Mates. They were supposed to be a match made by the Wolf Goddess, a person made for him, perfect for him and he hadn't pictured anyone else but Lara. Besides, if there were any species that he hated more than the vampires, it was humans. The scars on his body and mind were witness to the atrocious levels these humans could stoop to, his childhood, his life was ruined because of them. How was he supposed to spend an entire lifetime with someone he hated?
His senses had to be playing tricks with him, Kai had been injured, he was exhausted and maybe his brain was sending the wrong signals in his body? Because not only was his mate a male, which was absolutely shocking for Kai; but he was a human who knew nothing about their world. This was too paradoxical to even consider. In all the years of his existence, a wolf having a human mate was unheard of, yet the pull he felt in his heart was undeniable.
He remembered the members of their pack narrating how it felt when they found their mate; how it wiped out everything in their mind for a moment and all they could feel was the tug at their heart, and he was feeling the said 'pull' right now. For an itsy-bitsy moment, he forgot all about Lara, his previous life, and his identity itself as if every fiber of his body was focused on the stupid little human in front of him. His primal instincts as a wolf were dying to take over, making his eyes glow red. He had a strong impulse to shift and surrender himself to his mate but the scream pulled him out of his trance. Why the hell is he screaming like a banshee now?
Kai took a step towards him but the human fell off the chair in his attempt to move away, his heartbeat erratic.
"Y-your eyes… your eyes are red" the boy pointed a finger at him and Kai realized his eyes must be glowing red right now since he discovered his mate. He took a deep breath to calm down and blinked his eyes rapidly, hoping the red would fade away. He couldn't reveal what he was to a human, never.
"Still in the dreamland?" Kai asked and kept a straight face, hoping he would take this as a misunderstanding in his sleepy state.
"Huh?" he rubbed at his eyes while Kai frowned and crossed his arms on his chest.
He turned in the direction of the door when he picked up a few footsteps coming their way. More humans? Kai groaned internally, having one bomb dropped on him was enough already. He could only handle much. The door slammed open and two boys walked in; one look at the blood still flowing from Kai's forearms from the shards of glass and at their friend who was now on the floor looking scared had them assuming the worst. The bigger one of them wasted no time in rushing forward with his hand balled into a fist, a punch that Kai dodged effortlessly.
'Humans and their slow reflexes.' he thought
"You freak! What did you do to him?" the man screamed, attempting to punch Kai again but he caught it midair. A slight push from him had the man falling to the floor. The other one who was checking up on his mate cursed loudly and ran toward him. Caught off guard, Kai had no time to move away and felt a hard punch land on his face. He stumbled back, fuming; a growl left his mouth as he swiftly grabbed the man's arms and headbutt him. The man groaned and struggled to get out of his hold but Kai held him firmly. Just a little more pressure could break his bones, Kai tried hard to reign in his anger, he cannot risk to reveal his true self.
"Stop please" His mate called out, voice laced with worry that made Kai look up at him. "I said stop! Jake back off" He said, walking towards them and pulling the man by his shirt. Kai released his hold on the man, his anger simmered down from the look of distress on his mate's face.
"What did he do to you Endy?" the man asked, glaring daggers at Kai.
"Nothing. You guys misunderstood, he just startled me when I woke up. Now go off and get us all some breakfast, I'll be down in a few"
"But-"
"No but's, off you go"
Kai watched as his mate pushed his friends out of the room, noticing how short the human was, compared to him, frowning when he found that endearing somehow. He groaned and plopped down on the bed, picking at the shards that had got stuck in his arms. His emotions were all over the place, he was pushing through a heartbreak yet at the same time he couldn't deny the relief he felt on knowing he had a mate. But having a human mate, someone who could easily deny him without knowing the consequences of what it can do to a wolf angered him. His life was on a dangerous edge right now, one wrong move could push him into a pit of misery.
There was some shuffling as his mate opened the covers on the window to let the light in while Kai kept his focus on his injury. The scent of wild honeysuckle surrounded him as his mate approached in, and sat down on the floor in front of him. Despite being annoyed, Kai breathed it in, hating how the scent calmed his nerves, another proof that yes, this was his mate.
