5. Julian
5
JULIAN
“ I ’ve found my mate,” I say as I let myself into my uncle’s office. It’s like everything else in this building—grand and expensive. He’s sitting at a desk which I know will be older than he is, and the dark mahogany is gorgeous and very well looked after.
Glenda, my new boss, forced me to finish out my shift, despite giving me absolutely no training and knowing for a fine fact that I wanted to find Maeve.
I was tempted to just blow it off, but I knew it would make me look bad, and that my uncle needs me to keep my head down and keep the eyes off me.
Instead, I just poked around the room to get the layout down and tried to stop my dick from getting hard every time we smelt Maeve’s delicious soft scent.
Pink roses and a sweet, decadent honey.
I never thought that specific combo would lead to an instant erection, but fate clearly knew what it was doing when it attached that scent to my gorgeous mate.
My uncle Adrian grins at me, his steel blue eyes lighting up in true happiness. His salt and pepper hair is short and is one of the best features he has.
He’s wearing a tailored dark grey suit, and as he leans back in his office chair, he exudes sophistication and confidence. I can’t wait until the day I’m just like him, running my own team or even the tribunal, once he’s ready to officially retire.
Both my uncle and his unicorn are happy for me, happy that our family is growing.
My palms start to sweat. It’s a shame I’m going to have to ruin it.
“Congratulations, son.” The genuine pride in his tone makes me feel even worse, and it dims my smile a little.
His office walls are a hideous pastel yellow, although you can’t see too much of it on the back wall as it’s pretty cluttered with frames for all his awards.
Based on his office, you’d think he’s cocky and overly prideful, but he’s the complete opposite. He’s caring, humble, and always proud of me and what I do.
My uncle is the best man I know, and I hate that I’m about to disappoint him. I’ve barely been here for a week, and I’ve already messed up.
He picked me out of the rest of my cousins to come and do this big task because I’m the only one he can truly trust. Tarun’s too far up his own ass that he won’t break any rules, no matter how much good it will do.
And the rest, well, they’re either too dark to represent the family name or they’re untrustworthy. Adrian picked correctly when asking me for help.
“Don’t congratulate me just yet, Uncle. I don’t deserve it. She hates me,” I say, walking closer to his desk. He frowns, wrinkles appearing across his forehead, and I pull out a chair.
I don’t sit yet but rest against the backrest, trying to hide the shaking of my hands.
I hate having to share this failure with him. I’ve dreamt of the day I’d meet my mate, and Maeve has lived up to every single expectation. Tall but smaller than me, blonde, and pure . The bright glow surrounding her the moment we locked eyes, proves our bond, and her purity.
She’s beautiful, angelic, pure in looks, although she seems a little bit icy, and she’ll be the perfect asset to our family.
My perfect little mate.
Well, she will be, when she decides to stop hating me.
“What did you do to her?”
There’s a concerned expression on Adrian's face. He presses a few buttons on his keyboard before the screen dims, and I have the full weight of his attention on me. I can feel the strength of his power swirling in the air, the agitation from his inner unicorn causing my hackles to rise.
Even knowing he’d never truly hurt me, it doesn’t qualm the hesitance from my inner pegasus at facing my uncle’s raw power.
His displeasure burns his usual scent—leather, amber, and a soft hint of fresh rain—and I feel like ants are crawling all over my skin. It would be just my luck that my uncle unleashed an army of them onto me.
“Nothing!” I say, quickly shaking my head, but it doesn’t soothe the angry unicorn. “Honestly, I really didn’t. You can ask Glenda. I literally just started my shift, and she decided that I was?—”
I immediately stop speaking as soon as he pales. That anger of his recedes, and in its place is… fear? I’m not sure that’s right, but my uncle is definitely unsettled with what I’ve just shared.
My eyebrows draw together. “What do you know, Uncle?”
“Your mate is your new colleague? Maeve? Blonde, pretty, works at the library in the archives?” For the first time ever, he doesn’t admonish me for speaking to him in an aggressive tone.
I nod my head, almost hesitantly. “She hates me, and I don’t understand why.”
He jumps to his feet and slams his hand onto his desk, his shoulders tense. “Fuck!”
“What? What was that reaction for?” I push the chair forward, trying to calm down my pegasus because, as much as he wants me to jump over the desk and attack my uncle for answers, I know that would be a death sentence.
But neither my pegasus nor I can handle the fact that Maeve, being my fated mate— my fucking soul mate —has brought this drastic of a reaction from my uncle.
