The Hybrid Fairy King's Lost Mate

3 The Past: When they first met.

“Are you ready?” Oren asked as they walked to the front door of Lanarrie’s house. Kalan held the letter his father had sent with him tight in his hand.

“I don’t know,” he said. He didn’t think this was a good idea. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving his home, even for the shortest period of a year, to live with people he didn’t know. But that’s how things were done. Lanarrie was a scholar, as were his forefathers before him. They kept the history and the knowledge of all fairies. And they’ve been educating and training future kings for as long as their kingdom existed.

Now, it’s my turn, he thought nervously as he stared at the door.

“How am I going to keep my secret here?” he asked Oren in a whisper. He nervously stared at his fingernails. There was a monster that lived inside him. It lay dormant now, not pushing to get out. But he knew it would eventually want out. It didn’t like staying inside him for too long. He had to let him out so that he could have his own fun. Kalan didn’t mind it. But sometimes it felt like he had another person living inside him – he had a mind of his own, desires and loved to run around in the forest hunting and doing God knew what. Sometimes Kalan got too tired to stay awake when he went on his long runs. He would sleep and let him have his fun. But he knew that was dangerous. His father warned him many times that he shouldn’t allow the thing to rule him. He was a fairy king. And he should behave as such.

That meant hiding the other part of him. No one in the fairy kingdom knew what he turned into. Only Oren knew.

But how was he going to hide there?

The house didn’t look big enough for him to change without anyone noticing.

“We’ll find a way,” Oren said, hefting their luggage over his shoulder. Oren was the only servant he’d allowed his father to send with him. He didn’t need a lot of people around him who might discover his secret.

“I hope so,” Kalan said, not really sure they could. He rang the bell at the door, and waited for it to be answered. The door was opened a few minutes later by a young girl who stared up at him with the brightest green eyes he'd ever seen. A flower was stuck in her brown hair.

“Are you the fairy prince? I heard he’ll be here soon,” she asked, giving him a look as she sniffed the air around him. “You don’t smell like a fairy.”

“What do I smell like?” Kalan asked as a smile pulled at his lips. She was adorable.

“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. Before she could say anything else, a hand snatched her from behind so hard, her head snapped painfully back. Kalan took a step to stop whoever pulled the little girl so hard. Oren placed his hand on his shoulder to stop him. Kalan clenched his jaw.

“Mae! What did I tell you about playing with the door?” a female voice screamed. The little girl whimpered. “Did you go into Lady Aria’s garden again? I told you to stay in the kitchen. Where is your sister? Go and find her now! Dinner is not going to prepare itself!”

Smacking sounds filled the silence, before the girl wailed.

Fuck. Kalan moved to push the door wide open. But Oren stepped in his path.

“It’s not your place,” he said as the door was opened wide. An older female stood there. She looked shocked, as if she hadn’t realized that they were there.

“Oh, I guess she wasn’t playing this time,” she said, looking embarrassed. “She had this awful habit of playing with the doors in the house. I apologize, you didn’t have to see that. I’m the housekeeper, my name is Gwen. I’m assuming you are Kalan, our prince,” she said, smiling wide. “Welcome your Highness, please come in.”

“Thank you,” Oren said as he walked into the house. Kalan followed him, already not liking being there.

“Oh, there’s no need to thank me. This is going to be your home for the coming months,” the housekeeper said as she walked deeper into the house. The house was strangely silent. Kalan wondered where everyone was. He looked around him. It was a beautiful home. Gwen turned to the kitchen, beckoning them to follow her outside.

“I have to apologize again, your Highness, since there are two of you. I’m going to put you in the guesthouse. I know you wouldn’t want to be crammed in one room in the house all year. The guest house is bigger and I believe it will be more comfortable,” she said, guiding them to the back of the house, where there was a lovely garden. Kalan stared at the flowers and remembered the one in the girl’s hair. He looked around him, hoping to see her. But she was nowhere to be seen. She wasn’t in the kitchen either.

Where did she disappear to?

He asked himself as he stared at the line of trees a few paces away. The trees looked dense, packed together. She wouldn’t have gone there, would she?

“Kalan?” Oren called from the door of the guesthouse. Kalan walked through the garden to the door. “Are you alright?” he asked in a whisper.

“Yeah,” Kalan said, walking into the house.

“There are two bedrooms in here,” Gwen said, walking through the sitting area to open each bedroom door. The sitting area was big with a small kitchen to the side. Oren walked to one of the bedrooms, and dropped his luggage inside. “I hope everything is to your liking, you Highness,” Gwen said with a slight bow. “I’ll leave you to rest. Lanarrie will see you after dinner.”

