[Carmen]I was thrilled to have Gemma come stay with us. Over the long weekend, we hadn’t had much time to talk, because she was with Austin. Not that I minded. I saw him opening up a lot once he found her. We were surprised when Austin ended up being Gemma’s mate, but not in a bad way. She was everything he needed. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t made the connection when I had been reading his mate’s energy. Of course she reminded me of myself, she was my best friend and the closest thing I had to a sister, aside from Ashley.For the rest of the week, Austin sounded like he was smiling. I could feel the happiness radiating off of him. It had been like that for Rock and me when we were back together after being separated, too. I was glad they only had to go through a day instead of a whole two weeks. Rock and I decided, since Austin was doing better and Gemma was there to watch over him, we would go to the fae lands for the weekend. I still owed Sadiyah a weekend as part of my payment for the charm Orella made. Work went smoothly and my father hadn’t appeared at the office again. I was starting to think he might have left town. Part of me was sad at the idea. Part was happy. I think that was because there was a part of me that wanted him to change and realize he was wrong. I wanted him to accept us and go home to Mom. She was healing, but still missed him. My mother loved my father, but she couldn’t follow him blindly into the hate-filled future he was making for himself. She suffered for rejecting him. More than just losing him. She loved my father with her whole heart and her whole heart broke when he wouldn’t try to accept my relationship with Rock so he could stay in the pack. Rock helped me pack a bag with everything we might need for the weekend. It was only two whole days and two nights. We would return on Sunday afternoon.Once we finished packing, we said goodbye to Gemma and Austin. They seemed very happy to be getting the house to themselves for the weekend. Rock and I went to his truck and started off for our journey to the fae village.The trip didn’t take very long soon we were out and walking into the forest. Though it was a little chilly, werewolves could do fine without a bunch of layers. One was enough with our higher body temperatures being held in. It was a matter of knowing what clothes would serve the purpose best. Rock held my hand as we walked. It was so different from when we’d visited in the summer. It was quieter in the forest and smelled of dampness. Snow was predicted for next week, but it had been raining over the last week, so there was no telling if it would be a proper snow or a rain/snow mix. “Are you nervous?” Rock asked. “A little. I only met Sadiyah once and she was supposed to be one of the people who raised me. I know I promised to do this, but I don’t know these people,” I replied. “Don’t think of it like that. Think of it as an adventure where we’re going to see some new friends who are going to help us to protect our children. They’re new aunts that you’ve never met. They love you as if you were family. There’s no reason to be nervous. They’ve been paid back for the magic they gave. They wouldn’t take you away from me.” I nodded. He was right. I had no idea why my brain was saying something would happen, but it was probably because it had been doing that ever since my dad showed up at the office. The quiet of the forest broke up and I heard people talking and moving around. We had reached the fae village. I wrapped my arms around Rock’s arm. He was holding our suitcase in his other hand. Like the first time I came to the forest village, people whispered, but I didn’t care what they said as much as I did the first time. After months living with the fae, I understood that they didn’t always mean something bad when they said something I thought was rude. Some believed if you didn’t say the things that popped into your head, they would fester in your soul. Others just didn’t have a filter at all. Of course, there were some who were just assholes and wanted to say something mean. Ignoring them was the general course of action. Though some were looking for a rise, others were simply talking. We walked through the village and I heard the whispers about how weird a troll and a werewolf together was. Rock didn’t even hesitate as we kept walking. It seemed like a lot of people knew who we were now. Rock led me to a porch and knocked at the door. I pushed my magic out so I could see what was going on. The door opened and I saw Sadiyah. She smiled at me. “You’re really here,” she whispered and pulled me into a hug. Sadiyah seemed different from how she was when I first met her. I hugged her back, though. Pushing her away seemed rude and she appeared to be genuinely happy to see me. “We appreciate you having us over on such short notice,” I replied. “You can come over whenever you want. Someone is almost always at home. We’ll always be here if we sense that you need us. Thank you for this gift. You didn’t have to include us in the bargain with Orella,” Sadiyah said. “It is a gift to her as well as you,” Rock told her. “I know all seers see their friends as sisters. Plus, she is getting something from us as well. You probably helped as you would have researched everything you could about werewolves before your child came. All of you will have a hand in raising our children, since you didn’t get to raise Carmen.” I nodded. Rock knew what I wanted to say when I couldn’t find the words. Sadiyah hugged me tighter and I rubbed her back. She released me as I heard more people approaching. Sadiyah drew me further into the house. She put my hand in someone else’s. “This is my mate, Althea. She was looking forward to having you live with us the most. She loves children.” Althea raised my hand and pressed her cheek against it. I pushed my magic out and saw her. She was the same sort of willowy beauty that Sadiyah and Orella were. She smiled at me. “You are doing very well with your studies, according to Orella. I’m so proud of you, Carmen.” “I appreciate that,” I answered. “Over here is Maia. She is our other mate,” Althea said and put my hand in someone else’s hand. Maia pulled me