"But you are my mate Zora" he said with pain evident in his voice. "That doesn't define our relationship now, does it?" I plainly asked him. "I barely know you, " I turned away. "Does that mean you don't feel the mate bond?" He tried to confirm. "I don't" I lied. "You will regret this" he croaked and left. From the moment Zora turned eighteen, her life began to change. It felt like she had lived a different life before now. A feeling of deja vu was eminent. Until a strange man, who claimed to be her mate, appeared and revealed her identity. But in the course of her journey to find her roots, she discovered that her mate was responsible for her parent's death. Will she accept the mate bond?...or seek revenge ?
Chapter 1 Flashes
Zora's POV
"Zora" a frantic voice called out, but I didn't answer it, as what I found myself in was far greater than the answer to the call of my name.
I stood, surrounded by wild-looking hungry wolves, and their yellow eyes were fixed on me. Their growls filled the night air and were getting louder by the minute, but I stood fearlessly, not showing my next move.
As a sudden gust of wind blew past, the wolves lost their balance for a minute and their growls turned to whimper. A smirk that seemed to anger the lead wolf appeared on my face. The dirty brown wolf snarled and inched closer. But just as the wolf got closer to the point of touch between us, a big black wolf appeared from the direction of the tree I backed and attacked the wolf without warning. The black wolf bit off a chunk of flesh out of the wolf's neck, which caused it to whimper and fall in silence. The sound of heavy paws hitting the ground distracted me from the sight of the dead wolf. When I looked up, the rest of the wolf was gone.
As I turned to look at the black wolf that saved me, the silhouette of a figure greeted me and I noticed the black wolf was gone. Suddenly, a bag was draped over my face and my little body was thrown over a muscular shoulder.
I screamed and woke up with a start, breathing heavily with sweat dripping from my forehead. This is how it has been for the past few weeks. But the nightmare was a bit different tonight, as it was extended to the point of the kidnap.
I unconsciously draped my arms over my knee and cuddled myself, as the cool night breeze kissed my skin. But instead of the open window, something else caught my attention.
A pair of red eyes, shining in the middle of the dark, were staring directly at me outside the window. Fear engulfed me as I earnestly hoped it had nothing to do with the nightmare. But before I got to the window, to get a good look, it was gone.
I placed my palm on my racing heart but it did nothing to calm it down. Just in time, my phone rang, making my heart beat faster. My eye slowly drifted to the small clock resting on my nightstand, it was just a little over midnight.
"What was that?" I thought with my hands still on my chest.
It kept on ringing as I slowly walked back to the nightstand. Relief washed over me as Justin's name appeared on the screen of my Samsung Galaxy S23 when the phone rang again.
"Zora!!" he shouted, as I picked the call. A wide smile spread on my face at the sound of his concerned voice. Well, that would have happened on a normal day.
"Hey J, what's up," my voice shook as I held my phone tight to stop it from falling.
"What's wrong?" He sounded alert. "I saw you looking out of the window a few minutes ago." Concern laced his voice.
"It's nothing, just the usual." I tried to assure him but he wasn't having any of it.
"If it's the usual, then I'm coming over." He said and hung up before I could reply.
After the duvet, I headed downstairs to wait for Justin. My mum and kid brother, Cassey, spent the night at my aunt's and would be back by 7 am the next day. My brother, Jay, schools in New York. In exactly 8 minutes, a knock came through the door. I opened the door thinking it was Justin because he was just a block away, but an unknown force destabilized me. Luckily someone saved me from falling.
"Justin?" I was confused. What was that about? I thought.
He picked up the duvet and covered me with it.
"What just happened?" I asked still in shock and coupled with the earlier events.
"Always check before opening the door, Zoe!" He shouted. "You don't listen." He looked furious as he turned to face me. I jumped back in fear.
"I knew you were the one J." my voice cracked as tears filled my eyes.
"It could have been someone else." He said, trying to calm himself down as he saw my dissolved self.
"Sorry," I said as a frustrated tears dropped. He was right.
"Set it up," He said and walked to the kitchen to get me water, combing his hair back with his finger. This has been the routine after I told him about the nightmare. He comes over every night and plays video games with me until the next morning. Yes, video games.
The rays of the early morning sun that was peeking through the curtains, shone directly on my face, leaving me with no choice but to rise from bed. As I tried to shield myself from it, the duvet fell from the sofa that I lay on, together with a red rose. Justin must have returned to his apartment but a rose?
I freshened up and took my green tea, as it keeps me hydrated. I pulled out my phone and dialed Julia's number. She picked up on the second ring and yawned for a full minute.
"Don't tell me you just woke up, " I said tying my shoelace. She laughed and I could picture her covering her face because of her muffled tone.
"You have ten minutes, girl, or choose Mr Kay," I said in a serious tone.
"WHAT!!" she screamed and hung up. I laughed at the fact that I could still prank Julia. Mind you, the prank only works in the early hours of the morning.
Julia and Justin were twins but I was closer to Justin and could easily say anything to him. They were my only friends.
In less than two minutes, Julia called back. Yes, it took her that long to realize it was a prank.
"What the hell Zee, do better, " she said in an angry tone and I chuckled. We talked about other things before I ended the call.
"We are home." The comfort in her voice assured me that I would always be safe here. My mum strolled in with Cassey fast asleep in her arms.
I hugged her and told her I would be back in an hour.
My legs were itching to dance, but I decided to walk rather than take my car.
The garden was 40 minutes away. I was dressed in my favorite black sweater and gray joggers as the temperature in the northern hemisphere was a little cold. I plugged in my earpiece and played DYNAMITE by BTS.
I had a feeling I was being followed 10 minutes into the walk but I brushed it off.
When I got to a lonely path, I hastily walked without looking back hid in the enclosed space of the garden, and started dancing.
The dance steps always come naturally to me and it never changes. It was like my calming remedy. Strangely, I have never felt the urge to dance at night time. The weather began to change, but that didn't stop me from completing my dance. My problem with the forecast. It may change with no warning.
Just before the final step, I heard a sound outside the enclosed space. That stopped me. I was hesitant to check at first, but curiosity got the best of me. I saw an opening that wouldn't be easily spotted and peeked from it. But I wished I hadn't done that.
The sight before me sent chills down my spine.