Wanted by the Fae: A Fated Mates Romantic Fantasy: Magic Bound Book 2 (Magic Bound Series) Read online

  WANTED BY THE FAE

  MAGIC BOUND BOOK 2

  Allie Santos

  Copyright © 2020 by Allie Santos

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  For my siblings—Claudia, Veronica, Liz, and Eric.

  Love you guys.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  1

  “We should not be here.”

  I craned my neck to look at my companion and current protector. I narrowed my eyes at the tight lines on Rian’s face. And just like the first ten times he’d said that, I ignored him.

  With a sigh, I dropped my gaze back to the trailer park unit at the end of the row. I inhaled deeply. Different scents wafted to my nose, but I focused on the familiar cinnamon smell that filled me with a combination of dread and nostalgia.

  These Fae enhancements were proving to be a nifty little perk. Rian told me I was barely accessing the surface of Fae abilities, but they were already overwhelming. I couldn’t imagine them getting more intense.

  Talk about overload.

  I clenched my hands, nails digging into my palm, and hopped on the balls of my feet. Nervous energy flowed through me, but I wasn’t sure if it was because I was juiced up with this new Fae-ness or because I was about to encounter my sister after years of not seeing her in person.

  I’d undergone a lot of changes since then. It wasn’t the smoothness to my skin, or the way my black hair shimmered with a glossy sheen when light hit it. Nope, that was nothing compared to the massive internal shift I’d undergone. But then again, being betrayed, almost killed, and then infused with magic would change anyone.

  Yet, all I wanted was to hug Annie.

  In a blink of an eye, I was halfway to the trailer I’d been staring at, lost in thought. Biting back a curse at my newfound speed, I shook off Rian’s grip on my arm and ignored his warning glance. He never failed to make me feel like a scolded child. I deliberately rolled my eyes.

  Speed, smell, and agility. I squeezed my lids shut, rubbing the base of my nose. Those three things were becoming a damn nuisance as they developed. Especially since I had no way of controlling them.

  A teeny part of me was smug that I was almost as fast as Rian despite struggling to come to grips with my new reality. Soon, I’d be as strong as him… okay, well, maybe. At least I’d be strong enough to defend myself.

  The memory of a fist shoving into my body like a knife slicing into butter made the hair on the back of my neck rise. I pushed the visual away and kicked the figurative door shut. I had no immediate plans to deal with the issues quickly piling up, especially since I was moments away from seeing Annie.

  Smoothing my hand down my simple black t-shirt, I took a deep breath. Soft music filtered from one of the units, mumblings of a popular song I had heard on repeat before I’d been dragged into Faerie by the psycho wannabe Queen, Sabine. My nose wrinkled as it did anytime that wormy bitch filtered through my thoughts.

  Not only had I been dragged into another world to be sacrificed—those crazy Fae had taken time from me. A week and a half in Faerie had translated to more than a month in the human world.

  Queen Luz had saved my life by infusing me with the essence, and now I was some odd mix of Fae and human. Not fully one or the other since magic was still bound. It all sounded doom and gloom, but it was the reason I was alive. It changed me and, more importantly, healed me. I rubbed my stomach, remembering the pain of Sabine’s fist through my stomach. If it weren’t for Luz, I would be dead.

  “I owe it to Annie to be here,” I mumbled detachedly.

  It was the same line I’d been feeding him since I told him we would be making this detour. His apprehension at being here was no secret… No, he’d been annoyingly verbal about it. I knew Rian had my best interest at heart, but I itched to smack him.

  There was so much wrong between me and Annie. The entire time I’d been in Faerie, I’d cursed myself for not calling her back as soon as I received her voicemail. She’d needed to know that she hadn’t been abandoned by me—again.

  After the ordeal I’d been through, I understood how easily precious moments could be stolen from you. It put everything into perspective. There was so much I could have done to be in her life the last year. My drive to see her again was why I’d fought so hard to survive. I didn’t have a doubt in my mind that without her, I would have given in.

  Rian shuffled and snapped me out of my musings. Rian was not a shuffler. I glanced up at his impassive face as he carefully observed every inch around us. I could tell his worry that Unnaturals would find us compounded with each second.

  I rolled my eyes. Cue his rush to get us to Faerie. According to him, Fae were hated in the Unnatural world. So much so that other species had taken to torturing, killing, and overall hating on Fae. He’d struck the fear in me, but I wouldn’t give in, even though the influx of magic Luz had fed me had an unfortunate side effect: I was brighter than a lighthouse. A magical beacon, a signature to those close enough to sense a change in the atmosphere or some shit. It would take time, but it would eventually disappear, he’d assured me.

  Sticking my neck out for the possibility that some random Unnatural got a whiff of the magical signature was a risk I was willing to take if I got to see my sister before I was stuck in Faerie for who knows how long.

