Page 151 of Finding Love with the Fae King

My heart was crushed at the moment of impact as she lay beside me. Everett walked away to help Finley, but I couldn’t leave my shifter mate alone. “Why couldn’t you stop?” I cried as I petted her head. “Why? Were our differences too much?” She let out a groan, and her body shifted back to her human. The sword was empaled straight through her heart. Gasping for air, her eyes landed on me. The bright green stole my soul again.

“Not… with… a… fae. Never… a… fae.” Her last words rang in my head as her body stopped moving.

Noella continued to pound the dirt until we came to our favorite spot. When I needed to be alone, I would travel to the Glowing Cavity, a cave that used to be the home of hundreds of dragons. My own brothers didn’t know of this spot. I always told them I slept under the stars. Novella trotted into the cave, leaving loud hoof echoes. I dismounted and unhooked her bridle, and she immediately left the cave, searching for sweet grass on the outside.

It had been a few years since I had been here. Osirus had needed too much help, and his mental state was not well before he had Melina. My brothers and I were on constant guard as he continued to deteriorate.

Heading to my storage chest, I opened it only to find a few bottles of wine left. The dried food I had stored, however, was gone.

“What the fuck?” I cried out as I pulled everything out of the chest.

Huffing in annoyance and putting my hands on my hips, I walked down the cave more. The light at the end of the cave came from the many glowing pools of water. Light fairies would come here to nest in the many crevices in the rocks. Between their glow and the reflection of the water, it gave the cave a glorious shine.

I finally reached the end, and the pool was as clear as a mountain spring. It looked refreshing, so I knelt into the water to take a sip when I saw a glimpse of something moving from the corner of my eye. Standing up quickly, I unsheathed my sword. A strong pull came to my chest as I rounded the large lake. My heart hurt worse as I neared but kept my feet moving.

A small indention in the cave, almost like a hollowed out nest, came into view. I saw none other than my blankets covering something or someone. A small whimper came from the blanket, so I used my sword to toss it to the side. As soon as I did, a girl popped her head up to look behind her and saw me.

“Please don’t hurt me!” she cried and scooted to the back of the cave. My heart was bursting inside me, and my soul was screaming. The bright, golden eyes of a small Elven girl had claimed me. “I’ll leave peacefully. Please let me go!” she cried again.

My mate was a girl, not a woman. My heart was too excited to care. When she turned eighteen, she would realize who I was, and until then, I could take care of her.

“I would never hurt you.” I softened my stature and put my sword away. “I’m Braxton. What’s your name?” I held out my hand to take, but she curled up into her ball tighter.

“Emilee,” she whispered.

“Emilee, beautiful name for a pretty girl,” I cooed. “Can you tell me how old you are?”

“Ten,” she whispered again. I smiled, and she gave me a small one back.

I spent the next hour asking her questions and how she got here. Her uncle and aunt had raised her for as long as she could remember. Emilee couldn’t remember the last time she had fun because she was expected to do chores for the family. She knew how to cook, clean, and even sew, and would be expected to do extra tasks each day. Emilee only ate the scraps from the table, which wasn’t much since her “siblings” were very greedy.

Emilee had had enough and ran away. She had no plan but to run, and she felt a pounding in her chest to lead her here and stay. She felt safe for the first time, and the food and water rations kept her stable for the past two weeks.

After she came closer to me, I saw handprints on her arms from someone trying to grab hold of her. Her arms were skinny, and the clothes she wore were nothing but rags.

Anger welled within me as she told me the punishments she would receive. The thought of having her live with a family, to grow up and have an everyday family life crossed my mind, but I wanted to be selfish. I was the only one that could genuinely keep her safe and make sure she could live a healthy life. I could send her to school and help her grow up and be the person she wanted to be.

If I kept her, it would be a complex situation. Once she felt for me, when the bond awakened in her, she would be shocked and confused that her caregiver was her mate. The emotional repercussions could be too significant.

Fuck. I didn’t want to be away from her. I wanted to know if she was happy and healthy.

I had never heard of a supernatural finding their mate before they turned of age, but I supposed it was possible. Things were changing all the time in Bergarian. I knew I didn’t have any physical desires for her. I felt unconditional love and the need to protect her. That was all I wanted for her. Protection. Seeing her smile and grow up with other children. She needed me.

She should have had a mother and a father with siblings, though. Emilee should grow up and have a normal life before me. I found her too soon. The ache in my chest grew heavy as I thought about giving her up. Letting her go would be the most painful thing, mainly since I had just found her. I saw Emilee becoming uncomfortable. “What’s wrong, little one?”

“Chest hurts.” She soothingly rubbed her chest. Then, running my hand through my hair, I let out a gruff.

Shit, the bond is there.

I would have to take her back to the palace and get some advice from bonding experts, preferably some witches who understood it well. Only then could I figure out what to do. Keep her with me and raise her or give her to a close family that would treat her well until she was of age.

“How about I take you to a special place, hm?” Her short red curls covered her cheeks as she played with her fingers.

“You promise not to hurt me, Braxton?” My eyes stung as she called me by my name.

“Never, I promise nothing will ever happen to you ever again.” Emilee quickly crawled up in my lap as she sighed contently, and I carried her out of the cave.

Chapter Seventy-Six

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