TWICE GIVEN, TWICE LOVED

A GLIMPSE OF THE PAST

My knees struck the ground, the claws piercing my palms as my heart exploded in pain. Tremendous pain. Short breaths escaped my lips, blood soaking the ground. There was nothing—just blood and blood. Lots and lots of it, spreading for miles. Its scent entered my nostrils, pinching my lungs and suffocating my windpipe.

My sight filled with only one sight: him. Everything blurred as my eyes focused on his half-dead body. Slowly and steadily, I crawled closer to him. “Emily,” he groaned in pain. “Are you okay?” His words were laden with anguish and suffering.

I blinked, unable to process anything. My body trembled as a blood-soaked hand touched my cheek. My eyes met his crystal blue ones, which held the entire world in them. Realization pummeled me with force.

Hurriedly, I cradled his head in my lap, attempting to wipe the blood from his face. It wouldn’t stop. It kept flowing. My eyes teared up in frustration and fear, and sobs finally escaped my mouth.

“Why?” I whispered. “Why isn’t the blood stopping?” A scream tore from my throat.

“It’s fine, Emily. Are you okay?” Even now, he was worrying about me, his voice begging for reassurance of my well-being.

“I am not okay. I’m not! How could I be when you are in so much pain?” I cried for the first time in years. I couldn’t manoeuvre it anymore.

“I am fine, my mate. Don’t worry.” He offered a weak smile.

“No, you are not.” A whisper escaped my lips, quickly turning into a scream. “You are not okay, dammit.” He knew that I knew. It was time for the final goodbye.

His hands caressed my neck where his mark should have been. Only, it wasn’t there. It never was. “Can you mark me, mate? Please?” His eyes pleaded, his tone begging me as if this were the last time he could ask.

He was a hunter. He couldn’t mark me, but I could, and his mark would automatically appear on my neck. I knew what he wanted. He wanted to give me something by which I could remember him forever. He wanted to claim me one last time, to ensure that I was his.

Then an idea struck me—one I knew would most likely not work, but I still wanted to try. “I want to mark you. I love you, Lorenzo.”

He smiled, his eyes filled with contentment. “I love you too, Emily. More than anyone.”

I leaned down, kissing him, our faces stained with blood and tears. But still, that kiss was the most magical one since our first kiss. Breaking the kiss, my lips moved to his neck, where my mark would be. Taking a deep breath, with a single ray of hope in my heart, my fangs emerged, sinking into his flesh and marking him as mine—only mine. Sofia howled in a mixture of happiness and sadness.

“Mine. Only mine,” I growled, my eyes flickering to black.

“Yours. Only yours,” he sighed in contentment.

I felt the mate bond strengthen as our souls blended into each other. I could feel his pain, suffering, worry, and love for me.

I smiled, remembering everything about him to the depths of my soul. This was the last time; we both knew it. “I am sorry, Lorenzo.”

His confused eyes met mine before I closed my eyes and bit him again, making him flinch at the sudden pain. My mouth filled with the metallic taste as the poison in his body transferred into mine. Sofia took half of the control, using her powers to the maximum. She always supported my decisions, and I was proud of her.

Once my fangs pulled from his body, I felt it—the tiredness and the urge to sleep... forever. Supporting my upper body, I struggled to straighten my back. His wounds were healing as his breathing relaxed. He wasn’t getting anything. What was happening to him?

My eyes softened. “Take this as compensation for hurting you so many times.”

“What are you talking about, my love?” His voice came out panicked as he used his last remaining strength to get up and hold me in his arms. “What is happening to you? You were fine just a moment ago.”

“I—I love you, Lorenzo. You are my first love and will forever be the most special one in my heart. I know I am selfish, but please never forget me and love me always. Even when you start loving someone else in the future, always save a corner of your heart for me, please.” My hands caressed his cheeks, my eyes not leaving his for even a second.

His frantic eyes were filled with sheer anguish. “What did you do?” he whispered.

“Just loved you,” I replied, a smile crossing my lips.

“Don’t leave me, please. I don’t know how you did that or how I am fine now. But please, don’t leave me. It’s better to die than to see you like this.” He cried, his eyes bloodshot red.

