Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Dax
This new job was going to bore him to death.
Dax stood to the side of the outdoor restaurant while his client attended some kind of business dinner.
The man had absolutely nothing going on in his life, and for the life of him, Dax couldn’t figure out why he needed a bodyguard.
He’d been shadowing him for over a week.
There had been no threats, nothing unusual.
Dax was starting to believe he’d been hired as some kind of show of status.
Which pissed him off.
Though he’d been happy with his job at Protective Solutions and the relationships he’d built, maybe it was time to think about ending this interlude.
Going back to school. His mind craved knowledge, and he had several degrees, but he wanted more.
When he’d taken this job, it was because he’d been unable to tell his best friends no when they’d urged him to join them.
Ivor and Emory had been a part of his life for over two hundred of his three hundred and sixty-one years on this earth.
And because he’d lived so long, why not do something different?
He’d spent so, so many years studying. And truly, he’d enjoyed his time with Protective Solutions, and he’d made wonderful new friends.
He adored the sense of family he had with all his coworkers.
But because of his massive size, he was mostly put on the muscle jobs, which didn’t require a lot of intellect.
Other than that intellect, he had his immense strength and his ability to sense magic, and that was it.
He couldn’t kill with his gaze like Bain or heal like Alaric.
He couldn’t translate all languages instantly or move objects with his mind like Emory.
And he certainly didn’t have Ivor’s seductive powers.
He didn’t always mind jobs requiring brute strength.
But lately he’d been restless, and he knew how his mind worked.
That thirst—no, that need for more understanding of how the world worked always rose to bite him on the ass.
He had been working on projects in his spare time, more recently the paper he’d done on human soulmates.
Once he’d learned they were a possibility, he’d delved into research, and his eventual conclusion was that the soulmate bond changed not only the human’s lifespan, but they took on characteristics that complemented their preternatural soulmate.
This had given him hope.
Because… he was lonely. It had been too long since he’d been in a relationship, and he missed that.
Missed being part of a partnership and having someone to hold at night.
Hell, he hadn’t even been laid in over two years.
Though that stemmed from not being able to find anyone of his size who could handle his strength.
There weren’t a lot of ogres walking the earth these days.
Demons could handle him, but he hadn’t met one interesting enough outside of his job.
He’d toyed with the idea of dating Callan—a coworker and one who was smarter than most Cambion demons—but Callan had found his soulmate.
Plus, they didn’t have that kind of chemistry.
And of course, he could never just date a human. They were too fragile. He wished he didn’t find them so…alluring. But if he did happen to find his soulmate in one, that would change everything. That is, if he’d been correct with his conclusion on the research.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He kept his eyes on his client as he pulled it out. It was Emory.
“Still bored?” Emory asked in lieu of a greeting.
“So much so, I should just take this guy out myself. I’m fairly certain he hired me just to show off.”
“Ouch.” Emory laughed, and it was easy to picture his wavy, blond hair bouncing. He always laughed with a boisterous, sharp tilt to his head. “Ivor and I want to hit up this new club on the south side. It’s run by another preternatural, so I’m sure they’ll have seats big enough for your huge ass.”
“My ass is highly proportionate to the rest of me, thank you very much.”
Emory chuckled. “True, but it is funny just how many chairs you’ve broken over the years. I’ll never forget that English pub when you were dating Alastor. You’d tried to set up a romantic setting then broke both the chair and the table.”
“I love how you bring that up every few years.”
Emory was quite a moment before he sighed. “I really shouldn’t bring him up, and I’m sorry. I know how rough that was for you.”
It had been. Dax had loved Alastor, but when the demon had found his true soulmate in another demon, he’d had no choice but to let him go. Hundreds of years later, Dax still hadn’t found his own soulmate. He feared he never would.
“Dax,” Emory said quietly. “Your soulmate will come into your life, just as someone will come into mine—though I’m nowhere close to ready for that.
Not like you and Ivor are. Truth is, we’re not destined to be alone.
You, my friend, are not destined to be alone.
