Chapter 1 #2
The blond shifter proved he was just as pretentious and patronizing as she had assessed as he placed a hand over the screen, which had gone black.
Then he had the audacity to pull it out of Maya’s hands.
If it had been her tablet, she would have reacted differently.
However, what he took was little more than a mess of wires and chips wrapped in a shiny case; with its current settings, it was virtually worthless to her.
His tone was authoritative, grating on Maya’s nerves as he said, “For now, I think we should focus on the situation. When we return, I’m sure no time will have passed for you, especially given how important the Jaggers are.
Not even the matchmakers are immune from backlash if their choices interfere with members of the court. ”
Are you a complete moron? Or are you just entirely clueless about recent events? Maya kept her thoughts to herself, with even her expression remaining passive during his short monologue. When he turned to put the device on the desk, she started to say, “I don’t …”
Then he reached out and touched her shoulder.
A shock went through her, as if a current of electricity had passed from him into her.
He’s a healer. Perhaps he has decided that I’m on the verge of panicking and he’s trying to keep me from melting down.
I would expect something calming, though, not electricity. That would have the opposite effect.
She looked up at him, trying to decipher his motives as the blond spoke, “We can figure it out. For now, I think we should focus on seeing what we have to do to leave here. I know that under the right circumstances, it is possible.”
He … does not want to be here either. It was a strange idea because apart from some of the people in the Christmas group, shifters tended to consider being sent to the island to be a blessing or stroke of amazing luck.
Then Naomi’s words seemed to answer that.
“I would say that it’s more under the wrong circumstances.
” Almost as soon as she said it, Naomi started to backtrack, that ever-present placating smile on her face. “I mean, everyone knows about Rhys.”
Ah yes, Rhys. Of course, Naomi wants to find her mate.
She’s been searching with every guy she meets.
Now, she has a real chance. Then again, finding a mate would get her away from that dreadful family.
Perhaps … maybe I should encourage the idea of her finding a mate.
Maya murmured some form of agreement, but the storm dragon just laughed.
Watching him carefully, Maya listened to the explanation for his amusement.
“If the rumors are true, he actually did lose time in the ‘real world’ because of the length of time he was here.” Then he let out a low whistle, his stormy eyes boring into her as he said, “I would hate to be dragged off the island.”
Is he trying to pique my interest? Or is he trying to warn me that I could be in serious trouble? Or is he just creating tension because that’s what his kind do?
Naomi was the one to openly question him, though, following a very different train of thought. “You mean, you don’t want to be dragged off the island because you won’t commit to your mate?”
To Maya’s surprise, he quickly denied it with a sincere look in his eyes. “No, I mean I would hate to be dragged off this island without a mate. I’m fully ready to commit to the right person. Unlike you three, I’m pleased to be here.”
Alarm bells were going off in her mind as Maya’s concerns grew. “So you feel like you are special to be hauled out of work and stuck in some awful place until you accept a stranger as your mate?”
“Guilty as accused.” His nonchalance was irritating as he smiled and folded his arms over his chest. However, Maya’s concern quickly faded as the black-haired shifter was watching Naomi with an obvious look of interest. It was not surprising when Naomi blushed and looked away for a moment.
Then the storm dragon looked between Maya and the blond shifter.
“Besides, it doesn’t have to be strangers. ”
The blond had what Maya considered to be the right response as he sighed heavily, “Unless you are thinking we are mates,” he pointed between himself and the black-haired shifter, “clearly they expect that our mates are strangers to us.”
Maya looked over at him, a smile tugging at her lips. It couldn’t have been clearer from his tone that the blond found the storm shifter’s words to be ridiculous.
The storm dragon just laughed, though. “I suppose that’s true if you think our mates must be one of these two lovely ladies. But there is an entire tiny town here full of people who could be our mates. It may not be someone in this room.”
That is not how this works, Maya thought, her head mirroring her thoughts as she shook it side to side. “I don’t really care who they expect to mate me with, I’ve no interest.”
