Page 3 of Frederick
I thought about it a moment before I shrugged. “I’m not sure.” I looked back to Dominic and found him staring intently toward us. “I’ve felt a bit odd since I entered the dining hall with you.” I broke eye contact again and looked back to Balthazar. “Will you introduce me to all of your new members? I’m curious about them.”
“Certainly. There are several new members since you were here last.”
I nodded as we started walking toward the table that Dominic was sitting at. I recognized Cornelius already, and his little fae One, Matthew. But there were two others with them that I’d not met before.
As we got closer, I realized why I’d felt off when I entered the dining hall. My body started vibrating, and although I was thrilled with the prospect of finally being gifted my One, I was terrified it was going to end up being someone that I could never have. Would the fates be so cruel?
I froze, stopping some feet away from the table. Balthazar realized and turned back toward me, but I must have had a certain look on my face because when he met my gaze, his eyes widened.
“No.”
I sighed. “I don’t know who. But somewhere close. That’s why I felt off. My body wasn’t quite close enough, but now that I’m farther into the room, it’s someone in here.”
“You’re certain?”
I leaned closer. “What do vibrations coursing through your body normally mean to a warlock?”
Balthazar nodded. “We’ll figure it out. There are a few unmated warlocks here,” he told me. “Actually, all of the ones from Italy are still unmated. But there are also a few shifters from nearby that are also single. Perhaps it’s one of them?”
I could only shrug because I truly didn’t know who it could be, nor did I really care all that much. As long as my One wasn’t evil, I could deal with anything that was thrown our way.
“How about we start with some of the newcomers?” Balthazar asked. “Dominic and Elio are here from Italy. Although, I do believe Elio is quite interested in the ladies, if you understand what I’m saying.”
I chuckled. I did indeed. As we approached the table, a feeling of dread overcame me when the vibrations coursing through my body intensified. One of the unknown men seemed completely oblivious to our approach while the other was quite interested. That was my One, I had no doubt. With the little tidbit from Balthazar about Elio, I had to go with the assumption that my One was none other than Dominic DeLuca. Now wasn’t that just perfect. I sighed when we stopped next to the table.
“Dominic, Elio,” Balthazar said. “This is Frederick Ainsworth. He’s a council enforcer and has a few follow up questions for the two of you.”
I glanced at Balthazar, nodded once, and then looked back to the pair. “I’ll be in Fenwick’s office when the two of you are finished here,” I told them. I realized I needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. There was absolutely no way I could interview any of them, because it could be used against the council if someone ended up having issue with it. It certainly wasn’t my proudest moment, but I had no idea what else I could do so I turned and left as quickly as I dared, hoping that I didn’t bring too much attention to myself as I fled. I needed to talk to Dante quickly. He would have to do the interviews, and I needed to talk to Master Arthur. What a mess. Why? I’d been patient. I had thought I’d been understanding and overall, a good person. Then why was my One someone that I was here to investigate?
Chapter 2
Dominic
My One was here. I was just shy of three centuries. I had given up ever meeting my perfect match. I knew it simply didn’t happen for some, and I had come to terms with the fact that I was going to be one of those that never found that someone. I’d had a few long-term relationships along the way, and had even considered adopting a child at one point, but then realized that I lived in a coven that I certainly did not wish to bring a child into and quickly shut down those thoughts.
Life had gone on for a time, and then everything had gone to shit with Master Conti. Like most in the coven, I knew he wasn’t a good guy. But when the level of his depravity emerged, I thought for certain the entire coven was going to go down with him. Several had, more would, and the fact that the council had enforcers here to ask us some follow-up questions only proved that point.
But why did one of those enforcers have to be my One? I could tell immediately that he wasn’t overjoyed to have found me. In fact, he’d seemed disappointed. There was nothing I could do about the fact that I’d been born into Conti’s coven. It was what it was. Just as I could not deny the fact that FrederickAinsworth was my One. My body had responded in more than one way that was telling.
“You all right?”
I glanced over at Elio and nodded. “Just peachy,” I told him. “I’m going to go follow that enforcer and answer any questions he might have. I figure it’s better to get that all out of the way as quickly as possible.” Elio just grinned, but he wasn’t looking at me. When I followed his line of sight, I sighed. “She’s under age, Elio.” Even I knew that. Why would he put himself in that type of position?
He glanced up at me, a look of horror on his face. “How under age?”
Did he truly not know? I found that difficult to believe.
“Fifteen,” Cornelius added as he turned around. “Stay away from her,” he warned. “Her dad is a warlock here, and her mom is a shifter from a pack not far away.” Cornelius stood and I watched as he walked over to the table and pointed. The young lady stood up and left, her entire demeanor changing immediately while Elio’s shoulder slumped.
“Maybe don’t try to sleep with every female here if you want to remain welcome,” Matthew said before he stood. I winced as he hurried to catch up with Cornelius who was quickly leaving the dining hall. Ten minutes ago, I would have been quite worried about myself remaining welcome in the coven if Elio continued on his current ways. It wouldn’t take much for Master Arthur to decide we were all too much of a risk and tell us to be on our ways. He hadn’t needed to accept us, and with the way things had been going, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were all asked to leave.
That was before my body reacted to the gorgeous enforcer. Frederick. He worked for the council. That meant he lived wherever the council happened to be stationed. Because he was my One, if and when we claimed one another, I would need torelocate to wherever it was that he lived. That just made the most sense. I did not have anything going on in my life that tied me to Amherst. I was more than happy to make a life with my One wherever he happened to be.
Determined to answer the questions that Frederick had for us, and then see if he was willing to discuss things of a more private matter, I left the dining hall and turned the direction of Fenwick’s office. It hadn’t been my intention to overhear what I was certain was supposed to be a private conversation, but as I approached Master Arthur’s office, the door was open and I could hear the conversation clearly.
“I cannot be involved with questioning Dominic,” I heard Frederick say. “Furthermore, the thought of him being my One, is not only disappointing, but insulting. I cannot in good conscious, continue as lead on this assignment. Not while remaining unbiased.”
I took a step back, then another but stopped at the sound of Master Arthur’s voice. “Do you wish to pursue Dominic once the questioning is complete and things are sorted?”
