The First Fae Mate

Thirty-eight | Remember?

The door opened with a groan. It was as if the house was yawning, glad to finally be used again. 

"I wonder when this place was last used," Visena commented quietly. There were no light switches or candles, but both new inhabitants' eyes were well equipped to explore in the dark. However, the cottage seemed to have other plans and lit up like a Christmas tree. 

The pair blinked as their eyes grew accustomed to light once more. Mihnea peered around curiously. "Enchanting home indeed."

"We must be in some type of Fae realm here," Visena mused quietly.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because it healed me. Shifting too often or for too long apparently could kill me... But when you crossed the threshold, I felt something pulling me back."

"From where?" Mihnea had never heard such a thing. However, hybrids of the girl's calibre were also unheard of.

"Maybe death." Visena's voice trembled slightly. "I saw my father, I think. His back was turned. But then I heard someone calling me. Something. I think it was the house."

"Well, that would be quite something, wouldn't it?" Mihnea continued his peruse around the spacious cottage. Outward appearances were deceiving, as he had suspected.

"I know it sounds ridiculous, Mihnea. Trust me."

She didn't need to defend her strange notions, visions or otherwise to the Vampire. Her whole existence was bizarre. And the house... It felt alive. The floorboards seemed to shift imperceptibly as if shallowly breathing.

"Mihnea, do you know where we are exactly?"

The Vampire put down the photo frame he had been investigating and turned to Visena. "Based on my maps, we are somewhere along the Malum- Invictus boundary line."

Visena pushed past him and snatched the photo. "Holy shit." Her breath fogged the glass slightly. "Is that my dad?" The image had a teenage Visena standing between her mother and a familiar, abnormally tall man. His dark eyes held both kindness and sorrow, and Mihnea noticed the Fae girls change in demeanour. She was thinking of her own mate. The thoughts were written plainly across her face. 

"Yes, quite the handsome wolf. And that woman must be your mother." Visena turned the frame in her hands anxiously.

"Um... no?" She appeared unsure. As if she had been told to withhold her mother's identity. 

From Mihnea's time in the Fae Princess's company, he could imagine why. She liked her privacy. "Was that intended to be a question pet? You are almost a replica of Esmerelda. There is no denying it."

Visena rolled her eyes with an exacerbated sigh. "If you knew who she was, then why did you act all weird?"

"I do not act weird. What a strange thing to say." He reached for the photo, and Visena begrudgingly obliged. "I remember seeing her only once. She came to collect Calypso from my home after we had s-"

"Mihnea!" Visena shouted. "That's enough for one day, I think."

The Vampire only smirked, placing the picture down once more.

"Anyway, the reason I asked where we were was so I could maybe, uh." She sounded uneasy suddenly as if Mihnea were a member of her disapproving family. "Do you think I could go back to Invictus?"

"You mean you want to see your mate," Mihnea stated with a half-smile. Visena stayed quiet while the Vampire collected his thoughts. "I fear if you return to your pack now, we will end up where you started. The Council will come for you again. Your presence could be a danger to them."