His Unidentified & Untouchable Mate

Stalker (1)

Zahraa POV

“Girl, block him,” Alanis groaned. “I swear this is the twelfth time you’ve had to silence his call.”

“Fifth, actually,” Tanis corrected in her usual monotone way. “But she has a point, Z. He is being very annoying.”

I tucked my phone away in my pocket. It had been three days since my talk with Rowan, and yesterday, the hypnotherapist set an appointment that was several weeks out. She was very sought out, so it made sense – but I couldn’t stand waiting around, and my friends couldn’t stand my anxious anticipation any longer, so they kidnapped me, took me to Alanis’s house where we were all getting ready for a ‘night on the town!’

I would’ve been less worried if we weren’t conveniently partying at the location where the Oracle Tanis had mentioned worked.

I wore a long golden dress with straps, and my black lace undershirt with it, and my black lace gloves. My hair was manipulated back into a large poof behind my head, and I wore golden hoop earrings that dangled a small pearl inside – borrowed from Alanis against my will. She always had a habit of treating us like her own personal dress up dolls.

Not that we minded.

My silence did not go unnoticed. “Don’t tell me you’re still into him?” Ingrid said, staring me down like a disappointed mother might. “After everything he did to you?”

“It’s not like that,” I lied, knowing that it was exactly like that. “It’s… just…” I hesitated as Alanis finally stood from her makeup mirror. She always managed to look like a Hollywood starlet the way she dressed. Standing next to her made me feel like a roach.

“A fixation?” Alanis suggested.

I wasn’t sure that was exactly the right word, but nonetheless, I replied with an enthusiastic, “Yes!” I smoothed my dress as we walked down the stairs in a disorganized mob. “I don’t know how the mate bond feels traditionally, but I just…” I paused when I realized Ingrid was staring at me, then looked away to avoid meeting her gaze. “I just want to be with him. I want to be around him. It’s like a…”

“A draw?” Ingrid suggested. “Like you’re drawn to him. Like there’s no one else you could be with.”

I swallowed, then nodded.

“That’s how most wolves describe it,” Ingrid sighed, and as we walked out the door, added with renewed vigor, “But that doesn’t mean he can do whatever he wants and get away with it!”

“I know, I know,” I snapped back. “I just… I don’t know.”

Alanis sighed, “Well, at least you’re letting him stew on what he did.” She unlocked the car and we piled in – or, well, started to. As everyone else was closing their doors, I perked, looking around. Something had caught my attention – what, I didn’t know. The road of the coven suburban area was wide, with cars parked on each side.

Was my mind playing tricks on me, or did something just move in that black sedan?

“Zahraa, what are you looking at?” Tanis asked, “Let’s go.”

I ducked into the car, knowing I was safe here, at least, amongst my friends. We may look like a typical squad of girls, but Ingrid and Alanis could probably bench press this car, and Tanis’s bite injected a toxin that would paralyze within seconds, and kill in hours. There was no need to worry.

But still…

Your case file will say that your case was closed, that all the offenders were apprehended, tried and punished. But the thing is I’m not so sure.

What if they were still out there?

The car left the safety of the coven, and I tried to casually watch out the back window for cars that were following us. And there weren’t – not logically I suppose. I couldn’t tell the make or model in the cover of night, but a few cars back there seemed to be a black sedan. It put on its blinker a few seconds after Alanis hit hers. Two turns later, it was directly behind us, following at an unusually large distance.

I was opening my mouth to mention it, when an outburst stopped me.

“Let’s stop here!” Tanis spoke emphatically, which was more enthusiasm than I’d ever heard from her. “They have awesome pizza by the slice.”

“Sure,” Alanis said, pulling the car over.

I froze in my seat; the car pulled into the same parking lot, taking a space far from us. No one got out.

“Are you okay?” Ingrid asked, leaning over in the seat to get a better look of my face. “You look…”

Tanis got out of her seat and yanked my door open. “I know this neighborhood looks rough, but the guy that runs this place – Tom – he would skin anyone who looked at you funny. Trust me.”

“I…”

Would I look paranoid if I said I thought we were being followed? Who would be following us anyway?

“Yeah. Okay.” I conceded, feeling like a coward and a fool. “Sure.”

I stood and followed Tanis inside. This place did look seedy. There was a large outdoor patio section and it looked like it’d been taken up by a motorcycle club. Some of the guys looked perfectly safe – they focused on their buddies and their pizza. Others leered at us. One even made a rude gesture.

Inside, the place was decorated like a 50’s era diner. Red booths on a white tiled floor with a lot of neon signs. The counter had a glass case showcasing what pizzas they had ready – cheese, pepperoni, a supreme, a meat lover’s, and a ham and pineapple, all of which missing slices here and there.

Tanis and Ingrid got meat lover’s. Alanis never ate out with us for, uh, dietary reasons, and I hesitantly selected a cheese slice.

Seating was the next challenge – the booths were all full with couples, or guys who looked like they were mid drug deal. One booth had guys who looked like they were undercover cops, watching the motorcycle club outside through the window with a bit too much interest.

“Why don’t we sit over here?” I suggested, pointing to a center table closer to the probably-cops.

There were no disagreements. We took our seats and I put my back to the cops, facing the doors so I could see if anyone came in that showed a little too much interest in us.

I was grateful when the conversation shifted to Tanis. She and Alanis did have an open relationship, but sometimes jealousy still became a factor. Specifically when Tanis went to seedy bars without Alanis – so they were arguing about the place, how often Tanis went, who she visited there, etc.

And I watched the windows anxiously.

“Are you okay?” Ingrid whispered, as Alanis was pointing out that Tanis wore skimpy outfits when she went out. Example, tonight she was wearing a shimmering green backless dress that fell just barely below her buttocks.

Tanis pointed out that Alanis was no better, in her skin-tight red dress that fell to her knee, but had a slit up her hip to her navel, offering only a thin, black gossamer fabric to cover her skin.

I shook my head, scooting my chair closer to Ingrid’s. Quietly as I could manage, I whispered, “Rowan told me that it’s possible the people behind my… abduction… as a child were never really captured. And now, I swear someone is following us.”

Ingrid looked around, frowning. “Since when?”

“Since the coven,” I replied.

Ingrid searched the diner for faces, and when she didn’t find any she recognized, or any that were paying attention to us, sniffed the air as inconspicuously as she could. When she looked back to me, there was a kind of pity in her eyes. “Zahraa, I don’t think anyone is following us.”