Mated To Him

Forty Three

Chapter 43

"What do you mean you can't find a trace?" Zaccheus growled, his eyes shining golden iris as his voice was deep. His beasts were awakened.

With every passing minute, he could notice himself getting crazier, and he ran his fingers through his tangled hair as he tugged the edge, getting frustrated.

Three days.

Three days. Seventy-two hours. Four thousand, three hundred and twenty minutes. Two hundred and fifty-nine thousand, two hundred seconds since his mate had disappeared in thin air.

The weather had been changing from rainy to thunderstorm, and he was feeling immense sadness and anger. He didn't even have the time to worry about the people.

When they arrived at the cottage, everything had been burnt down, and nothing could be found at the scene except the faint smell of teleport magic in the air. His heart thumped in its ribcage as the blood left his legs, making them tremble tremendously and fall to his knees. His eyes were vacant as he stared at the burnt cottage in denial.

"Nadazhda!" he shouted, his voice dropping its emotions. His eyes searched for anything frantically as he howled, raw, anguished in his voice as other beings turned their head away before Alec told him to pull himself together for his mate.

He tapped his fingers on his table anxiously, waiting for a report. Destiny's body couldn't be found, but it was sure that she wasn't dead because the bond of the triplet was still there.

Destiny, Nadazhda, Avivit and Zeke were missing under his nose, under his rule, and he was unable to find any leads to save them.

"All these mysteries lead to one revelation," Alec said while Zaccheus grunted.

No one could understand what he was feeling, and no one could understand the hole in his heart. The darkness whispering to him, he loathed himself as he blamed himself for the disappearance of his loved ones.

Why? His mate and baby were missing. His cousin, everything was woven so well that he didn't notice anything. He was caught unaware of everything. He thought he was the King in the game of cheese while others were pawns but not, his Queen was missing, and he became a pawn in some other game.

If anything happened to Nadazhda and their baby, he didn't think he would be able to forgive himself. He would rather kill himself than bring her any discomfort.

"My King!" a guard rushed in, holding an envelope as he bowed, pushing forward the envelope. "This arrived now through the crow," the guard said, waiting for the King.

Zaccheus was jolted from his thoughts as he rubbed his eyes, tired. He had had a wink of sleep since her disappearance. Why would he even sleep or eat when he didn't know the condition of his mate?

"Oh," he let out, collecting the envelope from the guard and waved his hand, dismissing him as he looked at the envelope, feeling a deja vu. He had received an envelope like this before, which wasn't good then.

He looked at Alec at the envelope before sighing, and with a zap of magic, the envelope opened. A brown paper was folded neatly inside, and he brought it out. He opened it, and a piece of hair and nail fell.

"An eye for an eye. A mate for a mate." The paper read with blood which wasn't to be mistaken as ink. He let out a domineering growl as he picked the hair on the floor, which he knew was his mate's hair from the scent and colour. The glasses and chandeliers shattered as the thunder rumbled scarily.

The paper caught fire immediately in his hand as he closed his eyes, his hands clenched in anger. Nadazhda, his mate, was in pain. Mere thinking about it made his heart constrict frenziedly as his breathing was coming in short pants.

"Calm down, son."

A cool breeze entered the room, and the voice was calm and serene, making everything relaxed. The anger and pain Zaccheus was feeling vanished away as he opened his eyes and saw Oracle.

"You came," the word came out in disbelief as she stared at one of the deities who went hidden.

Oracle was the deity of yin yang (balance), her white cloak, which covered all her face, so only her mouth could hardly be seen, was made of fine silk, and her white hands held her rod tightly.

"Yes, son." her rod left a tapping sound as she moved closer, "your cries are getting ugly," she joked, flickered her finger, and Destiny walked in with a white bag.

"I heard you have a mate." She dragged a seat and made herself comfortable as she collected the bag from Destiny and rummaged through it before bringing out an apple and taking a big bite. "Congratulations," she munched the apple as she savoured the juice.

"Wise man," she pointed at Alec, "What are you looking at to make everything so messed up like this!" she reprimanded. After eating, she threw the crumb away, bending down dramatically as she took the hair and stared at it long before gesturing to destiny.

"Form a formation," she ordered. The balance of the world has been disrupted after giving a warning for the child to be cautious, but all went on deaf ears.

Time, Fate and Destiny drew the array as Oracle put the hair in the middle, muttered some spells under her breath, and the array resonated around the room.

"Your mate is closer than you think," she said, "the tip of the air is pointing to the North, so your mate is kept in the North. Go save her before it's too late," she mumbled. Standing up from the seat, holding the staff, she raised her head, looking at Zaccheus.

Zaccheus shivered from her white pupil-less eyes, feeling them holding him up, "this is all I can do to help you," she murmured, "I am not supposed to interfere in this world's affairs, but I've woven myself in it, at the moment I sent the ghost to warn you."

Zaccheus nodded his head in understanding, cupping his hands in respect and gratitude to the Oracle for giving them the way.

"Thank you,"

"Don't thank me until your mate is safe."

Before he knew it, the Oracle had disappeared into their midst. And immediately, Zaccheus ordered the warrior to get ready for battle.

He picked his mate's hair on the ground, kissed it from Goodluck and kept it in his pocket. There was no time to waste anymore.

He mind-linked the mages among the warriors to draw an enormous teleport array to take them to their destination. He'd had a feeling since the moment the hair pointed to the North. He hadn't visited the North House since that day.

He had roughly guessed the culprit, but he shook the suspicion from his mind as he took his army to the house.

"It was time to revisit old memories and settle an old grudge."