His Scarred Mate

Chapter 6 - Breaking Down

"Don't feel ashamed of staring, Freya, because in all honesty, I would stare at you forever, without even blinking," Zavian said to her in a low voice, his tone dripping of sincerity, and so intense, that Freya unknowingly sucked in a breath. Her heart yearned to react to his words, to let out a gasp, or to even snap her head in his direction, yet her body felt frozen, as if her mind had lost its sense.

"Oh, it's finally starting," she heard Iliana say excitedly, which snapped her out of her frozen stance, and allowed her to breathe once again. Instead of focusing on the movie, her mind concentrated on Zavian's words, a million questions playing in her head.

What?

Was that real?

Did he actually just-

Wait, does that mean he thinks I'm beautiful?

No. That's not possible. Not with the way I look.

Maybe he likes what I look like in make-up, but he doesn't know what I really look like. He'd never even glance at me if he were to see me without the thick coats of concealer, foundation and color correction.

The thoughts made her heart hurt, reminding her of her past, reminding her of why she looked the way she did, and bitter memories creeped into her thoughts.

Warning. Triggering, disturbing content ahead.

"You're beautiful, Freya," he said to her, his clawed finger tracing down her cheek, as she whimpered. She pulled at the restraints, struggling to set herself free, as his hands now started travelling down her body. She hated how well her body responded to his touch, how her breath hitched, how she would moan in pleasure, and how amazing the electricity rushing through her skin felt, because no matter how much her body wanted it, her heart, mind and soul despised every bit of it. She just wanted her body to be back in her control, she wanted to get away from him.

"Let me go, please, Damien," she sniffed, knowing it would not be of any use, as tears ran down her cheeks. Hearing her plead, Damien roughly grabbed her face, his claws sinking into her skin as she screamed.

"Shut up, you beautiful slut," he spat, as more tears escaped Freya's tightly closed eyes. "Look at me, my mate, open your pretty, blue little eyes," he whispered, his grip on her face tightening, drawing more blood. She sobbed loudly, but obliged, desperate for the pain to stop, but her blood ran cold once she looked at his face; his sharp, bared canines, and his blazing, red eyes.

"That's right, be utterly quiet, I'm sure you don't wanna make this harder on yourself. Your body demands it anyway," he chuckled, before his hands went back to her body and so did his mouth.

"Freya?" The hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present, to the cinema. She got slightly startled and instantly looked at the one who had said her name, only to meet Zavian's concerned eyes.

"Are you okay? You're shivering," Zavian whispered, taking her gloved hand in his. His touch, even though it was indirect, gave her such warmth that it bewildered her, but even his presence was not enough to make her snap completely back to reality. Another glimpse of her past made her withdraw her hand from him, and she turned her face away from him, staring straight ahead. She diverted her mind towards the movie, as she could feel the bile rising up her throat, her legs starting to tremble and her palms starting to sweat.

"Freya?" Zavian said once again, but Freya couldn't hear him. All that ringed in her feverish brain was the sound of her own screams, and the sound of the chains and shackles. It was getting harder and harder for her to breathe, but she knew that being alone wouldn't make it any better (it never did), so she stayed rooted to her seat, trying to distract herself with the movie instead of running out.

However, when she managed to actually focus on what was happening in the movie, a gasp escaped her lips. To her dismay there was a wolf scene in the movie, and thousands of memories instantly plagued her mind. The growls of the beast made her cover her ears and she tightly closed her eyes, before finally getting up and running out of the cinema with Iliana, Chris and Zavian calling out to her.

Freya ran out of the cinema room, desperate to get away from the sounds of those growls, but she continued to hear them. Thus she ran out of the building, further and further away from those speakers that mocked her, frightened her, but the noise didn't seize to reach her. She could hear the growls clearly, as if her past was becoming her reality once again, and Freya continued to run mindlessly in her futile attempt to escape the sounds that were actually in her head.

Adrenaline was rushing through her body, her legs refusing to hurt after running for miles, as she wasn't going to let her past become her present. She was determined to escape it, she was determined to escape him, she was not going to suffer at his hands again. She refused to let him touch her again, she refused to get captured by him again, but after a while black dots started to cloud her vision. Her head became heavy and a sudden pain shot through her entire legs, slowing her down. However the sound in her ears wouldn't stop, and thus Freya was not willing to stop. She would keep running, she wasn't going to let him catch up to her.

"Freya!" A loud voice called to her, and someone grabbed her by her arm, turning her around. Her blurred vision wouldn't let her see who it was, and she struggled to get away from him.

