Her Captor, His Mate

The snowy white ground was covered with blood, as the snowstorm brewed with lightning. I stood shaking as the wolves had narrowed to where my father knelt, covering his bleeding wound on his stomach as he tried to fight them off.

“Freya, run! Get out of here, Freya!” my father screamed bloody murder as the wolves surrounded us, baring his vampire fangs to hiss and trying to scare them from looming further around us.

“Run, Freya!”

“Father, I can’t! I can’t leave you!”

*

*

“Freya! Wake up!”

A voice screeched, rousing me up from my nightmare. My body dripped with cold sweat as I took in my surroundings. I was in my room, safe.

I held onto my blanket with a silent prayer as I heard the door jiggle, hoping that the person would go away, but they didn’t.

The door opened up for me to meet the gaze of Claudia, my stepsister. I pulled the blanket from my covered face to see her scowling as she leaned on the door. She was already dressed and up for the coven meeting, wearing a pastel green gown and boots that matched her tone. She looked pretty, even though she was more like a devil in disguise. It irked me that no one saw her for who she was… I hated that.

“I’ll be right down,” I spoke softly. Her blue eyes rolled in annoyance as she pushed her blonde locks that sat on her shoulder. She was blessed with such golden features that had men fawning over in the coven.

I wasn’t, because I wasn’t her real sister. I was adopted by Julian, her father, who was the current coven leader. My father was coven leader of the vampires before he died, or before I killed him. That was all I was ever told, that I killed him, even though I don’t remember much about the incident, just waking up to see him dead, his body sprawled next to mine that night.

I am nineteen now, and I have yet to see any of my vampire powers or fangs appear, and the oldest age to present was eighteen. The coven saw me as the freak, and Claudia loved that.

Her father loved it more, that I was weak. By birthright, I was to be the coven’s next leader, but I had no power to call my own. I was pathetic in his eyes, and it held so many emotions, that he was hoping I may get lost or something worse happens to me so he could give his daughter the position. That was why he adopted me, to get the position of the coven leader.

I rushed into the bathroom to freshen up, taking a look at my figure in the mirror. I was blessed with green eyes I had gotten from my mother, who passed when I was born, and my light brown curls from my father. My hands traced up to the tattoo imprinted behind my nape that was shaped like the crescent half-moon.

I had it since the day I was born. My father had told me to cover it, that he would explain to me when I was older what it was, but that day never came. He warned me that no one should see it, and I’ve used turtleneck gowns and my hair to cover it ever since.

My hand traced the moon-shaped imprint. It felt like a thrumming shock anytime I touched it, like I was being called to something… someone.

*

I dressed up in a baby blue pastel large turtleneck top with pants and black boots before I left the room a few minutes later and walked to the coven's main hall where meetings took place.

My head still thrummed in pain from the nightmare. I don’t know, but my body felt unusually hot. I walked up the small hill. The old, beautiful building made by our elders still stood strong.

I got a few looks as I entered, but nothing I wasn’t already used to. They always whispered about when my ‘powers’ would kick in or if I was even a vampire.

“Everyone settle down!” Julian commanded. He sat down on his large chair that was almost like a throne. I was still a part of the family, so I had to sit closer, two chairs apart from him, while Claudia sat beside him and her mother Carissa, who was non-existent in my life and who I barely talked to. I was just seen as a nobody living in the same house.

The whole hall quieted down, and all their attention was now on him, which he nodded in pride and acknowledgment.

“As you all know, the full moon will be upon us this night, and we do not want anything or anyone to go out or trespass their lands,” he warned. Everyone’s eyes unconsciously turned to me when he said that.

It was not surprising or news to anyone that wolves had attacked me when I wandered into their territory, and my father fought, died, and protected me. It was my fault, and the stares made me squirm in my seat. With the side of my eyes, I caught a happy-looking Claudia who didn’t even reprimand anyone, and by my left, I saw familiar eyes looking at me. It was Alaric.

A strong vampire and one of the coven’s prided warriors and joys, but no one knew what he was to me, what we were when no one was looking.

After the meeting, I didn’t bother greeting anyone as I wandered to the hilly forest, where was my secret spot.

I couldn’t help the tears slip as I thought of that day. That day still haunted me, the wolves who had ambushed me and almost killed me, but my father didn’t hesitate in attacking, killing, for me.

I heard a twig break as I lunged up in a defense position to see it was Alaric, who put his hands up in surrender to show he wasn’t a threat. “Hey,” he called quietly as he walked to me.

He didn’t ask me why I cried, and I didn’t say a word, neither did I talk about the ever-present nightmare that haunted me.

I needed the comfort and a distraction, so I didn’t stop him when he pushed me to the tree and his lips met roughly on mine.

Tasting me, caressing my skin, under the nightly shade of the tree, no one knew about their proud warrior who had been fooling around with me for over six months, that when no one was looking, we touched and kissed each other in the dark.

His hands had moved to my waist, and his lips were still on mine as he unbuttoned my black pants. I couldn’t breathe, just wanted to be intoxicated by him until I couldn’t think of anything. His other hand had moved to the back of my nape. His cold hands brushed over that tattoo, but it didn’t feel good. His touch felt like hot molten lava on my skin. I did the only thing my instinct knew, as my body immediately lurched in shock.

I screamed.