Destined Mates: Purely Paranormal Pleasures

Chapter 3: Avail Sighs

A loud sigh escaped Avail. He was going to lose his mind. A week. He'd been cooped up inside the house for a full week. Like a child who'd been punished.

His beast was riding him hard as he always did during the last quarter phase of the moon. Most Shifters suffered from FBB, or full moon blues, as he liked to call it. But not him.

Typical animal-to-man Shifters or Weres were bound by rules that didn't exactly apply to supernatural creatures like him. He was the very stuff of legend and lore. A true New Jersey legacy. Growl.

Avail, my boy, do not leave the grounds until after the moon passes. Keep your little Devil on a leash. I will not forbid it, as I know that would merely tempt you to flout my will, but I strongly suggest you heed me. Love, Grandmother.

The text message he'd received from his Grandmother had come with a series of emojis that he could not even begin to decipher. He'd have to chat with Henries about providing his dear old Grandmother with such a device. And for plugging his private cell number into it.

He shook his head. The woman was infuriating and humiliating. Demanding he obey or allow her to set him up like some simpering i***t who could not find his own mate. As if! He could certainly locate a woman to wed without any help!

Find her. He ignored the pesky little voice inside of him that seemed more than on board with the idea of finding his mate. Shut it. I am too young to settle down.

Now that the idea had settled in his brain, Avail found himself outside in the rain instead of in his warm, dry rooms. He stretched his shoulders, rolling the taut muscles under the hammering downpour. It wasn't anger the drove him. He was simply annoyed. And restless.

He'd Changed earlier and had a short run through the barrens to relive some of his energy. Avail wasn't worried about anyone seeing him. The grounds around his home were large and sprawling. And private. An enormous bonus for him.

A huge, wrought iron fence kept the outside world from drawing too close. He'd recently had a top security system installed by Draco Fortis. The best in supernatural protection and surveillance. He certainly hoped so, f*****g thing had cost a fortune.

Lightning flashed overhead and he waited for the resounding boom that followed. Yes! He enjoyed walking in the storm in nothing but his skin. The entire experience was freeing in ways normals could only imagine.

The need to expel energy, to hunt, to find, to f**k had been driving him nuts inside. Sure, he had to obey his grandmother, lest she force him to get mated and shackled for the rest of his life in order to run the company and enjoy his rightful position. But he hadn't gone far. Hadn't allowed his Devil to roam as freely as the beast craved.

Grandmother Leeds wouldn't like it if another sighting occurred so close to last time. f**k. All he wanted to do was run, maybe even go for a little flight. Damn that Bambi and her stupid lying rumors! He hadn't even shown her his Devil!

Still, if he risked a Change outside his grandmother might find out. If she found out, she'd retaliate. Matchmaking being her favorite form of torture, he'd have to endure endless set-ups with whatever horrible relatives of friends that she could find. The horror!

He could not go through that again. No matter how hard his Devil rode him. The last time she brought home a girl for him to meet he was eighteen. The woman was a dear granddaughter of a business associate.

Clingy and simpering, the creature was practically drooling with the possibility of an early marriage proposal. Shudder. Oh yes, his Grandmother was wily and sometimes cruel, but he loved her anyway.

He knew she loved him back. Despite her claims that family duty was the only reason she'd taken him in. She wasn't fooling anyone. Both his grandparents loved him, and he returned their affection. He just didn't want to be forced to find a mate. Not until his promised was revealed to him.

Avail had had a happy childhood far as he could tell. Okay, so he was a tad spoiled, but was he really to blame? Grandfather had taught him all about his supernatural side, where Grandmother had made sure he was clothed, fed, and did his studies.

The legend of a Devil's promised was something Grandfather had regaled him with in his youth. Of course, it was a myth. Kind of like him. And yet, Grandfather had told him he knew the second he laid eyes on his wily wife that she was his.

His inner Devil roared and raged inside of him with a ferocity he hadn't yet felt. It will get worse, Avail. His Grandmother had assured him of this. The Beast would continue chomping at the bit until he found a mate to temper that savage side of him. At thirty-one years old and a confirmed bachelor to boot, he had no intention of settling. Grrrrr. Snarl.

"I like being single," he told himself firmly.

His Devil growled louder. A bit insistent really, but Avail shook his head. No. He loved his life. Who in their right mind would give up the freedom to sample a different woman anytime he chose? Not this Devil!

