Betrayals of Spring (15 page)

As the power begins to fade, I start to
feel something cold and wet nuzzling my hand, and I open my eyes quickly to
find a huge white wolf lying down on his belly in front of me. This must be one
of Kalen’s wolves! I remember talking to him about them at Calista’s Guardian
Ceremony and how much I would love to meet them. Having a magical ability
pertaining to animals always draws them close to me and I love spending time
with them.

Communicating with them also comes with
my ability. They may not speak words, but I hear them all the same through
images. With a simple touch, they can tell me everything. I reach over with
both hands and I cup the wolf’s face to bring it level with mine. His fur is
soft and feels like the fluffy fabric of cotton. His eyes glow a bright green
making the snow on the ground give off a faint emerald glow. He is one
magnificent creature.

“Why hello there, boy. What, may I ask,
is your name?”

Still holding onto him, I close my eyes
to concentrate on his thoughts. It starts off jumbled and not clear, but then
the thoughts come together in a slow procession.

“Ah, so your name is Aki, right?” He
huffs and licks my hand. I laugh and rub my face against his. He smells like
the freshness of a winter snow and his fur is icy cold when I rub my cheek
against it. He sends images cascad-ing through my mind and what I see is
absolutely amazing. I can see his mate and his pup frolicking in the snow, and
I can see an image of the pack resting together in their den. The image is
breathtaking — I can see the whole pack together. I wish I could see them now.

“You have a beautiful pack, Aki.” He
huffs again, pushing me to look further so I delve deeper into his thoughts.
The next images are of Kalen. He looks forlorn and lost in all of them and it
breaks my heart to see him so defeated.

“Was he this distraught over the past
five years?” I ask the wolf.

He nods his head up and down with a
painful set to his glowing green eyes. I shake my head.

“I don’t understand, why has he chosen
to marry someone else then?” As soon as I ask, I can see the scene play out in
my mind just as Aki had witnessed it. Kalen is training with the warriors when
one of them mentions they heard one of the princesses of the Summer Court was
dating one of their warriors.

Kalen approaches the warrior immediately
and demands to know which princess. When he finds out it is me, his face turns
crimson with anger, and he throws his sword half way across the training grounds
and storms off. I never knew he had been living in pain and loss just as I
have.

“Oh, Aki, it was all a misunderstanding.
I had no idea he was that upset over the situation. We were tricked by the dark
sorcerer and have been living in lies for the past five years.”

Aki abruptly stands up and guards me
with his body, instantly on full alert. I snap to attention, but then calmly
breathe a sigh of relief when I see who approaches. The thought of Aki
protecting me is endearing, but it’s only Finn approaching, and I know he means
me no harm. He’s carrying my cloak with him, and I can’t stop the excitement of
knowing I will be warm in a matter of seconds.

“He’s a friend, Aki. You don’t have to
protect me from him.” I rub behind his ear one good time and then I walk toward
Finn with anticipation in each step. I really want my cloak. He opens it for me
and the soft, velvety material slides over my cold body and begins to warm me
instantly.

“The flowers are beautiful, Meliantha. I
always loved what you could do with a garden.”

“Thank you, Finn. I haven’t used my
magic in a long time and it felt good to use it.” I wrap the cloak tightly
around my body while looking at my creation around the fountain. It’s a shame
the flowers won’t last long once I leave.

Finn comes closer to me and takes my
hands. I can feel the sadness in him rolling off in waves, and I hesitate a few
seconds before lifting my face. I know what he’s about to say and it hurts my
heart to feel this pain coming from him. I look into his watery gaze and my
eyes burn with the unshed tears that are beginning to surface.

His voice is sad when he asks, “Is this
the end for us, Princess?”

My heart lurches at his words and I know
there is no way I can stop the tears from flowing. I pull him closer and I rest
my head against his chest. I haven’t cried in a really long time, but knowing
that I’m going to lose and hurt him is too overwhelming to hold the feelings
inside.

I can’t bring myself to look at his
face, so I sob against his chest.

“Finn, I don’t want to lose you, but my
heart is with
him
.”

He blows out a loud breath, “I know,
Mel. I’ve always known you would find your heart. It still doesn’t make it any
easier. I have enjoyed every minute with you, and I want to know that you felt
the same way with me.”

Tears stain my cheeks, but I look up at
Finn anyway.

“Of course I have enjoyed every minute
with you. You were my lover and best friend, Finn. I will always hold a special
place for you in my heart.” I reach up to cup his face and I lay a gentle kiss
across his lips. I taste the saltiness of his tears and it just makes me cry
even more. I hold him tight, and for however long, I do not know. I break apart
from him at the sound of someone clearing their throat. I look over to see that
Kalen is staring at us with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed over his
chest. Aki leaves my side to run over to his alpha.

Kalen looks at us, but keeps his gaze on
mine when he speaks, “I really need to talk to you, Meliantha.”

