Love is Blind Part 3
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We danced for a long time. Occasionally, someone would pull me from my friends and would dance close to me. Their scent was usually a match for someone who I’d touched. I would have to link Ashley or Gemma to bring me back so I didn’t get lost.
It was a lot of fun, but I was starting to get overwhelmed by the press of people and the heat of so many bodies close to mine. I linked Ashley to take me to a table and get me a drink. She was more than happy for a little break.
We sat and had some water, but I could tell from the sound of her leg shaking that Ashley wanted to go out and dance again. I told her to go and promised to link her if I left the table.
“Are you sure?” She asked.
“Go on. There are probably a lot of cute guys out there that you have your eye on.” I replied.
“Thanks, Carmen! I’ll come back when I can.” Ashley promised before leaving.
It was kind of a relief to be away from them. I loved my friends, but I was rarely left alone because people worried about me. The only alone time I ever had was when I would go running as my wolf in the middle of the day.
Since I couldn’t see as well as other werewolves at night, I could only go on night runs if the moon was full. It was peaceful running by myself, though. Sometimes I would take a bundle with clothes and a blanket in it and find a nice place in the woods to sit and just exist.
I sat there, soaking in the energy and ambiance of the club when I smelled something out of place. Dark chocolate brownies with a caramel drizzle came to mind. It made me hungry.
‘Mate?’ Blanche said in my head.
‘What?!’ I replied, shaken.
‘It’s our mate! He’s here! We have to find him!’ She shouted.
‘Calm down. You got this excited last time. Remember how that worked out? We’ll find him, just, don’t get your hopes up.’ I told her.
She whimpered at the memory of Jordan rejecting us. This was our last chance for a fated mate. I felt a fearful flutter in my stomach and prayed to the goddess that we wouldn’t be rejected again. I couldn’t handle that pain.
I got up from the table. I could get around my house and my friends’ places because I was familiar with the layout and where all the furniture was, but I had no idea what this place looked like. My mate seemed to be staying in one place, so I had hope that he wouldn’t leave before I could get to him.
With one hand on the edge of the table, I sniffed the air to get an idea of what direction I was going in. Once I knew, I started carefully making my way over to him. A few people ran into me and I started to worry that I’d get hurt before I could find my mate.
A hand took my elbow and I could smell the scent of ripe melon. I sighed in relief.
“Hey, Carmen. Where are you heading?” Sean asked.
I pointed in the direction I was going. “Over there.”
“Why?”
“I… I think I smell my mate. Don’t tell my friends. This didn’t work out well for me the last time.” I said softly.
“Your last mate rejected you? Why?” He pressed.
“Because I’m defective.” I replied.
“You are not defective. He was for rejecting the match the goddess made for him. Let me help you get to your mate. I promise I won’t tell anyone. Not even Rosario. If this guy rejects you, I’ll kick his ass.” Sean said.
“My wingman has actual wings, nice.” I laughed.
“Tell me where we’re going.” He told me.
I gave him directions as I followed the scent of my mate. Sean helped me navigate the crowd, furniture, and terrain. As we got closer, my heart climbed into my throat. He was so close.
“Umm…. Are you sure that’s your mate, Carmen?” Sean asked quietly.
“Yes. My wolf is fairly insistent. That’s my mate. Why?”
“Because he’s kind of… well… a troll.” Sean replied.
“I’m blind, Sean. It doesn’t matter to me if my mate is attractive.” I laughed.
“No. I wasn’t clear. He is literally half troll. I’ve met him before. His father was human and his mother is a troll. And he won’t recognize you as his mate. He hasn’t come of age yet. His fiftieth birthday is next weekend.” Sean told me.
“Fiftieth?” I gasped.
“Yeah. Trolls come of age at fifty. They only live to be three hundred.” He explained.
“Only three hundred? I’m probably going to live to a hundred and twenty, if I don’t stumble off a cliff. How old are you?” I asked.
“I’m eighteen, but pixies have a life span of a thousand years. Like wood elves.”
“How did you get in here if you’re only eighteen?” I asked.
“They stamp your hand. If you’re underage they stamp it twice.” Sean said.
I nodded. “That makes sense. So, he won’t know that I’m his mate until after next weekend. Does he at least look young?”
“Umm… It’s not like he has gray hair and wrinkles. I can’t guess age on trolls. Rosario said I’ll get better at it when I have more practice. It’s why we’re going to Rock’s coming of age party. So I can become familiar with trolls.” He told me. “Rosario has a lot of plans to get me familiar with every species of fae.”
“I need to meet him. Even if he doesn’t realize who I am. If you disagree with this, you can send me in the right direction and wash your hands of it. I won’t blame you for whatever happens.” I promised.
“I’ll take you to him and give you a little help, but then you’re on your own. The goddess doesn’t make mistakes. We do. If he rejects you, that’s his mistake. Remember the ears. I can convince Rosario to do anything while I’m stroking his ears. And if you knew how stubborn he can be, you would know what a feat that is.” Sean confided.
“Thank you so much. I can’t tell him that he’s my mate, though. It’s against the rules to tell your mate they’re yours before they come of age.” I admitted.
“Then, I’ll just give Rosario a nice ear massage and convince him that we should take you with us to Rock’s coming of age party. It will be nice to have someone else to take the brunt of the trolls’ focus. They like touching us. We’re soft.” He chuckled. “Come on.”
Sean pulled me toward the scent of my mate. I was giddy with excitement. Maybe he wouldn’t reject me. If trolls liked touching soft people, I could have an in.
“Hey, Rock.” Sean said.
