Dark Fates: Mated to my Ex's Uncle

Chapter 2

REISLYN

Silence.

That was what I opened my eyes to, and I opened my lips in a silent moan as the blooming headache made itself known to me.

Oh heavens.

I quickly remembered the spell to soothe a bad hangover and murmured it silently in my mind, pressing my fingertips to my temple shakily. With a bit of concentration and more magic than I needed, the headache pulses began to die down in intensity.

Sweet relief!

I sighed heavily, letting my limbs fall to the mattress as I slowly came to.

Wait- mattress?

I blinked slowly, tasting the faint alcohol still on my mouth and my fuzzy tongue. My vision began to clear, and as I took in the sight of the strange room, I knew something had happened.

“What...?” My voice was soft and I slowly began to feel dread and confusion.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

The sound of the masculine voice behind me made me jolt and I sat up with speed that my head swam for a second.

“Ugh,” I groaned and pressed my hand to my face, covering my eyes as I tried to stabilize myself.

“Careful,” the voice called out again, and for the first time it occurred to me what might have happened.

Oh no.

I looked down at myself and realized that I was in fact? Naked as the day I was born.

Oh no…

“What the hell?”

I turned slowly, afraid of whom I might see, and my heart sank as I saw him for the first time.

Holy f**k.

I had just slept with Elijah Corbyn.

My heart began to race with the realization that I had not only had a one-night stand, but that it was someone so closely related to my ex whom I hated more than anything in the world.

The Corbyns were a big deal not just in the world of Shifters, but to the rest of the world at large. A powerful influence in world politics and many industries, it was no secret when a scandal made waves.

Jeremy’s grandfather, now late, had an affair with a dangerous breed of shifters, and out of that affair came Elijah Corbyn, an Incubus.

Incubi were not only powerful and had the ability to assume multiple secondary forms, but also had the ability to feed off of energy, both witches and shifters alike. And they were extremely predatory towards humans.

Everything about Elijah was not only dangerous for me, but all levels of taboo. After all, who the hell sleeps with their ex’s UNCLE?!

“I-I…” my voice cracked as I began to take in the stoic expression on the man’s face.

He didn’t recognize me. How could he? Elijah wasn’t close to the rest of the Corbyns. I had only known what he looked like because Jeremy would often take me in secret to his grandfather’s study where a portrait of him stood.

He was much younger than Jeremy’s father, and was closer in age to Jeremy. He must be about 37 now, I thought, doing the math quickly in my head.

And he looked… more than good. Even then, sitting up on the bed with his upper body exposed, the incubus was majestic in every sense of the word.

‘Bet you wish you remembered the night with him,’ a teasing inner voice made me blush harder.

“Still so silent,” his voice was like silk in my ears as I returned to reality. “Quite a change. You were more vocal last night.”

Oh heavens.

“I’m sorry,” I croaked out finally in a soft voice. “I’ll just…go.”

Willing my legs to work, I slowly began to crawl out of the bed, tugging the sheets with me to keep a bit of my decency.

However, in an instant I found the sheets pulled roughly away from me and I gasped, trying to cover my nakedness with my hands. His cerulean eyes were intense, and I couldn’t deny the power his gaze had on me.

Then his words damned me.

“You’re not to leave my side ever again, mate.”

Mate, his growl echoed in my head and I blinked slowly. Confusion and daze gave way to outrage and denial.

“WHAT?!”

…

ELIJAH

My lips twitched in amusement at the little witch’s reaction to my statement.

How confusing, I thought.

Now that the mate bond had settled in my chest, it was like a new realm of knowledge was opened up.

This woman… this witch, was my mate.

My eyes roved over her body, hints of lust still in my mind. She was certainly a vision. Her grey eyes were striking contrasting nicely with her dark hair. I always had a thing for brunettes. And her body… it had been so willing and receiving everything I gave her last night.

She was good enough to catch any man’s eye.

The thought of that stoked a fire in me, made me all too aware of the desire I had to keep her here.

I would make sure no other man got a chance to see her this way.

The feeling of possessiveness, of wanting to own this little witch intensified the more I stared at her, and I realized my thirst had become prominent.

Shit.

I was shifting without even realizing it.

I glanced down at my hands and surreptitiously closed my hands into fists, willing the claws to morph back into normal fingernails before she would see.

What was causing this change within me? I was a vestige of control. Being a bastard son AND an incubi meant I had no one to support me if my shifting or hunger got out of control. So, I had beat the lack of it out of me over the past decades, making sure I was perfect at it.

What could be causing this? It wasn’t my emotions exactly.

I felt a thread of desire stir even more as I shut down the primal need to move closer to Reislyn. This was the mate bond, right? It had to be. Suddenly, I didn’t like the idea of being so beholden anymore… But it wasn’t like I had a choice in the matter.

“As I said,” I smoothly replied to her, the moment of conflict gone in a flash. I got out of bed and did not care that I was naked. I felt her eyes on me and stifled a smirk at how her eyes seemed to glance over at THAT part between my legs.

I may have been a lot of things but I certainly wasn’t an average man.

I continued, “You are my mate. Do you need an explanation on what that entails, witch?”

She spluttered and I tugged on a shirt.

“That isn’t what I meant. I KNOW what a mate is,” her voice had an edge to it. “And my name’s not witch. It’s Reislyn.”

Reislyn.

The corners of my lips tilted up.

It suited her.

“Look. Why don’t we start over? I need to leave here. We can pretend that this never happened, and go our separate ways. Okay?” Her voice was shaky yet hopeful.

A growl left my lips at the thought of that. My own mate, leaving ME? That would never happen.

I would NOT allow it.

“Tell me, Reislyn,” my voice was low and dangerous and I turned to regard her. She stood frozen, clutching the dress she had worn to the club the previous night. “What kind of man do you think I am?”

…