[Rock]I was stuck. My brother insulted my mate, which is understandable, but I didn’t know how to respond. Part of me wanted to punch him in the face and part of me wanted to pick at him, too. What was going on with me? The longer I was quiet, the more hurt Carmen looked. I got the distinct feeling that it was me, not my brother, that was making her feel that way. How did I manage what? Loving her? Desiring her? What was he really asking? Haldor rarely asked questions with an obvious answer.“It looks like you broke him.” Forrest laughed. “It’s because your brother never cared what a woman looked like. He liked humans and trolls. It’s all part of being half and half.” I looked over at him. Haldor wasn’t asking that. He was one of those who always asked deeper questions without it seeming like he was asking that. Forrest answered the wrong question. I could see it on my brother’s face. Haldor looked like me, but with more pronounced features. His skin was creamy colored with dark hair like mine. If I were more troll-like, I would look like him. He wasn’t considered especially handsome in the eyes of most trolls, but there was something about his look that conveyed the power he held. He was the leader of the troll village in the fae realm. “Carmen is special,” I answered. “She doesn’t care about what I look like. Only how I treat her and I treat her well. I have to be careful because she’s smaller and more fragile, but being a werewolf means she’s stronger and tougher than a human is. I think she’s as beautiful as you think your mate is.”Carmen smiled she understood that I had to think about how to answer it. My brother nodded and turned toward the door, holding out his hand for his mate. She found his hand and let him guide her onto the porch. She was familiar with the layout of my home. Ilana, Haldor’s mate, was a rare troll. She was not made of stone, but of living wood. A species of troll that was closely related to the Sylvans, or wood elves. She was a tree and she was beautiful. Not in the way that stone trolls usually thought of it and not in the way of the wood elves, either. Wood trolls were often thinner than stone trolls. They had branches and leaves coming off their limbs and heads. Ilana was part willow troll and had rows of thin, pliable branches that were covered in leaves. It almost mimicked human hair.Like Carmen, Ilana was blind, but, unlike Carmen, she wasn’t born that way. She lost her sight in a nasty prank played on her back in her homeland. Haldor was very protective of his mate because of it. That was what he wanted to know about me. Did I cherish my very different mate in the way he cherished his very different mate? Even though she was a troll, Ilana was more fragile. Trees broke in different ways than stone did. They couldn’t handle everything we could. She smiled as she wrapped her arm around Haldor’s arm. Her eyes looked at nothing, while Carmen’s pinned me to my spot. She was looking at me curiously. Part of the reason that I had no problem with Carmen being blind was that my sister-in-law and one of my friends was blind. I kept telling Carmen there were plenty of blind fae, but she didn’t seem to understand how widespread it was. “It’s nice to meet you, Carmen. This is my mate Ilana,” Haldor said to my mate in a gentle tone. “Darling, this is Rock’s little wolf mate, Carmen.” We guided their hands to each other. The women exchanged their greetings. Haldor nodded as he watched their interaction. “Would you like to come meet my new friends, Ilana?” Carmen asked. “You can hold on to me. I know the way.” I stared at my little mate. I never told her that Ilana couldn’t see. She seemed to know. She did the same with Jett, as well. “Yes, thank you,” Ilana answered. Carmen moved again, as if she could see, and took Ilana’s hand. We watched after our mates as Carmen made her way back to her seat. Tana grabbed another chair for them and helped guide Ilana to her seat. As if she had known everyone forever, Carmen made introductions and started conversations with everyone in her little group. They went back to discussing the fae realm, which seemed to be Carmen’s new favorite subject. I watched my little mate in awe of her social abilities. She was more and more like a troll every day, but she was able to start and maintain conversations without insults or brutally honest commentary. Shayle looked angry and started to flirt with Jett. She didn’t like not being the center of attention. “I like your mate, little brother. Most people would be afraid of my mate. Do you