Chapter 03

SYLVAIN

I was a light sleeper, always had been. So, when an unrecognizable scent filled my room and had my hackles rising, my sleep easily broke but I didn't stir. I kept my breathing even and waited for the stupid fuck that had the bright idea of sneaking up on me to get within arms reach. The floorboards let out a barely audible squeak beneath the person's weight and I knew, whoever it was, was coming at me from the right. I lay on my stomach with my hands beneath my pillow, so when my nails gradually elongated into claws, the person didn't know.

I knew when they reached my bed because they were foolish enough to sit on the edge, shifting the weight. That was when I shot up, coiled my fingers around their throat, and slammed them down onto the mattress beneath me, effectively pinning them with a low growl.

A hand instantly flew to my own neck, tightening with enough force to cut my air. I glared down at the man beneath me, and with a raspy growl released him so he would do the same. When he did, I leaped off the bed and began massaging my neck.

Zephyr perched himself against my headboard, doing the same. His obsidian eyes narrowed at me, white hair tousled from my attack and his clothes out of place — the black button-down he wore was open, awkwardly set on him, shifting from being tossed in the air.

"I'll remember to knock next time," Zephyr rasped, chuckling lowly.

"What the fuck are you doing here and how did you even get in?" I seethed, crossing my arms over my bare chest. Yet another fae somehow got past our defenses.

"Where do you think my daughter got her shadow ability from," Zephyr clipped, a snarl curling his lips back, "since I already broke the rule and used dark magic the other day, I figured I might as well use it now to get to you."

"Why?" It was a stupid question. I should have been elated that he was here and I should have asked all the questions that hung at the tip of my tongue but the alpha in me — the protector of my pack — wanted to know if my people would be safe first. Wanted to know if having him here put any of them in danger.

Zephyr ran his hand through his hair and I realized that the man had crow's feet crinkling the corners of his eyes and brackets around his mouth. For as long as I knew him, he never seemed to age until now, "I needed to know why you saved my daughter and why you're so adamant about making sure that she's alive and well."

I cast my eyes down onto the shiny hardwood floor, "So you came here to specifically find that out?"

"I did," Zephyr shifted until he was seated at the edge of the bed before me, "I was trying to make peace with the fact that my daughter was going to die that night. I knew it with utmost certainty and I accepted it. So, when she showed up in our courtyard, I was pleasantly surprised. I shouldn't have been, but I was. Only, I knew she would cause trouble so we had to do something to stop her. Not kill her, just arrest her."

"She's alive then?" I knew this. I could feel it through the bond but hearing him say the words somehow off-loaded the weight on my shoulders.

"She is," Zephyr admitted but I noted the way his face contorted in pain and maybe regret.

I dropped my shoulders, loosened a breath that had my ribcage rattling, and took a seat beside my mate's father on the bed, "We didn't even know you had a daughter."

"Your father hid Sydney away for as long as he could because he thought she'd be in danger," Zephyr reminded me.

It was before my time and before my mother came into my father's life but my sister lived a very isolated life back then. Her only companion was Victor. She remained in their cabin, tutors coming to her, and only ever leaving with our father or Victor at her side. No one outside the pack — bar the council — knew of Sydney's existence and they liked it that way.

"He didn't hide her from the council," I pointed out.

"Your father hid her because he thought she was in danger," Zephyr reiterated with a grimace, "I hid my daughter because she IS the danger," he emphasized the word is with a hiss, "we wanted to wait until she was trained until she finally found her elemental abilities but she never found them and we later found out that it's because she doesn't have power over the elements. Only the darkness, only the shadows from me unless she siphons. So we kept her hidden."

"You think she's weak because she has no real power over the elements," I recalled what everyone had told me about Tania but, from what I witnessed, the woman was a far cry from weak. Anyone who could absorb hellfire was fucking powerful in my books.

"For us, yes. Siphoners are rare and they are considered weak. We do not willingly give our powers to them. They have to fight us for it and the lucky ones win. Most lose because they don't have any power to defend themselves against us," Zephyr explained and it, unfortunately, made sense why Tania stole magic the way she did.

"That's fucked up," I muttered, scrubbing a hand down my face. Another tug at the bond had my hand flying to my chest and massaging, "are you sure she's okay?"