“Thank you,” Kalan said and walked her to the door. He breathed out a sigh of relief as he closed and locked the door.

“This is not bad,” Oren said as he came to stand in the sitting area. He looked around them. “If only there was another door. You'll use that whenever you need to.”

“This is better than I had hoped. I was afraid we might be put in the house,” Kalan said. He walked to the couch and sat down. “Its moments like these when I hate what I am.”

“Don’t say that. What you have inside you is a gift from the fairy gods. There must be a reason why you were born the way you are,” Oren said, coming to stand in front of him. “You have to learn more about him. He’s part of you.”

“Sometimes he doesn’t feel like it,” Kalan said, getting to his feet. “I’m going to go for a walk.”

“Now?” Oren asked, looking through the window. The sun was still setting. It wasn’t dark enough yet.

“Yeah, I feel unsettled. Don’t worry. I’ll be careful,” he said, walking to the door.

“No, not the door. No one must see you go out. Use my bedroom window,” Oren said. Kalan walked into the bedroom, and opened the window. They were in luck as it faced the line of trees. He opened it and jumped out. “Be careful.”

“I will,” he said, walking to the line of trees. He lifted his arms and tied his long hair on top of his head, before finding his way through the dense trees.

It’s my turn, he said deep inside him, excitement coated his every word.

This is not home, be careful where you go, Kalan told him before he allowed him to take over his body. He hissed as his entire body vibrated with so much energy. No matter how many times he let him out, he could never get used to this part - the moment he pushed through him and took over his body. It felt like a rush and a curse at the same time.

He took off in a run, stretching his muscles. The line of trees opened up into a beautiful meadow. Wild flowers grew in abundance. In the distance he spotted the beginning of a forest. And that’s where he wanted to go.

But before he could move, an enticing scent drifted towards him. He breathed it in going still as it pulled on something deep inside him. He looked around him, trying to figure out where it was coming from. He sniffed the air again, walking blindly towards it as if he was pulled in by something he couldn’t resist. But he couldn't find where it was coming from. It was all around him, now that he stood in the middle of the meadow. As if from a dream, the owner of that scent sat up amongst the flowers. The setting sun hit her brown hair in a splash of orange light that made it glow. Tiny flowers were woven into the strands, making her look magical and so unreal. She was breath-taking.

Mate!

The one word exploded in his mind as he stared at her. The need to get close to her was overwhelming. He took a step towards her, but stopped when he realized that she wasn’t alone.

“I told you not to open the door,” she said in a scolding voice. “This is not our home Mae.”

“I know. I wanted to see the fairy prince. I heard Aria say he was coming,” a tiny voice said. She sat up too, facing the young woman. Her eyes went wide when she caught sight of him standing there.

“Mystic,” she said, nudging her.

She turned to face him. Her eyes went wide. She quickly got to her feet, and grasped her sister’s arms and pulled her behind him.

"Who? Who are you?" she asked in a shaky voice. He stared at her, not sure what to tell her. A tense moment passed between them. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She was his mate...

But she turned to her sister and said the words he never thought he would hear her say, “run Mae!” she shoved her sister away.

“What about you?” she said, taking a few steps away from her.

“He’ll never hurt me,” she said. “Now, go.”

He stood there staring at her. He couldn’t figure out if she was scared of him or not.

“I’ll wait for you in the trees. Don’t take too long. Gwen will kill you if you are late,” she announced bravely, as if her sister didn’t just demand that she run. The two intrigued him. He could see from their resemblance that they were sisters. The little girl ran back towards the house.

“You’re not scared of me, mate,” he said, taking a step towards her. He came to a stop a few paces from her. He wanted to reach out and touch her. But he still wasn’t sure of whether she was scared of him or not. He didn’t want to scare his mate away.

She looked behind her. And then at him as relief washed over her face. Her sister was gone. He almost smiled as he realized what she had done.

She was a brave. She put herself in harm's way to protect her sister. Pride filled him - his mate was brave.

She frowned as she stared at him. “What did you just call me?” she said, taking a step away from him. He could see the shock in her eyes, and something else he couldn’t decipher. She shook her head. “Stay away from me,” she said, and then turned to walk away from him.

He clenched his jaw as a possessive feeling filled him. He wanted to stop her. But he held himself back, and watched her walk away from him.

“I’ll find you again,” he said, making her pause before she continued to walk away.