by G. Bailey
“It felt like you were,” I confess.
“Adelaide, you are beautiful, smart and brave…I think you might be my mate,” he blurts out to me, and I stare at him in shock.
“What?” I whisper.
“My wolf is very protective of you, and seeing you around the others isn’t easy when we aren’t mated. I didn’t want to tell you what my wolf is thinking when all this is going on. I planned to see what happened when you are back at the castle and we could have more time together,” he tells me, again all true.
“My wolf likes you too, but I don’t know if we are mates,” I tell him. I’ve heard that wolves can find their mates, but mum and dad never told me much about it.
“We need to shift together to find out, and I know you aren’t ready for that. When you want to find out, I’m here,” he tells me.
“And the date with Nath?” I lightly ask.
“Go. It will be fun, and I want the next date,” he says. “I know there is some kind of bond between you two, and sharing lovers isn’t something rare in the supernatural world. Hell, my stepmum has four mates.”
“That must be hard work, four mates,” I muse.
“It might be fun. Now, I need to get dressed and work out before going into work. You are more than welcome to stay and watch, but I think you might want to get downstairs before Tay eats all your pancakes,” he says, and I quickly jump off the bed when he starts to undo his towel. I tell myself not to look back as I’m pulling the door shut behind me, but I can’t help it when I do and see Rick naked from behind. Oh my god, he has a nice ass.
“Shut the door, Adelaide,” Rick suggests, and I giggle as I finish pulling the door shut. I walk to the stairs just as Nath runs up them, grinning when he sees me.
“Your cheeks are very red. They almost match your hair,” he tells me. “Are you free Saturday?”
“Why?” I ask.
“Our date. I want to take you out at seven on Saturday. Unless you’ve changed your mind?” he asks me, looking a little worried.
“Erm, nope. A date sounds perfect,” I reply, and he pulls me into a tight hug before putting me down.
“Food is on the table downstairs,” he tells me, and I lean up, kissing his cheek.
“Thank you!” I say before sliding around him and running down the stairs. I walk into the kitchen, surprised to see my pancakes all in one piece and Tay eating off her own plate. Maybe Tay and I will get along after all.
I finish pulling my black leggings on and throwing my off-shoulder grey shirt on before glancing at myself in the mirror. It’s one casual date. Don’t be nervous. I brush my hair so it falls in nice waves over my right shoulder, stopping just over my ribs before walking out my bedroom. I leave my phone on the side, knowing I don’t need it when I’m sure Nath has his. I walk down the stairs and slide my boots on before walking to the living room where Nath is waiting for me.
“You look perfect,” he remarks, and I can’t help but think the same of him. Nath’s blond hair is trimmed a little, but somehow keeping that sexy messy feel to it. It makes you want to run your hands through his hair. He has a black leather jacket on, jeans and heavy looking boots that compliment his build.
“You said casual,” I reply, feeling a little underdressed for a date.
“Yeah, you can’t wear a dress with what I have planned,” he says with a smirk, standing up and handing me a leather jacket. “Put this on, you might get cold on the bike.”
“Bike?” I ask, and he simply nods as I put the jacket on and zip it up. Nath slides his hand into mine and leads me out the house, where parked on the driveway behind my car is a dirt bike with giant wheels.
“Where the hell did you get that?” I ask, and Nath laughs.
“It’s a hobby of mine. I have a garage in the village and a few of them around,” he tells me. “I know most guys would take you out to a fancy meal or the cinema to watch a film, but those dates are forgettable. I don’t want you to forget this.”
“I have a feeling I won’t,” I mumble, and he tugs on my hand, leading me to the bike. Nath hands me a helmet before putting on his own and then helping me with the strap under my chin. He gets on the bike, and I sit behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing my head against his back.
“Ready?” Nath asks.
“Yes!” I reply and squeeze him tight as he speeds us across the street and into the woods right behind it. There is a dirt road already mapped out, and I laugh as he drives us at full speed all around the woods. We go up and down the hills and fly around bumpy corners until we get to a big field next to a lake. Nath parks the bike, and I get off first, pulling my helmet off.
