Bellamy, once again offers me his arm. I take it and allow him to lead me out to the front of the building where a Shifter man waits patiently. He is dressed in jeans and a dark shirt, much like Shaun and Aaron. He is quite tall and bulky, if he weren't so polite he would probably be intimidating. He has chocolate brown hair. His eyes are brown too but seem tinted orange so they don't quite look human. He is well built and if I do say so myself, quite attractive. “This is Darrien, Megan's guard.” Bellamy says quietly. The guy is cute, but what really catches my attention is the red thread connecting his heart to Megan's. Interesting. I go out of my way to smile at him and shake his hand.“Hi, I'm Ryann Gale. You're Darrien right? It's nice to meet you.” The man smiles kindly and mumbles a quiet greeting. I can already see that he is the gentle giant type. Although I wouldn't put it past him to be seriously scary if someone threatened Megan. He assesses me with his eyes, as if determin
Bellamy immediately turns to me.“Are you okay?” he asks in a hurry.“Of course I am. He's an Incubus sure, but he isn't going to hurt me.” I assure him. Bellamy looks doubtful.“You sure he didn't try anything? You know how Inccubi. can be.'' His voice is thick with implications. I glare at him.“Now that's just rude. He's a person like anyone else. He has a soul mate just like anyone else. I'm not sure who, I don't know if they've met yet. It just takes a while for Inccubi. and Succubi to settle down is all. He's basically harmless.” Bellamy looks confused.“I've seen people run into Inccubi. and leave with them after only a minutes conversation once they turn on their charm. It doesn't seem to affect you at all.” I shrug.“Harry wasn't really trying. Inccubi like games. As long as you let them know that you aren't playing, they lose interest.” Bellamy nods.“Fine, it's good that you aren't really affected by them. Just remember that I promised to see you home.” he reminds me. I gla
I go and change into my fluffy unicorn pyjamas. I plug my phone onto charge and climb into the very corner of my bed where I am most comfortable. I watch as my red thread fades from my view. Bellamy must have driven far enough away that I can't see it anymore. Considering that we are fated to be together, he is very annoying. He is definitely not the kind of person I expected fate to give to me. I still can't imagine being with him for the rest of my life. He is bossy and demanding, the complete opposite of me. I am pulled from my thoughts when I feel my phone vibrating next to me. I have a text from Megan.Megan- Hey, so I'm thinking brunch tomorrow followed by shopping. I want a dress for my engagement party!!! Pick you up at 10am???I responded with my acceptance and my address. I have never really been shopping with a friend before and I find I am insanely excited. I probably can't buy much given my limited income. But it should still be fun helping Megan pick something. I put my
Here.” She hands me a folded square of paper. I unfold it and read.Ryann,Since you will be attending my sister's engagement party and will be assisting me with the matter we previously discussed, it is only right that I provide you with the appropriate attire for the occasion. As such, I hope that while you are shopping with Megan today you will choose a dress for yourself which I will pay for. (Megan has my credit card)BellamyI am gaping at the note, totally confused. What the actual hell is this? Is Bellamy just super generous all of a sudden? Or maybe he is trying to bribe me to cooperate more or something. Either way, it is completely unacceptable. He might be my fate but that doesn't mean I'm comfortable going around spending his money. Particularly since we aren't actually together yet. I drop the note and turn to Megan, about to voice my objections when she hands me a phone. My phone which she apparently took from my bag while I was reading.“I added my brother's number. I
It clicks in my head. I guess sometimes all it takes is to phrase something a little differently.“What you're saying is that ultimately, the men aren't in control because we control ourselves, but that we LET them have control in order to calm their protective instincts which in turn makes them less controlling and demanding.” I sum up. Darrien nods.“Yes, FINALLY. That's what I was trying to say. Really I think control is the wrong word. What they want is trust. If you show you trust them to keep you safe, they in turn worry about it less.” she smiles at me. I nod my acceptance.“But why is it just the men?” Megan shrugs.“It isn't really. Female Shifters are just as protective, particularly when it comes to children. However we are less prone to fighting and violent behaviour so we tend to focus more on taking care of people emotionally. Which sort of complements the Shifter men's issues with control as we feel that we are protecting them emotionally by allowing them to protect us
Shopping is exhausting, but fun. The first few stores we try, Megan can't find a single dress that interests her. In the third store, she finds a few things to try on but decides against them. As she searches for herself, I half-heartedly keep an eye out for a dress for myself. But mostly I focus on helping Megan find her perfect dress. We are in our fourth store and Megan is flicking through a rack of dresses and dismissing them just as quickly. I'm quite tired, I don't go out often other than for work and the threads floating around me are distracting. I do wish that I could turn my abilities off and on. A switch would be useful, or a button. Feeling a headache coming on, I decide to step back for a moment. I find myself standing beside Darrien. As he has been all morning, he is quiet and watches us both carefully, I notice his eyes flicking to the side every now and then. I follow his gaze as it does and realise that he is glancing over at a dress. And wow is it a dress. It is stun
Bellamy sits beside me as I finish off my ice-cream. Once again, he is well within my personal space. Is he doing this on purpose or does he not realise how close he's sitting? I can feel his warmth beside me. As I finish my treat he stands, although he looks a little nervous. I'm wondering why when he speaks.“So, did you ask Megan about that thing?” he asks me. I nod my head. He meets my gaze.“And? What did you think?” he questions. He looks like he expects me to be mad. I smile and stand up. His expression is wary as I step in closer towards him but quickly turns to relief when I take his arm which he automatically held out to me as I stood. In fact, more than relief, he looks quite pleased.“I think that it's different. Different, and confusing and might take some time for me to get used to.” I tell him with a small smile.“But you're willing to try and get used to it?”“As long as you're willing to try and understand that it is not natural to me and might take a bit of work.” I
This time the suit is plain black. It looks better and Bellamy seems happier. He is wearing a black shirt underneath. He shrugs at me.“Well?” he asks. I consider a moment.“It's very... black.” I observe. Bellamy raises an eyebrow.“It's a black suit.” he points out.“I can see that, but... it's just... I don't know. It's better. But not right.” I turn to Charlie for assistance. He is nodding along with me.“She's right. I have an idea.” He stands and vanishes yet again. When he returns he is holding two more shirts. A plain white one and a maroon one.“Try these with it.” He hands them to Bellamy. Bellamy sighs in frustration and returns to the dressing room. My phone vibrates in my bag and I pull it out. It's a message from Megan. She has sent me the photo of me in my dress that she took earlier.Megan- Send me mine!I text her the photo of her dress and she sends back her thanks. I flick back and forth between the two photos. Happy to have some kind of evidence that I got to spend