Chapter 2
Matthew
Iwas bored. And a bored fae tended to get into trouble. Actually, that wasn’t true. Fae tended to be mischievous no matter what. It was simply our nature. Especially one as young as I was. And I was young. At only twenty-four, I knew I was young and tended to get into trouble.
It wasn’t that I did it on purpose. I just wanted more than what I had.
I was the middle of nine siblings and was tired of taking care of my youngest ones.
Add in that Mom was pregnant again, I wanted out of here as soon as I possibly could.
To say the house was crowded was an understatement.
We had three bedrooms. Three. I shared my room with my two brothers.
My two youngest sisters shared a room, and our parents had their own room.
It wasn’t ideal, but it was how the houses in our village were.
My one saving grace was my job outside the home.
I loved to bake, and I worked in our village bakery every day, much to my mother’s displeasure.
Since my older siblings had found their mates and moved into their own homes, that left me to help around the house and with the younger ones.
Well, I didn’t want to raise my siblings.
Call me selfish, but I wasn’t the one who had giving birth to so many children and couldn’t seem to stop having them.
“Matthew, quit daydreaming and come help with Sara.”
I cringed at the tone of Mom’s voice as I poured tea into my mug. “Sorry, Mom. I’m late for work. You’ll have to do her hair yourself.” I forced a smile as I walked past Mom on my way to the door. But I was late for work, and the last thing I wanted was to have my boss, Dan, upset with me again.
“Well, why didn’t you get up earlier, then?”
I waved over my shoulder on my way out the door.
Yes, why didn’t I? Perhaps because I’d been forced to listen to my parents go at it most of the night.
I hated it when Mom was in her second trimester.
None of us got much sleep then, and if I could find a place of my own, I would gladly move in a heartbeat.
Unfortunately, the house for single fae in our village was full.
I trudged my way to the village center where the bakery was located, sighing about the early morning weather.
That was one thing I didn’t necessarily enjoy about living in the fae realm.
It was always mild and green. Don’t get me wrong, the weather was beautiful, but I’d heard stories from others that had visited the human and shifter realm.
They had four seasons, and I wanted to see snow and ice.
I wanted to throw snowballs and make snow angels.
I wanted to see the fall colors of the changing leaves.
The guilt of my feelings had started getting to me, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to change them. I loved my family—some days more than others—but I knew there was more out there.
I’d traveled to a few other villages and I’d yet to find my mate, and that just added to my frustration.
And honestly, perhaps I was so desperate to find my mate for all of the wrong reasons.
Sure, I wanted someone to spend my life with, but I wanted more than just a family.
I wanted excitement and to see things. I wanted… more.
“Matthew, are you going to come in here and work or just stand outside daydreaming?”
I jerked out of my daydream and looked at my boss, Dan.
“Sorry. I didn’t get much sleep again last night,” I said, hoping it would be enough of an excuse.
Dan knew that Mom was pregnant again, so hopefully he realized what I’d meant.
When he nodded in understanding, I sighed in relief before I quickly entered the bakery.
After I washed my hands and put on my apron, I quickly got to work.
Like always, I got lost in mixing, kneading, forming, and baking.
“Matthew, wash up. The warlock is at the gate!”
That immediately had my attention. Dan didn’t say a warlock—he said the warlock.
And by the warlock, he meant the Edison.
The Edison hadn’t shown outright aggression toward us that I had ever seen, but he wasn’t exactly fond of us either.
But if he was here, there had to have been a reason for it.
I did as I was told and quickly washed my hands, tossed my apron on the hook beside the door, and left the bakery, running to catch up with the others as they headed up the hill to the door that led to the fates’ realm.
I’d never been but I’d had friends that had.
They never returned, so I hoped they’d found their mate and were enjoying life.
As I caught up, I walked through the group that was standing there, and my mouth started watering at the specimen of a man that was standing there.
Damn was he hot. He was well over six feet tall and had short blond hair, blue eyes, and muscles that were made for pinning someone to a bed as he thrust in and out of them.
