CHAPTER 005
819 Words
CHAPTER 005
AIDAN’S POINT OF VIEW
I wasn’t prepared.
Twelve years. I thought that amount of time would be enough to move on. Or at least try to move past a memory. Even while I was asleep, I could see her face. The quiet parts of my mind were still filled with her voice.
Zara.
Under the stars of Glenvar tonight, I felt her presence once more.
There was a strong smell of smoke and sweet cinnamon at the festival. Sounds from the music spread everywhere, people laughed all around and lanterns drifted above our heads like stars. I was by the old well in the square, my arms crossed and my heart racing. Everyone else was dancing, drinking, and losing themselves in the moment. But me?
I watched.
I always wished that she would visit me each year. I always left feeling disappointed, with my fists clenched and my heart aching.
Until now.
The mood changed in the room. I felt a chill running down my back. I turned, and everything in me stood still.
There was the woman I was looking for.
Her dark green clothes hid her, her hood low over her features, and she stood apart from everyone near the edge of the crowd. She appeared to be attempting to conceal herself in the shadows. But her presence—my God, her presence—was hot and cold, like the wind in a bottle.
Selene.
She seemed just as she had before. Unaged. Untouched. Watching. Always watching.
Yet when I saw her, there was a new and stronger feeling inside. Not her. Someone else.
I had laid them to rest.
I walked among the crowd, feeling my heart hit my ribs. I didn’t even close my eyes. I couldn’t. I looked at the group of dancers, the children and the adults laughing around the cider barrels. I looked away from Selene. And then—
There.
You can find it in the square.
A girl whose dark hair is wild, and she is partially wrapped in a shawl. Her eyes were green and full of fear.
Zara.
It simply couldn’t happen. It did happen, though.
She seemed to have aged. Thin. Pain makes you stronger in a way. There was a small scar over her left brow. Her clothes were bigger than she was. Her fingers moved nervously. Still, her eyes were unmistakably hers.
Mine.
We looked at each other.
I suddenly stopped breathing.
She froze.
Thereafter, she fled.
I pushed my way through the crowd. Plates clattered. Someone cursed. I kept going.
“ZARA!” I shouted. “Wait please”
She didn’t turn around.
She moved through the stalls, knocking over some of the fruit baskets. I could hear a kid crying. The world was moving around me. My chest was on fire.
I ran after her through the alley behind the bakery. Smoke was rising out of the chimneys. The cobblestones were wet from the rain before.
“Zara!” I tried another time, making my voice softer.
Nothing. Just footsteps.
Then silence.
I walked around the corner.
Gone.
No one was in the alley.
The only thing I noticed was a green thread stuck on a nail protruding from the fence.
I picked it up. Started. I felt my legs go weak.
She existed.
This was not a dream.
She was not a ghost.
Zara visited us.
My Zara.
Alive.
She attempted to escape from me.
Why?
Did she not know who I was?
Or perhaps she really did hate me.
I rested my back against the wall, out of breath. A growl came from my wolf, pushing its way out of me. Her presence drew him in. Needed her. His mate.
Mine.
Someone gently touched my shoulder. I turned and lifted my fists into the air.
Selene.
She stared at me quietly, and her eyes were only faintly visible in the darkness.
She whispered, “You could feel her.”
I was unable to talk. I felt like I had sand in my throat.
“Aidan, I can see that she’s changed,” she to me. Prepare yourself for patience.
Why did she go away? I asked. “Where has she been lately?”
Selene only smiled sadly and quietly walked away.
“Selene!” I barked. Please tell me where she is!
She disappeared as the mist covered her.
It happened just like that.
The music from the festival seemed to mock me as I walked away.
An idea dawned on me.
I was plagued with numerous questions.
Who was she now?
What caused her to run?
Most importantly
Could I ever hold her again?
Could I ever make her feel loved?
Above the rooftops, I heard the sound of the wind.
It only took a moment for my world to fall apart.
I realized there was more to come.
Was there anything else that I didn’t know about her?
- Writer
