Pulled Away (Twisted Fate, #1.5)

By Sasha Leigh

David Parson, torn between duty and love, returns to his true form as the Second Brother after being yanked from Alyssa's dream without the chance to say goodbye. Unwilling to conform back into his role, all he can think about is returning to the girl who introduced him to a new world, and kept his heart when he left. But his efforts to reconnect with Alyssa do not go unnoticed, and the Second is demoted, becoming an instructor at Glory Academy, a school for a new breed of angels called Pure Souls.

And Alyssa is their leader.

When Lachesis reveals that there was a miscalculation in their plan, and that Alyssa is in danger, it's a race to find a way back to protect her. But the journey to a solution won't be easy, and not everyone may come back intact.

Will the Second find a way to bring David back, or is his identity destine to remain in shadows?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sasha Leigh
• Release date: Sep 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311967893

Sasha Leigh

Sasha Leigh is a self-diagnosed dreamer. When she isn't stuck in worlds of her own making, listening to characters squabble for attention in her head, she's immersed in stories created by others. A lover of all things "weird", Sasha's world is considered complete when she has her daughter at her side, her sketchpad, notebook, and something to write with - even if it's just a piece of chalk. Working by day in the insurance industry, she spends her evenings and weekends devouring or writing new tales of magic, mythology, and all things supernatural (except dragons).

Book preview

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pulled Away

By

Sasha Leigh

DEDICATION

For Callandra

Pulled Away, A Twisted Fate Novella

Copyright © 2014 by Sasha Leigh

Published: September 19, 2014

First Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Cover Design: Sasha Leigh

All Images Purchased for use at www.Bigstock.com

Logo Wings: Fiery Wings by blackmoon979

Exterior Photos:

Dark Spooky Forest with Silhouette of a man walking by ando6

Tunnel of Light by rolffimages

Hooded figures in barren landscape by rolffimages

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, if forbidden without the written permission of the author. You must not circulate this book in any format.

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

Find out more about the author and upcoming books online at www.SashaLeigh.Weebly.com or @SashaLeighS.

CHAPTER ONE

Duty. Of all the four letter words, it was the worst, making me feel as dark as the wall I stared at was black.

Ripped from Alyssa’s dream without a chance to say goodbye induced pain I never knew existed, all without inflicting a single physical wound. But no matter the distance, whenever I closed my eyes, it was as though she was still at my side. The connection we formed hummed with her confusion and heartbreak, reflections of my own forbidden reaction. How could I set things right? Angels in Heaven weren’t known for their flexibility, and unless I became an angel out of Heaven, fallen like so many before, our fate as a couple was decided.

Now, my duty was calling.

Coming back to the Celestial Realm was stifling, too warm and restrictive by unseen binds, obedience, and servitude. Comformity.

I thought the Brothers had pulled me from Alyssa, but no. It was my obligations, the responsibilities I held defined by thousands of years of experience. Never before had I resented it, but after meeting Alyssa? Spending time getting to know the coveted human and having no idea where she fit in the bigger picture? Of all the humans, Alyssa was the only one I could have been chosen to protect that could sway my distaste of mortals to love.

The exterior I'd held on to for so long withered and died as completely as my time amongst mortals. I looked down to see my true form's return as soon as the dream ended. There would never be another visit, but not even He could diminish the feelings that remained. I couldn't set our time together aside to add to the thousands of memories the longevity of my existence had procured. It was the only truth I’ve known, having experienced it rather than having been told to feel it.

Angels were created to adore Him, to add to the power of His Glory, but I had chosen to love her.

It was my free will, and a choice I had known couldn't end well. Who was I kidding? Being with her hadn't been a decision. It was a cosmic inevitability created the moment we'd been thrown together, and by the time I realized it, my heart was too immersed in the emotion to run.

And now it was over.

You're back to being yourself, I see, the First Brother said, pausing in the open doorway before joining me in the room that housed the looking wall—a waterfall, really, of the clearest, most purest water in Heaven. It could display images the viewer most desired to see, but like Heaven's creations, it didn't lie, and wasn’t always a guarantee.

The wall remained dark now, my connection to Alyssa severed by my grief. I had been instrumental in helping her reach whatever experience the Sisters had deemed necessary, but my participation was at an end. I would be unable to watch what it was needed for when it reached fruition on her eighteenth birthday.

My duties called to me. Keeping my eyes on the wall, my voice fell flat, dejected. He couldn’t expect me to elaborate after what happened, not when we both knew he was privy to more about Alyssa than he would say.

I'm sure they did, he said. I haven't completed any of your tasks since David's passing.

I looked up to see that he was back to wearing the white robe that we all wore whilst completing our duties. Consumed with tasks, it was all we ever wore. Only . . . I had been familiarized with the comfort of jeans and t-shirts, and after that, the robe had been stored along with my sense of obligation in the dark recesses of my chambers.

Was this his subtle way of telling me it was time to move on? That the time for back's to be turned was complete? What would he say if he knew I wasn't ready? That I couldn't let her go? I wouldn’t.

Drawing in a deep breath, I pushed my palms against my thighs and stood to my full height. After David died, my true form added three full inches to his six-two stature. My hair grew darker, longer, and the tanned skin of the mortal boy bronzed deeper, showcasing the muscle earned by the gruelling nature of our work. Nothing would ever be the same, except maybe the blue of my eyes—the window into a never-changing soul.

I'm going to retire now, Brother, I said, and stepped around him to reach the door, feeling his gaze follow my every move. Turning slowly, I added, I wish I could say it's good to be back but . . . well, we both know that I cannot lie.

What about your duties?

I shrugged. They can wait.

Brother—

Without looking back, I paused to say, If you are worried about my duties, you know what needs to be done, and after doing them so well, a little longer won’t hurt you.

The consequences I might face didn’t register as I walked away, not because they didn’t matter, but because I no longer cared.

The Brothers preached about right and wrong choices for so long they forgot to heed their own advice. By forcing this task upon me, they made a choice. The Sisters, the Brothers . . . He had made the choice to send me to Alyssa.

My withdrawal from duties was their consequence.

***

Weeks ticked by without my noticing the passage of time, though without Alyssa, it still felt like forever. I didn't speak unless asked a question. I didn't govern over our inferiors, and completed the most basic of duties, and then only when the problems grew too large to ignore. But by the time a situation became that important, the First swept in to clean up my mess.

I was too broken to care.

Every day I went to the viewing room and the wall remained black. Empty. But even though I left each time with a pit of sorrow kneading my stomach, I kept returning in hope that this day would be the one to change, and the hall I walked would quit becoming longer after each failure. Today I would see her. She was okay without me, and maybe—just maybe—I could move on.

It didn’t happen.

Stepping out of my room, I began the trek down the familiar path to the Viewing Room. It was a new day; it was a new hope. If