by Lola Gabriel
“I am not too sure you are right this time, Oryn. He was talking about band names and a tour bus and all that nonsense.”
“I think you shouldn’t worry yourself too much about it. We all know Nyx never goes through with something he decides on a whim.” Oryn ran his through his hair, glancing down at the family photograph on his desk. “He’s spontaneous and wild, but he’s not that irresponsible. Just take deep breaths, okay?”
The sound of his mother breathing deeply over the phone seemed to soothe his own anxious feelings, and a smile formed on his lips.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much. Thank you, Oryn. I’ll talk to him again, in a calmer tone than before. I may have overreacted a little,”
“That doesn’t sound like you at all,” Oryn joked.
“One day, when you have your own children, you will understand,” his mother stated, and Oryn rolled his eyes. “You boys are my entire world, and I only want what is best for you.”
“I know, Mom, and I appreciate that. I just have to find that happiness.”
“Are you not happy in Auckland? You can always come back home,” she offered. “There is always space for you.”
“It’s not that. I am happy here, but I just need to find something to fill this hole in my heart.”
“A girl?”
“Whatever it is, it better be soon.”
“Yes, I am tired of waiting as well,” his mother joked. “But in all seriousness, Oryn, things will happen when they are supposed to happen. Don’t force it, it will occur naturally. Just remember—”
“The curse. I know, Mom.”
“I wish things could be different, my son.”
“You did all you could. We’re all alive thanks to you.”
“You are such a sweet boy.”
“Thanks for the call, Mom, and please don’t worry too much about Nyx. He’ll soon realize that being a rock star means something completely different than the movies,” Oryn assured her, turning in his chair.
“Thank you, Oryn. I love you so much.”
“Love you, too,” he said with a crooked grin and listened as the line disconnected.
Oryn loved speaking to his mother more than he would admit to anyone, especially his brothers. He had always been very close to her and considered her a vital part of his life. After all, she had risked her life for him and his brothers, and for that, he would always be grateful for her.
He picked up the newspaper on the desk and carried on reading, feeling a lot better, yet not completely at ease with the impending meeting with a bunch of people he didn’t know. But that was the thing about business. He had to speak to and deal with a lot of people he didn’t know, and he didn’t know if they were trustworthy or not. Taking chances on people wasn’t one of the things Oryn was comfortable with, but luckily, he was a good judge of character and could spot a son of a bitch a mile away.
The door of his office flew open, and a flustered Naomi entered like a whirlwind before closing the door behind her.
“It’s like a mosh pit in there,” she huffed.
“You don’t strike me as the type of person who would even know what a mosh pit is,” Oryn mumbled without looking at her.
“Hey, just because I wear heels and know the difference between teal and aqua, and love pumpkin spice lattes, does not mean that I haven’t lost my shit at a death metal concert,” she defended.
Oryn glanced up from the newspaper and grinned at her. “And here I thought I had you all figured out.”
“I’ll commend you on your effort, though,” she told him. “Anyway, are you ready for your meeting with the marketers?”
“I was hoping I could skip that.”
“I can see that. You haven’t even touched your coffee.” She motioned to the untouched cup of coffee standing on his desk. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’ve just got a few things on my mind.”
“Are you still obsessing over your conversation with your mother?” she asked and sat on the edge of the desk.
“No,” he answered quickly, and she gave him an apprehensive scoff. “Maybe.”
“You shouldn’t let her get to you, you know. And you shouldn’t feel pressured to find someone just for the sake of pleasing your mother. Isn’t that Nyx’s job?” Naomi asked with a grin.
“Yeah, he’s always been a real momma’s boy. So much so that my mother is actually visiting him in London right now.”
“Really? Is she washing his clothes and cooking him dinner, too?” Naomi asked with a sardonic grin.
“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Naomi shook her head. “What?” Oryn asked, his tone demanding an explanation.
“It’s just amazing how different you all are. You’re the epitome of independence and stability. Nyx can’t even spell independence. Dax is a ladies’ man who will never settle down, and Pyre is a rebel who can’t be tamed. In comparison to your brothers, you’re the normal one.”
“You mean the boring one,” Oryn corrected.
“I didn’t say that. And whoever said being independent and stabile was a bad thing? You are who you are, and you should embrace that.”
“Yeah, right,” Oryn sighed, glancing at his phone on the desk beside him. “My mother called me again.”
“When?”
“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 compl
etely 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 br
iefly 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?