I barely stifled a groan at the thought.
I would love nothing more than to experience that.
Too bad I’d not been able to find that here in another fae.
We were small. Period. Unable to help myself, and willing to take a risk, I approached the sexy man that was standing beside the other one I knew was Thomas, one of the fates.
“Whoa. He’s…hot,” I said as I walked up and stood directly in front of the man. He was oh-so-warm, and my fingers twitched to walk across his massive chest. When he took a step back, I followed, not ready to leave his sexiness.
“Matthew, he’s mine,” Thomas said as he gave me a gentle push on my shoulder. My shoulders fell in disappointment.
“Really? That’s not fair.”
“Who is he, then, if he’s yours?” someone asked from behind me.
“Wait, are there female fae?” Mr. Sexy asked.
“Yes, love. There are. But the men tend to be nosier. And cause more trouble. And the ladies were probably hiding from Edison.” Thomas looked pointedly at me, causing me to point a finger at my chest in question. Surely he wasn’t calling me nosey. Even if I was.
“This is my chosen, Canyon. And as such, you need to show him the same respect you do me or the ladies, understood?” Thomas said by way of introduction. At the mention of Thomas’s chosen, we all stepped back, bowing our heads as we’d been told to do any time a fate arrived in the realm.
“What are they doing?” Canyon asked.
“Being silly,” Thomas replied before he sighed and looked up at the sky.
It seemed as if he was counting, although I couldn’t figure out why.
When his blue eyes once again focused on us, he nodded before talking to us again.
“Okay, who wants to mate a shifter?” Thomas asked.
It took a moment for his words to sink in, but when I looked around the group and saw that most had their hands raised, I scowled before putting mine up.
Most of the men with their arms in the air were already mated.
Why would they raise their hands? They’d already found their mate.
“Who isn’t already claimed and wants to mate a shifter? ” Thomas amended.
I watched as several arms dropped and the men turned, grumbling, and walked back to the village.
When I looked around at who was left, there were seven of us, and my breath started coming in shorter spurts.
Was this really happening? Could I actually leave and go to the shifter realm and find my mate?
I heard Thomas and Canyon talking quietly, but my mind was too excited to really focus on what they were saying. When Thomas cleared his throat, I turned my attention back to the pair and dropped my own arm that I realized I still had in the air as I watched the others return to their houses.
“Yes, Matthew, I understood that you wanted to mate with a shifter. Or perhaps another.”
“Huh?”
“You will all come with us to our realm for a bit, while we send notice to your families that you will soon be mated in the shifter realm. Then after we get your glamors in place, we’ll send you on your way.”
We all nodded and followed Thomas and Canyon through the door and into their own realm.
It was a bit cooler, and not quite as green but had so much appeal simply because it was different.
We all looked around, gawking at the scenery, trying our best to not trip over ourselves or one another because we were too busy to watch where we were going.
We followed along to a large central building that had two smaller cottage-style houses that we could barely see in opposite directions from one another.
“In here, gentlemen. We’ll get everything in place, and then you’ll be on your way.
” Thomas held the door open, ushering each of us inside.
The interior was cute and cozy, but I didn’t get much time to take it all in before Thomas was standing in front of me, his hands gently resting on my shoulders.
“Matthew, you’re young. Do you know how to do glamor spells to change your appearance?”
I peered up into those blue eyes and nodded. When Thomas raised an eyebrow at me, I blushed and quickly did as he’d asked. My pointed ears rounded out, matching my already rounded face. I was one of the lucky ones in that regard.
“Very good. Now, your mate is in Timber Valley. It’s Canyon’s home pack, and his brother is alpha there. Forest and his mate, Aspen, will welcome you into their home until you meet your mate. Give it a few days or weeks and you’ll meet him.”
“Him?”
“Yes, Matthew, him. And no matter what, remember that I’m not leading you wrong, even if you might question my choice in your mate.”
“Okay. Thank you so much, Thomas. I’ll do my best to behave.”
