Page 74 of Veiled

You're not my own sweet baby O!”

“You have a beautiful voice, My Queen. I wonder why the breeze brought you that song to sing this moonlit night?” A familiar voice whispered smoothly, like melted chocolate.

“I’m not sure Scail, but step back - you never know if I’ll start singing and dancing to ‘We’re All in This Together,’ Disney has taken control of my life.” His sudden laughter made me smile and peeked at him from the corner of my eye. His hood was still on and I had to suppress a chuckle myself. This guy was either too beautiful or too hideous; either way, he was hiding. Whether that was for self-preservation or to avoid murdering those who saw him and could identify him, I didn't know. Although I guess all options were plausible for self-preservation in a sense; fear, vanity, saving the soul, one could only guess. I have a feeling you would only know as much as he wanted you to know.

He chuckled, “I have an inkling, I’ll never really expect what will come out of your mouth next,” he paused, “High School Musical was certainly not one of those things I would have expected.” My eyes widened, a fucking Fae, other than me, who knew his movies. I’m impressed, I told him as such and he chuckled.Damn, I'm tired of people laughing sexy, it's seriously distracting.

“No, one thing about me is that I’ll constantly keep you on your toes, or wings in your case,” I paused, “My case too now, I suppose.” I sighed. “Tell me Scail, did the breeze tell you to stalk me today?”

“Good point, but no. I question if the breeze brought me your way to protect you from the lack of self-preservation you have already exhibited twice since I have known you.”

I looked at him, raised my eyebrow and pointed at him, “A. You don’t really know me. You technically just show up randomly and B. Why would you feel the need to protect me anyway? The way I see it, I’ll either defend myself and win, which is much more likely, or I’ll die. I admit I don’t look forward to dying. I have a lot more smartass remarks in my repertoire before I’m gone.” I laughed and wiggled my toes. He stayed silent for a moment, and it was a comfortable silence. Then again, I was rarely ever not comfortable.

“You know,” he said after a while, “there are a lot of stories of Fae stealing children because they weren’t able to have any. We are an old race, yet our numbers are small. That song was sung by sad mothers who would often punish themselves by watching mortal children and lament that they weren’t able to have them. Likewise, it was sung by angry mothers who resented that they couldn't have children. Those women would steal children and raise them as their own and grow mad when the child would live its mortal life and perish. More likely, the child went mad, for it is an old tale that those who come across the Fae die, become mad or become a poet.”

I thought about that for a while,the breeze was a sick bitch making me sing that. Looking away briefly, I asked, “Which do you believe would happen?”

“All, of course. They would go mad; often the craziest of people create the most amazing masterpieces. Eventually, though, they would die, for even that ability is too much for them to handle,” he finished sadly.

“Sounds like you may have witnessed this firsthand,” I said gently.

He scoffed, his voice switching to a harder tone, “Possibly, I’ve been around many years and the mind forgets sometimes.” I doubted that he forgot very much of anything. Every moment with him, though, left me more intrigued.

“I would ask why the Fae have trouble conceiving, but I guess it makes sense. Nature has a way of balancing itself, and since we are so deeply entrenched with nature it would make sense it would balance us first. I feel badly for those mothers who wish to have children; my own mother would rather sing a lullaby to a bottle of liquor than to hold me goodnight. I spent a lot of my younger years wondering if there was something wrong with me until I just gave up. I didn’t think I wanted children when I was younger, but I admit I would probably be a great mother, with the support I would have.” I smiled gently, picturing the guys trying to decide who was changing diapers next.

“Hmm, you would be a much better mother, my Queen. In fact, I can feel it in my bones. However, you would be right my Queen, on both accounts. Nature does have a way of fixing what is wrong. Also, there is indeed something wrong with you...” I laughed at that; I didn't disagree. Often what one classifies as normal is simply based on their version of normal; my normal meant flaws, challenges and inner strength.

“You got me there, so tell me. If there is something wrong with me, why did you choose to sit with me tonight? I mean, there must be dozens of shadows you can find yourself sneaking through, like a giant cloaked creep, yet you came out here instead. Why?” I was genuinely curious. He didn't seem like a very social person, and from what Kalen told me he wasn’t someone who ever tried to get close to anyone unless it was for information or secrets, which I have neither. I leaned back in the soft grass and looked at the sky, feeling his eyes on me like the flicker of a fire, warm yet almost uncomfortable.

“I have yet to come to that conclusion, although I have been asking myself that question since I came out here. However, we have been cautioned about dwelling in the shadows. Maybe I came to warn you. Mayhap it was the way your hands were coated in blood that attracted my darker nature, or mayhap it was the way you ran with the breeze that attracted my...baser nature.”

