The Nixie and the Frost Elf (Fated Mates and Monster Dates #3)

Chapter 1

Lexi

My mind is swimming after my history lecture, and even though it's only been a couple of months since I arrived at Rosewood Academy, I can tell that it's going to be a good year when it comes to learning.

My professor is engaged in the subject, and clearly wants his students to be too.

Which is good for me, history is what I came to study, even if I'm not sure where my future career ambitions lie.

My stomach rumbles, reminding me that I also need to eat.

I hope there are sardines on the menu today, especially if they've been poached in a tomato sauce.

They're my favourites, and the academy's kitchen staff make them so well that I have to wonder if there's a fellow nixie in the kitchen, though it could be another kind of mer.

Maybe a merrow or a mermaid. Whatever the case, they cook fish beautifully, something I'm grateful for.

The dining hall is already packed with students, many of them sitting at tables with their friends and helping themselves to the food laid out between them, though others are also visiting the specialist serving stations that are set up to deal with specific dietary needs.

Though not the kind that I have. It's easy enough for me to avoid dairy with the normal menu, but the same can't be said for the ghouls, vampires, and other creatures who need more specific things in order to live.

Luckily for them, the academy provides what they need, and they don't have to worry about any adverse effects from not getting enough blood or whatever else they eat.

I search the room for my friends, waving when I see Marnie at one of the tables. I start to head over, but stop short when I see a familiar face that I never expected to run into while at Rosewood.

Edur.

My heart flutters and a whole deluge of emotions swirl through me in response to even a glimpse of his face.

I haven't seen him in a few years, not since I begged my parents to let me change schools, even though I was in my final year. They let me, but have wanted to know why ever since, and I've never told them. I've never told anyone, and I intend to keep it that way.

Edur leans in to talk to the harpy sitting beside him, and a twinge of jealousy shoots through me.

I squash it down. We haven't spoken in years, it's not up to me to police who he talks to.

He tucks a strand of his long, dark-blue hair behind his pointed ear, drawing attention to it.

I always liked how they looked, and he seems to have grown into them more in the years since I'd last seen him.

His face has changed too, with his pale blue skin having gained some of the frost crystals he always envied on his older brother. Even from this distance, I can see how they sparkle and catch the light in a way that I can only describe as beautiful.

I don't know if he senses me watching him, or if he happens to look my way, but he turns, and it feels as if our gazes lock despite the distance. The expression on his face confirms that he's seen me, and that the recognition is going both ways.

The chatter of the dining room becomes nothing more than a distant hum, and I have no idea what's going on around me. The only thing I can focus on is Edur, and precisely what it means to have him here at Rosewood with me.

The familiar feeling I ran away from him to avoid returns, fluttering in my stomach and making it impossible to ignore.

Mate.

I swallow hard. This can't be happening. I thought time away from him would change the reality I found myself in. I don't know what to do with a mating bond, especially when I know that I can't give the other person everything that they need.

Edur seems to snap out of the shock of seeing me and gets up from his seat, making it clear that he's coming to talk to me.

Do frost elves recognise mating bonds? Not everyone does, and it would be really helpful if I knew if he could sense it or not. But I suppose to some extent, it doesn't matter, because I'm not in a position to act on it.

I need to get away.

I spin on my heels and hurry out of the dining room, my heart racing and the panic threatening to set in.

There's nothing I can do about the word mate echoing around my head.

I know it's there. I've known it's there every day since that fateful day when I went into school and came face to face with someone I thought was just my friend, but some kind of magic between us thinks is more.

The only thing I can do is remove myself from the situation and not have to deal with this, then I stand a chance at ignoring the word and ignoring the part of me that wants to act on it.

I shake my head and slump against the wall, sinking down to the ground and trying to get my thoughts in order, but it's not working.

Everything is a little hazy, and I don't feel like I'm getting enough air.

I was supposed to be free from this. I was supposed to not have to worry about feeling a mate bond ever again, because I knew where my mate was.

But he's here. And I have no idea what to do about that.