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Chapter 16
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2024-10-29 19:42:56TANIA
I made a mistake. A terrible mistake. I wasn't some hormonal teenager so I should have never decided to throw caution to the wind. My hormones and lack of composure should have never driven my actions. Now, all that could be felt was thick, undiluted tension between Sylvain and me. Tension because we didn't know how to proceed from here, whether or not this was a tilt in another direction for our relationship, or whether things would remain the same.
We were exiting the summer court which didn't hold Sylvain's attention. It reminded him of the sweaty, humid, subtropical climate of LA and his skin turned beat red under the direct rays of scorching sunlight. Because of that, we zipped through the summer court and breezed through the autumn as well.
It was Spring—surprisingly enough—that held his attention in the same way winter court had. He brushed his fingertips over the tu
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SYLVAINIt didn't take much convincing for me to be let out of the city. Zephyr was just happy Tania wasn't cooped up in her room and I was the reason she decided to explore the city so this—letting me out—was his reward. He did, however, tell me to meet him in the clearing we had arrived in days ago when I had first landed here so he could lead me back to the town. I had till sundown to sort out whatever I needed to so I had left early this morning to get started. Tania was still asleep, soft snores passing through her parted lips when I left. I didn't know how to face her. I didn't know what version of her I would get and it terrified me to find out. When she drew me in it had hope seeping into every pore on my body and when she pushed me away, it felt like a vacuum sucking away my very essence.I needed a break from it.I felt bad for thinking so but I did. After yesterday I t
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TANIA When I awoke this morning Sylvain had already left to his sister's pack—without even a goodbye. I didn't know why that vexed me so much. He didn't owe me anything, especially not a goodbye or a few words before he decided to leave. However, I kept thinking back on the events as of late. Was he finally fed up with me pushing him away? Did he come to his senses and leave without a thought of turning back?Or, would I see him curled on my bed when I returned to my room later tonight?Only time would tell but the question well and truly plagued me. So much so, I was tempted to leave and use the shadows to find him so I could be there, with him. My father would probably lose his shit but at least I would be able to think of anything other than him.I needed to calm the anxiety that roiled my stomach and turned my hands clammy. No one had ever mad
The Queen's Mate Chapter 19
TANIAI was exhausted by the time I left the library to return to my room. The day just slipped through my fingers and, by the time I left, the moon was lighting up the inky sky along with a few stars glinting between the mass of gray clouds. I was so caught up between ancient pages and old texts that I had forgotten to eat both lunch and supper so, when my stomach grumbled, I wasn't the least bit surprised. Still, I remained on course and didn't pivot in the direction of the kitchen no matter how much my body begged. There was something I needed to do first before eating.Even with the hours spent in that room, I was only a quarter way through the books lining the walls—if not less than that. And, my search thus far was unsuccessful. A small part of me was sort of joyful at that. Maybe I wasn't ready to let go of Sylvain or the companionship he offered.But I had to let go at some poi
The Queen's Mate Chapter 20
TANIA"You're insane," I chastised in a hushed whisper but I still crept through the halls of the estate behind Sylvain.It wasn't as if I didn't know every room in this large building by the back of my hand. Sylvain, on the other hand, thought it would be exciting to explore the estate while everyone was asleep—including the guards who were meant to be awake guarding the damn place. Bloody idiots."Am I, though?" He quipped over his shoulder as we rounded the corner."Yes, why didn't you ask for a tour during broad daylight?" I asked with a roll of my eyes."And what fun would that be?" He quizzed teasingly, reaching back to weave his thick fingers with mine.I jerked my hand back when a jolt of sparks shot up my arm and locked my lips together to prevent my gasp. Sometimes, the way his touch felt still took me by surprise
The Queen's Mate Chapter 21
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The Queen's Mate Chapter 23
SYLVAIN I shackled the witch to the wall in the same way she had once shackled Tania. For the most part, I was a calm, level-headed person but seeing Kali's face made me feel like a stranger to myself. I wanted nothing more than to sink my canines into her and claw her to bloody ribbons because of all the pain she had put my mate through.The imagery had a growl rumbling at the base of my throat. It had the stone walls of the dungeon we were in rumbling, loose stones falling out of place in the process. I wanted to torture her in a way no one had ever been tortured. Even if she gave me the answers I was looking for, I still wanted to make her feel every ounce of pain I possibly could.I rolled my shoulders when the phantom burn I felt all those weeks ago danced across my back. It felt like my flesh was being slowly burned away from my bone, causing wave after wave of agony to rock my system. And that was just half of it. Tania actually went through it and then suffered from the pain
