Bound

Time To Move On

I ran downstairs and put on my jacket. Then, I went outside and followed the path that Kai took through the woods. I went straight, avoiding any turns because, Lord knows what could be there. Then again, Kai might've taken a turn somewhere.

"Kai!" I called for him over and over again, but nothing worked.

"Kai, come back!" 

40 minutes later, my throat was hurting and I knew I'd lost my voice.

"Kai..." I said softly, unable to walk or call for him. I sat down by the nearest tree and sighed. I was lost, yet again, and I wasn't able to find him.

Just then, I heard a rustle in the woods. And then laughing. 

So much laughing. Like a child playing in the woods with their favourite toy.

I stood up, cold sweat beading on my forehead. "Who's there?" I called.

Then, the laughing turned deeper, more sinister, and it started to sound more like a grown man's laugh.

"Pining for your lost love, are we?" the voice said from the shadows, "Oh, I betcha he's gone far away from here. To Odetta Lake."

I gasped. Marina told me about the dark magic in that lake. It shows the most painful time of your life to you and keeps you trapped on its shore forever. 

If Kai went there, his wolf would've gone mad by now. Inner wolves are extremely emotion-regulated, but they tend to be sensitive with them every now and then.

And right now, he's been reminded of his ex-mate. If I don't calm him down, he could go crazy and start raging on innocent people.

"I don't have time for this right now!" I called back out. Then, a figure emerged from the shadows. Pale, tall.... with blood dripping from his mouth. Fangs out, coated with red.

"Vampires." I breathed. The man chuckled. 

"Your little Prince Charming misses Lina so much, Sophia Hayes." The man said, mocking my mate. 

"You shut up! Kai is nothing like that! He's strong, powerful and caring... once you get to know him, of course." I said. 

"I'm afraid he's painted that picture for himself because of the heartbreak Lina caused him. She cheated on him with his best friend, and then his assistant." The man said, "He hates you, because he's still holding on to Lina. And he doesn't want you to replace her."

For some reason, my heart ached at that. I didn't know why, but I was hurt that Kai still held on to Lina.

I charged at the vampire, catching him off guard by swerving right past him and running as fast as I could. I heard him faintly chuckle before in an instant, he was in front of me. I yelped and tried to stop, but fell to the ground, scraping my arm badly. Blood seeped through the scratch, and the man's eyes widened. 

"Shit." I muttered, quickly covering the wound with my jacket sleeve. The man snarled, and just as he was about to jump on me, I kicked him in the stomach. 

Blood makes vampires weak if they don't taste it right away. That makes it easier to run away. I gathered my energy and ran as fast as I could towards the shimmer of the lake under the moonlight. 

As I reached the shore, I collapsed, catching my breath from running so fast. I looked around for Kai, and I found him a few feet away from me, in his wolf form, staring into the lake. 

"No... he's been trapped." I mumble, more to myself than anything else. I walk over to him and gently touch his fur. It was soft to the touch. I tried my best not to look into the lake, but despite my efforts, I glanced at it briefly, but my vision shot right back to it when I saw a painful chapter of my life... one I never wanted to revisit. 

Daniel, and Haylee, my former co-worker, lying in bed together, the night that I caught them. 

It was our anniversary that day.... but, judging by how certain Daniel was I'd never find out, he'd been having an affair with her for a while. That's why he was cold and distant for the few weeks before the anniversary. 

"You're the only one I love," Daniel said in the reflection, snuggling to Haylee, "No one other than you."

Tears blurred my vision as the reflection continued playing, and soon, I appeared in the picture, opening the door, only to see the painful sight in front of me, as Daniel ad Haylee pulled away from each other. I was a year younger, and a year dumber. 

I was crying and ran out of there, getting into my car and driving off. 

And, then, the reflection started all over again, replaying the memory. I tried, but I just couldn't look away.

Arkane (Kai's) POV:

There she was. Lina, against the wall, pinned down by Flynn, my best friend. They were kissing, and then, the reflection showed me walking in on them. I clutched the flower I was holding in my hand and stormed out of the house, Lina calling after me. 

Flynn grabbed her and brought her back, kissing her again. 

Then, the vision time-lapsed to 3 weeks after, where I caught her again kissing my assistant. 

But, that time, I just scoffed and left, despite the pain in my heart. Then, before the reflection could repeat, I shut my eyes, looking away. 

Only to hear pain-filled sobs beside me. Sophia. She came to look for me....

I turned back into a human, crouching down next to my crying mate. 

"Sophia.... I had no idea." I whispered to her, holding her hand gently. I looked at her, but it did nothing, as she was still trapped and crying at the reflection. I stared at the vision being played. 

Since, it was Sophia's painful memory, I couldn't get trapped. That was the weak part of the lake's magic. 

"Sophia, If only I'd known, I'd have helped you...." I told her, then I closed my eyes, dreading the next words I was going to say, "It's time to move on." 

I got in front of Sophia, crouching down to her, and holding her hand with one of mine. I held her nape with the other. But, as I held her hand, I felt something wet running down it. I looked down and saw blood trickling down from her arm to her hand. "What did you get into this time?" I muttered, wiping it on my pant legs.

"Sophia." I called her name one more time and connected my forehead against hers, "Wake up."

She stopped crying and after a few seconds of silence, she held onto my shoulders, weakened by the lake's magic. 

Odetta Lake has a very heavy affect on humans, considering that they are more emotionally sensitive. So, the magic must've weakened her. She'll pass out of exhaustion soon.

"Kai... you should really take your own advice." she said, lying down into my arms. 

"Yeah. I should." I said to her as she began to fall asleep, "Let's go home."

I picked her up, and carried her all the way back home. But, on the way home, I could smell the stench of a vampire that had been here. And a faint sliver of Sophia's scent as well.