Unexpected Mates ~ Book One

Sylvie slept like a log for most of the drive; Elias’ hand on her thigh and smooth driving made that possible, and by the time the Black Lexus pulled up a gravel path, she woke feeling much fresher.

“We’re almost there,” Elias said, rubbing his thumb in a small circle on her leg. She shivered from his touch and grabbed a small water bottle from his centre console, taking a long swig. The liquid dried her aching throat and cooled her heating body.

“Does it snow here in winter?” she asked, staring into the dense rows of forty-foot pines.

“Yes. There’s a ski field on the other side of this mountain. I’ll take you there sometime.”

“I’d like that,” Sylvie whispered. She bit the inside of her cheek as she fought the smile threatening to grow across her face. He was the perfect gentleman and made her feel safer than she ever thought possible, especially considering his usual bossy, dominant nature.

“What are you thinking about,” he asked, flicking his eyes over at her. “You’re flushed.” Then, placing a cool hand on her forehead, he pulled away with a smirk. “No fever. You must be experiencing something else then.”

“Oh, must I?” she retorted before laughing softly. So he was making jokes too?

“If you must know, I was thinking about how I would love to go skiing with you, but I don’t know how. I want to learn if you’d be willing to teach me.”

He hummed. “It would be my pleasure.”

The way he said pleasure did exciting things inside Sylvie’s body, and she carefully crossed her legs and rolled the window down.

Elias’ laugh made her reach for the back window button too.

“Here, let me,” he said, pressing all the buttons on the door and lowering the windows. “You realise you don’t need to feel ashamed about how your body reacts to me.”

Fanning her flaming cheeks, she cast him a withering look.

His smirk sent another jolt into her core.

“Sylvie, it’s mutual,” he added, turning his red-tinged eyes to face her. “It’s part of the bond. I realise Kian probably told you nothing, as it was my job to explain, so we’ll talk when we settle into the cabin. Would you like that?”

She nodded and turned her attention back out the window. The trees whooshed past in a blur, and for a split second, she thought she saw a black silhouette standing a few feet in the forest. Her heart spiked in her chest, and Elias’ hand gripped her thigh again.

“What is it?”

Her hand dropped down to squeeze his fingers. The moment they touched, her anxiety ebbed. “Do hikers come out here?”

“No, it’s generally too remote, and there are no safe paths this side of the mountain. There are sometimes bears, though.”

“Bears.” She nodded and turned to look ahead. That would explain it, indeed. It was a bear.

In the distance, she spotted the slopping roof of a rather large cabin, and she bit her lip. It looked fairly old, but she found herself grinning and squirming in her seat. She had only read about such buildings, and it seemed so cosy. She barely allowed Elias time to turn off the car before she jumped out and ran up to the front porch.

Her sneakers made a satisfying sound as she walked the length of the porch, which wrapped around the entirety of the house. The walls were solid logs, notched and weaved together at the ends. Soft footsteps sounded behind her, and she spun, smiling at Elias. “This is amazing! When did you get this place.”

He smiled back, a tiny crinkle reaching his eyes. “I built this place.”

Sylvie’s mouth dropped open as she touched the smooth timber and the old moss stuffed between each log. “When?”

“That would be revealing my age, Kitten. Come inside.” He offered his hand, and she took it, following him inside and taking her shoes off at the door.

She gasped, turning in a circle at the magnificence of the space. The main living, kitchen and dining space remained open plan with a giant stone chimney as the focal point. While almost everything, from cupboards to the tables to the rocking chair, was wood, the space didn’t feel unbearably rustic. The soft scent of untreated pines made her eyes flutter shut.

That’s it; she was in love. In love with the house, she corrected, not him. Not Elias, who stared at her with the most beautiful expression. A soft smile tugged his lips, and his eyes glistened as she ran over and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Pulling back, she breathed a ragged “thank you,” her body tingling.

He nodded and cleared his throat before walking to the fireplace and stacking some kindling inside the firebox, tucking a bundle of dry twigs beneath it.

