Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39596 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39596 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Chapter Nine
Callan
Callan waited until Lonnie was finally asleep before calling Xavier. And that wait seemed like forever because Lonnie was too scared to go to bed. So they’d watched more of that blue eyed warrior show—which hadn’t been a hardship. Callan liked it so much he was looking forward to seeing more of these anime shows.
But once Lonnie was in his room, Callan took his phone into the bedroom he was using with the ridiculous bed that creaked when he sat on it. He stared at a colorful poster on the wall, mind reeling as he called his boss.
“Hello, Callan,” Xavier said, not sounding like he’d been awakened in the middle of the night.
“Lonnie is my mate.”
Xavier made a low sort of humming, murmuring sound. “I had a feeling, yes.”
“Why didn’t you warn me?”
Xavier was silent a moment. “Warn you? Unlike some of my more reticent employees, I thought you’d be ecstatic.”
“I am. It’s just…shock.”
Xavier chuckled. “Four hundred years without a mate would cause that. This is a wonderful thing, Callan. I know how much you’ve always wanted a mate.”
“My brother has one. Made me think it could never happen to me.”
“My visions told me you would. And Callan, your other two brothers will find theirs, as well. I saw it perfectly the last time they came into the office. Your family is lucky. Even your father is going to find a soulmate.”
His father had never gotten over the loss of his wife. She’d lived into her fifties, always a strong, burly woman whose sudden drowning had subdued them all. Especially because she’d been able to swim like a fish. To know his father would find love again made Callan very happy.
“What do I do?”
There were a few moments of silence, then some covers shuffling, telling Callan that Xavier might not have been asleep, but he was in bed. He could have waited until tomorrow to call him, but then no, he couldn’t. The excitement zinging through his system like electrical currents was too powerful to ignore.
“What do you mean? You don’t know what to do with a soulmate? You love them, of course. Do you think you won’t?”
“No, I will. He is…special. Sees the real me and isn’t afraid.” He paused and cleared his throat. “I can’t hear his thoughts.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“It is,” he agreed. “You don’t care that he’s a client?”
“Callan, I care about your happiness, just as I do all the others in my employ. Bain and Alaric have both found their soulmates, too.”
They were actual—real—soulmates? “Those humans can see past glamours, too. Is that why?”
“What it means is that somewhere in their ancestry, there was a preternatural. It left some humans with this ability, and it also makes them able to bond with us. Live as long as we do.”
Callan hadn’t known that part. That a human could be a soulmate. Hadn’t even allowed himself to think about the probability that he’d long outlive his love as his father had. Lonnie wasn’t his love yet, but he had no doubt that he would be. He was already attracted to him. Already thought he was special in ways other than his ability to see through glamours. He was funny and didn’t apologize for quirks some would feel needed apologies. He was unmistakably himself, and for that, Callan admired him.
“Callan, you will already start bonding with him, and at some point, I can provide the spell that will seal you together and allow his life to extend. Should he want that, of course.”
“Who wouldn’t want to live a long time?”
“Plenty of people. Depends on the person. But if this is what he wants—what you both want—then I’ll do the binding spell.”
“Did Clive and Ezra do it?”
“They did.”
“I didn’t know.” He was so incredibly happy for his friends, Bain and Alaric. To have their soulmates bound to them. To not worry about aging, as his father always had with his mother.
“Are you happy about this, Callan?”
“Of course. Happy isn’t a good enough word.” He could think better words though. Ecstatic being one of them. Putting those words on his tongue was another matter.
“Perfect.” There was more shuffling, then Xavier let out a long sigh. “I must get some sleep now. I know you don’t need as much of that as the rest of us, but I do.”
“I’m sorry to have woken you.” He really wasn’t.
“You are always welcome to call. You know that.”
“Thank you, Xavier. For sending me to take care of Lonnie.”
“You’re welcome. Goodnight, Callan.”
Callan clicked off his phone and slid it into his pocket before walking quietly down the hallway to stand outside Lonnie’s room. A light snore rumbled from the other side of the door, making him grin. This wonderful little human, one who was everything he’d ever longed for, was going to belong to him. He’d have a lifetime of love, a companion. The sexiest companion he could have imagined.