Falling into Mythica

Chapter Five

VIDA’S POV

VIDA’S POV

“I just want to go home, back to my realm,” I whispered to Elida, and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the large, gorgeous man flinch and grasp the front of his shirt over his heart. Had he heard me, and had my words hurt him that badly?

“Vida, this man says you are his mate, and from everything that you have just told me, I believe this to be true, so I want to know what you want to do,” Elida said.

I looked at her dumbfounded. What does she mean? Does she really think I will just go off with a stranger because he claims to be my soulmate? I feel nothing for this man. He is a complete stranger and a mythical creature.

“I don’t understand what you are asking, Elida; wait, should I be calling you Princess Elida?” I asked as the realisation hit that Elida had just told me she was an actual Fairy Princess.

She giggled. “No, you may keep calling me Elida. As for what I am asking, I want to know if you wish to go with your mate to the werewolf kingdom or continue to the council as we originally planned?” she said.

Well, that was a no-brainer. “The council is the best course of action; I don’t know this man and don’t feel any connection to him, plus I am not from here, so I should go back where I belong,” I said, trying to sound sure.

Even as the words left my mouth, my heart twinged ever so slightly, especially seeing the horrified look on the face of the man who claimed I was his soulmate, Beta Kenneally.

What an unusual name Beta was; I mean, back in my realm, a name like that would cause him to be constantly bullied. I guess names here are as unusual as the many species that live here and this world itself.

“You can’t do that; you are my mate; I need you, Vida!” Beta shouted at me. He took a few steps towards me, and I swear his eyes were shimmering with unshed tears.

“I’m sorry, Mr Kenneally…” I stopped speaking as the large man burst out laughing.

“No need to be so formal,” he chuckled and winked. I just frowned at him; he was nearly crying one minute, and the next, he was laughing. Does he suffer from bipolar disorder?

“OK, well Beta, as I was trying to say…” He cut me off again. Was he trying to piss me off? Because he was succeeding.

“That’s even more formal, calling me by my rank.” He said, still chuckling. Now I am really confused.

“What are you talking about, rank? Isn’t Beta your given name? You introduced yourself as Beta Kenneally.” I said, frowning even more as not only had he burst out laughing again, but Elida tried unsuccessfully to hide her giggles.

When he finally stopped laughing at me, he explained, “Beta is my rank. Werewolf leadership titles are Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. Kenneally is my given name.”

Wait, so this guy is like the Deputy Prime Minister or something? Then perhaps I should be more careful how I speak to him. What if he has the authority to imprison me or something? I need to tread lightly here.

“Oh, I see. My apologies. I wasn’t aware of how things were here. Beta Kenneally, as you are aware, I am from the human realm, and this is a very scary place for me. I don’t belong here, so I believe it is for the best for me to at least speak with the council members to find out if it is even possible for me to return to my realm. Do you understand where I’m coming from?” I asked.

He stared at me as he thought about what I had said before slowly nodding. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Would you allow me to accompany you ladies to see the Council at least?” he asked me. He sure was a stubborn guy, but we could use his protection so Elida could return to her preferred form.

“Just give me a minute to talk to Elida, please,” I said, dragging the Fairy princess with me a few metres away from Kenneally. “What do you think?” I asked her.

“It would probably be a wise idea to accept the services of the Beta of the werewolf kingdom; he would be much better protection than I would be,” she said, rubbing her chin as she thought it over.

“As much as I don’t want to lead the guy on, I think you are right, and that way, you could return to your fairy form and conserve your energy and magic,” I said, nodding.

I looked over at the handsome man standing not far away from us, and he was staring directly at me. I couldn’t help but blush under his heated gaze. I really don’t want to lead this man on, so I need to make sure that he knows where he stands.

“Beta Kenneally, we would appreciate you escorting us to the council, but I want to make one thing clear from the start, this has no bearing on this whole soulmate situation. Are you OK with that?” I asked, trying to sound as stern as possible.

“Understood; I just don’t want you getting into any trouble before I have a chance to woo you,” he said with a smirk. My mouth dropped open, and I heard Elida giggle behind me. He certainly was persistent.

My face burned as I dropped my gaze to my feet; how could he say something like that without being embarrassed at all? I couldn’t bring myself to respond, so I turned back to Elida, whom I found once again in her fairy form.

“We should get going,” I said to her and waited for her to take the lead. Beta Kenneally chuckled and took his position slightly behind us as Elida headed in the direction we needed to go.

We walked in silence for a few minutes before Kenneally came up to walk beside me. “Can we at least talk?” he asked me.

I turned to face him without stopping walking. I gave him a quick once over. He certainly was a very handsome man; he seemed younger than me, too, and I couldn’t help but think I was crazy for turning away a guy like him, but then I remembered he was not even human.

“Fine, what do you want to talk about?” I asked as I turned back to face forward, only to trip. I could feel myself falling, and I closed my eyes, put my hands out and braced for the inevitable pain. I have always been clumsy.

A huff close to my ear had me opening my eyes again, and I found myself cheek to cheek with Kenneally, who had his arms wrapped around me from behind, preventing me from falling.

I pulled away slightly, but he did not release me. He turned to look at me, and his eyes were burning with what I could only describe as desire. He leaned forward, and for a moment, I was afraid he was going to kiss me, but instead, he whispered in my ear.

“Can you feel it too? That electricity racing over your skin where it touches my skin?” his voice was low, and it sent a shiver through me as the little hairs on my arms stood on end. How could just the sound of his voice cause goosebumps?

I pulled away from him, and he reluctantly released me from his grasp. My whole face was burning with embarrassment. I cleared my throat and straightened my clothes.

“Thank you for preventing me from faceplanting the ground; we should keep going,” I said and started forward again. I heard Beta Kenneally sigh frustratedly.

After a while, Mr persistent Werewolf started to ask me questions about my realm. It seemed they didn’t know much about the human world, just as we humans knew nothing about theirs. To be brutally honest, humans didn’t even know this place existed.

So, I told both Kenneally and Elida about my home. I spoke about the environment, plants and animals. I kept it all impersonal to try to keep my boundaries in place with a certain someone.

It wasn’t too much longer, and we found ourselves at another large gate. This one had even more guards, and I noticed that Kenneally was instantly alert.

“This is the gate surrounding the council’s inner sanctuary. Only council members live on these grounds, so everyone needs to be thoroughly checked before entering. Don’t talk and keep looking at the ground,” Elida whispered to me.

I nodded and dropped my head to look at my feet. We slowly made our way to the front of the gate, where we were stopped by the guards. “State your names and business”, a deep voice boomed.

“I am Princess Elida of the Fairy Kingdom; I found a mute wanderer, and we are taking her to the council”, Elida stated. I noted that Kenneally seemed edgy as he constantly shifted from foot to foot.

“I see, and you are?” The voice said, and I was hoping he wasn’t talking to me.

“I am Beta Kenneally of the werewolf Kingdom. I am here as protective detail for the Fairy Princess and her charge,” Kenneally stated. I was surprised he didn’t mention anything about me supposedly being his soulmate.

“You say she is mute? Very well, stand firm whilst we do our checks,” The voice continued, and I suddenly felt a strange warmth surrounding me; I couldn’t help but gasp.

“It’s OK, Miss. They are just using magic to search for weapons; it won’t hurt and will be done quickly”, Elida whispered to me, continuing to play the part of being my temporary guardian.

As Elida had said, it was all over quickly, and we were allowed to pass through the gates. Finally, I was one step closer to getting home.