He shakes his head, and I can smell his uncertainty and even his anger as he takes his seat. He composes himself in a matter of seconds, and I watch with wide eyes as he places his hands together and leans forward onto the desk.
He gestures with his head for me to take a seat, and I rush to obey, my desperation for answers outweighing any other thought.
“What was that reaction for? Why is it bad that Maeve is my mate?” There’s no demand to my words this time, just hesitance.
Even though he’s not as annoyed now, I can still feel his power swirling in the air, building as he waits to unleash it. He’s a powerful predator, and I know he’s stronger than I am. The pressure is like a weight on my chest, and it serves as a heavy caution to not cross him.
“I’m bound to secrecy on most things regarding Maeve, and I will not break her confidence, even for you,” he says, and I can hear the warning in his words. “But I can tell you that your mate suffers from haphephobia, and you’d do well to remember that in every interaction you have with her.”
“And that is?” I can’t help my frustration, and even his warning look doesn’t elicit more than a muttered apology from me. Is he really expecting me to remember a word I can’t even pronounce?
“A fear of touch,” he says quietly. Touch? What? He sits up straighter, and I can see how white his fingers are from where they’re clenched together. “And, Jules? I’m not talking about just a dislike. I truly mean that she’s terrified of being touched.”
I’m thrown back to the words she said during our first conversation.
“I don’t touch.”
I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t shake my hand or why she acted like Glenda and I were diseased when she walked out, inching away from us. But, clearly, this is why.
She’s afraid of touch.
Is she scared in a general sense or is it just sexual? Does she really think that lowly of me that I’d try and mate with her in front of a witness? In a public library only moments after meeting with her?
“I don’t understand. Touch is… it’s touch,” I say with a frown. “Like… is it just sexual touch she abhors or just…?”
Uncle Adrian rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath about my stupidity. I have to force my pegasus into submission because, even with the dominant air surrounding my uncle, he’s desperate to defend us, to defend our mate from this slight.
But going up against my uncle is foolish, and underneath all of his composure, is fear.
“The or is accurate. She’s scared of every touch ,” he says gently. He narrows his eyes, and the brief look of annoyance that flashes over his face makes my pegasus sit up and pay attention. “Did Glenda not fill you in on Maeve’s condition before she introduced you both?”
I shrug, preferring to deal with her myself, but his narrowed eyes demand an explanation from me.
“She said that Maeve was a hater of men, wanted nothing to do with my gender, would probably ignore me if she wasn’t insulting me, and if I entered her personal space, she’d castrate me and… eat my… you know.”
Based on his huff, he does know, and he’s not the only one pissed at the fish shifter.
“All of that horrid behaviour was only if she didn’t quit first because she’s terrible at committing to a job.” I narrow my eyes. “But, I suppose, since that has already happened, clearly, it doesn’t matter. My first interaction with her was a shit show.”
“Well, Glenda and I are going to have a few words over her explanation,” my uncle mutters, rubbing his temples with his forefingers. “That is not how she should be protecting Maeve in the slightest.”
“Why is Maeve the one in need of protecting? Sure, she doesn’t like to be touched, but it’s me who she hates,” I demand.
From everything that was mentioned, and even by my uncle’s reaction, Maeve’s the one who seems dangerous. I like that—I love that she’s dangerous and able to protect herself. Even if it means I need to buy a cup for my own protection.
But if Maeve’s the one who is dangerous, why is my uncle acting as if she’s the one in danger?
“Maeve needs protecting, Julian, because she’s a rare shifter who is in a vulnerable position.” The pointed look with his blue eyes is a stark contrast from the lightness that occurred when I first entered the room.
For whatever reason, Maeve’s the one he’s chosen to take sides with in this situation. He’s chosen her over me. It makes no sense, though.
Maeve wasn’t vulnerable when I met her. She wasn’t scared. Maeve’s strong, and her words are a weapon all of their own.
Sure, she’s rare, but we’re all fucking rare.
There’s a knock on the door, and my uncle sits up straight before beckoning whoever it is inside. A woman enters, maybe in her thirties, appearance wise, and she’s not overly powerful.
She’s got short brown hair, and is wearing a dark grey suit. I’ve not seen her before, but she might be one of my uncle’s assistants. There’s a calming energy around her, but I have no idea of her shifter type, which unsettles my pegasus.
She gives off an avian sense.
