Fates Altered: A Halven Rising Prequel

Theda stood as Alex opened the door. The woman who’d peeked in the window stepped inside still holding the baby in her arms and with a small puppy at her feet.

“Alex,” she said in a tone that was more of a scold than a greeting. She peered over at Theda. “Hi, I’m Leti.”

Alex leaned down and kissed the top of the baby’s head. “Theda, this is Leti and my nephew Mateo.”

Theda blinked. She’d never seen a man show this kind of affection for a child. Plenty of Fae spent time with their children, and the young ones were very well cared for, but open displays of affection weren’t common. She liked Alex’s warm nature.

Yet another characteristic to admire about him.

“Nice to meet you,” Leti said with a genuine smile.

“Sis, Theda is staying here while she figures some things out. I’ve gotta go to work. Do you mind helping her with…” Alex glanced over. “Is there anything you need, Theda?”

“I could use different clothes,” Theda suggested. Her court clothes would have stood out dramatically on Earth, but her commoner clothes did not blend in either. Both Alex and Leti wore the same type of dark blue pants in a thick fabric, along with casual tops. Theda wanted to look human.

“Of course,” Leti said, scanning Theda. Her brows pinched together, and Theda felt every inch of how much her clothes stood out. The other woman plastered on a soft smile and darted a look at Alex, which Alex appeared to ignore.

He grabbed his beige jacket and tied on his boots. “Okay, then, I’m off. You’ll be all right?” he asked Theda. “Remember what I said about staying here?”

He’d said he didn’t think it was a good idea for her to wander far, and she was in full agreement. She had no desire to draw more attention. “Yes, I’ll be fine. Thank you for the breakfast.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiled, and Theda’s heart skipped a beat. He stepped out the door.

Alex was an exceedingly attractive human…and that could not be good if she was to live in his house for a few days.

“So you’re Alex’s…?” Leti entered the room, allowing her question to dangle.

How would Alex wish her to answer? “Friend,” Theda finally said.

The puppy that had entered along with Leti sniffed at Theda’s feet. He stared up at her and sat on her foot. He wanted her to pet him, so she sank to her knees and petted his back as he leaned up against her. He was a small puppy, his tiny frame only taking up the length of her fitted boot.

“Lucho, leave Theda alone,” Leti said, and shifted the baby in her arms.

“It’s okay.” Theda rubbed behind the puppy’s ears. “I love animals.”

“Tony gave him to me after I had the baby. Like I need a puppy to take care of along with a newborn.” Leti smiled and shook her head. “My husband is all heart, but he doesn’t think things through sometimes. Alex is the total opposite.” She peered at Theda as though waiting for her to agree or disagree, but Theda hardly knew Alex.

When she didn’t say anything, Leti glanced down at the dog with a frown. “Lucho is a sweet beagle when he’s not chewing apart my shoes.”

Theda lifted the puppy’s chin. “Lucho, why are you chewing Leti’s shoes?” The dog whimpered and dug his muzzle into her lap. “No more shoe chewing.” She paused a moment, listening to the puppy—more in images than words, but she understood. “Just because Leti leaves at times, it doesn’t mean you can destroy her things. People need shoes to protect their feet.” The puppy huffed out a sigh.

“If only dogs could understand us, right?” Leti said with a shaky smile.

“Yes, if only.” But Lucho understood. He would not chew any more shoes.

The baby started bobbing in Leti’s arms and making da da sounds. “Well, look,” Leti said. “I don’t know what you’re doing right now, but you could come over to my place and see what I have in my closet. It’s full of clothes I can’t wear.” Her mouth twisted. “Still haven’t lost those last few pounds of baby weight. You’re welcome to borrow anything you like, and we can go shopping later.” She bit the side of her lip. “I’m a lot shorter than you…but you’re really thin.” She nodded. “My jeans might work as capris. What do you think?”

“I would appreciate that.”

Theda stood and looked at the table of dirty dishes and remembered how Alex had cleaned and put them away last night. Their breakfast had been interrupted, and then he’d left for work. She’d never cleaned dishes before…but Alex didn’t have a maid. He’d have to do them when he came home, and it felt wrong to leave them when she was capable of doing it. “Do you mind if I wash the dishes first?”

Leti shook her head. “Not at all. I’ll help.” She set the baby on the floor, and he promptly crawled to the dog and started petting his head and patting his back a little too roughly.

Lucho took it good-naturedly. He licked the baby’s face and the baby squealed in a high pitch, rocking back and forth on his round little bottom.

Theda carried the dishes to the sink and turned on the water, searching for the bottle she’d seen Alex pour soap from last night.

“I’ve got it,” Leti said, and inserted a rubber stopper. She grabbed a dark green bottle from a cabinet beneath the sink and poured soap over the dishes. “I’ll wash, you dry, and we’ll be done in no time.”

With Leti’s help, washing the dishes and showing Theda where they went, cleaning up the kitchen went quickly.

They made their way toward Leti’s house—mother, baby, puppy, and Fae—and Theda tilted her face toward the sun. With a roof over her head and kind humans helping her, she breathed in the crisp scent of freedom for the first time in her life.