  I forced myself away from that crap pile. It wasn’t the issue I wanted to deal with yet… or ever. One step at a time.

  I rubbed my eyes. What had my world become? I would love to be freaking over some paper I had to write instead of dealing with Unnaturals. I swallowed hard as I worked myself up to walk the rest of the way to the trailer.

  Only a day or so had passed since I’d said goodbye to my friends at that diner in Idaho. Rian had been able to steal a good chunk of money, which had resulted in a tense argument when I’d realized he’d lifted it, but everyone had been desperate. So, I’d pushed away my morals and sucked it up. The money had been disbursed between everyone, and those ugly purple dresses were tossed in the trash—much to everyone’s glee.

  Before leaving, Camilla had invited me to her house in Texas. Never had I wanted something so badly, but I had a promise to fulfill before I took her up on that offer. When she gave me her address, I’d been stunned to realize she’d lived close to me before our lives had been turned upside down.

  One day I would see them again. I felt i
t in my bones. I was so sure of it that it was even a little scary.

  “You’re stalling,” Rian said with no inflection in his tone. The blankness took me back to another Fae male. A tall, onyx-haired, lavender-eyed one. One that continued to shoot sharp stabs of pain through my chest.

  Roark.

  My brain conjured up his name without my consent. I bit back a whimper. If only I could erase him from my memory.

  “And you’re overreacting,” I muttered.

  Hell, I wish I could erase the entire events of the last two weeks. Finding my ex-boyfriend cheating on me, being dragged into another world, meeting him. Most especially him. Maybe then I wouldn’t have this constant ache.

  Shaking off the maudlin emotions, I mentally braced myself. My chest rose with my sharp inhale, and I stepped forward in a determined stride, gravel crunching under my shoes.

  I could do this.

  Nerves were starting to get the best of me, manifesting in a ringing that buzzed through my ears. My eyebrows furrowed when I realized it was an actual phone ringing from inside one of the trailers. I was so concentrated on that buzz that I didn’t sense the kid until he ran in front of me as he chased a soccer ball. I stepped back, startled that I’d almost plowed into him.

  I wished Rian knew how long it was going to take to get used to all these heightened senses. Hell, a widget would be nice, too. A neat little countdown, one for when I would get used to all these damn changes and another to tell me when my heart would stop hurting.

  Standing in front of the rusted, tan trailer, I paused, shading my eyes from the sun. My emotions jumbled even more. I was ashamed to admit that a part of me wanted to turn and run in the opposite direction. What if she hated me for not calling her back? What if I saw my dad?

  My hands fisted as fear clogged my throat. A hand awkwardly pat my shoulder, and I looked over to see a sympathetic expression on Rian’s face.

  “I’ll give you a moment. If you have need of me, yell.” His discomfort with emotions was obvious. He turned and disappeared in the way Fae had a tendency to do.

  Stepping forward into the shade of the awning, my heart accelerated. It wasn’t made better when the steps creaked as I stepped up them. Raising my fisted hand, I took a deep breath and knocked on the cracked, jagged wood of the door.

  2

  A grunt accompanied by a creak of a sofa sounded as someone inside the trailer moved.

  “Talk,” I muttered, straining my brand spanking new enhanced hearing. I wanted to hear whoever’s voice was inside.

  The thump of footsteps nearing heightened my anxiety, and I steeled myself against the nervous energy skittering over my skin. I gnawed on my lip as time ticked at a snail pace. Tick, tick, tick. In reality, it was only about ten seconds, but it felt much, much longer. The door swung open, and my little sister’s drawn face stared back at me.

  I blinked as I took her in. She was as tall as I was. The familiar face had matured, losing its baby weight. The dark wavy hair we shared was shoved into a soppy bun atop her head. She gaped as I fiddled with the edge of my new shirt and swallowed nervously.

  “Annie?” It took effort for me to get her name out. I cleared my dry throat, my gaze drawn to her arm as it tensed. Muscles contracted beneath her skin, and I could tell she was about to slam the door. I rushed my words out. “I’m sorry I’m a little late. I got your call, but there was a… complication.”

  She grunted. “A little late?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. “I know. One day, I’ll tell you, but I have to go in a—”

  “Of course, you have to go,” she said mockingly. “You always go. That’s what you’re good at, leaving.”

  I stared at her in open-mouthed astonishment. Ouch, that hurt. I understood the anger simmering over my perceived abandonment. But I would never tell her that our father had beaten me so severely that he’d fractured my arm. And that I’d kept away because of him, too. His threats still rang in my memory.

  Our heavy-handed father never once touched her. While, for me, it had been an occurrence every other week. The familiar pang of rejection dropped my stomach, but I swallowed it down. Even growing up, I’d been second best.

