Journey

AURELIA

The cold bit into her skin, her nose was stuffy, and her nails were turning purple despite her leather gloves. She was wearing her mate’s cloak, which she’d found in his wardrobe.

She knew the journey to the stream would be long, and she didn’t have a map. She relied on her senses, her werewolf instincts, her ability to find her way home.

But the home she remembered felt foreign now. She knew it wouldn’t be the same, not after the attack.

The king had killed many young girls from the village in his search for his mate, for her. Chaos had once again descended on her home because of her.

She hadn’t been kind to the place she called home.

She hugged herself as she walked, the winter air slowing her down.

She ignored the creaking of the woods, the eerie sounds of the night, the whispers among the trees as if they were talking to each other.

Maybe they were mocking her for her foolishness, for venturing out in the middle of the night without knowing where she was going. It was a surefire way to get caught.

She was running from the king, even if he didn’t know yet that she’d run away.

“You must be the king’s little mate,” a voice broke the silence, startling her.

She turned around to see three warrior wolves. She guessed they were the guards the king had sent to protect her, or rather to trap her.

They were already being tested.

“Trying to run, Aurelia?” another wolf asked with a smirk, stepping closer to her.

“Where did you plan on going? There’s no shelter for miles. We were on our way to you, but here you are, coming to us.”

“I plan to keep walking,” she replied, mirroring the wolf’s smirk.

She touched each of the wolves’ arms, using her compulsion. She was getting stronger, the power easier to control.

But it wasn’t because ~she~ was getting stronger. It was because she was feeding the power with her constant use of it.

She’d convinced herself it was necessary every time, but deep down, she knew that wasn’t true. It was the power pushing her to act, to feed it more.

“As you were, my queen,” the warrior wolf said, stepping back into the night with the others.

Maybe it would’ve been safer with an escort, but Aurelia kept walking, hoping to find answers.

She wondered if the two spells had been cast by the same person. And if so, why did they want her to kill the king? But she quickly figured out the answer.

Who wouldn’t want to kill the king?

She certainly did, and she guessed there were plenty of others who felt the same way. As Laurent had said, she was an easy target.

Manipulating her into committing such a crime could work, if it weren’t for the fact that they were mates.

She was close to the king, even though she felt no loyalty to him.

Or did she?

She wrestled with the thought. Maybe it was after the kiss.

She knew if they hadn’t been interrupted, she would’ve lost her virginity. She... might have let him, she realized.

He could easily force her, but she’d realized he wouldn’t. All those nights, leaving her alone in his bed, all to protect her. That was the conclusion she’d come to.

And maybe that was confusing her feelings.

The real question was, was he still her enemy? And if so, would he stay that way for much longer?

Something else was nagging at her, relentless. It was fueling her dark thoughts. It was giving her a counter-argument, a fight against the mate bond’s push to feel a certain way.

But she knew not to trust either.

What snapped her out of her thoughts was a small stone house by a well and a little thatched shed. She’d been walking for so long she couldn’t even remember the journey.

But here she was, back home.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about her sister’s situation. Still trapped in the silver cells because of her ruthless mate. Still in unbearable pain.

She hadn’t even thought about Lochlan, Olympia’s mate.

A man who loved Olympia. The man she was meant to be with. And his love was rotting in the castle, far away from him. Because of Aurelia.

Olympia would’ve been returned like the other women if it weren’t for her.

Sitting by the fire in her home, she sighed softly. Her memories of the village weren’t all good, but at least she could relax.

At the castle, her anxiety was through the roof, afraid she would anger the king with every move she made. What she needed now was peace and warmth.

But she couldn’t stay forever. She had to remember her mission, why she’d run away. To find her place and to find answers.

As she slung her bag over her shoulder and reached for the door handle, it was opened for her. A man rushed in and found Aurelia standing there.

Her eyes widened. Her stomach churned. Guilt filled her heart. Seeing Lochlan, she was speechless.

“You?!” he yelled, loud enough for the neighbors to hear. “I hoped you were dead like the others. Like my Olympia,” he growled, pushing Aurelia to the floor.

Before she could respond, he dragged her by her hair out into the street. The neighbors came out to see what was going on. Soon, a crowd had gathered.

“How could you come back and not her?! You’re a fucking waste, nothing but a useless runt!” he shouted, letting go of Aurelia’s hair and standing over her.

He kicked her in the stomach. Pain shot through her body, the wind was knocked out of her, and she coughed violently on the gravel street.

