Idris’s brows furrowed. “Why not?”
“I might spontaneously combust.”
They grinned at each other and started laughing, which was how Mac’s younger brother, Carter, found them when he showed up in the doorway. “Looks like I’m missing a good joke.”
“Come on in, I’m just freaking out about meeting my mate.”
“I looked him up on the computer this morning because I couldn’t take listening to you guys talk about how hot he is any longer without seeing it for myself,” Carter revealed as he dropped down onto the couch across from where the two wizards were lounging. “Man, he’s…I have no words to describe him. His whole family’s stunning.”
“I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb if they want to add me to the family photo.”
“So, he’s still on the ‘I’m so unfortunate looking I’ll never make him happy’ kick?” Carter asked Idris.
“Yeah, I’m trying to be supportive, but he’s testing my patience.”
“Del, if Idris cracks, the world’s going to stop spinning. He’s the nicest guy on the planet,” Carter cautioned.
“I know, I’m acting like an idiot. It’s just this mate business is some terrifying shit.”
“Fate thinks you’re ready, so put on your big boy pants and go out there—wait, maybe it’d be better to take off your pants now that you’ve met him,” Carter teased.
“Trust me, the thought’s more than tempting.”
“How about a distraction?” Carter asked.
“Lay it on me.”
“I want you two to consider me for Duff’s former position working for the Dark Indigo High Arcanists. I know I’m only nineteen, but I’m more mature than Duff. I’ve been studying magic and unlike him, I want to continue to pursue my education. I’ve found it fascinating despite my inability to cast. I think I could be an asset to you both, and you know I can’t act up or my brother will kill me.”
Delaney studied the young dragon shifter, then turned to Idris who gazed back at him nearly impassively. The decision was going to be in Delaney’s hands; he wasn’t going to ask his best friend to accept or deny Mac’s sibling. Returning his attention to Carter, he asked, “Where do you see yourself a year from now? You’ll be halfway through your undergraduate work by then, and it’ll be time to start deciding what career path you intend to pursue. I think what Dark Indigo needs is stability instead of us making decisions based on friendships or convenience because of our shared family.”
“Since I arrived here and met you guys, I’ve been inspired to get my PhD like you both have. I don’t plan on being halfway done with my undergrad in a year, I plan to be finished. Vadimas tells me there’s no reason we can’t fast-forward my coursework since I’ve decided to transfer to the Spectra Wizardry Academy. My plan was to approach you guys for a position in the Dark Indigo office when Duff’s contract ran out. I was confident neither one of you would be willing to extend it. I know he’s not doing well, and that things are awkward with you, Del.”
“I didn’t know you were transferring to the Spectra Wizardry Academy. You never said anything,” Idris responded. The school that had once only taught wizards was now available to all students who scored high enough. For those that didn’t, there were plenty of other options through the Spectra Wizardry’s renowned education system.
“I wasn’t sure I’d get accepted so I kept it to myself, and Vadimas agreed to keep my application quiet.”
“You didn’t tell anyone when you did get accepted,” Delaney pointed out.
“Feels kind of weird to ask everyone to applaud for something like that. I’m still getting used to being a part of D’Vaire—I don’t want to jump up and down and demand attention.”
“Would working for us slow down your coursework?” Idris asked. “We don’t want to impede your progress.”
“I don’t think so. I still have evenings and weekends. I know I could be an asset to both of you. I want to be. I didn’t get the chance to make my own choices growing up, so I didn’t have the luxury of figuring out what I wanted. When I got here, I had the world at my feet, but I have the most fun when I’m learning about the history of magickind and what you guys do to craft and create spells. It’s intriguing, and if I don’t work for Dark Indigo when I graduate, I’m going to pursue a career in some field of magical studies—best case scenario in the Spectra Wizardry. It’s education-oriented and I like that.”
“I’m going to offer you the same deal we once gave Duff. Six months. Either party can terminate at any point, and we can discuss long-term only after those six months are up. No hurt feelings if you decide this isn’t for you,” Delaney said.
“Awesome. You guys won’t regret this, I promise.”