think that it’s because she can’t see?” Haldor asked. “No. I think that it’s because Carmen isn’t afraid of anything. The biggest worry she seems to have is that Mom won’t like her.” He laughed. “Mom’s going to hate her and adore her all at the same time. You’re her baby and she doesn’t want to be replaced, but she also wants you to be happy. I think that’s why she’s disappeared again.” “Maybe she’s off trying to have another baby.” I laughed. “That’s not possible. She is too attached to you to even consider another baby. Plus, I think she’s too old. Dear goddess, I hope she’s too old. She’s over two hundred. It’s time for her to be done with children.” I went to get him a drink from the house and was relieved. He was over a hundred and fifty years old. My mom had him after she met her mate at her coming-of-age. It was fairly common for a first child to only be fifty years younger than their parents were. What was more rare was one child every fifty years, which my mother had done. Goran was fifty-one years younger than Haldor and fifty-one years older than I was. My mother always said my shortened life was perfect because she made me for herself and she didn’t like the idea of me having to live without her. She protected me for most of my life. My other brother appeared in the doorway. He must have let himself in. Goran did what he wanted when he wanted. He was a little spoiled because he was very attractive and, like humans, attractive trolls were treated differently. Goran came through the door followed by his mate. She pushed past him and went to talk to Shayle. They were cousins. I greeted my brother and took him to meet Carmen. She was solidly encamped with her new friends. Carmen looked up at me as I approached. She tilted her head a little, then stood. “Carmen, this is my other brother, Goran,” I said. Carmen smiled and put out her hand. My brother took it and shook it gently. Goran was one of those people who didn’t speak unless he felt it was important. “Nice to meet you,” he told her quietly. “You, too. I hope I don’t put you off your meal today,” Carmen joked. “I won’t look at you while I eat,” Goran replied, then let go of her hand and walked over to where his mate was. “He likes you,” I said. “He wouldn’t have talked if he didn’t.” “Good to know.” Carmen laughed. She took her seat again and started talking to Ilana about the differences between different nature trolls. Ilana seemed to be very happy to educate Carmen on the differences. I liked seeing my mate engaging my sister-in-law. I went to check the pigs. There would be enough though I might have to take less food to make sure my guests had enough. A potluck would have been a better idea, but it wasn’t part of troll, or fae, culture. To bring food to someone’s house when they were expected to feed you could be taken as you doubting their generosity or ability to feed their guests. It was an insult and I wouldn’t even consider proposing something like that to my friends and family. I wasn’t a fool. “Looks like they’re almost perfect,” Haldor said from behind me. “Yeah, cooked enough for the flavor and raw enough for enjoyment for the ones who prefer raw meat. What do you really think of Carmen? Now that you’re not showing off.” “She’s pretty in a human way. She obviously cares about others. I’ve never seen anyone warm up to Ilana as quickly as she did. I like that. It’s hard for Ilana to make new friends. She doesn’t like most other stone trolls. She’s always liked you, though, kid. I’m proud of you. You accepted a mate who wasn’t what you were expecting. That’s the sign of a good man. The goddess gave you a gift and you accepted without thinking of what others thought or how it would affect you,” he answered. “I know you struggled with other people when it came to your mate. Other people don’t matter. I’m learning that to Carmen only the people who are important to her matter. She doesn’t care what anyone else thinks,” I explained. He nodded. “That’s a good way to live. A very troll way to think. If she were a troll, she would be one of those women who could resist pretty much any man. She would never care what they thought about her or what others would say. It’s a dominant personality trait.” “If she were a troll, she would be kicking my ass every night.” I chuckled. “Thank the goddess she’s just a little wolf, then. A male troll needs to be in control. It’s nice to see you in your element at last. I think she’s gonna make you into a better troll. The goddess wouldn’t match you up if you both didn’t have something