Mathew Ventura, after living twenty-three years in a world of monsters and magic, was rarely surprised. The ability to kill with a drop of his blood was unbeatable.
But as soon as Jace said they had met before, Mathew stopped all motor function. His life smacked into a wall, and he couldn't move on.
"What?"
"We've met before and you didn't recognize me, I guess..." Jace rolled his eyes. Warmth radiated out of Jace as he flushed, and Mathew bit the side of his cheek to keep from smiling. Jace Wright, scary werewolf bodyguard, was full pouting and Mathew wanted to jump out the window. He was so cute.
Jace admitted, "I acted like a brat about it. Meeting you meant a lot to me, and it was obvious it meant nothing to you."
"Jace," Mathew said. "You can't hold something I don't even remember against me."
"That's the reason I'm annoyed, though."
"I'm sorry..." Mathew peered at Jace, wondering if it was safe or not to ask. "How did we meet before?"
Jace sighed. "It was a year ago at the Ventura castle. I was waiting for my meeting with Dante to ask him to be a part of the coven. I... I didn't have a pack, so I was anxious, and my wolf was restless. I needed your brother to say yes, and not just for me, but for Lilly."
"I couldn't sit still. I just kept pacing the gardens and I wasn't myself. I was a little reckless when I tripped and fell down a couple of stairs. I was more embarrassed than hurt when you... when you appeared." Jace let out a breath, like it was stuck in his chest. His whole body relaxed at the memory. "I saw you thought I had died. You looked like an angel."
Mathew wished he could remember. If he could, he'd try to match whatever he did that day because the smile Jace had from just thinking about that version of himself made Mathew pinched with jealousy.
"You helped me up, and I was fine, but I still let you walk me to a bench. You checked my head for bumps and asked your niece to run and fetch me some water."
Jace shook his head. "It was kind. Kind for no reason. I told you I was there to see Dante, and I was nervous from the stories I had heard. You laughed. You laughed, and I thought there were no worries in the entire world. You said Dante was a lovable teddy bear, and he got a bad rap. I believed you because I didn't think an angel could lie." Mathew flushed. That was a new one.
This was the most Jace spoke in one sitting, and he couldn't seem to stop himself. "I requested something to hold onto during the meeting. You gave me a pen in your pocket..." Jace got up and walked to his desk, revealing a simple light blue and gold ink pen they kept around the castle. It was custom ordered by Mathew's mother to have an engraved butterfly on the cap in gold. It was her signature creature. There were butterflies all over the estate.
"And you were right. The meeting went well and now and then, while reporting back to Dante, I would see you. You'd be with your family, or you'd be alone, and I'd never dare to bother you. Then, Dante asked me to come to his office. He knew you were planning to run away, and I was so worried about you, I would have agreed to anything. He asked me to be your bodyguard while you attended school."
Mathew rubbed his thumb over the butterfly for courage. "Why didn't you ever come up to me?"
Jace smiled sadly. That was all Mathew was good at doing lately. "You might've forgotten this, but I was reminded of it all the time. You're a prince and I'm just a temporary guard. You are a vampire from a prominent coven, and I am supposed to stand quietly in the corner. You're the precious baby of your family and I have to parent a teenager. The best I can do for you is this."
"You're selling yourself short, Jace." Mathew felt the need to defend his crush to his face. "Those are just titles and labels, but that's not who you are."
"It's what everyone will always see."
"But it shouldn't matter what they think. I like you. My feelings could grow for you..." Mathew said, even as these feelings were exploding out of him. "Do you really not have any feelings for me? Why did you kiss me?"
"I kissed you because I haven't stopped wanting to kiss you since I met you."
With a huff, Mathew was tired of standing around and talking. He closed the distance between them and grabbed Jace's face, pulling him into a kiss. Jace's hands found his waist and brought him in. Mathew's brow furrowed as he tried to prove these feelings with the soft press of their lips by the way his thumb caressed the top of Jace's cheek.
Mathew encircled his arms around Jace's neck to keep him close and Jace embraced him back, his warm hands sliding up Mathew's back.
Mathew broke the kiss and took a needy, trembling breath. "If you want me, you can have me."
"I can't." Jace whispered, rubbing his forehead into Mathew's. He hadn't let go like he couldn't.
"You can."
"You could never tell Dante."
Mathew's eyes popped open, and he pulled back. Jace had never looked more beaten down. Even the wolfsbane looked like a walk in the park compared to what Jace was inferring. Jace said, "You could tell Dante. He would never allow it, and you'd never be able to give up your family for me."
"It sounds like something we should worry about later, but... but I have to think of the future and if I imagine yours, I'm not in it. I don't fit."
Stepping out of Mathew's hands, Jace said, "So please, let me at least be your guard for now. Let me do this for you. I need to bring you home safely."
"You're not fair," Mathew said. He wouldn't argue with Jace when the wolf was right. He wouldn't lie just to make Jace be with him. It hurts that it all had to be so hard and so complicated before anything even started between them.
"I'm sorry," Jace said.
"Me too."
Jace bowed his head again and passed Mathew, but stopped, snagging Mathew's arm with a soft squeeze. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere without me anymore. I think until we stop these freaks, we're in danger and we fight better together."
Mathew just nodded and Jace, letting his hand drop, felt like the limb was going to fall off as if Jace was the only one holding Mathew together. The door closed and that little click was enough to send Mathew over the edge. Bursting into tears, Mathew crouched on the ground. All his fears came true. He was right. Everything going wrong was everything Mathew couldn't help. They never had a chance, and the only one who could see it was Jace. Jace even tried to save him from this, and Mathew understood why. This level of disappointment could really kill him.