“Where have you been? Too ashamed to come home? You should’ve stayed away. I saw the light from the fire and thought it was my strong mate. But it was you,” he spat.

He kicked her stomach again.

“Lochlan!” a voice called out. A voice of authority. The voice of the village leader, the Alpha. “What’s going on?!”

“Alpha, I was just giving this little one a lesson,” Lochlan retorted, his sneer directed at Aurelia.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the Alpha warned, his voice steady as he approached them. He bent down to Aurelia and his breath hitched. “She’s exactly what he’s been searching for.”

Aurelia scrambled to her feet, clutching her stomach, and backed away from them.

The Alpha held Lochlan back as the crowd stared at her in shock. Once the surprise wore off, they’d probably feel contempt for her.

Or maybe, fear. After all, she was destined to be their future queen.

She looked at the Alpha. He never held the same authority over her that he did over the others in her village. Maybe that should have been a hint about her fate.

But at least the Alpha was a figure of power in the village. Now, to her, he was just a man. A simple man. Against her. And her powers.

None of them stood a chance, she thought.

Or maybe she didn’t think that. Maybe it was something else. She felt a spark inside of her, challenging her, daring her. She knew what it was. And it both scared and excited her.

Her gaze shifted to Lochlan, his eyes filled with pain and resentment.

“She’s alive,” Aurelia announced. Lochlan’s eyebrows furrowed as his eyes narrowed. “Olympia is alive.”

“Then why isn’t she here?” he growled.

“The king has her in his dungeons,” she replied simply.

“Why?”

She was about to answer when the Alpha interjected, “Because she’s the sister of the king’s mate.”

Gasps echoed through the crowd, from those who hadn’t already figured it out. Aurelia had special gifts, and they all knew that.

Maybe they should have seen what was coming. Maybe instead of isolating her, they should have realized her destiny was bound to be great and formidable.

“Why are you here... your grace?” the Alpha asked.

“That’s none of your concern. I’ll be on my way,” she declared, mustering the strength to maintain her dignity. She was about to leave when Lochlan spoke again.

“When will she be back?”

“I don’t know,” she muttered, knowing he would hear her.

Then she walked away.

The man sounded shattered, his anger filling the void where his mate used to be. Aurelia knew she had given him hope of reuniting with his mate someday.

But deep down, she knew there was only a slim chance of that happening.

Olympia was the king’s pawn, and even if he got what he wanted, the moment she was no longer useful, she would be discarded.

She missed the warmth of her small stone house, but she had to leave. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t seek refuge in her village.

They would banish her the moment they found out she had fled. She had only been allowed to leave because the Alpha feared the king’s wrath on anyone who harmed his mate.

Venturing back into the woods, she found her instincts guiding her to the stream as they had before.

The dead leaves crunched under her feet as she followed the stream, a stream that flowed from one kingdom to another.

The nearly full moon cast a beautiful glow on her path and reflected off the flowing water.

“She’s back!” a voice exclaimed, alerting Aurelia that she had crossed the border when she saw the water nymphs, Solandis, Naida, and a few others.

Aurelia could immediately feel a strong pull on her heart, urging her to go back across the border. She had left his kingdom, her mate’s kingdom.

She was further away from him than she had ever been, and the mate bond was punishing her.

“We need to inform Gaia and the council of her arrival,” Naida declared, and a nymph departed.

Aurelia stood there, studying the beautiful creatures in front of her with awe. It was a different world beyond the border. She wondered why no one ventured here.

There was more life. More... spirituality. Magic flowed through the very core of the earth, empowering all those who walked upon it. Her mind was filled with wonder at the beauty that thrived.

No flowers, no nature, no life grew at the castle, at the capital.

Aurelia loved the whims of nature, the little surprises that popped up unexpectedly. There was a garden in her village; small, but a garden nonetheless.

But nothing compared to the view before her.

“She seems to be in a daze,” Naida remarked dryly, snapping Aurelia out of her trance. “Wolves... we shouldn’t let them in.”

“Quiet, Naida,” Solandis scolded before turning to the young wolf. “I’m Solandis. What’s your name?”

“Aurelia,” she murmured, feeling out of place in this unfamiliar setting. It all seemed otherworldly.

“Well, Aurelia,” a vaguely familiar voice began, capturing the young wolf’s attention. “My name is Ellathoria. Welcome to the fae kingdom.”