Next to Nothing: The Chosen One Book Three, page 1
Next to Nothing
The Chosen One: Book 3
Macy Blake
Copyright © 2019 by Macy Blake
Cover and symbols designed by A.J. Corza, alexandriacorza.com
Formatted by Leslie Copeland, LesCourt Author Services
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
For Joanne Magee, who wanted nothing more than this book for her birthday. Happy Birthday, a little early.
And to Sam Cato, who has put up with my last minute self from the beginning. The Chosen world needs you, and so do I.
Contents
Welcome to the Chosen Universe
Sawyer
Draco
Sawyer
Andvari
Saeward
Sawyer
Eduard
Sawyer
Henry
Sawyer
Draco
Saeward
Henry
Sawyer
Andvari
Loch
Sawyer
Want more?
About the Author
Also by Macy Blake
Welcome to the Chosen Universe
The Chosen Universe is a group of interconnected series set in one universe. There is some overlap to the series, so it’s recommended to read the books in order. You can download a FREE reading order guide by clicking here.
Sweet Nothings: The Chosen One Prequel- When Sam Baker discovers a small child at his backdoor, he learns that a world of magic and shifters exists all around him— including the alpha werewolf he had a one night stand with years before.
The Chosen One Series- The mythical Chosen One is set to return with his eight guardians and correct the magical wrongs done centuries before.
Hellhound Champions Series- As the champions of the fire goddess, the hellhounds have one task: keep the secret of the supernatural world safe.
Magical Mates Series- After the Chosen One returns, magic is in the air, and shifters are finally finding their fated mates… with a little help on the side.
Chosen Champions Series- With the magical realm in chaos, a new set of champions emerges to keep the human world secure.
If you prefer to read in chronological order, check out the Chosen Universe Box Sets.
Sawyer
No one could say that Sawyer Smith didn’t understand the dangerous nature of his destiny. In the past couple of months, he’d been poisoned, kidnapped, and tortured. He and danger were fast becoming old friends. His side still ached from the wounds left by a griffin’s claws. The healing skin had scarred, jagged lines which marked him forever after his last attack.
Of course, in that same time, he’d also learned that supernatural creatures actually existed, and that he was mated to quite a few of them. That part wasn’t bad. He loved his mates. But the supernatural creatures who actually wanted him dead? Well, that part sucked.
Case in point: the knife-wielding lunatic with crazy eyes currently in front of him. Draco was never going to let him hear the end of this. Sawyer tried to stay calm and not freak out over the gleaming silver blade inches from his face. His guardians and mates would find him. Everything would be okay.
The blade thudded down, stabbing into a slab of wood. Sawyer couldn’t help the little meeping sound he made.
“I asked you a question,” Crazy Knife-wielding Lunatic snarled.
Sawyer gulped. “I’m sorry?”
That earned him a growl. The knife was snatched up again and pointed once more at his eyeball.
“You better pay attention.”
A second voice. Also low and a bit scary. And very, very angry.
There were three of them, each more ticked off than the last. He couldn’t believe he’d let himself get cornered like this. Andvari was going to up his training by about a thousand.
“You aren’t listening.”
Crazy Knife-wielder really wanted his attention. He couldn’t help not being able to listen. He was hungry. Everybody knew he got distracted when he was hungry. Before he could contemplate a reply, something cold brushed against his hand, startling yet another very manly yelp out of him.
He looked down to see Pearl at his side. His baby girl, his black Labrador retriever. He stroked her head softly, and she looked up at him with adoring eyes, oblivious to the danger he found himself facing.
What would happen to Pearl if something happened to him? Draco loved her. He’d take care of her. And Cecil loved spoiling her. And she followed Saeward around all the time now. She’d be well-loved without him, as much as it broke his heart to admit it.
“Sawyer, he said my brownies were dry.”
Finally, something that shocked him out of his hunger-induced stupor and laser focused his attention on the lunatic with the knife.
“What?” Sawyer gasped.
Knife-wielder waved her knife again before using it to point at his eyeball once more. “You heard me.”
“Viv, no. That’s not possible. You must have misunder—”
“I heard it as well, young master,” Cecil added.
His butler was the king of discretion, yet he always knew everything that happened in the household. It was his own kind of magic, which reminded Sawyer that he really needed to ask Eduard what exactly Cecil was. Human just didn’t seem likely, not with the butler’s talents. But wait…dry brownies? What?
“Seriously?”
“Do something,” Viv snarled. She stabbed the knife into a large, plump tomato on the cutting board. It spurted seeds and juice all over the counter. His eyeball would look about the same when she got it.
Sawyer gulped.
“He offered to have his staff train me, as I was obviously inexperienced,” Mrs. Robinson added with a growl of her own.
His housekeeper was a domestic goddess and kept a household with over a dozen members clean as a whistle. Sawyer still wasn’t sure how she managed the volume of laundry they produced.
“He said what now?” Sawyer asked in a growl of his own. No one messed with Viv or Justine. No one.
