The Only Woman He Loved
Chapter 2
Rowan walked to the spot he and Meghan hung out at, on alert just from habit. He was right on the border between Iron and Winter, making it bearable for him. It had taken him years to realize just how insane he had been, even longer for him and his brothers to reconcile. Meghan was one of his closest friends now, maybe she could help him. "Rowan!" She yelled excitedly and hugged him, and Rowan relaxed. "I might need your help, Meghan." She stepped back and looked up into his eyes. Whatever she saw made her smile, "It's about time you found someone!" Wait, what? "You fell for someone, didn't you?" She asked, poking him. "How did you know?" He asked incredulously. "The look on your face. You're pining for her." Speechless, Rowan nodded, and her smile grew.
"So, what's her name?" Meghan asked as they drank coffee and Rowan's face heated. "Her name is Rachelle and she's… wow". Meghan watched with amusement and happiness as Rowan explained how they met. Meghan had always felt that Rowan was lonely, and she had seen a kind of lost look in his eyes when she and Ash were being coupley in front of him. Now seeing him so animated and so obviously happy, she was glad they had reconciled.
"Ok, according to one of my gremlins, she's reading in the park where you met, and she doesn't look like she's going anywhere soon." Meghan said and had to fight a laugh at the excited look on his face. "You rock, Meghan!" He yelled and started to run off, but she yelled his name and he paused and looked back at her. "Go easy on her, ok? She's been hurt before. I bet if you look at her arms, she'll have bruises there from that guy. Check though just in case." He nodded and ran off.
When Rowan saw Rachelle, his heart leapt, and he smiled at the small stack of books next to her, most of which are rather thick. A white cord trailed from her ears to her pocket and a commuter mug sat next to her. The second thing he noticed was that she was shivering, even though she was wearing a thick jacket. She reached for the mug next to her and took a sip from it, yelping as the hot liquid hit her mouth. She quickly set the mug down and rubbed her mouth, her eyes closing in pain. He noticed the same guy from a couple days ago walking towards her and she glanced up at the guy. Moving nearly as fast as a fey, she jumped up, grabbing her mug and books and running. The guy immediately ran after her, his legs catching up to her and grabbing her collar. "No, let go of me! Leave me alone!" She yelled, sounding like she was starting to cry, and Rowan saw red.
Rachelle was released suddenly and fell down, looking behind her. That same guy from a few days ago, the handsome stranger who had kissed her was beating up her ex. Brian was only nice around her family and friends and recently he had gotten even worse, going so far as to punch her. The reason he had punched her was because she had told him that she was breaking up with him. Ever since that day, he had been stalking her, trying to catch her and finish what he had started. She had even hidden out a friend's house those few days her parents were taking a trip. Her throat hurt from him grabbing onto her collar so hard. "Rowan, stop!" She yelled hoarsely, noticing that Brian was unresponsive. Terrified, she grabbed Rowan's shoulder and he spun around to look at her, pale blue eyes wild. "Rowan, it's ok." She said softly, rubbing her neck and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. "Are you ok?" He murmured, kissing her temple and they walked away from the still unconscious Brian.
Rachelle sniffled against him and Rowen held her tighter and she wrapped her arms around him. She fit against him perfectly, and he kissed her temple again, noting with a small feeling of satisfaction that she was relaxing against him. She stepped back, and he let her go, even though he wanted to pull her back to him. "Thank you for helping me." She said quietly, rubbing her neck and Rowan noticed a red line. He took her hand from her neck and noticed a red line. "Rowan, it's fine." She said, and he put the tip of his finger to the red line, dragging it across and letting some of his Winter magic seep into the line. "That's cold!" She shivered, a look of astonishment on her face and he smiled slightly at her.
Rachelle hid her face in shame when Rowan saw the fading bruises on her arm and was thankful she had hidden the side of her face where Brian had punched her behind her hair. Lifting her hand to his face, Rowan kissed it and then kissed her bruises gently and she shivered at the sweet look he gave her. She didn't even know him that well, so why was he affecting her like this? Why hadn't she had been able to get him out of her mind these past couple of days?
