Page 25 of Saving Destiny

Living in a magical building is better than being wealthy and powerful, and I hope my inner beast appreciates the creature comforts we’ve been provided. He needs something to focus on other than his desire for the sphinx and the jealousy he feels regarding the other men.

After dinner the night before, my beast and I wrestled with a need todosomething. We were restless and craved a fight, a workout, or a long flight through the night air. I need some physical effort to ease the restless tension. Flying away from Walthers without ripping his head from his shoulders was one of the most excruciating challenges I’ve ever faced. My griffin knew he’d been partially responsible for hurting his mate. He craved revenge, while I hated the insufferable bastard for a million reasons.

When Zosia fled to her room, Avery and Bren also went their separate ways. I didn’t know where the ghost was, and I didn’t care because he’d caused enough trouble already. Alone, I’d prowled toward the front of the library and back again. I didn’t want to leave, but I felt like I might explode if I didn’t do something. I’d just decided to run sprints up and down the stairs and had gone to my room for a change of clothes when a new door opened in the hallway of our apartment.

The goblins didn’t appear to enlighten me or otherwise boss me around, so I peeked inside. An honest-to-goodness state-of-the-art gym facility greeted me, and I’d nearly fallen to my knees like a pious man at church.

I’d whooped aloud when I realized it was even better than the one in Addington’s sprawling mansion. It didn’t have the lap pool, but that had been for Bren – not me. Neither my bird nor my cat enjoyed sizable bodies of water. I knew how to swim because I’d learned out of necessity, but I didn’t willingly enter deep water unless it was a life-or-death situation.

At first, the impossibility of the room irritated the back of my mind. It was huge and shouldn’t fit without existing in a magical pocket dimension, but I’d pushed the strangeness aside. I didn’t care as long as I could lift … so I did. I taxed every muscle in my body to its breaking point and only stopped when I started swaying on my feet. Afterward, I stumbled to my bedroom and collapsed, forgoing a shower like a barbarian.

I only slept a couple hours before I returned to the gym. The anxious part of my mind that I usually ignored was scared the entire room would disappear while I slept. Although I couldn’t hear any noises emanating from the bedrooms, I’d noted that Kodi was in Zosia’s room. He’d better be begging and apologizing for putting her through hell. My beast resents sharing his mate, but my human heart can’t bear her sadness.

I’m just finishing a cardio stint and starting to stretch when Bren enters my sanctuary. With an exaggerated sigh, I remove the earbud that’s blasting heavy metal straight into my brain. Nothing pairs better with pumping iron than the heavy double-bass kick of Shadow of Intent. Bren hates my music; he says it gives him a headache.

The earbuds and athletic clothes are another gift from the library. The boxes I’d sent to the academy when I made my hasty plan of sharing a dorm room with Bren arrived here without any direction from me. I didn’t even have to unpack them because the building did it for me.

Bren doesn’t appear the least bit surprised by the magic room around him. I study him out of habit. His shoulders are looser this morning and the shadows under his eyes are less pronounced. Abandoning the deadlifts, I move toward the bench and motion for him to join me. He usually spots me on my chest presses.

Fath-Addington had warned me not to rely on my brother multiple times. He believed Bren was too absent-minded to be trusted with important tasks. Unlike Addington, though, Bren has never let me down. I don’t require a spotter, but it’s smart to take advantage of one while he’s here.

“Good morning, Bren. How are you?” I prod him when he doesn’t say a word. Sometimes, he prefers quiet, but I’m curious to know how he’s doing after his episode the day before.

“She did well yesterday,” he says, completely ignoring my greeting and question.

It doesn’t take a genius to know whosheis, but I’m also accustomed to following Bren’s random associations. “Were you worried?” I ask with genuine curiosity. He’d never once questioned his faith in the mystery woman of his visions.

He shrugs one shoulder before he helps me lift the bar out of the cradle. His muscles strain, but he’s stronger than he looks. “No? I don’t think I was worried, but the potential outcomes if we lost Kodi were too horrible to mention. It would have destroyed all of us and started the collapse of current civilization. She loves him and they’ve been through a lot together; losing him might damage her beyond repair.”

I don’t respond as I concentrate on counting reps. My brother has always spoken about collapse, extinction, and the end of the world in a casual manner. It no longer fazes me. When he speaks about Zosia, though, concern creeps into his tone. It's never bothered me before, but now, I know his mystery woman is also my mate. I’m struggling with the concept, and Kodi complicates matters. He’s like an ex whose presence overshadows every minute of a new relationship – except that he’s not an ex; he’s still here.

I don’t bother trying to speak until I complete my set and Bren helps me return the bar to the cradle. Enjoying the pleasurable agony of my burning muscles, I sit up and wipe the sweat from my brow with one of the soft towels the library provided.

“Is the situation better now?”

“Maybe? They made up last night, but if Zosia concentrates on making Kodi solid and ignores us, it won’t work.”

“What won’t work?” I ask with a distracted frown. Can the ghost be turned solid?

Bren shrugs again, averting his gaze from mine; it’s another common trait. I’ve never seen him make direct eye contact with anyone the way he does with Zosia – and sometimes Avery. The vampire’s blindness facilitates this, but I’m surprised that Bren can hold the librarian’s intent gaze. Sometimes, I want to look away because she seems to be lookinginsideme instead of justatme. As an alpha, I’ve been trained not to break eye contact first. Bren has surprised me more than once in the short time we’ve been here, though. Many of his nervous tics and complicated behaviors seem milder and more controlled in the sphinx’s presence.

“The future won’t work.”

His vague answer tells me nothing and everything. He won’t answer anything that might alter possible timelines. I’d learned my lesson after years of digging for clues on how to fight Addington or free us from his hold. “The ghost can be solid?” I ask instead. Trying to figure out what he will answer is a familiar game.

“I’ve seen him corporeal in a couple visions, and Zosia’s always happier in those. It’s not a permanent state of being and he’s not actually alive, he’s just fleshy enough to touch.”

The prospect of a solid specter is fascinating in theory; in reality, it makes me flinch. Instead of focusing on the troublesome ghost, I ask the question that’s haunted me since I read the contract. “How do you …?” My words trail off, so I clear my throat and try again. “Exactly how are we supposed to share her?”

Bren’s pale eyes flicker in my direction, and a smile twitches on his lips. “Shall I go into detail about polyamory or the sexual positions possible with more than two people? Or is it more personal? Are you concerned that she’ll like someone more than you, Rhett?”

I roll my eyes at his suggestions, but his gaze is already somewhere else. “Did you know the sphinx would be my beast’s mate?”

“I’d assumed so, and I’m glad to hear that it's true. If she wasn’t, your actual fated mate might have divided your loyalties. Sphinxes don’t have fated mates, though, so Zosia won’t feel the same instinctual pull as your griffin. Because she’s a hybrid, her beast and human are one. The two halves are more unified than in other shifters, but human minds still rebel against the concepts of fate and predestination, especially when they impact love and relationships. Still, she might feel more drawn to you when she’s a sphinx because her instincts are heightened. She’ll sense a secure partnership even if she doesn’t understand why.”

I’ve already considered this, but Bren’s confirmation makes me sigh. “I understand that it’s different for her, but that doesn’t answer my question. Why would you think that I’d be willing to share my mate?”

Bren stares at me with astonishing directness. “You have to be,” he says solemnly. “If you don’t, everything falls apart. Besides, you’ve never been the selfish type.”

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