Orphaned from Love

Chapter 6

"But if you think there's any chance that I could make you happy, I wish you would let me try. Because it's the only thing I really want to do with my life." —Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where Are You

At the door, there were Ryker and another male. Their faces were twisted with fear.

"Jocelyn, are you okay?" The male cried. They ran into the room and went straight to us.

"Yeah. Me and Elva were just bonding." Jocelyn replied casually As the male hugs her.

Ryker is beside me. I can see his eyes turn from a gray to a black. How does his eyes do that?

"Then why were you sad?" The male asks, pulling away from the hug to look at her eyes.

"Uhhh... I just felt bad for her past." At this, they both got up and left the room.

Then I heard a low growl. I tensed at the sound.

"Why," Ryker muttered, "why did you tell her before me."

I turned to him to see he was looking straight at me.

"She asked." I say simply.

Anger bubbles behind those black eyes. Mates are suppose to tell each other first." He growls.

"Oh," guilt builds up in my chest, "I guess I'm not good at this mate stuff." Why was I paired with him? He deserves someone much better than me. Instead of a beautiful and loving woman, he got a disgusting and dumb mate. Question: what is a mate?

"What do you mean 'mate stuff?'" He curiously inquires.

"Well, I don't really know what a mate is or the stuff you do with a mate." I answer.

His face drops and the tension in the room starts to radiate with more energy.

"Okay," he sighs, "we'll start from where we left off. Are you a werewolf?" He looks at me with desperation. What would happen if I wasn't a werewolf?

"I guess so." I stutter.

"And what else?" He pushes. I can't seem to bring myself to tell him my secrets. But I can see with those pleading gray eyes, he's begging me to open up.

"Fae. And mermaid and vampire and witch." I rush out. There we go. I said it. Now what will become of this situation?

He stares at me for a few seconds before sitting down beside me on the bed. He wraps a tentative arm around my shoulders. I flinch at the movements causing him to hesitate before finishing.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered. He sounded like he was going to cry.

"What is there to be sorry for?" I ask. I'm really confused on to why someone would apologize for me being a hybrid.

"I should've found you sooner to get you out of there so you didn't have to suffer." He sobs. It hurts deep in me to see him like this. I feel a pull to nuzzle into him and whisper kind words to comfort him. But he is only a stranger. Am I in love?

"You didn't know." I whisper, leaning into him. I try to sound comfortable but it sounded like a insult.

"But I let you down. You've been stuck in that place and now my mate doesn't even know what a mate is because she was different." He's crying now and I feel a pain in my chest blossom.

"Hey, don't cry. Why don't you start by explaining to me what a mate is. We go from there and figure everything out." I assured him.

"Ok," he wiped his nose before continuing, "mates are when two souls are destined to be and love one another no matter what. They tell each other stuff and never harm one another." He explains this as if he rehearsed it.

"We are mates?" I question.

"Yes. Mates also feel a tug towards each other. Do you feel a tug or pull?" He queried.

"I feel something like I should be giving you love." The word felt foreign on my lips. It tasted like toxic waste melting into my brain. How am I suppose to show love if I never knew love?

"That's called a mate bond. Since we are mates, you feel a need to be with me. Same goes me, except mine is stronger since I'm a prince." He responds quietly, his voice barely audible. His hand starts to rub my arm and we stay like that for a few minutes before he lets go.

I almost let out a whine but remember what will happen if I do. No food for 1 week and chores for the rest of the month.

He opens a drawer in the nightstand and pulls out a hairbrush. It's a silver brush encrusted with gold details. Blue gems dot the hand and I can't help but stare in awe.

He sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Turn please." His voice is deep and sadness laced his words.

I turn inward so I'm sitting in the middle of the bed. I feel a gentle hand from behind delicately pick up a chunk of my hair. I flinch and he hesitates It's pulled down but after a few strokes, the brush glides through my hair.

He leaves that chunk and moves to the next section.

Minutes pass and we sit in a comfortable silence as he brushes out my hair. I hear a clink and shifting on the bed.

I can feel his hot breath against my neck. "You're so beautiful." He whispers. His arms come around me and I flinch. I can't think of anything as his strong arms embrace me from behind.

"N-no." I stutter as his arms tighten around me.

I couldn't breathe. My lungs compressed and my throat closed. I started gasping for air. I felt his arms rip away and he turned me around to face him. He placed his hands on my shoulders.

I was suffocating.

"Elva, your safe. Breathe. Please breathe." He desperately begged. When I still couldn't take in any air, he cursed.

Black dots where placed across my vision. I was fading into unconsciousness.

Before I was taken by the darkness, I heard the door slam open and the warmth from my shoulders leave.

Everything went black.