Word Count: 1985

~Aven

My feet touch solid ground almost immediately after everything around me transformed into a vortex of darkness.

I gasp, bright shining light assaulting my vision for a moment. When I am finally able to open my eyes, I realise I'm staring at the large expanse of an ocean, the dark blues in the distance framed by a sky of orange, sapphire and violet melting together as the sun sinks below.

Yelping, I stumble back, my lowered gaze discovering I'm inches away from falling down a sprawling cliff and onto the pale sands below. A hand still grips me - Eryk - who stops me from tripping over my own feet.

The fog over my brain settles as my heart rate lowers, realising that I'm standing on a balcony that overlooks the sea, and that the railing would have stopped me from hurtling over and into the rocky cliffs below. With a hand resting on my chest, I turn, slipping from Eryk's grip.

Large glass doors are open onto the marble balcony we stand on, sheer ivory curtains blowing out in the breeze, brushing against my skin. Beyond the doors, a large room with vaulted ceilings, a floor of light polished stone, and dark blue and grey furnishings. Nothing about this is familiar, and nothing about this is what I expected...

I glance at Stace, who upon his earlier arrival, stands amidst the billowing curtains, hands tucked in his pockets. "This is your home?"

"One of them, yes," he replies softly, as if not to daunt me.

From beside me, mother and Lei collectively gasp, looking out at the view. Like me, they have never seen anything so wondrous. I wonder if this is any different to how seas look in my home realm, as it's almost too beautiful to imagine, the deep rusty rays of the setting sun tinting the surface of the sea a rich, golden colour.

"It's beautiful," I murmur, following him as he steps back and into the home, the scent of vanilla and sea salt luring me in. I stop at the threshold, looking into the room with the light grey walls. "But I can't stay here."

"It's not safe to return back. I know that you are aware of that, Aven," Stace replies, a hint of a warning in his tone.

I look back at my company, noting Eryk watching them, as if he is at all concerned they may be so tempted by the view, they would vault the balcony railings to get a closer look. "If I'm staying, so is Lei and my mother."

"They cannot stay. They are not of this realm," Stace explains coolly. "You would be putting them in danger by requiring them to stay."

I ignore the feeling of my heart sinking all the way to my stomach. "Can they visit?"

"Once she leaves, she wouldn't be able to come back in. And you most definitely cannot leave." He sounds remorseful, but at the same time he knows he has to tell me things straight, aware that's how I want to hear things right now.

A blanket of quiet dread drapes over me."Forever?"

Stace hesitates, dark eyes looking over my shoulder for a long moment before he replies. "Not forever."

The false sense of calm I had managed to erect over myself is being slowly shredded with each word Stace shares with me. I am to stay here alone, with a magical man whose power is so impressive I'm sure I would flee were I to be aware of its extent, and a man whose task is to keep me alive, and other than that, doesn't seem to like me that much. I can't quite think of a much worse fate.

Mother and Lei brush past me, stepping into the room I seem to be so terrified of. It feels final, like I am accepting that I am to stay here, in this Realm with Stace and Eryk. Neither of them look as scared, staring quizzically at the paintings on the wall, of the unknown lands they depict.

"Someone seriously needs to tell me what is going before I freak out," I say, barely above a whisper.

Stace swallows, glancing at mother and Lei. "Can I talk to you in private, Aven?"

"Only if you're explaining this to me." I raise my brow.

"Of course," he nods. "Follow me."

Leaving Lei and mother with Eryk, I step into the room, only to follow Stace out of it. He leads me down a sweeping staircase with dark wooden banisters and a plush rug that sweeps all the way down. The artwork continues, each as bizarre and unfamiliar as the last, until we are in a foyer on the lower level, what must be the front door looming tall. Stace doesn't stop, winding behind the staircase and into a hidden, more intimate hallway with dark grey carpet and dark walls. This place is near void of people...

Pressing his large hand against a random door in the hallway, he steps aside, gesturing for me to step in. Warily I do, looking into the room first. It's an office, I realise, a large desk flanked by bookshelves that reach the ceiling, stacked full with old books, covers visibly fraying.

I sit in a separate part of the office, a small seating area is set up in front of a roaring fire. I hadn't even realised I'm cold. "I want to know who you are first. Why I'm here with you."

Stace settles in a seat, the fire behind him, casting ominous shadows across his face. "I'm the only one who can keep you safe."

"Are you an Alpha?"

"No." His lips upturned slightly from hearing that, clearly amused by my comparison of him to an Alpha. "I haven't appointed a title upon myself, but I do lead this Territory."

