1
VERBAENA
“Little Fae! I’m gonna get you!”
A child’s playful voice echoed through the trees.
I giggled, swinging high among the vines, my brown hair whipping around me. The vines were my lifeline, my ropes, my advantage over the black-haired boy chasing below.
“You can’t catch me! I’ll turn into Vesper! You’ll never get me!” I teased.
A low growl sent a shiver down my spine. I glanced down, he was no longer a boy.
A massive black wolf with electric blue eyes stood where he had been.
‘Little mate, turning into your dragon won’t save you!’ His voice echoed in my mind.
The vines ended abruptly.
I let go.
My silver scales blinded the wolf as I shifted mid-fall, my wings spreading wide just before I landed gracefully on the forest floor. The wolf skidded to a stop, watching me with something close to reverence.
Love, you’re beautiful in every form. He murmured through our link, breathless.
Larkness! You have to say that ’cause I’m your mate!I shot back playfully.
The wolf stepped closer, his snout brushing along my wings.
I say it because I love you.
I love you more.
Then, with a playful pounce, he tackled me.
Gotcha!
___________
“Bae! The menu hasn’t changed in the last twenty minutes. Are you ready to order?”
Moon, my black-haired best friend, sighed beside me, drumming her fingers against the table impatiently.
Moon wasn’t just my best friend, she was my ride-or-die. We met when we were six. I was taking a quiet, independent excursion in the dense forest behind my house.
Her father had taken her on patrol to begin scent training, a rite of passage for werewolf pups. That was when they stumbled upon me, crouched by the pond, mesmerized by the fish gliding beneath the water’s surface.
From that moment on, Moon and I were inseparable. We went everywhere together, did everything together. We even lived together.
“Ow!” I yelped, rubbing the forming bruise as Moon smirked at me.
“Are you okay? What did I say?” Her protective instincts flared instantly. As a faery wolf, it was in her nature to be fiercely loyal to my kind. And, well, I just so happened to be her faery.
“You called me ‘Little Fae.’ It triggered a dream. Can we just forget about it?” I muttered, shaking off the lingering unease.
Moon studied me for a moment before sighing dramatically. “Yes, Chica! Now can you order? I’m starving!”
We were at a bar, and while I drank occasionally, I wasn’t exactly a heavyweight. One sip was enough to make me tipsy.
“Why am I even staring at the menu? They have steak. I’m getting steak.”
I love steak. It was in my blood. Though I was mostly faery, my father’s dragon and wolf lineage had blessed me with an insatiable craving for meat.
“Oh, good! I ordered one for you while you were zoning out!” Moon grinned.
Tonight wasn’t just any night. We were celebrating, or, rather, trying to ignore the inevitable.
Moon was leaving for the summer.
She secured an internship with the royal guard in Crescent Valley, the werewolf realm.
I was beyond proud of her, but I was also terrified. We’d never been apart for more than a night, and now I wouldn’t see her for three whole months.
She must have listened to my spiraling thoughts because she grabbed my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You can visit me after the first month.”
“Yeah right.”
“Bae, it’s one month until family day. We’ll be okay. I’ll link you every day!” She bargained.
“First, you know I was denied. Second, why do they even have those dumb rules?”
Crescent Valley was nearly impossible to enter. King Lunafeld ruled with an iron fist, enforcing extreme border restrictions. Only Mystic Falls, the dragon realm, was exempt from his paranoia.
I must admit, he was very, very good looking. But his looks didn’t give him a pass in my book.
He imposed harsh sanctions on every realm except Mystic Falls, creating an alliance that only deepened the mystery surrounding their isolation.
Both nations were closed off from the rest of us, their secrets guarded as fiercely as their borders.
Moon had to submit her entire life history, even a blood sample, over two years ago, just to apply for her internship. Meanwhile, I had applied six months ago for a simple day pass to visit her on family day.
Denied.
Instantly.
“I was hoping to do some investigating there,” Moon admitted. “But I swear to the Moon Goddess, I’m never accepting a full-time guard position. I could never live with all those restrictions.”
Her plan was to seek out all the knowledge she could and bring it back to Crystal Hallows to protect me.
I wasn’t too keen on the idea. I couldn’t pay her a bodyguard salary, nor did I need her expert talents.
I’m just a nobody. A faery with a nine to five.
“Moony, the internship pays sooo well! If you got into the royal guard, imagine the salary! I know they’ll want to keep you.”
She was an expert fighter, the best warrior in her pack.
“Why would I want to stay in a place that won’t even let my harmless fae in?” She scoffed.
She had a point.
As a mateless creature of multiple supernatural bloodlines, I only had access to my earth faery powers. No dragon water, no wolf strength. Not until I met my fated.