“Your grace,” she says, nodding her head before giving him a grimace. “I have Maeve here, and she won’t take no for an answer despite me telling her you were busy today.”
“Of course, she won’t,” he says, sounding amused. He sounds fond . “Would you send her in for me, please?”
The woman glances at me, curiosity burning in her eyes, but she doesn’t ask any questions. Instead, she nods and walks away, her heels clicking on the floor. The door silently closes behind her, and my pegasus is eagerly awaiting the reopening of it because our beautiful mate will be on the other side.
Will she be excited to see me? Angry?
Disappointed?
“Why is Maeve here to see you?” I can’t hide my jealousy in my tone as I practically glare at my uncle.
“Because I’m her legal guardian,” my uncle says as he adjusts his suit. “She’s got no parents, no extended family, and she was surrendered to us when she was still a child, which makes me her guardian until she’s mated.”
He starts to clear his desk, as if he’s putting on a show for my mate. It’s quite annoying. Where I’m annoyed and insulted, my pegasus is amused and curious.
“But she’s an adult now,” I say, my frown deepening.
“And she’s unmated and rare.”
“We’re all rare,” I mutter, sounding petulant, even to my own ears. My uncle smirks, and amusement dances in his blue eyes.
“But Maeve is rarer than most,” my uncle taunts. “Did you scent her shifted form when you saw her earlier?”
I narrow my eyes, pretending that I’m trying to recollect if I did or not. As if I didn’t spend my entire afternoon salivating after my mate’s decadent scent.
I purse my lips and shake my head. “No.”
Ordinarily, that wouldn’t mean much. With a lot of the rarer mythical shifters, it’s hard to identify exactly what type of shifter some people are. I might be able to get their larger category, like an avian shifter or a predator, but the specifics can be hard.
But it’s more than that with Maeve, and based on the smirk on my uncle’s face, we both know it. I didn’t scent Maeve’s shifter side at all.
There wasn’t a single hint of her animal at all.
“That will be because she doesn’t have one yet,” he says, and my eyes widen. No shifter form? “Maeve’s a chameleon.”
“A mythical chameleon or a normal chameleon?” I ask before realising how stupid I was for asking. He doesn’t rub it in, which is surprising.
A mythical chameleon. Fuck me.
There’s only three types, and— fuck. My eyes widen, my heart racing, as my pegasus whimpers in my head. My legs are trembling, and I’ve reached the conclusion before my uncle even admits to it.
“Mythical. A chromius.” He grins.
Fuck.
I’m so fucked. We’re all so fucked.
Before we can discuss this revelation, the door opens, and my fiery mate storms in. She’s once again wearing very fucking little, and it both enrages me and arouses me.
Her dress is a pale pink that clings to her tits but floats out around her thighs. There’s a sheerness around the skirt, but I can’t actually see through it. Her blonde hair is tied up on the top of her head, not even a single hair loose.
She’s beautiful and so fucking enticing. Her face is contorted into rage, and if that wasn’t alluring enough, her scent has a chokehold on me.
I thought the soft pink roses and the sweet but tantalising honey of when she’s relaxed and comfortable was like ambrosia.
I was wrong.
The floral rose scent has sharpened into a fierce, crimson edge, releasing a darker, dangerous fragrance that pierces the air. Her honeyed scent burns like molten sugar, thick and intoxicating, with a bitter undertone that makes my breath hitch.
It’s no longer a comfort but something that ensnares me and brings about my own rage. My pegasus is like her white knight, ready to unleash upon whatever the object of her fury is.
The worst part of it, though, is that I’m ready to taint my purity to persevere hers, and she doesn’t even give me a passing glance.
I cup my dick, just to protect myself, as my pegasus snarls in my mind at my insult towards our mate. The desperate fuck would take her cutting our dick off if it meant she’d touch us.
“Maeve,” Adrian greets, rising to his feet as manners dictate. There’s genuine warmth in his eyes as he addresses her, but the rest of his face remains passive. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
“Really well,” she says, but her tone is frosty. “Well, I will be as long as you fire that asshole over there.”
“Me?” My tone is incredulous, but my pegasus is just excited she’s talking to us. “Why should I be fired? I’m more than capable of doing the job. You’re the one with the problem.”
And I was hired for a very specific purpose. I won’t be leaving until that is under control, especially not now that I know my mate is here and is one of the rarest of us all.
She’s in danger, and I won’t rest until I can guarantee her safety.
