“Rachel...”
“I know, I know. You’re hundreds of years older than me. Blah, blah, blah. How old were you when you met that girl Renee you keep dreaming about? From what I’ve heard, you were pushing four hundred forty and she was what - twenty-three? Sure, you’re thirty years older now and I’m just now coming up on my nineteenth birthday, but I don’t see how our situation is all that different. Besides, you only look a year or two older than me.”
I rubbed my hands over my face and sighed. Rachel was beautiful. She was five-five with dark blonde hair, green eyes and the kind of body that could drive a man crazy, but emotionally, she was still very much a child. “Rachel, I can’t help the way I feel about you. You just give me that little sister vibe. Maybe with time, as you mature, that would change but it doesn’t matter because it’s only a matter of time before I find my mate.”
She threw her hands in the air. “But that’s my point. Why do you want to find your mate and be stuck with the same person for the rest of your life? As long as someone is keeping you away from her you’re free to do whatever you want, with whoever you want to do it with.”
“I’ve had centuries to do whatever I want Rachel. Now that I know my mate is out there, I need more than sex. I need the other half of my soul.”
An image of Renee’s smiling face flashed before my eyes. Could she possibly be my mate? Was the only woman to ever capture my heart actually destined to be mine?
Rachel huffed, her breath making her bangs rise briefly. “Whatever. I don’t think I’ll ever want to settle down with one guy forever.”
Leaning back, I chose my next words carefully. “Look Rachel, you’re very young, especially by supernatural standards, but you’re also an adult so I’m not going to tell you how to live your life. I will however suggest that you keep an open mind. Being mated or being in a relationship does not mean you’re in prison and neither one automatically translates into monogamy.”
Rachel sat up with interest. “I thought mates are always faithful to each other. I mean; how the hell do you cheat when your mate can feel your emotions through the mating bond?”
I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. “I’m not talking about cheating Rachel. Mates are always faithful to each other and their relationship, but sometimes as a couple they choose to include someone else in their sexual encounters.”
A sly smile curled her lips. “Are you hoping your mate is one of those enlightened few who like to experience a little variety in the bedroom?”
“Honestly no, I’ve been ready to settle down with one woman for a long time now.”
Rachel snorted, “You might not be doing it in public anymore but I’ve heard all about your sex life and the huge numbers of women you’ve slept with in recent years.”
I wagged my finger at her. “It’s not polite to gossip Rachel.”
“But it’s so much fun,” she informed me with a wink.
I looked back down at my book, ready to get back to work but Rachel announced, “I think I need a break from looking at all these old books.” She stretched with her arms over her head. “You mind if I take off?”
I glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner and decided to let her off the hook. It was a little early but we’d been at this for hours and as usual, we had nothing to show for our trouble. Maybe a change of scenery would do us both some good, and maybe a new approach to my problem would yield better results.
It was possible to counteract a spell without knowing exactly what kind of spell I was dealing with, but so far I’d only had limited luck. Whether it was due to one of the spells I tried or sheer willpower, I was now able to move forward in my dreams with the intent to approach my mate. Unfortunately, I still couldn’t enter the house without waking up. I knew I needed to address the problem from another angle - but how?
Suddenly the answer hit me from out of nowhere.
“I need to get drunk,” I said rising from my chair, already striding for the front door.
“What?” Rachel asked scrambling to keep up with me. “I didn’t think you guys could get drunk.”
“Human alcohol doesn’t have any effect on us but that doesn’t mean we can’t get drunk. Several of the drinks served here at the resort contain a potent solution brewed from a mixture of demon herbs that will not only get us drunk, but is guaranteed to turn us into babbling idiots if we’re not careful.”
She grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop just before I could open my front door. “Then why would you want to drink it?”
I looked at her and grinned knowing she would find my latest plan amusing. “Maybe if I get totally shit-faced drunk I’ll pass out and stay that way long enough to get a good look at my mate.”
Rachel released my arm with a grin of her own and I swung the door open. She followed me through it, and then down the hall to the elevator. Like all the other supernaturals who work at the Myths and Legends Casino Resort here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I live in the staff apartment building on the resort property.
Once we were in the elevator, I put my hand on the security panel making it light up while it scanned my palm print. The security panel was part technology, but mostly magic. I was the Entertainment Manager for the resort, but as the resident sorcerer, I was also in charge of anything magical. Primarily, I maintained several portals to other locations, the security panels located throughout the resort and a protective ward that doubled as a glowing green moat around the medieval castle that housed Myths and Legends.
“Would this mixture of demon herbs hurt humans if they drank it?” Rachel asked when the elevator began its descent.
A few months ago, Rachel was mixed up with some very bad people. As a result, she was given a demon drug called Oblivion by a vampire named Danarius. For supernaturals, the drug is only mildly addictive and causes a euphoric high with increased sexual appetite and occasional hallucinations. Humans on the other hand are instantly addicted to the substance and suffer heart failure if they ever stop taking it. While they’re using the drug, they’re Oblivious to everything around them except their need to find sexual fulfillment. Normally humans who are given Oblivion never recover from the experience. Rachel was only saved because her new stepfather Rook, the Myths and Legends Security Manager, is a time demon and he traveled through time to prevent her from ever becoming addicted to the drug.
