by Bailey, G.
I walk to the door and open it up, my mouth nearly popping open at the sight of the guy in front of me. He is stunning. I wouldn’t even be a little surprised if he misplaced my room for a model photoshoot. His silver, almost white hair is shaved short on one side and falls longer on the other. With his very tanned skin, it is a beautiful contrast. His pierced right eyebrow is raised quizzically at me as I stare at his high cheekbones and full silver beard. His beard matches his hair in colour, but it is well kept and even looks soft to touch. I mentally remind myself I have to talk rather than touch a stranger’s beard though.
“Hey, I’m Mason, and I live here too. I thought introducing myself would be a good idea before we met in the morning. I’m not a morning person, and I don’t want you to think I’m an asshole,” he states, holding out a massive hand that matches his well over six-foot self. I slide my hand into his, which engulfs mine before he lets go.
“I’m Anastasia. Nice to meet you,” I reply. “And I’m sorry in advance, I’m a morning person and usually pretty chipper in the morning.” He laughs deeply, which sends shivers all over my skin.
“Well, I’m better in the morning…with at least two cups of coffee,” he replies, and I grin.
“I’ll remember that,” I reply, leaning against the doorframe as we both smile at each other. I’m thrown by the fact I’m clearly flirting well with this guy and not blurting out random stuff like I usually do. I actually feel safe around him, and for a moment, I know he feels the same as I see the confusion on his face that I’m sure mimics mine. He coughs and steps back, sliding his hands into the back pockets of his jeans.
“Anyways, Liam mentioned you are working at the infirmary, and I finish when they do, so I can take you back home or wherever you want a lift to. I would take you there myself, but I’m going in late as I have to get supplies,” he explains to me.
“Supplies?” I question, knowing it’s none of my business, but I’m curious what he is doing.
“Yeah, I’m building a new side building for the infirmary. I will be working on it with my team for the next few months at least. I’m happy to give you lifts when I can. Well, at least until you get your own car,” he explains to me. Ah, he builds things. That explains the muscular arms and chest. It’s going to be a long time before I get a car, considering money is not something we had to spare. I just hope I can buy a bike or something similar to ride around in. I don’t want to be borrowing lifts from these guys forever. I don’t like feeling like I owe anyone, and that would mean I owe them big time. I try to distract myself by glancing at Mason’s hand, seeing the glowing purple mark. It’s an eagle, large enough to cover his hand, and the beak spreads over his thumb.
“Wow, your familiar is an eagle?” I ask, and he nods, using that hand to rub the back of his neck and showing off his muscular arm which has an arrow tattoo on the side. I don’t know why I decide to tell him something extremely personal, but I do. “When I was younger, I used to volunteer at a local rescue for something to do in my spare time. I love my foster parent, but she liked to knit and watch old shows for fun, which I didn’t. She also volunteered at the rescue at times, but not weekends. I was shit at making friends, so I loved to work weekends. Anyway, there was a beautiful eagle there, which had been used as bait for dog hunting. She was rescued, but no one could go near her, she didn’t trust humans. I was eleven when I walked straight up to her and held my hand out despite the warnings of everyone around me. She trusted me from that point on for some reason, and she let me feed her. Sadly, she died a few months later from an infection in the dog bite mark on her wing, but in that short time, I grew a bond with her. It’s strange as I never liked birds before her, but she was different.”
“Wow, that was brave of you to go so close. I’m sorry she died and had such a bad past. Humans can be cruel to animals, and it’s wrong. They should protect animals, admire their beauty and strength, instead of treating them the way they do. That’s not something you will see here; familiar animals are treated as our equals,” he tells me, speaking so passionately about the protection of animals, and funnily enough, his words kind of remind me of a speech I gave to my younger sister once.
“I agree completely,” I say, smiling at him, knowing this is a guy I want to be friends with.
“Would you like to come and meet Hex?” Mason asks, clearly meaning his familiar. “I’d not usually introduce people to him as they get a little freaked out and run away, but as you’ve been around eagles before...”
“I’d love to meet him...but how many people have run away, if you don’t mind me asking? It must be hard to bring a date home if Hex scares them off,” I ask, and he laughs once again. Damn, his laugh is so sexy, it’s almost painful. I haven’t been interested in any guys after my high school boyfriend. He dumped me the day after he took my virginity, and I was left with nothing but a two-minute memory of crappy sex. I’ve been on a few dates to keep my sisters happy, but there was nothing interesting about them. Mason, Liam and even Alexander are a different breed of guys altogether. Crap, I’m in trouble. I can’t spend all my time staring at them; I have much more important things to worry about, but I can become their friend. That’s perfectly non-distractible. Kinda.
“Well, I can’t take girls home without them running out the door, screaming. Hex doesn’t like people in general. It took months for him to put up with Liam and Alex,” he tells me and nods his head behind him. “Come on up. I promise he won’t hurt you.”
“I wasn’t scared of Shadow or Silver when I met them. I can usually get a feel for when an animal doesn’t like me,” I tell him as I walk out and close the door behind me. The more I think about how close I’ve always been to animals, how I’ve volunteered at shelters for fun…the more I realise I was meant to be a familiar. The thought is pretty shocking.