Zephyr eyed me warily, assessing the way I massaged my chest and the mask of pain that slipped over my face, "Does she know?" That was all he asked because he had been around werewolves long enough to know our ways.

"I don't think so," I shrugged a shoulder in uncertainty, "she tugs at the bond constantly, though," as I said the words, I focused on sending a calming wave down the bond to soothe her. It was like soothing a raging storm before it caused irreparable destruction.

"That's why you saved her," Zephyr breathed in realization, "that's why you need to make sure she's okay."

"Yeah," I admitted.

"She's not a total lost cause you know," Zephyr stood with a huff and flexed his shoulders so his black feathered wings could take form on his back — his real wings and not some sort of illusion. They were shaped similarly to bat wings with sharp feathers at the ends that could be used as daggers and glinting horns at the arches, "you can help her if you're willing to."

"Of course, I'm willing to," I growled because it insulted me that he thought I wouldn't be willing to. She was my mate. The being I had been searching for and was tied to for the rest of my life. Even if she didn't want me at the end of this because we were different, I'd still help. I'd be whatever she needed me to be as long as she and the people around her were safe.

"Then you've got to choose, Alpha Sylvain," Zephyr uttered my name and title as if he were reminding me of it, "your pack or your mate."

"You can't be serious," I shot to my feet with fury blinding my vision and a white nose ringing loudly in my ears.

How did I always find myself in these positions?

"I'm afraid I am," Zephyr responded solemnly, "you have a duty to protect your pack and I have a duty to protect my people. It's very difficult to find us which keeps us safe from being harmed. If you come with me there will be no way for you to come back here. You can't commute easily to where I live and, even if you could, I wouldn't allow it because I need to know that you won't disclose our location to anyone."

"I'm not going to do that. Have a little faith in me," I deadpanned with an unimpressed glare.

"Either way, Alpha Sylvain," Zephyr squared his shoulders and I quickly realized why the witches supported the decision for him to rule. In that moment, he didn't only look like a king but a leader and protector, "what's your choice?"

I knew my decision off the bat. I'd return once I had helped my mate. My pack was safe for now but my mate needed my help. With me gone, my father would take up the title and he wouldn't mind but who would help Tania if not me?

I opened a mind link with my father, eyes glazing over as I placed all my concentration into waking him, "Dad," I called through the link, "dad, really need you to wake up."

My father's grumbling voice filled my mind a moment later, "This better be important, pup."

I internally rolled my eyes and made sure he could see an image of it through the link before saying, "I'm not going to be around for a while. Take care of the pack in my absence and make sure to tell mom I love her," I paused, feeling my father's confusion riddle the link, but I pushed forward and said, "I love you, too, dad. Just a reminder," with those words, I pulled up my mental shields so he wouldn't be able to contact me.

"I'm guessing you chose my daughter," Zephyr's lips split with a knowing grin as my eyes focused on him again.

"I can live without my Alpha title or my pack but I can't live without my mate," I clipped just as a howl cut through the dead of night, "we need to leave right now before my father comes bursting in here like some sort of raging animal."

"Take my hand," Zephyr extended his hand to me and I hesitated for half a second before grabbing his hand tightly in mine, "try not to freak out."

The cold caress of the shadows thickening around us had a shiver racing down my spine. I pinched my eyes shut and did my best to keep my breathing even but I was doing the complete opposite of what Zephyr had told me to do. I was internally panicking because it felt as if my blood had turned to lead. The closer the icy shadows licked the heavier I felt my body become until everything stopped and the mild heat of the sun blessed my skin.

I opened my eyes and peered up to the sky. Dark clouds hung overhead allowing the sun to peek through and wink down at us for a few short moments before being hidden again. It was morning I deduced by the sun's position in the sky and I huffed, realizing that we were a long way from home.

I shifted my attention to the meadow of wildflowers we were in. The scent of pollen tickled my nose and a chill danced over my bare skin — I should have thrown on a shirt and maybe some shoes. Lush forestry circled us for as far as the eye could see.

"Come," Zephyr gestured with a nod of his head, leading me eastbound into the tall trees, "we're on unclaimed lands which means we're vulnerable to whatever lurks out there. We must make haste."

"Where is here exactly?" I asked, easily keeping pace with him as he navigated the forest.

