Fabian
It wasunbelievable how badly I wanted to kiss Stan on his doorstep. Oh, how I wish I had! Was one little kiss between a celebrity stylist and the Omega he was now certain was his fated mate?
One day with Stan had already put me through the emotional ringer. I was elated to experience his breakthrough, sympathetic and furious about his sad tale, and brimming with blazing desire I'd never felt in my life. It took every ounce of willpower not to crush Stan against the front door and kiss him right then and there.
But Stan wasn't like me. He was human, not a shifter. Even if he could feel the innate passion between us, he wouldn't understand what it was. Humans didn't have fated mates the same way shifters did. The worst case scenario was that I thrust upon him too fast while he was emotionally tender and scared him off.
It was agony. I had no idea how anyone did this.
So I did what any well-connected celebrity did—I called a friend in desperation.
“You’ve reached the owner ofThe Rising Dragon, how can I help you?" came the familiar smarmy voice on the other end.
I huffed. "Oh, be quiet, Darcy, I know this is your personal number."
"Yes, it is, dear Fabian. However, you're the one calling me at work during work hours."
Even though he was one of the more hands on restaurant owners I knew, I had no doubt he was currently holed up in his office. If he was on the floor with diners, he wouldn't have bothered to answer my call so fast.
"It's an emergency," I insisted.
He faked a gasp. "Has your makeup caught on fire?"
Darcy was apparently in a playful mood today. "No, and even if it did, you and I both know that I'm fireproof."
He chuckled. "Yes, otherwise I would've set you on fire a long time ago."
I rolled my eyes. Dragons were so obsessed with the fact that they could breathe fire, as if they were the only mythical shifters who could do so. Hell, I could set my whole body on fire at will, but you didn't hear me bragging about it all the time.
"Can we please talk about me now?" I demanded.
"We are talking about you, my dear Phoenix. But yes, tell me what's wrong."
"My fated mate is a human."
Darcy fell silent. "You too?"
"What do you mean?" Excitedly, I added, "you mean there are others?"
"Yes, I know of a few. Some personally, some through the pipeline. You know how I love to hoard gossip. My dear friend Ulysses—you know, the unicorn shifter?—he was the first, I believe. You should've seen the look on his face, Fabian. He was absolutely smitten with that human."
A wave of relief washed over me. "Oh, thank the heavens. Darcy, I thought I was losing my mind."
He laughed, but there was almost a somber note in it. Since I hadn't heard any news otherwise, I assumed Darcy was still single. Still seeking his fated mate. In a way, I felt bad coming to him for reassurance because it felt like I was gloating. But despite Darcy's sassiness, he was a true friend. I knew he was happy for me.
"So, what's his name?" Darcy asked.
"Stan Smith."
Darcy snorted. "How delightfully human. Does he look as bland as a name sounds?"
I bristled defensively. "He's not bland. He's wonderful."
"Oh gods, you really have fallen for him." He sounded amused. "Well, now you know that it's normal. Go get him before some human alpha named John Johnson snaps him up."
"Thank you, Darcy. And I intend to." I hung up.
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