Aria had never been as relieved as she felt when she heard that Quinn had come to visit her. She felt more excited when Quinn invited her to lunch together and then to their favorite ice cream shop. It had been ages since she had not seen her dear friend as Quinn stayed in the fairy kingdom four years ago.
"Thank goodness. You came right on time."
Quinn clicked her tongue in distaste. "Why didn't you report it to the lord? You do know that you have special protection from the lord, don't you?"
"I do. But why do you think the lord protects me? I'm just an ordinary human, and that too… the unwanted one."
Quinn heaved a defeated sigh as she intertwined her arms against her friend. "I heard the lord is your human mother's best friend. So he sees you as his daughter, yet he couldn't adopt you as he already has his own daughter."
"So, if my mother is human, does that mean my father is a fae?" Aria whispered to herself to find out the background of her parents.
"What?"
"Ha?"
"Did you say something?"
Aria shook her head quickly, "No. I'm just wondering if you have the same ability as other elves."
"What abilities?"
"To see what others can't."
"Such as…"
"You know… something like you can see the difference between a werewolf and human, or maybe… a half-breed."
"Yeah, I can see which one is human and not. But I can't differentiate half-breed or which one is an Alpha and which one is just a werewolf. Besides, my human gene is more dominant than the elf one. That's why I don't have pointed ears like them." Quinn showed her ears to Aria to show that her ears were like other humans.
"Oh, I see."
"What is it?"
"What is it what?" Aria answered her by asking back.
"This is the first time you have asked about my abilities. Is something bothering you?"
"Nothing." Aria turned her face away without looking at her best friend. Just as she felt Quinn was still looking at her suspiciously, Aria repeated her answer all at once.
"It was nothing, really."
"Is there someone bothering you while I'm gone? Is it the werewolf kids again? But as far as I know, they would be mindful about their behavior once they reached their age."
"How do you know that?"
"It's their nature. They had this pride to be a human protector once they had trained in their realm."
Aria snorted in disbelief. "Never mind. It wasn't them anyway."
"Then who?"
"Who else but the evil witches' mistress? Aside from her or her bitchy daughters, I could handle almost everything. No worries."
Quinn shook her head in response to her best friend's comment. The two girls were still walking while conversing without knowing two pairs of eyes were looking at them with probing eyes.
"Wow. Since when did she turn into a beauty? Your mate is really something." Douglass couldn't help but tease his Alpha when he noticed Lyod became motionless due to the sudden awe-struck creature.
Lyod couldn't hear a single word from his Beta, or he might hear him, but he gave no such care. All he cared about was how melodious his mate's voice was and how luscious her body was. Her alluring scent that aroused his buried passion didn't help his raging heart but worsened it.
His craving, his yearning toward his mate, exploded like fireworks when he saw his mate's slim breath-taking figure.
Lyod wanted to meet her… he wished to say 'hi' to her. His wolf even bounced up and was eager to take control so that he could meet her that instant.
However… something held him back.
'Let me go, you bastard! I hate you! I hate all of you!' He recalled what she said years ago when he threw her into the swimming pool.
'How could you be so stupid?' Lyod could only blame himself for his silly deeds in the past.
He didn't know if the girl still hated him or not. He couldn't even imagine how broken his heart would be if she had said the same thing right now… after he found his mate.
'Hey! Alpha!' Douglass's thundering voice in his mind brought him back to reality. 'What are you doing? You don't want to see her?'
Lyod shook his head and said something that surprised his Beta. "We need to go back."
"What? I thought you'd like to see her."
"I do. But not now." Lyod was sure their first official meeting would not go smoothly. And he was apprehensive that the first thing his mate did as soon as they met was kick him out.
If he wanted to bring the girl into his world, Lyod had to think of a way to get the girl to come willingly.
But how?
"When you find out that Iona is your mate, what did you do?" Lyod's question was so unexpected it left Douglass speechless.
"What did I do? Of course, I met her in person and tried all my best to woo her."
"I thought you two were enemies. Don't you two hate each other?"
"Oh, that. So you're worried that she'll hate you once she finds out she's your fated mate?"
"…" If you already know, why do you describe it in detail? Lyod scolds his Beta in his mind.
"Iona and I never really hated each other. We are rivals, and neither of us wants to yield. But when I reached my age and recognized her as my mate, our life turned upside down. We had this indescribable magnet that pulled us closer. And believe or not, she also felt the undeniable attraction toward me."
"She did?"
"Yeah. So trust me. If that girl is your mate, she'll feel it too."
"…" he certainly hopes that was the case. "I can't risk that. You and Iona were different cases. I was so stupid to hurt her in the past. She hated me… or still hates me even until now. I won't risk that chance."
An amusing smile adorned Douglass's face. It was nice to see his mighty fearless Alpha was scared for once. Even though they were not on the battlefield, it was the battlefield for Alpha Lyod.