The Queen's Mate Chapter 24
TANIA One hour turned to two and two turned into half the night as I watched my father torture Kali. Her answer was always the same though. She kept insisting there was no way to get my wings back. Each time those words left her lips they chiseled away a piece of hope, leaving me deflated and dejected. If I couldn't get my wings back then I could no longer call myself fae. And, staying here just reminded me of the things I once had and could once do. It made no sense to stay and pity myself. If this was a lost cause then I needed to find a way to move on. Leaving this place behind me seemed like a good option. But only once I knew these people—my people—were safe and would no longer be hunted the way they were. I started something I was going to complete. Sylvain may have thought that I went about it in the wrong way but it finally got the attention I was aiming to get. All I wanted was for my people to live freely just the same as other supernaturals, not needing to hide behind mag
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SYLVAIN"What do you mean you can't find her?" My voice bellowed through the forest, sending the birds in the trees fleeing for safety, "you had one job, one fucking job, and you messed it up!""Don't blame me," Tane raised his hands in mock surrender, unfazed by my blowout. By now, he was well accustomed to them, "it's not easy to keep up with someone who has wings.""If her mother finds out we've lost her, we're both dead. We might as well start making our gravestones now," I grumbled as I ruffled my mop of ginger curls in frustration. I loved my daughter, I really did. She was five now and at that age where she loved going on adventures even if it meant wandering off on her own. She knew the rules though—never leave the magical wards protecting the pack. However, now that she had learned to summon her wings at will, she was getting more and more difficult to contain. As much as I loved my daughter, though, she gave me a shit tone of stress. "Come on, Xena, this isn't funny. Stop
The Queen's Mate Chapter 41
TANIAI spent the better half of this week getting to know the pack more, their schedules, how each individual member had a role in the pack, how they operated and trusted one another implicitly. It was vastly different from how fae worked.Fae lived in cities but, just like human cities, we were independent. We did not rely on one another and most certainly did not all play a role the way wolves did. For wolves, each and every member in their pack was family which they were willing to die for. There was something so pure about it. Pure enough to have guilt riddle the very essence of my being each time I remembered what I had done to them. Whenever that happened, Sylvain was always there to placate me. He reminded me of how far I had come from that power-hungry girl who sought out blind revenge. He reminded me that I had changed for the better and he played a hand in that change. I watched Sylvain from outside the wards I had placed along his pack's borders—our pack. He was animated
The Queen's Mate Chapter 40
SYLVAINI watched Tania as she made her rounds around the clearing, networking and getting to know the people of my pack—our pack. For someone who wasn't in her element, she looked at home. Her lips were curled upward in an inviting, warm smile, and each person she spoke with left with a reciprocating smile on their face. She managed to thaw out most of the unease that we stepped into when the night began, gradually gaining the trust and confidence of everyone around her the way she had gained that pup's trust by helping him with his magic. Tania looked the picture of perfection. Even after I ravished her and left her sated, leaving her with a glow from the aftermath, she looked breathtaking. Her hair had come loose so she opted to leave it down in white waves that brushed her waist each time her hips moved. She was so beautiful it felt like a privilege to just glance in her mere direction and she was all mine. From those dark eyes to her pale skin. From her forbidden thoughts to the
The Queen's Mate Chapter 39
TANIAI smoothed my clammy palms down the silky material of the black dress I wore. It fitted my figure like a second skin with a low-cut front starting from thin spaghetti straps. The back of the dress was left open, hitched right above my tailbone while the skirt flowed elegantly to the ground. Two thigh-high slits gave the dress an extra bit of spice while also making the material breathable and easy to walk in. It was a gorgeous dress that shimmered each time it caught and held the light thanks to the soft material. My white hair was pinned up and braided at the top with ringlets of hair popping out. I had naturally wavy hair so I had to use a ton of hairspray to keep the curls in check. One of the she-wolves who had helped dress me told me to leave my mark open for everyone to see. It wasn't just a claim to them. It was so much more and it was meant to be proudly worn, not hidden away. I had no qualms with that especially considering how much I liked the black set of wings on my