“Our goal is to make sure you don’t either,” Idris commented.
“No way. You guys are the best, and I get to work with my brother, so there’s really no way I can lose,” Carter responded. Mac was an invaluable asset when it came to their jobs: He read through Council bills and offered them concise notes on the ones they were expected to assist Vadimas on. His advice on which bills they needed to read fully had so far been perfect and like Carter, he was doing his best to become educated on magical studies.
They all turned to face the door again when there was a rap on the frame. “Hey, guys. Del, why aren’t you getting ready for your date?” Duff asked as he sauntered into the room, taking a seat near Carter.
“I picked out a suit, I’ll shower and put it on before I go out.”
“Let me guess—all black? You don’t always have to do the whole dark wizard thing.”
Carter lifted a dark brow. “Dude, he didn’t bust his ass to change the course of his people’s history so he could put in blue contacts or some shit.”
“I know he can’t change his eyes, but he could wear a blue fucking tie.”
“I don’t own a blue tie,” Delaney remarked. “I have one black one for my suit and another nicer one for my tux. I’m not interested in having another one, they suck.”
“You won’t have to wear them after you’re mated. Vampires don’t. You’ll have a necklace to show off to everyone,” Carter said.
“If he can make things work with the drool-worthy Grigori,” Duff pointed out.
“They’re going to be an awesome couple. I asked Fate to bring Del his mate, and she listened. Of course, you did say he didn’t need to be gorgeous, but she obviously decided differently,” Idris responded.
“Speaking of different, let’s talk about your hair. Grigori saw you with your crown on, he doesn’t know you just let it hang over your forehead like that,” Duff remarked.
“It’s straight and doesn’t behave itself, this is the best I can do.”
“Not true, remember when you got your photo taken with Idris so Vadimas could publicize your rise to High Arcanists? Your hair looked awesome. You could do it like that for Grigori.”
“It’s going to take me like thirty minutes and a gallon of product to even resemble what the stylist did to it,” Delaney complained.
“He’s your mate. He deserves the best. So stop bitching and go work on looking hot for your man. You’ve got to get your hair to look at least half as good as your ass,” Duff instructed. “Make sure he sees that ass too. It’s literally the best part of you and he’ll stop wondering why Fate hates him.”
“That thought never crossed his mind. Any man would be happy to have Del,” Idris snapped.
“Don’t waste your breath arguing with him. He’s just pissed because Del wouldn’t sleep with him. He’ll have to get the fuck right over it now that Del’s met Grigori. Our dark wizard’s incapable of responding to anyone but his Vampyr Lord,” Carter drawled out. He might be only nineteen, but the drakeling was mature and didn’t take shit from anyone. Delaney admired that about him. It was a trait he had spent his life working on, and most of the time it didn’t fail him.
“Hey, I’ll admit I wouldn’t kick Del out of my bed, but he’s not perfect or
anything. Hey Del, you did say you’d go clubbing and stuff after you were getting laid by your mate. I guess you’ve run out of excuses now to go out with me and my friends,” Duff commented.
“Right now his focus needs to be on Grigori and building a relationship with him,” Idris retorted. “That means he has to go and get ready for his date. Are Mac and I going with you?”
“No, I thought about having Mac guard me tonight, but I decided to ask Gavrael if he and Gedeon would come instead. Something about Gavrael keeps me calm, and I have a feeling I’m going to seriously need that tonight.”
Idris appeared relieved, and Delaney was glad he hadn’t hurt his feelings. “Okay, good. I’d be nervous for you and then—”
“We’d all be sweating bullets,” Delaney finished for his best friend.
Duff hopped to his feet. “Okay, so that’s settled. Let’s go get Del showered and changed for his date.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got this,” Delaney replied as he stood.
“Good luck, it’s going to be awesome,” Carter called out as Delaney strode out of the office.
“He’s going to love everything about you. We all do,” Idris added. Delaney let their encouraging words flow around him. He decided to throw caution to the wind and wish for the best. The date’ll be awesome, and I’ll have a ton in common with Grigori because that’s why Fate put us together, he thought with a rare burst of optimism which was only a little forced. Steadfastly, he ignored the lingering voices in his head that spelled out nothing but doom and gloom. His other half was ready to share their lives together, and Delaney would do it with his heart wide open.
