Unexpected Mates ~ Book One

Weightless and swaying as if in a hammock, Sylvie snuggled deeper into a cool fabric. The scent of crisp mornings and copper pennies swirled beneath her nose, but she didn’t mind. Instead, she breathed deeper and slower, hoping the smell would fill her up.

Her stomach growled, and she wriggled until a soft rumble against her cheek made her freeze. She held her breath, and it sounded again. No way. Blinking bleariness away, she stared up at the icy eyes of her boss and gasped.

“What are you doing? Put me down!”

“As you wish,” he replied, dropping her onto a plush surface. The distance made her heart plunge into her throat, but she relaxed when she recognized the grey couch from his office. Scooching into a sitting position, she curled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them. He could've put her down nicely. Asshat.

Kerensa stood stoically in the doorway, looking between them with a raised brow. “Are you certain you are bonded?”

Elias’ scowled, and her hands raised up by her shoulders. Even the badass Kerensa didn't want to anger Elias Fletcher. Interesting.

“My apologies," Kerensa said then, clenching her teeth a few times as if the words hurt to speak. "I’ve seen her with Kian for days, and it’s different.”

Yeah. It was different, but Kian ruined it, and she didn't want to see him ever again.

Sylvie sniffed and crossed her arms tight. “Let’s not talk about him, please, Kerensa. He’s made his choice.”

“Hey-” Kerensa tried to protest, but Sylvie shook her head.

“Nope. If he felt the way said he did, he wouldn’t have gone and fucked her the second she arrived.” Even the words brought pain to her chest and a nauseating feeling in her belly. How could he? It didn't make any sense after everything he said to her. She pinched herself to stop the thoughts. Thinking about him wasn't going to help her forget him.

Kerensa gnawed on her lip but didn’t respond, instead staring at Elias’ impassive face.

“Keep her close. Now that the demons and the Fae know of her relationship with Kian, she will be a target.”

“I know.” His eyes cast towards Sylvie again, which she immediately ignored, and Kerensa pulled a face.

“Whatever.”

With that, she disappeared from the office, and the remaining pair stayed silent.

Sylvie plucked at a surprising number of prickles in her hem when Elias sighed and walked to his desk. The steady, monotonous clicking of fingers on a keyboard drew Sylvie’s gaze, and she stared holes into his beautiful sculpted face.

The typing paused.

“Are you going to speak to me or just stare?”

She clenched her hem and narrowed her eyes. “I haven’t decided yet.”

His fingers resumed their fast pace, and Sylvie sighed before standing and stretching her arms above her head. A cold breeze stiffened her nipples, and she dropped her arms, instantly worried she flashed him. She peeked at him as she strolled the length of the room and again averted her gaze as she saw his eyes following her.

He saw. He totally saw.

Crossing her arms, she swayed, watching her emerald gown swish at her feet. While she remained clean, the fabrics were thick with mud and water from the clearing. Despite looking straight out of a medieval fair, she liked the dress. Maybe Elias could have it drycleaned...

“What size are you?”

Elias’s deep voice sent a thrill through her, yet she plastered a frown as she faced him. What kind of question was that? “I’m not gonna tell you that.”

“Shall I guess then?”

“No!” She almost stomped.

Elias’s brow raised as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, mirroring her. She let her hands fall by her sides in retaliation, but when he didn't say another word, curiosity got the better of her.

“Why do you need to know anyway?”

Elias stood, cracking his knuckles one by one and prowled from behind his desk, keeping his piercing eyes on her face. “I thought you might like something else to wear while you stay here with me.”

Sylvie looked around, frowning. “You mean we’ll be staying here now, the whole time? You don’t have a house?”

His jaw clenched, and his upper lip twitched. “Work and responsibilities do not cease because I found my mate-”

“Your mate? Are you Australian or something?”

He laughed humourlessly before heading towards his fridge and pulling out a-

What the hell is that? No. It couldn't be.

A blood bag—a literal blood bag. Sylvie’s mouth hung open as he pinched the top cap off with his teeth and brought the opening to his lips.

“Please tell me that’s fake.”

He took a long sip before holding it out to her. “Care to taste?”

Her head shook as she backed across the room. Suddenly Kerensas’s words about ‘returning her to the vamp’ made sense.

Vampire.

Why. Seriously what was with her luck? She didn't want to believe it, but it was right in front of her. His eyes even flickered red. Contacts couldn't do that. Could they?

Her heart raced, and her palms dampened. Attempting to control her rising nerves, she stated softly, “So Kian is a Fae prince.”

Elias smirked and took another sip, nodding.

“Which means Fae are real.”

Another Nod.

“And before I ended up in the castle, a demon attempted to murder me, so they’re real too.”