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TANIA"It's done," I announced, dropping my hands and leaving them to flail at my sides. In order to cast the glamour around the pack I needed to tap into the magic I had siphoned from Kali before killing her. It didn't take much out of me but, the more I used from that well, the lesser it became with no way of replenishing it. I liked the feeling of magic crackling at my fingertips and coursing through my veins but it would soon run out and all that would remain was a dark, hollow void that I'd ache to fill. It was a simple spell involving cardinal magic. Most fae with elemental magic also possessed cardinal magic and was able to perform glamour spells. I wasn't most fae. Witches had access to all kinds of magic, each type slightly more powerful than the last. I learned to wield each type of magic from Kali's granddaughter, whenever the witch permitted me to siphon from her. Most times, I siphoned and practiced on my own. Due to that, I knew how to perform a glamour spell by the ba
The Queen's Mate Chapter 37
SYLVAIN"The pack is anxious about this morning's meeting," Tane announced as he entered my office, "it's caused a buzz. Everyone is talking about it. Including pups. It's so weird. They weren't even in such a craze when that whole thing with Alpha Quade happened.""I don't blame them," I sighed in exasperation. Exhaustion weighed my muscles down. Tania and I had only gotten a maximum of two hours of sleep. It was partially my fault paired with jet lag. I had this insatiable need for her that I wanted to constantly sate. Stifling a yawn behind a fist, I said, "there have been a lot of changes in a short period of time. Having a faerie as a luna is going to be a drastic change for them.""There was a time when we had a human as a Luna, that may have been before my time but it happened and if they could adapt to that, then they can adapt to this," Tane supplied with the confidence I severely lacked at this moment. I felt as if I spoke a big game, but now that push came to shove, I was
The Queen's Mate Chapter 36
TANIA"You're leaving again?" Came Sylvain's father's incredulous voice. It boomed with authority that whipped around him like an energy shield, making him sound just as dangerous as he looked—and he looked a spitting image of Sylvain bar the ginger ringlets and the porcelain complexion that his son had inherited from his mate. I stood awkwardly under Sylvain's gaze as he pinned me in place. His eyes never wavered and I couldn't find the courage to break the connection because he was my safe place right now. My throat worked but my cowardly nerves had a ball lodging itself in my throat, making it difficult to even feed my lungs with the oxygen they needed. "I still have a few things I need to take care of so I need to go back," it was as if he was trying to assure me that he didn't plan on sending me back alone as if that thought had plagued me even once. It never did, though. Trusting him was now a knee-jerk reaction. It was a reflex I knew would follow me till my last days. "Wha
The Queen's Mate Chapter 35
SYLVAIN "Ready?" I asked Tania as I collected the duffle she grasped tightly within white fists. As soon as she was packed and ready to go we made our way to the clearing. Considering I hadn't brought anything with me and most of the clothes I wore here were bought here, I decided to leave them behind. They would be useful when I returned—and I did plan on returning. "I should be asking you that," her pale lips twitched into a shaky smile. Throwing her duffle over my shoulder as if it didn't weigh a thing—I was surprised by how little she packed, to begin with—I shrugged, "I have a theory that I want to test out.""What theory?" She cocked her brow at me in question and narrowed her gaze as if trying to decipher the thoughts running through my head. "Well, it's only when you use the shadows around me that my beast gets suppressed. So, I wanted to know if they would still suppress my beast if it had full control. You've never tried this whole teleportation thing with me being in m
The Queen's Mate Chapter 34
TANIAI reluctantly peeled my eyelids open as I blindingly threw my arm across the bed. Only, instead of the limb resting over a warm, hard body, it landed on smooth, silky, cold sheets. This had me blinking my eyes rapidly, forcing my exhaustion away so I could focus on reality. Propping myself up on an elbow, I glared at the empty space next to me where Sylvain was meant to be. It had been so long since I had woken up to an empty bed. I hated not being able to start my morning off by seeing his mop of unruly ginger curls paired with his crooked, tired grin. After the meeting last night, we had come straight home and made our way to the library to see Zora. She was already waiting for us when we returned as if she knew we would be coming to her. It didn't take much convincing when it came to protecting the treaty. She was eager to assist us, filling in the role of protector as easily as she had done all these years. I believed everyone—be it human, werewolf, or even fae—had a calli