The light into the corridor hits the glitter on my top, making the corridor sparkle for a moment before I step forward. It’s only then I realise I’m in my pyjamas that are anything but attractive. They have unicorns all over them, and they are super baggy as they are two sizes too big. I also realise I’m not wearing a bra, and my large breasts are not hidden totally under my shirt. The unicorn horns actually have sparkling glitter sequins over my nipples. I have freakin’ sparkling glitter nipples when I’m talking to a hot guy for the first time. Bethany wouldn’t be able to stop laughing if she were here. Mason seems to not notice until this moment as he looks back, running his eyes over my pyjamas before meeting my eyes.
“So…you like unicorns?” he asks, trying not to smile, but I see it as he looks back while he walks to the end of the stairs, with me right behind him.
“Not exactly...my sister does, and this was a present from her. I put it on for a comfort, to remind me of her, though now, saying that out loud seems stupid,” I mutter, pulling at the end of my shirt.
“It’s not stupid at all, Anastasia,” he says, stopping right before the stairs up to the next floor. He pulls his sleeve up, showing me a pink bracelet with a flower in the middle. It’s one of those handmade friendship bracelets. “My sister made me this the day before I became a familiar. She tied it on my wrist, and I’ve never taken it off. My parents won’t bring her here to see me, and she is only nine. It will be a long time before she is old enough to visit me on her own, and she won’t remember me then. I wear this because it’s a memory and a comfort.”
“She will remember you, Mason. I don’t think anyone could forget you,” I blurt out, feeling my cheeks burning brightly when I realise I just gave him a compliment.
“I hope so,” Mason says, the corner of his lips tilted up a tad, but he doesn’t call me out on my compliment and starts walking up the stairs. The wood floors feel freezing cold against my feet as I walk up the staircase after him, which opens into one large room with a massive open balcony overlooking the forest. There is a low double bed in the middle on top of a red rug that matches the deep burgundy sheets, and a faux fur blanket lies at the end. A pile of washing
sits in one corner next to a wardrobe and a large chest box with some books on top of it. The books look old, worn down, and most of them have black bindings. There is another door in the room, which is slightly open, showing me a bathroom with a big bathtub. The room is comfy and masculine and suits Mason. I’m taking a wild guess he likes the colour dark red.
“Ready?” Mason asks, walking around the bed to the balcony. The look he gives me is a dare to run away. It makes me smile because he doesn’t know me at all yet; I don’t run away from what scares me. I wasn’t taught to do that, and I know that it never solves the problem. If you can face what scares you, then you are braver than you know. Or I heard Grandma Pops telling Bethany something like that once, and I’ve never forgotten it. I nod at him before I follow him to the balcony, but I don’t actually step onto it.
Mason puts his two fingers in his mouth and lets out a long whistle. The whistle seems to echo through the silent, cold forest, and a few moments later, I hear the sound of wings. I pop my head out on the balcony to look up as a large shadow flies straight towards us, getting bigger and bigger the closer it gets.
As it gets nearer, the shadow changes into a massive eagle, all black with little white feathers on the ends of his wings. Other than that, he could easily blend into the night, and you’d never see him coming. Hex lands with a clatter on the wooden balcony, his eyes locking onto me as Mason walks up to him. Hex doesn’t even look away from me as Mason whispers something to him and strokes his shoulder. I decide to be brave and break eye contact with him, knowing it’s not a good idea to challenge Hex when I’m in his space.
I lower my head and slowly hold out my hand, keeping it flat. Usually, they say you shouldn’t put your hands out for birds because they see it as an attack, and instead, you should put your head towards them in trust. I don’t believe that though. I’ve always put my hand out as a sign of trust, and it has worked. I don’t move as I feel Mason’s hand smooth over mine, stroking my hand slowly, and I look up to see him stood near me. Mason links his fingers with mine, making my breath hitch in the back of my throat as we step together to a waiting Hex. Mason gently undoes our hands and presses my hand onto Hex’s forehead. Hex doesn’t move for a moment before rubbing his head further into my hand, and I stroke down his long neck before moving my hand away and stepping back to Mason’s side. Hex is a giant of an eagle, big enough to have a person actually flying on his back, I reckon. Hex slowly lowers his head in a bow, and I look up at Mason in confusion.
“Why does he bow like I’m royalty or something?” I ask Mason, who picks up my hand, slowly linking our fingers as he watches our hands, his features lost in deep thought. We just stand there, holding hands like we’ve known each other for much longer than we have as he finally looks up into my eyes. My heart beats so fast as Mason stares at me like we are long lost lovers, like our souls recognise each other in a way neither of us can see nor understand.
“Hex only bows to me, Alex and Liam. That is it. I don’t know who you are, Anastasia, but you are something special, for sure,” he gently tells me, his words full of unspoken confusion and a little bit of something else I don’t understand. Or maybe I don’t want to understand. I know if I start falling for someone like Mason, the only person that is going to get hurt is me. A clearing of someone’s throat makes me jump away from Mason, dislodging our hands as I turn to see Alexander watching us, his arms crossed. He looks furious, and I’m starting to wonder if that is a normal look for him.