“I don’t like you, and I was there first,” she replies, not even bothering to look at me.
Does she understand how much her lack of attention physically hurts me? Is this her way of keeping control?
If she wants control, I’ll drop to my knees faster than she can blink and hand my body over to her.
“We can’t just fire people because you don’t like them, Maeve. You and Julian could work really well together,” Adrian says, and I can hear the love he has for her in his voice.
He’s happily mated, but he and his mate are unable to have their own biological children until Adrian’s unicorn allows for it, and it seems weird that he’s acting this paternal to a stranger .
He really cares for this girl—for my mate.
It doesn’t make sense.
He’s a good leader. A strong, powerful man who can play the politics of this world so well. But what makes him a great leader is the fact that he truly cares . He cares about our people, about their struggles, about their needs.
“No.” No explanation, no elaboration. Just no.
It’s laughable that my uncle thinks she’s vulnerable and in need of her protection.
Like, fuck, who is this girl, and where did she get her confidence?
“Maeve—” my uncle starts, and his tone is one I’m familiar with. He only uses it with my aunt, when he knows he’s losing a fight and he’s trying to get his own way.
She sneers at him, still ignoring me, and it’s like with every minute that passes, the hold she has on my heart tightens. I’m being crushed. I don’t care why she’s doing it. I just fucking hate it.
“Please, Maeve,” my uncle says. My eyes widen as he truly backs down and tries to plead with my mate.
“If you don’t fire him, I’m leaving,” she says bluntly. “I won’t subject myself to this shit, and you should know that.”
“As my ward?—”
“That might have worked before you gave me access to the archives,” she says, her lips quirking up into a cocky smile. “I’ve got the names of at least eight different alphas who have treaties with the Tribunal all across the world and outside of your direct reach. They are more than capable of defending me and their people if they house me, no matter how rare I am.”
“Nobody would—” dare is the unsaid word my uncle was going to utter. He somehow had enough self-restraint to hold himself back when Maeve laughs.
It’s bitter, it’s cocky, and it’s so fucking alluring.
How can someone so angelic have the confidence of the devil?
“Nobody?” she asks, standing taller in the face of his annoyance.
I thought I’d have a weak mate. Someone I could protect, someone who would dote on me and hang off every word I say.
I am pretty funny.
But instead, fate decided that Maeve was my perfect match.
I fucking love it—love her.
“That’s funny. I made one phone call this afternoon, and somehow, I’ve got a place in the Phoenix Pride waiting for me, should I want it. Atticus was thrilled to be offering me a haven from this messed up place.”
It’s weird that my dick is hard right now, right? Surely, I’m not sitting here with a huge erection as I watch my pretty mate spar with my uncle?
It’s got to be crossing some line, I’m sure. But, fuck me, she’s a goddess.
Adrian tenses, but he gives her a soft smile. My pegasus whines at the change in his demeanour, and we both prepare to interject.
I won’t have him manipulate my mate.
“Do you really want to leave here to go there, Maeve? This is your home.” Soft tones, infused with the power of his unicorn.
Adrian could sway even the strongest person to his side if he wills it so.
“Oh, believe me, if it means I get to be left alone, then, yes, I will,” she says, crossing her arms in front of her chest. My jaw fucking slams into the floor as I watch.
“Alpha Phoenix has promised me a safe haven and safe travel there. I’d be a fool to decline.”
Adrian’s jaw tightens. “Safety is not something he can guarantee.”
“Maybe not,” she replies, looking at her nails before smirking back up at my uncle. “But since you refuse to fire the nepotistic hire, who is far more dangerous than anything else out in the world, then I’ve got no choice. I’ll be leaving the compound within the week, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
She sees me as far more dangerous than anything else? Smugness radiates from me as my pegasus snorts angrily. He’s acting as if I’m the one missing something, but we both heard her words.
She’s not scared to leave because she knows I’ll protect her.
With that, she turns and leaves, not even hesitating in slamming the door behind her. The sound echoes around the room, and Adrian drops back down into his seat, hanging his head in his hands.
I hesitantly watch as my uncle works through his emotions. Anger, frustration, resignation… and fear.
My curiosity is piqued, but more than that, I need the time to let my situation settle, so I stay quiet.
“That fucking asshole,” my uncle grunts a few minutes later. His blue eyes are hard as he sits back up. “I can’t fucking believe the prick would do this.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask, not sure if my mate’s ultimatum should be believed or not.
