Chapter 20 #2
“She stayed with me a long time,” I said. My hand slid through my hair restlessly. “My family never really liked her, but she stayed anyway.” Puffing out a laugh, I mumbled, “Should’ve been my first clue.”
Even now, part of me regretted bringing this up. Talking about it made it feel too alive again. Like I was reopening something I’d barely managed to seal shut, but before I could pull away, Olivia’s arms wrapped fully around my waist.
Holding me there. Just waiting patiently. It’s only fair…
“I thought that meant loyalty,” I admitted. The words tasted bitter. “Her staying with me for so long, but then I caught her with someone else.”
Olivia’s eyes pinched with anger that simmered low, but she kept it to herself even when I admitted, “She wasn’t with me because she loved me.”
I gave her a sharp and hollow laugh as I finally said the words out loud. “I was just convenient.” The magic mark along my neck flared hotter, and I swallowed hard. “She wanted security. Comfort. A future already paid for… while she searched for her mate, her one and only.”
The silence that followed stretched just long enough for the old humiliation to crawl back up my spine like ants under the skin.
Before I could blow it off, dismissing it like I normally would, Olivia scrunched her nose like she’d smelled something rotten.
“She sounds like a bitch.”
I blinked, watching her entire face twisted with genuine offense on my behalf. Brows furrowed. Mouth pinched. Eyes blazing.
And somehow, some-fucking-how, it made my pulse thump harder.
“Yeah,” I admitted softly. “She kind of was.”
Olivia’s grip tightened around my back.
“But honestly?” I exhaled slowly. “I couldn’t completely blame her.”
That got an immediate reaction. Her head snapped back so fast her braid whipped over her shoulder.
“What? She was total—”
“She wanted a mate,” I interrupted. “And she knew I wasn’t it.”
Olivia scoffed loudly. Her fingers dug into my back hard enough to hurt.
“I know mates are important to supes—”
“Not just important, the most important,” I corrected automatically.
She rolled her eyes so hard I had to smile.
“Fine. The most important. Whatever.”
God, the way she dismissed centuries of supernatural obsession like it was mildly inconvenient was ridiculously entertaining.
“But that doesn’t excuse cheating.” Her voice sharpened with every word. “She could’ve left.”
Her eyes flashed hot with anger now. “She could’ve ended things honestly then gone searching for whatever magical soulmate she wanted.” Her chin lifted defiantly. “Instead, she stayed where it was comfortable.”
Each sentence came down harder, full of righteousness.
“She chose convenience over character.” Then, with absolute conviction, she finished with, “So yeah. She was a big old bitch.”
The laugh ripped out of me before I could stop it, a real one, deep enough that my chest shook, because she was defending me with her whole heart. She was saying every ugly thing I’d never allowed myself to admit out loud.
Standing here with her wrapped around me, furious on my behalf, something deep inside me reached for her. Violently. Possessively.
Mine.
The feeling slammed through my chest with terrifying force, like recognizing something I’d been searching for my entire life.
Take her. Keep her. Love her.
Every instinct in me surged toward her all at once, and I almost listened to it until one name cut through it like a blade.
Rack.
My best friend. My brother. The man who saved me.
This woman was his Flame. His one chance at happiness.
The warmth inside me twisted painfully because the truth finally settled in. I was in love with Olivia, and she would never truly be mine.
I slowly let go of her shoulders.
Immediately, confusion creased her face. Her brows pulled together while her arms loosened around my waist like she didn’t understand why I was stepping away now.
I forced a smile anyway. Weak. Thin. The kind that hurt more to wear than to drop.
“You’re right,” I said quietly. “She was a bitch.” The corner of my mouth twitched. “And now she’s probably off somewhere living her best life.”
I tried to play it all off, to not let her see my greed for her. Her eyes stayed fixed on me, studying me too closely for comfort, so I put on that lazy prince mask and gave her an award-winning smile before pivoting.
“But you,” I pointed at her dramatically, “need more practice before you become Miss I-can-be-bait-and-stay-safe.”
That earned the faintest flicker of amusement from her, and I latched onto it like a life line.
“Your mage will murder me if we spend the whole day talking and make zero progress.”
Then I stepped back. More distance. Necessary distance.
The second I did it, her expression noticeably dimmed.
