Zodiac Fate: Warrior Shifter Series Book 1 Read online

  ZODIAC FATE

  WARRIOR SHIFTER BOOK ONE

  R.C. Luna

  Copyright © 2022 by R. C. Luna

  Warrior Shifter

  Cover designed by Miblart

  All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are fictitious. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Adherence to all applicable laws and regulations, including international, federal, state and local governing professional licensing, business practices, advertising, and all other aspects of doing business in the US, Canada, or any other jurisdiction is the sole responsibility of the reader and consumer.

  Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility or liability whatsoever on behalf of the consumer or reader of this material. Any perceived slight of any individual or organization is purely unintentional.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Introduction

  1. Chapter One Black Monster Cloud

  2. Chapter Two Ten Years Later

  3. Chapter Three The Letter

  4. Chapter Four Rainbows

  5. Chapter Five Psalms

  6. Chapter Six The Unseen

  7. Chapter Seven Cat and Mouse

  8. Chapter Eight I Need Answers

  9. Chapter Nine In Plain Sight

  10. Chapter Ten Colors and Questions

  11. Chapter Eleven Mystery Meat

  12. Chapter Twelve Be Direct

  13. Chapter Thirteen Inner World

  14. Chapter Fourteen Serene Harbor

  15. Chapter Fifteen Fuzzy Image

  16. Chapter Sixteen Universal Rules

  17. Chapter Seventeen Shockwaves

  18. Chapter Eighteen Kick Him in the Balls

  19. Chapter Nineteen Combat Training

  20. Chapter Twenty How Many

  21. Chapter Twenty-One Amateur Night

  22. Chapter Twenty-Two Monsters

  23. Chapter Twenty-Three Fangs Out

  24. Chapter Twenty-Four Eight Months Later

  25. Chapter Twenty-Five The Purple Light

  26. Chapter Twenty-Six Back to Life

  27. Chapter Twenty-Seven The Market

  28. Chapter Twenty-Eight Candles at the Altar

  29. Chapter Twenty-Nine New Tricks

  30. Chapter Thirty The Cafe

  31. Chapter Thirty-One Transit of the Twelfth House

  32. Chapter Thirty-Two Half Fae

  33. Chapter Thirty-Three These Three Words

  34. Chapter Thirty-Four Fated Demons

  35. Chapter Thirty-Five Not Without a Fight

  36. Chapter Thirty-Six The Jaguar

  37. Chapter Thirty-Seven Duality

  Oh hey. It’s me, Sasha.

  38. Zodiac Chaos Preview Chapter One

  About the Author

  KEEP IN TOUCH

  Fullpage Image

  I dedicate this to all the shattered pieces of my heart

  The ones I have had to glue together, over and over

  Only to shatter once again

  To the parts of me that didn’t see wickedness in others,

  until it smoldered me in flames

  To the part of me that fought through it all and never gave up,

  no matter the pain

  You are my fucking hero

  And I promise you will never be tamed

  Introduction

  My name is Sasha Moreno, Nagual of the Underworld and Protector of the Twelve Zodiac Houses of Zol Stria. I signed a Soul Contract before I was even born. This is my story.

  Chapter One

  Black Monster Cloud

  “And what about this, what are these colors here?” my Tia Lily said, then she pointed to the yellow-orange glow around her.

  “That’s your light, Tia. It’s my favorite color, and your light shines brighter than any I’ve ever seen.”

  We were sitting on the couch in her living room. Lily was my mother’s sister, and my family was visiting her farm in Puerto Rico for the summer. Tia was asking me about all the drawings I kept in my sketchbook. As soon as I told her about her special light, she wrapped both arms around me and gave me a huge hug. I loved my Tia Lily so much.

  “Can I have this drawing?” she asked. “I want to frame it and put it on the wall so I can look at it every day.”

  My chest puffed up with pride. “Of course, Titi, I would love that.”

  That night, as the coquis sang in the tropical canopy surrounding us, I overheard my mother and Tia Lily talking about my drawings. They sat outside on the porch, taking in the cool Caribbean breeze floating up from the lake nestled in the valley below the house.

  “Let me keep her here in Villalba, Lola. I’ll prepare her for her induction the right way. She will be summoned at the alignment, and you are just doing her more harm by ignoring it,” Lily told my mother, her voice sharp and pointy, not the soft, round voice I was used to.

  “Summoned? You think she will be summoned? No… not if I have anything to do with it. And no, I am not giving you my daughter.” Lola took a long drink from her wine glass as she glared at Lily.

  “Do you want her to end up like Celeste? Do you think that’s any kind of life? It’s better than the alternative, and you know it!” Lily’s voice was even sharper now, and cut right through the breeze.