“I brought us some food to eat,” he explains, taking my helmet from me.
“A romantic picnic in the woods. I thought you didn’t want to do the stereotypical dates,” I tease him, and he laughs as he hooks our helmets on the bike handles and pulls the seat of the bike open, pulling out a bag.
“It’s not that stereotypical,” he replies, chuckling, and I walk to his side, sliding my hand into his as we walk over to the edge of the lake. We sit down on the grass together, just before the lake, so we can look across it. I’m happy it isn’t raining today and it’s peaceful here. Nath opens the bag and offers me the food he brought and a drink. I smile down at the ham, cheese and salad sandwiches he always makes me and how he knows I love blackcurrant fruit juice.
“Thank you,” I mutter as he his own food out before pulling out a packet of Oreos, making my grin even bigger.
“I would never forget Oreos. Since you’ve been around, it’s all we buy so that you and Rick have them,” he says as he passes me the packet.
“Want to share?” I ask, opening the Oreo’s.
“Love to,” he replies with a small smile.
“I thought you could shift and have a run around if you want,” Nath tells me, leaning back after finishing his food. “I know wolves get twitchy when they haven’t shifted in a while.”
“Yeah, just shifting in the house isn’t good for my wolf. She gets testy,” I laugh and lie back on the grass. I stare up at the sky, feeling Nath lie down next to me and watch the sky with me.
“Tell me something completely random about you,” Nath asks me after a while. His fingers brush against my hand, and I move my hand closer, linking my fingers with his.
“I’m scared of the dark. Like the pitch black dark,” I tell him, and he squeezes my hand.
“I’m sort of the opposite. I’m scared of the light of day, of people seeing me since I was brought up in the dark. I was hidden in it, and it is somewhat comforting that, even now, I can protect myself from the people in the daylight,” he says, and I turn my head, staring at him as he looks at me. I have a feeling he hasn’t taken his eyes off me for a while.
“Nath…you don’t have to hide. None of us should ever have to hide because of what we are,” I whisper, and he rolls onto his side, resting on his arm and leaning over me, our faces inches away.
“You’re right, beautiful. Maybe there will be a world where we don’t have to hide one day,” he whispers. “Everything we are doing now is getting us closer to that goal.”
“Do you wonder about Frayan? About going there because it’s half of who we are?” I ask, because I can’t stop thinking about the place the more I read in the books my mum left. They describe a world full of beauty and wonder, and it speaks to me in a way. It makes me want to desperately see the world I was born in. I know I can’t ever go there, not after mum says someone is looking for me and it could mean death, but it doesn’t stop me dreaming of it.
“Of course. The Fray are half my people, but it’s not that easy. The Fray that came over in the war said portals only open twice a year for only a second if there is no one on the other side pulling them in,” he explains to me.
“Pulling them in?” I ask.
“The Fray believe all people have connections that are hidden deep in their souls. That these connections are stronger tha
n distance, than other worlds, than anything. Magic and souls are linked in Frayan, and it can be seen apparently,” he whispers, and we both pause, staring at each other in silence for a second as tension builds between us. I go to kiss him at the same time he leans down to kiss me, and the first touch of our lips is like heat blasting all over my skin, and then it is quickly replaced by overwhelming pleasure. Nath must feel it too as he slides his hand to my waist, pulling me on top of him and never breaking the kiss in the movement.
“Adie,” Nath groans against my lips as I rock against the hard budge I can feel under his jeans. Nath’s hands slide into my hair, kissing me deeper.
“Well…this is not what I expected to find two cousins doing…” Mr. Graves’s highly sarcastic voice drawls, and I break away from Nath in shock, looking up to see Mr. Graves stood with at least twenty hunter guards, their guns pointed in our direction. I don’t reply to him, looking down at Nath who utters one word.
