Destined to Dream, page 4
“How do I pay off the balance at the end of the month?”
Physically slumping in relief, he tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. “No need, the accountant handles all of that.”
Running my tongue over my teeth, I remind myself that this is a good thing. Sweet, even, because I see where he was coming from with arranging it. I’m not angry that fake me is already married to him, I’m on the verge of throwing up to think of how much more I owe him now. I can’t do anything to pull my own weight or pay him back, and no blow job is worth half of a multi-billion dollar corporation.
“Monthly budget, then? Card limit?” His gaze darts to the side guiltily, causing mine to close in defeat. “Okay.” Just because it’s more than I can comprehend doesn’t mean I need to spend it. “Thank you.”
Huffing out a breath, he envelops me in a tight hug before kissing my cheek and getting to his feet. “You’re too good to me.” At my snort, he shakes his head. “Seriously. I’ve been nervous to bring it up, worried you’d be pissed and I wrecked things between us before they even actually started. I have a bit of a record getting carried away in the heat of the moment when something sounds like a genius idea, only to find out later I was the only one to see it that way. So it means more to me than I can say that you were willing to hear me out and try to see my side of things before just condemning me. Thank you.”
Licking my lips, I watch him fix the cuffs of his shirt sleeves, heading for the elevator to go to work for the day. “I’m sorry for whatever happened that made you think the worst of people.” Flipping open my new laptop, I hide from his scrutiny as I add, “But I’m not surprised. People are garbage and humans wrecked this world, yet continue to play the victim. I commend you for being a better person than me and focusing so much of your efforts on keeping them alive. Where I grew up, humans were awful towards mages, manipulating them into submission, and treated shifters worse than wild dogs. I can’t imagine investing in saving them.”
Following the start up procedure, I begin all of the various sign ins and picking settings, avoiding looking at him when he replies, “We don’t get to pick what we’re born as, and we shouldn’t be punished for it; children especially. Like it or not, this is the world we live in, and hating one another won’t serve any good. Making it better where I can, though?”
I glance up as the elevator door opens and he steps inside, voice dropping. “I can try to save future generations the hardships we’ve been forced to endure, even if I’m not alive to see it come to fruition. I like to dream of a future where things are better, and it gives me a purpose. It’s why I’m helping the Underground in the middle of the country; people want change, they’re just afraid of taking the first step because we all know the path to peace is paved in more blood than most are willing to shed.”
The doors close on him, leaving me in stunned silence. I’m not even sure where to start picking apart that final bombshell. I’d heard rumors of the Underground, but I thought they were just that; rumors. And Malcolm’s tied up with them?
All of the hospitals he owns, all it would take is switching out some medications and he could wipe out hundreds of thousands of humans if he wanted. Humanitarian, or angel of death.
“No, he’s too good of a person,” I decide, shaking off the morbid thought. “The Underground supposedly wants equality, not to put supes at the top of the food chain.”
Right?
Lost in thought, I finish setting up my laptop and downloading my favorite RPG game. It kills me not to sign into my old account, years of progress wasted, but it’s sort of poetic in a sense. That was the avatar I created when I was a human desperate to lose myself in the only sort of magic I had the ability to access, and I’m not that girl anymore. Now, I’m the monster that needs slaying, respawned on the opposite side of the mythical war.
It’s time to start over. To look at things from a new perspective, and actually believe in what I’m fighting for rather than going through the motions.
Starting back at square one, I repeatedly click to try and speed all of the intro dialogue along, not that it actually helps. After several agonizingly long minutes, I’m finally set loose in the online fantasy world. No equipment or gold coins, a list of quests a mile long, and the only experience my character has is in my head, but if there’s one thing I have plenty of, it’s time.
Hours pass of slogging through the trenches before recruiting a party large enough to tackle the first boss. It’s annoying to coordinate in the chat box, but without a headset, it’s my only option.
Not that these people bother to fucking look half the time until it’s too late and they wind up beheaded.
As the next story screen progresses, a dangerous thought crosses my mind that I try to shut down. But by the time I’m dropped in the next level, I’ve already lost the mental battle with myself, bringing up my brother’s username in the search box on the side bar.
Of course he’s online. Don’t do it, Scar. Don’t you fucking do it.
Physically smacking myself in the face to snap myself out of it, I exit out of that section and go back to my game. The only way I could even plausibly start a conversation out of the blue without revealing myself is by asking for a team up. And I’m a level seven as opposed to his one hundred and forty- two. Unless we cross paths in the game or wind up in the same raiding party, it would be suspicious as hell to cold call and he’d assume I was a bot.
Back at it, I make quick work through the next few levels when a message shows up in the chat window.
Biteme92: On your left!
Without second guessing it, I dive right, rolling to my feet as a fireball slams into the wraith that appeared out of nowhere. Between the two of us, we bring it to the verge of death, only for some jackass to swoop in and strike the killing blow, forcing us to split the XP three ways instead.
SavageScars: Thanks. Fuck that guy, though.
Biteme92: Eh, too much of a dick, even for me.
SavageScars: You know what? Same.
