you know about this?” I asked him.

  “Somewhat. I knew that Zephyr and you had connections, but I didn’t’ know for sure that it was your mom until my dad told me about her,” he said.

  “Why did you never tell me?” I asked.

  I was pissed that Caleb hid this from me, but then.

  He sighed.

  “There’s a reason for doing all of this, Babe. Mary, you need to hear it from her, and not from me. It’s better that way,” he said.

  I couldn't’ believe this. I just… I felt so hurt by the fact that Caleb never told me anything. But I knew for a fact that I was embroiled in a bigger fight than I thought, and I was at the mercy of what they’d say here.

  “Alright. Mom. Explain yourself,” I said to her with annoyance in my voice.

  “Oh, Mary. If only you knew,” she said.

  “I want to know, Mom. Now quit beating around the bush. I want to hear the truth. I’m here because of Caleb and you abandoned me a while ago. I’m definitely feeling annoyed just staying here. I could just leave and forget this,” I said.

  I didn’t want to leave. I know that if I left now, I’d lose my chance. But I needed to prove to my mom that I wouldn’t run away. She then looked at me and nodded.

  “Fair enough. You should know the truth. The truth is, Mary, I met your father while on a mission. I didn’t know he was working with the enemy, and, at first, the two of us were in love. I was happy, and, of course, we had you. Technically, the two of us are separated, and I’m working towards a full divorce, but the thing is, he hasn’t fully agreed to it. But I married him out of foolishness, and that’s the truth of it,” she told me.

  “So I’m just the daughter of a sperm donor.”

  “No, that’s not the case. After we had you, I stuck around for a couple of years. That’s why the two of us never really knew of one another except for what you experienced as a kid. But, when I found out the truth that your dad was a part of that group, I had to do something, not just for myself, but for the future of this group,” she said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “What I mean is simple: the easiest thing for me to do was to run away. I didn’t want to leave you since this was the first time I’d been happy. You made me feel complete, Mary, and I still love all of those moments. But the thing is, I couldn’t put you in that danger. I talked with your dad, and he told me that he’d keep you away as long as he could, but I’d have to fake my death. So, that’s why I did it. I faked my death, went back to bounty hunting for Caleb’s dad here, and from there, I hid in the shadows. That’s because it was easier since I didn’t want your father coming after me,” she explained.

  I listened to my mom, unable to believe what I was hearing. She did all of this just so she could go out and live her own life.

  ‘“So that’s why you did it. To go joyriding and leave me in the care of that religious bastard,” I spat back.

  “That’s not it, Mary. I—”

  “No, that’s exactly what it is. Do you know how much he’s hurt me in the past, Mom? I’ve never had freedom, and it’s because you left me with that… that bastard,” I said.

  “Mary, come on. You know that I didn’t’ want to. It was for your own good.”

  “For my own good? Seriously, Mom? Because it’s been nothing but hell on earth. Honestly, I don’t know how to feel. I’ve been with Caleb because I care about him. I have feelings that are stronger than the bonds that we share and now that I know you’re here it’s… it’s hard to really put together how I feel,” I admitted.

  “I know this. I want you to feel secure, Mary. I don’t want you to feel hurt.”

  “Well, it’s too late for that one, Mom. I’m very hurt and I… I don’t know how to feel. My dad forced me to follow in his footsteps, and I always thought it was because he just wanted me to do what he wanted. But I feel like if you stayed here things would’ve been better,” I told her.

  “No, they wouldn’t h
ave, Mary. It would’ve been so much worse.”

  “Bull fucking crap,” I spat back.

  I got up, frustrated by this, and I knew for a fact that if I stayed in this area, I’d just feel worse.

  “Come on, Mary—”

  “Don’t just pretend everything is okay, Mom. It won’t be. I don’t… I don’t know how to feel right now, and currently, I need a damn break,” I said to her.

