by Alexis Davie
“Just before you got here.”
“And?”
“And my younger brother wants to quit his job and become a rock star.”
“Oh, my god,” Naomi laughed. “That sounds so exciting.”
“Yeah.” Oryn stared out in front of him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Look at Nyx, wanting to become a rock star. I would never have the guts to do something like that. My life will never have excitement like that.”
“That kind of life isn’t for everyone, Oryn. It’s not who you are. You wouldn’t even like it,” Naomi scoffed. “And it’s not because you’re boring. It’s because you love the thrill of the known. You want to know exactly what you are getting yourself into and the exact outcome of your situations. It’s not boring. It’s sensible, stable, and women would rather have that kind of man than someone who doesn’t know where he’s sleeping that night, or whether he’ll remember her name the next morning.”
Oryn apprehensively raised an eyebrow.
“You’re marriage material, like happily ever after. Any girl would kill to have a guy like you.”
“Are you done trying to butter me up?”
“Is it working, at least?”
Oryn grinned. “Maybe a little.”
“Look, you’re a confident guy, good looking and smart. You own your own company and can give a woman whatever her heart desires—”
“But I want someone who would want to be with me even if I was homeless and broke. Someone who will love me for who I am and not what I have,” Oryn muttered.
“They’ll have to blast through those walls around you, first,” Naomi retorted. Oryn pulled a face at her, and she chuckled. “Let’s get you to that meeting, okay?”
“Yes.” He stood from his chair. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”
Oryn’s mind was foggy as he made his way back to his office, and no matter how much he tried to clear the fog, it only grew worse with every second. His thoughts caused him to be so distracted, the office and hallways blurred around him, and he was in his own fuzzy bubble, muffled voices and sounds.
He was completely unaware of his surroundings, blindly walking along the hallway, when he accidentally walked into someone who came in from his left side. Files and folders tumbled to the ground, and when he blinked, the whole world came into perfect focus. A young woman was crouched down on the floor, surrounded by papers and folders, trying to gather them. Oryn crouched down beside her and grabbed a folder from the ground.
“I am so sorry. I didn’t see you,” she said.
He took a closer look at the young woman, sending shivers throughout his body. The feeling was so undeniable, yet it felt completely unreal to Oryn.
“It’s okay,” Oryn stuttered and handed her the folder.
The intensity of her brown eyes caught him by surprise and took his breath away completely. Her long brown hair framed her pretty face, and a pair of full perky lips curved with a hint of intrigue. She smelled of vanilla and strawberries, which reminded him of the Italian gelato shops he had frequented while he had lived in Florence. He remembered the sweetness of the gelato on his tongue, and he wondered whether her lips would taste as sweet. A strange thought to have upon seeing someone for the first time, but Oryn knew why.
Throughout his life, he had listened to the tales his mother told him and his brothers about what it would feel like when they met their True Mates. It was different for every immortal, but the concept was the same. For a moment, the entire world would come to a standstill, and nothing else would matter. Then, the overwhelming feeling of belonging would fill up the immortal’s heart and soul, and they would feel completely content and at peace.
Exactly like Oryn felt at that moment.
The young woman was dressed in a simple grey suit with a dark blue shirt, which made her brown eyes look practically luminous. She took the file from him and lowered her gaze. “Thank you. I’m really sorry. So sorry.”
Before Oryn could say anything to her, she stood, clutching the folders and paper against her chest, rushing away from him as fast as she could. Oryn stood in the empty hallway, watching her disappear from view. His heart pounded in his chest, and his breathing was strained, yet he had never felt so relieved in his entire life.
A strange feeling of dread filled him almost instantly as he remembered the second part of the curse. Even if they found their True Mates after five thousand years of being alone, there was a definite chance that they would put their mates’ lives in extreme danger, injuring them terribly or even killing them. Oryn could not imagine causing any harm to the beautiful young woman, despite not knowing who she was or if he would ever see her again. Was she on the marketing team? She could not have been. He would have surely noticed her during the meeting.
And how could he not? She was beautiful, she smelled good, and she carried within her the thread of his being.
She was perfect. She was his True Mate. Now he needed to know her name.
“Are you okay?” Naomi’s voice whirled him out of his infatuated stupor. She stood a few feet away from him, wearing a black formfitting dress and a pair of red high heels.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”
“I just ran into a young woman. Literally ran into her, and there were files everywhere.”
“Clumsy assistants. Not all of them are as graceful as I am,” Naomi said. Oryn paid no attention to her and simply stared down the hallway where the young woman had rushed away. “Oryn? Hello?”
He turned to her but said nothing.
“What is going on with you? You’re acting really weird.”
“Do you know all the assistants?”
“Of the marketing team? No,” Naomi answered. “I have no need to know their names. You know that.”
“Could you find out who she was? Dark hair, brown eyes, grey suit.”
“I guess, but that’s not my job—”
“Could you just do that for me, please?” Oryn asked impatiently.
