Fae Wars: Ice Boundaries

Chapter 2

Mason's POV

I knew the moment my soul mate's plane touched down at the airport. The anticipation was building swiftly within me. I heard the sky rumble with thunder and I knew if I didn't get my emotions under control soon lightening would begin to strike the ground near us. I forced my emotions under control. I tried to even ignore the tiny pleasurable shocks I was getting from her soul brushing up against mine.

I knew that if I had any chance of making this work I needed her calm and open to the idea. My current father and mother always tease me that I am an old soul. I smiled at them as a child but I never verbalized the truth. I was far older than they would ever know. This was my sixth time on this side of the veil. Each time I am reborn into a new body I seek out my soul mate Ena and desperately try to form a bond that will take us both through eternity together.

Each time I have failed. The spell that I use to transport me across the veil has too many limitations. The biggest issue is, once I cross the veil I lose my own body and am forced into the body of a soulless being on this side of the veil. The second biggest problems is that the moment Ena and I share our first kiss I forget the truth about who I am and all of the previous lifetimes I have lived on this side of the veil. I become the person that I've possessed and can only remember this lifetime and person until I die and find myself home again.

The first time I came to be on this side I dropped into a young human male. At that time Ena was also human. It would have been so easy to tell her the truth and bring her home with me. Then we could have lived happily forever together. That however wasn't to be. Instead Ena was claimed by her vampire father and whisked away before I could ever claim her. I spent the remainder of my pathetic short human life pining for her loss.

The second time I came through the veil I was in the body of a Lycan, a female wolf. I searched for Ena four seven years before I found her hidden deep within the Carpathian Mountains. When I approached her she immediately went on the defense. I desperately tried to convince Ena we were soul mates, but she did no more than turn her nose at me and tell me I was insane. In a last ditch effort to prove it to her I kissed her on the mouth. That kiss sealed my fate. I forgot all the details of my proof and Ena managed to snap my neck instantly killing me.

The next time I cast myself through the veil I was a young Naga. I remember being displeased by my snake's limitations but grateful that at least I had been male. I spent three hundred years looking for my soul mate Ena but never found her. I'd searched high and low, but Ena and her father had seemed to disappear. In the end, I was killed by another vampire who saw me as a threat.

The fourth time I crossed the veil I was again a Naga. This time however I wasn't just any Naga I was a cobra and would become King Cobra to the nest. With that lifetime came certain responsibilities and expectations from my parents and my nest. I never got a chance to search for my soul mate. With the Naga race slowly dying out my father had blood bonded me to a female Naga while I was still a baby. The moment the forced blood bond snapped into place I forgot all about my precious Ena. I spent that entire lifetime feeling incomplete and not really knowing why. Eventually I volunteered for one too many risky raids and managed to die a young meaningless death.

The fifth time I was again born human. This time Ena found me before I had a chance to find her. I was already a grown man and she blood bonded me only minutes after our souls touched each other. I'd tried to stop her and tell her that we could have forever instead of just a few years but she kissed me and I forgot. We had many happy years together but in the end I died with the frail human body that I'd possessed.

This time I had to be the one in control. I had to show her we were soul mates and that the body I was in was just a vessel. She needed to accept me for the real me so that our souls could dance together for all eternity. I knew my Ena was incredibly smart but what I am and what this would mean to her would cause her great pain and confusion.

I would have to make Ena love me without her knowing the truth. I would have to convince her we were soul mates without ever kissing her. She would have to agree to give up this world and follow me in to mine in order to find true happiness together. The worst part of that was she would have to do so blindly. Blindly was something Ena never did. She was the epitome of intelligence and knowledge. She did nothing without understanding all aspects of what it meant.

This time I had to get it right. The cost to cross the veil was becoming too high. This would be my last chance to find eternal happiness with my soul mate. If I failed to convince her or she declined taking the risk crossing the veil with me then it was all for nothing. Because this time I had used the last of my magic and I wouldn't be able to replenish it unless our souls became one in the way of my people. It would require that we perform the soul bonding ceremony together.

I took a deep breath and tried to pretend to be interested in the words coming from the former King and Queen of the Bastet. Today was to be an official ceremony where the queen would be turning the power of the crown over to her daughter. I nodded politely just as I saw my beautiful Ena walk into the open court.

I saw Ena's eyes grow two sizes as she took in my physical form. I'd intentionally done an extra spell so that I could hopefully look physically the same as I had when I'd been called Antonio. I heard her heart slam hard around her rib cage and I watched her throat as she swallowed. I knew before it happened that she was going to fall and I quickly moved to her side. I wrapped my arms around Ena's waist and kept her from hitting the ground.

Ena's wonderful scent that reminded me of warm summer days and ocean breezes filled my nose. The feel of her in my arms combined with the pleasurable little shocks flowing through my body had me momentarily stunned. I found myself saying in a voice with just a tad too much enthusiasm

"Now, now love. I know how much of a shock finding your soul mate can be but it's not a dirt kissing occasion. How about kissing me instead?"

I felt Ena take several deep breaths no doubt pulling my scent into her nostrils. I could almost feel her anxiety and confusion. I knew Ena's soul would be crying out for mine. The feelings would probably cause her to feel vulnerable. A sensation Ena despised. I had a feeling that rather than admit the attraction Ena would immediately try to put as much distance between us as possible. I was positive the next words out of her mouth would be said with the intention of putting me in my place.

I watched as Ena turned her magnificent eyes towards me. For just a second I felt myself leaning in with the intention of taking her lips into mine. I would have given up eternity for this lifetime. I was Bastet born and would likely live several thousand years. With Ena at my side it would be worth it. Then just before my lips touched hers I forced myself back.

I watched Ena blink several times before she allowed me to help her to her feet. Once we broke contact I pulled myself together and put a knowing smile on my lips. Ena took advantage of the timing and launched into a 'what not' and 'how to' speech. I smiled and nodded at all the appropriate places until she finished berating me. Then I said in my most confident voice

"Ena, I understand all of your concerns. I know you think your soul mate died and is gone forever. But, you need come to believe that you are wrong. I am your soul mate and you are mine. I'm not going to force you, but I am also not going away. When you are ready to accept that, you only need to ask me to take you home and we will spend eternity together."