Mrs. Robinson sniffed, her eyes welling with tears. No, no, no. Sawyer could handle torture and murder and mayhem, he could handle claws and fangs and dangerous destinies, but he could not handle Justine crying.
Sawyer turned to Cecil, begging for help with his eyes. His butler gently smiled at him, and Sawyer knew he was in for it.
“Young master, you are the Chosen One. You must handle this… prince.”
Sawyer groaned and thumped his head down onto the counter. He’d been trying to handle Prince Kavalan for weeks, mainly by avoiding him and wishing he’d just go away. Needless to say, his wish hadn’t been granted. Too bad genies weren’t real. He could use one right about now.
Kavalan was a royal jerk, but he was also destined to be one of Sawyer’s guardians, his protectors from the supernatural world as he carried out a centuries-old prophecy. Sawyer was beginning to think fate was broken.
He’d thought he would end up mated to all of his guardians. The first five had been right up his alley. Well, Saeward hadn’t officially accepted yet. His hippocamp was still warming up to the idea. And speaking of warming up, Saeward was probably out at the pool right now.
“Don’t even think about it,” Viv snarled.
“What?”
“You got that dopey look in your eyes you get whenever you’re thinking of the boys. No. You’re not getting any nookie until you take care of His Royal Assface.”
“Viv,” Cecil gasped, scandalized at last.
“What? You know I’m right. I will go on strike, Sawyer. I swear I will.”
And that would be bad. Really bad. They would starve to death without their chef. Before Sawyer could make any promises, one of the prince’s royal guards entered the kitchen. His staff immediately went from angry to happy. What even?
“There he is,” Justine cooed. “How are you today, Loch?”
The guard smiled, taking her hand and bowing over it. She giggled. Actually giggled. His housekeeper, mother of two, happily married for over a dozen years, giggled at the captain of the prince’s guard. Sawyer tried to turn his stunned expression to Viv to see what she thought of this exciting bit of gossip, but his chef was giggling as well.
“Loch! I made you some stew,” Viv gushed. “And some of those honeyed corn muffins you like so much.”
He bowed again, pressing a kiss to her fingertips. She tittered. Sawyer had never actually seen anyone titter before, but that’s what Viv did. His hard as nails chef, who’d just had a knife pointed at his eyeball, blushed like a school girl and tittered.
“Should I warm some up for you?”
Loch moved his hand over his heart and bowed his head once more.
“You know I hate microwaving, but I know you don’t have much time.” Viv hurried to the fridge and pulled out a bowl. “I have these prepared for you, okay? If you need one, just grab it. I don’t mind. Just come on in anytime.”
Wait. What? Viv never let anyone in her kitchen. There were threats. Vile threats. Disgusting, you’re-gonna-eat-something-you-never-wanted-to-put-in-your-mouth kind of threats.
She smiled at Loch. Smiled. A big smile. Beaming, really. She’d never smiled at Sawyer like that.
“What is happening right now?” Sawyer mumbled.
Loch turned his icy blue eyes to him. His smile dimmed, and he straightened again. He glanced at Justine and Viv once more, bowed his head to them, and then he turned and walked out of the room.
“Look what you did, Sawyer!” Viv slammed the door of the microwave.
“What? I didn’t do anything!”
“Prince Kava-twat has not only forbidden Loch from speaking, but he’s also banned him from eating in his holy butt munch’s presence.”
Sawyer scowled. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Apparently, because Loch is his right hand man or fairy or whatever, he takes most of the prince’s abuse.”
This was the first Sawyer was hearing of this. “He’s not allowed to speak?”
“Nope.”
“Or eat,” Justine added. “If we didn’t help him come up with a loophole, he’d be starving. But I was getting their laundry when the prince said he couldn’t eat, and what he actually said was that Loch was a disgusting lout and couldn’t eat in his presence, so I pointed that out to Loch and told him that we’d make sure he got to eat when the fucknut wasn’t around.”
“Mrs. Robinson,” Cecil gasped, scandalized once more.
“Wait,” Sawyer said. “You mean to tell me that he’s treating his staff like that in my house?”
“Ding ding ding. We have a winner. Hells bells, Sawyer. I thought I was going to have to buy you a vowel so you would solve the puzzle.”
“What?”
Justine sighed and looked at Viv. “Kids these days.”
“I’m not a kid,” Sawyer protested.
Viv put his daily smoothie in front of him, complete with one of the striped paper straws he liked.
Sawyer groaned. “Just because you treat me like a kid, doesn’t mean I am one. You three like to spoil me. That’s on you.”
Cecil snickered, one of the few times he’d ever seen his butler lose control.
“Sawyer, honey,” Justine said soothingly, “we do like to spoil you. We adore you and are honored to be part of this big crazy family of yours. But if you don’t do something about the prince and his horrific behavior, I’m quitting.”
“Mrs. Robinson,” Sawyer gasped. “No.”
