Unexpected Mates ~ Book One
Chapter 22

Elias' eyes flashed red as Sylvie scoffed. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly.”

Rolling her eyes, she repeated the same moves from the bag on his hands. Then, when one of them swiped towards her without warning, she ducked, watching it sail over her head.

“Keep going,” he urged with a growl, catching her every move with his massive fists. Sylvie worried briefly she might hurt him, but he didn’t even flinch when she kicked her hardest.

Maybe she wasn’t that good after all.

Her muscles burned as she moved faster and faster, wanting to impress her males before she gave out. Elias grinned down at her, noticing her vicious movements and threw a punch of his own straight at her face.

Kian yelled from behind her something indecipherable, but she only smiled. She saw the jab coming from a mile off and ducked, letting it brush painlessly past her shoulder.

Practice finished with her favourite kick, the ‘teep’ push-kick. While Elias only shifted slightly backwards on the soft dirt, Sylvie’s eyes widened with excitement. “Was that good?”

He worked his jaw as if replaceing the right words before stepping forward and scooping her over his shoulder.

“Hey!” She squirmed as her belly pressed into him painfully and slapped her wrapped hands into his lower back.

Kian chuckled as they walked past. “I thought you were actually going to hit her.”

“I was,” Elias grunted, traipsing back through the gorse. Kian clenched his jaw, following behind and meeting her wide eyes as she pressed against Elias’s back.

“You could’ve hurt her,” he grumbled.

“We’re you watching or too busy with your books, Kian? She moved faster than a normal human, and her strikes were almost more than a tickle.”

Sylvie blushed, embarrassed by her earlier pride and let herself hang listlessly behind Elias’ back.

“So you’re saying her Vampire blood is coming through when she fights?” Kian deduced.

“Perhaps,” Elias replied, entering the castle and making a sharp right turn. “Or my blood in her system enhances her abilities. Either way, I think our mate deserves a treat.”

Just before Elias carried her through Kian’s bedroom door, Kerensa appeared with a deep-violet glower.

“She’s demanding an audience with you again, Kian. She saw you returning with Elias, and your bonded through the gardens and is feigning distress.”

With a groan, Elias lowered Sylvie to the ground and flicked Kian’s shoulder. When the men locked eyes, a silent conversation went on between them.

Sylvie met Kerensa’s narrowed gaze, and she smiled awkwardly with a shrug which Kerensa smirked to. “You can call me by my name, by the way, Kerensa. I’m sure you know it by now.”

Kian and Elias jolted from their conversation, and both tried slapping a hand across her mouth, which she promptly swiped away.

“What is your problem? You both are getting on my nerves,” Sylvie hissed.

Kerensa chuckled and walked away, waving her hand while the two men scowled at her.

Sylvie shrunk slightly before rolling her shoulders back and placing her arms on her hips. “What? I trust her and am sick of being referred to as your property.”

Elias and Kian shared a look, and the latter reached for her, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. “There are eyes everywhere, Princess, and anyone could technically hear you give your name away and consider it being given to them.”

Groaning, Sylvie padded away from the room, wanting to practice training some more, when a hard slap bit her ass cheek.

She yelped and jumped away, scowling at Elias’ raised brow. “What the fu-”

“I can see you’re returning to your old self, kitten, which means punishments resume. Don’t be a brat.”

“I wasn’t even talking to you!”

A flash crossed Elias’ eyes, and he prowled towards her as she scampered back.

He was right.

She was getting bratty, but what did they expect? She was kept in the dark for almost everything, and they were acting like a happy sexy family without the sex for one. And two, the scorned fiancee was locked in a nearby bedroom. So technically, Sylvie was the other woman in the scenario, and everyone refused to talk about it.

It felt like they wanted to pretend everything was perfect. It wasn’t.

“I’m going to go back and train. I wasn’t done yet, and it sounds like you two need to talk about things.”

Elias’ brow furrowed, and he looked back to Kian, who only shrugged.

“Let her go,” Kian suggested. “The clearing is surrounded by powerful warding magic, and we’ll know where to replace her.”

“Haven’t we already discovered on multiple occasions what happens when I leave you alone?“Elias growled between clenched teeth.

With a shrug and a sigh, Sylvie marched forward and took his hands in hers, bringing them to her heart. “Please, I want to keep practising. I’m sick of feeling like a weak, pathetic human.”

He detached himself and gripped her chin. “You’re anything but a weak and pathetic human. But fine,” he grumbled. “Go. But if I’ll be listening, yell if you get into trouble.”

She beamed up at him and squeezed him in a bear hug before running passed him and doing the same to Kian. Her hands brushed against his back, and she faltered when she felt bumpy ridges beneath his shirt. She frowned into his chest and squeezed him tight before he gently detached her.

“Thank you,” she whispered coyly, hoping her concern wasn’t etched across her face.

Kian went to scold her when he caught her expression and shook his head. “Insufferable,” he groaned.

Spinning on her heel, Sylvie dashed past her mates, weaving through the rose garden and back to her little piece of heaven. She practised for hours until her knuckles split and the front of her shins and feet were blackened with bruises. Surprisingly, Elias and Kian didn’t check up on her, and pride filled her chest, realising they had trusted her for so long by herself.