“No Rachel, drugs like Oblivion are prohibited here at the resort so you don’t need to worry about accidentally ingesting something that might hurt you.”
Her shoulders relaxed where she was leaning back against the elevator wall and I knew that was exactly what she’d been worried about.
“People are going to think it’s weird to see you out in public,” Rachel commented, examining her nail polish for chips.
“An understatement, I’m sure but it’s early so maybe I’ll miss the crowds.”
Shapeshifter culture could be summed up with two words - sex and violence.
The violence I could do without most of the time but I learned long ago to play by the rules.
The sex on the other hand was my favorite part of life with the clans. Or at least it had been, until six months ago when the Phoenix Prophecy was fulfilled and my fox awoke from his magically induced coma. He went ape-shit the first time things got hot and heavy with a female and every time I tried to get naked with a woman since, my dick went completely limp and any hopes I had of actually having sex flew right out the window. The ladies involved were all very understanding, and have so far kept my erectile dysfunction a secret, but I knew that if I kept trying, eventually someone would talk. So I stopped trying to have sex altogether.
For a while, I continued going out to the clubs because I enjoy dancing, moshing and socializing, but the sexual frustration soon became too much to handle - especially when a few of my regular partners wouldn’t take no for an answer. The only respite I had was when Rachel first came to the resort. While Rook and her mother Angela sorted out the trouble she was in, she spent
most of her time with me and Serafina, Dragon’s mate and our queen. Whenever I took Rachel to the club with me, the other women kept their distance. It wasn’t until they realized Rachel was also attempting to finagle her way into my bed that they resumed their relentless pursuit of sexual fulfillment with me. I eventually gave up completely and have since stayed home except when work required my presence.
The elevator came to a stop on the first floor, the doors opened and Rachel asked, “The Catacombs?”
I nodded then we started down the hallway to the right. The Catacombs was one of three clubs located within Myths and Legends. It featured live bands and drew in crowds of tattooed rock enthusiasts wearing multiple body piercings and lots of black clothing decked out with buckles and chains. With its crypt-like design and its hard-core atmosphere, it was exactly my kind of place.
Occasionally I’d go to Mystique to soak up the sex demon pheromones and take advantage of the horny women on the dance floor but with my current circumstances, I’d only wind up with a set of blue balls for my trouble.
The third club was Lilith’s Lounge, which was a jazz bar with a portal leading to another club located in New Orleans called Forbidden Fantasies. Jazz music has never been my thing and I don’t think I could sit through the nearly pornographic stage shows in Forbidden Fantasies without losing it right now.
The instant we walked through the doors of The Catacombs the frenzy began. The women dancing in the cages suspended from the ceiling called my name, trying to get my attention but I ignored them and continued walking. There wasn’t anything I could do to avoid the women on the ground however, and by the time I reached the bar I had three women surrounding me, each of them rubbing against me and purring like a cat in heat.
I needed to find my mate soon or I was going to spontaneously combust.
Once I flagged down the bar tender, Jamie, I ordered two Zombie Makers. She raised an eyebrow but made the drinks and passed them my way. I downed the first one immediately and told her to keep them coming.
“Where have you been Solomon,” Mia asked, her bottom lip pushed out in a pout.
Six months ago that would have been all the invitation I needed to take her lips with mine and set us both on the road to ecstasy. Now, the thought of kissing anyone but my mate made my fox nearly homicidal and left me feeling as if I’d done something wrong.
“We’ve missed you Solomon,” Lisette whispered in my ear as her hand slid up my thigh then over the rigid flesh straining against the back of my zipper.
I needed to get laid. Going cold turkey after centuries of having sex with at least four different women every day was killing me.
“And to think, humans find something wrong with this kind of behavior,” Rachel remarked from beside me.
“It’s different for us Rachel,” I reminded her. “We try to avoid emotional attachments so that no one gets hurt if and when we find our mates. And since we can only have children with our mates and can’t carry sexually transmitted diseases, why shouldn’t we have as many sexual partners as we want?”
“I’m so glad you feel that way,” Charlene said throwing her leg across my lap to straddle me. Her mouth went to my neck and she rolled her hips forward grinding herself against the front of my pants. I knew from past experience that she never wore anything beneath her skirts.
My head fell back for a second when her fangs grazed my neck sending shivers up my spine.
Coming here had been a bad idea.
Placing my hands on her hips, I forced myself to lift her off my lap instead of opening my pants and sliding her wet center along my throbbing erection - it would only deflate the instant the clothes started coming off anyway.
“I’m sorry ladies, but I’m only here to have a few drinks,” I insisted once Charlene was back on her feet. I downed another Zombie Maker while they complained and tried to convince me to change my mind.
Thirty minutes later the women had finally given up, Rachel had gone into the mosh pit with Jasper, a wolf shifter who works at the front desk, and I’d finished eight Zombie Makers.
