“As they should be,” I say, touching his chest.
He sighs and then looks away, obviously not going to give me anything more. But I want it. I want to know everything about him.
“Come on. Don’t clam up on me now.”
“I don’t want to open up. This is just sex…a heat…”
My chest constricts at the cold way he says it, but something belies his words. The way he leans into me, so I counter his bluff.
“It’s more than that, and you know it. Now, tell me more. Tell me all of it.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“You do.”
Arbor glances away and then sighs loudly. “Well, have you heard of the Isles of Shoals? That’s where most of the fae are now.”
“Will you ever go there? See if you can find some family?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know. Part of me just wants to find my own way.”
I stare at him, the way his eyes flick to mine and then around the room.
“I get it. Thank you for telling me about that. About your parents.”
“Yeah, I don’t tell many people. It’s kind of something I try to ignore. I grew up in foster care. Moved around a lot. It’s kind of traumatizing when I look back on it. On what I went through.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It is what it is. I was a bit of a trickster growing up, played a lot of pranks, and I became out of control once my parents passed. The foster families didn’t like it. It’s no wonder they sent me packing.”
I’m silent for a moment, trying to put myself in his shoes, to think of what it would be like not to have anyone to call home. Not to have brothers or a dad.
“My mom passed.” It’s an offering since he opened up even when he bristled against it. “It was a long time ago.”
“I’m sorry, too, then. It sucks to not have your mother in your life.”
“Yeah. She was a good one.”
“I don’t think my parents were good ones, to be honest. My mother tried at least. But it wasn’t enough. Not enough to keep her with me. I just wish I had someone in my life.”
I run my hands up and down his spine. “Maybe you should try to find them, your fae family. It’s always good to know that there’s someone out there who’s related to you.”
“Is it?”
“It is.”
“You probably believe that because you have good relatives, a good family.”
I hesitate and then sigh. “I do.”
We’re silent for a bit, and then Arbor says, “The fae are reclusive by choice. We know we’re different, and we know the shifters don’t like us. Our magic. How we look. How our scent is too strong for your enhanced senses. I know times are changing, but not enough for the fae to risk leaving their islands to settle among everyone else. And despite being the product of something once forbidden, I’ve tried to make my own way. I’ve tried to cling to the omega side of me out here to help me assimilate, but it’s hard. I know I don’t really fit into either world. So, thank you for saying I’m beautiful.”
“You are, in more ways than one.”
He sniffles and swipes at his eyes.
“I’m sorry, I’m just overly tired. This doesn’t mean anything.”