God. Don’t look at me like that. Stay strong, Calix. This was how it had to be. Teach her. Protect her. Help her survive. Nothing more.
I pointed toward the far end of the room before I could second-guess myself again.
“First lesson,” I called out a little too loud. “Don’t smash into walls at vampire speed.”
That finally pulled a real reaction out of her. She rolled her eyes dramatically but moved into position anyway.
“Run as fast as you can,” I instructed. “Stop the second I tell you to.”
To my immense relief, she didn’t argue or push any further, so I took a deep breath. I could already feel the cracks forming in my restraint, and I wasn’t sure how much longer it would hold if she kept looking at me like that.
“Go!”
She instantly launched forward, moving fast enough that the air shifted around her.
“Stop!”
I called it early on purpose, trying to make the first attempt easy. She still slammed directly into the wall. The impact echoed loudly through the room, and I winced hard.
“You okay?”
She turned around, rubbing her nose while giving me an enthusiastic thumbs-up despite the blood running down her upper lip.
I barked out a laugh before I could stop it.
Vampire healing kicked in almost immediately, so the blood was already slowing while she stubbornly straightened herself back up.
“Again,” I called.
This time, she narrowed her eyes at me competitively before crouching lower.
“Three… two… one… go!”
Hours passed like that. Crash. Curse. Retry.
At one point, she hit the wall hard enough to spin sideways onto the floor, then popped back up, swearing viciously, while I doubled over with laughter.
“You’re enjoying this too much!” she shouted.
“You’re the one trying to headbutt reinforced concrete!” I responded, wiping a tear from my eye.
Eventually, the crashes became bumps, then near misses, then perfect stops. Finally, she halted with the tip of her nose barely brushing the wall.
No impact. No stumbling. Just complete control.
For one stunned second, she stared cross-eyed at the wall, then exploded backward in excitement.
“I DID IT!”
She blurred across the room and launched herself at me before I could brace for it. Her arms wrapped around my shoulders while her laughter burst against my neck.
“Now you have to take me to the S&G floor!”
The pride that hit me was embarrassingly strong.
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered, trying not to smile too much. “You earned it.”
I took her upstairs, and the second we entered the S&G department, all composure left her body entirely.
She darted from shelf to shelf so fast she nearly made herself dizzy, grabbing parts, holding them up, and spinning back to me every thirty seconds.
“Can I touch this?”
“Yes.”
“What about this one?”
“Yes.”
“Ooooh—what does THIS do?”
“I don’t know, probably explode.”
She gasped excitedly, and eventually I gave up on trying to supervise.
“You can touch anything on this floor,” I told her.
That was apparently all the permission she needed. Within minutes, she’d built herself a massive pile of parts on one of the worktables and immediately started assembling something.
And then she disappeared into it. Completely. So focused you would think she was creating life itself.
I just sat there and watched, mesmerized by her, making note of all the stages of her process.
Her bottom lip stayed trapped between her teeth while she focused. Every time something didn’t fit right, she cursed under her breath viciously enough to make me snort. When something failed completely, she slammed her fist onto the table hard enough to rattle tools.
Then she’d freeze, take one frustrated breath, and immediately start taking it apart again.
She was constantly adjusting, improving, trying. Nothing kept her down for longer than five seconds. There was something special about her, a beautiful relentlessness that I could watch for days.
Leaning against the table, watching her work, the thought hit me naturally.
After we settled everything with Manshu, I was going to talk to Rack again about finding her a place here.
Worst-case scenario, we could make her a contractor.
That way she could come and go as she pleased.
It wouldn’t hurt that I’d get first dibs on her inventions while she was paid for the rights.
She’d thrive here.
And more than anything, I wanted her to be happy in her life. I wanted Rack happy too. Even if their happiness didn’t really include me.
That ache twisted through my chest again, but I swallowed it down.
I could make this work. Being near her like this, it had to be enough. Helping could be enough, right?
A bead of sweat slowly rolled down her temple while she leaned over her latest project, angrily muttering at a screw.
My hand instinctively twitched toward her. Wipe it away. Touch her.
I shoved those thoughts away. Busy. Keep your fucking hands busy.
Moving to the other side of the table, I grabbed some discarded pieces before my brain betrayed me further.
“What are you making?” she asked without looking up.
“No idea yet.” That earned a laugh from her, so I started building too.