Instinct by LeTeisha Newton Read Free Book Online Page B

day I was told that I would be immortal and from my body the seeds of the Fates would grow.” Josephine sat back on her vacated couch and motioned for Siren to sit. Intrigued, Siren did as she was asked.
    “I would never see my family again, never know death, and would be, for lack of a better phrase, a brood mare. Then I saw my first babe, and the world shifted. I knew the irresistible love a mother has for her child, and I could not imagine being without them. I have watched, over so many centuries, as my children have grown, had children of their own, and passed away. I have seen history of things I had seen as future, and never once have I regretted it. I have loved more than you could ever imagine.”
    “I don’t have that time,” Siren said then.
    “But you could. Do you want to live the rest of your life as nothing more than a puppet, or do you want the power to change your destiny?”
    “What are you asking me?”
    “I am asking you if you want to be more than what you are now.”
    Siren sat for a moment, pondering. She had never been given the choice. For once in her life, the chance to walk her own path was being given to her. She didn’t know why she trusted the woman before her. She didn’t have a reason to trust anyone, and yet, looking into Josephine’s eyes, she could not doubt she was tempted.
    “And what of Xavier?”
    “You both will find your way,” Josephine said, standing. She glided to Siren, one hand reaching for her. “Your answer?”
    “Power. I want power.”
    * * * *
    Something was different. She didn’t know what it was, but Siren could feel it in her bones. Her body was on fire like it had never been. She felt like her insides were turning inside out. Siren could feel herself screaming, but she couldn’t hear a thing as she tossed and turned on soft material under her. Each twist brought more pain as she fought the darkness to find the light. She was lost, alone, and so terribly afraid. She clawed at the cover under her, hearing it shred between her fingers.
    “I’m here,” a voice said in the darkness, and she could almost feel her tears slide down her face as she reached for that voice. Her very soul reached out, but she couldn’t find her way.
    Help me , she thought, but it felt like the sound was reverberated back to her.
    “Help her, Xavier. She can’t find her way without you.”
    “Josephine, what did you do?”
    “I opened her soul. The two of you would have fought until her dying day if I had not. I could see you share the same stubbornness.”
    “Her soul?”
    “I knew when I saw her that she was a latent, the child of a descendant of an Oracle mother who died at her conception. She should have been a Senser, but her soul was sealed. Bring her back. Hold your mate to you. Let go of your anger and save her. That is the only way.”
    Siren couldn’t understand what was going on around her, but she recognized Xavier’s voice. Try as she might, she could not deny that knowing he was near soothed her. She reached blindly for him again and felt coolness, blessed coolness, when a large hand grasped hers.
    “I’m here,” Xavier whispered, and he pulled her into his arms. She sagged with relief as he pushed away the fire inside her.
    “Xavier,” she moaned. He wrapped his arms around her, his face buried in her neck, and she felt the lash of his tongue over his mark. The move sparked something in her, and her eyes snapped open. The world looked different, tasted and smelled different. The colors around her seemed truer and blended in front of her. She could hear pounding in her ears, rhythmic enough to draw her attention until she realized she could hear her heartbeat.
    “Focus on me, just on me.” His head descended and kissed her neck. He let his tongue dampen her flesh and left it sizzling. His mark on her neck throbbed under his tongue. Her arms rested on his back to pull him closer. She couldn’t fight the need inside her even if she wanted to. With each