UnDYING Love

Inima's POV The lightning flashes and rumbling thunder became more frequent as I walked further into the dark woods. I didn't feel very confident, but what choices did I have? I was a lady on a quest. A lheren search of the golden fruit, to prove my worth to the Scarlet Heart pack, worthy to ascend my father's throne as Alpha. The dark forest was a vast land, where the sun never shone on. Hundred per cent of the time, it was dark and scary. It neither saw any rain, nor sunshine, but constantly had lightning and rumbling thunder, characteristic of this part of the woods. There were also rows and columns of rare species of plants, from tyouequoia to the Dawn redwood to Yew. “One day, I will no longer be here, and it would be up to you to take the Scarlet Heart pack to the greatness they are built for,” “I believe in you,” I still remember the words of my father in his last days. I believe in myself too, but walking through the dark woods, I believed that Father's faith in me was enough and I held tightly to it. ‘My name is Inima, and this is my story of self-discovery and overcoming obstacles.’ I spoke to myself a lot to distract my mind, luckily I had… “Watch out!” came Zoe’s voice, as a tree branch sprang up and was going for my head. …Zoe, my wolf. “Go south,” Zoe directed. I wasn't one to talk to a lot of people, so Zoe was my favourite company, more like, she was my only company, most of the time. “I don't understand this quest though,” I complained out loud. “Get some golden fruit,” I continued, “I have been training all my life.” My ranting was not coming to an end anytime soon. ‘Your father wouldn't be caught complaining, Inima,’ Zoe said. I rolled my eyes. I hated it when Zoe had to parent me about it. She did an excellent job though, since my mother died during my birth, and Dad couldn't wait to join his mate. ‘He went through this quest, and his father before him…’ Zoe sang her usual song, through all the quests I had to conquer, this being the fourth. “And the one before him and the one before,” I interrupted Zoe, rolling my eyes. “No one ever dies in the dark forest,” I said. “That is untrue,” I heard a thick, charming voice from behind me. I quickly turned around to behold the most enchanting man I ever saw. He was 6’2” tall, with a chiselled body, muscular arms and a broad chest. His shiny dark skin, officialised from his bald head is visible through his ripped gloves. Although he had an eye patch on the left eye, his right violet-coloured eye was enough to spark the splendour of his blockhead and Nubian nose. I was still awestruck by his glorious buildup. “What would a girl like you be doing out here in the dark woods?” He questioned me. “A girl like me?” I repeated, “What does that mean?” I queried. “You just seem too fragile to be out here,” he responded. “Right!” I responded, letting my guard down. “I'm on a quest,” I said. starts widened in shock, and they revealed just how much he was judging me. A young princess out in the dark woods on a quest sounded out of this world. Well, I thought the same too and couldn't blame him for being judgy. “I'm retrieving the golden fruit on my journey to becoming Alpha and making my father proud,” I said. “Your father is out of his mind,” The stranger said, rolling his eyes and walking towards me. At this point, I was pinched in my heart by his judging, I thought it was unkind of him, especially since he just met me. “Are you this rude to everyone who comes around here?” I asked. “Normal people don't come around here, princess,” he said, staring at my royal bracelet. I wasn't sure how he identified it, but I wasn't willing to ask. “And then there's you, who lives here,” I replied in sarcasm. I pulled out my map from my little backpack and began walking away. “You'll die in two seconds taking that route,” he said in a firm voice. “Yeah, right,” I rolled my eyes, already upset with the stranger and continued on the path I was on, even though I lost my way according to the map, twenty minutes ago. “You would neither make it to the golden fruit nor would you even survive taking that route, princess,” his sarcastic emphasis on the princess. He barely dropped his sentence when an arrow came flying at me, heading straight for my head. The nice-looking stranger jumped right towards me, pushing me out of the way, as I was frozen from the fear of being killed by an arrow. ‘He was right,’ I thought, as I found myself on the floor, on this stranger's body, staring right into his violet right eye. We stared into each other's eyes for a while, and the experience felt magical, almost like the earth had both stopped rotating on its axis and revolving about its orbit. “Mate! Mate!” Zoe called. He lifted me off the ground and stared at me, “next time you might not be so lucky,” he said. “Thank you,” I appreciated my voice barely above a whisper. “I'm sorry,” I said, “I should have listened,” “Well, yeah, you should have,” he said. “Inima,” I extended a handshake. ‘Mate! Mate!’ Zoe’s call grew stronger. “Styr,” he introduced, reciprocating the gesture. It felt like an electric wave from his hands to mine. I was exploding with excitement, to have finally met my mate. I heard so much about the mate bond from my father and looked forward to the day when I got to receive my mate from the goddess. It felt surreal to be meeting my mate out in the dark woods. It was already a conquered quest for me. Without the golden fruit, I felt fulfilled, or had I spoken too soon? We were still lost in each other's eyes when an arrow came flying right towards us. Styr pulled out a shield, very swiftly and blocked the arrow, just before it got to us. He had very quick reflexes and his strength was the dreamiest thing about him. “We have to go,” he said, pulling me out of the way, and from the path of danger I had set us upon. “But where?” I questioned, completely losing my mind, drooling over him.