My Long Lost Mate

The woman charged at Violet at full speed with her knife raised high in her hands. She'd been staring at her for a while, like a predator stalking its prey, only running when she was certain she'd succeed. Unfortunately—or fortunately, she failed to notice a new presence around the area. She didn't notice there was another predator hunting for another prey. 

I shook off the dizziness in my head and ran towards the woman, trying my hardest to keep my legs moving. To hell with this poison. I have a killing to do.

With my vision still a little blurry, I ran at full tilt, blocking whoever that woman was from getting any closer to Violet. I lunged at her and threw her to the ground, strangling her neck.

"Who the fuck are you?" I let out a growl, angered. How dare she raise a knife to my mate.

The woman fell at the impact and yelped, clearly appalled. She coughed at how hard I hit her neck, but I had no intention of releasing her any time soon. I didn't mind killing anyone who had the audacity to even think of harming my mate. Allowing such a person to live would be a waste of oxygen. I wouldn't dare.

The hood of her cape fell as she laid on the ground, revealing the black mask that covered half of her face. Whatever was hidden behind that mask must have been disastrous for her to even think of hiding it. Taking the pain in, she opened her eyes, showing the infamous serpent-like eyes. 

"A snake," I glowered, seeing how even her lips were black.

"You—again," she hissed. She struggled to break free, swinging her knife towards me, which I swiftly caught and stole from her hand. Again? What does she mean again? "You smell a lot like a dog."

"And you smell a lot like a disappointment," I retorted, quickly getting an angry attempt at a punch. "What do you think you're doing with my mate?" I continued to choke her, not minding how she was slowly losing her breath. 

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because you're going to die if you don't," not that anything will change if you do.

Hearing it, she burst out laughing, laughing so hard that I thought I'd unknowingly made a hilarious joke. Funny how I wasn't even joking.

"Do you think we're so easy to kill?" She asked in between her laughter, not even trying to hold them back. "That's a werewolf for you—always so full of themselves."

"Well, that's how it was a century ago," I smirked, and she immediately stopped laughing.

"Not anymore, you dog," she hissed, angered by my words, and I was suddenly reminded of the vicious snakes I'd just cut in half a moment before. Perhaps killing another one wouldn't be so bad. "We're back and stronger than ever, and it's time for you low lives to submit to us. When the time comes, I'll definitely be the one to kill you."

Though I was more than happy to give another comeback to her words, she suddenly let out a screech, and then by the next second, the ringing in my ears returned. My headache washed over me like a wave, drowning me as the world spun around like a damn wheel.

"But I'm afraid the poison inside you will kill you first before I could," she smiled, then kicked me away from her. I had no other choice but to succumb to the impact, falling back and releasing her from my grasp.

She took her knife and stood up, ready to escape, but I managed to catch her before she could run. I pulled her sleeve, ripping it in the process, revealing a tattoo hidden under it. It was a tattoo of a snake, coiling around her wrist like a bracelet. An ugly one, at that.

"Don't… make me laugh," I groaned, feeling the headache getting worse than before. "I'll never die at the hands of the black witches. I'd rather kill myself than let that happen."

She swatted my hands away, throwing me back to the ground as if I was a child's play. Her eyes blazed with hatred, and I could clearly see the rage in her face even when it was hidden behind the mask.

I'd rip that head of hers if it weren't for this poison. I'm sure It would be full of bullshit and stupid jokes. Even dogs wouldn't want to eat her head. It will only make them dumb.

"I'll be sure to see that happens," she said before vanishing into the shadow, leaving me groaning at the pain she caused from her ugly screech. "Before that, take good care of your little mate—because we'll come for her."

I cursed as I watched her leaving my sight, annoyed by the fact I couldn't chase after her. One reason was because of this damn headache, and another was because I couldn't leave Violet alone.

They'll come for her, she said. But for what reason? Why the hell is Violet involved in their scheme? Why can't people just leave her the fuck alone?

I turned my head towards Violet, seeing her still in the same position. What is she doing there? As she was still a few distances away, it's possible she didn't hear the commotion behind her. I needed to get her away from here. At least, I have to take her to where the warriors are.

[I found her] I mind-linked the warriors, almost forgetting to do so after the scene that happened. A reply immediately came that Andrew and Jack would be coming, while the rest of the warriors would take care of the mess in the village.

I forced myself to stand up, closing myself a bit to ease the pain before walking towards Violet. I thought the poison wouldn't do much to me, but I thought wrong. It was so strong that it felt like I was walking on thorns. Or worse.

The snow fell harder as the night fell, the stars blinking and the moon shining. Is she not cold? I found myself asking as I walked, searching for anything I could give to warm her up, but found none as I was only wearing the pants I stole.

Getting closer, I called her name a few times, but each time, I received zero response. This made me wonder if it's my voice that was too small, or if it's something related to her ears being broken.

"Violet?" I called again, still nothing. I inched closer, then finally realized what she was holding from before. A young girl, dead in her arms.

I immediately crouched down and held her shoulders, shaking her. "Are you okay?" I asked, examining her body to search for any wounds. She had a few bruises here and there, but nothing too serious that would cause a lot of blood to come out of her system. So it was the dead girl's blood. Doris, was it?

She remained silent, only staring blankly at the girl. Her eyes were puffy and her lips were dried, as if she had been screaming and bawling her eyes out for some time. I glanced at Doris, noticing the knife I gave her stuck on her chest. Did she do this?

What on earth happened while I was fighting snakes?

"Violet, look at me," I cupped her cheeks, trying to get her eyes to meet mine. "Please."

She slowly moved her gaze toward me, and I swear I could hear my heart breaking at the sight. Blood and dried tears stained her cheeks, standing as proof of the hard time she went through today. She looked exhausted, and the sadness was clear in her eyes.

"Are you… okay?" I asked, and even I wasn't sure if that was the right question to ask. I'm sure she wasn't.

The question 'are you okay' was both the right and wrong question to ask someone who had just experienced something bad. It will only bring back the sadness they tried so hard to keep at bay, but also the sadness they needed to let out in order to relieve their pain.

Tears immediately filled her previously hollow eyes upon hearing the question, her lips trembling as she tried to hold back her tears. Even without hearing it from her, the answer was obvious because I knew the feeling all too well. The feeling of killing someone for the first time.

"I—I killed her, Luke," her voice came small as a whisper, trembling as it escaped her lips. "I… I didn't want to, but I… I killed her. I killed Doris."

Her tears fell drop by drop, then came like a waterfall down her cheeks. I immediately pulled her into an embrace, soothing her sobs with a pat. 

"I know," I said as I felt her melt into my arms, leaning on me for support. "It's going to be hard, but I know you'll be fine.. It won't be today, and that's okay."