Chapter 2 #2
“Thank you,” I told Canyon as he pulled out a chair. I sat in it, dropping my bag beside me while Thomas and Canyon moved to the other side and sat.
“All right. Any questions for us first?”
Really? They were going to start with that? I was sure I had so many questions, but I was completely drawing a blank.
“I’m sure I have lots. But being put on the spot like this, I can’t think of any right at the moment. We’d all basically given up hope that it would be a possibility that we would be able to ever leave our realm ever again.”
“Understandable,” Thomas said. “Did you have questions from before? If you can’t remember them, that’s fine. We can let you know a little about Calum, and then if you have questions, you are free to ask them.”
I nodded again. “Is he nice? My mate?”
Thomas smiled. “He is. He’s from an older line, but yes, he’s nice. He has two brothers, and one is mated.”
That was nice. Maybe that meant we would be near others, and I could have a new family. One that enjoyed being around me. Possibly.
“Calum is an archeologist, as we’ve already told you. He has worked for both universities as well as museums. He travels quite a bit, but his home seems to be in France,” Thomas said.
I continued to nod but then realized something and held up my hand.
“Yes, Asher,” Canyon said.
“Does he know about me too? You’re telling me all of this, but did you tell him? Does he want a mate? What if he doesn’t want a fae mate?”
Thomas and Canyon both grinned. “We haven’t discussed anything with Calum, no. We were trying to reassure you a bit since you were the one that was leaving your own realm to come to your mate’s,” Thomas told me.
“You said he was nice. Does he want a mate? Will he be upset to be chosen for a mate?”
Canyon shook his head while Thomas answered.
“No. He will be pleased to meet you. He is currently in Egypt. And unfortunately, we will need to get you there fairly soon. There is a rather large sandstorm that is headed toward the city, and it will keep you inside for a few days. But what better way to pass the time than getting to know your fated mate?”
“Sounds like a plan to me. How do I find him? How do I get there? I assume I’ll need money?
I have some coins I’ve been saving. Is it possible for you to trade them out for me?
” I knew how things worked there, but having never been to the shifter realm, I didn’t have any of the funds I would need.
How would I be able to eat? I didn’t have a garden to grow food there.
I would need to purchase it at a market.
“Everyone that leaves your realm and goes to the shifter realm is given a set amount of funds for things. You need not worry about any of that,” Canyon said.
“No, you don’t. And your mate will provide for you once he meets you. It is just how it works. He has had a long time to set up for his future, and he, like the others in his family, has done well for himself. It won’t be an issue.”
“All right. When can I meet him? If there is going to be a storm, should I get there before it? I should, right?”
Canyon and Thomas glanced at each other before they stood.
“Yes. We can send you now. He’s in room 918. When you enter the lobby, go straight back to the elevators and up to the ninth floor. His room is to the left when you exit,” Thomas told me. “There is a letter for him in your pack if you should need it.”
“If I should need it?” I asked suddenly.
“It’s always a just-in-case thing. If you have problems convincing your mate that you are his mate, well, the letter will help. But he’s an alpha. He’ll be able to scent you.”
I nodded. That all made sense.
“Just be sure to not use your magic around non-paranormals. Because you won’t know them, you will have no way of knowing if they are aware of us or not,” Canyon said.
“All right. Anything else?” I asked.
Thomas and Canyon glanced at one another again and shook their heads.
“When you cross through, everything will be frozen for several seconds to give you time to get out of the way of anyone or anything. Time will resume, and everything around you will go on as if they were never frozen. Good luck,” Thomas said.
They were seriously making it sound a bit ominous, but this was what I wanted.
Only, I hadn’t really known what to expect.
We stepped outside, and once more, there was a glowing portal.
I walked toward it, glancing over my shoulder as I did, and waved.
Canyon and Thomas returned the gesture, and then I hurried through, hoping it wouldn’t close before I could get there.
I stepped through from one place to another that was incredibly different.
It had been beautiful and mild in the fates’ realm, and although it wasn’t overly hot here, it was incredibly dry, and the winds were blowing harshly.
I looked around, seeing buildings everywhere, a large river not far away, and a few people frozen along the walkways.
There were vehicles on the roadways, things that I knew and recognized from books I’d read when growing up. We all read about the human and shifter realm, most hoping we would someday be able to join it.
Exactly like the fates had said, the vehicles suddenly started moving, the people walking, and the noise of the place came back. It was loud and hectic.
I turned around in place, wondering exactly which building I was supposed to go into.
They hadn’t said, except that he was in room 918.
I decided to take a chance and walked toward the doors that were just ahead of me on the walkway and entered.
Inside was quieter, as well as calmer. This was much better.
I had no idea if I was even in the correct place, but I did what they said and walked toward the back of the hotel—at least, I thought I was in a hotel.
I guess it could have been a fancy housing building.
I couldn’t remember what those were called off the top of my head because I was nervous and was really only thinking about finding my mate and hoping he understood what we were to one another.
I found the elevators and pressed the button, and when the doors opened, I entered after a group left.
Again, I pressed the button for the ninth floor, and after the shiny doors in front of me closed, I almost fell when the thing started moving.
I could feel it going upward, but it didn’t take long before it stopped.
The door chimed, and I glanced up and saw the number nine above the door, so when they opened again, I exited and went left.
It wasn’t a far walk, but by the time I found myself standing in front of a door that said 918, I was shaking and having difficulty breathing. This was it. This was where my mate was. My alpha was here. He was on the other side of that door, and I was about to meet him.
I had to take several deep breaths in order to be able to raise my hand and knock on the door.
I noticed my entire arm was shaking when I did.
I wondered if I’d knocked loud enough because I stood there waiting, and nothing.
I had just raised my arm again, this time determined to knock a little louder, when the door in front of me suddenly opened.
There stood the most gorgeous man I had ever seen.
He had dark hair and eyes and the perfect amount of facial hair.
His skin was golden brown, and he was a lot taller than I was.
So much so that I had to look way up to look at his face.
When I did, I saw his perfectly shaped lips part and his nostrils flare.
My body had started tingling and vibrating, exactly as we’d been told would happen when we met our mate.
My body’s aura was recognizing Calum’s. This was definitely my mate standing in front of me.
“Uh, Ben, I’m going to have to call you back,” he said. He brought what I assumed was a phone in front of him and touched it before he dropped his hands. “Where did you…how did you get here?” he asked.
It took a lot for me to get my body to respond. I finally smiled—at least, I hoped that’s what I did. When Calum smiled at me, I really hoped it was because I had smiled first. This was my mate. I was finally standing in front of him.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
I nodded. “Umm…I’m Asher,” I said. I glanced left, then right before I moved closer and whispered, “I’m from the fae realm, and the fates sent me here.”
Calum’s eyes widened, and he reached for my shoulders, pulling me into the room before he closed the door behind me. He did something, a loud noise clicking, and then I found myself caught between my mate and the door. All in all, not a bad place to be as far as I was concerned.