Allegiant

265 Pages·2013·1.24 MB·English

by  Mack Sara

Allegiant
By SARA MACK
Allegiant (Book 2 in The Guardian Trilogy)
Copyright © 2013 Sara Mack
All Rights Reserved
First Kindle Edition: 2013
Cover art by Breena Slayton & S.M. Koz
Edited by Abbie Gale Lemmon - [email protected]
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of
the above author of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and
incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of
various products listed in this work of fiction, which have been used without
permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized,
associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Dedicated to
A. J.
Thank you for remaining allegiant to me.
I love you.
Table of Contents
Prologue ~ James
Chapter 1 ~ Emma
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
About the Author
Excerpt from Reborn
Prologue ~ James
The connection between us is indescribable. Limitless. It is as if an invisible
elastic band stretches between us, and I’m powerless to ignore its pull. The band
holds a soft electric hum that sits in the back of my mind, reminding me of its
presence and my duty. Reminding me of her. Reminding me of what I’ve lost.
There are moments when I feel gentle tugs on the band. Instinctively, I know
which are more important than others. Only once, since becoming her Guardian,
have I felt an overwhelmingly strong pull, but I could sense she wasn’t in danger
and focused all of my energy on resisting the urge to go to her. She asked me to
stay away, and I trust her. I still need time. Time to convince my mind and my
heart that I can no longer love her.
I curse Garrett under my breath. Where did he go? His guidance is needed
now, more so than ever. My feelings for her have yet to diminish. How much
more time do I have before The Allegiant step in? Before they realize my poor
Guardianship and take my memories and love for her by force? They have the
power to eliminate her from my life, for eternity.
I feel a gentle tug on the band again and close my eyes tightly. I have to stop
loving her. I have no other choice.
Chapter 1 ~ Emma
There is only so much time you can spend alone before you start to go mad.
Now, I understand why they put prisoners in solitary confinement. Solitude
gives you plenty of time to dwell on things. The past. The present. The future.
What you’ve done; what you didn’t do. What you would change if you could.
My list of regrets grows daily. This afternoon I’ve added the following:
I should have kept myself surrounded by my family and pushed back my
move to school.
I should have controlled my shocked reaction to my new neighbor telling me
his name is Garrett, because he hasn’t talked to me since.
And, I should have apologized to Dane before I left, regardless of his hatred
towards me.
I close my eyes to erase the memory of Dane’s anger. It’s useless. His
expression haunts me. I try harder and his face morphs, changing into James. I
feel the familiar squeeze around my heart whenever I think of them, and tears
start to well behind my eyes.
I miss James more than I can comprehend. Before his death we were
inseparable. After his accident, he chose to become a Guardian instead of
passing on, in order to stay in my life. He would visit me and stay throughout
the night. His mentor, Garrett, eventually pulled him away to be trained, so that
one day he could be assigned a Ward of his own. James’ absence led me to lean
on a friend more than I should have. Dane took my mind off the sadness of
losing James, stood up for me when I couldn’t stand up for myself, and played a
huge part in saving me from someone from my past. I was in denial about his
feelings for me, and I was allowing him to get too close. James could see this,
and it didn’t make him happy.
When it came to me, Garrett knew how tortured James was by his
limitations. He could see how my relationship with Dane was affecting James
and determined the possibility of my releasing James when I die was fading.
When my own Guardian was released from their duty, Garrett decided it would
be best for James if he were assigned to me. As his Ward, I would be connected
to him forever. But, unfortunately, there are rules, and Guardians are forbidden
to love their Wards. It clouds their judgment too much, interferes with their
purpose. So while James will be bound to me for my lifetime, he is no longer
allowed to love me.
It’s been a month since I’ve seen him, and my mind reels, wondering what
he’s going through. James said he would be punished, his memories of us
erased, if he could not learn to control his feelings. I told him to stay away, for
as long as it takes to stop loving me, but our separation is haunting. Not a
minute goes by that I don’t think about him. Or last summer. Or my mistakes.
I shake my head to clear it. I need a distraction. I roll over and pick up my
phone to call my best friend Shel. I have to be careful, space out my calls to her,
and monitor what I say. She would be the first person to recognize that I wasn’t
doing well on my own, being as she knows me better than anyone else. What I
wouldn’t give for her to drop everything and come stay with me like she did this
past summer, after James died. But she’s at school too, in Ann Arbor, and she’s
dating Matt now. I’m sure he is there visiting her every chance he gets.
Shel picks up on the third ring. “Hey!”
“Hey. What are you doing?”
“Watching Matt rub my feet.”
Speak of the devil. “Oh, okay. I’ll let you go.”
“No, you don’t have to.”
“Shel, I’m not going to talk to you while Matt rubs your feet. It’s weird.
Just call me later.”
She laughs. “Will do. Oh, wait a sec.” I hear her adjust the phone as she
talks to Matt, their voices slightly muffled. She returns to me. “Good news!
Matt’s able to come with me to visit you for your birthday.”
I’m grateful that she can’t see me rolling my eyes. Not that I don’t want
visitors; I do. But I was looking forward to having a girls-only birthday
celebration. You know, a gallon of ice cream and a movie or two. The last thing
I want to watch is Matt and Shel make goo-goo eyes at each other. “That’s
great,” I say, trying to put some genuine enthusiasm into my response. It still
sounds forced.
“Emmmmma….” she draws out my name, sensing my irritation.
“Call me back when you’re free,” I say, ignoring her whine and hanging up.
I roll on to my back and stare at the ceiling. Now what? I play with my phone,
scrolling through the pictures I have saved. Most are of James before his
accident. A few are of Shel. And then there’s the last one. I stare at the picture
of Dane that I snapped after we finished playing mini golf a few weeks ago,
when he volunteered to help heal my heart. Little did I know that, merely days
later, I would be hurting his.
I sigh and toss my phone aside. Things really suck right now.
On August 30th, the buzzer from the front door sounds in my apartment. I
rush to answer. “Hello?”
“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear
Emma! Happy birthday to you!”
Only Shel would sing into an intercom. “I’ll be right there,” I laugh.
I leave my apartment and head down the short hallway to the main entrance
of my building. It’s actually an old house that’s been converted into four
apartments for students at Western Michigan University. James and I had
planned to live here together during our last year of school, but, well, you know.
I throw open the door, anxious to see my friends. “Hi!”
Shel steps forward and tosses her arms around me. “Happy birthday!”
“We’ve already established that,” I say into her shoulder. “Where’s Matt?”
“He’s coming. He’s getting your gift out of the car.”
A moment later, I see Matt turn the corner of the sidewalk carrying a large
box. It’s perfectly square and colorfully wrapped. “Hey Emma!”
“Hey,” I smile as he approaches us. I hold the door open for him as Shel and
I enter the hallway. They follow me to my apartment.
“This is cute,” Shel says, glancing around my place as we enter. “Very nice.
Better than my digs, that’s for sure.”
“I can’t complain,” I say as I close the door behind Matt. Looking at the box
in his hands I ask, “Why did you guys bring me a present? You didn’t need to
do that.”
“It’s your birthday,” Matt says. “Presents are mandatory.” He walks over
and sets the box down on my small coffee table. “You should probably open it
sooner rather than later.”
“What’s the rush?” I ask, just as the box moves on its own. I eye the two of
them suspiciously. “What’s in there?”
“See for yourself,” Shel says with a self-satisfied grin.
I approach the box cautiously. “It isn’t going to jump out at me, is it?”
Matt smiles. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
I shoot him a questioning look. “Let me re-phrase. It’s not going to bite me,
is it?”