“Sean. I thought I saw you and Rosario. This doesn’t look like our prince, though.” Rock answered.
If Rosario’s voice was syrup, Rock’s was molasses. It was deep and resonating. It was dark and thick. It made my insides quiver.
“This is Carmen. She’s a friend of mine. I was hoping I could leave her with you. She can’t see and her other friends abandoned her.” Sean told him.
“That’s why she doesn’t look afraid or disgusted.” Rock laughed.
“Carmen, did you meet any trolls while you were doing your looking thing?” Sean asked.
“No. I don’t know what a troll looks like.” I answered.
“Looking thing?” Rock asked.
“Yeah. She uses her hands to see what people look like. You should let her do it to you. Then she’ll know what a troll looks like.” Sean replied.
I smiled. Sean was making sure I could touch my mate. I could barely contain my excitement.
“Maybe. She can stay with me. I’m just enjoying being out in public without my glamour. It’s been almost two months and I’m still not quite used to being able to go out in the neighborhood without it.” He said.
“Before the curse was broken the fae couldn’t hide their neighborhood. Humans would decide to go check it out, so they couldn’t be comfortable in their yards or have their blinds open. After a hundred years of being confined to their own houses in their natural form, the fae are just getting used to being safe again.” Sean explained.
“We couldn’t find our mates until a year after we got our wolves and couldn’t leave the region without getting really sick. Some people lost their wolves permanently when they decided not to come back.” I told them.
“That’s frightening. Losing a whole part of your identity.” Sean said.
“Yeah. Go on back to your fiancé, Sean. I’ll watch your wolf.” Rock replied.
Sean guided me to a chair, then patted my shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze before leaving. The scent of ripe melon faded and I was suddenly left with my mate. I smiled at him.
“Sean said you’re having your coming of age party next weekend. Are you excited?” I asked.
“Yes and no. When I come of age I can finally find my true mate. Being half human and half troll isn’t exactly a walk in the park. Your true mate loves and accepts you for who you are. They aren’t disappointed in you. They’re your perfect match made by the goddess. You have fated mates. You understand.” He said.
I nodded. “It was the one thing I was looking forward to when I turned eighteen. I wanted to find my mate and finally have that one person who would love me and would accept my love.”
“Sounds like there’s a ‘but’ in there.” Rock replied.
“He rejected me because I was blind. That was years ago, now.” I told him.
“That asshole. I’m never giving my true mate up.” He said.
“That was the ‘yes’ of why you were excited. Why no?”
He chuckled. “Tradition. I’m going to be chained up in a dark room for three days and they’ll bring unmatched females in one at a time to see if I recognize them as my true mate. If I find her in the first day, we spend the next two days in bed.”
“Why chained in the dark?” I gasped. Two days in bed. My goodness.
“Werewolves have heat right?” Rock asked.
I nodded.
“Well, at the coming of age, whether the troll is male or female, our libido is amped up like when you’re in heat. We’re chained up for the good of the community. The darkness is so we don’t lunge and risk ripping the chains from the wall. My friend, Forrest, is throwing my party. I trust him to take care of me if I end up chained for the whole three days.” He told me.
“That sounds awful. I know you’re going to find your true mate, though.” I smiled.
“Sixth sense?” Rock asked.
“Well, it would be a fifth sense if I had it.” I laughed.
He laughed, too. It was a rich sound that thrilled me to my toes. I wanted to make him laugh more. He said he would never give his true mate up!
“So, what are you doing here?” I asked.
“Mostly, drinking and just existing as myself.”
“I meant, why are you here instead of with the other trolls?” I pressed.
“Well, none of my friends wanted to come out tonight. Aside from that, I’m half human. I’m smaller than them, softer than them, and uglier than them. That’s why I’m never giving up my true mate. She’ll see past all that and still accept me.” He sighed.
“You sound like you’re smiling.” I said.
“I am. The closer I get, the more I daydream about it.” Rock admitted.
“Does that mean that you’re keeping yourself pure for your true mate?” I asked.
He started laughing so hard that conversation around us died down. People were definitely staring at us. I blushed at the attention.
“Sorry. I’m nearly fifty years old and a troll with soft skin. It doesn’t matter if I’m ugly. What’s the saying? Everyone is beautiful in the dark. Female trolls put aside things like looks to touch and be touched by me.” He answered.
“Oh. So you’ve only ever been with trolls?” I asked.
“Yeah. My true mate is probably a troll. I’m not attractive by troll standards, but I’m hideous by human standards.” Rock said.
“Can I look at you? I don’t understand what it could be that makes you ‘hideous’.” I smiled.
“I like your smile. You look like a nice wolf, but you’re going to run screaming when you see what I look like.” He laughed.
I could hear a little pain in that laugh. I didn’t like it. When I could finally claim him. I’d make sure he never had pain in his laughter.
“Well, that would be a mistake on my part, because I’d probably hit a wall and knock myself out.” I winked. “Does you liking my smile mean that you don’t think I’m hideous?”
“Fishing for compliments, Carmen?” He chuckled.
“Always. I live for the approval of others.” I grinned.
“Other trolls wouldn’t find you attractive. I have odd tastes, though. Don’t tell the other trolls, though, they’re assholes.” Rock whispered.
I put my hand out to him. I felt a massive hand wrap around it. I gasped.
“Dear goddess, you’re huge.”
“That is the first time anyone’s said that to me. Thank you.” He replied.
“You’re smiling again.” I said.
“My face may break. It could be an improvement. Come on. Come see what a troll looks like.” Rock urged.
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