“Run.” Nath pushes me to the side and, in the blink of an eye, he is running straight towards the men, a blue shimmer spreading from his skin. I push myself to my feet, knowing I need to shift to help just as they start shooting at Nath with their guns. The dart bullets bounce off the shimmer surrounding Nath as he gets to the first two hunters, punching the one and sending him flying while the others run at him.
“Don’t think about shifting or running. This will only hurt more if you do,” Mr. Graves states and clicks his fingers. I scream as something slams into my neck as I go to run away, and pain shoots through my body. I fall to the floor, seeing Mr. Graves standing still as a statue as the wind moves his coat around. I focus on the sound of Nath roaring my name just as everything goes black.
I gasp as I wake up, sitting up sharply and blinking my eyes at the bright white light in the room. I have to close my eyes and re-open them a few times to get used to how bright the room is. I remember everything in a rush and place my hand on my neck, feeling a metal collar strapped to my neck. It is quite thick, and I try to pull it away only to hear a quiet voice from the other side of the room.
“Don’t pull it,” the woman warns me, and I turn on the small bed to see a woman sat in the corner of the room, dressed in white trousers and a white shirt. She has red hair a similar colour to mine, but her roots have gone grey and her hair is cut very short. I glance around at the white painted walls, the white tiles on the floor, and there is a massive glass mirror on the one wall. I don’t know what this place is, but I bet it is in the hunter base. I swallow the ball of fear in my throat that Nath isn’t here with me.
“Why?” I ask her. Who is she and why am I with her?
“It will burn your neck, and if you don’t stop pulling, it would kill you,” she tells me, her voice cracking a little, and as I look closer, I see her metal collar, with clear burn marks all around her neck.
“Who are you?” I ask her. I spot flower tattoos crawling up the side of her neck, but her shirt hides the design from me. They look red though, so perhaps roses.
“Asteria,” she replies, turning her head to the side, and staring at me. “What is your name?”
“Adelaide,” I reply, and her eyes widen, before she harshly starts shaking her head.
“No. No, you can’t be. Adelaide is safe. Adelaide is not here. This is just a game!” the woman shouts, pressing herself against the wall, closing her eyes as she continues to shake her head muttering the word “no”.
“I don’t know who you think I am, but it doesn’t matter. Are we in the hunter’s base?” I ask her, but she ignores me, sinking to the floor to sit down and shaking her head continuously like she has lost her mind. I stare at the messy haired woman and wonder why they would put me in a room with her and why she cares what my name is. I walk to the door, feeling around the wall for any kind of handle or way to pull it, finding none. My wolf itches to get out when I step back and start to panic that I am trapped. When I put my hand to the collar, I know I can’t shift. This thing would strangle me. I step back and pace around the room, walking past the woman who freezes and reaches out, grabbing my hand. I try to pull away, but she holds on tight as she uses her other hand to touch the crystals.
“You’re really her. Only one of his children could wear this and live,” she whispers, touching the crystals. “My Adelaide.”
“Yours?” I ask her in surprise. What the heck is she going on about? I look down at her as she stares up at me with her bright green eyes that look awfully familiar. She goes to speak as the door opens, and I jump back as her hand falls away, watching as Mr. Graves walks in the room with two guards. The woman quickly stands up and places herself in front of me as one of the guards shuts the door.
“Protecting your daughter. How sweet,” Mr. Graves taunts, and I place my hand on Asteria’s shoulder, walking to her side and looking at her.
“Daughter?” I ask, hearing my heart pound in my ears as I look over her features and finally to her eyes. My eyes. We have the same colour eyes, the same colour hair, and I know Graves isn’t lying as I stare at her. She is my mother. The one who is meant to be dead. I don’t know how to process any of it as I stare at her in pure shock. Only the sound of my heart beating, my heavy breathing and the feeling of my sweat collecting on my forehead is all I can process. I shake my head after a while, knowing he might be lying as the woman doesn’t say anything. She could just be someone that looks like her.
