Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
“I know he’s the oldest of us all, and I suspect he’s been alive longer than we thought possible. I asked Bain because if anyone knew, it would be him as Xavier’s closest friend. He has no idea, either.” Dax leaned one shoulder against the trunk of a tall, thick tree and crossed his arms. “I suspect he’s a lot older than Alaric’s father, that maybe he’s been around for millennia. I also believe he can tap into the earth’s power and draw magic from it. I once knew a wizard who could draw from ley lines, a powerful being, but he didn’t have nearly the ability Xavier does.”
Finn squinted into the sunlight a moment before facing his friend again. “Tell me something, did he approach you about working for Protective Solutions?”
“Yes, you?”
“He did. It almost feels as if he’s gathered us all together for a purpose, though I can’t imagine what that would be. Where were you when he found you?”
“School.”
Finn cracked a grin. “I should have known that. Just how many degrees have you acquired in your over three hundred years? You’re twenty years older than me, right?”
“Yes, twenty. And I have several advanced degrees. In literature, quantum physics, and mathematics.” He smiled. “I’m quite different from a lot of my kind.”
That was the truth. Ogres had earned a reputation as lumbering giants with brute strength and little brains. When he’d met Dax, Finn had realized that like everyone else, ogres were just as different from one another. The habit of putting people and preternaturals into stereotypes was just wrong. “Did you originally do all that studying to prove everyone’s assumptions about ogres incorrect?”
Dax chuckled. “No. I care little what people think of me. I want to know everything, so I set about doing that.” Dax straightened up off the tree. “How did you realize that Ajax is your soulmate? Do jinns have a tell like Callan’s horns?”
“No, but I had a powerful reaction to him, and the more I was around him, the more I knew. It’s hard to explain, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. And there’s the fact he can see through glamours. You were told that these special humans have the ability to bond with us permanently?”
“Xavier explained it. I’m still reeling from that knowledge. With ogres, we don’t get tingling horns. My parents told me that their beginning was much like yours. An instinctive knowledge when they met. I’ve talked with Alaric’s parents, and it was much the same thing. But it makes me wonder if maybe I’ve already missed mine. That maybe I walked right past him and never realized. That worry has been messing with my sleep. That in all my years, it could have been someone, anyone. I’ve tried to think back to anyone who might have stared like they saw past the glamour, but that doesn’t really work with me because everyone stares.”
“Being seven foot three and as big as a house would cause that.”
“Yes. But it was my fate to be one of the larger preternaturals. You know…” He paused, his cheeks turning faintly pink. A bird sang from the tree above their heads as Dax seemed to be having trouble continuing what he was saying. When he spoke, his words started out hesitant. “I’ve never been with a human because of my size and strength. Was always afraid I’d…hurt them. I can only hope that if I’m blessed with a human mate, he will be big and strong.”
“And smart, or you’d get bored,” Finn teased.
“That would be nice. There was a human professor I was attracted to many years ago, but I never approached him out of worry over our size difference. But now, I can’t help but wonder if he’d been my mate.”
“You could seek him out and see.”
“This was over fifty years ago, and he was older then, so I doubt he’s still alive. He’s the one who’s had me not sleeping and wondering if I missed my chance.”
“I hope that’s not the case, Dax.”
“So do I. I long to have someone in my life. Whatever issues you have with your bond with Ajax, you need to fix them and—” He broke off as someone yelled by the front gate. He scowled. “It’s that one fan with the demo again. What a complete asshole. Did you see he actually set up a tent?”
“I did.” Finn needed the distraction, so he grinned at his friend. “Let’s go scare him off.”
Dax returned his grin. “Yes, let’s.”
Chapter Twenty
Ajax
Ajax sat beside the pond, staring at the small ripples of water as the koi fish swam about. The sun was setting, throwing a pretty haze over the woods around the house, but he barely paid attention, too caught up in what Finn had told him. As he had been for days.