Lunar Temptations

Ch 15

I blinked.

Once, twice, until her words dawned on me, and then I was once again speechless. Except this time, my words actually gave up on me. My heart tugged, and the pain in my neck reminded me of where I was and, most importantly, who saved my life. I gulped slowly, feeling a surreal sensation stirring deep within me.

"I'm sorry that I doubted your decision, Ray. I don't know, but a person who saved your life might not be that bad of a mate," she shrugged, and her words both stung and surprised me.

How did he even save me? I couldn't help but try to remember what had happened exactly afterwards. He was there in my thoughts, or at least his memory was, and it made me feel alive, well, and stronger again. I couldn't tell how, but it did. Then, the next moment, I remember the wolves who attacked me were on the ground, probably dead, but how—I couldn't tell that either. I had run away from there afterwards, and...

My train of thought came to an end when I finally remembered where I had ended up at last. My eyes widened with realization as I connected the dots.

"Where is he?" I asked. My heart thumped in my chest as if it would jump out any moment because I now knew how he saved me, but most importantly—how he remembered too. Everyone was here except Dad, who, of course, couldn't leave our estate because of his health, and Zayden. His absence was surprising since I was in his home, and he was the one who found me. Otherwise, I couldn't imagine what would have happened to me. Those wolves might not have been dead and might have followed my scent to kill me. Nobody would have known where I vanished off to. What started as a walk had turned into an assassination attempt, and in the state my wolf was in, I wouldn't have been able to protect myself either. I couldn't shake off the feeling of helplessness I felt when being pinned down and getting hurt.

"I don't know. He stayed up all night sitting beside you, that man didn't even budge. Sometime in the morning when we arrived here, he left. I haven't seen him since," she said, standing up from the bed. Well, I could guess that much, since the room was bathed in his scent.

What bothered me was the question of why he did all of this. He could have left me to die or not bothered to look for me, since the last time he saw me, I had indirectly confessed how much I hated to be with him. I bet he didn't even want to see my face, which would explain why he had not contacted me afterwards.

Maybe that's why he wasn't here when I woke up, I thought silently.

"Do you want me to get him?" Esme asked, observing me.

I shook my head. "No, I'll do it myself," I said, getting up slowly.

"Are you insane? Let me go and get him," she insisted, and I held up a hand.

How could I tell her that I had doubts that he didn't want to see me or that he wouldn't come even if I called for him? "You don't even know where he is. This place is huge," she rolled her eyes, backing away.

"Well, he is my mate, and I do share a bond with him," a smile crept onto my face, causing her to sigh in defeat.

"Fine, but shout for me if—"

"Goodness, I'm okay. See?" I motioned to my feet and stood up, taking a few steps. "I can walk just fine," I said. That hurt like hell, but I needed to see him. Why? I didn't know. What I knew was that I needed to see him.

"You do realize everyone is gonna be pissed at me for letting you do this," she walked off to open the door for me, and for a moment, I didn't want to leave the room. The sunlight filling the room through the white curtains created a refreshing environment, and I would love to stay in there forever.

"I love you too," I said, winking at her, and walked out of the room. Outside, I could hear Mom talking to the doctor in the distance, but neither of us could see each other, which meant I could get out of there undetected. To ease my sore muscles, I tiptoed to the edge of the corridor, took the first turn, and was now far enough from Mom.

Where are you? I thought and closed my eyes, inhaling deeply to catch his scent or whatever of it lingered in the air. He was around somewhere; I just needed to follow our bond. I found in the darkness of my vision his face staring at me heartlessly before he had left that day and the sinking feeling that had followed me. I couldn't let go of him or that moment.

Why did he have to be hurt by my words? Why did he have to save me or stay up all night looking after me? Just why? After all that had happened between us, after all the ways he had hurt me, why did he do all of this?

I was confused to an impossible extent, and I had no answer to any of it. Yet, I knew one thing, and that was the need to see him. Walking through the corridor, which had only a few doors and a similar grey-and-white theme, I tried to follow the mate bond, but it felt faint and distant. After walking around like a lost soul for five minutes, I finally found a spot where he felt nearer. To my left was a room with a black door that looked different from the rest of the doors. All the other doors were white and wooden, while this one was grey and metallic. My interest was piqued as I cautiously approached it.

I twisted the knob to find it locked.

Great, he was in there, at least. I didn't want to walk around for another five minutes. Knocking on the door, I patiently waited, but no reply came. I knocked again and again, but nothing happened.

Guess I was right. He didn't want to see me.

I had turned around to leave when I heard the bolt opening behind me, and a moment later, a hand wrapped around my arm, pulling me back. Before I could react, I was already inside the room, and the door closed shut with my back pressed against it.

"Why the f**k are you out of bed?" Zayden was on me, pinning me to the door.