Zephyr grinned like a cat that ate a canary, "Alpha Quade's pack is not that far from here."

"Oh."

"We have wards set in place so I couldn't get us any closer than this. If anyone saw me using dark magic, there would be a problem as well. Whatever you feel, ignore it. It's simply a glamour making you want to turn around and head in the other direction."

"Sort of like the glamour your daughter used on the lake in my pack," I was beginning to realize that illusions were a major part of the magic fae used.

"Yes, I heard about that," for a brief moment pride crossed his features, "this glamour also hides my people and their scents. It's how we've remained safe all these years."

"Exactly what Tania used," I shot him a thin-lipped smile. The glamour around his people was what motivated her to glamour the lake. She knew how well it worked. My father spent two days trying to find my mother because of it, chasing down scents she had probably planted to throw us off.

"My daughter is a smart girl and when she's siphoned enough power she is capable of many things," Zephyr scrubbed a hand over his sharp jaw that was lightly salted with hair, "unfortunately, controlling her need for power isn't one of the things she's mastered yet."

My gut suddenly churned, bile rising my throat for no reason. By the grin splitting Zephyr's face in two I realized we were close to his wards. I had the strange urge to take a piss and run in the opposite direction we were heading because fear licked my spine like an enemy embracing me. I pushed forward even with my body protesting.

My beast whimpered inside me, clawing at my mind while it paced restlessly. I drew strength for it while reminding myself that beyond the ward was my mate and I'd finally get to see her after the days we spent apart. I knew nothing about her and yet I was still pining for her.

A brush of magic like a thousand fingertips brushed over me and suddenly the forest seemed brighter, more lively. We were no longer amid trees. Instead, we were on a stone road with log houses lining either side. Horses galloped, pulling carriages behind them while adults happily strolled along the streets and children played with giddy smiles.

"Wow."

"I would do anything to protect this place," Zephyr supplied, "because of its beauty and its people."

I eyed the lamposts along the street that was no doubt lit with magic every night and then tipped my gaze to the sky to find faeries zipping through the clouds, hollering and yipping as if they couldn't imagine a better way to spend their days. Their wings were all different — different shapes, different sizes, different designs. Some had feathers while some resembled fragile butterfly wings.

"Does this place have a name?" I asked, fascinated by the little I saw.

"We call it Civitas Spei, City of Hope," he ushered me forward, guiding me through the streets that were packed with so many happy people it had my mind reeling.

These people found a little slice of Heaven all for themselves.

"When we first came here," Zephyr began explaining, dipping his head every now and then at anyone who recognized him. They offered him warm smiles and pats of the arm and I almost envied the fact that they did not bow to him, "we weren't sure if we'd find a place. We thought we wouldn't be welcomed into this world when the Old World ended the way it did. This was the first city we had built. A place that symbolized hope so that was what we called it."

"The Old World?" I asked, knowing the story but wondering what they had called it at the time.

"It was a mirror realm of Earth so we realized we couldn't say Earth came to an end, it was easier calling it the Old World," Zephyr nudged me to take a left, entering into a large estate with breathtaking gardens, "over the years we've tried to modernize things but cars wouldn't be able to operate in our village-like city so we kept the horses. We also kept the architecture because it's a part of our history so we preserve it as best as we can."

"And this is your place?"

"Yes, this estate has been in my family for years," he upped his pace as we reached a massive grey-stone house. The enormous wooden doors parted with a blast of air thrown at it, leading us into a foyer that I had no time to enjoy, "this way. Keep up. You'll have plenty of time to explore later. Maybe Tania can show you around the house if she's up for it, however, she's not allowed out of the estate grounds. There are wards set in place to prevent her from leaving."

"I understand," I said because I did. If there didn't restrain her then who knew what she would do.

Zephyr guided me up a set of winding stone stairs up to the second level, took a sharp right into a hallway that had light spilling into it from the tall windows and portraits of the city over the years hung on the walls. Our footfalls echoed against the cold stone floor that pricked my bare feet.

We stopped outside a room, "She's all yours."

I inhaled sharply through my teeth while my heart was ready to flatline. This was the moment I had been waiting for and yet, I was about to die from nerves alone. I held the golden doorknob in my palm and gave myself a pep talk. 

On three.

One.

Two.

I threw the door open and felt dread capture my body.