He looks over at Ashur and in a firm
voice he commands, “Alone.”

I give Finn an apologetic look and he
nods his head.

“I’ll see you back at the cottage,” he
says softly. I wonder how the sleeping arrangements will be now. I assume he’ll
find another room to sleep in. He takes my hand and squeezes it before walking
over to Kalen. Please don’t let them fight,
I say to myself.

I’m a few feet away, so I can’t hear the
words that come out of Finn’s mouth. All I know is they are not friendly words
by the way he glares at Kalen. Kalen smirks and says something back. Finn
stares fiercely at him for a few extra seconds and then turns away to walk
toward the cabin. He never looks back.

When Finn was out of earshot, Kalen
walks toward me with impatient steps.

“Meliantha, you never gave me time to
explain. You have to know what’s going on,” he says quickly.

“Oh, the part where you’re getting
married to a raging bitch? Yeah, I think I know what’s going on,” I storm back.

His shoulders sag in defeat and he
shakes his head.

“No, you don’t. I told my parents during
the meeting that I wanted to call off the engagement. With everything that’s
been happening I haven’t had time to tell Breena. I told her as soon as you
walked away.” He takes a couple steps closer to where we’re only a foot apart.
I can tell he’s contemplating his next words.

Hesitant, he takes in a deep breath and
asks, “Do you love him?”

I look toward the cottage where Finn has
just entered and Kalen follows my gaze. I sneak a side-long glance at him and
his jaw is rigid and clenching. I guess it’s about time to put him out of his
misery. He looks back at me, jealousy clear across his face, and I reach up
with my glove-covered hand to place it against his cheek.

“He’s special to me, Kalen, but I had
never been in love with him. There is only one man I can say that has taken
that place in my heart.”

The anger slowly leaves him and now the
man staring at me is the loving and playful Kalen I fell in love with years
ago. I reach my other hand up to where I’m holding his face between my hands. I
pull him closer and whisper across his lips.

“You, Kalen, are the
only
man
that I will always and forever be in love with.”

In a rush of passion, he closes the
distance and merges his soft lips with mine. The second our lips touch, the
world falls away and we are thrust into the vision we have longed to see.

The Vision

We are lying on the ground in a sea of
flowers. They surround our naked bodies while we bask in the pleasure of our
love and our land. The smell of rain vastly approaches and it fuels my hunger
for Kalen to a whole new level. It feels like we have done this a million times
in the rain before. He gazes down upon me as he settles himself between my
legs. I can tell he plans to tease me by the lustful smirk on his face. His
skin is no longer pale, but the light golden complexion of what the Fall fae
look like. His body also feels warm on top of mine and no longer cool like he
would have been if he was still a Winter fae. We’re not in the Fall Court so we
must belong to somewhere else in the Land of the Fae. Everything falls into
place as I look around at the flowers and up at the man about to make love to
me. How could I not have known?

The rain begins to fall making our
bodies slick and wet with desire. It feels cool against my heated skin and
Kalen takes this time to enter me hard and deep. I scream out in pleasure which
only fuels his appetite to deepen his thrusts. The orgasm sends shudders
through my body while Kalen holds onto me tighter releasing his own pleasure
inside my body. We lay spent on the ground, enjoying the feel of our bodies
together, while being bathed in the purity of the rain. I can feel the life
growing in this land, and the magic making it strong beneath me. I can also
feel the beginnings of a new life growing in my womb and becoming strong. This
is my home and my court. The Spring has begun
.

- Dark Sorcerer
-

Keeping to the shadows and skulking
around the palace is degrading. It’s as if I’m cowering like a spineless dog. I
should be the one these people bow down to and worship.

I look down at the talisman and it glows
the blood red color it normally does after getting a dose of energy. It’s warm
as it touches my chest from the unsuspecting victims I laid claim to just
moments ago. No one at the palace is going to notice some worthless servants
that have gone missing. Taking their power is energizing, but it is minor at
best. I need someone with a little more power before I make my move tonight. I
look around the ballroom at the hundreds of fae striding around and having a
splendid time. They have no clue I’m here, watching and waiting. To make a bold
statement, I need to find someone of importance that I can take away. Making a
statement will no longer be necessary once I gain all the power of the Four.
Being the ruler of the Land of the Fae will be the grandest of statements.
Soon, I think to myself.

I spot the perfect candidate for tonight
and he appears important enough standing with the nobles. I would say he is the
son of a council member by the arrogance in his stance. That’s good enough for
me. Now I need to find the person I have come here to take over. I could tell
she was wearing the magical object because of the strong pull urging me toward
it. I can see my target across the room and there lying between her breasts is
the magical purple stone dangling from a silver chain.

I only have to wait for a few minutes
before my chance to take over her body suddenly appears. As she’s sauntering
away by herself, I take the opportunity to plunge into her body and take it as
my own. With my enhanced power, she will have no idea that her body has been
taken over. That is one of the factors that will make tonight even more
enjoyable.