Grand Redemption (D'Vaire Book 1)

by Kingley, Jessamyn

  Chapter 5

  Despite being exhausted at Brogan’s welcome home party, Ayden had not managed to get much sleep the night before. His mind would not let him rest, he kept thinking about what to do about this whole mate thing. After wrestling with his thoughts for most of the night, he still had no freaking clue how to solve it. Quite the opposite, he was just so overwhelmed by the fucked up situation. It was not like he came across shit like this every day. This morning on his walk, he had confessed all to Blodwen and his real mate, the one that had laid dead for centuries. Blodwen had danced and chortled with glee, she had reminded him that she had been the one to tell him that this was a possibility. Ayden had not shared in her joy nor had he informed Latarian of his discovery. He doubted that she would respond well to the news; she had loved Eoghan fiercely and made sure that Ayden never forgot about his own mate and his tragic ending. This was a situation he doubted anyone would immediately know how to handle.

  He had a mate not really meant for him. A mate that was unhappy with his under baked, short ass self. Oh, and Brogan had refused to even acknowledge that they were mates. And that was the one that was seriously making him see red. The fucker had a boyfriend, who clearly was important enough that he mentioned him within minutes of meeting Ayden. He was probably in love with the guy. Why any of that mattered to Ayden was another mystery. He sat at the kitchen counter and pondered what he should stuff his face with. He was starving.

  Shit.

  Brogan had just entered the kitchen and was heading straight for him. Ayden was so not ready to talk to him, and somehow the rest of the D’Vaires had disappeared, so it was just the two of them.

  “Good Morning,” Brogan said as he stood across the counter from Ayden.

  “Morning,” Ayden answered.

  “Sleep well?”

  Ayden felt like he was talking to a telemarketer. There was that much chemistry going on, but he faked a smile and offered a reply, “Sure, you?”

  “I slept okay.”

  Bewildered by the conversation, Ayden had no idea where it was heading. He had just gotten a whiff of his mate’s yummy musky fragrance. He was struggling not to get hard in the kitchen which pissed him off, “Good to know.”

  “Yeah, I had to unpack.”

  Shit, Ayden thought, was the guy simple or something? “Oh, did it take long?”

  “Not too long. I pack pretty light.”

  What the hell else did you say to that? This guy was like the worst conversationalist on the planet. The good news was he was no longer in danger of having all his blood diverge down to his crotch. Without any clue on how to jumpstart this chat he gave a nod and spoke, “Smart.”

  “Yeah, it’s nice to be home.” Ayden thought about one day when he was living at the cottage; he had been so bored that he counted the raindrops that had hit the window during a summer storm. That experience had been more exciting that this conversation.

  “I bet,” Ayden responded and hoped to hell his so-called mate would go away before he collapsed of boredom.

  “Did you have breakfast yet?”

  “No, I-”

  “Wait. You do eat food, right?” Brogan interrupted.

  “I. Eat. Food,” Ayden said through his teeth, going from bored to pissed in three seconds flat.

  “Sorry, I guess that was kind of a stupid question,” Brogan said sheepishly.

  “Yeah, it was.” Ayden knew he was acting like a dick, but at least he wasn’t a moron like this dragon standing over him blocking all the damn sunlight.

  “Right. So what kind of magic can you do? Mages have like one school of magic, right? Are witches similar? I don’t know much about witches and their sidekicks.”

  “Well-” Ayden was once again interrupted, but this time it was the ringing of Brogan’s cell phone instead of one of his stupid questions.

  “Sorry, I gotta take this.” Before Ayden could even think of a reply to that statement Brogan was greeting his caller. Ayden tried very hard not to eavesdrop. Okay, he didn’t try that hard, but the fool was standing right across the counter from him. It was almost impossible not to hear him. Brogan was talking to someone named Paul in low tones. Obviously this was the boyfriend from the warm, flirty tone and the “oh, yeah can I call you later” business. Ayden didn’t get pissed about his supposed mate talking to his boyfriend within hearing range. He couldn’t, he was still seething over being referred to as a sidekick by an asshole who still hadn’t owned up to being his mate and was on the phone with another man. Holy shit, Ayden thought, guess there was room to be pissed after all.

  Rather quickly, Brogan wrapped up his call, and Ayden smiled sweetly at him when he turned back in his direction. No reason for the moron to know he was full of rage. He had to seriously stifle his magic to keep his eyes from going blue, as they did when his emotions overtook him.

  “Sorry about that. So, what were we talking about? Oh yeah, what kind of magic can you do?” Brogan asked him after hanging up.

  “Oh, please let me show you,” Ayden said with a wide smile and then he set Brogan’s pants on fire. He watched him shriek and hop around the kitchen. Served the fucker right Ayden thought and let his smile grow even brighter. Ayden walked out of the room completely satisfied that he had answered Brogan’s question.

  A little while later, Ayden was back in front of the television watching his beloved drag queens when once again Aleksander interrupted his enjoyment.

  “Hey, squirt. Want to explain why you set Brogan on fire?”

  Ayden knew he would never get away without an explanation, but it was worth a shot, “Nope. Not really. Watching my show at the moment.”

