Unknown Factors (Book One)

Ch.117: When asked

  Not even a minute after I had stepped onto the beach was I grabbed and dragged back toward the treeline. My head whipped around to look, and I saw Jugar with a stern expression as he firmly held onto my bicep. For some reason, he looked displeased, angry even, as he was staring down at me.

  "What?" I quirked up a brow, and Jugar huffed through his nose.

  "Why the fuck does that vampire have your scent all over him?" He was practically growling as he spoke lowly, and I felt my ears turn back as I cleared my throat. "And why....do you reek of arousal?" 'Guess we should have stayed in the river longer....'

  "About that....um, so apparently....he's my mate."

  "What?!" Jugar bared his teeth, hissing as he spoke, and my tail twitched.

  "He's my mate."

  "Nonnomen, how could you pair with some stranger?! Of all the suitors on the island, you choose him?!"

  "I didn't! We were mated before I even came here! Jugar, what's gotten into you?"

  "How do you know he didn't lie to you? Fuck, do you not realize what you've done?! You don't know him, Nonnomen. You have none of your memories!" Snatching my arm from the larger Ustrina's grip, I flashed my fangs at him.

  "My name is Aud, Jugar! And you don't know him- I may not remember anything, but the bond was there. He didn't lie to me."

  "Oh, your name is Aud, now, is it? You've been Nonnomen for the past year, and suddenly, when these strangers show up, you're already turning your back on it and all of us?" He growled and my tail swayed with agitation.

  "I'm not turning my back on anything. Will you just listen to me? William is my mate, and that didn't just happen, he didn't trick me, he didn't lie. Ever since he got here, I've been feeling the bond. I can't deny the truth- Sure, I didn't know that it was the mate bond I was feeling at first, but I know now. He's my mate, Jugar. Whether you like it or not, what's done is done."

  "He's not even our kind! He's from another world! He's weak!" Jugar waved his hands, and my ears flicked forward.

  "Who cares what he is, and how do you even know he's weak?"

  "For one, he's tiny. Two, he's a vampire- whatever the fuck that is. Third, he burns. Fourth-"

  "So you're just assuming and stereotyping." I crossed my arms, and Jugar looked at me like I was stupid.

  "You can't call him your mate if he's not even your mate."

  "But he is!"

  "Not."

  "And why is that?" I growled, and the Ustrina bared his teeth.

  "He's unworthy. He has no clan marks, no symbols of status. He's given no display, and he's not an Ustrina Augendae."

  "But he is my mate. Jugar, he's a good man-"

  "You don't even know that!" He hissed, waving his arm towards the beach. "You have no memory of anything before here-"

  "Say what you will, it doesn't matter either way. Even if he wasn't my mate before, he is now without a doubt. The bond has been established and fortified." Jugar's shoulders tensed now that I had actually admitted to having sex with William. I could understand why Jugar was so upset- he was trying to protect me, and he knew absolutely nothing about these newcomers.

  The large Ustrina spun on his heel and went down the beach, going straight for one of the bonfires.

  "Shit!" I hissed under my breath, seeing that he was going right for William. The blond didn't even have time to really process what happened after Jugar grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. Quiet spread from the fire outwards as the blond went down after Jugar had punched him.

  The music even died out from the shock and turning heads- Jugar was displaying aggressive body language as he looked down at the vampire. William spit blood into the sand before looking up at the larger man towering over him.

  "Ah, I know that posture. So, what'd I do to piss you off, mate?" He hopped to his feet, touching his busted lip with gentle fingers, and it took everything I had not to attack Jugar after seeing the blond bleeding. Jugar, instead of answering, swung for the vampire again, and to everyone's surprise, the hit missed.

  William chuckled after bouncing back to avoid being punched again. Something glinted in his eyes as his tongue ran over his bottom lip, and Jugar went for the blond again. The vampire....he moved in a way similar to the way I did when fighting, taking Jugar by surprise. However, the vampire wasn't as fast or as strong as me, so it didn't take long for his combat advantage to disappear against the full-blooded Ustrina.

  The blond held his own fairly well, but it wasn't enough against this demon, and I intervened, tackling Jugar to the sand while baring my teeth. The cluster of Ustrina Augendae around us were shocked even more by my behavior, and Jugar looked me dead in the eye.

  Jugar wasn't going to fight me. He may be stronger and faster, but my skills trumped both of those things. And after seeing Spike fight, I now knew my odd fighting style came from the other world.

  "Nonno-"

  "Aud." I corrected, my face firm, and Jugar glanced at William as the blond was spitting blood into the sand.

  "Aud. I just want you safe." He mumbled low, and my tense shoulders relaxed. Sighing through my nose, my harsh gaze softened.

  "I know, Jugar. But you need to trust me. Give him a chance."

~

  My tail slowly swayed as my legs dangled over the edge of the tree branch. Light was creeping into the sky, bright reds and oranges slowly pushing the dark of night back as I had my attention on the necklace I had with me when I landed on the beach here. It had a large red stone with a golden chain, and it had been the only thing I really had left from the other world.

  Birds were chirping in the trees, and I was tempted to wake William to ask him about the pendant. Staying where I was instead, I'd just wait until he came walking out onto the branch. It was getting brighter and brighter, and slowly the others were beginning to wake up and go about their daily routines.

  "Hey, Aud!" Looking up, I saw Willow smiling down at me before her face suddenly fell, and she got closer to my side. "Aud, where did you get that?"

  "This? Why?"

  "I'm pretty sure this is how you got here." The redhead pointed at the pendant, and I quirked up a brow. "It's-It's magical. It lets you travel between worlds and dimensions." She started smiling again. "Aud, we can go home sooner than we thought."

  "But...." She saw my expression and placed a hand on my shoulder.

  "Look, this means you can go home. It also means you can come back whenever you want. As long as you have this pendant, you can come and go between here and there as you please."

  "Are you serious?"

  "All you have to do is think about where you want to go."

  "That's....That's it?"

  "That's it. Everyone's going to be so happy to see you again." Willow chuckled. "And this means you don't have to leave all of this and Jugar for good." She waved her hand to the pendant, then to the village.

  "I'd like that." I mumbled, running my thumb over the red stone. "I know you keep calling the other world my home but....this is my home. It's all I know."

  "We'll get your memories back. It'll all work out."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Aud, I know you. You always make it through things no matter what."