I eye the tattoos on his neck, black, but with the slightest tint of red. "And how big is this Territory?"

"Bigger than any Pack you are familiar with," he divulges. I wonder if the sea is part of his territory, or how far it goes before ever touching land again. "I'll show you it, whenever you are ready."

I ignore the offer, trying not to get hung up on concerted promises that include me staying here long-term. "So I really am stuck here?"

"I don't want you to think about it like that." he leans forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. I tilt myself back ever-so-slightly, intimidated by the sudden proximity. I'm unsure if it's his effortless beauty, or otherworldly power that makes me so anxious to be around him. I'm going to settle on it's a mix of both.

"Am I stuck...In your home?"

"No, you are free to live anywhere within this Territory, provided it's close enough to me that I can keep an eye on you," he explains. His expression is nothing but serious, a golden halo of light from the fire behind him tinting his skin. "I'll supply you with a home, of course. And Eryk will be ensuring you're safe."

Onto more important things. "Who wants me dead?"

Stace visibly winces, a strange emotion to see on a man like him. "That's a very difficult question to answer right now."

"Just tell me who they are," I demand. I hate that Stace knows more about my life than I do. I haven't decide who to resent for keeping all of this from me, or if it's even worth it to hate anyone. I want to be upset at my mother, demand why she felt it was okay to keep this from me, especially considering I'm an adult capable of making my own decisions. Did no one trust me?

"No one you know of," he confirms, letting me know that it would be pointless to demand names from him. "But their group has known about you since your birth. Your father fought hard to protect you, but he got sick, so asked my father to ensure your life was protected."

"Why?"

"What father wouldn't do that?" he questions, shaking his head in a way that has a single dark curl tumbling down his forehead, brushing against his eyebrow. It hurts how beautiful he is, how easy it is to stare at him for prolonged amounts of time. I'm sure he knows of how attractive he is, and I'm most definitely not going to give him the satisfaction of sharing that with him. "He was a powerful man, which makes you powerful."

"As powerful as you?"

He doesn't break my gaze. "Beyond me. And I'm very powerful."

"So what do you have to do with this?" I ask, my voice shaking. I'm not even sure to what capacity of powerful I am, or what being powerful means in this Realm. The thought of having magic within me is a concept I refuse to accept. I can't have gone this long without discovering it..

"After my own father passed, I took over the job of protecting you on behalf of your father," Stace explains. I don't dare ask how old he is, or even how time passes here, in this Realm. For all I know, he could be immortal.

I think of my father, about how powerful he must have been for so many people to want me dead for even being related to him, for sharing in that power. "Is that the truth?"

"Yes, absolutely," Stace assures me, rolling his sleeves up to reveal more tattoos, some snaking past his wrist, wrapping around his fingers, one following all the way to the tip of his left index finger. "We all wanted a normal life for you, which is why you were brought to the mortal realm to live with your...adoptive mother."

"And what do you get out of this?" I question. If he leads this Territory, I have no doubt he has more important matters to deal to that exclude me.

A muscle in his jaw feathers, before he drops his gaze, staring at his fists that are clenched together. "A lot, actually."

"Tell me," I demand. I don't want to be kept in the dark about anything, even if it means being absolutely terrified. "You can't expect me to trust you if I don't know anything."

"I don't want to have to do this, to force your hand," he breathes, glancing at mine, as if they have as brilliant artwork on them as he has on his.

"What are you saying?" I whisper, voice nearly lost amidst the crackling of the fire.

He leans a hand out to me, palm up, bear of any markings. I stare at it, unsure of what he is insinuating. When I look back up at him, the intensity of his gaze nearly has all the breath rushing from my lungs. Desperation, loss and passion all burn within his obsidian black irises.

"Touch me," he murmurs.

His fingertips quiver slightly, my voice sharing the same infliction. "Stace..."

"Touch me," he demands, the thrill of the quiet calm gliding through me, clearing my mind of any doubt as I lean forward, my fingertips brushing against the palm of his skin.

A powerful zap blasts through me, clear and unfiltered, every muscle in my body coming to attention at the feeling. A feeling in my stomach tightens, reaching up into my heart where it firmly grasps, answering a question I never knew I had been looking for. A bond, unseen, but so powerful it almost tugs me closer to Stace.

"Oh..." I say through a loosened breath, jerking my hand back. My eyes meet Stace's, and suddenly everything I saw in his eyes makes sense. "Mates."

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