The Contrary Mate

Aura

“Mmm, are you sure that being in a relationship with a werewolf is a good idea, dear?” Mrs. Bamford asked with small shake of her head as I carried her bags for her in the direction of her home. She was a huge fan of the rose petal wine we produced and ordered from every new batch.

“Pretty sure, thanks,” I said, hoping she’d lay off the well-meaning advice if I acted disinterested.

“Well, I’ve heard some very unpleasant things about him.”

I reminded myself that she was trying to look out for me, even if she had no idea what she was talking about. And it was to her credit that she at least had the decency to talk to me about it, rather than tittering behind my back and casting me contemptuous side glances, like a few I could name. “I’m sure you have, but he’s a good man.” I was increasingly convinced he was better than any of the fae men I knew at least with a few notable exceptions.

“But werewolves are kind of savage, aren’t they?”

“Maybe some, but he works with humans so he can obviously control himself.”

“Does that really make it better, though? What are humans but savages by another name?”

“They’re not that bad, either.” I hadn’t had much contact with them but they generally seemed to conduct themselves reasonably, and I was sure Mrs. Bamford didn’t know more than I did.

“I think perhaps you’re being influenced by your background, dear. I understand that some choices were made that you had no control over, but—”

“If you’re referring to my dad, he’s done nothing wrong,” I said, forgetting that I was supposed to be ignoring all the slights until people hopefully got tired of the topic of my relationship. There had always been that undercurrent that my dad was odd for fraternizing with humans so much, not to mention his unsightly fixation on minerals, and it seemed my mini-scandal was churning everything to the surface.

“It’s just that spending time with the humans increases the chances that we might be discovered. We don’t want humans hunting us. The vampires, the werewolves, and the hunters are bad enough.”

I sighed. I was still a little freaked out by vampires, but the hunters and werewolves didn’t seem particularly interested in us as a rule. She was definitely exaggerating.

“I don’t even see why humans would hunt us if they did know.”

“Why, to steal our magic, of course.”

I decided not to argue and just let her spin her crazy human conspiracy theories. At least when she was worrying about humans she wasn’t insulting Jack. I was relieved when we got to her house and I set the case of wine on her countertop.

“Take care, dear,” she said.

“You too,” I said as I quickly left before she could start with the closed-minded nagging again. Listening to it was so tiresome, but at least it was gentler than a Rex rant.

Drawing out my wings, I flew back to my aunt’s house, and went through my daily tasks efficiently. We often worked in different corners of the yard, but occasionally we had a task that required us to be together. She was fairly laid back like my father. He liked to joke that she got all the plant talent in the family and he got what was left of the family magic.

“I think we’ll need to ramp up our magic output on this one,” she said, testing the next vat of fairy juice that would be ready for consumption.

“Will do,” I agreed, marking it on the clipboard. I continued following her along the various batches, making notes as she checked the fermenting product.

She tutted as she looked at one of the vats. “We really should replace this soon. Maybe next year.”

“Jack told me he might be interested in investing if you ever wanted to expand,” I commented without much forethought.

“Oh. Why?”

I shrugged, already wishing I’d kept my mouth shut. “He says he likes what we make.”

She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “Or, maybe he just likes you.”

I smiled a bit. “Well, when I said that, he pointed out the whole reason that we even met was because he put in a rush order because he liked it first.”

She smiled at me fondly. “Well, that’s always nice to hear. So, is he good to you?”

“Yes, very good.”

“I don’t really know him yet, but Lark likes him.”

“She seems to be invested.”

“She approves, and that says a lot since she’s usually so reserved. You know she doesn’t like Rex.”

“He’s not so bad.” I defended him out of habit and then wondered why.

“He was a good kid, but he’s gotten caught up in a lot of bad attitudes lately.”

I couldn’t really disagree with that. And I certainly wasn’t in any sort of mood to defend him more after everything.

“I get that the fae want to defend themselves from outside threats because we’re few in number, but this whole cutting ourselves off from the world thing isn’t going to work, either. Pretending the rest doesn’t exist doesn’t make it’s risks go away.”

I nodded.

“I know you aren’t interested in the debate. Just make sure that you don’t unwittingly walk into anything you aren’t ready to deal with. I know I’m probably not the person to give advice since my life choices haven’t all been that great...” she said and sighed, likely thinking of Lark’s father, “but I don’t want to see you get hurt in the crossfire between extremes.”

“I’ll be careful. And Jack wouldn’t let anything hurt me if he could help it.”

“If he can help it. Werewolves may be sturdy, but they’re not that powerful.”

She wasn’t wrong. What would they do in the face of powerful magic? The few witches and adherents scattered amongst their number could barely compete with a moderately powerful fae with more combative attributes than I had.

We finished up our work for the day, and I left after saying goodbye to my aunt. I’d planned to meet Jack again. Maybe we were spending too much time together, too soon, but it definitely didn’t feel like it. If anything, it felt like the opposite, because I missed him more every time we were apart, especially after all the drama. I just wanted the comfort of being with him.

I changed and grabbed my bag—he’d asked me to pack a swimsuit so he obviously had plans for his indoor pond—and he was waiting outside in his car at the agreed upon time. We drove back to his place, and I wasn’t surprised when we went inside, instead of our now usual spot in the garden.

We arrived at the pool, where a couple of—I was assuming—pack pups were playing in the water. They didn’t really hold my attention though, because I was surprised to see that the horrible plastic plants had been replaced with planters full of lush greenery, obviously in deference to my preferences. They had grow lights hanging from the ceiling above them, and they were perfectly watered and fertilized. Maybe they would have been happier outside, but this was pretty good for inside his empty home. I smiled at the sight of them and turned to him. “You did this for me?”

“I hoped it would make you more comfortable.”

I slipped into his arms, and he wrapped them around me. “You’re so thoughtful.”

“I hoped you would like them.”

“I’m going to have to keep an eye on them so that they don’t get root bound, but this is great.”

He grinned down at me. “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.” One part of him felt happy if the hardness pressing between us was anything to go by. “Still want to swim?”

A flash of his chest from the time he had transformed crossed my memory, and I was more than ready to swim if for no other reason than to get another look. “Yes.”

“I’ll kick the kids out.”

I laughed. “No, don’t ruin their fun. We can share, right?”

“I’ve got no problem sharing the pool, it’s you I don’t want to share.”

“Don’t be so greedy,” I teased, and then I slipped off into the washroom to change.