Aspen had no idea what that meant.
Thankfully, Lysander didn’t keep him guessing. “Most of us live in Faerie. It’s kind of an invisible place inside of another place. My home is here in Wulfe. You just can’t see it.”
None of Lysander’s claims made sense to him, but he was just a bear. He didn’t know much about anything. “That sounds cool. It’s a shame I can’t see it. I bet it’s magical as hell, judging by how powerful the scent of your magic is.”
Lysander let out a loud guffaw that had Aspen smiling. “Did you just say I stink?”
Aspen blushed. “No. I think you smell very nice.” His blush deepened by the second.
Lysander’s smile never dimmed. “I’ll cook for you sometime. Then you can go to Faerie.”
Aspen hadn’t grinned this much for real in a while. It felt nice to do so now. “I’d love that.”
They shared a smile and went back to unpacking, except the silence disappeared. They chatted about anything and everything for hours. It was a good night.
Leif didn’t know whether to be thankful for the fairy for masking Leif’s scent with his overwhelming magic. He kind of wanted torip the fucker’s throat out. If he could. Aspen was right. Lysander smelled like some of the most powerful magic Leif had come across in years. It wasn’t exactly more than his king or even Frost, the town’s healer. He smelled different. Being born druid made it easy for Leif to recognize magic, but this was the type of thing he imagined even humans caught a whiff of as they passed. That was unfortunate. Fairies were sexual beings. It wasn’t exactly their food source. Drawing orgasms from others was a draining of energy. A powerful energy. Making someone come was like dessert for them, and they were a gluttonous species.
While cloaking his presence, Leif listened to every word of their conversations. They were well suited to be friends. Of course, Aspen was built for friendship. His sweet demeanor and cuddly-bear charm drew people to him like honey enchanted Aspen. He was too nice for this world, and he had to live in it for eternity. At one time, Leif had enjoyed every second of protecting that purity. That had been the job Leif wanted most in the world.
Lysander pulled another loud laugh from Aspen. Leif returned to thinking about tearing out his throat. He had no idea why he was like this, stalking a life he could have if he only reached for it. His anger and hurt were too thick.
“Enjoying the view?”
Celeste appeared. No one reacted, so Leif assumed he was the only one blinded by heaven’s light. She was beautiful, likely the most beautiful thing in creation. Leif couldn’t look away.
Celeste circled him as if inspecting him. “Are you entertained watching that first spark? All I have to do is snap my fingers, and this night will be an inferno. Aspen would never think of you again.” Each word hit its mark. After Aspen came to town, Leif deserted his post guarding Frost. That position had been assigned to him by Celeste. He currently disobeyed her wishes. She could snap her fingers and turn him to dust. Maybe she would.
A musical laugh cut through the air. “That’s not a fitting punishment. Death is the easy way out.”
Oh, she was for real pissed. “Why should I continue sacrificing my time for a goddess who sees me suffer and does nothing? It’s not like Frost can’t take care of himself.” Leif knew spewing his anger was a bad decision, but she likely wouldn’t destroy him. She had been having too much fun watching him suffer for the last two years. A point reiterated now that he saw her again. She might have been disguised at the time, but her eyes never changed. She had played waitress at the casino one night, getting an up-close view of the lives she destroyed. He might as well get to say why he left her service, since she liked playing games. Honestly, he hoped she lost her temper and ended his suffering. It was overdue.
Celeste stopped pacing. “Do you think I don’t fret over every mate pairing? I suppose you think being a god is easy and truly all fun and games. Of course, you do. Look at you staring at what you can still have while too scared to reach for him. Maybe he deserves the fairy. He gave up everything for you. Weres deeply love their packs, no matter how terrible that family is. They abandoned him because he chose you.” Celeste turned andeyed Aspen. Pride and love etched her features. “He truly is a testament to Odin. My love knows how to make them.” Celeste focused on Leif again. “Frost is my nephew.”
Oh, fuck. He had not known that when abandoning his post.
“He’s now missing.”
God fucking damnit. She really would pair Aspen with Lysander. If he ever had any chance of becoming Aspen’s true mate, he had destroyed it.
“You have exactly to the minute two weeks to prove to me you deserve to be Aspen’s mate.”
“He broke things off with me.”
Celeste simply held his stare, giving Leif time to accept a lot of harsh truths about himself. She didn’t even need to list them. Just staring into her eyes showed him his unadulterated self.
“Two weeks or he’s Lysander’s. Use your time wisely.”
“What about Frost?”
Her stare cut through him, and then she was gone. Sound rushed back to him like the TV had been on mute.
“Yeah. I mean, I just put away the cookware, so I already know where everything is.”
Aspen’s bright smile hadn’t dampened. “I’m intrigued. Just tell me what you need.”
While holding Aspen’s stare, Lysander’s arm swept over the stove. Steam rolled from pots that magically appeared. A delicious scent filled the air. “I’ve got you.”
The way Aspen bit his bottom lip, visibly trying to fight the smile that hadn’t budged, said everything. His two weeks had begun. After Lysander fed Aspen, he could pull Aspen into Faerie and out of Leif’s reach forever. No sooner than that depressing thought hit, Aspen turned toward the stove and Lysander focused on Leif—like he had known he was there the entire time. Lysander smirked, and Leif’s heart sank. It was possible he had already lost, even before the battle had begun.