And now that we know humans can be soulmates, a whole new world has been opened. ”
“Emory, you know I can’t risk being with a human. Even knowing what I do now, what if I was wrong?”
“Wrong about what?”
“I’ve come to the conclusion that I could be with one if he were a true soulmate, but there’s still that risk. My kind has tried to be with humans in the past and it was always a disaster.”
“We just need to find you a really big guy who also likes big, beefy, bald guys.”
Emory joked, but Dax knew that couldn’t be possible. Even if he did happen upon one of those unique humans who saw through their glamours, he sincerely doubted he’d find one like Callan’s mate—one who didn’t mind the horns. And in Dax’s case, the tusks that curled out of his bottom lip.
Even as he thought that, his gaze suddenly locked on a man sitting near the alley to the side of the restaurant. The most beautiful fucking man he’d ever seen in his long life. Dax sucked in a deep breath, stunned in place.
Raven black hair, silky and full, swept off his head in waves to his shoulders.
He wore a tight navy-blue button-down and dark jeans that showed off the slim lines of his body.
Slim and delicate. The kind of beauty Dax could admire but never put his hands on.
When the man abruptly stood, like he was going to greet someone, he revealed legs that looked long despite his short stature.
Apparently, the person walking his way was not who he was there to meet because disappointment shadowed his almost hawk-like features as he sat back down.
He glanced down at his phone and scowled, which didn’t detract from the beauty of his harsh features.
Harsh, yet beguiling. He had a thin face, long, regal nose and lush lips.
“Dax? Still there?”
Dax cleared his throat and managed to tear his gaze away from the man who’d caught his interest. “Yes, still here. I should get off the phone and do my damn job. When did you and Ivor want to hit this club?”
“You’re off Friday, right? I’ll text the address, and you can meet us there around nine.”
“I’ll be there.”
He said goodbye and slipped his new phone back into his pocket. He’d been right about the bay water destroying his last one.
The client still sat lording it over his table, and Dax’s shoulders slumped as he realized he still had four more days with this asshole.
But no matter how much he willed himself not to, his gaze kept going back to the black-haired vision who had obviously been stood up.
There was an aura of strength to the man despite his delicate height and build, and for just a moment, Dax let himself wish that he wasn’t seven foot three and built like a goddamn tank. That he didn’t have his ogre strength.
What would it be like to be able to go up to this man and introduce himself? To get to know him? To touch without fear of hurting him?
He’d never know.
The man abruptly yelped, startling everyone at the tables around him. But he was at the last table by the alley and partially in the shadows, so Dax realized the others probably didn’t see what he did.
A long, thick snake had wrapped around the man’s waist. It yanked him out of the chair and backwards into the alley.
Dax didn’t hesitate because he recognized the kind of snake that had snatched him. He raced toward the alley, turning the corner to find exactly what he expected to see.
A chimera.
Two heads, lion and goat, with the lion’s body and a snake for a tail.
Three heads when one counted the snake, which was currently wrapped around the man Dax had been watching.
He ran toward them, watching with complete horror as the snake latched onto the man’s arm and sank its fangs through his shirt and skin.
The man cried out, eyes wild with utter shock and terror.
Dax leaped, ripped the snake away from him, and he fell to the ground.
The chimera turned its snarling heads toward Dax.
The snake whipped toward him, and he grabbed it and squeezed.
He knew chimeras, knew that though the teeth in the lion’s head were sharp, it was the snake venom he had to worry about.
He kept his grip on the snake strong, using his other hand to fight off the lion’s snapping jaw.
With time not on his side, he risked letting go of the snake to grab the more fragile goat head. He lifted the creature up over his head and heaved it at the brick wall. It slammed against the rough surface and slid to the ground but quickly regained its feet.
The snake head hissed and whipped back and forth as the chimera began circling him.
Dax growled. He didn’t have time to fuck around with this thing.
The human had venom racing through his body and needed treatment.
Dax rushed the chimera and ducked to grab two of its legs, avoiding the razor-sharp teeth.
With a yell, he swung it around and smashed it into the wall, then spun around to smash it yet again.
It went limp, and he dropped it, only taking enough time to make sure it was unconscious.
