Interestingly enough, her parents betrayal wasn’t nearly as painful as the rejection and humiliation eating her up inside. The pain in her heart was from the male. She tried not to think about it. It wouldn’t change anything. Those of her race had never failed to make her feel like less; why would she think having a mate would be any different? He was of her race. The biggest and most powerful Hippeus since he was one of the twelve Guardians that watched over the Realms.
Her mate was supposed to covet her as something special, not hide her away. She blamed her mother and those damn human tales from her youth for fostering such ridiculous notions. They’d made her imagine that someday a male would come along, take one look at her, and fall deeply in love as they wildly succumbed to the mating frenzy. Sickening. It was the way of their world, ingraining those dreams into young females.
It was those tales mixed with the haunted eyes of the centuries-old Immortals that ventured every year to the Emfanisi searching for their mate. Birthrates were incredibly low, and very few of the mortal Mageias seemed to be compatible. There was a need in their eyes that made her believe that every Immortal wanted to find their mate. That rare gift said to be the most beautiful and incredibly intense experience one could ever have. Apparently that applied to every other Immortal but her destined mate. He was able to travel all the Realms in his duty. He, no doubt, enjoyed himself with whomever he wanted. He had freedom and didn’t want or need a mate. Or it could be as simple as his knowing that she was basically the runt of the litter and didn’t want to claim a potentially weak mate. She had no idea why he didn’t want her, but her insecurities were lining up with all kinds of options.
She’d never even met the almighty Hippeus, seen pictures… everyone had. He was huge and looked brutal. She had no idea how her parents knew for sure he was her mate. They didn’t seem to doubt it.
She blew out a breath and ran her fingers through her hair. If she was honest with herself, she would admit that he was the most gorgeous male she’d ever seen, and she could have had fantasies in her youth that he was hers. There was a hint of red tinting his brown hair, and his muscled frame was bigger than all the others of her race. Stupid that she enjoyed looking at the big male, since she was the smallest of their kind. How ridiculous would they look with her standing next to him, probably two feet shorter? It grated that she found him attractive. Somehow, that just made it even more humiliating.
A beautiful green expanse surrounded her. She was crossing over the border and out of the territory surrounding Lofodes. Her mother and father were the mated pair charged with the safety of the population inside the borders. Stepping mere feet out of her parents’ domain had always felt freeing. She was finally getting her breathing under control, but her chest still ached, as she walked over the top rise.
Rain had partaken in some of the more wicked offers given by the males at the Emfanisi and had shared every erotic detail. She wanted that. She wanted to experience life at its fullest. She was strung too tight. She needed to feel warm hands and lips on her skin. She breathed deeply of the crisp air, feeling freer.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and the peaceful meadow shone with morning dew. Rain was obsessed with Earth Realm, and according to the books she had acquired through the years, this particular section of the Realm would be considered a wilder version of Earth’s Scotland. Rain collected anything she could find about the Realm of humanity to sell at her shop and to appease her own fixation.
It was her friend’s collecting that had resulted in Alyssa’s infatuation with clothing. Fashion magazines from the other Realm had forged Alyssa’s fascination. Seeing the joy she garnered from creating, her mother and father had happily acquired fabrics and sewing equipment for her. That was how her business had begun. It gave her a sense of pride that she had talent that others enjoyed enough to spend their hard-earned coin in acquiring her pieces. Her designs and business had provided a sense of worth that she had so greatly needed through the years.
She looked over at her destination, the sparkling lake just outside the border and far from the city. Its restfulness called to her. She needed to think and plan her next course of action. At least some luck had been on her side; she didn’t see any of her father’s warriors. She was in no mood to deal with them. She felt her shoulders relax a fraction as she walked to the bank. Using air currents, she lifted her body into a tree and sat astride its sturdy limb. She didn’t care how scratchy it was or that her green cargo shorts and white tank top were getting dirty. She tried to stave off the myriad of emotions beating at her, but they settled inside her bones without her permission. Leaning her head against the rough bark, she looked out over the smooth, dark water. The lake usually soothed her when she felt like she was suffocating. She found herself escaping to its banks more and more often in the last couple of years.