Brynn's POV
Arlen and I stared at the Holt brothers in utter shock. "How old are you guys?" I asked them.
"We are 25," Edward answered. Stefanie has to be at least fifteen years older or more than Eli.

"King Arlen, I know we are supposed to honor and cherish the mate bond. But this woman is not suitable for our brother at all!" Emmett stated.
"Is this some sick joke? After all we have learned about my family, your Goddess mated one of your Faes with her!?" I shouted.
"I'm going to get to the bottom of this!" Arlen said through gritted teeth, then closed his eyes and whispered in the Fae language to summon his Goddess Aine. A bright white light filled the room.
"Arlen, get that look off your face and remember you are a King. A King who knows better than to question the mate bond." Aine's command was soft but unmistakable. Though Aine had a wariness in her voice that neither Arlen nor I missed.
"Well, I think you really missed the mark here! Eli is a good man, a strong Fae warrior, and you mate him with Stefanie of all people!?" Arlen was beside himself.
"Arlen, think of Ezra. He has lost one son already. When he pleaded about her days ago, it got me thinking. Perhaps it isn't too late for Stefanie. She can't be with a human now, due to her age and the emotional immaturity she has that humans her age will not be able to handle. So I looked for someone with wisdom and an old soul who would help redeem her. I really believe with Eli's love and guidance, Stefanie can find redemption and change her ways." Aine explained.

"What if she hurts him!! We saw how she was with Luca Lombardo. For f***s sake Aine, I heard her laugh about setting a neighbor's house on fire!!" I couldn't believe what Emmett had just said.
"There was much more to that story that Stefanie was wise enough to not share with Luca. Stefanie knows a lot more than she has let on about the world around her and what goes on. But she has had to lie to herself and stay silent for years because of her mother!" Aine told us.
"Aine, you are not making any sense." I'm beyond frustrated and angry about this. Even though I don't personally know Eli, my heart broke that the mate he has waited a lifetime for is such a trainwreck.
"Brynn, I know what I'm doing. Please trust me." Aine pleaded with me.