  Before she could say anything, I got up, sighing once more, before leaving her presence. I didn’t know how to feel right now. She was my mom, sure, but I didn’t really feel like she cared about me. I feel like I just met her, and we were far too different to ever be friends.

  Well that, and she hid the truth from me for so long. I also didn’t know how to feel about Caleb, because I felt like if he knew about this beforehand, he should’ve told me. But he didn’t, so it hurt so much more. I had many feelings, a lot of sadness, and a lot of pain that was only growing, and I know that the only way to fix this was to spend some time alone and figure out what the hell I was going to do next.

  Even if it meant leaving all this behind.

  Chapter 2: Caleb

  I felt bad for Mary, and I wasn’t going to lie, if I knew the truth, I would’ve probably done the same thing. But I know that my mom was killed when I was born, and it was due to The Skulls. They were definitely worse than anyone thought, and while I wanted to explain it to Mary, I didn’t think it would be possible.

  “I’m sorry, Caleb,” Zephyr said.

  “It’s okay, Zephyr. I don’t think Mary gets it. She sees you as just her mom, the person who died all those years ago. It’s probably a goddamn shock to have all of this happen, and now she has to figure out what to do about any of this,” I explained to her.

  “I know but… I wish she responded a bit better. I know this isn’t right, and I know that she’s probably hurt, but if she at least gave me some time to explain myself, it would’ve been so much nicer,” Zephyr said.

  “What do you expect? She’s been hurt by her father. The rat bastard nearly killed me,” I said to Zephyr.

  She stopped, looking at me dead in the eye.

  “What do you mean?”

  “One night when I was bringing Mary back from a date, he tried to shoot me. I was definitely lucky, but there’s a reason why she’s acting the way that she does. She loves you deep down, but you’re going to have to prove to her that you’re not going to leave again,” I said.

  “Easier said than done. You know how it is, working for the man and all,” she said.

  “Yes, I very much do Zephyr. But that also means that I can’t just sit there and let you continue without talking to Mary about it,” I said.

  “You do like her, don’t you.”

  I paused. I mean, I wasn’t going to lie here.

  “I do. The thing is, I’ve fallen for her. She hasn’t run away as of yet, and she’s not scared of me, but I definitely can tell that she’s still at odds with herself. And honestly, I am too,” I said.

  “You do understand we’re going to have a big fight on our hands, right?”

  That’s right. The battle between her dad and all of us was coming soon. I knew that The Skulls would try to make a move, but I’m not sure how.

  “I know that. I know that I’m going to put my life on the line. Do you have a plan yet for infiltrating the place?”

  “We do. We want to do it on the night of their initiation ceremony since that’s simple, and also an effective way to get in. security will be focused in the hallway, so I’m going to go through the weapons center. I spoke with your dad, and he says that he wants you to potentially go through their training center to get in,” she said

  “I see. Should I get Mary involved?”

  “I’m not sure. I don’t know if she’s going to forgive me or not, Caleb. I wish she did, but I also know that this is something that she’s going to need to figure out on her own. I can’t make her decide, I can just be a supportive mother,” she said.

  “That’s the best you can do. Honestly, I’ll go find her; talk to her. But I think you need to make the call on how you want to explain this to Mary. You’re her mom. You lied for a long time, and you’re the famous thief Zephyr. You’re fucking notorious, and I know that she probably doesn’t know how to feel about any of that.”

  “Right. I do think you should tell her how you feel too,” she said.

  “I’m going to. Even if it hurts me, I want to.”

  “Good. Anyways, let’s take a bit of time and talk over the plans with your father,” she said.

  We walked over to where my dad had gone, but there was something that ate away at me.

  “By the way … are you and my dad together?”

  She laughed, doubling over in a series of giggles.

  “What the hell makes you think that?” she asked.

  “I mean, you two seem pretty close. I can see that you like him, but maybe I’m just imagining things again.”

