Chapter 14 #3
Ledger’s whine steals her focus as he drops down to appear less threatening, slowly shuffling over on his belly like an overgrown behemoth of a puppy begging for attention.
When she doesn’t flinch or run away screaming, he grows bolder, resting his massive head on her thighs and staring at her with big, sad eyes until she starts scratching behind his ear.
The second her fingers are in his fur he nuzzles against her, pushing for more and sucking her sweet scent down like an addict.
I shoot daggers at him while she’s distracted. Simply shameless, playing that card as an excuse to hang all over her. Ledger clearly has no qualms playing dirty to win her over by any means necessary.
Fucking cheater. Women love dogs.
Nodding slowly to herself as she absentmindedly pets my roommate, Ever says, “Okay. Okay this is fine. I don’t hate this.
” Growing more confident as she speaks, she continues, “This is the sort of thing people dream about; to find out that their world is actually magical. For aliens with huge dicks that love eating women out, and sexy dragon shifters to whisk them away to their castles. This isn’t a bad thing. ”
I frown. “Kai doesn’t live in a castle, he’s got a cottage down by the lake.”
She snorts. “Okay, so no castles. I’m already in the mythical land of affordable housing, I’m not picky.”
Wetting her lips, she meets my gaze head on. “So, Ledger’s a wolf. What are you?”
Sheepishly, I rub the back of my neck. “I’m a tech mage.
In essence, I can sense the inner workings of machinery and infuse electric currents with magic to change the original function.
Like the device you helped me with earlier today?
It’ll sense the vibrations of footsteps and automatically create a temporary shield around the owner in case they don’t wake up to someone breaking in their house.
It won’t hold up forever, but will give them time to call the police and protect them in the meantime. ”
“Sort of like that barrier Ledger mentioned around the town? That keeps out people that come here looking to hurt someone?”
“Exactly. But I designed that one so only mystics that don’t have any intention of hurting someone living here can pass through, no humans. With this one, all the energy goes into keeping everyone out until deactivated or broken.”
She frowns, ignoring Ledger’s nose flipping her hand for attention, and I bite back a smile. “Is the town barrier glitching then? How did I get in?” I don’t have to say it, only hold her gaze as realization slowly dawns. “You’re screwing with me.”
“Never.” You’re mine. Ours. Stay here forever and let us take care of you. Biting my tongue before I make a fool of myself, instead, I say, “You’re one of us, Ever.”
All the color drains from her face. “But how is that possible? Pretty sure I’d have noticed changing into an animal or magic sparking out of my hands.”
Ledger nuzzles against her as her distress climbs, and I hate to admit it, but as soon as she starts running her fingers through his dark fur again, it helps ground her and keep her from spiraling.
“You might only have enough mystic blood to allow you to pass through the barrier, but not strong enough to give you any abilities. There are plenty of mysts that only have a heightened sense of hearing or smell and nothing else. Genetics work the same way as humans; some traits are recessive, some skip a generation. Some combine, or a child might only take after one parent. Without knowing what your parents are, I wouldn’t even know where to begin guessing. ”
“Hold up. So not only did my parents try to sell me off, I drew the genetic short straw and didn't get a cool power as a consolation prize?” she scowls. “What absolute bullshit.”
“Sell you off?” I demand, fury that hits too close to home stealing all reason. “What the actual fuck?”
She shoots a glance at Ledger before carefully saying, “I was dumped at a fire station as a baby after someone tried to burn off the tattoo on my wrist.” Ever turns her arm over so we can see it better, the skin pink with a faded burn scar behind the black ink of a swirling sun that marks her as a center.
“Didn’t work though. Not sure if it was one of my parents that had a change of heart at the last minute, or one of the human traffickers they sold me off to that couldn’t stomach delivering a baby to their boss.
Either way, foster care may have sucked, but I know it was a far better fate than how I could have grown up. ”
Ledger storms away from her with his fur bristled, growling and pacing the length of the room in agitation, but I study Ever closely as she nervously watches Ledger, her gaze dropping down to his leg where his mate mark would be in human form.
“You think that mark… is a brand?”
She scrunches up her face in confusion. “Well, yeah, it said as much in my file. That it was the symbol associated with a known group of human traffickers and anyone that stepped forward to claim me had to be thoroughly vetted more than protocol usually dictates.”
Chest tight at the implications, as gently as I can, I point out, “I’m pretty sure that whatever myst left you there fed that story to the social worker that took your case to protect you.
It would raise red flags if anyone saw your mark and took an interest in you because of it, and the social workers wouldn’t allow them to adopt or claim you out of suspicion they were associated with the group warned about in your file.
