Her Fated Mate

Chapter No: 07

Isabella's P.O.V.

I didn't know where I was, the heat that settled on my face wasn't usual in my life.

I opened my eyes to study my surroundings when harsh sunlight seeped in through the curtains and poked me in the eyes. Squinting at them to adjust myself to the sudden light, I moved a little to sit up straight. Looking at everything around me, I realized that I was indeed in my room. The bookshelf, the black curtains, the warm fuzzy blanket, the nightlight, everything was exactly where they usually stood, but something felt different. And just like that, everything came crashing back to me. The pain, the message, Rose, Matt, Ryan, my girls; that was everything that I could remember. I don't know how or when I slept because that sounded like the last thing that would come to me after what unfolded in the past few hours. A feeling of dread pulled me under and for a minute there I thought, it would be better to just go back to sleep.

All these years, with all that trauma from losing my loved ones, from those interrogations, from the wars, and yet today I felt empty, I felt lonely; like if I died today no one would notice. Somewhere, a tiny part of my brain was screaming at me saying, "That's bullshit" and I knew that it was right, that thought was indeed bullshit because I had some caring people, my family and friends. And this loneliness wasn't because it felt like I was losing Mason or maybe already did. NO! It was because I couldn't feel Aurora anymore. There wasn't a trace of her presence in me, no smart mouthing, no whining, no bitchy comments, no painful howling, nothing. It felt like she disappeared into thin air like she never existed.

Aurora was my better half, she completed me and she was important. But there were people more important than her to me; the boys. I knew the girls were big enough to take care of themselves. I trained them well enough so that in times of trouble, they would at least be able to feed themselves, and they were excellent at it. But the boys, they were sometimes a little too much for them and that thought alone made me jerk out of my bed and sent me running towards the boys. The moment I entered the room, my spine turned cold. The room was empty, and by looking at the sun, I could say that it must be past 9 or maybe 10 in the morning. They should be here. There was no chance that the girls dropped them off at the pack-house before leaving because they couldn't get ready on time most of the days. Something was up. I bolted out of the boy's room and started running down the staircase calling down their names. The moment I stepped on the bottom stair, Rose appeared before me and I froze.

I thought she might have gone back home at night. Maybe she did, but from the looks of it, I'm going to go with 'No'. She grabs my hands and pulls me in for a hug, but being the new awkward me, I get rigid at her soothing gesture and still, that girl doesn't let go. Now that somehow, I am aware of my surroundings, I can hear every single thing. Suddenly, the house doesn't feel so quiet and empty anymore. It feels like it's a little too crowded. Rose sensed the anxiety rising in me when she let go of me, allowing me to check my house. The girls are settled on the dining table, looking all tired and sleepy as they try to eat their breakfast. "What is wrong with these two? Why did they skip school today?" I ask Rose, and she just shrugs it off as if it's not a big deal; but when I give her an "I'm not kidding" look back, she mumbles, "They were worried about you and couldn't sleep, so I called in today and informed that they won't make it to school today as they aren't feeling well."

"And nobody questioned you?"

"Noooo, I think they thought it was you who called them. So yeah, nobody questioned me."

I nodded and made my way toward Mia and Iris. They still did not notice me. Standing between both of them, I placed my hands on their heads to check if they had a fever because they looked dreadful. Thankfully, they were just fine. They turned towards me and dropped their spoons, wrapping their arms around my waist; I was engulfed in a bear hug. I knew they saw me yesterday and there is a fair chance that they know why I was in so much pain. I can hear their thoughts and know their concerns, and hence, I try to ease their doubts by dropping a kiss on each of their heads.

"Finish your breakfast and go take a nice hot shower. You both look like shit."

They looked at me to protest. I could see it in their eyes; they were scared, FOR ME. I gave them a small smile to ease their troubles and said, "We'll talk later when you guys look a little less like zombies and a little more like my baby sisters. Stop worrying. I'm fine."

They just nod and continue with their breakfast. I turned to go and grab myself some coffee because HELL! I NEEDED IT. I could hear the boys giggling in the living room, so I knew they were safe, and right there, that knowledge itself pushed me to get charged with some coffee first. But Rose had other plans. She grabbed my arm to stop me and requested, "How about you go and sit in the living room, and I'll get you your coffee." I knew she was worried about me, but this was just too much for me, "Rosy. I'm not injured. I think I can get myself a cup of coffee."

Listening to what I just said, her eyebrows shot up as if she just realized what she was doing and hurriedly replied, "No. No. No. I didn't mean it that way, sweetie. The boys have been asking about you, I just thought you knew..."

OH GOD.!

Now I feel horrible for being bitchy to my best friend. She has always been there for me and that is exactly what she is doing right now as well. And I just poured a huge chunk of my anger on her when, in reality, she wasn't even the reason behind it.

A loud sigh left my lips as I said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound that rude. I think I'm just a little disturbed today. I'm sorry Rose." She gave me a comforting smile and said, "Oh come on Bells. I know you and what kind of friend would I be if I took that to my heart and dwelt upon it? I know, A STUPID FRIEND. And that is what, I AM NOT. So, how about you take your ass to the boys and I get you some amazing coffee."

"You forgot to add, 'Not as amazing as me' to your statement today."

"That is mandatory. That's like the whole package, Bells. Now shush. Go and see your boys."

I smiled at her, my eyes were starting to blur out and I knew if I stayed there even for a second, I might have ended up weeping like a child. So, I turned and walked into the living room.

Not one, not two, but five pairs of eyes turned towards me. Five of those latched onto me, studying every move; as if waiting for me to explode any minute. Two pairs of eyes looked at me with sympathy while the remaining three looked at me with a pained look.

The boys were busy watching PAW Patrol and didn't realize I was there until I called them out, "Boys?" All three of them whipped their heads towards me and a huge smile latched onto their handsome little faces.

"Mommy", "Mommy", and "Mommy", all three of them shouted as they came running towards me and crashed into me, enveloping me in a warm hug. I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face. Holding them tight, I kissed their heads and let them go.

"Mommy, where did you go? Aunt Rose dressed us today. See" said Luke while turning a little and showing off his trouser set to me.

"Oh, you all look so handsome as always. Aunt Rose did a good job, didn't she?" I agreed, complimenting them, and continued, glancing at the T.V. once, "Okay. Now go back and watch your cartoon. Later, you can tell me about your day so far. Does that sound good?"

They nodded and ran toward the T.V. to continue watching their favorite cartoon. Now it was time to address the elephant in the room. Everyone was there, and I didn't know what to say. And by everyone, I meant EVERYONE!

Matt, Ryan, Rachel, Blake, and Aiden, not to forget Rose, who was in the kitchen, my sisters who were having breakfast, and my brothers, who were busy watching their cartoons.

I don't know how or why they all ended up being here, but one thing was for sure, with all these people in here; my house felt a little too crowded and all those looks from them were making it hard for me to breathe.