The Problem With Fairy Tales

Chapter 8

Valerie could really go for some ice cream right now.  Or some cake.  Was there a cake store open at 21:30?  Probably not.  Maybe she could just stop at McDonald's, or maybe...

Valerie had always been some what of a stress eater, and if being told that the world was filled with potentially deadly mythical creatures and being assigned a soulmate that was infuriating (to say the least) wasn't stressful, well, then nothing would be.

Valerie would have done anything short of traveling to outer space to get some damn sugary goodness at the moment, so one could only imagine her delight when she saw a neon sign of the local bakery proudly stating that they were indeed open.  She was so delighted, in fact, that she spared no thought and instantly made her way to the store that was practically calling her name like a chant.

Valerie.  Valerie.  Come eat us, Valerie.

With a type of primal focus one only achieved when the promise of sugar was involved, Valerie stalked towards the bakery.  Or, at least, would have, had she not walked into a pole. 

A moving pole.  With limbs.  And body heat.  That wasn't a pole at all. 

No, definitely not a pole, because poles didn't travel in pairs, and they didn't have muscled 6'4 statures.  And they most definitely didn't taser unsuspecting humans and kidnap them. 

The last conscious thought Valerie had as she was thrown over a shoulder and carried away, was that she was going to make whoever thought it was a good idea to kidnap her, regret ever coming in between her and her cake.

And then everything went black.

~

When Valerie opened her eyes to an unfamiliar room, her head pounding, she had a sickening feeling of déjà vu.   Surely there had to be some rule against being kidnapped twice withing the span of two days, right?

Apparently freaking not, she realised.  And things seemed to be a bit more challenging the second time around.  For starters, she wasn't in a hotel room.  No, instead of white walls and a bed, there were bare walls with numerous stains Valerie didn't even want to start identifying and an uncomfortable steel chair.  And, of course, what would a kidnapping be if one wasn't tied up? 

It wouldn't take any aura reading powers to see that fear surged up in Valerie as she violently started tugging at the ropes tying her arms to the chair.  In a panicked daze, she ruthlessly tugged at the knots, ignoring the rope burns starting to form on her writs.  If she had been in a clearer state of mind, she would have realised that tugging at the ropes was fruitless and would have instead invested her precious time in trying to create an escape plan.  But she wasn't in a effing clear state of mind and she was freakin' losing it. 

As red marks began to form at her writs, Valerie let out a hysterical laugh.  She laughed until her stomach began to hurt more than the rope burns, and then some more.  She laughed until tears began streaming down her cheeks, so much so that she didn't even notice as a presence emerged from the darkness.

"Care to enlighten me on whatever you find so utterly amusing?"

Valerie froze, the crazed laughter instantly dying on her chapped lips.  She swallowed, even though her mouth was as dry as bone.  She took in the figure that stood before her. 

The male was tall, though exactly how tall Valerie couldn't guess from where she was sitting.  He had dark hair, even darker than hers.  Blue eyes, but not the striking kind- more dulled and washed out, as if the things that they had witnessed had drained all the colour.  He was moderately attractive at best, with utterly ordinary features.  At least, that was what Valerie would have though, had she not felt the raw, undiluted power eminating from him.  And the look of utter dominance and confidence that one could only acquire by getting whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted it.

She swallowed again, and tried to square her shoulders into a more confident posture.  "Oh, you know," she said conversationally, ignoring the fact that her voice sounded weak even to her own ears, "just thinking about a hilarious knock-knock joke."

"Fancy sharing the joke?" He cocked his head to the side, the movement reminding Valerie of a preying feline.  His voice was laced with a thick accent - definitely British.

"Knock-knock," she said with a smile that was a bit too wide to be considered sane.

"Who's there?" 

"Psychotic kidnapper," she singsonged.

"Psychotic kidnapper who?"  Wicked amusement, though his face stayed stoic.

"Psychotic kidnapper you."  Though her arms were tied to the chair, she was able to move her hands enough to wave them like jazz hands.  She gave him a smile with enough venom to kill.

The pale male let out a chuckle that sent shiver running down her spine.  "Not quite the stand up comedian, though your sense of humor outshines that of my dear chap Hayden.  I'd always thought that the bugger would be mated with someone a little more... bland."

So this was about the infamous Hayden.  Of course.

All traces of humor vanished from Valerie's face. "What do you want?" Cold.  Detached.  Nothing to give away the fire of panic that was slowly burning Valerie from the inside out.

"I have some matters that I would like to settle with Mr. Hunter."  He took an unhurried step towards Valerie.  "And who better to help settle those matters than his mate?"

Three... two... one... and... SNAP.  Valerie had officially had enough.

"Listen here, you arrogant dirt bag.  I have had the worst 48 hours of my life the past two days, all because some hotshot fairy - who doesn't even have wings, by the way - apparently decided that he's my so called 'Prince Charming', like in some cliche fairy tale.  And you know what?  I.  Am.  Done.  Done going along with all this madness that I didn't consent to.  I don't care what you do to me - it'll probably be better than paying off my student loans, anyway.  Just know that I'm not his mate in any way, shape or form, despite what he would like the world to believe."  She looked down at him, condescendingly so, which was a feat considering his sheer height and the fact that she was sitting.  "Do your worst.  I dare you."

The pale male stared at her for a moment, assessing her as her chest fell up and down with rapid breaths.  Then he let a smile spread over his face, white teeth gleaming. 

"I think that we may have started off on the wrong foot.  My name is Sebastian Blakeley, and I think that we're going to get along very well."