Her confidence was impressive, but the tantrum was just a spoiled girl throwing out her toys, desperate to get what she wants. I would know—I’ve had plenty of my own.
“Who is this Alpha Phoenix?”
“Atticus Phoenix is one of the most powerful shifters in the UK, and he runs a very large pride in the North,” he says, searching his desk for something. “He’s a common lion shifter, and is extremely well respected. He’s just bonded with his mate, and she comes with six other shifters, so he’s not lying or exaggerating the claim that he can offer Maeve safety and stability.”
“Wait, how old is he, then?” I ask, knowing that my uncle wouldn’t be exaggerating. Instead, if he claims this Atticus is powerful, it means the man is fucking powerful .
And my mate wants to leave me to be with him .
Over my dead fucking body will I be allowing that.
“He’s young—only 28,” my uncle says, and my eyes widen as my pegasus roars in annoyance.
I clench my fists and work on building a mental barrier against my pegasus. I can’t shift here. I can’t lose control.
But I fucking want to.
“Exactly.” Adrian nods. “He’s not even reached his prime yet. He’s a strong shifter, but he’s also got a lot of power and plenty of resources, which makes him all the more formidable.”
“And my mate wants to join his pride?” My pegasus is not impressed and is demanding we find our mate and explain why this would be a bad idea.
With our teeth sinking into her neck.
She’s ours, and she can’t leave us.
But more than that, she’s one of the rarest shifters in the world and would be targeted by anyone who knew that.
She needs to stay here on the compound, where it’s safe.
Where she can be protected.
Where nobody could ever harm her because they can’t even enter.
I have no fucking trust in this lion shifter. Even if my uncle thinks he’s powerful, he’s a lion. It’s nothing. My mate, my beautifully strong mate, needs strong and powerful shifters to protect her.
Mythicals.
A powerful lion shifter is impressive, sure, but it’s common . He’s nothing compared to the rest of us.
“Your mate wants to leave because she’s lost the one true bit of stability she has,” Adrian says. “She’s had a hard life, and no matter how hard I’m trying, I’ve not managed to make it any easier.”
“What are you going to do?” My tone is as subdued as the animal inside my head.
“I wish I could fire you and give her what she wants, but you’re needed at the archives, and no matter how much losing the archives will hurt her… losing her life will be so much worse.”
The two of us share a solemn nod. I always would’ve taken this job seriously because it’s the first time my uncle has asked me for something, and this is my chance to prove to him that I can handle it.
But now the stakes are so much higher. Maeve comes first to me, and I’ll do everything in my power to figure this out.
“She is throwing a tantrum,” I say, and my uncle sighs as if I’m the biggest idiot in the room. “Why can’t we just work different shifts?”
“This is her… fourteenth… job in the last six years. She doesn’t need to work, not from a financial point, anyway, but it’s one of the very few things I’ve demanded of her. She might hate people, she might struggle severely out in public, but she needs the socialisation or her inner chameleon will wither away completely—even if she doesn’t care.”
“And why doesn’t she care?” I don’t think anyone could survive losing their animal. They’re part of us, their very being entwined with our souls. We’re one and the same.
And she just… doesn’t care if her animal dies ?
“That’s not my story to share,” he says quietly. My veins burn, the agony shooting through me, as I think of my strong mate teetering so close to the line of death.
What the fuck is wrong with her that this kind of death is nothing ?
“I suppose I’ll need to find out from her then,” I murmur, itching to go track her down and make her see reason.
My uncle mustn’t hear me as he grabs his phone from his top drawer. “I need you to leave, son, so I can give Atticus a call and get to the bottom of this.”
I nod, eyeing the door she fled through only moments ago. “And where may I find?—”
“No. You will not approach Maeve,” he says sternly. There’s no command in his voice, and I fully intend to take advantage of that.
“Of course, not.” I wouldn’t approach her as the human me right now, anyway, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still approach her.
I need to figure her out, and the best way to do that is to watch and hide, letting my pegasus get close enough to figure her all out.
Some may call it stalking… I call it observing what’s mine.
“No, Julian, you didn’t hear me,” Adrian says, raising his voice as he floods it with his power. “You will leave Maeve Quinn completely alone until I tell you otherwise. Do you understand me?”
“I understand.” The words are pulled out from my pegasus without my consent, and when he dismisses me, I turn on my heel and leave his office.
If the door slams too loudly behind me, then all the fucking better for it.
Maeve got away with it, after all.