Elias growled and dropped the empty blood bag in the trash. “It what?”

“When I ran away from you both and went home, I heard this weird voice calling me, and then my blankets started suffocating me as if they came alive. I woke up in the castle after that.”

Elias moved closer and scanned her body without touching her. “Fucking demons. Even when I think I’ve warded properly, they get in. Pests.”

The anger and contextless words meant very little to her besides providing a small rush from his random attentiveness.

“Right... but you’re neither of those creatures.”

“No.”

“You drink blood and don’t like the sun.”

“Effectively.”

“So are all supernatural creatures real then? Werewolf, ghost, skinwalker, kitsune?”

“Vampire,” he added, a glint in his eye.

She swallowed and nodded. “Vampire.”

Elias hooked one thumb into his belt loop and scratched his light stubble with the other.

“There are umbrella terms for each genus. Shifters include wolves, bears and cats, while vampire covers night dwellers. Fae has a variety of subspecies. The rest you mentioned fall under demons.”

She nodded, nibbling her lower lip. That was a lot of creatures roaming around that weren’t human. How she had never met one in her life to that point was the most farfetched thing. Maybe she had and didn't know. Fucking hell, she was about to get a migraine. She frowned as her heart rate returned to its normal rhythm, clearly accepting the facts of the supernatural before her mind did.

“I think I’m taking this too well. Am I actually an insane person right now? Are you a figment of my imagination? Tell me the truth because I’m about to admit myself to a psych ward.”

Elias clicked his tongue. “Kian’s been dosing your subconscious with acceptance of our kind. Didn’t he tell you that?”

She shrugged. “He mostly said bullshit, to be honest.” Her heart panged at her cruelty. Stupid heart. “I don’t want to talk about him.” She rubbed her face and pressed her fingers into her tear ducts—no more crying. She was a grown woman, for godsakes, with a dozen shitty relationships under her belt. She barely even knew the man. Or Fae.

They stood in silence for a few beats before Sylvie relented on an earlier question trying to distract herself. “I’m a medium to large size,” she murmured. “My chest, ass and hip dips don’t fit in medium, but large is too loose around the waist.”

Elias blinked before returning to his desk and writing something on a pen pad.

“I’ll get my seamstress to measure you and make some outfits.”

Before Sylvie could protest, he cut his gaze to her. “You need clothes. And I’d rather not take you back to your unwarded apartment when you already experienced a demon attack.”

She pressed her lips together and nodded. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Will you take it from my wages?”

His scoff made her blush red hot. And he smirked. “No. It’s on me.”

“No, you can’t do that! That’s too much!”

“I’ll tell you when it’s too much, Sylvie Hart. Now go rest.”

Jerking his chin to the couch, Sylvie felt compelled to follow but sat cross-legged on the floor instead. After all the craziness of the past few days, he probably wasn't her boss, so he wasn't the boss of her anymore. She wouldn't follow like some slave. If it weren't for the threat of death, she wouldn't even be there. She clenched her jaw. What had her life become?

“Your defiance is only acceptable because you just realm jumped, but don’t expect me to continue putting up with your brattiness once you fully recover.”

Her core throbbed hearing his husky words, and she forced a slight pout.

“And if I continue to defy you?” she shot back, brow raised. He moved in a blur across the room until his glowing red eyes stared down into hers, his hand wrapped around her back to stop her from flying into the floor.

“Don’t tempt me. You aren’t ready for that yet, pet.”

She swallowed, tilting her chin up defiantly when his hand suddenly gripped his chin and exposed her neck. His cool breath made shivers erupt across her flesh.

“I can’t sleep in this,” she whispered, hoping the change in the topic would distract her enough to stop her wettening panties.

“I’ll send someone to get you pyjamas then,” he said into her ear, his lower lip brushing her lobe.

Her body shivered, and she let him lower her completely onto the carpet before moving away. She sat up again, flushed and damp, as he made a call.

Ten minutes later, a new night dress arrived in the hands of a small older woman, and she swallowed.

“I’m sorry, sir, it was the only size I could find. It may run small around the bust.”

Elias barely lifted his gaze, simply waving his hand in her direction and then to Sylvie.

“It’s fine; you may go.”

“Thank you, sir,” she bowed and scampered away as Sylvie stared at the fabric.

“Sweatpants and a T-shirt would have been fine.”

Elias ignored her as she fingered the fabric, noting the silky shin-length dress and lace over the chest area. Even in her hands, she knew it would 'run small around the bust'. Just what she needed, her boss getting an eyeful as she crashed on his couch six feet away.

With a grumble, she dragged her feet to the bathroom, showering and changing with a frown still plastered on. This was not the day or week she was expecting to have, and god dammit, the night dress was way too small.

It was going to be a long, embarrassing night.