“Hmmm, sounds confusing,” I teased. “Although, I do not believe you have a darker nature. Darkness, perhaps... we all have some inside of us, but a separate portion of you that’s just dark? No.” I turned my head to look at his hooded figure. “Something tells me you are more than that. Nature tells us every day, as if it flows through us, we are a balance. The facets of it do not matter in the grand scheme of things, do they? Essentially, our actions determine who we will be, just as our actions can determine how we shape our future.” He was silent for a few.

I felt so comfortable next to him. Usually, I never feel so attuned to someone to this degree so quickly. Perhaps it was how, in the quiet of the night, your soul can talk more freely; perhaps his loneliness and his desire to hide away matched the part of me that felt the same, growing up.

Suddenly I felt his warm hand trace the inside of my thigh, so briefly that even though my breath hitched, I might have imagined it.

“The balance has been off for several years, maybe you’ll put it right. In all the years living with the Fae, I have been stuck in what I guess humans would call a time warp. Traditions never changed and it took one silly decision, opportunity, and a dark time for change to occur. The same can be said for the prophecy that brought about the hope for change, where we started to build this side of the Fae world. Many like to separate the two sides, Dark and Light- the truth is we all came from the same base. Circumstances just change who we are. Those same circumstances have made me feared, revered, and yet so well connected I find myself alone, not knowing if those connections are wanted for gain, or if I’m wanted simply for me. It’s as complicated as explaining the voice of the breeze, although I admit you mimicked it quiet beautifully.”

My heart jumped and I frowned at my reaction to his compliment. “Thank you.” I said slowly and he laughed. I sighed, “I’m sorry, that does sound lonely. Maybe you came my way because something in you recognizes that I don’t covet the things others do. Or,” feeling the need to break the solemness in the air, “it could be that your inner asshole finally recognizes someone who can kick his ass andhefeels challenged.” He laughed loudly at that. I felt the itch to prove myself to him. I didn’t know why, and it bothered me a bit. The only person a woman needs to prove herself to, is herself and no one else. I leaned forward, took my toes out of the water, slipped on my socks and trainers and stood up slowly.

“Why did you come find me Scail?” I said softly.

He looked me up and down and hummed, “Why, indeed?” He stood up abruptly, grabbed me tightly and kissed me like his life depended on it. I felt his tongue tangle with mine, his hands gently tugging my hair back to gain a better angle to explore my mouth, and I gave as good as I got. Suddenly, he pulled back, turned on his heel and walked into the forest near the lake path.

My hands to my lips, I still felt him there. I shook my head at the cobwebs there, he was very confusing, and yet I found myself way more intrigued than I should have been. Sighing, I slowly made my way back to the house, lost in my thoughts and imagining his kisses in other places, and I walked up the stairs to my room. I looked back at the house that was supposed to belong to Scail and saw him facing my direction as well, hood still on. He was an interesting one. I wonder the things he has seen in his life to be so jaded. I stripped, took a quick shower and fell into bed. Falling into a sleep filled with dreams of a beautiful woman warning me of something, but I couldn’t quite hear what it was. After a while, I just slept.

Iwoke up to the sound of splashing in the pool and the guys laughing, and I smiled. I stretched and headed to my bathroom to take a quick shower, pee, brush my teeth and wash my face before coming back to put on a bathing suit. In true Hudson new fashion, it wasn’t really a bathing suit but more of a ‘who am I going to piss off first’ suit. My money was on Zane, then Hunter, then Grayson, then Ryder who never really got mad. Besides my mating marks were everywhere and they totally counted as a cover up. I tied my small purple bikini top, that held up my breasts with little triangles, around my neck and again around my back, then I slid into the matching purple glitter thong bikini bottom. I looked into the mirror and cackled as my abs were perfectly displayed with the low slung, tight bottoms. I was on a mission to tan today before Kalen lived up to his promise and started training, which I’m sure he meant later today and not in a couple days like he said. He doesn’t really operate that way.

I looked out the window and it looked like Remi and the guys, including King, Luca and Jensi, were out there wrestling the shit out of each other. Actually, all things considered, it looked like a fucking remake of Jaws. I did hear music playing, so there was definitely a system out there. I flicked on my phone and turned on my Bluetooth, seeing the only one system available as VeilThisBitches, and I laughed. That had to be Jensi’s doing. I put my music to play instead- I needed some pool party music, I thought to myself as I opened the door to head outside. My eyes flicked towards where I saw Scail last night, watching me, and I saw the curtains move. Hmmm.

I walked down the stairs as “Too Close” by Next started blasting on the radio. I felt eyes on me, and I smiled at everyone and waved. King looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head and he blushed before he looked away. Luca and Jensi admired but they always had more of the big brother type of vibe so nothing in their look was lustful. It was sweet; they just always wanted to protect my honor.

Zane- Go and change, now.

Hudson- Yes, I win.

Zane- What?

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