“Live happily, Lorenzo. Live for me. I love you the most.” My eyes closed as I felt the mate bond snap, my mind drifting to a blurred land. The screams and shouts became distant, eventually. It was our final goodbye, but we both didn’t have the courage to utter that word; so we didn’t.

I love you, Emily. Wait for me. I will come for you.

I woke up with a jerk, hyperventilating as my heart raced a mile a minute. My fangs had elongated, piercing my lower lip while my claws dug into my palms. There was a huge lump in my throat, making it difficult to even swallow my saliva, and my body was damp with sweat.

I glanced outside, observing the pinkish-red dawn. Birds had started flying high in the sky, chirping and searching for food for their babies. Why couldn’t everyone be like birds?

Huffing and puffing, my hands rested on either side of my waist. One more round, and then I would go back to get ready for college. Focusing on my lungs, I filled them with air, and started jogging again. "Fighting!" I needed to stay in shape for a long and healthy life.

"Hey, Principessa," a groan escaped my mouth as I discerned a vexingly familiar voice. Nicholas came up beside me, looking sexy in his jogging outfit. His hair was messy, and his smile was as delectable as ever. Turning a deaf ear to him, I kept my eyes absorbed in the view in front of me.

All I wished for that morning was a reposeful day. Guess what? Even the universe shunned my wish.

"I saw you from my balcony, and being the nice person I am, I thought I’d join you. You must be feeling lonely while running here all alone with no one to accompany you." Rolling my eyes, I continued to ignore him and his blabbering. He would go away if I didn’t entertain him enough. What a beautiful misconception I had.

“Well, you know you look hot while rolling your eyes, but your ciliary muscles will wear out soon if you use them so much.” I gave him a bored look as I resumed my run. His logic had no logic behind it.

Abruptly, he pulled my arm towards him. A startled gasp escaped my mouth as my eyes went wide. What was he even doing?

“What the hell are you doing? Can you just let me finish this last round in peace?” Annoyance seeped viciously through my tone.

Frown lines appeared on his forehead as he moved his face closer to mine, his eyes roaming over my face. His hand came to the back of my head as I tried to pull away. My body flinched as he pressed his other hand against my cheek, his thumb brushing softly under my eye.

“Umm... niceeee,” Sofia purred in my head, and I fought the urge to lean more into his touch. Those were one of the few times she was unsupportive of me, and I absolutely hated it.

“Did you not sleep properly last night?” His voice sadly broke my reverie.

I pushed his face away with my hand and distanced myself from him. “None of your business.” Randomness was one of his traits.

Clenching my eyes, I sighed and rubbed my face in frustration. Completing this last round was now impossible. With that thought, my legs started moving back towards my house.

“Hey, wait.” An arm wrapped around my shoulders. I didn’t bother pushing it away anymore; it felt useless. “Tell me. Why couldn’t you sleep properly? Did you have a nightmare? Or…”

“I was having s*x with one of my friends with benefits.” A not-so-sweet smile spread across my face, and my eyelids fluttered repeatedly as I peeked at him. His grip tightened around my shoulders as he clenched his jaw. What was his problem again?

Suddenly, a smirk spread across his face as he shook his head. “You’re lying.”

“And how would you know that?”

“Because no one came to your house last night, nor did you leave your apartment yesterday.” A shiver ran down my spine as my brain processed his words.

“You are stalking me.” It was a statement. We entered the elevator. He shrugged his shoulders as he removed his arm from my shoulder, pressing the button for the sixteenth floor. My fists clenched; he didn’t even try to deny it.

“Why are you doing this?” I yelled. “Just why are you keeping an eye on me?”

His intense gaze fixed on me as he stepped closer, cornering me. One of his hands came beside my head, resting against the wall of the elevator. He tilted his head as his fingers traced my cheek, eventually tilting my chin upwards. "Because only I am allowed to do it," he whispered in my ear, kissing my cheek afterward. The elevator door opened with a ding, and he moved away from me, slipping his hands into his pockets.

“Take care of your health, and sleep properly.” The nonchalant smile was back on his face.

“Go get a diagnosis for bipolar disorder, you demented piece of flesh.” He laughed as I stormed out of the elevator.

He was not in love with me. He couldn’t be. It better be a temporary obsession, and it was going to be bad—so bad—for him.

I smirked as I glanced back at him.