A Hybrid's Hunger

Chapter 45

Chapter 45

"Aurora," I hear a voice in the distance and it forces me to flinch at first. My heightened senses catch Estella's voice but it takes me a moment to realize she isn't close. She's far from here, but she's looking for me. "Aurora." She repeats again.

I take my hand away and shut it into a fist. Barely any blood makes it through Zade's mother. I don't know if she'll wake up from it, or if she needs more. I don't know anything. I sit back on the ground and wait. A few seconds pass by and nothing changes on her face.

Estella continues looking for me and when she realizes I'm not in my room, she's going to get the entire house searched, but first the tower which is going to give me a few more minutes to wait here and see if anything changes.

A minute passes by. I'm taut as a wire, watching and hoping for the slightest change, the smallest breath, from Zade's mother.

The silence stretches until there's a sudden movement. Her eyes open, wide and they are red. A gasp stifles it's way out of my throat as I find her waking up. My heartbeat races like it never has.

Her eyes meet mine, and there's no mistaking the predatory flash that crosses them. But the hunger is fleeting, it goes away as quickly as it comes.

"Aurora," Her lips part and she takes my name. She knows me. "What are you doing here?"

My mind races for a suitable response, one that isn't jumbled with all the words that are going to spill out of me. I take a second and inhale sharply.

"I—"

She stops me before I can even say anything. "Where's your mother?"

I don't respond to that. Frankly, I don't know how to. She studies me for a long, silent beat before sitting up. Her brows furrow. I move back from the casket, a little scared of what I might've done.

Her eyes dart away from me and over to the casket behind me.

"Where's your mother, Aurora?" she asks me again, this time in a voice that's more deeper and raspier.

"She's at home." I say, confused.

"Home?" She repeats the word in far more concern than I'm in. "That cannot be. If you're here, then something must be terribly wrong."

She goes into another haze, a moment of untapped silence. Her eyes finally begin to change color, turning black as she regains her life. The color of her skin changes ever so slightly, turning a bit warm. The silence is unbearable, but I don't think I've the words to ask her anything.

My thoughts are lost, lost in this place, in this world. It's so different than mine.

"Give me your hand." She finally breaks the silence and says.

I stand up from the ground and give her my hand. She takes it and brings herself up on her feet. My hand trembles a little under hers. She looks different from what I've seen moments ago. She's alive.

She studies my open palm for a moment, her gaze landing on the cut that I made to wake her. My pulse quickens and I pull away from her hold.

"Don't do that again," She tells me, her tone laced in a warning. "Ever."

I nod, listening to her.

She traces her fingers over the casket next to hers, the one I haven't dared to open. It is where Zade's father lies, and he was mortal, which means he'd dead in comparison to his mother.

I swallow hard, taking another step back, giving her the room to breathe, if breathing is what she does now. She closes her eyes for a moment and taps on the casket twice before turning to me. Her hand moves away from the casket and so she does.

She nears me and then past me. "Come," she instructs, walking towards the door. I follow her out, stepping from a room that I was never meant to be in yet it seems so tied to my fate.

The door clicks shut behind us. Her eyes roam around, taking in her surroundings and everything that's here. I stand where I am and wait for her to gain control of herself. Being woken up after years is surely going to leave someone tired for a while.

"Where's Zade?" She asks me as if I know.

I shrug, "I don't know. He went somewhere—"

"Did you come here by yourself?"

My brows collect over my forehead. I glance behind at the room of where she had been lying a few moments ago and then nodded, "Yes."

"Not to me, Aurora," She pauses, her eyes narrowing as she studies me again. "Here. In this house. Why did you come here? How did you—I took your memories, you're not meant to remember anything which means you didn't come here by yourself. You were bought here and let me assume it was my son who did this." I'm not sure if she's calculating what's happening or if she's telling me what has already happened.

"You took my memories?" My voice trembles, "Why?" I didn't even think for once that it was someone else who had taken my memories and not Zade. The entire night and morning I thought that he might've done something to me and then taken the memory of himself from my mind.

His mother sighs softly at my question. Her eyes lose their earlier intensity, softening into a tender gaze. "I did it to protect you. And Zade. Your mother believed it was best if you had forgotten everything about us." She explains to me, but it's not enough.

My mother?

I open my mouth and try to find the words, but I'm speechless. My thoughts spiral.

"Why?"

"You were children and there's a lot that happened. I took your memories so you won't come back here, so you would have forgotten all that had happened, so you'd be safe wherever you were. But I—" she steps back from me. Her face fills with tension, worry. "Zade had sworn to never bring you here or see you again. You're the future I dared not to see, Aurora. So, what happened?"

Her question hangs in the air. 'What happened?'

I look into her eyes and suddenly I'm overwhelmed. I'm overwhelmed by the truth that my entire life, as I've known it, is nothing but a lie.

"I've been here for months..." I trail off, my voice breaking under the strain of my confusion. "He's my mate."

Her eyes widen; her face drains of color as if every drop of blood has suddenly disappeared. Everything stills as if none of this is meant to be, as if I'm never meant to be Zade's mate.

"Months." She whispers as if she's speaking to herself.

"I've been looking for you everywhere," Estella makes her way into the dark hallway but she halts on her steps when she finds me. Her gaze flickers to Zade's mother and she takes her name in a gasp. "Martha."

"Estella," she turns to her and says softly. "Where is he?"

Estella hesitates, she collects her hands together in the front and narrow her head slightly. "He's outside, attending a meeting with the district vampires."

"And where have you been?"

"Here."

"I told you, Estella. If there was any danger, you should've woken me."

"There was no danger and Zade told me there was no need—"

Martha cuts her off before she's done. "That is because Zade is out of his mind and has been for a while now. I entrusted you to wake me when it was needed and you should've done that months ago." Her voice remains gentle, soft.

Estella doesn't says anything. She's a little scared herself, but I don't know why. I've heard them talk, she and Zade, plenty of times and whenever they mentioned Martha, it had been out of fear.

Did I do something terrible by waking her up?

"A bag of blood if all that I need from you right now, Estella. And inform me if my son returns."  

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