His veined forearms flexed, and Sylvie's gaze locked to the bare skin. Rolled sleeves were the greatest fashion accessory of all time.

The stone hearth spanned a metre beneath Elias’ feet, and Sylvie walked over and sat on it. The pull to be close to him was no longer out of fear but a burning desire.

Elias looked over at her, and his jaw clenched before he turned back and lit a match beneath the kindling stack. Both watched the wood catch and dance before he placed a metal grating in front of the growing flames.

He stood and walked over to the black linen cushion-backed couch, keeping his back to her. What was he doing? Sylvie stood and walked over, sitting on the furniture. Her body sunk in comfortably, and she waved her hand at him to join her.

Elias cleared his throat and fidgeted with his Rolex.

“Before I tell you anything, I need you to tell me exactly what happened with Kian in the Fae realm.”

A jolt of pain shot through her as she felt rolling waves of shame and guilt. She had hardly thought of Kian in days. After he hurt her and chose Lazuli, it felt deserved, but she had doubts after hearing Elias speak his name.

She sighed and looked away.

“I haven’t questioned you until now because of the circumstances of your return,” he paused, gnawing his bottom lip. “And, to be truthful, I suppose I wanted you to myself.”

Sylvie flushed and pressed her back into the sofa cushion as if trying to shrink.

“Okay,” she started racking her brain of the past weeks. “I’ll give you the short version if that’s okay.”

“Fine, but don’t miss out on anything important. I will find out if you lie, and I’d rather not punish you until you’re fully recovered.”

Sylvie laughed but quickly stopped when she noticed his stony expression. The threat of being punished actually sounded good...

“Okay. I woke up in the Fae realm, and Kerensa took me to meet the Queen.”

Elias nodded when she paused.

“She told me to break Kian’s heart. She wanted me to choose you. She said, 'Choose the Vampire, and reject my son.”

A scowl crossed his face before he could hide it, and Sylvie shrunk back. Then, softening, he shook his head. “Queen Katarina should never have asked that of you, despite how much I may want you to myself; Kian is your bonded too. Your his as much as you’re mine.”

She knew the idea of being ‘his’ should infuriate her, but the image of her body snuggled between them both set her mind aflame. She stood abruptly, crossing the room to pick up a short log from a tall pile next to the chimney and threw it on the dying flames.

“I don’t belong to you. To either of you.” The words bit between her teeth as she spun back to glare at him.

“You misunderstand.”

“Then explain. What is a bonded one?”

He beaconed her back to the couch, and she sat with a huff.

“Shifters call them mates; Fae call them bonded. Vampires, well, they used to be called Kindreds. Now, it’s more interchangeable. The concept is similar to soulmates for humans, but true human soulmates are extinct.”

Sylvie crossed her arms and gave him a stern look. He sounded almost as cryptic as Kian.

He sighed. “Centuries ago, everyone had Kindreds, but as wars broke out over power, resources, and creatures left their realms, the pairs dwindled. Some say our ‘makers’ or the Fates cursed us because of our greed and cruelty. Especially the Shifters. They need mated pairs to procreate, while Fae do not. Both born Vampires and shifters can turn humans, but the rate of survival for turned shifters is much lower, and turned ones do not get mates. Now it’s extremely rare for anyone to find their mate. The fact that you have two is completely unheard of.”

“I still don’t understand what it means for me,” Sylvie groaned, tucking her feet beneath her.

Edging closer, Elias placed his arm across the back of the couch.

“It means that you are our’s in every way.” His eyes darkened when Sylvie swallowed. “And we are yours.”

Her mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out until she squeezed her eyes shut.” Well, how do you know?” she breathed, Images of Kian and Elias at her side bombarding her mind again. Her eyes sprung open.

“The looking glass I showed you. It’s a Fae artefact designed to show images connected to your mate. If you don’t have one, you see your reflection.”

Sylvie gnawed her bottom lip, and Elias frowned, reaching to dislodge it. She huffed and asked, “What did you see when you looked into it?”

“The same as you. The Fae realm, a tree, actually, and my home realm. The glass city.”