into a hug. She was thicker than the other two women and didn’t feel as fragile. I hugged her back. “You are as beautiful as I always dreamed you’d be. I would have helped organize your coming-of-age party. I’m so happy you found your true mate,” she told me and released me. I used my magic to look at the three women. They were all beautiful women and seemed cheerful. I could see trails of tears streaking their faces. They really were pleased to have me. “This is my mate, Rock Beaumont,” I told them. Rock stepped into the house and took my hand. I leaned against his arm. I was happy he was there with me. “He’s so handsome,” Althea said. “His love for you makes him even more charming.” “I appreciate that, but I understand that I’m not attractive by anyone’s standards. You don’t have to find ways to say I am.” “You are handsome to us. We don’t look at your skin, Rock. We look at your spirit. You are a good man, a good troll, and a good mate to Carmen. I am pleased that you found each other. She needed a man like you. Though, you do have to let her tell you when she needs help instead of trying to take over when you think she does. She was meant to be one of us and will grow to be just as capable as we are,” Althea replied. “Close the door and we will show you to your room. You can put your things away. Supper is nearly done,” Maia said. They took us to a room. I used my magic to see where we were going. It was the first time I wasn’t using Blanche’s eyes to see a new place. The room was a decent size, not as huge as our room at home. It had big windows and a large bed situated in the center. There was a closet off to the side, but no attached bathroom. They told us the bathroom was across the hall and left us to put our things away. Rock put the bag on the bed and started moving things into the closet. I handed clothes off to him. It was familiar, but not something I knew we did often enough for it to be so. Maybe that was part of being here. The life I could have had was closer here than it was anywhere else. When we were finished, Rock stored the bag in the closet and we went out to have dinner with Sadiyah and her mates. Rock guided me to a chair and pushed my chair in after I was seated. He sat next to me and held my hand. “Did you like your room?” Althea asked.“It was lovely.” I smiled at her. “I’m glad you liked it. We worked all week to turn it from a baby’s room into an adult’s room. That is your room whenever you would like to visit. When you have our godchild, we will furnish it appropriately. We still have all of the things we had made for our child,” she replied. Maia served food, giving Rock a very large portion and me a slightly smaller portion. The food was lovely. As we ate, we talked about how things were going at home with Austin and Gemma now staying with us. We talked about our relationship and they all wanted the story of how we met. “You know, if there are any questions you had, we will answer them. We are very old and know much about the fae and the world at large,” Maia said.“Actually, I have a question that has been on my mind,” Rock replied. “What is your question, Rock?” Sadiyah asked. “Carmen acts a little troll-like because she has a little bit of my soul connected to hers, but I don’t act like a werewolf. I was wondering about that. Am I doing something wrong?” Althea laughed. “You act like a werewolf, Rock. I’m sure you think that it is just your human side coming out, but it is the little bit of werewolf, as well. You must understand that a werewolf is not so different from a troll in many ways. They are loyal to their friends, family, and community. They fight even if they know they are not the strongest person. And they create a connection with their mates that is an unbreakable bond. “Where you differ is in the small places people don’t normally notice, or they take as being part of your human nature. Tell me, Rock, what would you have done if you had been the one to find Austin in that trap?” Rock thought for a moment. I turned to him, fully intent on the answer. It wasn’t something I had ever wondered, because I figured Rock would have done what I did. “I would have freed him and brought him back to the fae lands, then called Queen Maeve to find out what to do with him. If I found him, then the goddess was the one to guide me to him and I need to do what she would want,” Rock reasoned. “What would another troll have done if he had found a weak and injured human on the edge of the fae lands? With no one to know what he had done?” Maia asked. I tilted my head. I didn’t know the answer to that question. Rock took in a deep breath. “I don’t know,” Rock answered. “I would think they would have done what I did.”“They would have eaten him. No one would ever know he had existed. He was already half dead. They might have seen it as the goddess guiding them to someone who was too injured to survive and therefore a free meal,” Maia replied. Covering my mouth, I gasped. Would Rock’s friends have really eaten Austin? No one else seemed to think this was an incorrect response. If any other troll had found Austin, he would have died.  “I don’t think my friends would have done that,” Rock scoffed. “Have you asked them? I think there is, perhaps, one who wouldn’t have done that. Any others would have. They are more troll than you are. No matter how human we have to act in the human realm, we are not human. I know the trolls see themselves as more elevated than the goblins, but this is merely a truth of what you are,” Sadiyah told him. “There wouldn’t have been anything left…. Trolls eat the bones,” I whispered. “I would never eat Austin, Carmen.” Taking his hand, I kissed it. “I know you wouldn’t, Rock. I didn’t realize how dangerous his situation truly was. Being that close to the fae lands means anyone could have found him and he was lucky it wasn’t something that eats people.” We finished our meal. Rock and I helped clean up afterward since the ladies had cooked. It felt like it was only polite. The rest of the evening was spent learning more about the seer family and their lives. Part of me wished they could have raised me, but part of me was happy I got to keep my family. I loved them, even my dad.