Their girl

Chapter 7

"I'm afraid I can't allow that, ms. Peters" Dowling immediately said. "Why not?" Michelle asked, getting mad. To give their girl and her little sister some privacy, they had stayed in Dowling's office. Of course keeping an eye on their mate while she was limping and making sure she stayed within hearing distance they didn't listen in on her conversation. Until they felt her anger.

Wondering what was going on they slowly rose from the couch and went to the door. Seeing Michelle stood between Aisha and Bloom, facing the headmistress with an angry look on her face, they knew she must have been told that she wouldn't be able to leave.

Trying to diffuse the situation on hand before the boys got involved, ms. Dowling asked Michelle again if she could please join her in the office so she could explain everything. This time she added that Bloom could come as well. Feeling a bit more comfortable if she had her little sister with her, Michelle hesitantly agreed. Taking her little sister's hand she limped back into the office, right past Sky and Riven. Seeing her difficulty with limping, Sky quickly went over to help the girl to the couch before sitting down next to her. Slightly blushing she thanked him for helping her which he returned with a million dollar-smile that would make any girl swoon instantly. Nudging her older sister to stop her from blushing, Bloom took a seat next to her. For Bloom, Sky and Riven were still the enemy and her sister shouldn't be blushing because of the enemy.

Riven had taken a seat across from his girl, next to headmaster Silva who just arrived. Ms. Dowling stood in front of them all and turned her attention to the strawberry blonde mate of two of her best specialists.

"Well, ms. Peters. We owe you an explanation. As you may have noticed, you are not in the First World anymore or as you may call it, on earth. You are in the Otherworld right now, to be more specific at Alfea. Alfea is a school for powerful fairies and specialists who are trained to keep all worlds safe. Your sister, Bloom, is a fire fairy. When she traveled back to Gardenia, a Burned One followed her. That is the name of the creature that attacked you. You were lucky Sky and Riven were there to protect you, because not many survive the attack of a Burned One." Farrah thought that if she would highlight the good things Sky and Riven did, it would be easier for Michelle to accept she would be staying here with them.

"Wait. How is Bloom a fire fairy? We're sisters and I'm pretty sure there is nothing magical about me." Ms. Dowling quickly glanced at Bloom, who was getting extremely nervous that part of her punishment would be letting Michelle know that she was lied to. "I'm afraid Bloom hasn't been entirely honest with you. Bloom is what you would call a changeling. When your mother delivered her baby, her baby wouldn't have any chance to survive because of the heart defect. She was switched by a powerful fairy with Bloom. You are not blood-related, ms. Peters." Michelle couldn't believe it and felt her throat getting dry. "How long have you known?" she quietly asked. "M, please I wanted to tell you but I couldn't" "That fire in the house. She just said you were a fire fairy. Was that you?" "I didn't mean to, I couldn't control it." The tension was getting high and Riven and Sky shared a worried glance. "You set our fucking house on fire. You burned mom! You knew you did it and you didn't even tell me! I was there every fucking night with you in that abandoned building because I thought you were just scared of another house fire, while it was you who did it all along. And then you just join some Otherworld and bring back some kind of burned up monster? You lied to my fucking face Bloom. How could you?!"

Michelle was shaking and almost in tears after finishing her small speech. Sky gently took one of her hands in his in an attempt to calm her down. But it didn't help. She couldn't calm down, not after hearing all this.

Bloom, still sitting on the couch, was silently crying. She knew her sister wasn't really mad about her starting the fire because that was something she couldn't control. Michelle was mad that Bloom didn't tell her the truth. "I'm sorry Michelle. If I could take everything back I would. I never meant to lie to you but I just didn't know how to tell you. I really hope you can forgive me one day." Seeing her little sister, apparently not by blood, so vulnerable did the trick. She pulled her hand out of Sky's, crouched down in front of her little sister and took both her hands in hers.

"Hey, B, look at me. Yes, I'm mad that you lied to me and I'm also a bit in shock over the fact that you caused the fire but that wasn't your fault. You're here to gain control, right? So you're working on it. That's all I can ask from you. I will stay mad for a bit because you lied to me, but you're still my sister. Okay? I love you, B." With that, Michelle wrapped her younger sister in her arms and assured her that everything will be alright in the end.

Letting go of each other after a while, Michelle wiped away a couple of stray tears and returned to her seat next to Sky. Noticing the worried glances of both boys she shot them a small reassuring smile and turned her attention back to ms. Dowling.

"Okay I get that this is a different world and such. But that doesn't explain why I can't go back to mine. I swear I won't tell anyone. Hell, if I did no one would believe me anyways."

"Ah yes. What you also need to know is that Otherworlders have mates. In your world there are some myths about soulmates, but that doesn't cover the entire concept. Mate-bonds in the Otherworld are stronger than told in the myths. When mates meet, they will instantly be bonded. Even before meeting, mates will be able to feel the emotions from their other half and their pain. As soon as they meet, they can't be apart anymore. They need to be in close range of each other or they will get hurt." Seeing the questionable glance on the strawberry blonde's face, Dowling decided she could best rip the bandaid off in one try. "Some people have two mates. These mates will usually be of higher position and naturally more protective. One mate will then always be able to be with their mate so they would have constant protection. If you would take away their mate, chaos will ensue."

Really feeling like she's missing the point, Michelle interrupted the woman before she could continue. "I have no idea why you are telling me all this, since we just established that I'm not a fairy." "I know you are human ms. Peters, but sometimes humans will be mated to Otherworlders. It is rare, seeing as humans don't feel much of the bond. It only means that the bond is stronger for the Otherworlders." "Yes, okay. I'm still not really getting the point here."

"What she means, princess, is that you are our mate." "Wait, what? No I'm not." "Yes, love, you are. We felt it when you were hurt and we could feel the panic when the Burned One attacked you. Laying our eyes on you only confirmed it." "I think you made a mistake. I'm not your mate. It's just a coincidence that your mate and I both have a busted ankle." "Princess, you are our mate. We are sure. What ms. Dowling didn't tell you is that the mate bond is confirmed by touch. When we helped you to the car after saving you from the Burned One, what we already knew was confirmed. You are our mate and that is why you can't leave."