Page 32 of Shattered Illusion

“M-ma-mate,” he murmurs, stumbling over the word. “How? How is this possible? I–I should have known yesterday.” He shakes his furry head before dropping to his knees right there in the middle of Jasper’s office. His massive weight slams into the floor with a resounding thud, shaking the entirety of the room.

Mate? That’s definitely one thing about the supernatural world I know about. And that’s a hell fucking no from me. Not freaking happening.

“Please, mate.” Hudson holds out clawed hands, reaching for me. Hands that just dragged me here. Hands that pierced my skin and made me bleed. Hands that broke my bones.

The sight of those claws strikes terror in my heart and makes me recoil, backing away from the lycan on his knees, begging for me to come to him.

Jasper once again steps between us to shield me from Hudson’s pleading gaze, but he can’t stop his words from reaching my ears.

“I’m so sorry, mate. I… I never meant to hurt you.”

That’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard. He was deliberate in his actions. I know that. Hell, I feel it.

My magic floods from my heart as my fear of the man reaches new heights. All I want is safety. Somewhere he can’t hurt me.

“She’s not your mate, Hudson. Get that through your head right now. And you need to back up. You’re scaring her.”

Hudson snarls something to Jasper, but my blood is sluicing too loudly in my ears to make out his words. Not that I want to. There’s nothing he could say to justify his poor treatment of me. Mate or not. You don’t treat someone like that.

My ass suddenly feels like it’s been lit on fire, but I ignore the burn, continuing to wish for safety and back toward the door so I can hightail it the hell out of here and put a locked door between me and Hudson. Not that I think it will keep him out.

Suddenly, Hudson’s large form jumps up, his claws trying and failing to dig into Jasper’s stone flesh to get to me.

With a scream, I throw myself back, expecting to hit a wall, but instead, I fall right through it, blackness enveloping my whole being.

I welcome the darkness like a close friend, not caring where I end up as long as it’s away from here. And away from him.

“Of course,Mr. Anderson. Here at Pennington and Byers, you’ll always get the best representation for your case. You’ve been one of our top clients since my father first started in this business, and I’ve vowed to continue his legacy, so I’ll be handling your case personally.”

The vampire on the phone pays no heed to my words and drones on and on, talking about I don’t even know what. He’s been around the block enough to know that he shouldn’t share vital information over the phone. That’s what an in-person meeting is for. Again, something he already knows from the numerous cases the company has handled on his and his family’s behalf.

His prattling words become white noise as I zone out, my mind shifting instinctively to Bailey.Cor meum. Wondering how her first day of class is going. She should be close to finishing her last class of the day, and while she hasn’t used my cell phone number yet, I hope she will today and tell me all about it. Myfingers twitch as I flirt with the idea of texting her to ask but then think better of it. I don’t want to come on too strong.

But damn, that kiss with her was everything. Never once in my eight hundred years have I ever felt something so consuming as that. And all it took was that bitch Ariana trying to claim me when she had no right to. With her being my business associate’s daughter, I’ve always looked at her as family and nothing more. It hasn’t helped that she’s always come on too strong, and there hasn’t been a spark with her. Not that I wanted one.

Then you have Bailey. My beautiful curiomancer.

I wasn’t sure what would happen when we finally found her, but being drawn into her orbit wasn’t one of them. Only it’s a different draw than a soul bond. My soulmate—the one made for me—chose the path of violence and murder that I wanted no part of. She fed me fancy lies about how much better our lives would be, but I instinctively knew how it would end. And that was why I refused to bond with her, no matter how much my soul yearned to be joined with hers.

Unfortunately, ten short years later, I was right. She was apprehended after a long line of gruesome murders and sentenced to death. My refusal to bond with her saved my head. Literally.

The chair beneath me creaks as I shift my weight, getting into a more comfortable position for the long haul this conversation is turning out to be.

Myyes’s,mhmm’s, andyou’re right’sare on point with the conversation even though I’m not actually paying attention. At some point, I’ll have to cut him off, but I’ll need to wait for a lull in his diatribe in order to do so. He won’t let me get a word in edgewise.

Kicking up my black Italian loafers, I place my feet on my desk, crossed at my ankles. The lights in my office bounce off the freshly polished surface of my shoes, highlighting an errant scuffmark that was missed. I scowl at it, telling myself I’ll get that handled as soon as this phone call ends.

Finally, the other end of the line goes blissfully quiet, the vampire running out of steam. Right as I go to explain once again that he needs to come in for a meeting, a loud pop breaks the silence followed by a pink portal forming right in front of my office door.

My expensive shoes hit the ground with a thump as I jump up, ending the call without a word. There’s only one person I know who wields pink magic, and there’s no question if I’d drop whatever—even a long standing client—I was doing for her.

Anticipation rides me hard at seeing her again, loving the fact that she’s chosen to come see me after finally getting some of her magic down. It couldn’t have been easy, but I’ll lavish her with kisses as a job well done. Maybe I’ll even take her to dinner before she heads back to Stonewell if she’s up for it.

Fuck. I swipe my fingers through my hair as nerves rattle my frame. My blond locks are hanging loose today whereas I had them pulled back when I picked her up from the human sector. Would she like it like this? I’m not opposed to cutting it if she has an aversion to long hair.

Smoothing out my suit jacket, I plaster a smile on my face, hoping it belays my nerves. I don’t think I’ve been this out of whack over a woman in… ever. My fang pierces my lip as I nibble on it, the aroma of my blood saturating my office as I wait for the girl of my dreams to grace my vision.

Not a mere moment later, a body falls through the portal, landing on my hardened floor with a choked cry. Fuck. The portal winks out of existence as I quickly round my desk, gatheringcor meumin my arms. What the hell happened? Her scared pink eyes meet mine.Pink? Why the hell isn’t she wearing her glamour?Fear and terror cross her features untilshe realizes where she is, and then those emotions are quickly replaced with apprehension and exhaustion.

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