“Why are you so desperate to find some assistant? Are you planning to replace me?”
“If you don’t do this for me, I might have to consider it,” he snapped and rushed past Naomi, towards his office. Naomi’s heels clicked on the wooden floor as she followed him into this office and closed the door.
“What is going on with you?” she asked and crossed her arms. “The meeting is over, and it was a complete success, so why are you still in such a mood?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Do you honestly expect me to believe that? You just indirectly told me that if I didn’t find out who this clumsy assistant is, you’ll replace me. You’ve never said something like that to me before.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“I don’t want an apology. I want an explanation.”
“I can’t give you that.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t think that you’ll understand,” he replied simply.
Naomi shook her head. “You don’t think that I’ll understand? That’s a bit insulting. I’ve been your personal assistant from the moment this company’s doors opened. I have worked alongside you for all this time. I have listened to your stories, watched you freak out once or twice, and come to know you like no one else has had the privilege to. I’ve given you advice which somehow you trusted to follow, and you’ve invested so much time in this company and in yourself with me in every step of the way. How can you possibly think that I wouldn’t understand this one little thing?”
Oryn stared at her wordlessly. She was right. They had been through a lot together ever since he’d started his company, and she had stuck by him through it all. Still, there were so many things that she didn’t know about him. As much as he wanted to tell her about himself, his family, who he really was, he couldn’t.
He and his family never shared details of their true forms and lineage to anyone who
didn’t know them or knew of them. If Oryn knew that he was in the presence of other Gifted immortals, he would still wait until they approached him and he could identify which species of Gifted they were. He was not a very open person to begin with, and he kept his distance, especially from the vampires, the wolves, and the witches.
Vampires were too elusive, and Oryn felt as though they could never be trusted. They were much too spontaneous and reckless, which was in direct violation of his morals and beliefs. They were also careless in their desperation for blood, which Oryn found displeasing, as he knew firsthand how destructive desperation could be.
The wolves were something else entirely. Also elusive, but dangerous when they were threatened or on a mission. Oryn had a run-in with the alpha of a pack in Russia a few centuries ago over a misunderstanding that had been entirely the alpha’s fault, though they would never admit to it. The alpha had spent a few decades chasing after Oryn but had never located him. Because of Oryn’s radar, he was always one step ahead of them. Always.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?” Naomi insisted. “Do you have a crush on her or something?” When Oryn didn’t answer right away, her eyes widened, and she took a step towards him. “Are you serious? You have an actual crush on someone?”
“I didn’t say that,” he argued.
“You didn’t deny it, either.”
“That’s crazy. I only saw her for a second before she scrambled to her feet, looking like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck,” Oryn defended.
“Yet you still had the time to notice her brown eyes and that she wore a grey suit,” Naomi pointed out. When Oryn turned away, she chuckled. “You know, Oryn, it’s okay to admit that you have a crush on someone.”
“Could you stop it, Naomi, please?”
“Actually, I love seeing you squirm,” she laughed with amusement. “I’ll find out who she is.”
“I’m not going to say thank you, because that would imply that I actually asked you.” Oryn sat down in his chair and turned to her. “Which I didn’t.”
“Of course. You wouldn’t want people to think that you were actually just a lonely man looking for love and affection,” Naomi scoffed.
Oryn narrowed his eyes at her. “You can be pretty mean when given the opportunity, you know.”
Naomi winked at him and quickly left the office.
Oryn lay in bed that night, with the moon shining in through the window, bathing his bedroom in a silvery glow. He stared out at the moon, a white orb against a dark velvet backdrop. The stars sparkled around it, and below the horizon was the reflection of the night sky. The water was calm, and everything was quiet.
Oryn glanced briefly at the alarm clock on his bedside table. It was just after one in the morning. He had spent almost three hours thinking of the young woman he had bumped into at the office. Naomi hadn’t found out who she was, but it didn’t matter. He would find her, even if it meant calling all the staff into the conference room. Naomi would tease him relentlessly if she knew how desperate he was to find this woman, so he couldn’t take measures that were too extreme. He didn’t need that in his life.
Oryn could still see her eyes clearly in his mind, as if they were etched in his memory, never to be forgotten, and the scent of vanilla and strawberries would forever remind him of her.
He wondered what he could say to her when he saw her again, but each conversation he ran through in his mind ended up with her thinking he was weird, or that he was a stalker. He didn’t want to come across as desperate or alarming, fearing that he would scare her away. He hadn’t even had the chance to properly introduce himself before she had cowered and ran away like a frightened animal.
He had to choose his words carefully when he spoke to her again. She was his one chance. His forever. But how could he do that? He didn’t know how to act or how to talk to women anymore.
The last time he had shown any interest in a woman had been nearly three thousand years ago. Oryn didn’t know anything about this century’s habits. When he listened to some of his male employees who spoke about the dating world, it seemed complicated as hell, and Oryn didn’t want to complicate his life any more than necessary. Despite wanting someone to share his life and his home with, he was comfortable where he was now, and it would take a very special woman to get him out of the routine he had found himself rooted in.
