Page 1 of Charmed By Destiny

Chapter 1

Despite the early hour, Richard Marwood had already lost count of how many cups of coffee he’d sucked down. That wasn’t unusual for him. He loved the delicious brew, and since he was a necromancer, the effect of the caffeine didn’t last long. As Richard gulped another swallow, a dark-haired man rapped on his open door, then sailed into the room without waiting for an invitation.

Richard smiled. Since the moment he had resurrected Douglas Braund, they’d clicked. They had similar working styles and successfully managed conference services for the largest Marwood resort in Las Vegas.

Although nepotism had helped Richard—his father had hired him—he devoted himself to his job. Not only did he love what he did, but he didn’t want anyone whispering behind his back that he wasn’t worthy of his position. Thankfully, Richard had a wonderful team, and that helped tremendously. Douglas was an integral part of their success, and Richard was ecstatic to work with him five days a week.

“Do you need more coffee?” Douglas asked, hovering near a guest chair without sitting, ready to fetch whatever Richard needed. It was unnecessary. Richard preferred to get his own refreshments or snacks, and as co-director, it wasn’t part of Douglas’s duties to retrieve anything for him. But the inspirit was kind. Perhaps too kind.

“I’m good, thanks.”

Douglas dropped into a seat. “You must be excited about our next appointment.”

A wave of tender emotion swept through Richard. He kept his face impassive; work was no place for his heart to melt. But it was difficult to maintain his stoicism. There were few people Richard loved as much as his younger brother, Eric.

His sibling was a rare necromancer, a destiny-touched one born with a skull on his hand to set him apart from the norm. Eric’s skills went far beyond Richard’s ability to raise the dead and teleport with the aid of a crystal.

Destiny-touched necromancers were often hunted by murderers who claimed the powerful sorcerers were a danger to everyone. But Richard wasn’t fooled. People were jealous of necros like Eric. Even with his special gifts, like being able to talk to ghosts and guide them to the next plane, Eric didn’t draw attention to himself. On the contrary, Eric wasn’t bold. He maintained the lie that he was a mediocre medium to keep the existence of necromancers from humans.

Two of Richard’s grandparents—one on his mother’s side and the other on his father’s—had been assassinated prior to his birth. The destiny-touched were believed to be found most frequently along family lines, so Richard’s parents had worried about having children without a safety net in place.

To protect their offspring, Clark and Rosalind Marwood had hired an inspirit named Gabriel Wolfebrier. They’d discovered his existence after he killed his summoner to protect a destiny-touched child. Unfortunately, Gabriel had been too late to save the child, but the Marwoods had gained a fierce protector who devoted himself to safety—particularly Eric’s.

As long as Richard could remember, Gabriel had been there for him and his family. Before Eric had even confessed that he had a crush on the blond inspirit with the serious green gaze, Richard had noticed the way his brother stared at the handsome man. So, of course, Richard had insisted on formulating a plan to snare Gabriel for Eric.

Little had Richard known that Gabriel was Eric’s soulmate. A necromancer or inspirit couldn’t discover the person destiny—or whatever force picked their soulmate—had chosen for them until they had sex with them. Eric was extraordinarily handsome and one of the sweetest people ever born, but it’d taken years for Gabriel to finally cave and take Richard’s brother to bed.

Now they were getting married, their souls were bound completely together, and Richard was ecstatic. They were so happy, and Richard wanted the perfect wedding for them.

“I can’t wait to plan Eric and Gabriel’s big day, but I bet you anything my brother is going to have little input on anything fun,” Richard said.

His baby brother had no interest in fabrics or décor. Richard and his only cousin, Maribeth, picked out every scrap of clothing in Eric’s closet because the man gave zero attention to what he wore. Their mother had designed Eric’s bedroom. Eric didn’t care what his space looked like. Richard couldn’t imagine such a state. He’d handpicked everything in his own suite, and it’d taken him months to perfect it. He liked to shop, so it was easy and enjoyable to take on the task of filling Eric’s closet.

“At least he’ll be interested in the food,” Douglas remarked with a knowing smile.

Richard rolled his eyes. “His first request will be for mashed potatoes.”

“Do you think Gabe will have thoughts on the reception?”

“I doubt it. Eric immediately informed me when Gabriel was living in the guest house that it was a literal blank slate with a few beige necessities. And considering how infatuated Eric is with Gabriel, along with my brother’s obliviousness about anything décor-related, it had to be incredibly dull for him to notice.”

“Well, Gabe does basically wear the same outfit every day to work.”

It was true. Gabriel wore a dark suit and white shirt daily. There were no random days with a blue shirt or even a tie to break up the monotony of his wardrobe. Richard privately thought it was cute the way the two soulmates shared a lack of interest in clothing, even if he personally didn’t understand it. While his own closet was made up almost entirely of black, no two articles of clothing were the same.

“You’re right, and my mother will insist my brother involve himself in this process, whether he likes it or not.” The phone on Richard’s desk rang, and he picked it up. It was his assistant, Benjamin, letting him know his guests had arrived. Richard grabbed his padfolio and half-full coffee cup. “Let’s head to the conference room.”

“I’ll grab my stuff and meet you there,” Douglas said, rising.

With a nod, Richard waited for the inspirit to head out, then he strode swiftly to the conference room. A smile bloomed as he noted the presence of a man he hadn’t expected to accompany his mother. Richard set his things on the table and moved to embrace the special inspirit who had been part of his life since before his birth.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you, David,” Richard commented as he hugged him.

The shy man held on tight, and Richard took comfort from the man his mother had resurrected. David helped her run the house and was a genius in the kitchen. Every book recommendation Richard needed came from David, and the pair had recently started taking weekly kung fu classes because the inspirit wanted to learn self-defense. Richard refused to allow David to go alone, nor did he want the inspirit to pass up the opportunity to try something new, so he’d immediately volunteered to accompany him. It wasn’t Richard’s favorite night of the week, but he did it without complaint.

That was as adventurous as David’s life got. The inspirit preferred not to leave the house unless it was with someone else and rarely spoke outside the Marwood mansion. He was shy, but there was also a haunted look that crept into his eyes sometimes that made Richard wonder what in his past had scarred him.

Richard refused to question David. And even if he wanted to, Richard’s mother would hop in and prevent it. Both of Richard’s parents protected the inspirit fiercely and allowed David to keep his secrets.

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