  “Why do you think I moved to Miami? To get away from you and this crazy brujeria. She isn’t a descendant, she isn’t a nagual, she isn’t any of these ridiculous things you and the rest of your ‘coven’ think she is.” She took in a deep breath. “If Dante hears us talking about this, he will leave me. Do you realize that?” Lola’s voice was now a soft hush of pleading docility.

  My aunt softened her glare, and her shoulders dropped at her appeals.

  “Don’t worry, we still have time.” Lily smiled at her. My aunt was the older sister and had become the matriarch of the family when my grandmother died. She loved my mother very much, both as a sister and a daughter.

  I didn’t understand what they were talking about in the slightest. I was just a ten-year-old kid who still had imaginary friends and saw different-colored lights glowing around everyone. I also saw scary, dark monster clouds on certain people, like my dad, and in the dark corners and crevices of the world. The kids in class called me weird, and it was hard to make friends because of it. My mother hated my drawings and told me to stop talking about the lights.

  But no matter what I tried, I couldn’t stop seeing the lights, and I couldn’t just make my dreams about them go away. At the end of the summer, when we got back to Miami, I did try. I drew unicorns and rainbows, just like my friends at school. One day, I brought a family picture home to show Mami, with no balls of light, and she said with a huge smile, “That’s beautiful, my love.”

  A few more months passed, and my Tia Lily came from Puerto Rico to visit us. I overheard another one of those talks with my mom about a summoning, and, when I asked my mother about it, she told me I shouldn’t be sneaking around eavesdropping.

  One day, my aunt took me shopping and bought me a yellow flower dress. Then she took me for ice cream. When we were sitting at the table enjoying our favorite kind, chocolate with sprinkles, she asked me with a smile, “Mija, do you still see those lights everywhere?” Her hair was a wavy golden-brown, and she had the prettiest almond-shaped eyes that always filled me with love.


  “Not as much as I used to, Tia. Only sometimes now, like when I’m with you,” I said.

  Green and golden colors danced faintly around Lily, they made me smile in wonder. She wrapped her warm arm around me and squeezed tight. I loved it when she did that. “Estrellita, you are special, you know that, right?”

  I nodded; she’d told me so plenty of times since I was a baby.

  “Good. There will come a time when you will be called into service. That will be around your twentieth birthday, during the Transit of the Twelfth House.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked, eyes wide.

  “Well, you remember your natal chart, right? We went over it at my house. When your Transitioning Mars Trine Natal Pluto is in the Twelfth House, you will be urged to act upon your deepest desires and deliver on the karma of your Soul Contract. You can’t do this alone, so I will introduce you to another special person called a shaman. He will come to bring you to a school where the things that make you different—like the lights only you can see—are considered normal. And there will be others who are a lot like you. Would you like that?”

  I nodded excitedly. How great would it be to meet other kids like me!

  “I will be right by your side when that happens. Every time we are together, I will show you things that will help you get ready when it’s your time.” Her eyes searched mine. “Until then, just keep the lights you see between us, ok? Don’t talk to other people about it. Not even your mother. She won’t understand.” Her expression darkened, and her mouth pressed into a thin line.

  “But why am I special, Tia? Why is it I can see these things that others can’t?” I didn’t want to be different than the other kids.

  “Well, it has something to do with the time and place you were born, and the fact that you are the descendant of someone like you.”

  I understood exactly what she meant.

  “So, you mean, how I was born with the sun in the first house of Aries? And how my great grandmother was a sage from across the Gates?”

  A bright, easy laugh left her throat, and I couldn’t help but return the smile. “I’m glad you are keeping up with your zodiac studies. That will help you a lot.” She took a bite of her own ice cream. “The stars write the path. Always remember that.” She smiled and rubbed my back gently.

  “Ok, I will remember, Tia.” I was too concerned about the taste of the chocolate ice cream to ask any more questions. I simply nodded my head and stuffed another sweet spoonful in my mouth.

  But that night I had the worst dream ever…

  I was watching TV in my living room, and I saw an airplane flying over the ocean. My heart started beating fast when I saw lightning strike the wing of the plane and black smoke come from the engine. Eyes wide, I walked closer to the TV and placed my hands on the thick glass screen.

  This was Tia’s airplane! It was surrounded by a black monster cloud.

  I could now see inside the plane, and when I did, I saw Tia as she sat in her seat with a panicked look on her face. Tia looked around anxiously as she heard the screams all around her. The plane shook as it shot straight down out of the air, and loud bangs sounded outside.

  I watched as purses, bags, magazines and cups shot up and around them. She seemed so scared. As the plane came even closer to pounding against the ocean, I saw her mouth move, and even though I couldn’t hear what she said, I didn’t see any more fear in her eyes as she whispered words to herself. Instead, she looked peaceful.

