Chapter 1

Shy's PoV

"Uh…"I said plopping down on a park bench under a tree that gave some shade from the sun not that I minded the heat. I closed my eyes enjoying the sun. I mean I was a desert fey after all. I then looked

around watching the mortals walk by. That's all I had to do today and why was that? Because it was so boring around here and I was fucking bored. Since Mali was gone there hadn't been any acting out by the fey… which was good I guess it meant that the respected me and Rika as alphas, but it was so boring. Usually I would just go and find Rika but she was off playing with her mortal which left me alone.

"Damn" I huffed. I was contemplating whether to go and do some naughty things to a mortal or with a mortal. Rissa used to be my mortal but she had left the little desert town that set on the edge of my territory and moved to Houston, which had left me depressed and alone but none the less, free. "Shy" the sound of my name caused me to look up puling me out of my self-pity just in time to see Rika looking at me intently "why are you sitting on a park bench staring off into space?"

"Rikaaaaaaaaa" I yelled jumping up, tail wagging making me look more like a puppy than the fox I was, as she had pointed out numerous times over the years.

"Do you want to do something." I asked her grinning try to get her to say yes.

"Sorry I can't. "She said pointing to Jayce her mortal, "we're on date I saw you and wanted to know what you were doing."

Jayce grrr some days I really hated that mortal. Wait scratch that most days and it's not for the reason that most people think. It's not because he always winds up saying some dumb ass thing or that he always takes Rika to places surrounded by iron or that he acts like he knows it all, news flash Jayce I've been around centuries longer than you. No it's none of those reasons. It's because he's with Rika. Sure I got the two of them together but he was supposed to be a distraction just that. Nothing else. He was not supposed to be going on dates with her, given the sight or told all about the fey, but the real reason I hated Jayce was because you guessed it me ,Sionnach ,was in love with Rika.

Yeah you know all that stuff I said to him about not having romantic feelings for her yeah that was bull shit and no it wasn't a lie. Was it the whole truth? No. What humans don't get is not telling the whole truth is not lying. Just because we can't tell a bold faced lie doesn't mean we tell the truth we just get really good at picking and choosing words which helps make us extremely deceptive. At the time I said it I wasn't thinking about her like that. I was thinking about sleeping or killing Mali whichever came first.

Truth is I've had it bad for her for a while. Not that I've ever told her or thought about telling her because if there is one thing I've learned from humans, and she counts as one in this category, is that if someone tells them they love them and they don't feel the same they avoid you period. The end. And I don't think I could handle if she did that so I don't tell her or let it show… much.

The only reason Jayce is still alive is because he makes her happy and the fact that she's happy is what matter. Of course I wish it was me. So I here I am sitting on a park bench watching her walk away with him and then I think, Yep naughty things with a mortal.

Rika's PoV

I walked down the street smiling to myself. The stars were out shining brightly matching my mood. I had just been out with Jayce. Which was amazing I must point out. I don't know what it is but he's made me so happy. I was sure I hadn't felt this good since before I carried the last winter queen's curse. I sat down after I reached my home or den as Shy would call it. I looked around Shy had always said he hated or rather loathed my den. I guess I could see why there wasn't much to it just a few lanterns, a bed, art supplies, food and of course my paintings. It was so different from the lifestyle I lived when I was a princess, but that was a long time ago, before I made that mistake, I felt pain start to knife in my heart. No I thought I will not cry over that never again I shed too many already. It was funny how one thought could make me want to drop to my knees and cry.

"Hello" came a familiar voice. Then Shy popped into view

"What's wrong princess" he asked taking my face in his hands looking at me.

"Nothing important" I told him pulling away looking around the room.

"Really Rika? Do you really believe that?" he looked at me staring intently.

"Shy…" I turned around to see that a certain fox farie was nowhere to be seen.

"Shy!" I yelled louder trying to find were he scampered of too. I walked down the cave corridors to find him sitting cross legged in the floor.

"These are really good" he said holding up a picture I had drawn. "you know I always find it amazing that you can do this." He said gesturing towards the painting. Then he looked down at it and stared at it like he was pondering something.

"you know born fairies can't do stuff like this." Then he looked at me. "we can create, write and play music, but not this we can't take a canvas and turn it into something like this."

"yeah I know you've told me that before." I told him.

"I wonder why humans can do this but we can't maybe it's because were different…. Maybe it's because we don't have the same kind of heart." He said the last part so quietly if I didn't have fey hearing I wouldn't have heard him.

I looked down at Shy and he looked so…sad.

"Shy are you okay." I asked. It wasn't normal for him to look like that normal Shy would go on and on about how he hated my den or what I did with my mortal or why I insisted on hiding.

"nothing I'm fine" he then smiled it didn't touch his eyes.

"you still miss Rissa. Don't you?" I said looking at him trying to figure out what was wrong with him,

"Yeah I guess. I'll get over it" he said shrugging his shoulders. "It's not like the first time I've lost my mortal it happens all the time. They start aging they want someone who ages to or you leave to keep the fact you're a fey a secret. Or like Rissa they want more out of life so they leave the territory you live in and then they're gone. End of story."

"And you're okay with never seeing her again?" I asked.

"Yeah it's something that all of us who have relationships with mortals have come to expect." He then looked at me.

"I didn't want to destroy your happy world, but you and Jayce wouldn't be together forever. Even if he never leaves here, or finds someone new that he loves that's a human like him. He will die long before you if you ever die. Rika your immortal now there's no you and him forever or till death do you part. He will be gone thee end." He looked back down at the painting. "And all you'll have of him is this painting" he gestured to it "nothing more."

I felt tears well up in my eyes and the next thing I knew Shy was gone and I was alone, facing the prospect of being alone very soon… forever… again.