Out or dead, he didn’t care which. When it didn’t move, he rushed back to the human, ignoring the people gathering at the mouth of the alley, drawn by the noise.
The cleanup wizards would use a spell to blur their memories.
He dropped to the ground, leaning over the man, who was gasping and staring into the night sky. His blue eyes suddenly locked onto Dax, and he seemed to hold his breath. He reached up to gently touch Dax’s cheek.
“Oh,” he whispered. “Who are you?”
There was some kind of wonder in that glazed-over gaze, and it was Dax’s turn to hold his breath as they stared at each other. In that moment, it felt like something momentous was happening. A warm rush of hope filled his chest. The way this man stared at him—was he seeing the real Dax?
Dax let the breath out when the man’s eyes closed and his body slumped. He had passed out.
Dax jumped to his feet, pulled out his phone, and called Xavier.
“I need a cleanup crew at the restaurant.” He rattled off the address. “I just killed a chimera who attacked a human.”
“Was he bitten?” Xavier asked.
“Yes.”
“You need to get him here fast. I’ll call Alaric.”
“You’ll have to send someone here to take over.
” Dax didn’t give a shit if he did or not.
The client didn’t need a bodyguard, just a prop, and this man needed care right away.
That thought took over everything. Dax lifted the man’s slight form carefully into his arms and hurried toward his car.
He didn’t bother to tell the client he was leaving.
His only goal in that moment was to reach Alaric before the chimera’s venom left this man a vegetable for life.
Dax broke every speed limit to get to Protective Solutions.
He’d laid the human in his back seat, and he kept glancing back the whole time he drove.
The man lay frighteningly still. At every stoplight, Dax reached back to make sure he was still breathing.
He was, but it was shallow, and his skin felt clammy.
His own heart kept racing, and his palms sweated on the steering wheel. Fear was ripping through him in quite a profound manner, and he had no idea why.
He was overwhelmed with worry, and he didn’t even know this human’s name.
When he finally arrived, he jumped out of his SUV and opened the back door.
The human was still breathing, but his face was sickly white.
Dax carefully lifted the human into his arms. He cradled him close and hurried into the building.
Xavier and Alaric were waiting for him. Xavier pointed toward a first-floor conference room that held a couch.
The man started to convulse as Dax raced that direction.
“Shit!” Dax gritted out. He held the human closer. His sense of urgency still had him reeling because he didn’t know the man. But he’d felt something when they’d looked at each other in that alley. Something he was too hopeful to name.
“Dax, you have to lay him on the couch.” Xavier gently touched his arm. “He needs healing right now.”
Dax reluctantly laid the convulsing man onto the gray couch, then stepped back to watch anxiously. Alaric knelt and put his hands on him. It took only moments for the human to still.
The relief that swept through Dax made his knees feel like jelly.
Xavier pulled him aside. “What’s going on? I’ve never seen you this agitated.”
All Dax’s words tangled in his throat. He swallowed back the lump before trying to answer.
“I have no idea what’s going on. I’ve never seen this man before tonight, but you should have seen the way he looked at me right before he passed out.
I think he could really see me. I think he’s one of them.
” He paused and cleared his throat that still felt knotted.
“There was absolutely no fear in that look, Xavier. It was like he was looking into my soul. So I just…” He trailed off, unable to put his hope into words.
Xavier tilted his head, making his hair brush over his chest. “You did right in bringing him here. You said a chimera attacked him?”
“Yanked him right out of his chair and pulled him into an alley—” He broke off when Alaric stood.
The elf turned to them, his face pale. “That took a lot of magic. He took in a lot of venom, but you got him here in time. He’s going to be fine.”
Xavier looked down at the human. “We’ll take him up to my office to recover.”
Dax shut his eyes and took a deep breath before he gave in to the urge to hug Alaric, who chuckled and patted his back.
“Thank you for saving him,” Dax whispered.
He felt slightly foolish but was unable to stop himself. He had no idea who this man was or why he’d been attacked by a preternatural, but everything in him was yelling that his whole life was about to change.