Somehow, he wondered what the young woman felt when they had looked at each other in the hallway. Had she felt what he felt? Was that why she had seemed so afraid and bewildered? How would he explain that to her? Would he be able to explain it at all? Would she think he was crazy? Was he crazy?
Oryn sat up in bed and rested his forearms on his thighs. His concealed wings itched under his skin, but he shrugged his shoulders. He would be so distracted by his feelings that he would never make it back in time before sunrise. After taking a few deep breaths to calm the dragon blood begging to be released, he lay back down and attempted again to fight the urges inside.
He only had to wait a few more hours. Then he could see her again.
4
Adley gulped down her coffee as quickly as she could, along with the very mild sedative she took on a regular basis. It didn’t alter her state of mind, just made a tension filled day a little more bearable.
She hadn’t slept very well last night, tossing and turning, concerned about the next day at GreenVeil. She had bumped into a really handsome man at the office, dropped all the carefully arranged files and papers on the floor, and had to redo them within the hour. Her superior, Evan Morgan, kept badgering her for it, adding even more stress to her day. Hopefully today would be better.
The morning went off without a hitch, as Adley was determined not to mess up again. Even Evan noticed her quiet and calm demeanor, but he didn’t say anything about it. Work carried on like usual: Evan was in and out of meetings with the CEO, whom Adley had not even met or seen yet. She had been wanting to look him up online, just so that she could know who to look out for, but she never got the chance to. She didn’t sit still for a single moment, which was good, because all she could think about was the bright green eyes of the guy she had bumped into yesterday and the sudden run of feelings he had woken up inside her.
Adley felt stupid, allowing herself to get so worked up and flushed about a guy she had never seen before and probably would never see again. He was incredibly hot, though, and Adley couldn’t help herself from thinking about him. She wondered what he did at the company. Was he a sales rep? Did he work in human resources? Either way, she hoped to see him again.
Of course, being the shy woman she was, she wouldn’t be the one who would simply waltz up to him and start a conversation, but she also didn’t want to seem uninterested. Playing hard to get was not an attractive trait for a woman, but neither was being too available.
Adley frowned as she recalled her thoughts and shook her head, silently scolding herself. In the past few months, she had vowed to never allow another man, any man, to make her feel anything she didn’t want to feel. She was done with being controlled and manipulated, and she just wanted to be happy, whether that was alone or not. The problem with that was that she craved intimacy, but she was too scared to open herself up to another person.
Clearly, she was at a crossroads and didn’t know which way to turn.
It was just after two when Adley stepped into the kitchen area for her last cup of coffee for the day. While she waited for the coffee maker, a familiar scent filled her nostrils, and she slowly turned her head to the side. Then she froze.
He stood in the doorway, looking directly at her with those bright, green eyes, causing her heart to pound in her chest. His broad shoulders were accentuated by his stance, and she noticed his muscles under his crisp white shirt.
“Hello,” he greeted her formally.
“Hey,” was all she managed to say to him. She let out an inaudible breath and turned back to the coffee maker. Much to her surprise, he walked over to
her and came to a stop right beside her. She smelled his cologne and bit her bottom lip. Scraping every ounce of courage inside her, she took another breath and asked, “Would you like some coffee?”
“No, I’m fine. Thank you, though. I was just taking a break.”
“Is your boss down your neck today, too?” she asked, pouring creamer into her coffee.
“Something like that,” he answered.
“You get used to it, I suppose,” she shrugged, not sure how the hell she was managing to hold a conversation with him. She hadn’t been able to do that for a long time, but something about this guy put her soul at ease, and she felt like she could tell him anything. “I’m Adley, by the way.”
“Oryn.”
“Oryn, that’s a really nice name. Where is that from?” she asked and turned to him, holding her cup of coffee.
“It’s old Greek, actually. It means man of the mountains.”
“It’s beautiful. I’ve never known anyone by that name,” Adley stuttered. “Are you Greek?”
“No. My family is from Romania.”
“Romania,” she gasped. “I’ve never been.”
“You should go. It’s beautiful there. All the hills and open fields. The mountains.”
“Is that how you got your name?” she asked.
“I’ve never really asked, but now I definitely will.”
Adley smiled and became lost in Oryn’s green eyes.
“Judicious,” Oryn murmured.
She raised her eyebrows. “Excuse me?”
“Your name means judicious.”
“How do you know that?”
“I read a lot.”
“Clearly. Although I think I don’t deserve a name like Adley.”
“You’re not judicious?” he asked.
“Not always.”
“Well, I’m not always in the mountains, so it’s okay. I guess.”
Adley smiled again and nodded. “I guess I should get back to work. I don’t want Scott to have a heart attack, or maybe I do.”
“Don’t let him or anyone else get you down,” Oryn suggested.