Page 131 of Finding Love with the Fae King

“It’s not my fault. I thought I was a full human.” I crossed my arms as I leaned back in the overly decorated chair dramatically. “If I had known I was some supernatural, I would have trained more with the werewolves, or better yet, joined the swim team.” Father let out a grunt of disapproval. He was still upset that he never knew about me, let alone being raised by wolves. My father was grateful that I was protected by the wolves. I’ve already noticed my father’s old ways could not help the bit of hostility he still had toward them. The Shifter War didn’t just involve those with shifters, but with the fae, the sirens, and a few elves. It was a differences war, no one understood each other, and they preferred to stay to themselves. Land territories were fought over, innocent lives were lost during that time. It reminded me of the early days when Europeans tried to take over the Americas and the racism that Earth still dealt with.

Lucca walked in the room glancing at Father, but his stature slacked once his eyes set on me. “Melina! Want to go for a walk around the palace? I haven’t checked it out.” I jumped from my chair and stood over the chessboard. They hadn’t noticed that Lucca had walked in, too busy sucked into each other’s eyes.

It made me jealous that Osirus wasn’t here. It made me worry. My parents weren’t worried at all, and it was ticking me off. Did they not care?

I could feel the pain in my heart, how much I missed Osirus. I complained about how bored I was while they played chess together, but I worried. Complaining about something different entirely gave me something else to think about.

My shoulders slumped, and Lucca came over to embrace me in a hug. His head drooped and cuddled into my neck. I started laughing while my father and Elaine looked up. A few tears were threatening to fall, but I held my own. I would not cry. I had to be the darn Queen soon.

“Father, we won’t leave the palace,” Lucca pleaded as he took my hand. Father gave a small smile and brought me into his embrace.

“Osirus is strong. He will be fine. Even though he is a fae,” he joked. Giving a little sniff and a nod, he let me go. “Don’t leave the palace. Everett and Braxton are assisting in the guard changes, and I don’t want to hear you both being reckless while they are gone.”

“You forget who the best at sparring is, Father.” Lucca puffed out his chest. “Besides, the brothers are all in the palace assisting. What makes you think we will have time to do anything fun with those twats walking around all noble?”

Lucca raced me out of the room, gripping my hand tightly while laughing loudly. Once we were halfway down the hall, we looked in every room. I hadn’t had a chance to even look through the rooms of the palace. Osirus always had me by his side, and I never wanted to leave his.

“How are you doing?” His voice went somber as I opened another door. This room was filled with stuffed animals, and I’m not talking about the cute, cuddly kind you take to bed. These animals were vicious-looking, and the taxidermist had done a great job at showing how ferocious they could be. My fingers wanted to touch the armor-plated lizards, but I held back. It only reminded me of the snake that Daphne was. Was Osirus going to be all right?

I gripped the shawl that Osirus had given me this morning. It matched the color of his battle trousers and shirt. The designs on his armor also showed on the light blanket that covered me. Concentrating really hard, I could almost smell the musky scent he left as he kissed me on the pillow before he left.

Goddess, I missed him. I prayed for an even trade, and Daphne could come to her senses. I had a horrible feeling that it would not be the case.

“I’m fine,” I lied as I touched the soft pelt of a saber-tooth-like bear.

“That was a horrible lie,” Lucca joked. “Do you think Osirus hunted all these?”

“Osirus says whatever they kill, they eat. However, I noticed that full-blooded fae like to eat lighter meats. I can’t tell you how much I miss eating cows.” Lucca scratched his scalp in question.

“Cow? Oh! The animal on Earth. They say ‘moo,’ right? We have several textbooks about Earth animals. I heard they have excellent meat if bred and fed correctly. I’m getting sick of fish myself.”

“Yes, they do, and I need a good steak every once in a while. Amora from a dragon shifter tribe says she is willing to send me one since they farm them. If you are good to me, maybe I’ll let you have some,” I said as I pushed him toward the door.

Lucca turned suddenly away from the conversation. “Do you smell that?”

“Huh? Smell what? Did talking about juicy steaks trigger you? I know I could go for one right—”

“Shh.” Lucca put his hand over my mouth while grabbing me with the other hand. We ran out of the room and down several hallways.

“Lucca, what are you doing?”

“Goddess, it smells amazing,” he breathed in again.

“The kitchen is on the opposite—oh, Gods,” I breathed. Could sirens smell their mate? Fae look into the eyes of the soul. Werewolves could smell.Can a siren?

“Quick, look around the corner. Tell me what you see,” Lucca ordered. We were both pinned up by the wall, wheezing by the sprint he made me keep up with. His eyes were dilated to a vertical slit, like a freaking shark. Can my eyes do that?

Putting my hand over my beating heart, I looked around the corner to see who his mate could possibly be.

Sean. He was guarding Carson and Peoni’s door.

Holy Mother of Pearl. Sean was Lucca’s mate.

“Lucca, are you gay?” I asked, surprised. He has never told me he was. I just assumed he was straight, which was dumb on my part. He kept saving the women from the land, so I automatically thought…

“I… I…” Lucca fumbled with his words as I turned to him. I grabbed his hands and held them close to me.

“It’s all right if you are. I would love and care for you all the same. Is that what you are worried about?” Lucca’s eyes wouldn’t look into mine as he chewed on his bottom lip. Lucca was a beautiful siren. The blue streaks in his hair and the few scales that appeared on his neck were gorgeous. He was embarrassed, but he shouldn’t be. This was how he was born and wired. Why would I shame him for it? Would Father? He couldn’t go back on what the Goddess had given him.

---