“My apologies to the driver,” I spoke to the male in the front seat. “Our bond is new, and he got spooked by an alpha.”
The driver, who had the air of a demon about him, alpha if I had a guess, gave a short nod and put the car into gear. I put Esmeray in the center seat and buckled him in with a gentle stroke to his cheek. “It’s okay, Esmeray.”
“Sorry. This isn’t something I’m used to. I think we kept it under wraps, but I—this is highly upsetting. I didn’t want some random alpha. Ahumanalpha in my space,” he sneered, and I couldn’t resist smiling.
“And a mongrim is better?” I flicked a brow, and he gazed up with those fiery hell-borne eyes. “I’m half human.”
“Better you than him. There’s something in you that is different, you know? You’re more than half human. You’re—mine.” He settled at the admission, and it eased our bond, his heart beating slower.
“When we get home, I’ll right the beds and hold you as much as I need to settle you. Business first.”
Esmeray agreed, and we sat in silence, hands held, until we arrived at his father’s home, where police were still on scene, roping things off and staring at the remains of my car and a hovering portal to my home, laying midair. As I exited the car and held Esmeray’s hand as he followed, I turned my attention to it.
“Mage Hawthorne!” Draevus came running up, resting one hand on my shoulder and the other on Esmeray’s. “Please take care of the portal. The mundane officers are baffled and keep throwing trash into it.”
He gently guided me that direction and took over Esmeray’s space, giving him a rather smothering hug, exchanging words about what happened. “Erection, Your Honor!” A bark of laughter eased my soul.
I waved my hand and traced my fingers in midair, sigils of light flowing from my fingers as the portal shattered like glass and fell to the ground like a spill of diamonds that melted into nothing over the cobbled drive. “Apologies, Officers.”
A few police approached me with paperwork in hand, and I set about filling out the needed forms for insurance purposes.
My car was pristine, but the age of it, mileage, and model meant I likely had a five-hundred-dollar deductible and a generous payout of a scratch-off lottery ticket and a middle finger. Maybe it was time to get the new car I’d been putting off for a few years?
I answered a few questions, honestly, with the officers. My current beef with Malarthe Lymmings and a recent attempt on Esmeray’s life from The Church meant they had a host of things tolook intothat amounted to being relegated to theround fileAKA trash can.
Then again… Draevus did have his hand in half the city’s goings-on. They might have taken it seriously.
I approached the door to the house and rang the doorbell, quickly ushered inside by an attendant who took me to a small dining room and settled me next to Esmeray. I hadn’t realized it, but I had grown uneasy being apart from him.
“Come, mage. Esmeray did good work today, and I assume that they’re going to try for another judge after this fiasco. They honestly don’t have enough evidence and are using this as SLAPP.” He waved his hand.
“Slap?” I frowned and folded my sleeves up.
“SLAPP. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. Basically, he’s going to sue you and everyone else until you’re broke from legal fees because he’s a little bitch.” Draevus sighed heavily. “But no need to worry, the coven is covering your fees and there’s a family discount.”
“That’s a pain.” I rested a hand on Esmeray’s knee, subconsciously seeking him out.
“Speaking of pains. Things are—” Draevus gestured about.
“The contract is fulfilled. I think things are tolerable for the time being. The future remains to be decided.” Esmeray stared at his plate, finger tracing the edge of his fork almost wistfully.
“Well, now that you’re mated… Will you pleasepleasestop trying to do everything on your own? You’re half starved. That apartment was obnoxious. You have a trust fund, and I really want you to have a better house. I already spoke with Calamisis and he’s agreed to go back to hell and I won’t murder his family.” Draevus smiled wide. “He’s needed back home, anyway.”
I wasn’t sure how to take that last statement, but it didn’t faze Esmeray in the least, so I ignored that part.
“Sir, with all due respect, if it’s a larger home we require… I’m not the wealthiest mage, but I do have a nice savings. I could buy property.” It’d take most of everything I had to afford a home in Draevus’s neighborhood and leave me with extraordinary bills to tackle in the realm of property taxes and utilities, but I’d have to work harder to afford it for Esmeray. I pulled up my phone and looked at houses for sale. There was one on the other side of the gated community that was haunted by malevolent spirits that I could afford…exorcising them would run the value back up and increase my property taxes, but I could live with a few ghosts. “Did you see 384 is for sale? I could—”
Draevus raised a brow. “Well, as a mage, you probably could rectify the ghost situation but we allknowwhat they did, and I wouldn’t let my son live in the home of ritual sex perverts.”
“Wasn’t Dad a deacon in that cul—” Esmeray quieted when Draevus hissed in warning.
“Doyouwant to live with the choked-out ghosts of people that have plowed your fathers?” Draevus gave Esmeray a stern look that silenced him immediately.
“We are never going within a hundred feet of that place. And I’m happy to live in Gre’s home until he decides otherwise. We need to discuss bills and rent, by the by.” He nudged me with his shoulder.
“There won’t be bills or rent if you let me buy you a home and activate your trust. Besides, how many bedrooms are there? Where will your children play? There’s no backyard!” Draevus settled back in his chair as the butler brought food in, plating things before them.
“Children aren’t in my five or even ten-year plan. I have three more years before I take a lead role as an attorney andan additional two before I allow you to make me partner.” He picked his fork up, polished it with a napkin, and backed the fork in his left hand, knife in his right. He’d not done so at my home, but it appeared dining was far more formal in his father-in-law’s home. Father-in-law. Not a day ago, I was a single male thinking about maybe hiring an incubus for some relief. Dominos couldn’t fall in a more precise path if they were stacked perfectly.