The blond shifter voiced his agreement, “I’m with Maya. I’ve no interest in finding a mate.”
Maya looked at Naomi, who was sighing, and she felt sorry for her business partner. Clearly the pair had already started to bond, and yet the blond was openly stating he wasn’t going to let that bond become anything serious.
As usual, Naomi didn’t seem willing to fight for what she wanted. Instead, she pointed out the problem both the blond and Maya had voiced. “Neither did anyone from the six members of the Christmas group with the prince. It was pretty much the only thing they all had in common.”
The blond didn’t look happy with what Naomi had said, but it also seemed like something he didn’t know. “How can you be sure of that?”
“Both Sasha and Noel joked about it,” Naomi said, her eyes meeting the blond shifter’s, and Maya thought it was her way of pleading with him to give their bond a chance to grow.
Then what Naomi had said sank in, and it did not match what Maya knew of her cousin. It was possible that she had always misread the relationship between Sasha and Noel, though—it wouldn’t be the first time she had misunderstood a romantic situation. “I thought they were childhood sweethearts.”
Both of the males gave her a strange look, but Naomi stepped in and explained.
“They weren’t together.” The tone she used was similar to the one she used with staff, which made Maya feel a bit better.
There was just something reassuring about her business partner explaining things to her the way she would anyone else.
“Her parents didn’t approve of him, so Sasha broke off their relationship.
It was being on the island that made them realize they were meant to be together. ”
It wasn’t at all what Maya had expected to hear, but she didn’t get a chance to ask about it since the blond shifter quickly spoke up. “Well, that’s certainly a romanticized version.”
She turned and frowned at him as the storm dragon chipped in, “It’s not wrong, though. The details don’t matter as much as the result anyway.”
Naomi soon stopped any potential argument as she made her own point. “They are married, and if they hadn’t been on the island, I doubt they would have ended up together.”
When the storm dragon muttered, “I guarantee you they wouldn’t have,” Maya wondered just how well he knew the couple that he could be so certain. He definitely wasn’t related to either the bride or the groom, so what made him so sure they wouldn’t be together?
Instead of being upset with him, though, Naomi took his perspective as a sign that she was right. “See, there you go. It’s not necessarily bad to be here.”
Despite what she had initially said, Naomi sure was making it sound like she wanted to be on the island.
This nettled Maya because it may have left the impression that her mind could be changed.
“Of course you are happy to be here. I swear, you go through relationships like you are trying on new clothes. Perhaps you don’t understand this isn’t a dating pool. ”
The words were no sooner out of her mouth than Maya regretted how harsh they were.
She had been taking out her frustration on Naomi since she had disappeared for a while at the wedding venue, but this situation was decidedly not her business partner’s doing.
Maya’s expression did not reflect the way she felt, though, especially as both of the males started arguing with her.
The blond seemed particularly bothered by her words.
“She’s still very young. And I can’t imagine she has much time because of her job to really have a chance at a relationship. ”
While ashamed of her statement, Maya was not going to be patronized by a guy who had never met either her or her business partner before that day. Putting her hands on her hips, she seemed to double down, instead of apologizing. “That’s no excuse for the way she doesn’t take things seriously.”
In what Maya thought was recognition of his attraction to Naomi, the blond looked at the young shifter as he said, “When I was her age, I was fairly careless about my love life too.” His gaze shifted back to Maya as he chided her a little, “People learn from their mistakes, Maya. I’m sure even you have things you look back on and regret how you behaved. ”
The use of her name felt wrong, and Maya wanted to be just as petty in arguing back.
Quickly replaying the interactions, she sought the names of the two interlopers as she retorted, “Not when it comes to lovers, Apollo.” To emphasize that she was not going to further engage in the argument, she grabbed the tablet off the desk where the blond had placed it.
Then she turned to the storm dragon. “Cosmo, if you would please set this up, I have more important things to do here than waste time talking.”