Huntress or Mate?

Chapter 7 - Mate bond

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Enya

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“Ah!” I cry out in pain, abruptly sitting up, awoken by a loud bang and my whole body hurts. I reach for my neck, not feeling my wolf, and touch the collar.

Where am I?

I peek under the sheets and I’m wearing a big hoody that I’ve never seen before with nothing underneath. I move my legs and I’m not bound. I take a whiff at the hoody and it smells oddly familiar. My heartbeat starts to accelerate and I look around, scanning the place as this overbearing sense of fear washes over me. But my face turns into a confused frown, taking in my surroundings. I’m not in a cell. I’m in a luxurious bedroom with grey walls and modern-designed furniture.

What is this?

Bits and pieces of my memory start returning and I remember waking up and hearing voices, but it gets hazy again when I try to remember their faces or what they were saying. How long have I been here? Just then, there's a knock on the door and it clicks open just as I look at it.

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Eight Hours Earlier

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Kolten

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I place the phone down after speaking to my mother before she's even finished saying goodbye, tears burning my eyes. She can tell something is wrong but I can’t tell her. I can’t burden her with this. But the more she keeps asking, the more I start to break. Speaking to her always makes me feel better. It always gives me strength, but right now I don’t feel any stronger. The moment I heard her voice, I became overwhelmed with emotion.

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When we found Enya, three weeks ago, she was unconscious but the moment I touched her, she stirred and I froze. Sparks shot up my arm from where our skin made contact and something inside of me awoken. Her eyes snapped open and when I looked into them, everything stood still. I felt something lift and every day since then, I’ve been starting to feel. My walls have been coming down brick by brick, everything I buried, all the emotions have been starting to surface, and until now I’ve been able to handle it. But speaking to mother just now, hearing her reminding me of how grateful she is for the sacrifice I made, broke the last string and everything came crashing down. I can’t risk my family's lives but I’m scared I don’t have it in me to reject her. I don't know if I can do it.

I turn on the engine and take off at high speed, tears continuing to blur my vision. Our house is just off the freeway so I reach the freeway in record time. The rain is pouring, making the road slippery and the skies seem to be getting darker and darker. I’m desperately trying to get a grip on myself but the lump in my throat won’t let me. The more I cry, the bigger it gets and it's suffocating me. I don’t know what to do with myself like this. I have never felt this way before.

I step on the gas, now going at full speed, and I feel the tires swerving on the road but I don’t care. Despite everything that I’ve been through, everything I’ve done, everything I’ve faced, I have never once considered death as an option but right now… right now, death would be easier than this. My heart is beating so loud and the tears won’t stop flowing, causing me to tighten my grip on the steering wheel and let out a scream, unable to hold it back anymore. But just then, I hear a car hooting and my eyes widen, seeing blinding lights.

“I’m sorry,” is the last thing I say as my car collides with something before sending it flying off the bridge.

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“Oh, my God. He’s alive,” I hear a woman’s voice but it’s faint, and I open my eyes but my vision is blurry.

“Son, can you hear me?” a male voice asks and I mumble incoherent words, trying to figure out what’s going on. “You’re going to be alright. Help is on the way,” the voice says again, clearer, and louder this time as my vision also clears.

My whole body hurts but the pain shooting from my legs is the worst, causing me to let out a pained groan while sitting upright.

“No, don't get up. You’re hurt,” the female voice now says and I feel hands on my shoulders, but I sit up, and look at my legs, realizing they are broken.

“Easy, son,” the man speaks again, squatting to my level but the woman screams and he falls on his ass. “What the hell?!” he cries out when I suddenly reach for my legs and put the bones back in place as they start to heal.

“f**k!” I cry out in pain and the woman’s scream gets louder and I look to my left to find her taking off, her husband trailing behind her. “f**k, I’m sorry,” I mutter, getting up before going after them, limping. Just then I hear sirens and I start to run.

I see red and blue lights coming on the road ahead but I catch up with the couple just as they get onto the road.

“No, no. Please!” the man pleads and I tell him I’m sorry before snapping his neck.

“Please! Please! No!” the woman shrieks, now sliding backward on her ass, and a tear runs down my cheek, wishing I had a choice but I don't. They saw me. They know what I am. I squat to her level and cup her face as she continues to tremble, begging.

“I’m so sorry,” I softly say and she opens her mouth to speak but the words die in her throat as I snap her neck, causing her to fall limp in my arms.

I take both their bodies and throw them in the water before ducking into the nearby vegetation. I shift into my wolf and run until I reach the forest. I don’t stop, I keep running, even though I’m far away from the scene, and after I don’t know how long, my legs give in and I collapse, hitting the ground hard before letting out a whimper as my head collides with a rock.

“Hades was right. The mate bond has ruined me,” I murmur as darkness takes over.