“I’m sorry, love, but not even your griffin can pay me enough to put up with this treatment.”
And Sawyer happened to know that Eduard paid Justine a hefty sum to put up with their nonsense. All of his staff was extremely well compensated. Even if Eduard hadn’t made sure of it, Sawyer would have. He couldn’t think of a better use for the pile of money Eduard insisted belonged to him as the Chosen One. He wouldn’t be able to function without the three of them.
“Okay,” Sawyer said. “I’ll talk to him. This is not okay. I’m actually pissed. He won’t continue treating you guys like this. Or his people either. I’ll fix it.”
“It’s about time,” Viv snarked.
“Hey,” Sawyer said softly. “I’m trying here, Viv. I’m supposed to make this thing work, and I have no idea what I’m doing. This isn’t exactly easy to navigate.”
She sighed and pushed him a plate of fruit and cheese. “I know you are. You’re doing great. I’m just so frustrated, Sawyer. Everything was going so well before he arrived.”
“I’ll take care of it. I have no idea how I’m going to take care of it, but I won’t allow him to treat anyone like that on my watch, especially you three. Thanks for letting me know.”
She smiled sweetly at him as he scooped up his snack and smoothie. “I added extra protein to your drink today. Cecil says you’re still a little underweight. Oh, and by the way, Saeward’s in the pool. You should go enjoy the view. Enjoy it multiple times. In multiple positions. Then report back.”
Sawyer groaned. “Cecil, close your ears. Viv, don’t be such a horn dog.”
She waggled her eyebrows before turning back to working on dinner prep. Cecil snickered again before schooling his expression. “Is there anything else you need?”
“No. I’m good. I’m going to take Pearl outside and talk to Saeward for a bit. And then I’ll talk to Kavalan. I need to process this first.”
Fortunately, it was a bright and sunny afternoon. The pool water glistened as Saeward swam laps, his human form eating up the short distance from end to end. Sawyer sat down on the edge and lowered his legs into the water.
It only took a moment for Saeward to change direction and swim to him, his head and shoulders emerging from the water like he was some sort of Greek god. Which he possibly was. Sawyer was still a little sketchy on the details of the underwater world Ward had left behind. Sawyer sighed and gave his newest guardian a soft smile.
“What is troubling you, Sawyer?”
Ward’s eyes filled with concern, and he inched closer. Sawyer snagged a piece of watermelon from the plate Viv had given him and held the bright red chunk out. Ward had developed a particular fondness for the fruit, and Sawyer wasn’t above using the knowledge to his advantage.
As anticipated, Ward swam even closer and nipped the bite from Sawyer’s fingers. Ward rested his hands on Sawyer’s knees and looked at him as he chewed. He swallowed and licked his lips before giving Sawyer another one of his coveted smiles.
“Swim with me,” Ward whispered, his voice low and deep.
“Okay.”
Sawyer honestly couldn’t deny him anything. He stripped off his T-shirt and was left wearing a pair of swim trunks. His new uniform consisted of about a dozen different varieties of the outfit. He swam daily now, often more than once. Being with Saeward calmed his mind and helped his worries about their future fade. As an added bonus, it helped the still healing wound on his side.
Ward lifted him from the edge of the pool and carefully lowered Sawyer into the water. His strength constantly amazed Sawyer. The way he moved so seamlessly, as fluid as the water he preferred to be in. “You have so much weight on your shoulders,” Ward rumbled. “I wish I could carry the burden for you.”
“I’m fine,” Sawyer said.
Saeward held Sawyer against him, and they began moving slowly through the water. Sawyer had no idea how Saeward managed it. The one time he’d tried to look to see if Saeward had managed to shift only his lower half— and seriously, there was something really erotic about the idea of doing it with a merman, even if Saeward was not a merman at all and was horribly offended by the idea of being called one— but when he’d looked, he’d lost his balance and ended up half-drowned.
It hadn’t been fun, although the laugh he’d drawn from Saeward at the time as he sputtered and coughed had been worth it.
“You’re a terrible liar,” Saeward rumbled.
“I just don’t know what to do,” Sawyer said softly as he draped his arms over Saeward’s shoulders and relaxed into him. “I’m confused.”
Saeward moved them through the water for a moment before speaking once more. “Perhaps you should start again.”
“What do you mean?”
Saeward sighed as they reached the edge of the pool. He turned Sawyer gently around instead of answering, then tucked himself against Sawyer’s back. When they began moving again, Saeward shifted positions so Sawyer was practically lying on top of him in the water, using Saeward’s larger body as a float of sorts. He couldn’t deny that it was very comfy, and he felt so safe with Ward supporting him.
“When we met, it was under circumstances that demanded immediate response,” Saeward said quietly.
Sawyer remembered very clearly that moment and how desperate he’d been at the time. If he hadn’t found Ward when he did, he wouldn’t have survived the night. He didn’t respond, but he did put his hand on top of Ward’s where it rested against his stomach.