the other needs,” Haldor said. “Oh, look, the statue is coming.” I looked over and saw Goran heading over to us. He stopped and looked into the pit. We waited to see if he’d say anything. Goran patted my shoulder. “Looks good, boy.” Barely keeping my smile back, I nodded. My brothers were always good to me and Goran kept his mate from being a bіtch. Ilana liked me since I was a baby and I had never been afraid of her strange look. Haldor liked that a lot. “You have a good mate. Even Sphene is drawn to her. She has a personality that mixes troll and human. Is that what a werewolf is?” he asked. “I don’t know. Her friends are a little like trolls in how they treat each other. It seems to appall other werewolves, though. Maybe I simply found the most troll-like werewolf in the pack.” I shrugged. He hummed and nodded. “Food soon?” “Another ten minutes. I need to make sure Carmen can eat it,” I answered. We looked over at everyone else. Forrest had moved behind Carmen and was talking to everyone. Sphene had left her cousin’s company and was sitting on the ground next to Ilana’s chair. Elbio was standing behind Pyla and on his best behavior. Jett hadn’t brought a date. He was saving himself for his mate. Shayle was still trying to get Forrest’s attention by flirting with Jett, but he was getting bored and started edging toward Carmen’s court. Once Shayle realized that, she turned her attention to us. I went to start covering the pigs again. She was going to try to get some attention from us if she couldn’t get it from the single men. “Hey, you need to control your mate. She’s stealing all the guys,” Shayle said to me as she came to a stop near us. “Did you try not being as much of a bіtch and actually talking to her?” I asked. She scoffed. “I’m a troll. If she can’t handle me, then she’s not troll enough to be in my circle.” “Looks like your circle starts and ends with you,” Goran replied, then went off to be with his mate. “So exclusive. If you’re not Shayle you don’t get to be in her circle.” Haldor laughed. Shayle scowled at him. “Your whole family is fuсked up. Who the hell actually raises their own accident? And a first son who ended up with a green troll? Goran is the only one who ended up with a normal mate and he’s practically mute! It only makes sense that the halfie ended up with a softie for a mate.” “Forrest’s not going to be happy to find out you called me that.” I clicked my tongue at her. “I know all about what he told you at my party. The party being over doesn’t mean his ruling means nothing.” “He wouldn’t do that to me.” “Oh, he definitely would. And, as Carmen said, the goddess doesn’t make mismatches. Look at Forrest,” I told her. She looked over at him. He was gently petting Carmen’s hair and talking about something. “He likes Carmen and wants to be her friend. Forrest’s always liked softies and wanted one for a friend. That’s not going to change because of his mate being another troll.” “If you want him you better start changing your perception of other species. I’ve known Forrest since he was a kid and I know for a fact that he would reject his mate if they tried to make him do something he didn’t want,” Haldor said. Forrest was a mountain troll and just as stubborn as a mountain. His decree about not having ѕex with her again if she kept calling me a halfie was real. And he would reject her if it seemed like she was going to stop him from having the friends he wanted. He was decisive and always followed through with what he said. It didn’t matter how much he wanted her to be his mate, Forrest would give her up if it meant getting to live his life on his terms. Forrest as a free troll would be swamped with women. He would have his pick of any woman and any of them would give up their mate for him.“He wouldn’t give up his mate,” she whispered, mostly to herself. “Hey, Forrest, what are you gonna do when your mate is so jealous of Carmen that she forbids you to see her?” Haldor called out. “My mate wouldn’t do that, but if she did, she wouldn’t be my mate for long.” He laughed. Carmen turned to him. “You would give up your mate for me? Forrest, I’m a mated woman. Don’t be so shameless.”Forrest patted her head. “You’re my friend and if my mate would have a problem with my friends, then there must be something wrong with her. Plus, it’s not like you’re ever going to be more. I’d destroy you.” The whole group laughed, but Forrest made sure to make eye contact with Shayle. The line had been drawn. If she tried to stop him from being friends with Carmen, he would reject her.