“I heard you were in here.” Doyle sat down beside me, his strawberry blonde hair brushing his collar when he shook his head.
Doyle was my best friend and head of the largest wolf clan in The United Clans. He was also in charge of the fight scene here at the resort, which suited him since he was six-three, built like a heavyweight boxer, and loved nothing more than a good fight.
“I’m conducting an experiment,” I told him, or at least I thought I did, but from the look on his face, it must not have come out the way it was supposed to.
“Right. Why don’t I take you home now?”
“Sure.”
I tried to stand but my legs felt like wet noodles and couldn’t seem to hold my weight. Doyle wrapped his arm around my waist with my arm draped over his shoulder and practically carried me out of the club. Once he had me back in my apartment, he let me fall onto my bed where I immediately passed out looking forward to seeing my mate in my dreams.
Chapter Two
~ Solomon ~
I was standing outside the door to the white house in my dreams but I couldn’t bring myself to try the handle.
Shapeshifter souls were made up of two halves - the human and the animal. Since mating was part of the animal’s magic, most of us weren’t able to recognize our mates while we were cursed. Only Dragon’s animal was strong enough to break the curse and claim his mate. Thankfully, the rest of our animals were freed along with his.
Since I met Renee while I was cursed, and the last time I saw her was before my fox woke up, it was entirely possible that she was my mate. It was even possible that my fox sensed her through the curse and that was why I’d always been so drawn to her. Add to that the gothic paintings inside this house that I knew she would love and the fact that the woman inside was constantly singing Renee’s favorite songs, I was almost positive I knew who my mate was. And if I was right, I’d be the happiest man alive.
So why wasn’t I throwing the door open and rushing inside?
Because Renee left me six months ago.
For thirty years, Renee was by my side as my assistant and my best friend, but she stayed true to her word and never gave in to my sexual advances. Then she was asked to fill in at our European club Supernova while the General Manager, Katerina went on vacation. Renee was supposed to go there for two weeks and then come straight back home.
Then all hell broke loose here at Myths and Legends just after she left. The curse ended and we quickly learned that controlling our beasts wasn’t as easy as it used to be. They were, after all, understandably pissed off and tired of being caged. Then a bomb took out The Gateway to the Otherworld, the performing arts theater where I host the majority of my shows. Several members of the interracial council including its leader Garrek, a very rare solar demon, were also taken out in the explosion. Then to add to the chaos, all of the vampires created by nightshifters suddenly inherited the beasts of their sires - including Renee.
I expected Renee to come home the instant Katerina returned, but for reasons I still didn’t understand, she decided to stay on at Supernova choreographing their stage shows. I threw up one argument after the next for why she should come home, but she said I could handle it myself and told me that she wanted to spread her wings. Normally I encouraged everyone to try new things, but this was Renee, and up until she left for Supernova, I would have said we were as inseparable as mates.
Now, I had no idea what was going on between us. Whenever we talk on the phone, she says she misses me, but she doesn’t want to come home - not even for a visit. By the same token, I feel so empty without her, but every time I think about going through the portal to Supernova, I get this overwhelming feeling that it’s the wrong thing to do.
Standing here now, listening to the woman upstairs sing Madonna’s Like a Virgin - Renee’s all-time favorite song - I had to wonder if I should just walk away. I wouldn’t do it for the reasons Rachel gave ear
lier, but because Renee might not want to be my mate. Could I sacrifice my own happiness for hers?
I shook my head. No, I’d made a lot of sacrifices in my life, but this wasn’t one I could make. I put my hand on the handle without pushing down. I’d been here every night for the past three weeks, sometimes multiple times in the same night, and every time I tried to open this door, I woke up alone in my bed.
After a prayer to whatever higher power might be listening, I closed my eyes, held my breath and pressed down on the handle. Click. My breath rushed out. I was still here. Lifting my eyelids, I eased the door open and stepped inside. So far so good.
Once I was inside, I reached up and tried to remove the amulet from the painting above the door. My hand went right through it as if it had no substance at all. I’d been afraid that would happen. The amulet in this dream world was nothing more than an echo of the real one that was most likely somewhere on my mate - maybe a piece of jewelry or something along those lines.
Forgetting about the amulet for the moment, I cut through the kitchen and took the stairs two at a time. Once I was upstairs, I made a beeline for the bedroom door and hurried through it into the dimly lit bedroom beyond. The instant I came into the room the singing stopped and a petite female figure froze with her back to me.
A violent shudder rolled through my body and I knew I would have woken up if not for my drunken stupor in reality.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped towards the woman who still hadn’t moved. Her straight black hair was short, barely covering any of her delicate neck, but that wasn’t enough to rule Renee out just yet. I’d made her a ring years ago that projects whatever color and hairstyle she wants to have from one moment to the next. Letting my eyes drift lower, I saw that a shimmering black T-shirt barely covered her slender body. The sexy garment was so thin that I could see the silhouette of her subtle curves beneath it. She wasn’t wearing a bra but I could clearly see a tiny black thong disappearing between the round cheeks of her firm ass.
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