Page 1 of Fated Guardian

Chapter 1

Coral

Don’t go over there. It’s where that faerie woman lives.

You’d think that I would be used to this by now. I definitely thought that I would be. I’ve lived here on Oakwood land, but not as part of Oakwood pack, for a long, long time.

But when I overhear the wolf shifter saying this to her cubs, it still hurts. I wish it didn’t. It really shouldn’t.

But it does.

“Coral?”

I glance up at my friend Lyra, who is sitting across the outdoor table from me. We’re at my little cabin, the one that Thorne and the wolves let me stay on once they bought the land. My magic has claimed it now, leaching into the soil and saturating all the plants that grow nearby. It’s my haven. My paradise.

It’s where I’m safe. Safe from those who would harm me. Safe from the lion shifters who destroyed my family.

But definitely not belonging to the pack.

I’m okay with it. I am. I have to be. I don’t need to be part of the pack to be safe.

Lyra, however, is at least kind to me. She and Iris, the Alpha’s mate, are my only true connections. Iris is busy a lot, though, so I’ve appreciated Lyra’s visits. She’s been coming around for a while now, ever since Iris introduced us at the Blue Moon Bash, and I can say with a little bit of hope that she’s someone that I might consider a friend. Bringing my total friend count to two.

It should be a lonely number. Two friends in the whole world? It isn’t many. But I think of those two friends like diamonds.

Today, she brought over some cookies, and I decided to pair that with my newest herbal tea, and well… We were having a nice time. Until now.

“I don’t think she means it disrespectfully,” Lyra whispers.

I tap my finger against the glass of my cup, tracing small patterns against the side. The cup chills under my touch, and I pull back. Ugh. Apparently I’m leaking magic right now. Clearly, I am definitely not over it.

“Even if she means it respectfully, it… brings up a lot.” I wrinkle my nose.

Lyra tilts her head. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Magic sparks from my fingers again, and the cup freezes under my touch.

This is why Imightconsider her a friend. While I’m sure she’s trying to help, I don’t know if I want to tell her everything. I can’t.

“It’s not anything different. I just don’t feel quite like I fit in with the pack sometimes. Which is on purpose… I know I’m not part of the pack,” I clarify.

Lyra smiles brightly. “Well, I’m sure that if you came into town a little more?—”

“No,” I cut her off. “Um. Sorry. No. I just don’t really like people, you know?”

It isn’t completely true, and it’s close enough to a lie that my tongue starts to itch.

Faeries can’t lie. It’s one of the things that we keep very, very closely guarded. I physically cannot tell an outright lie; the words won’t come out.

But in the context, Lyra understands the implication, which is that it’s hard for me to get to know people. It’s not that I don’t like to socialize. I do. Before everyone I knew and loved was murdered, I enjoyed being around my hive.

I would like to know more of the wolves in the pack. But it’s safer this way. For all of us, I guess.

Lyra looks at me, her eyes searching mine. I trace a pattern in the air, directing a tiny puff of wind toward our feet. I smile at her.

“I’m perfectly happy here. And I enjoy being around you.”

She sighs, leaning back. “If you say so, Coral. I support you, and I’m always happy to listen if you ever decide that you want to talk about your past.”

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