Page 5 of Fated Guardian

I pause. Today, the cabin’s there. And I see two people sitting in front of it.

What the fuck?

I pad a little closer. As a wolf, I have better eyesight than in my human form, but the strength of being a wolf is my sense of smell. And through the overwhelming, delicious smell of flowers and nature, I pick up a scent I know.

Lyra.

I’ve never had much interaction with her, but I recognize her scent. She works at the library, which sometimes hosts these… events for young pack singles. Drink and read. That kind of thing.

My sister knows her more. Amara and her friend often go to the library’s “Midnight in the Stacks” stuff, so she’d know more about Lyra than I do.

But the person sitting with Lyra? It’s Coral.

I haven’t seen her socialize with anyone, until now. I actually don’t see her that frequently but had always assumed that she was here.

And now, I’m thinking that the amazing nature smell is coming from her.

I creep closer. The fae woman sitting there is definitely the source of the smell. She’s basically a walking meadow, and damn it, she smells amazing.

This is the first time I’ve gotten close to her, and I use it to study her. She’s petite, in a way that makes her look kind of small and fragile, like she’s a doll or something. She has skin that seems to glow slightly in the sunlight and long brown hair that cascades over her shoulders in two thick braids. I think there are flowers in those braids.

She’s wearing some kind of dress that also looks like it easily could be woven from flowers or grass or some shit like that, and it shows off her delicate looking shoulders.

In my wolf form, I resist the urge to growl. I don’t want to eat her. I don’t feel aggressive toward her, necessarily. But I feel like I want to consume her. Which is fucking weird.

I’m close enough that I’m within earshot. I overhear snippets of their conversation, and the wordNolanpops up.

I freeze. Shit. How does she know that I’m here?

They’re upwind of me, so Lyra shouldn’t be able to smell me. I don’t know how good of a sense of smell this fae woman has, and I need to play it safe. I wonder how the pack doesn’t stick their nose here all the time, or that people don’t smell her out here and immediately wonder what the heck is going on and come to investigate.

She definitely doesn’t smell like a wolf. Wolves don’t smell like nature itself.

I hear my name again, and I panic. Quickly, quietly, and with all the skill I can possibly manage, I lope away.

When I get to the edge of that wildflower circle that borders the little cottage, though, I pause. I look back.

Coral has been a job up until now. I kind of assumed that she just wanted to live separate from the pack, alone. But after seeing her talking to Lyra, I feel guilty.

I’ve been guarding her, and I know nothing about her. Not even why I’m here.

Finding out more about her has just become top priority, and over the next few days?

I’m going to do just that.

A week later,and I’ve seen the little cottage every day. It’s like the more that I’m around, the easier it is to see.

I’ve also seen the fae woman.

Every. Damn. Day.

She’s more than just pretty, I’ve come to realize. She’s fucking gorgeous. She’s always out in a dress that barely covers anything on her, that looks like it’s made with fucking spiderwebs and leaf bones or grasses or some shit. It’s not that it’s indecent, and I guess that there’s technically no problem with the amount of clothing she has on, but it’s like she just stepped out of the fucking house, and the meadow reached out and tossed clothes on her, and I can’t get over how goddamn good she looks all the fucking time.

It’s getting to be a problem.

Thorne has asked me to come in to discuss how the guard duty is going, and I keep putting it off. I don’t have much to report. Nothing really goes on out here. However, I told him that I need a little more time to gather information.

Because I want to see the fae woman in the meadow. Every day.

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