The Paranormal Council

Chapter 3

3

Kem straightened his tie, feeling uncomfortable in his full tuxedo. He often wore a shirt and tie for work, especially when there were client meetings happening. For some reason people seemed to have more faith in their accountant if they were wearing a suit. The more likely reason for his discomfort was the reception itself. He was a shifter, and had been born to run free, to be outside and not forced to sip champagne and make small talk. Of course, the other reason was his impending meeting with the woman he was expected to marry.

Glancing around he spotted Aaron Dentro, the man he was fairly certain was the leader of the dryad nymphs, and therefore Aella’s father. Though Aaron was taller than Kem was, he was slender and had an inborn grace that Kem was sure came from his nymph heritage. Next to him, were two young women, and while he couldn’t make out their features from this distance, his eyes kept drifting to the blonde, her hair tied up in a style he wasn’t able to name, and draped over one of her shoulders. Where most of the women in the room were showing a lot of skin, her dress was more demure in comparison, and yet there was something about that that appealed to him. She was slight, and even standing still she exuded natural grace, making Kem think that she was a nymph like Aaron and the other woman next to him. There was little doubt in Kem’s mind that the other woman was Aella; she had the same dark hair as Aaron did, and the way they were positioned told him that they were familiar with one another, and when he’d researched Aaron earlier, he’d noticed that the man had been single since the death of his wife. He didn’t even seem to take dates to events such as this one.

He gulped nervously and made his way over, his eyes still skipping back towards the blonde woman despite his best efforts to keep his attention on Aella. He was still too far away to make out her features, but something told him that he knew her, and a small voice within him was whispering that he’d finally found Lia again. He shook his head, hoping to rid himself of the false hope that was welling up within him. Glancing back, he was disappointed to see that the blonde woman had disappeared in the few seconds it had taken to clear his head, but he’d also been noticed, and wouldn’t be able to go looking for her. Aaron motioned him over and he forced a smile.

“Aella, I want to introduce Kemnebi Davis, he’s the panther alpha’s brother,” Aaron introduced as Kem got to the two of them. He nodded once in the man’s direction, wondering briefly how Aaron knew who he was. Kem couldn’t recall meeting him before, but then paranormal social circles tended to be fairly small, and it wasn’t impossible for the man to have found a description, or photo, from someone. Kem turned to take in the woman next to him. Her dark hair was curled into perfect ringlets that reached just below her shoulders, brushing the top of her strapless burgundy gown. But it was her face that had Kem doing a double take. It was heart shaped, with a pair of moss green eyes looking at him through kohl rimmed lashes; a face that was both startlingly familiar and strangely discomforting.

“Lia,” he whispered before he could stop himself. The green eyes looking at him darkened, and Aella’s lips pursed in anger. “It’s nice to meet you, Aella.” He corrected quickly.

“Charmed.” Her voice dripped with disdain, and he didn’t blame her. Especially if she’d heard him call her another woman’s name. Next to them, Aaron frowned, though it seemed to be directed more at his daughter than it was at him, which made Kem suspect that he hadn’t heard his slip.

“Aella is my eldest daughter, and the only storm nymph born in three hundred years.” Aaron’s pride in his daughter was evident, but all Kem could focus on was the revelation that Aella had a sister. That, plus the striking resemblance she shared with the woman that haunted his thoughts, had Kem convinced that his gut instinct had been right, and that the blonde woman was really Lia. “I’ll leave you two to get acquainted.” He retreated back to mingle with the other guests, leaving him alone with the clearly angry Aella. Receptions like these were often held with the intention of improving the alliances between the various Paranormal Councils, and he probably had important people he needed to talk to.

“So, a storm nymph?” he asked after a moment of awkward silence. He wasn’t sure whether the fact that she hadn’t walked away yet was a good thing or a bad one, but either way it worried him; he wasn’t any good at guessing what women were thinking, and Aella seemed more temperamental than most. Even if he had just met her.

“Yes.” She snapped, her lips remaining pursed.

“Are they rare?” He didn’t really want to engage her in conversation, what he wanted was to search for the blonde that he was certain was Lia, but he had to at least be seen to be making an effort, especially as he’d spotted a couple of the Shifter Council members around earlier. Plus, there was a small part of him that was curious. He knew that nymphs were tethered to nature, and that it was rare that they were anything less than peaceful, but he’d never heard of a storm nymph before, and from the fire burning in Aella’s eyes, he figured that there was a good reason for that.

“Very. Yet you seem completely uninterested.” Her pursed lips turned into a pout and it dawned on him that the reason for her anger was rooted in jealousy. Even if he didn’t know her, he was sure that men often threw themselves at her feet, and yet here he was acting as if she was boring him.

“I’m sorry.” His mother had brought him up better than this and he knew that he needed to fix the bad impression he was making. “I thought I saw a woman I’ve been looking for.” He knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment it came out of his mouth, so he wasn’t surprised when Aella huffed and pushed past him, probably to find someone more interesting to talk to. Dazed, Kem began to search the room, looking for the blonde woman again.

“Kem…” he could swear that the whisper came from the alcove behind him and he pivoted on the spot, using every part of his inbuilt balance to stop himself from falling. He took two steps towards where he was sure that the voice had come from, but there was no one there. He drew back the velvet curtain that hid the alcove from the rest of the room, but didn’t find even a trace of anyone, except for the slight scent of cherry blossom, only discernible because of his increased sense of smell.