“Seems Miss Ana is winning everyone over today,” he states. “Will she ever find someone who doesn’t like her in this house?” I roll my eyes at his overly sarcastic comment. He may not have said it, but I’m certain he meant he doesn’t like me.
“I’m going to bed. See you tomorrow, Mason,” I say, watching them stare at each other, and I wonder if there is going to be an argument when I leave the room.
“Good night, Anastasia,” Mason replies to me, but Alexander doesn’t look my way as I walk down the stairs. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing, but I walk away quickly just in case.
There is more than one asshole with a crush in this room.
Mason
I wait until I hear Anastasia’s door shut before dealing with Alexander and his asshole behaviour. He sits down on the end of my bed like this is his fucking home, his arms crossed like I’m the one with the problem. Hex lies down, relaxing outside tonight to sleep. It’s freezing out, but the outdoor heating makes the balcony just as warm as the inside. Hex will come inside if he wants to, but he is like me, we don’t mind the cold.
“Why are you being a dick to her?” I question him. I know Liam would let him get away with this new attitude, even towards Ana, but I won’t. Alex knows what it is like to be pulled from your entire life and dropped here. We all do. None of us chose this. Anastasia doesn’t need more stress in her first week, and we are her roommates. We should help her.
I wish Anastasia had come a few months ago and met Alex when he wasn’t such a dickhead. Since the fire, Alex has spiralled, and most nights, I find him in his bed with one to two empty bottles of vodka on his floor. I want to help my friend; I’ve known Alex for many years but I can’t take away his guilt for him. Now he is focused on finishing this mission we all agreed to, and nothing will get in his way, even Anastasia. The thought of him doing anything to her makes me want to break anyone that tries to get close to her. Even my best mate. I’ve known her for all of five minutes, and yet there is some kind of bond between us I don’t know how to shake. Hell, I’m in trouble here; I was from the moment I looked into her swirling aqua blue eyes.
“Why are you trying to fuck her? You know you can’t, right? She lives with us. It would be fucking complicated from the start,” he replies to me, not exactly answering my question. I clench my hands into fists and look away from him. Alex is right, as usual, but there is just something about Anastasia. She is beautiful, there is no doubt about it, but she is so different than any girl I would usually go for. I usually like brunettes, for one thing, but since I became a familiar, dating anyone here wasn’t worth the stress that comes with it. We are all so busy, and our familiars scare most people anyway. Why can’t I stop thinking of her then? It’s like she is stuck in my head. I look down at my glowing hand, remembering her mark, so much like ours. This mark decides our future, and we can’t want different things from what we are destined to do. Anastasia just doesn’t know it yet, and I don’t want to be the one to tell her what having a familiar like Shadow means in this world.
“I’m not trying to fuck her. I’m just trying to get to know her and let her fit into this world, with a friend at her side,” I finally reply to him, and from the smirk on his face, I know he doesn’t believe me. That was my intention when I walked to her room. I don’t have a clue what my intentions are since she opened the door.
“Yeah, and I can fly in the sky like a fucking pigeon and escape here. Let’s not lie to each other, Mason,” he sourly replies. “I want to just make sure things are clear between us all. I’ve spoken with Liam, and he likes her. He isn’t hiding it like you are trying to. We are only here for one reason, and our mission cannot be disrupted by her.”
“She might be the key to the mission, for all we know. Shadow is an ancient for sure,” I muse. Alex wants this mission over as much as I do. Liam isn’t fussed either way, but he will help us because he is like a brother.
“But not the one we want. We wait,” Alex warns. “We have spent three years here. Three fucking years wasted if she messes this all up.”
“The prophecy said Shadow and Dawn would arrive together. I know we need to find Dawn, but I have a feeling Anastasia is the key to all this,” I reply. “Don’t you think it’s strange how they never spoke of her? How they never asked us to watch out?”
“I don’t think it’s strange, and frankly, I don’t give a damn about any of it. So we keep away and do our job,” he says, slamming his hands on his knees and looking like he wants to kil
l me if I disagree with him.
“You’re not the boss, Alex,” I remind him, and he stands up, crossing his arms.
“Neither are you, but I know our boss wouldn’t want us to get involved with her,” he says, lowering his tone a little from the anger-filled voice before. “You know if we screw this mission up, we both lose someone we care about. I can’t risk—”
“What if they send another team to investigate her?” I ask, cutting him off because I get it. I don’t need a reminder of the cost of failing this mission. It’s all I have thought of for years, but I want to avoid discussing the subject of staying away from Anastasia any longer with Alex. He might not think she has anything to do with why we are here, but there is something about her. It’s why Alex is so pissed off. He senses it too, but the stubborn bastard would never admit that. It’s always been about work with him, about training and everything between that.
“They might do. We stay out of their way if they do. There have been a few missing familiars recently, and she would just be another one,” he shrugs, like Ana being taken isn’t a big deal.
“You’re a right bastard at times. You’d let a team take her, likely hurt her and Shadow, to find out what she is hiding,” I growl out.