Swapping out for my bow and arrow, I fire one into the back of the guy’s skull, grinning as his character flops face first into the grass before exploding in a puff of light blue smoke, off to respawn in the center of the nearest town.
Biteme92: Ouch, brutal. Remind me never to snipe any of your kills.
SavageScars: Pretty sure I just did.
The two of us start walking across the field that leads to the forest.
Biteme92: Next time I won’t give you a heads up when you’re about to be mauled, yeesh. So ungrateful.
SavageScars: I don’t remember taking a shot at you, ya whiner. We were bringing it down just fine. I’ve just got a thing about vultures pulling cheap shots and being dicks rather than put in the work.
We enter the forest and the next ten minutes are spent avoiding the shadow beasts that try to rip our heads off while searching for the key that’s hiding in here somewhere. I take several hard hits, grumbling at the loss of my gear that would make this child’s play, but manage to free myself and take down the one pinning down my new friend before he runs completely out of health. Tossing back a couple of potions, we scour the forest and finally find it, only for the jackass to snatch it first.
SavageScars: Oh, you motherfucker!
He dances out of my reach as I lunge for him.
Biteme92: Bahahaha. Only one of us can carry it, so I guess you’re stuck with me until we get to the castle unless you want to wait for another one to spawn in half an hour.
“Scarlett?” Malcolm’s voice startles the heck out of me and I almost fall off of the couch.
Glancing around, I’m surprised to see that it’s already dark, faint moonlight shining in from the glass wall behind me, the only thing illuminating the room. “Shit, what time is it?”
Flipping on the living room light, Malcolm doesn’t bother to hide his teasing smile. “Almost nine. Here I was ready to apologize for being so late, and you didn’t even notice.” I start to get up, but he gestures for me to stay. “No, please, carry on. I’m thrilled you have something you’re enjoying.”
“Nah, I should call it quits for the day. I desperately have to pee, and now that you snapped me out of my tunnel vision, I could go for a snack.”
His brow furrows. “Wait, have you... you haven’t moved from that spot since I left?”
Grimacing, I shrug a single shoulder. “No?” Glancing down at the couple of missed messages on my screen, I start typing. “I usually only can play on the weekends because of work, but it was pretty much... all weekend. It’s a time warp, I swear.”
Chuckling, he heads to the kitchen. “That’s a relief, honestly, because I feel incredibly guilty leaving you here alone while I’m trapped downstairs; especially when a meeting runs over.”
Speaking of guilt, I call out, “Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet, why, is there something in particular that sounds good?” he replies, looking through the fridge.
Quickly, I type a hasty goodbye and sign off, setting aside my laptop. “Just let me pee real quick, and how about you go relax in the bath while I’ll cook something for a change?”
The fact that he’s looking at me suspiciously only cements the fact I’ve done a pretty shit job of making this relationship in any way equal.
Closing the fridge door, he cants his head. “What’s going on?”
Taking a step, I wince, grimacing as a shock of pain goes up my leg from being asleep. Rubbing it real quick, I explain, “You’re working while I’m busy sitting on my ass. Least I can do is handle dinner when you’re coming home late and probably exhausted. Not much of an equal relationship if your trophy wife doesn’t even change out of her pajamas for three days straight.”
His bark of laughter follows me as I dart to the bathroom, and when I emerge, he’s still chuckling. “Then maybe you should join me in washing up.”
Cheeks heating, I ignore the lick of his magic on my palms as I push him towards the bath. “You know as well as I do that’s a bad idea.”
Scoffing, he counters, “Dangerous, maybe, but I highly disagree about it being a bad thing.”
If I’m all in... what am I actually waiting for?
Still, some nagging doubt teases the back of my mind, making me hold back. There’s no way I could be naked with the guy and not fuck him senseless, and I’m sure he’d lose control and mark me in the heat of the moment whether or not he intended to. While the thought doesn’t terrify me as much as it did before, I can’t let go of the sinking feeling that there’s something I’m missing, like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop to wreck the perfect fantasy life that I have going on.
That’s it. It’s too good to be true, which means there’s some type of downside to bonding that I don’t know about yet.
“Go enjoy your bath,” I say decisively. “And while we eat, you can tell me more about... what bonding actually entails.”
His body goes rigid before he turns to me with a heated look that screams of hope that I’m worried I’m going to completely snuff out with one wrong move. “It’s a date.”
Chapter 6
Malcolm
Stupid. Of course she’d freak out at the thought of the emotional side of the bond. She’s so convinced that she’s this dark cloud that ruins whatever she touches, it’s her twisted sense of self-sacrifice to spare me.
I’m about two seconds away from screaming.
Scarlett rolls over, mumbling in her sleep. Biting my tongue, I stare up at the ceiling, trying to figure out the best way to approach the situation. A light explodes in the kitchen, and I mouth a litany of silent curses.
Though she hasn’t had a nightmare since we started sleeping together, everything last night must have pushed her a bit too far, her worry driving her back into that dark place. Tossing yet again, her fists clench, and though I desperately want to ease her awake, I slide from the bed. If she were to scratch me right now, when she’s already mentally berating herself and convinced she’s going to ‘ruin me’, it would only add to her woefully inaccurate narrative.
