Chapter Seventeen Ivan
Chapter Seventeen
Ivan
It was early morning, and I was wide awake. Anxiety, something I’d never dealt with before, plagued me every night. I wondered if each morning would mean another memory lost. My insomnia was rampant now, and more than once, Jalisa cursed me for having the TV up too loud in the middle of the night.
The truth was my fixation with human shows was a cover up for the very real fact that I was losing more of my memory of Jalisa than I wanted to admit.
I couldn’t stand the stress I was putting her under.
I could feel the sickness of it spread through our bond.
She put on a brave front, but she was just as concerned.
Over two weeks now in this realm with nothing to show for it.
Daria’s witch friend wasn’t able to help and so far, no one else could either.
Fortunately, we hadn’t had another attack since the restaurant, but that was mostly because we hadn’t left the area.
The pack’s land was well fortified. Even when I ordered pizza, my new favorite meal of all time, they vetted the delivery person.
We identified the attacking ghouls based on descriptions, they weren’t a particularly large population, and with the right amount of money, there was no loyalty within their kind.
Not that it helped us much. We already knew they were working on orders.
It was likely fae from our realm who knew we were here and hired them to take us out.
Why these cowardly fae wouldn’t come for us directly was beyond me.
They had to be weak but rich enough to get people to do their bidding, even if criminal.
Perhaps we were going at this all wrong. Maybe we needed to offer the attackers a higher sum of money to tell us who they were working for. Not that I had a large cash flow, but Jalisa might be able to get her parents to assist. Assuming they weren’t behind this, and I wouldn’t put it past them.
I blew out a breath of frustration and turned on my side, gazing at Jalisa as she slept.
For a moment, in this bed, I could pretend that everything was good.
That we were married and mates, not because we were forced into it but because we’d chosen each other.
I’d like to believe that it would have been the case if not for that horrible night years ago.
But now she was mine, and I could stare at her sleep as much as I wanted.
I gazed at her full lips, slightly parted.
I wondered if it would be inappropriate to kiss her now.
I could practically feel the softness of them on mine, taste traces of her sweetness on my tongue.
My eyes drifted to her skin. It was always so smooth, almost buttery.
I loved touching her. It calmed me. She was my home.
In our years apart, I’d never met anyone I connected to the way I had with her.
I wasn’t going to forget her. She was mine.
No spell could take that bond away from me. I had to believe that.
However, somewhere deep down, a pang of doubt began to inch its way to the forefront of my mind. It reminded me that no matter how long I stayed awake or stared at her or kept my calm, I would lose her. One day she would be in front of me, touching me, and I’d see her only as a stranger.
I reached up to brush my hand lightly over her curls, piled on top of her head. “But I would just fall in love with you over and over again,” I whispered.
She smiled, her eyes still closed. “I think I woke up to you saying something very romantic.”
“Get used to it.”
“It’s still early, isn’t it? There’s barely light out. Still aren’t sleeping well?”
I kissed her forehead and pulled her close.
I didn’t want to talk about what was happening to me.
It made me feel weak. I didn’t want her taking care of me.
This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be for an alpha and omega.
And whatever time I had left of my memories, it wasn’t going to be spent with her treating me like an invalid.
In everything else, I was still the same.
Still capable. “I haven’t noticed you in pain in the last week. Is it gone?”
She snuggled closer to me, resting her head on my chest and wrapping an arm over my torso. “Maybe. I’ve gone stretches without any pain but not this long. I think being mated to you has stopped my pain or at least delayed the usual.”
“That’s good. You’re welcome.”
She poked me in my rib cage, and I relaxed, content with our playfulness. “Thank you. Soo, I was thinking,” she began. I tensed up, already knowing what she wanted to discuss. “We’ve been inside for these past two weeks, only going out to dinner that one time. We should get out again.”
“The one time we went out we were attacked. We can do our search for help from here. This internet thing is very convenient.”
She sighed and tried to wiggle away, but I held her close to me. “The internet doesn’t have all the answers. We can’t find a cure or your uncle by sitting around. And Daniel mentioned that there are groups of dragons that are living off of some sort of grid. We should go there to meet them.”
