Page 8 of Finding Love with the Fae King

Melina

I groaned as Tulip and Alec continued to suck faces beside me. Tulip always made sure I didn’t feel like the third wheel when she dated before, but I sure felt like one now since she found Alec. Many times, I thought about licking the window just to feel like I was doing something instead of hearing, lip-smacking to my right.

“How are you doing back there, Melina?” Alpha Ramirez spoke.

“Just peachy.” I rolled my eyes. Ramirez laughed with Elm. Elm was sitting with Ramirez in the passenger seat, talking about pack duties I had no clue about. Something about rogues, witch enchantments, and meeting some conniving fae in the Bergarian world.

We came up to our destination packhouse about thirty minutes ago. They let us through once our caravan had shown proper pack IDs. I had my special permission slip from our elders and was let through.

There was a pack that guarded the portal to the other world, the Ever Green Pack. They had their own operations here. Small shops, bakeries, and hotels. If a human stumbled into this area, I don’t think they would know the difference. It was just a small town full of werewolves living their daily lives.

We continued through the town and drove to a dirt road that took us farther into the woods. The path was nearly covered with brush and trees, so no one could really see it unless you were looking for it. A large two-story garage was beside a large double-tree archway. Nothing looked particularly special about it. If someone wanted to get married there, it would be nice, though.

Alpha Ramirez had everyone get out of the cars and had us carry one bag each. The cars were taken away, and Ramirez was given a ticket for each car they brought. They were parked on the second floor, and we would get them back once we were done with our business in Bergarian. Sports cars, SUVs, Jeeps, and a few motorcycles littered the garage. Some people must have been insanely rich.

Tulip grabbed my hand and pulled me with her and Alec, and Rose kept a close eye on me. She smiled as we came to the tree archway and listened to the Ever Green’s Alpha.

“There are many of you that have not gone through the portal, so I will let you know the instructions. Once you step foot through the portal, there will be a silver path of stones. Do not step off the path, or you will be stuck in darkness forever and not be able to find your way back. Continue to follow the path until you arrive in Bergarian.”

Those who hadn’t been through the portal looked at each other worriedly, but Rose approached me and clasped my hand. “Don’t worry, Melina. I’ll be here with you, all right?”

I nodded at her. Tulip had such a wonderful mother. It almost made me jealous.

Esteban was now walking up, just exiting the large passenger van he rode in. He gave me a wink and stood next to me. “Hey there, doll!” He nudged me with his shoulder.

Rose looked at him warily. She wasn’t a big fan of Esteban or his friends.

“I forgot to ask, what color dress are you wearing?”

“Um, teal. Why do you need to know that?” I asked.

“No reason.” He smirked and gave me a shoulder-side hug. I never let my hand go from Rose as he walked away.

“What was that about?” Rose asked worriedly.

“Esteban asked me to be his date for the mating ceremony. Tulip says that Esteban is telling everyone I might be his second chance mate.” I rolled my eyes. “How would I even know if I was a mate to someone? I’m human.”

Mom hummed in response and looked at her husband, and smiled.

“I am not sure about humans, but I know with werewolves, we have an undeniable attraction to each other, and when we touch another part of our mate’s skin, tingles erupt all over our bodies. Then there is a pull when the bond traps you in its web and makes you inseparable. It’s beautiful.” Rose continued to look at Elm as she spoke.

Smiling at the thought, I looked back at Esteban.

He was an attractive guy, and I could see the appeal, but I didn’t have that attraction or pull that she was talking about. I wasn’t sure about any tingles because I had never touched his skin before. Shaking the thought, our line moved for us to pass through the portal.

People lined up. Tulip and Alec were first, and Tulip eagerly looked behind and saw me, waving her hand childishly at me. I waved my hand back and gave her a small smile. Two at a time, we went through; Rose and I were next to go through, and I felt the butterflies in my stomach.

Just yesterday, I found out about werewolves and the supernatural. Now I’m going into a world full of fantasy creatures from fairy tales. Who knew so much could change in just twenty-four hours?

Chapter Five

Melina

Oncewewereinthe portal, it was eerily quiet. People in front of us kept silent as we walked through the silver path. Looking off the path, there was nothing but darkness, a void. No sound, no wind, utterly silent. One would think that the quiet would calm someone’s nerves and bring peace to your mind, but this was not as expected. My hand tightened around Rose’s as we continued to walk through the path.

As if night suddenly turned into day, the light shone above us. Squinting my eyes and looking at the sky, I immediately saw differences between Earth and this world. The sky was blue but with a hint of purple. There were not one, but two suns that lit the sky, one larger than the other. Perhaps the smallest was a dwarf sun.

Being captivated by the glorious sight, I saw a shadow engulfing us over our heads. Looking up, it came to the view that it was an actual dragon that had flown over. My head bent back in awe, watching the large, red-scaled lizard flap its gigantic wings around us. The breeze was warm as it continued to fly onward as we looked out over the mountain where we stood.

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