“Oh, did your mother not tell you who she is?” Mr. Graves laughs. “Maybe I should be kind and fill you in on the past.”
“My mum died, and my biological parents are dead. I don’t want to hear your lies,” I snap, sticking with denial.
“Adelaide,” Asteria whispers, turning to face me and placing her hand on my cheek. “I am your mother. I left you with Reni, your mum, all those years ago and closed the last portal to Frayan. I thought it would kill me before the poison in my body did, but this monster found me. He locked me away here, testing on me and trying to use my powers for his own use.” I stare in shock, the denial I was sticking to fading away because she couldn’t know all of that unless she was telling me the truth.
“Until little Adelaide answered the door, I had almost given up on torturing Asteria to use her magic,” Mr. Graves says, but I feel frozen in place as I stare at the woman claiming to be my mother.
“It can’t be true,” I croak out, shaking my head and feeling powerless as I start to realise she is telling me the truth.
“It is, and you know why I brought her to you, Asteria. Get on with it or I will kill her, slowly, in front of you until you do it,” Graves demands.
“I can’t. Adelaide is too young for that kind of power! I was over a hundred years old when I accepted my powers!” Asteria shouts, moving her hand away and protectively pushing me behind her. I just catch the subtle nod of Mr. Graves’s head to the guard on his right before the guard steps forward. He slams my mother out of the way, and she screams as she hits the floor. I step back until my back hits the wall and the brown haired guard steps right in front of me. He leers as he grabs me by my hair and pushes me to my knees in front of him, turning my head to face my mother. She frantically looks around for something, anything to help me as I bite my lip from the pain of the guard pulling my hair. Graves straightens his suit before walking over to Asteria’s side, picking out a remote from his pocket.
“Right, you have five chances. I will press this five times, and on the fifth time, she will die from the burns as her throat splits open. Don’t make me keep pressing this, Asteria. Give her the power,” he warns and holds the remote towards me, pressing a button. I scream as the collar burns my throat, the smell of my flesh burning is the only thing I can recognise outside of the incredible pain. I cough as the burn stops, and I shout in more pain as the guard lifts my head by my hair.
“Fine,” Asteria gives in, tears pouring down her face as she crawls to me. The guard drops my hair and lets me go, stepping around us, but I keep my eyes on Asteria.
“The pow
er of the royal Fray is passed from generation to generation. I hoped our family’s power would die with me, and I am so sorry for the burden you receive now. This human wants you to use the gift for his benefit, but fate will decide who it is meant for,” Asteria gently tells me, placing her hands on my shoulders.
“Get it over with!” Mr. Graves growls, making Asteria jump. She moves closer, grabbing my hands and placing them together before covering them with her own.
“When you get this gift, you will get all your powers. That includes the storm magic and your father’s powers,” she tells me, as our hands start to glow a deep red colour. “Make sure you kill them all, including me, then run.” Our hands begin to glow red, then a blinding light blasts out. I scream as a burning feeling like electricity travels all up my arms, spreading across my body as the light gets brighter and brighter until the world goes black once more; this time I welcome it.
“What the fuck happened to you on your date, man?” Josh jokes as I walk through the door, but the minute he looks at the blood covering all my clothes, mixed in with the dirt, and the fury on my face, he quickly turns serious. “Where is Adelaide?”
“Taken by Graves. He had fuck knows how many hunters distract me while he took her. I thought he was there for both of us, but he only wanted her. I fucked up,” I admit, remembering the sight of Graves’s hunters picking up Adelaide’s passed out form and taking her away as I fought the hunters trying to kill me.
“What did you just say?” Rick growls, storming down the stairs, and Mich appears in the room, right in the middle of Josh and me.
“Adelaide is at the base and in trouble, we need to go. Now!” I demand, holding my hands in fists at my side.
“We can’t raid the base alone. Not when he is expecting us to,” Rick growls. “Fuck! I hate to say this, but Mich, go and get the kings and my stepmum.” Mich nods and disappears, he doesn’t need to be told more than once.