"Hey," He said, blue orbs glancing up at Kai through raven black curls and long lashes. "Let me help you with that" He turned to one of the drawers to get the things he needed while Kai's eyes trailed his every movement. He was slender and had smooth alabaster skin that Kai found attractive. He shook his head, what was he even doing? His mind and body were contradicting, as a wolf, he felt a natural attraction despite the fact that his mate was a human and a man. But at the same time, that tiny voice in his mind was screaming at him to get out and away from the human, this wasn't right, it had to be some huge mistake.
"I'm sorry, my friends didn't mean to hit you," he peeked at Kai as he rummaged through the contents to take out the things he needed.
"Then they shouldn't have" Kai rolled his eyes, this species, and the vampires had such a confusing way of talking. They were cunning and devious, their words often contradicted their actions and you could never tell what was going on in their minds.
For a moment, his mate paused, mouth opening to say something, but he didn't. Instead, he took out a tiny metal object and moved closer, his hands hovering over Kai's own as if asking for permission. Kai didn't know what this human was gonna do, will he cause him pain?
"There's no need, it'll heal" Kai shook his head, he had to remove those shards before the healing process of his body began but he'd rather have them stuck inside his skin than let a human touch him. He had had enough, his life was a mess already, and this whole human mate situation knocked his whole world off the axis.
"It will heal only if you allow it to heal, you don't want those shards stuck in your skin" his mate spoke in a soft voice. Kai stared at him, despite his resentment, he found himself extending his hand for the human to clean the wound. Human or not, that was his mate and wolves were practically impotent when it came to them.
The latter gave him a small smile, gentle fingers wrapped around his wrist to hold them firm as he began to pluck out the shards from his skin.
"My name is Ender" he spoke after a few moments of silence, "What's your name?"
"Kai" he answered after a while, still confused as to why the human was treating him kindly. Weren't they supposed to hate 'freaks' like him? Or maybe he was behaving nicely just because he thought Kai was a fellow human.
Ender looked at him as if expecting him to say some more but continued to talk when he didn't, "When I found you, for a moment I thought you were dead. You were covered in mud, there were traces of dried blood in it and we thought you must be severely injured."
"I won't go down easy" Kai huffed out
His mate, Ender looked him up and down and chuckled while shaking his head, "I can see that. Did you lose your way in the forest? Are you a hiker? Or a camper? We didn't find any equipment around you, not even your phone"
Camper? The hell was that? Now that he had begun asking questions, Kai became agitated. How was he supposed to answer him without sounding suspicious? Then he remembered the settlement Amelia, the warlock; lived in, the hollers in the valley.
"I live in the holler up in the mountains."
"Wow, I wanna see one of those" Ender exclaimed as he set the metal object aside and took a few other things in his hand, "This might sting" he warned and then dabbed some liquid onto the wounds. Kai flinched, the herbs their healer used were soothing but this stung as if someone set fire to his injuries.
"That's enough" he grabbed Ender's hands, "The shards are out, that's all I need" He released his grip on the panicky little human when his sharp ears picked up the beat of his heart. Great! now he had to be extra careful with his words as well as actions cuz it seemed like his mate was one of those sensitive ones.
"O-okay I guess" Ender kept the box aside and got up to clean the broken vase that Kai broke. "I know you must be feeling uncomfortable, we can drop you off at your place today itself"
Kai ran a hand through his hair in frustration, going back to the place was like adding salt to the open wounds. He wasn't ready to look at the reality that was waiting for him over there, nor did he wish to face his dad, the Alpha anymore. His life had taken a stranger turn than he could've ever imagined as if the path he had been walking all along had ended at the darkest pit and he couldn't see a way out. A tear slipped from his eyes, he felt like he was back to square one, back to the day when he was a scared little pup who had lost everything.
"I've heard a lot about these hollers and I wanna see them too if that's okay with you. And-" there was shuffling of footsteps as Ender rushed toward him, "Hey, are you alright?"
Kai stared into those blue orbs, the worry on his mate's face as if he was genuinely concerned about him. He contemplated for a moment, trying to make sense of the storm of thoughts in his head, and then, "I kinda ran away from home, is it okay if I stay here for one more day?"
Ender looked as if he was going to throw some more questions at him but he gave a slow nod, "Sure, take your time. And if there's anything I can help you with, let me know"