2 years later
"Yes mom, I know, I'll get the stuff for Cookie."
I hang up on my mom as I walk down the street with my AirPods in.
My dog, Cream, a golden retriever, is following me while people look at us, shocked to see a dog not on a leash in the middle of New York.
I look around to see what road I'm on and stop to look at a tabloid, on it are 6 men, all of them different from each other. When I see them, my signs all start throbbing.
These men, I discovered, are my bonded, they are the 6 most dangerous men in New York. I know, I know, you're probably wondering "Why doesn't she go tell them she's their bonded?" … It's mostly because when I say they're dangerous I mean like… Dangerous with a D capital. They're involved in super shady shit, like the mafia, drugs, prostitution, etc, etc…
So you can imagine why I wouldn't want to involve myself with these people right?
Fine, I actually do really want to involve myself with them, if you get my meaning.
But, they're at the top of society while I'm at the bottom and, they are part of the most powerful ability users, and I, personally, don't have an ability so… Yeah, no. That won't work out…
The tabloid shows all 6 of them and talks about their missing bonded and shows their missing bonded's possible signs- oh fuck. Welp, guess I don't really have a choice in the matter.
I quickly return to my appartement with Cream. As I enter, I take my shoes and coat off.
"Ugh, I can't believe I have to hide my signs now!"
In the kitchen, my cat, Cookie, a tuxedo cat, is sleeping on my chair. When I come in, he wakes up and starts meowing for food.
"Yeah, Yeah, I know." I take his food out and start filling his bowl "Stop complaining, it's not like I starve you, right?"
The cat gives me a side eye as if to say: "You do, bitch."
"I can't even fuck other people now! Because there's a fucking reward for me, with my signs shown, it's obvious that if I go fuck someone, the moment they see my signs, they'll report me."
My phone buzzes with a notification. My friend Grace just sent me a message.
Grace: hey babe, i saw the news.. not great.
Me: i can't with this shit, it's not my fault if don't wanna get involved with these fucking psychos!
Grace: i just found a tattoo artist that covers signs, so you want me to send you the link?
Me: are you sure they're trustworthy?
Grace: well, duh.. i wouldn't have talked to you about them if i didn't
I click on the link and it send me to the tattoo palace's website, after checking everywhere to see if it's reliable (it is), I book an appointment for tomorrow morning.
<~¥~>••••••
As soon as my alarm rings, I jump out of bed and start getting ready.
I get dressed, take Cream out as I do my morning walk. After that, I take a shower, and wash all over. While I'm using my towel, I start toying with my piercings, I have many piercings, 4 on my right ear, 2 on my left and 1 on the right side of my lips. I put on some clothes that make my signs accessible but not visible; a crop top with long sleeves and a turtle neck, a hoodie on top of that, and a pleated skirt with socks up to my thighs. I put my hair up in a bun, but I let a few locks of hair out in front. I hide my signs with some makeup and send a picture to Grace to ask if I'm too obvious, she says it's fine.
I check the address of the tattoo artist as I take my purse, in it there's my money, my phone, my makeup, my keys, some candies, and dog treats… and a knife for emergencies.
"Bye babes!" I yell at my pets as I close the door.
I am out of the lobby in a few seconds.
"Fuck! It's raining. Ugh… I'm so fucking stupid!"
I run to my car while shielding my head from the rain. I go in the car and turn it on, quickly heating the car and me up.
"Gaaah. I'm all wet now!" Pun intended.
After having put the address in the GPS, I start driving.
<~¥~>••••••
I get out of my car while clutching my purse to my breasts. I look around and take in my surroundings. The tattoo shop is in a pretty shady neighbourhood but I trust Grace. A group of men are in front of the place and their smocking drugs.
I approach them while lifting my head to look confident while I'm panicking inside.
These men could probably break my bones in a few seconds with just their hands, so I'm sure they could kill me with their ability.
"Excuse me, I have an appointment here, could you le me get in?"
They turn to look at me and I'm pretty sure at least 2 are checking me out. Even though we all have bonded, some people hide their signs (me) so they can have relationships with others, some of them have dead bonded, and some of them never find their bonded.
Even though I'm very intimidated, I check them out too. All of them are well built, with a lot of mafia tattoos, and are obviously high on crack.
"Sure little lady, go on in."
I sigh, disappointed and go in. Men are stupid and need something to make themselves feel better about their little dicks so they degrade women. I know this because the little lady comment isn't very appropriate, since I'm very tall for a woman, taller than most men, only one of those men was taller than me.
"Hello, my dear. How can I help you?"
I turn around and see an old woman that takes the saying skin on bones literally, she has big green eyes that look beautiful and gray hair that looks permanently wet, it's so long it goes down to the floor. Her voice doesn't reflect her age at all, while she looks like a decrepit old woman, her voice is smooth and deep with a beautiful accent that must be from an Arabic country. She is dressed in a long black dress that looks very expensive. She has jewels embedded in her skin and has a lot of rings and necklaces that look very heavy.
"Oh hello, I booked an appointment for Deyanira Reaves?"
"Yes, yes. Come in, come in."
The old woman gestures for me to approach, so I do. The place is old and dark, with a dusty smell.
She gestures for me to sit on the tattoo table and brings me a book with all the possible tattoos.
"Have you already gotten tattoos?"
"Yes, are you the tattoo artist?
"Why yes, I am." She pauses and looks at my body. "If you're dressed like that, then I imagine that you're here for more than a simple tattoo?"
"Yes, should I start undressing? Since I have many signs that are a little all over."
"Yes, I must warn you, the men outside come in sometimes so…"
"It's fine, we can start with the most intimate places and then do the least, because I imagine that they will stay outside for a little longer."
"You're right."
I undressed until I'm in my underwear. The artist looks at all my tattoos. I am covered in tattoos of jellyfish, my favorite animal. I have a big 1 in the middle of my back, and little ones all over my arms and legs. She swears when she sees my signs and I grin with a guilty look.
"How long did those take?" She's talking about my tattoos
"Months maybe a year, it doesn't really matter."
What matters is that I'm finally getting rid of these fucking restrictions!
"Have you chosen?"
"Oh yeah, sorry, wait a second."
I start flipping through the book and look at all the tattoo possibilities, I take some book marks and put them in the pages that interest me. I'm so focused on what I'm doing that I don't hear the door opening. The old lady swears once again and throws a cover on me. I wrap it around myself and look at the person who just came inside. Instantly my lower back starts throbbing. I immediately recognise him. He's 1 of my bonded, with curly red hair, freckles and green eyes, he is easily the hottest guy I've ever seen. You're probably wondering what his name is, well, I don't know. When I said I researched them, I mean Grace researched them. Since I don't want to be involved with them, I don't want to know anything about them that's not necessary.
As soon as he enters, I know he can feel me. I wrap myself in the blanket and pull it to my chest even more, like it could help me deal with this.
He immediately stalks towards me and plants himself in front of me.
"You."
"Yes?" I squeak
I steal a glance at the old woman, but she shakes her head, as if to say that she couldn't help me.
Shit.