The overwhelming heat brought me back to life. I listened out to hear my brother and mum sleeping near me. After 18 years you can really recognise their patterns. I heard a door open and shut before some shuffling and then voices.
"Her temperature is almost back to normal, and her wolf is awake. The next thing is for her to wake up, food and then she's all good to go home."
My mum thanked the man before walking over to me. When she grabbed my hand, I turned my head and slowly opened my eyes.
"Esme? Oh, thank god." I tried to talk but she shut me down before getting my brother to pass her a glass of water. I drank it graciously before sitting up.
"What happened?" I asked whilst rubbing my eyes.
"I was going to ask you the same thing! We couldn't find you and then the hospital phoned saying someone found you naked in the woods freezing to death. What were you doing out there?" Her voice was laced with anger, but her face showed concern.
"I can't explain it, mum." I muttered before looking over to Seb trying to plead with him.
He walked over and pulled mum away before they both excused themselves. I slouched and groaned when the memories flooded back. Orion is my mate. Shit.
Mum returned soon after with some dinner which I graciously accepted and scoffed down. once I finished, Mei entered the room running up to me and hugging me.
"Oh, Esme I was so worried about you. One minute you were by my side, then the next I found my mate and then you were gone. Your car was gone, and I couldn't track your scent. It was awful."
"Wait you found your mate? Who is it?" she blushed for a minute before turning and ushered someone through the door.
The moon goddess has a funny way of blessing one person and being a bitch to another.
"Sebastian?" I gasped as he wrapped his arm around Mei's waist.
"Yeah. What are the chances?" They both giggled like starstruck lovers, and I wanted immediately to wake up from this bad dream.
"What are the chances?" I muttered.
"What?" Mei asked turning to me.
"Congratulations!" I expressed, hiding all the ugly emotions that invaded my head.
Mate is here. I straightened myself up as Orion walked through the door. Mei didn't bow and the three of them began talking as if I wasn't even in the room.
He found you. Saved you.
Orion asked them to leave, and they walked out. I could see mum talking to a doctor and signing what was hopefully my papers to leave.
"My wolf tells me you brought me here." I said to him.
"Did you expect me to leave you to die?" His face was blank. No emotion. His features were hard and stern but what gave it away was his eyes. The green speckles in a sea of brown held worry.
"I hardly know you." I got up out of the bed and began to flick through a bag left on the seat with some normal clothes.
"Esmerelda." I turned to him as he walked towards me.
"Please just reject me. I can't silence my wolf anymore." I whispered with my head to the floor.
"I can't. I'm too weak to do that." I looked up at him and cocked my head to one side.
"If anything, that decision makes you so much stronger."
When he didn't say anything, I turned and placed different outfits on the bed. I pondered between black jeans and a light purple top or a dark auburn dress.
"Pick the purple. It looks good on you." He spoke and as I looked up, he was gone.
I picked up the outfit and changed in the bathroom. When I returned, mum was waiting with a pair of shoes and told me we could leave.
"You gave us quite a fright, Esme. I panicked when I couldn't find you." Mum spoke as we drove down the street back home.
"I'm truly sorry. I just panicked that's all. People were finding their mates and I didn't feel anything, so I just left." I felt bad lying to her, but Orion hadn't established anything when he saw me. He wasn't going to reject me at this moment but what of a relationship?
"Okay, well I'm glad you're okay. Next time, send me a text so I know where you are." I nodded as we pulled into the driveway.
I walked inside the house and went straight to my room quickly shutting my door when I heard Mei's giggling from Seb's room. It made me gag just a little bit but mostly I was jealous. The ugliest emotion. I faceplanted my bed, screaming into the pillow trying to relieve any sort of stress but it wouldn't work.
Eventually, I turned over and began to watch the tv show I had watched close to a million times: The Office (U.S). I sat watching as Pam began falling for Jim and watched as he treated her like she was made of pure gold.
I had never thought about having a mate but at that moment, I couldn't think of anything I wanted more. I didn't just want him, I needed him. Werewolves began heavily attached to their mates and with separation, it only grew worse. It was an unbearable force you couldn't just forget. There was nothing I could do to distract myself as it rooted itself in every corner of my brain. It was like there was a ball of string from my heart to my head with a million knots in it.
I stood from my bed and walked downstairs into the garden. As I went to strip off my clothes, someone coughed behind me.
"There is no way you're going out there again."
"Thanks, Seb but I don't need to be babysat. I just need to let off some steam."
"Fine. Don't close off your scent this time. I can't find you otherwise."
"You can't but Mei can. She is just as good at tracking as I am. I'll be back in an hour or so."
He nodded and I took off my clothes and pulled my wolf forward, my paws thumping on the ground.
Oh, and congrats on finding your mate. I couldn't ask for a better sister-in-law. His face lit up and I ran off.
My wolf sprinted through the woods straight towards the lake where we always went. I knew the route like the back of my hand as we jumped over fallen trees and slid underneath low branches. As I jumped over one of the last trees, a heavy weight knocked me sideways.
I turned to see a black blur in front of me. I became defensive, growling until Orion strutted from behind a hedge. His wolf was black all over and massive. He was after all an alpha. With full control, my wolf almost leapt at the chance to be close to him and began rubbing herself against me.
Quit it! I tried to tell her, but it only made her continue. She then began licking his snout which you could tell he was enjoying as he closed his eyes and lowered his ears. His wolf then licked my wolf's snout and head before he walked off.
When he returned, Orion was stood now dressed in shorts with a dress in his hand. He placed it on the ground and began walking towards the lake. I watched as he sat down, waiting for me.
I pulled my human forward and changed quickly before sitting beside him.
"You can feel it too, huh?" I asked even though I knew the answer.
"I never thought it would feel like this. It's so different from what I imagined. Sienna told me all about the bond with her mate and I can only imagine what it would be like to lose that... to lose you."
"Sienna? That's the woman you're marrying on Saturday, right? I think I saw her at the Ball."
He nodded and looked down before looking at me.
"She described to me how it felt to lose her mate and to be honest I couldn't begin to imagine her pain but now I know what she must feel every day."
"Don't marry her." I spoke but was surprised by my bluntness. Standing up, I walked to the edge of the lake.
"Esmerelda, it's not that simple." I nodded, knowing it never was. He whispered softly behind me, "Please look at me."
I couldn't. I didn't want to see those eyes as I broke inside.
He sighed and stepped back. I listened as his steps got more distant and began to cry. The tears fell slowly one by one until it was like a waterfall.
Sparks flew through my body as Orion appeared in front of me. He pulled me close and let me cry in his arms. Rubbing my back and head, he tried to soothe me.
"Esmerelda, I can't watch you cry." He put both his hands on my cheeks.
"I can't go on like this. I can't watch you marry someone else. I can't pretend that I haven't found my mate whilst I watch my brother and my best friend fall deeply for each other. It hurts everywhere, Orion. I can't."
With that, he kissed me. It was sudden but I let him. His lips were soft against mine and I found myself kissing him back. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his traced my curves to my hips. Sparks exploded in every cell of my body, creating pure euphoria.