Mathew wiped his face and dragged himself into bed, hiding underneath the covers. Mathew avoided another run in with Jace again today, and he desperately wanted the day to end quickly, hoping to escape his misery into something more pleasant, like a nightmare.
#
Down the forest path, all Mathew could see was Jace's back. He was walking away, and Mathew knew in his stomach that it was the wrong way. Danger awaited at the path's end.
"Jace—" Mathew tried to call his name but choked. Mathew gagged, hacking up a wad of blood that just wouldn't stop. Mathew's mouth filled with blood. So much he was drowning in it, joking it up while the blood filled his stomach, his lungs, and leaked out of his eyes and nose.
Mathew forced his eyes open.
He knew it was a nightmare, and he just had to break free from it. With a jump, Mathew forgot where he was. He jolted, facing a wall of a man. Jace was lying in front of him with his arms around Mathew as he slept. Mathew sucked in a breath, pushing himself up with one arm and letting Jace's fall off. He reached for the only phone, Jace's, by the nightstand and it was nearly noon. Mathew wished he could kick himself into oblivion.
Groaning, Jace's brows pinched together, and he adjusted his sleeping position onto his back. Mathew couldn't have burned hotter unless they were naked. Thankfully, Jace wore a shirt and pants to bed at night.
"Are you okay?" Jace said, a gravel to his voice.
"Um, uh, yeah," Mathew said, trying to convince himself of it. "I was just—"
"Having a nightmare," Jace finished for him and Mathew cursed himself for manifesting it. "I know. Usually, you'll go under your bed."
Mathew quickly got up, rubbing his face.
"This is the first time you crawled into mine."
Mathew turned around, staring at the part of the bed still wrinkled from his body. Jace's body heat lingered on Mathew's skin, and he shivered after parting from it. "Sorry," Mathew said, and reached for a change of clothes.
"Where are you going?" Jace asked.
"To get ready," Mathew said. "Cain and I are hanging out today."
Mathew didn't say the word date. He couldn't say it. Not to Jace's face, when he was all warm, squishy, and blurry eyed from waking up late. Stirring, Jace grabbed his phone and blinked and pushed himself up.
"No, you can rest a little longer," Mathew insisted, panicking that this man might make good on his promise and follow him everywhere. Even the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower."
"Alright," Jace grumbled, rolling back onto his side, and Mathew noticed how straight across his shoulders were. He seemed so comfortable and cuddly. That bed was so appealing to him. Was it warm and cozy because of the bed? Or was it cozy because Jace was the one underneath those covers?
"Just let me know when you're leaving for your date." Jace's cool tone ripped all the warmth out of Mathew's body.
"It's not a date," Mathew said.
"Don't worry. I'll follow you, but I'll be far enough away to not bother you."
Mathew had two options. This statement could destroy him. He could let this flippant attitude throw him off his feet. He could let this be the new normal between them. It'd be so easy to fade away and let it go. But Mathew was a Ventura.
Ventura didn't do easy.
Mathew walked back into the room and put his hand on the mattress. Surprised, Jace twisted around and looked up at Mathew with those big brown puppy dog eyes. Mathew steeled his expression, making sure Jace knew he was as serious as a heart attack. "The only person I'm concerned with dating is you, Jace. You're so concerned about being my bodyguard. Mathew's bodyguard, but I am a Ventura."
Mathew pushed himself up and stood up straight, shoulders rolled back and chin up just like the prince he was. "So, don't forget it. Ventura means good fortune. You're a lucky guy, if I'm the one who has a crush on you."
Taking Jace's dumb founded expression as an answer, Mathew barged through their door and left for the bathroom.
Mathew never acted this way before. Never had the urge to ruin a man's life the way he wanted to bulldoze all of Jace's plans just to make sure he was in them. Of course, he was worried about the Dante of it all... but Mathew didn't want to worry about something that hasn't happened yet. With enough happening around him, Mathew was more concerned about a secret coven of vampires, his still poisonous blood, and an encroaching winter break. Mathew didn't want to worry about a theoretical forbidden romance.
Dressed in a nice quarter zip and pants, Mathew wore his long black coat to match the chilly weather. He had waited for Jace outside their dorm room, and he emerged in a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a black face mask. Despite being buried under a hoodie and jacket, Mathew would recognize him anywhere.
"Ready?" Mathew asked.
Jace nodded. "Don't get into any weird cars and don't get forced to go to any creepy secondary location."
Mathew rolled his eyes. "You think I'm just the most gullible person on the planet, don't you?"
"I think someone just tried to kill me to get to you, so let me be a little protective, okay? So be safe."
"I will," Mathew promised, hoping to lessen some of Jace's worries. Mathew wasn't exactly looking for trouble, either. "But nothing's going to happen to me."
"I'll make sure of it."
"Um..."
A voice softly emerged from the stairs' edge. Peeking his head up, Noah grimaced, cringing at himself. "I'm sorry to interrupt your... talk," he landed on the more polite word. "But uh, Cain's looking for you, Matty."
"Thanks, Noah."
Sighing, Jace walked past Noah first, who made big puppy eyes at Mathew, hinting at him to come over. Mathew scurried up to him. "What?"
"Looks like you guys made up."
"Kind of. I'm working on it."
"Working on him? Jace Wright, really?"
"Really." Mathew smiled and practically skipped down the steps. Maybe all hope wasn't lost.