It sounds like they played the system to their advantage to keep you away from mystic society. ”
A look of hurt and confusion flashes through her violet eyes that makes me feel like a total piece of shit for saying anything. “Who the hell would tattoo a baby otherwise?”
“Some mysts are born with a mark; we call them centers, because they’re the heart bond groups are built around.
When they choose a mate, during the ceremony they drink a potion that causes the other to gain the center’s mark like a public claim, but more permanent than wedding rings.
Or if they,” I swallow, hard, and I’m pretty sure my face is on fire, “if they find their fated mates, that mark will appear the first time they touch.”
I watch nervously as she puts the pieces together, head whipping to Ledger and mouth parting in shock. “You’re seriously trying to tell me that Ledger’s my fated mate? That we…” she trails off, starting to panic.
Might as well rip off the bandage…
With a shaky hand, I unstrap my watch, revealing the mark on my wrist. “And mine.”
Ledger shifts back and claps me on the back hard enough I stumble forward, grinning ear to ear. “Yes! Ellis wasn’t kidding when he said we belonged together. He couldn’t have given us a hint he meant bondmates instead of roommates? Sneaky fae bastard.”
The corner of my lip twitches. Leave it to Ledger to steamroll over all the problems and just assume he’ll make things work out somehow.
“You’re getting ahead of yourself. I’m not sure if she’s going to throw up or run for the hills, but Ever doesn’t look like she’s claiming either of us any time soon. ”
He glances over to where our mate is clutching the edge of the mattress, face pale and lost in her head as she processes everything we threw at her tonight.
Crouching, Ledger palms her cheek. “I know it’s overwhelming, but don’t worry, sunshine.
You’re not in this alone anymore, and nothing needs to be figured out tonight.
We’ll take this one step at a time, okay?
Bring you up to speed on supernatural society, figure out what type of myst you are, and deal with all the relationship stuff later.
For now, just breathe. Everything else can wait. ”
Slowly, she nods, shoulders relaxing a fraction with every deep, centering breath.
When he’s convinced she isn’t going to have a panic attack, Ledger rises to his feet, and Ever murmurs, “Son of a bitch, it’s not a tumor, is it?
You really do have a knot.” She continues muttering to herself as she pokes the base of my best friend’s dick.
“No hiding you aren’t human, is there? That’s got to put a wrench in casual hookups. ”
Ledger clears his throat as his cock twitches. “I haven’t had any complaints.”
A sudden chill in the air sends a shiver down my spine, snaking around my neck like an invisible noose. Warning bells go off in my head a split second before a hissed, “Get. Out,” is whispered in my ear, the promise of bloodshed dripping from every word.
Ever’s eyes widen, whipping towards a naked Ledger tearing at his neck, a faint shadow the only hint to the binding around his throat, to a seemingly empty space between us in her bedroom. “Casper, cool your tits. It’s not what it looks like. They were just showing me-”
My yelp drowns out her protests as I’m yanked backward.
For a brief moment, the world is painted in shades of grey, everything muffled like I’m underwater, before returning to normal as I’m dropped on my ass on the front sidewalk.
Ledger grunts as he falls from a few feet above the ground, slamming into the concrete on his bare ass.
From the shadows, a savage looking man emerges with a murderous gleam in his eye.
Dark hair as wild as his eyes and a brutal X carved into the side of his face, the former assassin scrutinizes my face before turning his wrath to Ledger, snapping his teeth like a feral dog.
“Should get one of those baby wrap things and strap her to my back instead of leaving her with this horny bastard,” he mutters to himself, leaving the two of us in the dirt as he retreats into the shadows.
“Holy fuck, you weren’t kidding,” I breathe.
Ledger grunts, shoving to his feet and offering me a hand up, unabashed in his nudity as he struts back toward our house.
“Yeah, Arson is… something. He’d sooner cut off his own cock than hurt Ever, though.
At least it’ll be extra security until we can figure out what she is and help her hone any latent abilities she might have.
” As soon as we cross the threshold, Ledger disappears to his room, but I don’t bother.
There’s no way in hell I’ll be able to sleep after tonight, even if I spent an hour jacking off in the shower.
Ever’s demon stalker tossed me and Ledger out on our asses as easily as if he were taking out the trash.
Arson might be on Ever’s side, but what about all of the enemies he’s collected throughout his career as an assassin?
Anyone looking to settle a score will hit him where it hurts; Ever.
And what about any other shadow demons that might come to Mercy Ridge?
When it comes to handling physical threats, Arson can’t be matched.
And Ledger practically came out of the womb searching for a mate to cherish and take care of.
But me? The fuck up that nearly exposed our world to humans with the death of my best friend and was shipped off here to avoid a death sentence?
All I can do is help her level the playing field.