"Yes," Grae whispered. "I do feel it."
She was right. If he concentrated on those instincts that welled within her regarding the whole council and elders situation rather than the reactionary response that he instinctually had, he could feel what was she was talking about.
It was like there was a guide there—within her—reaching out to them both.
The ground suddenly shook and creaked open, rumbling down the hill toward them as what appeared to be an old, ancient root rose up through the mossy green. Grae's heart thundered up into his chest as he sprang in front of his mate, blocking her from whatever nefarious thing had found its way here.
"Oh," the woman with the raven hair materialized, attached to the earth by the lacy lichen dress that flowed out behind her. "Were you not just thinking to call a guide? I am the guardian here. A guide of sorts."
The guardian? Grae stared at her cautiously, scenting the area for danger or the stink of lies on her, but all he scented was… earth. It was the scent he knew most, above all scents, aside from his mate. And it cald him nearly as well as hers.
The woman smiled warmly at him as if she knew as much.
"Yes, I could not describe her well, see?" August slid from behind him and stood at his side. "She is the guardian I ntioned."
"Here, so clothing might make you more comfortable," the woman spoke so smoothly, it reminded Grae of the ocean lapping gently on the shore. She reached and tore a section of her dress, which imdiately nded itself, before stepping forward and handing the fabric to August.
"Thank you," August said. The fabric was strangely soft given that its origin was that of a tree root. August turned and wrapped it around Grae's waist, much to his surprise. He raised an eyebrow at her, taking the material in his hand to tie it obediently. He didn't realize that having a human as a mate would an that he would also finding himself being more modest.
A fierce glint lit in August's eyes as she glanced over his exposed chest and abs, and he smirked in response. She was protective of what was hers. He knew the feeling.
A tinkling of chis drew their attention back to the woman who then tore another piece of her dress for August. His mate may well have used this to cover the rest of him, but Grae watched as she wrapped it around herself this ti.
Goddess, this female of his was adorable.
"August is right," the guardian sighed, bringing his attention back to her. Her sigh sounded like a gust of wind. "You must wait. There are too many who will not be helped if you rush."
"Too many who?" he squinted at her, emphasizing the last word. Who? Who would not be helped?
She opened her arms wide, gesturing toward the place around them. "Too many fae of course."
"Too many… what?" August's eyebrows pinched together in confusion.
"Right, let's talk," Grae spoke next to her ear, tugging her gently away from the woman with the root dress who watched them affectionately.
Grae drew her to the side of the spring where he then sat, pulling her down next to him. Fresh flower petals arrived at their feet and began spiraling up into the air, as if it was their constant, unfulfilled mission to do so.
Seeing this too, her eyes went wide, and suddenly he was worried all of this was too much for her to handle at once.
"Okay, hey," he nudged her chin, bringing her eyes back to him.
They were gold again.
He pushed down the rising fear of whatever the hell else that could possibly an at this of all tis and focused instead on what he had planned to tell her. August was fine, he told himself. She was going to be fine. Penelope said to trust her strength. She was strong. The only one of her kind.
Behind her, he could see the root guardian bend their way a little, as if trying to catch a closer glimpse of them—as if she, too, was wondering what had occurred.
"What is it?" she asked.
"When I talked to Penelope, she spoke about the fae. Just like your… guardian over there. Which together with this incredible place, I can only assu ans that it is true," he said.
"What is true?" she asked, not understanding.
"You, my love, are fae," he said.
She squinted, still unclear about how these disparate things were coming together. "Like… as in, faeries?"
"Yes," he nodded.
She sputtered a laugh and rolled her eyes. "That's crazy."
"Is it?" he asked, looking around at the petals that had populated the air once again.
"But…" the word hung in the air as her mind ran over it.
"Penelope said that La Loba was fae. All lycans and alyko have the fae genetics. And apparently as a human, you also had fae genes, though hidden, before becoming infected with the virus. They are what made you immune. They are what ca out after the catalyst from Eliade. And they are stronger now… Penelope thinks stronger than any alyko, though she wasn't exactly clear about how," he explained.
"I am… a faerie?" she asked, her mouth hanging open.
"Not only you, Moon. Not only you," he rushed. "The alyko… they, I don't know, express their genes like faeries, too. And lycans have those genes… we just also have, you know, this," he said, gesturing to himself and apparently to the wolf inherent within. "This is all news to , too. I know how it sounds…"
August laughed strangely. "I don't think you do know. Because where I co from, faeries are like this big," she said, squinting her eye with two fingers less an inch apart in front of it as her size reference. "And they like grant wishes or sothing and sprinkle dust over things to make them fly. Not to ntion the fact that they also have wings."
She was clutching the fabric around herself, apparently ignoring the fact that it had been handed to her by a woman who manifested from a tree root and called herself a guardian.
"Hey, listen," Grae found one of her hands and held it in his. "I just wanted you to know, okay? This doesn't change anything between us. The na, the label… it doesn't change who you are. It's just… maybe it will be helpful in trying to sort out these truly incredible abilities you have."
He nodded encouragingly, and she found herself nodding along with him.
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