“He said he didn’t know where that place was.”
“Well, maybe we have to talk to people in real life to find it.”
“That’s what all of these new friends of ours are doing.”
She bit my chest, and I yelped, momentarily releasing her. But that was all the opening she needed before moving away from me. “We could have stayed in the fae realm while they did this then. At least I wouldn’t be cooped up in a small room the whole time.”
I rubbed my chest, glaring at her. She didn’t have sharp teeth, but she knew how to bite. “It’s dangerous in the fae realm for us.”
She got out of bed and stood up before I could reach her again. “It’s dangerous here, too. We are soldiers, we can fight. We can’t let whoever this is win.”
“Is being trapped in here with me, really losing?”
She placed her hands on her hips, and I knew there would be no convincing her to stay inside.
She had reached her limits. Her frustration was bouncing around my head through our bond.
“If we watch another dating reality show, I will lose my mind. Watching heavily glamoured people on an island fall in fake love is nauseating.”
I shrugged, throwing the covers off me to get up.
It seemed like morning sex was not going to happen now.
“Hear me out, we should go on the show, pretend we don’t know each other, then fall in love on the show, and win the prize and hearts of the viewers.
Because that overly-muscled financial planner and arrogant content creator in the lead cannot be the winners. And their jobs sound fake.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, and I could feel her exasperation. I remained unbothered.
“We did not come to this realm to enter a reality show. I cannot keep having this conversation with you, Ivan. You’ve been warned.” She then spun on her heels to head to the bathroom.
Well, that didn’t sound good. “What does that mean? I’ve been warned. What are you going to do?”
She turned partially to me and had the audacity to growl before continuing to the bathroom.
“What the fuck was that?” I shouted as she slammed the door.
Perhaps it was good that I had insomnia. She would probably try to kill me in my sleep.
***
Several hours later, Daria stood at our entrance with the largest green orc I had ever seen.
She was dressed in attire that seemed out of style from what I’d seen on the many shows I currently watched.
She had on a corseted green sundress with a white off-the-shoulder ruffled blouse underneath.
On her feet, she wore knee-length brown lace up boots.
The orc, who I assumed was the fiancé she’d mentioned, appeared more normal in jeans and a fitted gray shirt that partially covered his many tattoos on his massive arms. His long-twisted locks were pulled back in a high ponytail, exposing shaven sides.
While she seemed bubbly and happy, he looked bored and unimpressed with the world.
She did a little two step, raising her hands slightly in front of her. “Are you ready?”
I cocked a brow. I was in fact not ready because I had no idea what she was talking about.
Behind me, the bathroom door opened, and Jalisa appeared in a blue cropped ruffled blouse and matching ankle-length skirt that she’d brought with her from the realm.
Her thick curls framed her face, and a flowery head piece sat on top of her hair.
She looked amazing. Like she might dress at home. And what was going on?
She waved at Daria. “We’re ready!”
I looked down at myself. I was wearing a loose T-shirt and something Kai called sweatpants that I was convinced had to be replicated in the fae realm because they were magnificent. However, I did not seem to match wherever the ladies were headed.
Jalisa pointed to the bed where I noticed deep green leather pants and a black button-down shirt rested on top of the sheets. “Put those on, honey.”
I folded my arms. “What’s going on?”
The orc snorted. “She didn’t tell you? These women have been scheming for days now.”
I reached out my hand to greet him. “I’m Ivan. Tell me what?”
He shook my hand, squeezing so tightly I was afraid my fingers would break. “Marcus. They’re dragging us to the Renaissance festival.”
I scrunched my face. “Sounds stupid.”
Daria exhaled in an exaggerated shock. “You don’t even know what it is.”
She pushed her orc inside, and I opened the door wider to let them in.
I wasn’t exactly excited about company. We weren’t keeping the place as nice as when we first arrived.
It was a bit of a mess with food wrappers and dishes piled in the sink.
All my doing. It was safe to say that I was depressed. Not that I would admit it.