Despite the way it makes all of my instincts rage in protest, I walk out of the room, waiting until I’m in the living room and dialing the cafeteria downstairs before calling out, “Hey, gorgeous, I’m ordering breakfast and they’re out of your usual. french toast instead?”
Her sharp intake of breath as she jolts awake is a stab to the gut, but I know I made the right call when she sighs softly in relief to see that I’m not there. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
Rattling off our order when Gladys picks up, I toss my phone on the couch and make my way to the shower. Leaving the door cracked like usual, I let the water heat up while I strip. I consider it a silent invitation, but mostly it’s a subtle bid to show her that things are comfortable between us. Casually domestic, like having a conversation across rooms is no big deal. No need for additional doors when she’s closed herself off from me already.
Don’t be a whiny little bitch. Things are going well. She didn’t push me away after our conversation last night despite her flare of panic, and as far as she’s concerned, we’ve only been ‘dating’ for a little over a week. She didn’t balk when I admitted we’re technically married, more concerned about the monetary aspect because she wants this to be an equal relationship. Scarlett wants this too, she just doesn’t know how to let herself have it.
Stepping under the spray, I shut my eyes, taking a few seconds to get my head on straight before facing her. Everyone makes finding your fated sound so... magical. Incredibly unlikely, but if you manage it? That it’s as easy as breathing to be with them, that you fit seamlessly together. No one prepared me for things to be so hard.
No one prepared you for your parents dying either, but you managed alright.
Mentally scoffing so Scarlett doesn’t hear me, I grab the soap and start furiously scrubbing out my agitation. Because I wasn’t alone. I had-
I had Archer. Archer, with a fated mate that hated him in the beginning, and a vampire still going through nearly the same thing that Scarlett is. It’s not about speeding everything up to rush to the happily ever after, it’s about everything that happens before the end. I spend so much time dreaming of a better future, laying down plan after plan, that I forget it’s not the actual end goal; living is. Maybe I’d prefer a more peaceful world to live in, but nothing’s ever going to be perfect.
I fight for everyone else’s future to be better, when I need to spend more effort on making today worthwhile, because no one knows what tomorrow will bring. My mate is having trouble now. She’s suffering while I try to fix the world so that she can have a place in it again, but by the time I pull it off, it might be too late.
Finishing up, I turn off the water and reach for a towel, drying off and psyching myself up for the phone call I’m going to have to make after breakfast. I need to face facts and accept that... I can’t do this alone. I can’t fight the entire world. At least, not while my abilities are on the fritz. Once Scarlett accepts me, I’ll stand a decent shot, but until then, I’m going to have to swallow my pride and take the biggest risk of my life so that my mate stands a shot at being happy.
I’m going to have to ask for help.
***
You asked him to do this, you can’t fire him.
Nails biting into my palms as I clench my fists behind my back, I don a casual pose so that Scarlett doesn’t pick up on my stress. The crackling along my skin, on the other hand, is impossible to hide, so I’m just ignoring it and hoping that the two of them don’t call me out on it either.
The hug that Kasen has Scarlett enveloped in has her gaze frequently flicking in my direction as she bites her bottom lip, wrinkling her nose as the burly shifter's short brown hair tickles her face when he rubs his cheek against hers. Taking a deep breath, I try to keep calm, repeating my mental mantra since this is exactly what I called the man up here to do. He’s one of the few on the security team that knows about her, but since I continue to show up to work with all of my limbs intact, their worried warnings have long since stopped. Now, they’re simply curious, not truly believing that I’m actually hiding a lucid vamp up here and desperate to set eyes on her themselves. When I called Kasen to come up to the penthouse this morning, I swear, he must have run the whole way, flipping the others behind him the bird and arriving in two minutes flat.
His excitement is simply because she’s a mystery, not because he’s interested in her.
Even as I try to convince myself, I narrow my eyes at his hand roaming over her back while he nuzzles his stupid face on the top of her head to scent mark her. His brilliantly green eyes catch mine, and to his credit, he looks down submissively. With less enthusiasm, he acts more clinical in her rub down, but when it becomes clear that it doesn’t have the same potent effect, he returns to his attempts to become her second skin with renewed vigor.
Voice clipped with irritation, I ask, “Almost done?”
Kasen brushes Scarlett’s hair from her shoulder, pressing his nose to the side of her neck like he’s about to snort a line off of her body. “Only way it could be more potent is if I-”
“Choose your next words very carefully, Mr. Hendrix,” I warn, cold venom lacing my tone.
Wisely, the man shuts up with a sharp nod. “She should be good for a few days so long as she doesn’t shower, sir, though I’d be extra cautious come tomorrow since this is uncharted territory.”
“I’ll be cautious regardless,” I state, dismissing him with a warning look. “And I imagine it goes without saying that what happens within this apartment isn’t to be discussed outside of the confines of these walls. Not even with the rest of the team, are we understood?”
