Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Everett Page has no idea what attacked him in that alley, but with a recent big inheritance, he believes a bodyguard might be a good idea. And he wants Dax. In more ways than one. Too bad, Dax seems to think he’s fragile because of his size. Being underestimated is the last thing Everett needs.
As they slowly figure out just what Everett’s attackers are after, they grow close, and Dax breaks his own rules about humans. He knows with everything in him this man is his soulmate. So what does it mean that Everett can’t be one?
Ogre is a long MM novella set in the Mystic Guardians world, but it can be enjoyed as a standalone. Get ready for an intelligent ogre and a writer who knows exactly what he wants, one who is about to learn there’s so much more to this world than his imagination could have dreamed of
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
Dax
Daxington Grobb usually loved the sound of the water splashing against the rocky shore, but tonight each break had him narrowing his eyes and searching the surface of Elliott Bay. He was crouched behind a boat supply building with Emory, his coworker and best friend. Every muscle in his body was taut with readiness.
There was a half moon, but its meager gleam couldn’t compete with all the reflected lights from the city. Boats slowly moved across the surface of the water, and the seagulls were noisy despite the late hour. Though in his experience, the birds were noisy no matter the hour, letting out piercing screams when they felt their nests were threatened.
He often spent time along the bay at night. He liked to study under the lights that were strategically placed around the benches, and with his ogre size, nobody ever bothered him, so it was normally peaceful.
Under tonight’s circumstances, it was not.
Emory’s whisper broke the silence of their hiding spot. “Did Xavier tell you how many people he thinks they’ve taken?”
Dax watched some boat lights coming closer. “Around twenty missing persons, most last seen in this area. The cops are pulling out their hair. The victims are so random, they can’t find any connections.”
“Fuck,” Emory murmured. “I had a hot date tonight, too. Hated cancelling with Jacob.”
Dax didn’t recognize the name, but he hadn’t expected to. His friend was the epitome of non-monogamous. “How long have you known this one?”
Emory chuckled. “Just met him, of course. Was going to be a first date.”
“Since when do you date?” Dax threw him a surprised glance.
“Since he insisted we go out first.” He shrugged. “Worth the time. Guy has legs for days.” He frowned at the water. “Are we sure we’re in the right place?”
Dax nodded, struggling to pinpoint any strange sounds coming from the water over the seagulls’ racket. Xavier, their boss at Protective Solutions, had seen a connection among the disappearances that the police couldn’t. Dax had surmised this for himself as well.
The bay itself.
Xavier suspected kelpies had been coming onto land and carrying humans back into the bay to kill them. Kelpies were some of the worst preternaturals. Nothing more than vicious killers, really, and they were strong fuckers. So he had sent Dax and Emory to watch the shore where the last ones had emerged. Dax because he was strong enough to fight them no matter what form the kelpies took—he was always sent on the jobs that required brute strength—and Emory, the angel, because he was quick, and though he could no longer fly long distances, he could still jump high into the air and attack from above.
But the lights made spotting the preternaturals difficult. They’d been waiting hours now for the creatures to creep out of the beautiful bay.
“I wonder what brought them here,” Emory said after a bit.
Something rippled in the water, and Dax narrowed his eyes to watch, but nothing emerged. “I believe it has something to do with nature’s magic growing stronger. It’s probably drawing more preternaturals to this area. Can’t you feel how strong the ley lines are growing?”
Emory shot him a look, eyebrows raised. “I didn’t know you could.”
“My magic sensory ability is strong. Thought you knew that.”
“I knew it was stronger than mine, but not that you could sense ley lines.” Emory leaned closer, light reflecting off the long blond curls that he’d pulled up into a messy knot. “Can you sense how powerful Xavier is? Because what we saw him do to that wizard in Arizona…” He trailed off before giving a light shudder. “I’ll be honest—it scared the shit out of me.”
Xavier had stripped a warper wizard of his magic, surprising them all. The kind of power that took was beyond most preternatural’s imagination. He could not strip Dax’s strength nor intelligence, so it hadn’t scared him, just shocked him. But Emory’s abilities were more magical in nature. He could understand all languages and move objects with his mind. At one time, he’d been able to fly but some renegade angels had changed all that when they’d clipped his wings. Xavier could take those powers, so Dax understood his friend’s uneasiness. “I can sense his power to a degree. I believe he masks his full abilities.”
Emory nodded. “Yeah, I got that feeling, too. I’m also starting to wonder if he had other reasons for bringing us all into the company.”
Dax lifted an eyebrow. Not over the statement, per se, but more over the fact that Emory was pondering something so deep. Something Dax himself had been mulling. “Like what?”
“No idea, it’s just a feeling. Everyone he’s hired does have a specific talent, so I’m probably wondering that for nothing.”
The water rippled again, and this time, black tentacles slowly slid out as if to test the air. One large one crept onto the shore, thick and dark, with suckers that pulsed off its surface.