23. Chapter Twenty-Three
~Evalina~
Felix’s large body filled the seat next to mine in the ‘car’, and his big, strong hands helped me to use the strap to tie myself down. When I cast a wary look at him, his broad shoulders lifted in a shrug.
“We’ll be moving pretty fast, so this is just a precaution in case there’s a sudden change in speed. I promise it’s safe.”
He’d said those words outside too, and they affected me just as much the second time. Hearing him vow to keep me safe, the words rumbling from his muscular chest in his deep voice, I didn’t doubt for a moment that he would do it. What I still didn’t understand was why .
Why did this unusual man take such an interest in me, and why did I feel more drawn to him than I ever had to anyone before?
Why had I agreed to go with him to a world I knew nothing about? Why did I believe that he’d protect me?
Nothing about my surroundings reminded me of the familiar warmth of my kitchen or the quiet rustle of the Etta trees in the breeze, but rather than feeling lost, excitement sparked inside me every time Felix looked my way.
Why did it all feel so right?
Darius got into the car on the other side of me, and when he twisted his hand, the whole thing rumbled to life beneath us. Vibrations travelled up my legs and a warm breeze began to blow.
“It’s alive?” I whispered, more confused than ever.
Felix chuckled. “No, it’s a machine. Do you know what that means?”
I shook my head, letting out a small yelp as we began to move forward. Felix’s large hand covered mine in support, and just like every time he touched me, my body tingled in response, warmth blooming where our skin connected and spreading outward. The gentle pressure of his hand helped to calm me as we moved faster, a bright light illuminating the way in front of us and red lights ahead showing the other car with my mother and Jermyn inside.
“You can sleep on the way if you need to,” Felix added, his voice sounding even gruffer as he lowered its volume. “My shoulder makes a pretty good pillow. If you want to use it.”
The idea of curling up against him appealed to me far more than it probably should have, but truthfully, I couldn’t imagine going to sleep after everything that just happened. Adrenaline still pumped through my body, filling me with a nervous energy that wouldn’t be dissipating anytime soon, not to mention the dozens of questions spinning around inside my head.
“Is Vaughan your king?” I blurted out, since I needed to start my questions somewhere. The others all seemed to defer to him, including Felix.
“Kind of,” Felix replied. “We don’t call him a king, but he’s the one in charge and he was born into the position like a king. It’s similar.”
“What do you call him?”
“Alpha. And I’m his second-in-command, or Beta.”
The words were new to me and I repeated them slowly, turning them over in my mouth to see how they felt. “Alpha. Beta.” It didn’t surprise me that Felix held such a high position given his strength and capability, but it made his interest in me even more difficult to understand. “And Calista is his queen?”
“Close enough,” he agreed good-naturedly. “Her title is Luna.”
“Luna.” The unfamiliar words sounded almost magical to me.
“She’s his mate,” Felix added, his voice catching slightly on the last word, and I craned my neck to look up at him.
“What does that mean?”
He swallowed so hard that I could see his throat working. I’d never realized a neck could be masculine before, but everything about him seemed manly in a way I’d never experienced.
“You said you don’t know much about werewolves?” he asked, answering my question with one of his own.
“Not much at all. I saw a drawing when I was young.”
The way his chest rumbled when he laughed pulled at something deep in my stomach. “I used to read stories about fairies,” he admitted. “I liked the pictures.”
When I found that image in Tarron’s box, I couldn’t have ever imagined I would be sitting next to a real werewolf, and from the twinkle in Felix’s eyes, I suspected he felt the same about me.
He cleared his throat before continuing. “Werewolves were created by the moon goddess, and as part of her blessing to us, she gave each of us a mate. They’re our other half, the person who completes us perfectly. We recognize them on sight.”
“Like love at first sight?” That concept, I’d heard of before.
“Kind of, but it’s not just about attraction,” Felix explained. “It’s like your soul recognizes theirs. Being apart from your mate feels like missing a part of yourself, and being with them makes everything in the world feel right.”
Blinking quickly a few times, I took that all in. It sounded… wonderful, actually. “That really is a blessing.”
“It can be,” he agreed. “But it’s not always straightforward. For example, with Vaughan and Calista, he recognized her but she didn’t know he was her mate because her werewolf side had been suppressed.”
My brows drew together as I tried to understand what he meant, and Felix laughed.
“It’s a long story. My point is that werewolves recognize their mates, but sometimes, they’re mated to other species, and those species don’t feel it in the same way. It can complicate things.”
“It does sound complicated,” I confessed. I wasn’t sure I fully understood but I wanted to. I wanted to learn all about him and his species. “Do you have a mate?”
I found myself hoping the answer was no, though it really wasn’t any business of mine.
Felix’s jaw tightened, his gaze flicking away from mine for just a moment before returning with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine.
“It’s complicated.”
Swallowing my disappointment, I nodded, glancing down at his hand still covering mine. I’d barely realized he still held it; it felt so natural there. Gently, I pulled it from his grasp and reached up to tuck my long hair behind my ears.
“What about the fae?” Felix asked, moving his arm to the back of the seat since I’d taken my hand back. “How do you decide who you spend your life with?”
I kept my gaze down, not wanting to think of Tarron’s demands again. “It’s by choice, usually.”
“Usually?” He picked up on the word immediately.
“For the royal family and other rulers, it’s often arranged,” I explained with a shrug. “They will have a contrar, the person they are officially bound to, but often, they will also have an amorta, someone who is their own choice.”
“Human kings used to have something like that. They called it a mistress. It was usually someone they were attracted to, and they were treated well, but the woman had no official power and their children couldn’t inherit any official positions. Is it like that?”
“Yes, it sounds very similar.” I was glad not to have to explain it further. “For common people like my parents, they take an amica. It’s less formal.”
“Fascinating.” He said the word as if he truly meant it. “Where is your father now?”
“Dead.” I’d found it easier to state the word bluntly. It stung a little less that way. “Your parents are mates?”
Felix nodded. “They were but my mother died a few years ago. I’m not sure my father will ever fully recover.”
“I think if you truly love someone, you never do. You can move on and be happy again, but you’re never exactly the same person you were before.”
“I think you’re right.” Felix shifted in his seat, his body angling towards me even more than before. “That’s why we’ll do everything we can to help save your mother. You shouldn’t have to lose her too.”
He didn’t even know my mother, but his words sounded so passionate, I couldn’t doubt that he meant them sincerely.
“Thank you.” I whispered the words as my head rolled back into the crook of his arm. Somehow, despite all my earlier energy, the humming of the car around us and Felix’s comforting presence had made me relax more than I realized, and as soon as my eyes closed, I fell into a deep, profound sleep.