Blood Rite: MATE

Prologue

"Rudulfa?!" The masked man in front of her shouted at her from the archway of the living room.

He was so close to her that she could smell the stale stench of cigarettes and alcohol on his hot, acrid breath.

"Wh-wh-who?" Tala stuttered in a quiet, shaky voice.

Fear was taking over her already tense body. Slowly taking control, making her unable to move, unable to think. Her heart was pounding so loud she could swear that everyone in the room could hear it. As if someone was beating drums right there in the living room.

Although it was the man closest to her that was shouting at her, it was the man in the corner she couldn't take her eyes off of.

"Rudulfa Lovota?! Are you her? Where is she? Is Alaric your alpha? Your mate?" The man demanded.

Shooting off question after question with frantic impatience, but still Tala couldn't tear her eyes away from the other intruder.

The room began to feel as though it was spinning around her. Spinning out of control, and she had no way of stopping it. What is going on? Who are these men that stormed into her home?

"Answer me!" The man growled, taking a step closer to her.

"I have no idea w-what you're t-talking about . . . t-there's no one with t-those names here. . . P-p-please, my name is Tala, the g-girl you're holding . . . her n-name is Reika. P-please . . ." Tala's voice cracked with fierce emotion, and she couldn't fight her tears back any longer.

"Damn You!" She yelled, still looking at the man in the corner.

She stared at him through the tears in her eyes as she balled her fists at her sides in anger

"JUST LET MY SISTER GO!" She screamed at him.

The man closest to her stench was becoming more and more apparent with each breath of air she sucked in while crying. Making her almost gag at the repugnance.

"Please, let us walk away. We will never sp-peak of this." She pleaded with the men again, but both men were unfazed.

The one in the corner was currently holding her little sister at knife point.

The closer man interrupts with a slight chuckle as he leans up against the side of the archway.

"I'm sorry darlin', we'd love to let you go. Maybe even keep you around for a little fun. My men and I get so lonely, in need of comfort from young, beautiful women such as yourselves, but that's not how all of this works, unfortunately." The man kept gesturing with the knife he was holding.

"We have clear instructions. Find Rudulfa & Tamika Lovota by any means necessary and do it quickly. Also, make sure that anyone along our path . . ." The man uses his knife to help him gesture, cutting a throat open.

"Disappears." The man's mustache twitched as an evil smirk appeared across his face.

Tala could feel as the blood drained from hers as her mind began racing. Finally working again.

'They're going to kill us! What am I going to do?' The room was spinning faster.

'I have to save Reika no matter what!' Tala's thoughts were aghast while she franticly tried to figure out how to make a distraction for her sister.

"Red, can we just finish this up and leave?" The man holding Reika asks impatiently.

Until his sudden outburst, the man had been quiet, letting his vile comrade be the one to do the speaking for them.

"Do you have some other more important engagement to be getting to?" He mocked in response but got no reply.

"Alright, fine, Blue." The man submitted. "You don't have to get all huffy about it" giving in shortly after the man nicknamed Blue gave an obviously annoyed sigh.

"Let's take them to the kitchen to kill them there. When we start the fire, they'll burn up long before anyone gets here." Red finished.

They made their way to the large entryway that led to the kitchen.

'This is the only chance I have to save Reika. It's now or never!' Tala thought as they were about to reach the island in the center of the kitchen.

All she could focus on was getting her sister free and safe by any means necessary.

With reflexes she didn't know she had, she lunged for the man who had Reika and tackled him to the ground. Slamming his head hard onto the side of the island's countertop. Stunning him for a brief moment.

"Run Reika! Run and don't turn back no matter what!" Tala screamed.

Reika didn't hesitate. She had just enough wiggle room to get away. Sprinting as fast as she could through the washroom, then out the back door and off into the dense forest. Tala watched as she disappeared into the shadows.

Behind Tala, she could hear as the intruder called Red began to growl and snarl. Suddenly feeling the sharp, searing pain of a knife stabbing deep into her back. Turning and ripping into her before taking it back out.

"YOU STUPID b***h!" Red yelled before repeatedly kicking her in the ribs "Now we're going to hunt her down and make her watch as you burn in this house before we throw her in it with you! Maybe even have her help us celebrate before, she is so beautiful after all."

He threatened before continuing to yell. "Blue! GET UP AND GO GET THAT f*****g GIRL! I'll finish with this one." He demanded.

After another hard kick to her right ribcage he left her there, lying on the floor gasping for air. She could feel the warm, sticky feeling of blood soaking her shirt. Slowly dripping down her back.

Turning away Red walked outside, returning moments later with a large metal gas can. The smell hit her instantly. Tala tried to move but was still struggling to get enough air. She could see her blood pooling around her.

Red began pouring gas all over the house, ending with Tala. She could feel the sharp stinging of her knife wound as the gas poured over her back. Between the gas fumes and blood loss, the room began to feel fuzzy. Her body coming down from its adrenaline rush. She couldn't move, couldn't do anything. She was feeling woozy and her vision was becoming hazy.

The smell of gas was making her stomach turn. Her consciousness, going in and out. All she could do was pray that Reika had made it to safety and for the light to come quickly. Tala laid her head back and stared at the ceiling. Watching as the ceiling fan kept turned.

As Red began to search his jeans for matches, he was frozen with fear upon hearing the low growls coming from behind him. As he turned, he could see two giant angry wolves snarling at him.

Before he could run, one more slightly smaller wolf blocked the exit into the dining room. Slowly, the wolves began surrounding them. Tala could hear them before she could see them. When they came into view, she could see they were humongous, magnificent beasts. Covered in the fresh blood of what she assumed to be the other intruders.

Reaching out to touch the one closest to her, half expecting it to bite her hand off, but instead, the wolf got closer. Not shying away from her touch but leaning into it. The wolf allowed Tala to stroke it's fur as it pushed against her hand. Never once taking its eyes off of the man named Red.

Tala felt safe somehow, almost at ease. Her eyelids began feeling heavy, and she could no longer keep them open. With her eyes closed, she could only hear the fading sounds of fighting . . . the feeling of the wolf moving away from her touch . . . the smell of fresh blood. . . and then . . . nothing. Nothing but silence and pure darkness.

"No!" Tala screamed, startling herself awake.

She took long, deep breaths to calm herself as she pushed her auburn hair out of her face.

"It was just a nightmare." She whispered to herself. Wiping away the beads of sweat from her forehead.

This wasn't just a normal nightmare, though, no . . . it was far worse . . . it was a memory. . . Tala tried to sit up in her bed, but her injuries made every movement painful.

Her body shaking, drenched from sweat.

She tried to shake off the events of last week. She was still recovering from two broken ribs and a collapsed lung. Stuck on strict bed rest. Mostly due to her overprotective sisters more than her doctor.

"I'm alright!" Tala strained to holler down from the attic when she heard everyone's footsteps rushing to the stairs towards her room.

"Just a bad dream, I'm going back to sleep now." She shook her head as she laughed to herself.

She loved living with her family, but sometimes they can be a bit much. Constantly over worrying about her like she was made of porcelain or glass.

She still doesn't know what really happened that day. No one would talk about it. Tala just figured it was too hard on them since it took so much to save her life, and it was still so soon.

However, she did know that Reika was safe and that they somehow still had their lives.

She laid herself back down gently after taking a drink of the now cold chamomile tea that Reika had made for her earlier. Letting her heavy eyelids slowly close again, she allowed herself to drift back off to sleep. This time, determined to dream of happy memories with Reika and their family instead. Soon, she had drifted off into a peaceful slumber.