  I woke up with hot tears spilling down my cheeks. I ran to my mother’s room and begged her not to let Tia get on the plane the next day.

  All she said was, “Go back to bed, Sasha. Everything will be fine.”

  I went back to my room and sat at my desk. I knew my mother didn’t want to see any more drawings, but right now I didn’t care. I grabbed a blank piece of paper and moved aside my dolls and toys to make room to draw something that would make her pay attention. I drew an airplane facing down into the ocean with black and grey lines swirling around it.

  In the morning, I showed my drawing to Tia while she was eating breakfast. Her face grew serious.

  “It’s ok,” she said in a calm, soothing voice. “Everything will be fine.”

  My mother, seated next to Lily, snatched up the drawing and crumpled it into a ball. “I told you not to draw these anymore. You are scaring everyone with this craziness. It stops now.”

  Why wouldn’t she listen?

  “But she can’t get on that plane, Mami! She will die,” I yelled. I had never, ever yelled at Mami before.

  “Sasha, that is enough. Now apologize to your tia,” she said, standing up from her chair as her eyes shot stones at me.

  I looked at Tia Lily and could tell from her expression she wasn’t mad at me. “I’m sorry.”

  Lily gave me a quick wink while my mother was still looking at me, and as my mother turned away, I hid a smile. I knew my Tia would listen. I knew she wouldn’t get on that plane, not after what I’d shown her.

  Later that night she came to my room. She sat on my bed and pulled me close. “I believe you, and will change my flight to a different one.”

  “No, don’t go at all. Just stay here, Tia,” I cried, wrapping my arms around her. No one understood me like she did. I didn’t want her to go.

  “I have to get home. Tio William’s mother is sick, and we need to take care of her. But don’t worry, I won’t take the same flight. I promise.” Her eyes were warm and comforting.

  They left for the airport while I was at school the next day. Later, the phone rang as we were having dinner. I jumped in my chair. I had been nervous all evening, wondering what would happen to Tia.

  My mother got up from the table and grabbed her phone from the counter. “Hello?” I locked my gaze on her. “Yes, I am Lola Rivera.” Like most Hispanic women, she had kept her father’s surname.

  A moment later she stood completely still. I watched as all the color drained from her face. She turned to look at me, and her eyes narrowed into a look of disbelief and disgust.

  Then she turned her back to me and leaned her shoulder against the wall. All her weight became too heavy for her legs, and she slumped all the way to the ground with a heavy thud.

  My father jumped up from the table and hurried over to her. He put his arm around her back, and when she looked up at him, she grasped at his collar, and all I heard was the sound of her gulping for air in between tears.

  “What happened?” my father demanded as he held her close.

  “It’s Lily… Her plane went down in the Atlantic,” she whispered.

  Even though I knew this would happen, I hoped I was wrong. But more than that, I’d prayed to God I was wrong. Now, Tia Lily and Tio William were dead because nobody listened to a ten-year-old. Especially a ten-year-old who dreamed of things before they happened and saw all kinds of strange lights surrounding other people.

  Now that Tia Lily was dead, I hated my drawings.

  I hated my dreams.

  I just wanted to be like everyone else.

  Chapter Two

  Ten Years Later

  I saw and heard even stranger things by my twentieth birthday. The familiar wicked darkness that moved and shifted in corners, indefinite and undefined, crept toward me even thicker and darker than ever before.

  I faintly remembered a conversation with my aunt where she explained I would meet someone to help me with all this. But she didn’t tell me the shadows would cover the walls as they slithered toward me, accompanied by a dark mist that held the creatures of the underworld within them. They had hands with claws that reached for me!

  I saw them, demons in the corner with feverish eyes piercing into me in the night. I always felt them there, hidden, among shadows. One had a long, reptilian tail that rattled on the body of a massive alligator with a snake’s head.

  But there were more. Decaying bodies with black rotted flesh and sharp, long grey teeth, bald heads and protruding bones. Some without eyes. Some without
mouths. Some without ears.

  The beasts of the shadows called me to them day and night. In my nightmares there would be a gate with a zodiac sign. But I always had to fight through the shadows to get to it. That’s why I called this living nightmare the Zodiac Shadows.

  Then I remembered Lily was supposed to be here to help me through it all. But she wasn’t. The months went by, and the heavy darkness only got stronger with no sign of any relief. My mind began to slip from my grasp.

  It got exponentially worse after I left my ex, the rising mafia king who managed to get himself arrested for shooting a federal agent in the leg. I’d married him in a rush to get out of my parents’ house, already driven half-mad by the shadows.

  And yet somehow, my pitiful life was back to where it had all begun. In my old room, staring at the same popcorn ceiling I had run away from.