  “Ayden,” Aleksander said and his tone was clearly warning Ayden that he meant business.

  “Fine. But I have a question for you first.”

  Aleksander took a seat on the arm of the couch, “Fair enough. Shoot.”

  “Why haven’t you said anything about Brogan being my mate?”

  “You are assuming that I am aware of it.”

  “Please, he’s your best friend,” Ayden scoffed.

  “Ayden, I was not honestly sure if you knew,” Aleksander said quietly.

  Ayden was getting pissed, apparently they all thought he was an idiot, “Of course I fucking know. Do you honestly think I wouldn’t recognize my own damn mate?”

  “You didn’t say anything yesterday to Brogan when you met so I wasn’t sure. You usually aren’t quiet about things.”

  “Normally, no, but I guess I was waiting for him to acknowledge it first,” Ayden explained. He had been consumed with the feelings brought on by his mate and had been sure that Brogan would be unable to ignore his mate pull, but he had been wrong.

  “So, I answered your question; it is your turn to answer mine. What was with the fire?”

  “First, he called me Latarian’s sidekick. Then, he took a call from his boyfriend right in front of me. Actually he interrupted me to answer it. He hung up and asked me what kind of magic I could do. So I showed him.”

  “How did you find out about the boyfriend?” Aleksander asked with a wince.

  “I sort of eavesdropped on your conversation yesterday.”

  Aleksander’s tone was one of warning and admonishment, “Ayden.”

  Ayden was not going to feel guilty about listening to them talk. How else was he going to learn what was going on with his mate? “Don’t Ayden me.”

  “That was rude.”

  “Yeah, well, so is he,” Ayden retorted.

  “Ayden, he’s your mate. The two of you need to work this out.”

  “Aleksander, I think you are pretty great.”

  “But you want me to butt out.”

  It was great that Aleksander knew him well enough that he didn’t need to spell it out for the dragon, “Bingo.”

  “Try not to set him on fire again.”

  “I will promise to try.” It really was the best he could do at the moment.

  Brogan tossed his ruined jeans into th
e trash and stepped into the shower. He could not believe Ayden had actually set him on fire. Luckily he had managed to put himself out pretty quick, but he had not escaped harm completely; he was a bit singed. Thankfully his mate had set the bottom of his jeans on fire and not the top of them; it would have been a whole lot more painful if his stick and berries had been fried. Being a shifter, he was already mostly healed from his run in with the witch familiar. He knew he had made a complete ass of himself. Brogan had found Ayden sitting there in the kitchen and for once in his life had become totally tongue-tied. The most inane conversation had started falling out of his mouth and then Paul had called.

  He knew it had been beyond rude to take the call, but Ayden had no clue who the caller was, and he needed a damn interruption. He had seriously been running out of things to say to Ayden. Obviously the familiar had some damn issues. What kind of person set their freaking mate on fire?

  Finished with his shower, Brogan was securing the towel around his waist when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. He was unsurprised to see Aleksander standing there when he opened it.

  “We should talk,” Aleksander stated.

  “Can I put on some pants first?”

  “I would prefer it actually. I’ve seen more than enough of your naked ass in my lifetime.” As shifters they had little use for modesty; you couldn’t shift into a big ass dragon without dropping your human-sized attire. Brogan dropped his towel and quickly dressed.

  “You all healed?” Aleksander asked after taking a seat in one of the chairs near the window.

  “Mostly.”

  “I just spoke with Ayden.”

  “He might need some kind of meds. Setting people on fire with no provocation is nuts,” Brogan told his best friend.

  “He knows about the boyfriend,” Aleksander informed him and Brogan saw red.

  “Why in the hell did you tell him?” Brogan demanded. Aleksander was supposed to be his best friend. Had his loyalties shifted in his absence? Brogan saw no reason for Ayden to know about Paul. He had ended the flirtation with him, and they were now just friends. No one wanted to know about their mate with someone else.

  “I didn’t tell him Brogan. I wouldn’t do that. Ayden eavesdropped on our conversation. He also knows you are mates, and he is pissed that you are involved.”

  Brogan was completely deflated. He was happy to know that Aleksander had not ratted him out, but now his mate thought he had a boyfriend. This was so not good. “I am not involved. I was going to get involved, but then I met Ayden. I told Paul that I met my mate. There is no reason we cannot continue to be friends. We were never lovers; we never made it that far.”

  “You called him your boyfriend and Ayden doesn’t know that you ended the flirtation or whatever the hell it was. Ayden thought his mate was talking to his boyfriend right in front of him.”

  Brogan could almost understand the whole pyro episode now.

  Almost.

  “Is that why he set me on fire?”

  “Well, that and did you actually call him Latarian’s sidekick?” Aleksander asked.

  “I don’t know. I might have. My mind blanked talking to him; stuff just started spewing out. He makes me nervous. How the hell should I know what the etiquette is for this? He is a freaking familiar thingie!” Brogan exclaimed, running a hand through his damp hair; he was completely frustrated and bewildered.