Thunder crashed above, echoing his alter ego's state of mind. A brisk run then, he thought. He took off on his two legs and tried to settle his beast. As an expert in the art of seduction, he had years before he'd get his fill of the opposite s*x.

Come now, there are too many women we've yet to try, he cajoled his inner Devil. Be honest, we are bored with them. He vaulted over a fallen branch as he wrestled with himself over the issue.

It was true. He was tired of the same simpering smiles and vacant expressions. Even worse, the ones who looked at him with dollar signs in their eyes. They were all so boring.

He barely had any interest in the little Witch he'd picked up the other night. And boy did Bambi get her revenge. Grounded like a school boy! Ha!

Before Bambi, there was that stacked redhead. She was fun. But even then, he'd had to work to rise to the occasion. The shame. Okay, if he were being totally honest, he had no desire to partake in another shallow meeting. Those encounters were just not satisfying. As impersonal as a handshake.

Even with Bambi he'd been insistent. Stopping her attempts to arouse him before they'd done more than strip and swim. And no, he hadn't felt the need to perform for her in the least. She was just so, so not right.

Fuck. What was he going to do now? Find our mate! Grrr. Blasted Devil and his one-track mind. This was serious. He doubted his mate was going to fall from the sky and with the rising last quarter moon he found himself to be truly volatile for maybe the first time in his life. f**k.

A horny Devil is an angry Devil, best get some p***y while you can. Of course he'd recall his grandfather's crude saying when he was stuck with no chance of finding relief for his pent-up state.

He pushed himself harder along the rocky paths. c**k at half-mast, he turned his face to the skies, allowing the rain to cool him. He could always engage in a little mano e mano. Ugh. Unappealing. He circled back to the house, growling and grumbling along with the thunder.

Stomping his bare feet across the uneven earth until he reached the cobblestone towards the South entrance of his house. He'd much rather be walking across the wet, sandy earth of the barrens, which served as his backyard, to the hard, cold stone. But something was calling him to walk in that direction.

An unearthly pull. Uncertain of its source, he paused for a moment. A faint scent danced along his nostrils, teasing him underneath the smells of rain, mud, and ozone hanging in the air. His desire to find the source of that scent was almost overwhelming.

His feet hurried along the uneven cobblestone, unburdened by both the unpleasant hardness and the incessant weather. He had one driving force, find the source of that delectable fragrance.

His Devil nudged him, urging him to move faster in that direction. The scent grew stronger the closer he got to, well, whatever it was that he was racing towards. He simply couldn't resist whatever magic or fate was drawing him towards it.

Like a child at Christmas, he raced towards whatever wonder awaited him. His heartrate sped up. Something life changing was waiting for him, he felt it. The owner of that scent was near, just around the corner, or down the driveway as it were. Then he heard it.

Over the howling of the winds, a noise coming from the South gate reached his sensitive ears. Avail picked up his pace. Racing towards his destiny, he shook his head, chasing the rain off his thick waves of hair.

Must find. His Devil pushed to be let off his leash, but Avail quieted the beast who lived inside him. Not yet. It wouldn't do him any good to expose his family secret. Not until he knew who or what it was that he sought.

Of course, he reserved the right to change his mind after he set his gaze on whomever thought to trespass on his property. The Leeds family name was old and feared by those who'd been in the vicinity long enough to know better. A newcomer then or some local daring to test his patience.

There was always that one normal who thought to get a closer look at the place where a legend was born. They sometimes came, knocking on the door during a dark, stormy night then running away before anyone could answer.

How disappointing if that were now the case! Or not. Someone to scare. Someone to toy with. Yes please, his Devil growled.

The idea held merit. Hunt. Yes, they were on the hunt already. Scare? Maybe. Kill? Not likely. Lick? Perhaps. Chase? Yes, definitely. He could chase down the source of his temptation without giving away anything. Grrr.

A good hunt. That was one way to sate his baser urges. Those cravings that came stronger each month. He'd refused to acknowledge it for what it was for so long, it was strange to admit it. His Devil's need to search for his promised mate was growing stronger. The idea that there was one woman in the universe who could calm his beast was something of a revelation.

Did he dare believe in such a thing? No. I'm not ready to be mated yet. Grrr. Okay, that's a lie. But what if I can't find someone meant for me? What if she does not exist? Terror gripped him for a nanosecond, but it was enough to stop him in his tracks.