Cupid's Fate

CUPID’S FATE HEART STONE MATES BOOK 3 KELSEY GAMBLE Copyright © 2023 by Kelsey Gamble 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 written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Cover by Ryn Katryn Book Covers CONTENTS 1. Quinn 2. Willem 3. Quinn 4. Quinn 5. Ian 6. Quinn 7. Quinn 8. Quinn 9. Quinn 10. Quinn 11. Sailor 12. Quinn 13. Quinn 14. Quinn 15. Quinn 16. Mason 17. Quinn 18. Quinn 19. Quinn 20. Quinn 21. Kristoffer 22. Quinn 23. Quinn 24. Quinn 25. Quinn 26. Quinn Epilogue BONUS EPILOGUE ONE QUINN Love is what makes Cupid’s Pack strong. It’s not just about the romantic love that flows across the thread of a mate bond. It’s bigger than that. It isn’t even about love as a feeling. Because real love is a verb. Love is about the things we do in the moments that are bigger than ourselves. It’s about running into the fire without hesitation. Quinn, stop. Willem’s voice is thick with desperation as he mind links me. His anguish hurts the deepest parts of me. I hate that I’m making him feel it as I pick my way swiftly through the cloud of smoke, unable to make out almost anything in front of me except for curling clouds of smoke and a few spots of deep red and orange flames. But I can’t stop. Not when half of my heart is in the center of the explosion. The closer I get to the house, the more intense the heat becomes. My breaths puff out of me in uneven spurts, and the smoke stings my eyes. Unable to rely on my other senses, I allow instinct to guide me. This is my home. I know every dip in the ground by heart. The moment my foot brushes a thick stepping stone that leads to the side door, my heart slows. A sense of calm floods through me, bringing with it an unfamiliar, heightened focus. I lift my head high and slow my steps, tuning in to the more subtle sounds, the ones lying underneath a host of noises indicating that the house is being ripped apart by the fire from the explosion. Arielle’s smart. She would have gone out through the front door or the window on the other side of the house, my wolf points out, guiding my direction to the more exposed sides of the house. I move closer, able to make out its hazy, smoked-blurred shape now that I’m close enough. I blink, eyes stinging against the heat and smoke. My heart pounds in my chest again, the sound whooshing in my ears as I pick my way toward the front of the house. There’s slightly less smoke the closer I get, the wind mercifully yanking it in the opposite direction. It’s a small miracle, and I blink against the clearer air, eyes catching on the wavering currents of heat. Sweat beads against the skin buried beneath my fur, and my tongue lolls from the side of my mouth as I pant. A familiar voice faintly reaches my ears, urging me on. “It won’t move!” I forget my discomfort in an instant. I rush toward my sister’s desperate cry, right toward the front of the house. Smoke pours freely from the partially open front door. I squint as I close in, realizing the problem immediately. Part of the house has collapsed, landing in a pile of wood and miscellaneous rubble that keeps the door from opening any further. There doesn’t seem to be enough of a gap for Layla to push through, much less Arielle. I shift back to human form, already reaching for the thick piece of wood that seems to be the worst of the problem. A sense of dread plagues my wolf, driving my frantic hands to grapple recklessly with the wood. The skin on my palm burns and tears as I tug. The rest of this house is going to come down any minute. The smoke comes faster now, clogging my breath in my lungs and choking me. “I’m here, Arielle!” I call out to my sister, voice raspy from inhaling so much smoke. “Quinn?” Arielle sobs, the sound carrying over her wavering voice. I feel like my heart is ripping to shreds, but I have to stay focused. I need to know she’s okay, but my throat burns so damn badly I have to reply through mind link. Are you and Layla both safe? It’s really bad in here, Quinn. We’re not hurt, but the fire is— Her words cut off abruptly. Arielle? I prompt her, my hands moving faster as I struggle to find a good enough hold on the wood to try to lift it away. It’s heavy and hot to the touch, ravaging my hands as I dig. White-hot pain zips through my left leg when I accidentally brush against something metal that’s crunched up next to me. She doesn’t answer. “Arielle!” I shout her name this time, raw throat be damned. But she’s not there. I can feel the loss of her presence in my mind as if I was looking right at her, watching her vanish before my eyes. “Layla!” Desperation claws at me, but there’s no budging the debris blocking the door. I back up, moving to the rocks framing the flower bed at the front of the house. I pick a heavy one and hope like hell that wherever the girls just disappeared to, they’re out of range. I put my full weight behind throwing the rock at the right-side window on the front of the house. If they’re even remotely close, they have to hear the glass shattering. I have to hope that they’ll run toward the sound instead of away from it. More smoke billows from the house as the glass