The Contrary Mate

9 Aura

I went home to an empty house. My dad was probably still at work and I had no idea where my mom might be. Our cottage was a simple structure of wood with vines growing all over it. I had cried over the trees when I was little before I learned some unpleasant sacrifices were necessary for survival. He had changed the roof to some synthetic human material I couldn't feel or identify the previous year and I had mixed feelings about it. I liked that it saved a tree, but it just felt so disturbingly empty. At least with wood, in death, it had the memory of life.

Thinking about Jack Wright's semi-formal comment, I showered—another human invention that most fae tolerated for convenience, although the real sticklers amongst us eschewed even that—and picked a fairly fancy dress from my wardrobe. It was of shades of flowing light turquoise and brought out the colour of my eyes as my mother had pointed out on multiple occasions. I inspected myself in the mirror, noting that I was going to have to dye my hair again soon to hide the streaks of unnatural bluish roots that were beginning to show. I'd always envied the other fae who had human-looking hair, because they didn't have to worry as much about trying to fit in unnoticed when they went amongst the humans. Not that I did that much before.

It shouldn't matter tonight, though. The one small plus was that I didn't need to hide my true nature from a pack of werewolves, so I put it out of my mind and headed out the door, barefoot, with shoes in hand. I'd shove my feet back into captivity once I got there. I didn't need shoes to fly.

No sooner had I stepped out the door when I heard a familiar voice call out to my name.

"Rex," I said, turning to face the familiar fae. He had an affinity for water and was quite handsome, and he reminded me of an oak tree. His eyes were the exact green of the leaves and his hair was a lot like the colour of the bark and personality wise he'd always seemed as strong and inflexible as one. It wasn't an entirely bad trait. He had been very loyal and steady when we'd been friends as children. We'd also dated for almost four years in our later teens until I broke it off. During our time as a couple Rex had become increasingly extreme in his fae isolationist views. I didn't want to spend all my time listening to rants about how terrible everything was and how bad all the other species were. I wanted to spend my time brewing fairy juice and growing my precious plants and focusing on the things that mattered.

"You look beautiful."

We were supposed to be just friends again, but Rex sometimes made it awkward and this was one of those moments. I gave him a half smile. "Yeah, thanks."

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere exciting. I just have to clear something up." I definitely wasn't going to tell him that Jack Wright thought I was his mate and endure an hour long rant about how evil that particular werewolf was. I'd already listened to enough rants on the travesty of infusing human technology with magic rightfully belonging to the fae.

He examined me. "Oh?"

I met his eyes. "I'm sorry, Rex, but you know it's really none of your business. And it's nothing I can't handle. You'll just need to trust me."

"I do trust you."

We were getting back into dangerous territory. "Trust that I know what's best for myself." It wasn't to be the mate of a werewolf, but even more so it wasn't to be in a relationship with Rex, either, no matter how much he might wish it were otherwise. "And even if I don't, my mistakes are mine to make. I'll see you around," I said. Then, summoning my magic, I willed my wings to appear on either side of my shoulder blades with the effortlessness of breathing. A moment later, I was in the air, leaving Rex standing on the ground, watching me as I darted away.

Vampires were fast and almost impossible to destroy. Werewolves weren't as fast as vampires, but they were strong and could transform. From what I had heard, both species had phenomenal senses, and both definitely leaned carnivorous.