His H(a)unted Mate

GARRETT I woke up, feeling how drops of sweat streamed from the pores of my skin, soaking the white sheets of the hospital bed. Another nightmare. I had at least a dozen already. My muscles were exhausted, and I needed to recharge my energy. I needed to sleep. And yet whenever I closed my eyes, the demons crawled back and tortured me in my dreams. It was my second night in the Golden Meadows clinic, and I still needed more time to heal. Instinctively, my hand wandered to my jaw and neck. The wound was still there. No. It wasn’t just a bad dream, it truly happened. I fought a demon beast to protect my brother’s mate. The monster was filled with a large portion of darkness and evil, and I stood no chance. I wasn’t naïve, I knew the beast would kill me with ease. But I needed to gain time for others. I had to intervene and save my brother and his mate. After all, it was all my fault. I was betrayed by someone I loved and, at the same time, I betrayed someone I loved. What a paradox, right? My mother was someone I adored my whole life and I thought the love magic worked vice versa. But my whole life I was just blind. Alessandra Amar was a great manipulator, a mastermind of all evilness in the world. She used all her children to her own benefit, she killed her own mate and let her wolf die out of sorrow. Even when caught red-handed, she did not show any remorse. She felt no shame, nor did she have regrets. She was a lost case and shouldn’t have been spared. But it was not up to me to decide her fate. My brother was the King and he wanted to be a bigger person. He banished her to the enemy’s territory. Thinking back, the punishment for the evil Queen was brilliant. I was still shocked that he forgave me for my crimes. I was a horrible person. I attacked his fated mate several times, I kidnapped her and lied to the only person who truly cared about me. I betrayed Shane, the last brother I had left. It wasn’t always just Shane and I. There was also our older brother, Phillip, whose destiny wasn’t filled with joy either. He couldn’t stand the methods of my wicked mother and took his own life. Another sad ending for which my mother was fully responsible for. Just how couldn’t I have seen it all those years? How could I have stroked the head of an animal that kept biting my flesh the entire time? I didn’t deserve to stay alive. As per the laws, the head of the traitor should have been cut off. But Hannah, the young she-wolf from the Yukon, changed my brother’s mindset. She entered my brother’s heart and showered him with love. I envied him. He was happy. His life got a brand-new purpose while mine had a big black hole inside. The hole, which spread uncontrollably like poison and provided only darkness. I never considered the idea of having a mate. Perhaps, because there wasn’t any proper role model in my life. The relationship between my parents was fake. Well, perhaps it was real from my father’s perspective, but my mother had a block of ice instead of a beating heart. She was vile and killed the love of her life in cold blood. She plotted with dangerous demons, used them for her power-hungry games and then enslaved one of them. And for what? To become a superior individual? I shared her beliefs for a very long time. But Hannah and Shane showed me a different path. I had to lose everything in my life to fully understand it. I envied my brother, but at the same time I was genuinely proud of him. I was happy for him although the emptiness in my own heart provided an excruciating pain. I had sinned. But I would try to fix all those mistakes. I carried a great reminder on my body of all my past crimes. There were burn marks on my chest. Shane splashed a pure wolfsbane after he had found out about me disrespecting his mate. I lied to my King. She stopped him though. She was a much bigger person than him and especially than me. Then there were bite marks made by the demon which decorated my jaw and neck. My own mother ordered the beast to kill everyone who stood in her way, including me. I wasn’t sure if that was ever going to heal. It seemed like demon bites worked like silver on the werewolf species. It had origins outside of this world and therefore could leave permanent scarring. Apart from that, I was about to be fine. I was an Alpha by blood and the broken bones fixed themselves within a day. That couldn’t have been said about my soul though. I felt the thirst taking over and forcing me to get off bed. It was past midnight, and the halls of the clinic were dark and quiet. A tapwater would be enough to save my dried throat, but my wolf huffed at me, pushing me to go forward. “What is it, Torin?” I asked the grey wolf, who wasn’t much of a talker. He usually formed just a few simple sentences. Ever since my mother’s wolf Zara left him, he hasn't been himself. He refused to speak, and our communication was reduced to growls and howls. “I feel her.” My first thought travelled to my mother. I couldn’t have imagined that there was any other female in his mind at the moment. But that was impossible. Alessandra Amar was gone. Nevertheless, I followed his lead. He was nervous. He had concerns. And his heart was beating faster than it should. I expected another danger to arise. But then I caught that scent. Sweet, angelic scent. And I immediately knew what it meant. Somewhere between these walls was my mate. They said a mate had a specific scent, usually the favorite scent of an individual. I expected flowers, chocolate, or any other type of one’s favorite food. But what did I sense with my nose? It was hard to describe because it was a scent so unique that it did not belong to this world. My mate smelled divine, as if she was made by heaven itself. And when I first laid my eyes on her, it was just confirmation that I wasn’t mad nor was I dreaming. It was her. Long brown curls swayed around her back as she was kicking a vending machine. I watched her odd attempt in awe. It was quite entertaining even. She made some impressive kung-fu kicks on the poor machine. I didn’t understand what she tried to achieve though, but I felt her frustration and it made my wolf unsettled. “Usually, it helps if you shake it.” I said when her frustration turned into aggression. She flinched, realizing she was no longer alone in the hallway of the pack clinic. “I prefer using my legs.” She remarked, still showing me her back. She had a thick blanket around her shoulders, covering her whole upper body, although it wasn’t that cold tonight. But holy Goddess, even her voice sounded like an angel’s singing. My legs worked on their own accord, and I moved closer to her, my wolf urging me to touch her. She noticed the distance between us narrowing, and turned around, revealing the most beautiful face. Skin smooth with a shade of almonds, eyes big and dark like liquid chocolate. The bottom lip slightly plumper than the upper one, parted in expectation. Did she recognize me as her mate or was it all just in my head? I raised my arms and grabbed the metallic edges of the vending machine, imprisoning the rare beauty between the glass surface and my body. She watched me curiously, studying the ugly scar from my jaw down to my collarbone. Right. I looked hideous, that must have been what she thought. I shook the big box of snacks, helping the damsel in distress to tame her hungry stomach. It growled, announcing the deficit of food, but she did not seem to notice. “Would you step aside please?” I asked as she kept staring at me and it made me a bit uncomfortable. What nasty things she had to think of me. Torin growled in disapproval, but I had a mirror in my hospital room and therefore could tell. Anyhow, I picked up the snack she tried to steal earlier and offered it to her. But she stood still, not moving an inch and just glaring at my lifted hand. “Do you want it or not?” I asked a little bit impatiently, which I regretted immediately. I only wished to hold her and make her mine. But I was certain she despised me. “Ehm, no. Thanks.” What a strange woman. “Are you sure? I had the impression you were hungry.” I tried again, my hand still lifted up. “Nope. I just like kicking stuff.” She was hilarious. I almost laughed. She tucked the blanket more tightly around her shoulders, almost as if she tried to escape the cold. Was she cold though? I wished to replace the blanket with my own body and provide the necessary heat. Instead, I was left hanging there because she lowered her head and walked away. “Wait!” I called after her as the wolf within me barked at me. “What’s your name?” I asked the first thing that popped into my mind. She glanced at me with her eyebrows arched high. “I don’t say my name to strangers.” She replied dryly, making my heart ache due to her indifferent attitude. “Please,” I begged. Yeah, I guess I was being a little desperate. “Make a guess. What would you like to call me?” The corner of her lips twitched into a smile. She was a bit playful, and I was determined to grab that small opportunity I got. I said the very first thought her appearance and her personality stirred in me. “I don’t know. But when you’re standing below that lamp, the neon light above you reflecting on your hair like a halo and slightly touching your shoulders, you look like an angel.” I made a few steps to get closer to her. Her heart was hammering in her chest although she tried to look casual. That was a good sign, right? She felt something too. Maybe, I could pull my luck even more and see where it navigated us. I tucked a strand of her curly hair behind her cute little ear, softly touching her cheek. She licked her lips while holding my gaze. Oh, God! Was she even aware of what that was doing to me? “I will call you angel because you not only look but smell like one, too.” I said slowly, not leaving her incredibly beautiful eyes. “You know how angels smell, Mr Stranger?” She rolled her eyes, chuckling. “No. But this is how I imagined it.” And with those words I grabbed the back of her head, my fingers digging into her curly hair and pulling the angelic beauty closer to me, until our bodies touched. And I bowed my head and took a lungful of her scent. She had an amazing calming effect on my nerves. Having her this close, I completely forgot about all the misery in my life. “Hmmmm. Sweet. Beautiful.” I whispered into her ear, and she sighed and closed her eyes. Waiting. Expecting. I kissed her forehead, my lips brushing all the way down to her straight nose. I could feel her body trembling slightly under the blanket. My mate liked the warmth which radiated from our bodies. She melted under the first contact our skin made and she craved more. Her feet rose on their tiptoes and she rubbed those pillowy lips against mine, making the tingling sensation spread inside me. Torin purred in delight. After a very long time, the restless and depressed wolf was at peace. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to worship every inch of her existence. I wanted to do so much more with her. Damn, she was like my personal heaven. Although I was certain I would once burn in hell for all my past crimes. I needed to see whether her lips tasted as sweetly as per my imagination. But as my hand slid down her head and reached her shoulder, something went wrong. She snapped from the initial desire and screamed. She screamed so loudly as if I was causing her harm. I didn’t understand what the source of her fear and panic attack was. Did she realize my scars were so repulsive? My chest was safely covered by the t-shirt this clinic had provided but a tiny contour of the nasty burn marks was still visible. Even in the bad lighting of the clinic hall she could have spotted it. Especially since I was physically close and touching her. I stepped aside as her reaction saddened me. The nurse rushed to us, scolding me for scaring a patient. She tried to keep her professional attitude, but I could see she wasn’t thrilled to have me on their premises. After all, I was a stranger. I was from Alaska, and this was Yukon. To my big surprise, my angel took the full blame for the scene. The nurse instructed us to go back to our rooms instead of waking up half of the clinic. My mate obeyed and headed back to her room. Torin roared at me, urging me to stop her. To be with her some more. He felt attached to her and refused to be without her. “Mr Amar! You should be resting and not running around the clinic!” The nurse yelled, but I didn’t care. All I could think about was her. “But she forgot her snacks,” was my excuse, although it was quite dumb. She already told me she didn’t want it. “I told you I didn’t want it.” She stated plainly and resumed her walking. “I know but I have to ask nonetheless.” I blocked her way. I had to know what unsettled her shortly before I almost kissed her. As much as it would stab me in the heart, I wanted to hear it loud and clear. If she didn’t want me as her mate, then she should reject me. Straight away. Before I lost myself in the magic of bond completely. She measured me from up to down. And there was that stare and startled look again. She saw my scars and must have thought I was a monster. “What is your question then?” She asked when I remained silent. “Did I offend you in any way?” “Is it important to you? You don’t even know me.” How could she say such a thing? Of course, it was important to me what she thought of me. She was my mate! Didn’t she get it? “What if I do want to get to know you?” Her mouth opened and closed within a second, she seemed to have some inner discussion with her own wolf. And for a brief moment it was there again. That little flame in her eyes, the desire and longing for physical contact. She was luring me with her body language, most probably not even realizing it. There was an undeniable chemistry between us, and I decided not to let go of it that easily. “That would be a very bad idea, mister. I am not a girlfriend material.” Her face sank, as she wrapped the blanket more tightly around her body, almost as if she wanted to hide from me. She was so strange, yet she fascinated me. “I disagree.” I moved to the direction of her eyesight, shouting inaudibly for her attention, demanding her to look at me. To see me. Not my scarred body. But me. “Well, all I can say is that you are foolish,” she retorted. She tried hard to push me away with her words, but her own body betrayed her. She... she was aroused! Oh, angel. You wouldn’t make it easy for me, would you? “You didn’t answer the first question. What have I done wrong to scare you like that? Is it the way I look?” I got straight to the point. Let’s name things by their real names. But her eyes opened wide in disbelief. So maybe it was something else that forced her to stay away from me. “Let’s just say I don’t like to be touched by strange men. Excuse me, I am tired.” She faked some yawning and walked around me. I almost laughed but managed to keep my cool. “Good night, angel.” I called after her. Torin whimpered, being disappointed by her distancing from us. But somehow, I knew this wasn’t our last meeting. I would find her again and make her mine. “Good night, handsome stranger.” She replied silently, but I could still hear it. It made me smile broadly. I returned to my room, closing my eyes as soon as my head landed on the soft pillow. No more nightmares. Starting from now on, all my dreams would be about the sweet angel roaming with her hands all around my body. ~*~ AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello readers. Do you remember this scene? It's from Alpha King & his Trophy, chapter 61. Hello stranger. That's how Christine and Garrett met. There you could have read it as Christine's POV, while here you could watch it through Garrett's eyes. Can you feel the difference?