  “You’re a bit off the mark their, Caleb. I like your father, but the truth is… he’s actually into men. When it came to your mom… she honestly was only a part of the team because of you. After she had you, she didn’t’ want anything to do with your dad. She walked out, and that’s when The Skulls got her,” she said.

  I paused, shocked that my dad never told me that part.

  “Wow. I’m surprised. I thought he just didn’t feel like settling down.”

  “Oh, he doesn’t want to either. But trust me, I’ve asked in the past why he acts so sweet towards me but never pursues it. Turns out he doesn’t even swing that way,” she told me.

  “That makes perfect sense.”

  “Right? I didn’t really know what else to say other than if he ever needs pointers, he should let me know,” she said with a wink.

  “Why, you some really skilled person at that?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I used to seduce people and take their shit. So, I’m pretty good at what I do,” she teased.

  I was sorry I even asked. After she winked at me, she walked off to the office and I went in to see my dad. But something was eating away at me, something that bothered me.

  ‘Hey, Zephyr?” I said right before she opened the door.

  “Yes?”

  “Tell my dad to give us about an hour. I’m worried about Mary.”

  Chapter 3: Mary

  I needed to get away. Far away from all of these people, and to a place where I could just spend a bit of time figuring out for myself what to do.

  The best place I could think of was, of course, the local bar that was in town that I’ve been to a couple times. It was called God’s Bow. It was a seedy bar with a pool table, a jukebox that barely worked, and bartenders that knew of me. It was one of the few places I’ve been to by myself, a place where I can let loose, and just think about things.

  I walked in, and I could see the bartender waving at me. I sat down there, and he smiled.

  “What you want, Chica?” he purred.

  “Whatever will get me to stop thinking,” I replied.

  I never thought drinking would fix my problems, but I felt that tonight might be an exception. The bartender filled up a nice tall glass with a fruity concoction, and then, I saw him grab something from the shelf and pour it in.

  “You don’t have to give me that top-shelf stuff,” I said.

  “Relax. I’m not. I am just am adding a little extra. Free of charge. I can tell you’re worried about something,” he said.

  “Yeah. It’s just… a bomb was dropped on me a little while ago. I figured out who my birth mother is,” I started.

  “Oof. That doesn’t sound fun,” he said.

  “It’s not. I mean, she’s a nice lady, but I also feel like she’s completely different from what I thought she might be. I honestly hate it,” I told him.

  “I see. So you’re unsure of where to go from here. You like your life, and you fear what getting involved with her might entail,” he stated.

&nbs
p; “Somewhat. She’s a bit of a chaotic mess, and well… I wouldn’t be so against it if I knew for a fact that this person lied to me and hid from me for so long. It hurts you know? I don’t like being lied to,” I said.

  “I’m sure nobody likes it, even though people are pretty damn keen on doing it,” the bartender retorted.

  “Shit, you’re right. But, yeah, that’s the biggest thing about it. I don’t like forgiving her, and I don’t like that she hid the truth from me but at the same time… I don’t want to continue having strained relations with someone like that. I feel a little bit shocked honestly, and I don’t want to deal with the problems that come from it. I don’t want to deal with knowing that I was lied to for so long,” I said.

  “But do you want to keep on going like this? Even if you know it’ll hurt?”

  I thought about it. Maybe he was right.

  “I’m… honestly not sure. I don’t know if I want to do that, or if I even should, but at the same time, I also know that if I let them in, I may get hurt again. And I honestly don’t want that. I’ve been hurt enough. First daddy issues, now mommy issues.”

  “You need to realize that some actions can be forgiven and that there is just a little bit that you can do other than to just learn to forgive. I know it’s hard. Forgiveness is usually quite hard for most people to accomplish, but do you love her?” he asked.

  I mean, I never stopped. Even though I thought she was dead for the longest time. Thinking back on that made me realize that maybe my mom wasn’t evil. Maybe she did have her reasons for what she did.