  Dad liked her more and had never laid a finger on her after that one time when she was a toddler. I’d made it clear what I would do if he tried again. All I cared about was that Annie was safe. She used to cry that he ignored her, but internally, I’d been relieved. Better to be ignored than have his attention. I’d been positive she would be okay if I left. Hell, I’d thought she would be better off. My very presence used to set Dad off.

  That was how I’d convinced myself leaving was okay. That was how I convinced myself not to come back even though she’d begged. We weren’t supposed to become estranged, but it had been a year since we’d spoken.

  Guilt speared me at the thought. I’d been making excuses. The coldness between us… I had no one to blame but myself.

  Truth was—I was scared, and that fear had tripled after that incident. It had taken a long time for me to understand that teenagers were supposed to be mouthy. That his reaction to my back talk was unnatural.

  Know-it-all little brat.

  Whore.

  The remembered words made me flinch.

  Then, after all the estrangement, she’d called, and I’d ignored it. Sure, I hadn’t known it had been her when my cell buzzed, but the twisting in my stomach lingered, nonetheless. And when I’d heard her voicemail, it’d sent my life on a course I would have never imagined. And it wasn’t just because I’d found my live-in boyfriend in my bed with my friend. If only it had been so simple.

  Part of me wished I’d stayed to rail at Jeff. Instead, I left. Like Annie said, that was what I was good at. I hadn’t even called to tell her I was coming. I’d hopped in my little Toyota and driven off. Then the whole taken-by-Fae incident happened not long after I’d crossed Oregon’s state line.

  R-Rae, help, please? Come home. It’s an emergency. The panicked voicemail replayed in my head. I blinked quickly when tears gathered. I wanted to spill everything that had happened since her call, but the words stuck to the back of my throat.

  But even if I could force the explanation from my mouth, she’d never believe me. I’d become so numb to the Unnatural world and the existence of creatures that go bump in the night that I’d forgotten they were fiction to everyone else. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, her eyebrow flicking up.

  “I’m sorry,” I repeated weakly.

  She rolled her eyes with a sigh and motioned me in with a wave of her hand. My eyes were drawn to the little bats all over her tank top as she stalked inside.

  I stepped in haltingly. This was the first time I’d entered the broken-down trailer in ages. I rubbed my arms when I saw that damned old sofa my dad used to lay back on as if he lived in it. It sat empty with the indents of his large, bloated body.

  Annie fell into the familiar worn loveseat against the wall. I gingerly sat next to her. I’d forgotten how little we had. The sofa and chair faced a small counter that held up a medium-size television that played reruns of a popular show. I cleared my throat and made myself meet Annie’s gaze.

  “I know we didn’t leave off in the best of circumstances,” I started. She snorted and threw her feet on the chipped coffee table. “I admit I was selfish. I-I didn’t want to come back,” I said, not elaborating on why. “But I should’ve told you to come to me.”

  She tilted her head back. “Should have, would have, doesn’t matter anymore.” Her nose wiggled, and her eyes traced an imaginary shape on the ceiling.

  A pang of sadness struck my chest at her words. She hadn’t been like this. This jaded version of Annie had eaten my lively sister who used to be excited about everything. I tried to clear my dry throat, but it hurt to swallow.

  “Where are they?” I clenched my teeth together with an audible snap. “What have they done to you?”

  She sat up and looked at me, confused. “You mean the negli
gent assholes called our parents? Yeah, Pops is dead. Mom decided it would be a good idea to stab him. I came home late from work and found the cops slapping cuffs on her wrists and the paramedics toting Dad out in a big ol’ plastic bag.”

  My mouth tried to form a sentence, but all I managed was “W-what?” I grappled to wrap my brain around the fact he was dead and mom was in jail.

  “Yup.” She wiggled her socked feet. “This was, hmm, more than a month ago.”

  She’d called me after all of this happened? And I hadn’t even called her back to let her know I was on my way. No wonder why she was so angry. Hell, I would think the worst of me if I were in her shoes. She reached her hand over the couch and brought a bottle to her lips.

  “Is that beer?” I yelled, scandalized as my big sister instincts kicked in. She ignored me and kept chugging. I reached over and yanked the beer away from her.

  Annie yipped in surprise and glared at me. “Give it back.”

  “No! You’re eighteen. What are you thinking?” I scolded.

  She threw her head back and laughed. “I’m too young to drink a beer, but I’m old enough to be left alone and in charge of the bills?” I gaped as her words struck. She was legal now. That meant no help and no child services coming to take her. She had to do it on her own. “Do you know how stressed I’ve been? Not a word from you, and I’m here working day and night trying to figure out how to make ends meet. The only blessing was that I graduated early, and I didn’t have to worry about school.”