  “Brogan. You seriously need to deal with what he is. Your mate is not a thingie,” Aleksander admonished.

  “I thought this mating shit was supposed to be easy?”

  “Why in the world would you think that?” Aleksander asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

  “I don’t know. You meet. You mate. Happily ever after. Right?”

  “Wrong. Fate paired you, but you still have to build a relationship. You have to get to know each other. You know there are mates that don’t even stay together, it takes time and energy to grow and sustain love between you both.”

  “How can I do that when he sets me on fire?”

  “Don’t piss him off,” Aleksander advised.

  “I thought he was like subservient or something. Latarian’s little lackey.”

  “You are insane. Good luck,” Aleksander offered, as he rose from the chair he had been seated in and headed for the door. Brogan was absolutely sure he was going to need a great deal of luck; this mating business was some seriously scary shit.

  Ayden headed for the kitchen with a sense of impending doom. It was nearly dinnertime, and he had somehow managed to avoid running into the big dumb dragon that Fate had stuck him with since the little fire incident that morning in the kitchen. Fat chance for that trend to continue now that they all had to sit down to eat their evening meal. Ayden had decided to get to the dining room early so he could help set the table and hopefully position himself as far away from Brogan as possible.

  Ayden was still pissed about the morning’s events, but he was trying very hard to put that aside, and he was going to do his best to keep his trap shut during dinner. Avoidance was his only way of playing nice at the moment, and he was feeling just a smidge guilty about the whole fire thing.

  Entering the kitchen, Ayden grabbed a handful of cutlery from the drawer and headed straight to the dining room. He was unsurprised to find Blodwen already in the room placing dinnerware and napkins on the table’s smooth, shiny surface. She liked to keep busy and would do anything to tend to their family.

  “I like your shirt,” Blodwen said to him with a quick wink. Ayden had conjured up a T-shirt that had an image of a stick figure with his legs on fire.

  “Thanks,” Ayden replied with a grin.

  “How are you?” she asked, her gaze intent and eyes serious.

  “Got like a dozen hours for me to explain it?”

  “For you I have all the time in the world.” Ayden felt better after hearing Blodwen’s words. It was wonderful to have a best friend who supported him; he was glad to know that she wasn’t pissed off at him for losing his temper. He really needed her support right now as he dealt with Brogan. Setting down the forks and knives in his hands, Ayden walked over and gave her a much-needed hug.

  “Next time you set someone on fire, take it outside. You could have burned the house down,” Blodwen said with a smirk, after their embrace ended. Ayden rolled his eyes and went back to placing his forks and knives.

  “Fine, next time I will throw him through a window before he bursts into flames,” Ayden answered wryly.

  “See, someday I just knew you’d be a good little witch helper,” she pinched his cheek as she spoke. He had taken the time to tell her about Brogan’s insult this morning.

  “Keep it up. I’ll set you on fire.” Blodwen just laughed as Ayden issued his threat. He decided he really needed to work on being more threatening to others.

  “Good evening, Brogan.” Ayden looked up at Blodwen’s words and saw the dragon shifter entering the dining room. Inwardly he groaned. Just his luck that Brogan would decide to arrive for dinner early as well.

  “Hi Blodwen, Ayden.” Ayden gave a little wave of his fingers and turned his attention back to the table in response to Brogan’s greeting.

  “You guys are here early.” Ayden thought his mate was pretty observant and very good at stating the obvious. Wow, Ayden thought, he was really growing as a person. He had actually found something positive about Brogan.

  “Yes, Latarian’s sidekick and I were just setting the table,” Blodwen said and Ayden felt like hooting with laughter. He loved that necromancer. He looked up at Brogan and watched bright color sweep across his cheeks in a blush. It served the fucker right.

  Brogan felt his cheeks flame at Blodwen’s casual reference to his earlier faux pas. It was his first blush in about seven hundred years. He hadn’t meant to insult Ayden by referring to him as a sidekick, but Brogan had felt like he should get some leeway since he was still trying to figure out exactly what a familiar was. What he needed was some time alone with his mate so he could as
k him to explain it. The thought filled him with fear. When he’d had the opportunity to talk to Ayden earlier Brogan had been so nervous that he had babbled nonsense. That was so out of character for him that he was still shocked that he had clammed up. Brogan had always been comfortable around people; Ayden was the first person to have that effect on him. Even now, standing in a room with Ayden and Blodwen, he was just standing there staring at them like an idiot. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Brogan decided it was past time to start mending fences and gain some sorely needed ground with his mate.

  “Ayden, I am sorry if I offended you this morning. I have to confess that I don’t know anything about witches or familiars. I did not realize that I was insulting you.” Brogan mentally congratulated himself for not sounding like an idiot. A minute passed, but his mate was still quiet; he had not responded at all to his apology. Ayden just kept doling out silverware and completely ignoring him. Looking over at Blodwen Brogan noticed that she had stopped folding napkins and was staring intently at her friend. He watched her drop the napkin in her hand and walk over and smack Ayden on the back of his head.

  “Ouch! Fine. Apology accepted,” Ayden gritted out, as he rubbed his skull and glared at the necromancer.