TWISTED FATES BOOK 1: THE FIRST TWIST by Jacklyn Rogers (read after TXT) 📕

disclaimer she needed to tell everyone when they opted for this type of magic. Since I had no real idea about what any of this would entail anyway, I willingly obliged her and agreed to the conditions.

Personally, I wasn't even sure what was going to happen. It's hard to decipher magic potions and incantations with all of their otherworldly jibber jabber but, I went ahead took a leap of faith. I was naively hoping that fate would at least have pity on me for once in my life. I seriously believed that Devon and I would wake up in the morning, look at each other, and poof - the mate bond would be gone entirely. I stupidly believed that we'd just break up amicably once he concluded that I wasn't his mate and move on.

Boy, was I wrong on that one, my friends.

Note to self when you make a deal with a witch, make sure you understand precisely what it is you're paying for. 

Always read the fine print, people!

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Staring down at the blue vial that was resting in the palm of my hands, I realized there was no point in delaying the inevitable. Better to rip off the Band-Aid quickly, I always say.

I carefully removed the vial's small russet stained cork topper and raised the vial towards my lips, my nose taking in a huge waft of its content's putrid scent that was emanating outwardly from the small opening of the bottle.

Eww pretty sure that's what death must smell like!

I closed my eyes and took a deep calming breath to muster up the last bit of my courage. I tilted the vial back against my parted lips and swallowed its contents down in one gulp.

Can I just say ick with a huuuge side of ick!

Additional note to self, magic potions tastes seriously gross!

The thick black viscous fluid slowly burned its way down my throat and into the pit of my belly, where I could feel it nestle itself deep within my core setting my insides aflame.

Okay, not literally, but if they were, I could totally imagine, THIS … this is what burning insides would feel like.

Doubled over in pain, I had to fight with myself to use restraint against the instinct to grab anything that would calm the intense fire burning within me and get rid of the disgusting taste that lingered in my mouth.

Alas, though, I could not. I had been warned by Dasha and Madame Witch that I could not consume any other substances after ingesting the contents of the blue vial's liquid for its magic to work.

Well, that's just cruel if you ask me.

I slowly placed my head down onto my soothing pillow. I was resolved to the fact that in order to get beyond the pain I was suffering, I would have to ride out its torturous waves of heat and nausea until it either consumed me to the point of passing out or completed its merciless reign over my body and allowed me some sort of reprieve. Either way, it sucked.

I guess that's the price you pay for strong magic, I suppose.

I finally managed to curl myself into a fetal like position and drape a blanket around my shivering body; despite the volcano of heat that erupted within me, I had the chills. It felt as if every hair on my body was standing at attention, and every nerve was exposed to the elements around me. I wearily draped my limp arm around my stomach, hoping to rub the sweltering chaos that I was experiencing into submission. As I rested there on my bed, beads of sweat and tears were converging into one pool running along the side of my cheek. I laid there for a while until, by some grace of whatever, I managed to fall asleep or pass out, but either way, it was the mercy I had been silently praying for.

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3rd Person POV

Devon sat on an old fallen log, next to the lake at the end of his property. With his face in his hands he let out a frustrated sigh.

This was not how things were supposed to be at all.

He was once a powerful and feared Alpha; now, he felt like a pathetic joke. Slade, his wolf, barely even spoke; and Devon was well aware that his physique was a far cry from his former days of glory.

He couldn't understand how everything just went so utterly wrong between him and his mate if he could even call her that. It felt like the two were at odds with each other over the most trivial things more often than not. Hell, he barely even had sex with her anymore. Devon didn't even understand why his human side felt no real desire to do so either. Unlike his unkempt appearance, he couldn't deny that Sammie remained beautiful, sexy actually, but his feelings for her were still diminishing.

He knew this was why Slade, his wolf, was so upset with him. Devon just couldn't help how he was feeling. Of course, this made no sense considering he and Sammie were supposed to be true mates, but the problems between them existed none the less.

This evening was yet another example of such problems. The two had argued, again. Quite terribly, and if Devon were to be completely honest, he was more than a pivotal contributor to the harsh words spoken between them. He was well aware that she was more than likely up in their room, crying. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately, crying because of him and his temper. He'd never physically struck her. He couldn't do that to her, but that didn't mean his words didn't carry just as much weight as if he had done so.

"DAMMIT!!!" He roared as he ran his hands through his disheveled hair.

He reached down and grabbed the half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels that