BOUND TO MY MATE

CHAPTER 32

Love is a cycle: When you love, you get hurt. When you get hurt, you hate. When you hate, you try to forget. When you try to forget, you start missing. And when you start missing...you'll eventually fall in love again. (Google/unsure)

"Ugh." I groaned as I tried to move my body into a sitting position. My muscles felt sore and unused, and it felt like I had been immobile for days. I opened my eyes, but the scenery wasn't what I expected. I was lying in the most beautiful meadow I had ever seen. It was even better than the one I usually meet Elijah in, which raised the question. "Where the hell am I?" I voiced out loud to no one in particular as I walked through the meadow with my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

The beauty here was just unbelievable. Like my previous meadow, everything was green and full of color and life. It was hard to accept that this was real. Or it wasn't. I couldn't tell since I was the only one here. "Hello?" I yelled out, hoping that someone would reply. I was getting worried. Did I die and go to purgatory? I kept walking until I came to an archway connected to a castle. In the back of my mind, I probably shouldn't go in, but what's life, in this case, death, without a bit of risk, right?

I pulled the doors open, and a massive hallway awaited me. I felt the cold marble floors beneath my feet, and it dawned on me that I was barefoot. Through the bewilderment and amazement, I didn't take in what I was wearing. I wore a long white silk dress that perfectly hugged my curves as I examined myself. It was like the dress was designed specifically for me. My hair was hanging in loose curls, but the color was off. More vibrant than usual. And I raised my hand to my head and felt a tiara. I pulled it off my hair to take a look at it. I gasped as I saw all the tiny diamonds surrounding it and the giant silver diamond in the middle. How strange for me to be wearing a tiara fit for a princess or a queen. I shrugged the weirdness off and continued to walk down the hallway.

Moments later, I walked into a dining area with a long gorgeous table covered with food. Until now, I hadn't noticed how hungry I was until the smell of meat reached my nostrils, prompting me to almost run to the table. There were so many items in front of me that I couldn't believe them. Cakes, pies, ice cream, steak, chicken, ribs, potatoes, every kind of vegetable and fruit known to humanity, and every drink I ever liked was just there for my choosing. Come to think of it, everything on this table was made just for me. Or at least that was the feeling I got.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" I waited for a few moments before I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, I am going to start eating this food, so you better not mess with me about it," I yelled into the seemingly empty castle. My eyes wandered across the table as I bit down on my lips, struggling with the internal dilemma of eating all this food, knowing it might not even be meant for me. Pulling a chair from the table, I sat in it and started digging in. And the food was to die for. I wondered if someone might have set all this up to poison me. Or maybe I was already dead; this was my fat girl's heaven. Either way, I would die with a full stomach and a smile that would last a lifetime.

I mumbled as I stuffed a piece of apple pie with vanilla ice cream on top of it into my mouth. "Oh my God, this is delicious!" "Hmm, now this is heaven," I mumbled as I chopped off another piece of the pie.

"No, my beauty, I can assure you this is not heaven." A husky voice said from behind, causing the fork to freeze mid-air. I knew this voice, but it wasn't my mate's voice.

"Cal." I gasped as I turned around, staring at his effective brooding form and impossibly beautiful face. How can this guy be so dangerously sexy? I stared at him like a loon as he stalked toward me.

"You remember me, sweetheart." He laughed. "And here I thought I would be but a blip in existence to you." His cool breath fanned my face as he leaned in.

"Yes, I remember you. And I also remember your insane plan for supernatural domination. What are you doing here? My eyes narrowed in slits as I watched him sit directly across from me as if this was a casual dinner date.

His brown eyes stared at me, and I oddly thought of the earth. Beautiful. Warm. The way they shone reminded me of how the ground glittered when the first rays of the sun touched it.

"Correction, I didn't want supernatural domination. I wanted world domination. I am vastly inferior to anything on this earth aside from you." He leaned back in his chair and waved his arm before him, "And this is my home, Phoebe." The light danced off his pearly straight teeth as he gave me the most dangerously charming smile.

It didn't take long for me to notice that he called me 'Phoebe,' I couldn't deny that strange bubbling feeling in my stomach.

"It's not Phoebe anymore. It's Helena." I scoffed. "If this is your home, then why am I here? How did I get here?" My face undoubtedly showed my confusion as I remembered being with Elijah in the clearing. That was my last solid memory.

Cal poured himself a drink of wine and took a long sip as his eyes scrutinized me. It was like he was seeing me for the first time. And that look. Damn, that look made me weak in the knees for a second.

"It doesn't matter what name you choose to go by now. You will always be mine, my nameless girl. And I brought you here. Once I felt your power, it was effortless for me to connect to you." I gasped. "But I've felt you since your soul returned to this earth. But I needed to wait for you to obtain your memories." He sighed, taking another sip of his wine.

"I don't understand. Why would you bring me here? How in the world did you bring me here? Where is here?" I rambled off my questions as I crossed my arms across my chest, seething with rage.

"Relax, I don't want to harm you, Phoe-"

"Helena." I immediately interrupted him. For some reason, I only liked it when Elijah called me by my former name.

"Fine, Helena." His voice took on a more impatient tone. " I don't want to harm you, and I brought you here because I longed to see you." He leaned forward, and his elbows propped on the table's edge. "You're even more beautiful than I remember." His eyes burned into mine as he just stared at me.

" How did you bring me here, Cal?" I wanted answers to all my questions, and I refused to let his flattery deter me from getting them.

"When you drained those witches, that power elevated the link that ties you to me. So, I reached out to you while you were sleeping and brought your consciousness to me." A thoughtful look crossed his face. " You must have been in terrible danger if you killed someone." His voice was a little above a whisper.

I stilled at his words. The shame and guilt from those memories flooded my soul. You can't take back murder. How am I ever going to redeem myself? I'm a monster.

"You're not a monster, Helena. You did what anyone in your position would do, to stay alive at all cost." The sureness in his voice made me feel better.

"Oh my God, you can hear my thoughts too," I exclaimed as I realized I only thought I was a monster, and the words never left my lips.

"Of course, I can." He laughed.

"Well, dammit, how do I block you out?" I pouted as I had yet another man able to read my thoughts at his every whim.

"You will learn. It's nothing that one can teach." He was still laughing as I continued to glare at him.

If his laugh weren't so infectious, I would be even angrier than I currently was. He motioned to the food in front of me with a raised eyebrow. He was silently wondering why I had stopped eating.

"I'm not hungry anymore" My eyes stared at the table. "I suddenly lost my appetite." The guilt and the shame were still present, and my stomach felt like acid was churning.

" Why are you not angrier with me?" His eyebrows cocked up, " For someone that just learned their consciousness was ripped from their physical body and brought to the home of someone she doesn't particularly like, you're very calm.

As I looked at him. I, too, realized something.

" I'm safe with you." I smiled. 

Another chapter, my lovelies. Enjoy!!! And please vote and comment! Thanks