Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Davina’s POV

“Bartender, another shot!” I said, raising up my glass. He looked at me worriedly.

This would be my fifth when he served it.

But he had nothing to worry about because I was no lightweight.

I took the fifth glass bottom-up. The liquid burned down my throat, then I slammed it down on the counter and asked for yet another one.

Reality was still too clear and vivid for me.

Last night was such a nightmare.

I knew Marcel could be cold.

But yesterday was something else.

The rain soaked my bones until they stuck to my body, the wind came at me like invisible whips all while I was calling his name.

I had been out there forever before a guard grabbed me from under my arm and pulled me into the mansion. He explained that I had not been responding when he called out to me.

And when we were face to face, a single apology did not cross his lips.

Rather than being apologetic, he was all but gloating.

I thought of how I would get back at him and this was it, this was how… I got some cash from his electronic safe, put my phone on airplane mode and drove to the outskirts of the city.

I had been more or less mindlessly loitering around, waiting for him to regret what he did last night, and all of my directionless movements brought me to this bar.

The atmosphere was nice, the lighting set the mood and only one guy had come around to bother me, so I’d been able to keep chugging down shot after shot with little to no interruption.

I thought this would continue until somebody bumped into me from behind while I was sitting on a barstool. My balance was already becoming wonky and when the person hit me by accident, I spilled the drink in my hand all over my shirt.

My plain white shirt that was now see-through.

I turned around, ready to give the klutz a loud verbal lashing.

“Are you out of your,”

The words were hooked up in my throat, unable to budge an inch.

Saying the guy in front of me was good looking would be the understatement of the century. His eyes sparkled like sapphire and his hair was this rich deep chestnut. His plump lips parted with evident surprise, but he acted quickly after spotting the stain on my shirt.

He took off his jacket and soon it was on me. It swallowed me and looked more like a small coat than anything else, but it covered me nicely and carried an appealing hint of musk and cedarwood scent.

“Thanks,” I said, and I meant it. He took the barstool next to mine.

“It’s the least I could do, Miss…”

“I’m Davina,” I said without adding a last name.

He didn’t seem to have a problem with that, and a small smile occupied his face. “Derek.”

Derek came with some friends but decided to stay with me since his entire group was filled with couples or people looking to mingle, but he wasn't interested.

“What about you?” I felt so bad for the other women at the bar, a lot of them were already making eyes at him and a couple were even glaring at me. “I think you would disappoint a handful of women if they find out that you are not interested in at least mingling.”

He shook his head, swirling the cocktail that the bartender brought for him in the middle of our conversation.

“I’m sure they’ll find someone else, but I'm already taken,” he said proudly.

“Really? What’s she like?” I asked with genuine curiosity.

He leaned toward the counter, his jaw becoming a little tight. “Not sure. I haven’t met her before.” He took a long sip of his cocktail. “Don’t laugh but I'm saving myself for my mate.”

He guided his eyes around my face to see how I would react. I smiled, not mockingly.

“I did the same thing too. Now I found my mate,” I said then my voice dimmed, “...But meeting your mate doesn't mean you won't have to put in the work, sometimes you might face as much challenge as people with chosen mates, you'll have to suffer and endure a lot.”

“Why?” he asked, sounding appalled. “If having her in my life means I'm making her miserable I would rather let her go.”

I nearly shattered the glass in my hand but reeled back my strength. Suddenly it was like a new part of my brain had opened up.

“I think you're right, if the main thing someone brings in your life is suffering, wouldn’t the smart thing be to let them go?”

“Definitely,” he said, staring into his cocktail like it held the secrets of life.

His voice fell deeper.

“The way you spoke just now are you and your mate,”

“Everything is perfect,” I said with the mechanical awkwardness of an automated response. “Things couldn't be better between us if we tried, I was just thinking of other people who might not be happy with their mates.”

I tried to derail the conversation from mates and thankfully we were able to talk about other things.

“Looks like it’s already somewhere around twelve… can you drive me home?” I asked the stranger I had known for less than five hours.

“Are you sure I shouldn’t just call your mate?”

“No!” I yelled, refusing in the blink of an eye.

“Why not?” He raised an eyebrow in concern.

Marcel was as jealous as they came, if he knew I had been chatting with another man for this long he would lose his mind.

“I just… can’t call him,” I said, failing to find a good reason in my half-drunk mind.

He held me with his eyes for a moment, then brought his car keys out of his pocket, swinging them on one finger.

“Show me the way, I’ll drive you back home.”

I asked him to stop a stone’s throw away from the mansion.

“Thank you… for tonight, for everything…” I said before taking off my seatbelt and stepping out.

I swayed my way to the mansion. Standing at the gates was Marcel on his phone.

He saw me and instantly there was murder in his eyes.

That was when I remembered one crucial detail.

I was still wearing Derek’s coat.