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Now

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Isla

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I groan, cussing before opening my eyes, awakened by my phone’s ringtone, and I realize I had fallen asleep. I answer without even checking who it is and it’s Deegan. He tells me he’s been trying to get ahold of Kolten for the past many hours but his phone is on voicemail and asks me to take my phone to him. I didn’t see Kol come back after he went out, but then again, I fell asleep, so it’s possible he came back when I was sleeping. I’d rather not see him right now, but I have no choice since I can’t tell Deegan that. If I do, I would have to tell him why and I can’t do that.

I knock on his door but there’s no answer, so I twist the handle and slowly push the door open, seeing it’s not locked. The room is dark since it’s late and not lit and he’s not here. I tell Deegan he’s not in his room but will check on Nikos's. Deegan’s timing is just the worst. I’d rather not speak to both of these jerks right now. I knock on his door and hear a low come in. I push the door open and peek inside to find him lying on his back on the bed, busy on his phone. I ask him if he’s seen Kol and he says no and I relay the answer to Deegan while closing the door behind me and walking away.

He tells me to tell him to get back to him when he comes back, and I tell him I will and start to remove the phone from my ear, but I hear him speak again, causing me to put it back. He tells me he’s going to Citville with a shipment tomorrow morning, so he’ll be picking the girl up very early instead of in the evening as he had previously said. They urgently need people over there.

Citville is where the biggest mines are. It’s also where Kol is from. I also stayed there for a year with my mother, scouting. My mother is now back in Vloukross where we are originally from since she’s not needed right now. She’s only needed for hostile takeovers and Hades hasn’t needed to do those in a while. He’s now buying the other mines he’s taking over.

In the beginning, when he was starting, he didn’t have enough money, so he had to take them over by force. Now he only does that if the person refuses to sell no matter what they are offered. Hostile takeovers are a lot of work and come with many risks. That’s why he’d rather avoid them.

Back in the day when he was still doing them, my mother and I traveled a lot. Once Hades found his target, my mother and I would move into that place, pretending as though we were a regular family. She would study the place and I would gather what I can from my peers as well. She’d gather all the information, how secure it is, how much population it has, every little detail about it. She would then send the information to Deegan, her brother, and strategies for taking over the place would be made based on that information.

The last scouting job we did was seven years ago, in Kol’s village. Kol knows Deegan is my uncle but he thinks he’s my mother’s cousin. He doesn’t know that they are siblings or how instrumental and involved my mother and I were in the takeover. I made it as if my mother and Deegan had lost touch and that we didn’t know what he had been doing all these years. He also thinks my mother was among the people who died and thinks Deegan granted my wish to free his family as a way to console me for my mother’s death. He would hate me if he knew the whole truth, especially the part about his father.

His father arrived just as my mother opened the gates and she shot him. He can never find out. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if he did.

Kol and I aren’t together anymore, but I still love him. I only broke up with him because I was hurt that he couldn’t even try to return my love. That’s why I dated Nikos. I thought seeing me with someone else, someone so close to him will stir up the feelings he thought he didn’t have, make him feel again. I couldn’t accept that he truly didn’t love me when he wasn’t allowing himself to feel. But so far it hasn’t worked.

Thinking of Kol, I stop just as I enter my room and head out again. I head to the guestroom and I quietly twist the handle and slowly push the door open and sleeping beauty’s asleep. She’s covered up to her waist, wearing Kol’s hoody and her head is facing away from me. She looks to be around five feet ten. Which is just a little taller than my five feet seven frame. She has brown eyes and dark brown hair that cascades in waves to her waist when sitting up. She's definitely younger than me too.

“What is it about you?” I whisper, advancing to her and stopping right next to the bed, looking at her face. “Why has he taken an interest in you?” I add, raking her body up and down with my eyes.

I don’t like this girl. I wouldn’t like her even if we had met under different circumstances, even if Kol wasn’t giving her attention. She needs to go and she needs to go now. Why couldn’t Deegan say he's on his way now while Kol’s still out? I stare at her for a few more minutes before walking out of the room, and I think I might have slammed the door but I don’t give a s**t. This is not a f*****g hospice.

I take my phone out of my pocket and start dialing Deegan’s number. He has to come get this girl tonight. Kol will be mad, but who will he be mad at? He was supposed to have called Deegan. Plus, he’ll get over it. “f**k,” I cuss redialing after Deegan’s phone rings unanswered. f*****g Deegan, he’s expecting a call from Kol but he’s not picking up. What if it was Kol?

I dial again and he finally answers on the third ring, but just then, Kol comes into my view, causing my eyes to widen before my face turns into a frown, looking at what he’s wearing. He’s also soaking wet. “Kol's here,” I say to Deegan, making it as if I was calling him to tell him about Kol, and Kol stops and looks at me. “It’s for you,” I tell him, handing him the phone before walking away, mentally cussing myself. I should have made the bloody call right after he left. She won’t be lucky for long though. If Kol doesn’t hand her over to Deegan soon, I will. And I don’t care if he’ll be mad. He’ll get over it.