The worst I could do was tangle someone in vines or curse them with a moss beard.
I’m harmless.
“Can we just get drunk already?” I groaned, downing my margarita.
“Bae! That was a whole marg! You didn’t even pregame! You’re gonna be wasted!” Moon scolded, eyes wide.
“I’m allowed to get drunk! I’m twenty-two!” I declared, snatching her drink for another sip.
Moon huffed, then turned to the bartender. “Poppi! A flight for us! And keep them coming!”
I grinned, feeling the buzz of excitement.
“Your mom is going to kill us when we stumble in! Don’t forget about Ash driver’s test in the morning,” Moon giggled as the first round arrived.
“Oh, sparkles! You’re right! I’ll only have one more—”
I paused as a faery guy approached, his lavender gaze locked onto Moon.
“I couldn’t help but notice you from across the room. That lavender streak in your obsidian locks, beautiful.” His voice was smooth as he slid into the seat beside her.
Moon giggled, twirling her hair.
That was my cue to leave. She wasn’t waiting for her mate to find her, she was living her life.
She was an independent woman, and this situation was common. She’s been hooking up with guys since high school.
It’s not like she could get pregnant, in our world, only your mate makes you fertile.
So, Moon decided that instead of waiting around for some guy that wasn’t actively looking for her, she’d have fun until her mate decided to man up.
I was halfway to the door when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
“Excuse me? Do I know you?”
I turned, coming face to face with a girl who looked about sixteen.
She had raven-black hair cascading down her back and electric blue eyes that seemed to glow even in the dim light.
I didn’t recognize her. The only sixteen-year-olds I knew were my brother, his mate, and our neighbor.
“I don’t think so. Do you need help? You really shouldn’t be here,” I said, frowning.
“No! I know you!” she gasped. “I’ve seen your photos all over the mission reports! It has to be you! We’ve been looking for you!”
Before I could react, she flung herself at me, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.
“Wha—?” I stammered, stiffening. “I think you have the wrong person.”
“You smell exactly like he said you would! He’s going to be so happy!” She squealed with excitement as she grabbed my hand and began to pull me towards the exit. “Korbin got intel that you’d be here! I didn’t think he was right, then Kenny got caught up with that werewolf chic you were with and—
“Hey!” I protested, roughly pulling my hand away from her grip.
“Don’t you want to see him? Don’t you miss him?” she asked, her eyes wide with earnestness.
“Who?” I asked cautiously.
“Your mate, of course! L—”
“Lovey!”
Moon’s voice cut through the moment as her legs wrapped around the faery guy carrying her.
“I’m taking this magical being back to our house. Let’s go, our ride is here.”
“I’m sorry, I have to go. It was nice meeting you...” I trailed off.
She quickly rushed out, “Lelivy.”
I smiled at her, “Lelivy, it was a pleasure meeting you. However, I must go.”
But she wasn’t giving up.
“I can teleport you to him!” she blurted.
Teleportation? Nope. I bolted.
“Venus! I didn’t mean to scare you! We can use the portal instead!” Lelivy called as I dashed outside.
Moon, giggling from the back seat of our ride, waved me over. “Chica! Get in!”
I didn’t hesitate. I dove through the window as Lelivy reached for the door handle.
“Venus! No! He needs you! We need you!” she cried as the car sped off. “Kenny! Make sure she gets to SACR!”
My heart pounded.
“Chica, who was that? She seemed into you,” Moon teased as her lover of the night nipped at her neck.
I barely heard her.
Who was “he”?
And why did Lelivy think I belonged to him?
“I didn’t know you swung for that side, but she did seem like your type. Black hair, blue eyes, strong. You should’ve invited her to come with us,” Moon teased, her voice light and playful.
When I didn’t respond, faery guy took that as his chance to grind against her, making her moan.
“How much longer until we get to my house?” I hurriedly asked the driver, my eyes darting nervously between Moon and faery guy, who were getting increasingly cozy in the back seat.
“Just five more minutes,” he replied, taking the exit off the freeway.
“Chica, it’s okay to let loose. You don’t have to wait for your mate to experience everything. You share the same soul with the guy. He doesn’t need to share your first kiss and your first time as well,” Moon said as the guy started unapologetically dry humping her.
“I want him to be mine in every way, Moon. We talked about this. I accept your lifestyle, please accept mine,” I muttered, my gaze fixed on the passing scenery outside the window.
Moon sighed, as she pushed the guy away. “I know, Chica. I just want you to be happy.”
As I stared out at the darkened streets, my mind raced with possibilities.
Maybe I really was drunk.
Because there was no way a random girl at a bar just tried to teleport me to another realm.