Chapter 9
Grigori was in such a good mood, he wished he could sing. He would do it at the top of his lungs and choose the happiest songs he could think of. For the last week, he’d been on a cloud—when he wasn’t jerking off at the thought of Delaney—and he couldn’t wait to go out on their first date. Determined not to be late, he set not one but three alarms on his phone in plenty of time to grab a shower and put on a suit. On the night they met, he’d blurted out the name of an upscale restaurant. It’d be nice to stare into Delaney’s dark eyes over candlelight, but the ambiance would also make him nervous as hell.
It would’ve been easier if they started out much simpler, maybe with an activity so he could focus on that instead of his unruly body and emotions, but his mate deserved the best. They hadn’t spoken since their meeting. Grigori tried more than once to remedy the situation, but his brain was locked on stupid, and he didn’t want to send nonsensical texts or blabber through a call. As for Delaney’s silence, Grigori kind of hoped the wizard was in a similar predicament, so they’d have that in common. Grigori figured if Fate picked out your perfect complement, then they needed to have comparable fears.
Every morning since meeting Delaney he’d spent a few minutes each day sitting quietly and practicing taking deep calming breaths. He wanted to have that to rely upon when they were face-to-face, and his anxieties overtook him. The last thing Grigori wanted to do was spend his time with Delaney fighting himself instead of focusing on his other half.
To keep his mind from whirling in circles now that the big evening was finally only hours away, Grigori was distracting himself in his lab. He’d buried himself in a new flavor combination inspired by Delaney. Why not drink blood that tasted like a cup of deep, dark-roasted coffee?
He was nowhere close to perfecting it when a knock sounded. Instead of his normal reaction of annoyance, Grigori welcomed the intruder. It was after lunch, and it was probably nearing time for him to stop soon anyway. He pulled the door open and met the eyes of his brother’s butler who served the entire family when Nikolai was in residence.
“Hey, Tigglesworth. What’s up?”
“I believe I must have put the wrong date on the family schedule and wished to confirm the correct one with you, my lord.”
Grigori smiled. “You don’t make mistakes, Tigglesworth, but I’m happy to help if I can.”
“My lord, I wrote down on the security calendar that your engagement with the High Arcanist was this evening, but clearly I was mistaken.”
“No, that’s right. I’m going out with my mate tonight. Is Sebastian going to be the one going with me? He’ll love the restaurant. It’s one of his favorites.”
Tigglesworth’s brow creased, and his expression grew concerned. “I apologize, my lord. I didn’t realize you were planning on such a late evening out. I already sent all the security guards home. Your parents and brother had retired for the evening, so I assumed I could lock up for the night.”
Grigori’s heart pounded erratically. “What do you mean everyone’s asleep already?”
“My lord, you can surely see that it’s late. It’s after eleven. Normally Charles and I would be in bed ourselves, but I had your engagement on the calendar. I didn’t want to neglect my duties.”
The windows in his lab were all blacked out, so Grigori truly had no way of knowing what time of day it was, but he couldn’t believe he’d wiled away that many hours. “It can’t be eleven, Tigglesworth. My date was for six thirty.”
“Lord Grigori, where’s your phone so you can check the time for yourself?”
Grigori turned on his sneakered heel and ran into his lab to hunt down his phone. He wouldn’t have tuned out the alarms he set to meet with Delaney. This simply cannot be happening, he thought with increasing fear. He tore through the sheets of notes scattered around his large workspace. The device was nowhere to be found. Grigori’s palms grew slick as panic became full-fledged. “I can’t find it, Tigglesworth. It was supposed to be here. Fate help me, I can’t have done this to him. It’s our first date.” He whipped around to face Tigglesworth. “Tell me this is a joke. It’s like five, right? I still have plenty of time to meet him.”
Tigglesworth reached out and grasped his shoulders. He gave him the smallest of shakes. “Calm down my lord. Everything’s going to be fine. You’ll simply call your High Arcanist and explain to him what’s happened. He’ll understand and realize you didn’t miss your engagement on purpose.”