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Kolten

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I knock on Isla’s door after speaking to Deegan and she opens the door and snatches her phone without saying anything. I’m glad, I can’t deal with her right now. I walk back to my room and take off the stupid clothes I’m wearing before heading to the shower.

Deegan called to let me know that he’s heading to my village tomorrow, and he needs someone to help him with the shipment but he wanted to give me the first option since it’s my village. It would be nice to see my family. I haven’t seen them in eight months but I can’t leave Enya here by herself.

When I'm done, I step out of the shower and quickly put on my sweats before heading to the kitchen to make Enya something to eat. She was awake when I left. I glance at the clock and it’s just after 8 p.m, I hope she's still awake cause she must be hungry.... and scared. I grab a little bowl to make a salad in, and I put the burger I was going to have for dinner in the oven and warm it up when I'm done with the salad. I hope she likes cheeseburgers cause it's too late to go get something else now. I place the salad and burger on a tray before grabbing a soda and placing it next to it. But my heartbeat starts to accelerate when I grab the tray and I place it down, cussing myself. What the hell? Am I going to be a nervous mess around her all the freaking time?

I cried for the first time in years when I killed those people tonight and their faces are still flashing in front of my eyes. What the hell is she doing to me?

I walk to the fridge, deciding to grab a bottle of water too, in case she’s finished the two I left in the room earlier. And I take the tray and exit the kitchen after that. I get to the room and stand by the door, my heart clenching at how fast her heart is beating. She's afraid.

I knock twice before twisting the door handle open, not expecting her to answer and her eyes widen a bit as I enter, fear rolling off of her in waves. She scoots up, pulling the sheets with her as she jams herself against the headboard and the terrified look on her face causes me to stop.

“It’s okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I brought you food,” I softly tell her, my heart breaking even more looking at her trembling hands holding the sheets. What could have happened to her?

When she was coming in and out of sleep, she sometimes cried out to her mother. And the last time she woke up she was mumbling the name Arlo, and my wolf was bothered by that. “I won’t hurt you. I promise,” I reassure, looking into her eyes, feeling things I can’t even put into words before slowly proceeding towards the bed. My mate is the most beautiful girl I have ever laid my sinful eyes on, and the aura emanating from her is so… pure, making me almost not want to come close to her, afraid I will taint her. Why would the Gods pair a spirit as pure as hers with one as dark as mine?

“Where-” she starts to speak, her voice raspy but stops midsentence, her hands going to her throat as she starts coughing, looking like she’s in pain. I grab the bottle of water I came with and remove the cap before extending it to her, asking her to drink, but she doesn’t take it.

“It’s okay. It’s only water. I promise,” I add, as though my promises should mean something when she doesn't even know who I am to her. She reluctantly reaches for it, her hands still trembling, and she gulps down the water in one go before taking big breaths, her hand moving to her chest. She drank the water too fast.

After a moment, her breathing becomes steady, her heart also calming down a bit and I start to speak, knowing she must have a lot of questions. I grab an ottoman and sit next to the bed, even though I’d rather be sitting on the bed, holding her. But I know she’d freak out now that she’s awake, and I don’t want to scare her any more than she already is. I'm just some guy to her right now since she can't feel the bond because of the collar. Plus, I have to be careful of how I behave around her. I can’t risk anyone finding out she’s my mate, especially Isla.

“How are you feeling? You’ve been out for about three weeks now.” I ask her but she doesn’t reply, instead looks around the room.

“Where am I?” her voice comes out soft as she looks back at me again.

“You are in Bruson,” I tell her and watch her eyes slightly widen before her face turns into a panic frown, her heartbeat rising again. “It’s okay. You are safe here,” I softly add, scooting closer to the bed before reaching for her hand by reflex, but she clamps it over her mouth, muffling a sob, her heart rate continuing to rise. “It’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you here,” I try to reassure her, starting to panic as she starts hyperventilating, not knowing what to do; and before I know it, I get up and get on the bed. I pull her against me, afraid her heart is going to stop with how fast it's beating. She struggles against my hold, freaking out, but I don’t let her go. I can't stand watching her suffer like this.

She freezes the moment I call her by her name and I use the opportunity to move my hands and cup her face. “You are safe here, Enya. No one will hurt you. No one will hurt you again. I promise,” I tell her, feeling tears pooling in my own eyes looking at the pain in hers and she breaks down, audibly crying. I hold her again and she lets me this time while the tears that I have been holding back, escape as she fists my sweater, sobbing like she has no hope. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. I promise you that,” I whisper, tightening my arms around her before placing a kiss on the top of her head.

I’m not rejecting my mate.