“I know you will. I’ll walk you to the door. You’ll appear in Forest’s backyard. It’s winter there, so you’ll need warmer clothes, and remember, there are uninformed humans in the town, so be careful where you use your magic.”
“I will. Promise. Thank you so much. I can’t wait to meet him. I hope he’s nice. He’s nice, right?”
Thomas smiled at me before he ruffled my mop of hair that needed cut. “Yes, Matthew, he’s nice. And he’s going to adore you. Now go on, then. I’ve sent notice to your parents.”
I nodded, too overwhelmed to do much more.
This was it. I was going to meet my mate.
I actually had a mate. Thomas said pack, and that meant wolves, right?
I’d only ever heard little bits about the shifter realm and everything that happened there.
I thought about Canyon and wondered if they all were as sexy as him.
Would my mate have blue eyes and blond hair too?
My hair was crazy curly, but it was brown; nothing special about it.
I hoped my mate liked short men. It would take a lot for him to be shorter than me as I was only five feet tall.
I was short, and that was quite apparent as I walked beside Thomas on the way to the door.
“My brother-in-law, Forest, is nice, so you don’t need to fear him. His mate, Aspen, is one of the sweetest bears I’ve ever met, and I’ve met quite a few in my time. They have three young children, but I know they’ll welcome you into their home. Behave now, okay?”
I nodded because I couldn’t do much else.
I was too intimidated by the man beside me; he was a fate and literally held my future in his hands.
His smile, although nice, still didn’t quite calm my nerves.
When Thomas gestured to the door we’d arrived in front of, I gasped at the sight in front of me. It was a snowy wonderland.
“There’s snow!”
“There is. It’s the middle of winter in Montana, so it’s snowy and quite cold. Be sure to bundle up and stay warm. And watch out for ice.” Thomas chuckled as I nodded before I stepped through the doorway.
When he said it was cold, he wasn’t kidding.
I immediately conjured a winter coat and hat, then wrapped my arms around my waist before walking toward the massive house that was in front of me.
I’d not ever seen a place so large before, even in the few books I’d found from other realms. The place was huge.
“You must be Matthew.”
My attention was quickly drawn to the tall man that was standing on the wooden platform that appeared to be attached to the house. He had blond hair and what looked like blue eyes that were smiling at me. He had a welcome presence about himself, and that helped relax me quite a bit.
“I am. I’m looking for Forest. Am I in the right place?”
“Indeed you are. I’m Aspen, Forest is my mate. He’s on the phone and couldn’t get away in time. Would you like to come inside? Do you have a bag or anything?”
I shook my head but realized he’d asked two questions. “I don’t have anything with me. I wasn’t sure what to bring, but I can conjure what I need. We weren’t really given a lot of time. But if I’m not imposing, I’d love to come in.”
“You will have to realize that we were told about you hours ago. There is a difference in time between that realm and ours. Come on, I baked some cookies earlier while the kids were napping. We can snag a few before supper.”
I followed Aspen into the house and was greeted by warm air that smelled heavenly. The scent of cookies definitely lingered as did something else.
“You said you were told about me hours ago. But how is that if I just talked to Thomas and Canyon minutes ago.”
I handed my coat to Aspen when he reached for it and watched as he hung it on a peg by the door.
“I’m not sure I have the exact specifics, but I think one hour there is a day here?
That sounds right. Maybe. Alistair could tell us for sure.
He and River live not far from here. I’m sure you’ll meet everyone in the pack soon enough.
But for now, how about cookies and hot chocolate?
Then I can ask you all of the questions I’m dying to ask because I’ve never met a fae before. ”
“Both sound delicious. And I’ll answer anything I can.
Thank you for welcoming me into your home.
” I followed Aspen over to the large center island and climbed up onto the stool he indicated.
I really wanted to go exploring and ask some questions of my own, but I was determined to be on my best behavior and make a good impression.
After all, finding my mate was worth it, and I was going to be joining their pack since my mate was a wolf here, right?