As the sun dipped behind the trees, she slid down her favourite giant oak and closed her eyes. The wind picked up around her, and she tuned into the whistling tones through the grass, leaves and twigs. Soon it felt like a voice swirled around her ears, weaving tales she couldn’t quite understand.

Her body sunk deeper into the tree bark until she was fully cradled in its soft embrace. The scent of earth, sap and chopped wood filled her nose until it became her. When she opened her eyes, she saw the world in ultraviolet. Neon root systems stretched far beyond her and connected with every living thing. Her trees’ roots— no, her roots weaved and danced deep into the soil to a small spring, lapping the liquid to her trunk.

Everything was connected and so beautiful. For the first time in her life, she felt like she belonged to something bigger.

She wasn’t alone.

“Sylvie?”

“Sylvie, where are you?”

Elias’ voice sounded close. Too close. Sylvie’s body shuddered and stretched inside the tree, wanting to stop the noise. Too loud.

“God dammit, woman. I can still smell your scent.”

She felt his hands pressing on her trunk, and she reached for him—his touch drawing her in like a magnet.

Liquid to solid, Sylvie felt herself seep from the tree’s bark and solidify between Elias’ arms. Her feet planted firmly on the earth before she stared up at him, blinking sleepily.

For the first time in their entire situationship, Elias looked surprised. His mouth parted slightly, and his brows lifted in a comical arch. Dopey was a cute look on him.

“Sorry, I got tired,” she said, yawning for good measure.

The sun had almost completely disappeared, and a crisp chill burrowed through her training gear.

“What the hell did you do?” he asked, stepping back and clenching his teeth together.

She shrugged, and he swallowed hard. It looked painful.

“Forget it,” he growled. “The Queen is back and requests our presence. Now.”

Looking back at her tree, she sighed and took his hand. “Lead the way.”

He looked at her funny before escorting her back to the main castle. Walking in silence, Sylvie could feel the occasional glances and was about to snap when Kian appeared at her other side, lacing his fingers with hers.

It was the first time they had all held hands, and she felt the overwhelming urge to swing their arms back and forth like a child. She had seen parents swing their small children like that, and she had never experienced it. Blushing, she suppressed the embarrassing thought and continued to the throne room doors. Outside Kerensa waited with a frown, with Lazuli standing stoically at her side.

“Hurry up. She’s tired and angry from the trip home. Let’s get this over with.”

“Yes,” Lazuli said, eyeing Kian’s hand holding Sylvie with misty eyes. “Let’s.”

Kian dropped Sylvie’s hand to her displeasure and pushed open the doors alongside Kerensa. The five all trailed in like they were about to be scolded by the principal for being unruly teens.

“Speak quickly and plainly. I have no interest in riddles today,” Queen Katarina sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. It had obviously been a long trip back. Sylvie wondered what decisions had been made on her journey to Lazuli’s home and if their conversation were about to fuck it all up.

“There was an attempt on my bonded one on the night of my engagement by my betrothed’s handmaid, Zephrinah. I believe Lady Lazuli was behind it, and I am requesting an immediate end to this proposed marriage,” Kian said, standing centre of the group.

Katarina clicked her tongue. “Do you have any proof?” She looked across the group and settled on Lazuli with a raised brow. “Do you have a defence, dear?”

Lazuli swallowed and plastered a demure demeanour on. Sylvie pulled a face before Elias squeezed her hand in warning.

Letting out a slow, shaky breath, she watched as Lazuli walked in front of the Queen, her footsteps tentative and unstable. “Please forgive me, my Queen. I’ve been stowed away in a room for a week. I’m afraid I don’t feel myself.”

“That’s quite alright,” Katarina replied, waving her hand for the Faery woman to go on.

“I had no idea Zephrinah had such tendencies, and I would never consider harming Kian’s alleged bonded. That would suggest I found her a threat.”

Sylvie’s whole body tensed, and her teeth clenched so hard she thought she heard them squeak. Bitch.

“In any case, the Vampire tore her head from her body before she could say anything at all.” One fat tear rolled down Lazuli’s cheek, and Sylvie bit back a growl. The little bitch was a damn good actress, and by the Queen’s softening face, it looked like she was falling for it.

“Without proof, there is no reason this wedding cannot go forward. So send the girl back with the Vampire and be done with it, Kian. I am done with your constant excuses. Now get out, except for Lady Lazuli; I have a message for you.”

Lazuli wiped her single tear and smiled softly. “Of course, my Queen.”

Sylvie’s heart beat so loudly in her ears that her mind felt like a giant metronome. Her whole body dampened with furious, stress-induced sweat, and she hardly noticed Kian and Elias guiding her from the room.

Kerensa cursed and muttered something about blowing off steam before disappearing while Elias and Kian looked nervously down at her dissociating form. Elias tried to say something, but Kian stopped him with a subtle head shake.

She couldn’t process it anymore. Years of therapy for abandonment issues and everything just came rushing back until her staring eyes burned and itched from the lack of blinking.

Elias gripped her shoulders, but she pushed him off. “I can’t do this.”

“What?” both men asked at the same time.

“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t. I can’t.” Her throat ached as she forced down her sobs and buried her fingers in her hair. She curled her hands into fists and focused on the sharp pain from her scalp.

“I can’t do it.”