Grigori put his swampy hands over his face and used his fingertips to press hard on his eyeballs. “Why did I get a mate? It’s obvious I’m completely incapable of knowing how to treat anyone. We’ve barely met, and he already hates me.”
Tigglesworth yanked his arms down to his sides. “Nonsense, my lord. Mistakes are made all the time. I assure you, High Arcanist Delaney has made them himself. Now, take a deep breath, and I’ll help you locate your cell phone. You’ll dial him right away and by the end of the call, you’ll both be laughing over your absentmindedness.”
“You think so?”
“Lord Grigori, I know so. Come along, let’s find that phone.”
Grigori trailed after Tigglesworth with his stomach clenched in knots. “I’ll call him. I’ll just tell him what I did, and he’ll understand,” he muttered to calm himself.
“Exactly, my lord.”
Tigglesworth opened the door to his bedroom, and the first thing Grigori saw was his phone sitting on the table he’d probably tossed it on while he dressed. The light was flashing, and Delaney had likely texted or called wondering where the hell he was. “There it is,” he said as he snatched it and clutched it tight in his damp palm.
“Call him, my lord.”
“Absolutely. I will. I hope he—”
“Just call, my lord.”
“Okay. Calling,” he replied as he swiped the screen. There were a half a dozen texts and three voicemails waiting. Knowing they’d do nothing to calm him, he tapped until Delaney’s contact information came up. Tigglesworth headed for the door and Grigori said, “Thank you, Tigglesworth. Sorry I kept you and Charlie up late.”
“Charles and I will manage, my lord. Good night.”
“Night,” Grigori responded, then hit the screen one last time to connect to an angry dark wizard that he’d stood up on their first date. This matebond couldn’t have s
tarted out worse, he thought with terror swimming through his brain. He hoped to hell he hadn’t screwed up things permanently.
* * *
Delaney hit play on the remote as he curled up under the blanket with his familiar. Greggory was more than happy to cuddle, and for that Delaney was grateful. His evening was the single most humiliating night of his life. That’s what happens when I let go and try to be happy, he thought with derision. Bad shit followed, and that was exactly the category being stood up by the man picked out for you by Fate fell in.
For three hours, he’d sat at a table set for a romantic evening for two. Delaney wasn’t even sure why he stayed so long except that he’d understood his entire family would know the minute he returned to D’Vaire. Instead of filling their heads with all the new information he gleaned, Delaney was forced to explain that he’d texted and called but received zero contact from one Vampyr Lord Grigori Volkov.
He wasn’t gorgeous and being a dark wizard scared the crap out of people, but he hadn’t expected to be left sitting alone in a restaurant like an idiot. Delaney didn’t eat anything, he kept telling himself Grigori would show up, and he’d be the one who looked like a jerk for starting without him. Finally, when he couldn’t take another minute, he sheepishly wandered over to Gavrael and Gedeon to explain that it was time to go home.
Neither Skeleton Lord asked for confirmation, and they’d all teleported back to the D’Vaire mansion. Delaney didn’t field many questions and retreated to his room as soon as he could. He took his third shower of the day to get all the product out he’d so dutifully dumped into his hair so Grigori wouldn’t be embarrassed to be in his company. Then he’d tugged on one of his many pairs of pajamas—the pants were decorated with coffins with angry faces which suited his mood.
“Good thing I didn’t really believe I’d be in a happy matebond,” Delaney whispered to Greggory as one of his favorite horror movies played. He pretended not to notice the tear that slipped down his cheek.
For his part, Greggory burrowed under his chin and made a few throaty sounds that were comforting in their familiarity. They were about twenty minutes in when Delaney’s phone rang, and both wizard and dragon jumped at the sound. Grabbing it from the nightstand, Delaney saw Grigori’s number flash onto the screen. For five seconds he considered not answering it, but he decided that just because Grigori was an asshat didn’t mean Delaney was going to ignore Fate. Besides, he wanted a clear conscience when he told the vampire to fuck off.
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