"Just like you know what you were doing when you mated Anthony and Mindi together?" Arlen countered with hostility.
"I stood by my choice then, and I stand by it now. If Mindi had opened up to Anthony and communicated her past from the beginning, those two would still be together. I can't control free will, Arlen. I can't control the choices Faes and humans make. Many a bond I have created has been torn asunder by both Faes and humans! Mindi is a broken, sad soul. Just like your mate." I whipped my head up fast and got ready to tear Aine a new one, but Arlen beat me to it.
"Do not DARE compare my mate to that woman!! Brynn was broken because someone BROKE her!! Mindi because she endured a horrible childhood!! Stefanie is..."
"A broken soul who lashes her hurt out on the world because of a narcissistic witch of a mother!! Arlen, you don't know the childhood Stefanie and her brother!! It's stuff that nightmares are made of!!!" Suddenly Aine emitted a bright white light.
"Arlen Miller, you may be a king, I am above you! I will NOT have you questioning the bonds I create, and the steps I take to ease the suffering of people who never deserved to suffer!!!"
"What about the suffering this whole thing is going to bring Eli?" Edward quietly countered to Aine.
"My brother is right. I am sorry for Ezra Hunter. I truly am. But why should my dear brother Eli, who has never hurt a soul in his life, be bonded to someone like her!! Eli shouldn't have to endure all the heartache WE ALL KNOW this mate bond is going to bring him, all because you are allowing your sympathy for a man who had opportunities for over twenty f*****g years to get his children away from his crazy wife and failed to do so cloud your reason!! WHAT ABOUT ELI'S CHOICE!?" Silently I clapped at Emmett's very sound argument. You could have heard a pin drop as we waited for Aine to counter a remark, or hurl Emmett into a wall.
But she didn't. Instead, Aine sighed heavily. "Emmett, Edward, I am sorry and if this does fall apart, rest assured I will give Eli a second chance. But I really don't think it will. Stefanie is lost and has been for a very long time. She needs someone to help her find herself again, and I truly believe that someone is your brother. Please, go to the cells and see how much he cares for her already. Ask him what his wishes are."
"What were the circumstances why Stefanie burned her neighbor's house down? You owe us that much!" Edward snapped at Aine.
"She caught them beating the hell out of their teenage daughter because the girl dated a boy outside of her race. Stefanie called the police first, but they did absolutely nothing. Stefanie burned that house down to get the girl out of it. And it worked. The child was sent to live with relatives." All of us stood in front of Aine absolutely shell-shocked.
"So you see, the woman has a soul. But she has to be allowed to finally grow up." Aine told us all.
"Well, that's great and all, but that woman has some questions she needs to answer for me!" I stormed out of the office and out to the holding cells. I wanted to look my aunt in the eyes and ask her why she and my grandmother mentally abused my father to the point he cut ties with all of them and I missed out on knowing my grandfather because of them.
I entered the hold building with the Holt brothers and Arlen behind me. Though she wasn't physically present, I felt Aine beside me as I stared at the dark-haired woman behind the bars.
"You must be Aunt Stefanie." I said to her.
"And you must be Jordan's crotch-fruit." I didn't even feel myself reach into the bars and punch her in the nose. Stefanie hit the ground sobbing.
"You may have got away with running your mouth to my father and my grandmother protecting you, but I'm the wrong one, b***h!! The next stupid remark like that, I will rip your f*****g tongue out!!" I spat at her, wincing at the venom in my voice.
"Who is in charge here!!"
"I AM! AND DON'T PLAY STUPID! YOU SPENT ENOUGH TIME WITH THAT TRASHCAN LUCA LOMBARDO TO KNOW JUST WHO THE F**K I AM!!" I yelled so loud that Stefanie actually cowered away from me.
"Well where the hell is he!! The last time I saw Luca he was going to kill me! Where is my mother!?" Stefanie looked around frantically.
"We don't know yet, but we're going to find him, and we are sure your mother is with him! In the meantime, you and I have unfinished business!" I snarled at my aunt.
"Like what?!"
"Like how you treated my father. How horrible you and Sheri were to him. Why?"
"Because he wasn't like us! Mom said...." I cut her off.
"Oh, I'm sure Sheri played you both off each other like fiddles. Did you and Jordan ever actually TALK to each other, without Sheri interfering?" The look on Stefanie's face told me they hadn't.
"Exactly what I figured. Sheri manipulated you both against each other and has your whole life. Jordan and you would never have had a normal relationship. Sheri wasn't going to have that. Why? She fed off the chaos she was causing! That's what people like her do! They feed off negative emotions, and look like they're trying to help the people they are victimizing, when really they're just terrorizing them more! And deep down, you know my father didn't deserve that s**t Stefanie! You have always known!"
Stefanie's lips quivered and I continued. "My father never told me about any of you. For nineteen years I thought he was an orphan, which in a sense he was. I learned all about the Hunters on my own. And if things were different, you, me and dear old Sheri would never cross paths. But here we are. And as Jordan's only child, I have a right to ask one more thing. Did you even cry once when you learned my father died?"
Stefanie finally broke. "YES! DAMN YOU, YES!!! I NEVER GOT A CHANCE TO SAY GOODBYE! I NEVER GOT TO TELL HIM I WAS SORRY AND HOW MUCH I MISSED HIM!! He was my brother and I loved him!! Never accuse me of not loving my brother Jordan!! But I didn't dare cry in front of HER, because she'd have gone on a litany with me about how he walked away and betrayed us and made it all about her like usual!!" Gutteral sobs filled the holding room, making me tear up a bit.
Aine, not sure if you can hear me right now, but I owe you an apology.
Your misgivings were warranted. Stefanie has a lot of healing to do, Queen Brynn. If Eli chooses her, it will be a long road for both of them. He will need people who can help him help her.
"Please tell me there is a hospital here. I'm pretty sure you broke my nose!" Stefanie winced in pain.
"Oh, I know I did. I have a blue belt in MMA." I smugly said.
"Good for you. Now can I get my nose checked out?!" Stefanie huffed.
"Here." Edward raised his hands and emitted a bluish dust from them. Within a couple of minutes, Stefanie's nose was normal again.
"Wow. How did you do that?" Stefanie touched her nose.
"We are Faes." Stefanie c****d her head at the brothers and realized...
"That means Eli is a Fae too!?" Eli smiled sheepishly at her.
"I didn't think you knew my name." He told her, his grayish eyes twinkling with hope.
"You told me when you and your brother saved me from Luca." She told him. Their mate bond was obvious.
"Do you know what we are to each other?" Eli asked her.
"We are mates. Though I don't see how. I don't deserve one after all that I've done and the life I've lived." Stefanie started to tear up.
"My daughter, you've been given a second chance." Stefanie gasped at Ezra.
"DAD! Oh my God, I thought he killed you!!" Stefanie hit her knees and sobbed.
"Your brother forgives you, my girl. He never held any of it against you. He loves you very much and wishes you the best. Take this second chance and make it a new beginning for you, for all of us." Arlen allowed Eli to unlock the bars and let the two of them embrace each other.
"Eli, I won't interfere in your mate bond. But it is clear your mate needs a lot of help. So if you choose her and want to remain here, I command that she sees a therapist who specializes in abuse trauma weekly." Eli nodded in understanding, taking Stefanie and pulling her to him. Both of them looked at me and Arlen.
"Sorry I was such a b***h, Brynn." Stefanie said.
"Sorry I broke your nose." We both chuckled and then Stefanie surprised me by hugging me.
"Thank you for helping me see the truth." Stefanie whispered.