"Let me go, please," she cried, her mind completely baffled. "I can't - I can't stop. Let me go!" She repeated desperately, trying to free her arm from her captor.

"Freya, Freya, hey," the person said to her, pulling her towards himself, now holding onto both her arms. "Relax, you're safe, calm down," he tried to comfort her, but she couldn't make sense of anything.

"I can't stay here anymore," Freya sobbed, "let me go home, please," she wept.

"Freya, babe, just calm down," the person replied, pulling her trembling figure into a secure hug. A hand caressed the back of her head soothingly, "You're safe, Freya. You're safe."

"I'm... I'm not. I can never be," she whispered, before the darkness was too inviting, and she slipped into oblivion.

OoOoO

Zavian.

I was confused. I couldn't understand what was happening. She kept crying, she kept begging me to let her go home, but I knew she didn't mean her house. She meant something else. It was like she was in a completely different place, as if her mind was in a completely different situation. My heart ached to see her like that, and I was now beginning to understand why she was closed off from the world. She was guarding herself, protecting herself, but in that moment Freya was completely vulnerable.

I wanted to comfort her, but she wasn't accepting any of it, I tried to talk to her, told her she was safe, but she wouldn't listen. She just kept thrashing, trying to get free from my grip. So I did the one thing I could think of; I pulled her into my arms, hugging her while rubbing the back of her head.

"You're safe, Freya, you're safe," I whispered to her, which did indeed calm her down a little. It was probably her reaction to my touch, as the mate bond must have started to take effect.

"I'm... I'm not. I can never be," she whispered, before she collapsed, leaning into my chest. My hold on her instantly became tighter, and I caught her before she would fall. I picked her up, carrying her bridal style, and it bothered me to see that she looked more peaceful when she was unconscious. My mind told me to take her to her place, Tuck her in safely and leave, but my heart refused to let her out of my sight. Especially after witnessing her emotional break down.

So I did the next thing that I could think of. I carried her home, to my home, where I knew she would be safe. With me. She opened her eyes once as I took her out of my car and once again picked her up bridal style, but she closed them again after seeing my face. A ghost of a smile played on her lips, and it made my heart melt, making me smile as well.

This girl drives me crazy.

OoOoO

Freya moved her head, but winced when it hurt excruciatingly. Her eyelids felt too heavy, as if someone was holding her eyes shut. Her senses weren't really working properly, and it took her a while before she realized that she was lying in a bed. A very soft, comfortable bed, she thought.

Finally she managed to open her eyes, and sat up, before looking around and observing her surroundings. When she didn't recognize where she was, her heart started to race. She gulped, trying to think back to what had happened, before finally she recalled the guy who had caught her. Her eyes widened in realization. I've been kidnapped.

Before Freya could stand up from the bed and plan an escape strategy, the door of the room opened and a familiar face walked inside. Zavian.

"You?!" Freya exclaimed, her tone almost accusing. Seeing her awake, relief swept through Zavian's mind, which became pretty evident on his face.

"Thank God, you're awake," he said, walking towards the bed.

"Don't come near me!" Freya yelled, instantly standing up from the bed. However her head hurt and her knees gave away, causing her to collapse. Before she could fall, Zavian rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, catching her. Instinctively she put her arms around his neck to steady herself.

"Are you okay?" Zavian whispered to her, his eyes full of concern and worry.

"Ye-yeah," Freya replied, before Zavian led her back to the bed and helped her sit down. He knelt down on the ground before her, yet his head was still at her level, and she didn't have to look down to stare into his eyes.

"You ran from the cinema in a very scared, panicked state so I followed you. You were running mindlessly, barely missing cars and other vehicles so I tried to stop you. When I did, you were shivering and crying and then you just collapsed into my arms. I thought of dropping you at your place, but I didn't know how I'd get in and I wasn't sure if going through your purse to search for your house keys would be appropriate. So I brought you back to my place. I swear that's what happened," Zavian explained the entire situation to her, while to her own surprise, Freya actually listened to him patiently. She even believed him, not accusing him of k********g, or anything of that sort.

"Oh," Freya replied, "but why did you follow me in the first place?"

"I wanted to see if you're okay," Zavian replied. "Despite what you may think of me, I do care about you, Freya."

"Why?" Freya asked, "We're not even friends," she muttered.

"That's what you think, Freya," he replied.

To me, you're my everything, he thought to himself.

OoOoO