Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
“I’m okay. I was only startled for a moment before I remembered why I’m here. Tell me about the wards.”
Bain was quiet a few moments, still stroking Clive’s skin. “Though he has wizards skilled in wards doing most of the company’s spells, Xavier did the ones at his office, and he did these. This is his favorite of our houses, so he stays here often. I’m aware the wards are there because they make a low, humming sound in the back of my mind, but you won’t feel them. They’re like a protective bubble that keeps out negative energy. Anyone who comes here with violent intent can’t get through them.”
“You can actually hear them? That must be annoying.”
Bain rubbed his other palm over the arm Clive had draped across his chest. “Not at all. I’m used to them. And I like knowing it’s another layer of defense when it comes to you. Alaric is somewhere outside as well.”
Clive popped his head up to look at Bain. “He is? Should we invite him inside?”
“No. He has a bond with nature—loves it out there.”
“So he’s another…what did you call yourselves?”
“Preternaturals. I’m honestly not fond of that term because it means not normal or natural, and we are all very normal for our kinds. All beings of nature. But it’s been used for longer than I can remember, so it’s a standard word we all use to describe ourselves.”
“In werewolf lore, they have to shift into their other forms to stay healthy. Do you?”
“I can go for long periods in my human form, but yes, I do have to change if it’s been too long. But I’m still me like that. I just need to stretch that body because it’s mine, too. It’s not like a separate entity that needs to be free sometimes.”
“Oh, it’s like that in a lot of shifter romances I’ve read. Wait, are werewolves real?”
“Very much so, only they’re a little different. They do have two spirits and mostly keep to their packs, and their lives aren’t as long as most preternaturals. They can also be made, so their magic is, well, a little like a virus. Vampires, on the other hand, can’t make others and are born. The books get that wrong all the time.”
“You said Alaric has a bond with nature—can you tell me what he is?”
“He’s an elf.”
Clive knew his eyes were wide. “This is amazing. So a lot of the beings I read about in books actually come from our real world?”
“Most, yes. There are some works of fiction about creatures that don’t exist.”
“Like what?”
“I’ve never encountered a fairy or a leprechaun.” He grinned. “Though I did once run into a pixie in England. I had thought they were a myth, so it’s possible there really are fairies and leprechauns. It’s a wide, wonderful world out there, full of magic.” He frowned. “I’d ask Xavier, who’s a lot older than me and knows more, but he doles out information at such a slow pace, I doubt he’d tell me.”
“How did you meet him?”
Bain tensed and Clive immediately felt bad for asking. “I’m sorry. Is that too nosy?”
Lifting Clive’s face back to his, Bain cupped his cheek. “You can’t be too nosy with me, so you can ask me anything. I told you some of it. It’s just that was a bad period of my life. I was…lonely. Was getting into some unhealthy habits trying to cope with it.” He let go so Clive could rest his head again, but he angled his head to watch Bain’s face.
“I was drunk off my ass and decided it would be a good idea to mouth off in a trashy bar full of demons. Like humans and all preternaturals, there are good and bad ones, but that bar happened to be full of some real assholes. And there were too many for me to fight off—not in the shape I was in at that time. They beat me nearly to death and left me in an alley.” He paused, mouth tighter than usual. “I thought I wanted to die as I lay there. I’d lived over one hundred and fifty years and had grown tired of feeling like I didn’t have a purpose. That’s not actually unusual with a lot of us.”
“I can’t imagine how hard it would be outliving so many people you know.”
“Xavier found me there and cared for me until I was well. You know the rest.”
“Seems I need to thank Xavier.”
“For what?”
Clive rolled on top of Bain and propped his chin on his folded hands on Bain’s chest. Feeling all that skin under him had his cock perking up, but he ignored it. “For making you want to live again so I could meet you.”
“Just so you know, I’m normally a pretty upbeat creature. I’ve only had a couple of those dark periods in a long lifetime.”