Rachelle looked down and Rowan gently tilted her head back up, wiping away a tear that had trickled down her face without her knowledge. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back to him and kissed her soft mouth gently, unable to stop himself. He let his human Glamour dissolve and tightened his grip around her waist. Slowly, hesitantly, she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him closer. Rowan wrapped both arms around her waist, deepening the kiss.
Rachelle somehow found the strength to push Rowan away from her, even though a part of her cried for him. This was bad. This was very very bad. She knew nothing about him and, yet they had just been kissing. Wait a minute, were his ears pointed? They hadn't been earlier, she was sure of it. She reached up, sliding her finger up the ear to the top of the point. "That is very sensitive, Rachelle." He practically growled and she looked at his face and wished she hadn't. Dear Lord, he was beautiful! His eyes, they were burning, and she hastily stepped back. She mentally shook herself and stood tall "whatever you're doing to me, stop it. Whatever game you're playing with me, stop it."
Rowan fought down the impulse to kiss her until they were both breathless and focused on her words and her eyes. She was scared but she wanted him. "Thank you for helping me again with him, but seriously, you need to stay away from me and leave me alone." She backed up another step and ran off. Rowan stood there for a moment, stunned. It was rare for a human to turn down a fey and especially him! In fact, it had never even happened to him before! Rejection was a strange feeling to him, and he didn't like it one bit.
2 weeks later
"Rowan? Are you OK?" Meghan asked her brother in-law and he looked up at her, pushing the long hair out of his face. He had stayed cooped up in his room now for 2 weeks. "She told me to stay away from her. Meghan, I love her." Meghan nearly cried seeing Rowan like this. He had come a long way from the cruel heartbreaker she had met. She turned to one of her gremlins. "Find out where the mortal girl Rowan loves lives." She commanded it and it scampered off, squeaking to its brethren.
When the gremlin came back a day letter and told her the address, Meghan went herself, Beau accompanying her. "Keep Rowan company? I'm worried about him." She asked Ash and he nodded, kissing her forehead gently. "Come back soon, ok?" He asked, and she nodded, kissing him gently. They had been married for a few hundred years now and she loved him so much, even more than when she had still been human. "He's freaking out like this because he loves her. Fey love recklessly and without abandon, never stopping to think. This is the first time he's actually been in love." Ash told her, and she made mental note.
Meghan knocked on the door of the small apartment and a teenage girl that fit Rowan's description answered, looking at her warily. "May I help you?" She asked politely, and Beau walked up to her, putting a paw on her knee. "Your dog is beautiful, may I?" She asked Meghan, the wariness fading from her eyes a bit. "Absolutely," Meghan smiled as she petted Beau, the wariness going away a little more. Then Meghan heard someone say "Rachelle? Is everything ok?" weakly from inside the house and Rachelle stood up quickly, a worried look on her face. "Can you give me a few minutes?" She asked Meghan and quickly closed the door. Meghan picked up the gremlin from her pocket. "Rayzz, get in there and make sure everything's ok." And Rayzz scampered in through an open window.
"Mother very sick, girl very sad and scared. Mother and just girl." Rayzz chattered at her and Meghan nodded, and he dove back into her pocket as Rachelle opened the door and closed it behind her. "What was that thing and why was it watching my mom and me? Who are you?" Rachelle snapped, fear and wariness in her eyes. "Rayzz, come out." She pulled him out of her pocket and Rachelle sat down hard on the ground. "He's a gremlin. My name is Meghan and I'm a friend of Rowan." Beau put his head down on Rachelle's lap and she pet him, her hand trembling slightly. "Are you like him too? With the pointy ears?" She asked, and Meghan shed her Glamour and Rachelle paled. "What are you?" Rachelle asked, more curiosity than fear in her voice. "I'm a faery. So is Rowan." Meghan watched as a flurry of emotions raced across Rachelle's face until she finally said "ok" and that was it. "So, why are you here?" Rachelle asked her, and Meghan looked down and petted Beau. This was going to be difficult.
